As I wait for Loveflakes to arrive, I have already started missing the time when I was preparing the rough layout of the book (the final, professional layout, of course, was prepared by the much more talented Bitan Chakraborty).
It was a heady process - browsing through the illustrations that my darling sister, Bharati di, and my dear friend, Poonam Bhalla, had so generously contributed, pairing the artwork with prose and poetry, layouting the spreads, taking prints, editing and then going through the loop again. It was all-consuming, and for those few hours, I could think of nothing else. It was a relief, almost like meditation.
Loveflakes also received love from two very inspiring and lovely ladies - Kashiana Singh and Kathryn Brettell. Upon reading their words about the book, I felt like falling in love all over again and writing another Loveflakes.
"As Vibha states in the first poem — Love is cacophonous, yet this collection offers a grounding for the concept and the experience of love," writes Kashiana, in her thoughtful foreword to the book.
"With each passage, the reader's heart reconnects and relives some distant situation, awakening a remembrance that softens the heart and refills its boundless capacity for love," writes Kathi in her generous blurb for the book.
A collection titled Loveflakes cannot be created in a silo. I will forever be grateful to Bharati di, Poonam, Kashiana, Kathi, Bitan, and Kiriti da, without whose support and contributions, the collection wouldn't have been what it is.
This book wouldn’t have been possible without these beautiful couples. Without them, I wouldn’t have known how to identify love. My parents, Santosh and Vijay Kumar Malhotra, parents-in-law Sumanlata and Baldev Chand Sharma, sister and brother-in-law Bharati Malhotra and Alok Sharma, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Indu and Umesh Sharma, and my friends Smita Dhall and Nandan Jha.
I would also like to thank my nephew and niece, Nishant and Urvi, who helped channel my inner child. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my friends Aakshi Chowdhary, Amrita Arora, Monica Saigal, Parul Gupta, and Poonam Bhalla, with Awhom I have often exchanged notes.
I dedicate the following reflection from Loveflakes to all of you who have inspired me:
MILESTONES
For decades, passers-by indulged my incoherence.
When you came along, I found the thread.
I learnt how to talk.
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