Books from India

In Acrobat, Nabaneeta Dev Sen transforms the experiences of an ordinary life into an intimate, unflinching exploration of womanhood, love, motherhood, and mortality. This posthumously published poetry collection moves between the exhilaration of first love, the physical and emotional demands of childbirth, the complexities of family relationships, and the inevitable approach of old age. With a voice that can be tender one moment and fiercely rebellious the next, Dev Sen examines the expectations imposed on women and the quiet acts of resistance through which they reclaim their lives. The acrobat becomes a powerful image for the precarious balancing act of being human: navigating intimacy, pain, desire, and loss while attempting to remain upright. Both compassionate and unsparing, these poems celebrate the body and its vulnerabilities, revealing the extraordinary intensity hidden within everyday existence. Translated from Bengali by the author’s daughter, Nandana Dev Sen, the collection also becomes a moving literary dialogue between mother and daughter.