This new book delves into teenage experiences from food to love and bullying

Abhir Suri reads at the launch of his book. Pics/Ashish Raje

A Haiku or a Dadaist verse is not the first thing one turns to after a painful experience. For Abhir Suri, a 12th grade student from The Cathedral and John Connon School, poetry showed a path past the pain. His latest book of verse, Sunglasses and Duct Tape (Notion Press), includes 23 poems that delve into personal and teenage experiences from junk food to love and bullying. Launched earlier this week at a Kemps Corner bookstore, it marks the teenager's discovery of poetry.

"Art is something that I have always loved," Suri shares, adding that the medium acts as an escape. As a student, he has already dabbled in theatre, music and created an exhibit that highlighted toxic behaviour and bullying. This theme is also present in his current book of verse. "It emerged from a personal experience of bullying I had experienced," he reveals. While the school and his parents protected him, the teenager discovered that the experience had left a far deeper mark. "I sat through one night, and decided to put my thoughts down to paper," he says.

The result was an output of 23 poems over the next week. "The poems were spontaneous creations, but I then worked them and reworked them into forms that suited their expression," Suri points out. The title is an extension of these themes, he explains. "Sunglasses are something I am fond of. I have a large collection. But it is also something we use to hide, so people cannot see our tears. Similarly, a duct tape was a metaphor to how I felt," Suri remarks. With his first book done, the teenager is already aiming for his next one. "I relate to poetry, it is something that suits my form of expression," he concludes.

Log on to: Sunglasses and Duct Tape on amazon.in
Cost: Rs 296