Siddharth Dasgupta - Within the Algorithms of Desire

"Ishq, the word reverberates Sending ripples of erotic Blue Across the naked promise Of what her body chooses to preserve And what her body chooses to predict Mizaaj, the mood Reciprocates It hovers on the edge of cliffs drawn from breath Each lust left desiring the Intensity of you If desire has a leitmotif Then let in be the mark upon her knee And the exhaled prism of a single word Alfaaz Its two syllables pouring life into nothing The freshwater dramas of ethnic corsage Laila Rukh beckoning waves with a swirl of black And the nude infidelities of a word smothered in mist, Intezaar…" ("One Indian City, Two Indian Lovers" from Siddharth Dasgupta's The Moveable East) When I read Siddharth Dasgupta's latest book of poetry, I had a sense of light bursting out of the pages - even when he delved into darknesses. He writes of places with an intimacy which brings with it an overwhelming sense of desire, loss and loneliness. He says "Poetry is a daily prayer" and every poem of his is a testimony to that. Siddharth Dasgupta is a writer of poetry & fiction. A Moveable East is his fourth book; others include Letters From an Indian Summer (Fingerprint) and The Sacred Sorrow of Sparrows (Niyogi). His words have appeared in literary journals across the world, while he has read in places like Mandalay, Bombay, Galle and Istanbul. Occasionally, Siddharth explores fragments of travel and culture for a smattering of publications. He lives within the swirling nostalgias of the city of Poona. He can be reached at - Instagram - @citizen.bliss  https://citizenbliss.squarespace.com/ His latest book, A Moveable East, published by Red River, can be purchased at - https://www.amazon.in/dp/8194509386 and https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we  talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry, a much-loved poetry podcast. Following are the details of the music used in this episode -  Melodic Interlude Two by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6394-melodic-interlude-two License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Flucht (Romeos Erbe) by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3146-flucht-romeos-erbe- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Tranquil Fields Peaceful by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5769-tranquil-fields-peaceful License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinematic Background Sad by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8181-cinematic-background-sad License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license