Neelam Saxena Chandra

Neelam Saxena Chandra is a bilingual writer and poet, who writes in English and Hindi. She has written over forty books, including twenty seven poetry collections, four novels, one novella, five collections of short stories and ten children’s books. Her awards and honors include – Bharat Nirman Literary Award, Premchand Award, Rabindranath Tagore International Poetry Award, Freedom Award, prizes by the American Embassy, Poetry Council of India and others. She was listed in Forbes magazine among 78  most popular authors in the country in 2014. She also holds a record with the Limca Book of Records for having the highest number of publications in 2015. Neelam Saxena Chandra, who is an Engineering graduate from VNIT and has done her Post Graduation Diploma in IM&HRD and Finance, has also completed another course in Finance from the London School of Economics. Neelam Saxena Chandra currently works as the Joint Secretary for U.P.S.C. India.
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The Visible

You are afraid of the visible,
It often turns into a serpent
With a frightening triangular head,
And startling elliptical eyes,
Ready to strike.

You have been so often injected
With its venom,
Making your arteries go sluggish blue,
That you are scared, even by thinking of it.
It has never been easy
To suck out the poison.

Have you ever tried to touch
The invisible
Residing within you
That overflows with love?
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Hearts

With the passage of time,
Every amicable chamber
That was once a carefree heart,
Turns into a stoical stone!

You curiously stare at the
Soggy blue veins
And stinking red arteries
And wonder
If the stone still has life;
But it is only an illusion!
They are just the humdrum conduits
Which have found a way
Through their enduring life!

However, not all stones crush
Under the weight of helplessness;
When some such stones
Are crushed in the grinders
Of long periods,
They turn into sparkling diamonds!

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