{"id":5833,"date":"2021-12-06T20:05:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T14:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/?page_id=5833"},"modified":"2021-12-07T09:30:48","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T04:00:48","slug":"second-hand-nostalgia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/second-hand-nostalgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Second-hand Nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A writer trembles in a coat that\u2019s too thin\nOn frosty platform that's foggy and dim.\nFlickering tungsten lamp shivers along.\nA shadow wearing an overcoat long\nApproaches him, \u201cNeed a cigarette?\nTen-thirty today is running quite late.\u201d\n\n\u201cSome six years ago I had called it quits\nBut sometimes I give in,\u201d Writer admits.\n\u201cI am a salesman,\u201d Shadow clarifies,\n\u201cThat was not free. Had you thought otherwise?\u201d\nWriter is intrigued, asks, \u201cWhat do you sell?\nIs there something else to warm me as well?\u201d\n\nShadow replies, \u201cIf you insist my dear\nI sell nostalgia as souvenirs\u2014\nOne tele show in a box-set complete\nOf nameless suburb with wide-angle streets;\nOne fading polaroid\u2014discoloured greens\nOf nameless old man, and one in his teens.\n\n\u201cOne lonely guide of this planet we\u2019re on\nPenned by solitudes of men who are gone;\nOne used vinyl of songs that were farmed\nWith feels imported from post-war Vietnam;\nOne worn cartridge for a console acclaimed\u2014\nTwenty-first century Metroidman game.\n\n\u201cFive for the cig, and thirty for my words,\u201d\nShadow demands. \u201cDear, I find it absurd! \nWhen did one's company come at a cost?\u201d\nWriter's displeasure feels colder than frost,\n\u201cBut I am curious. You might get paid\nIf you can tell me where your stuff is made.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook for a train, smoking just like you are\nBound for lost times that are obscured somewhere\nWhere humans have walked, where cultures have thrived,\nWhere living have died, yet still have survived\nEarnestly packing the passions of dead\nIn bygone objects they wrap and embed.\n\n\u201cThe living, the dead\u2014they gather \u2019round pyres.\nYesteryear\u2019s tales are told by suppliers.\nMemories are sorted, marked and arranged\nFor production. In a land that\u2019s estranged,\nDear sir, my beloved factory lies.\nMaking nostalgia for modern lives.\u201d\n\nShadow concludes and then extends his arm.\nReluctant Writer puts cash on his palm,\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe a word but I\u2019m afraid\nIf I don\u2019t pay, you might leave me for dead.\nThanks for the cigarette worth thirty-five!\nI don\u2019t think your train will ever arrive.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d Shadow points to a fog-piercing beam\nA ghostly train unfurls, smoking out steam.\nAn unbeknownst warmth in Writer uproars\u2014\nUnknown yearnings of unacquainted yore.\n\u201cRide is not free\u2014\u201d, Shadow spells it out clear \n\u201cYou must pay with your memories, my dear.\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Notes:<\/em><\/strong> This poem was originally published in Unicorn Magazine (India), issue July 2021. It was accompanied by six photographs that I had captured during my travels. The editor also decided put me on the cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following text was appended to the poem in the printed version\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the poem:<\/strong>
The poem is an exploration of the idea of retro-nostalgia. Oftentimes media, advertisers, and influencers piggyback a product on a bygone culture that the consumer is not truly part of. Yet, the consumer feels like they have been pulled into that culture for reasons they cannot fathom. What is in it for those who were actually part of the culture that gave rise to the nostalgia? What if they are gone? I wanted to explore those questions and give a narrative spin on the thematic element.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
About the author:<\/strong>
Sauvik Biswas is a musician, traveller, and a comics geek. He is an explorer and a storyteller at heart. He has been writing songs and performing with his band Dark Project for a decade and a half\u2014publishing a couple of albums, singles, and extended plays in the process. He likes to travel\u2014often as a solo backpacker\u2014and document his experiences on his personal blog\u2014sauvikbiswas.com<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u2014S.B (06.12.2020)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A writer trembles in a coat that\u2019s too thin On frosty platform that’s foggy and dim. Flickering tungsten lamp shivers along. A shadow wearing an overcoat long Approaches him, \u201cNeed a cigarette? Ten-thirty today is running quite late.\u201d \u201cSome six years ago I had called it quits But sometimes I give in,\u201d Writer admits. \u201cI … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[700],"tags":[701,724],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"page","2":"publish","3":"author-sauvik","4":"post-5833","6":"category-works","7":"post_tag-poetry","8":"post_tag-published"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5833"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5841,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5833\/revisions\/5841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sauvikbiswas.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}