The Pause

A space for verse, reflection, and lingering.

In many cultures, spring is considered a metaphor for renewal and new beginnings. We call it basant or bahaar. It’s so short in Delhi that even the heart learns to count its days. But with how perfect Delhi’s spring is — semal trees bloom a vibrant red, the breeze learns when to knock, the pollution quiets down, kindness abounds the vicious Delhi folk — even the boy who used to chase dogs now feeds them biscuits. Bahaar replaces the morose and dingy season of sardi and khiza, meaning winter and autumn. 

When I was younger (i.e., even to this day), I got through the lull and morose of winter with the promise of a brief yet perfect spring. I’d close my eyes and picture bright colors pop over vast green landscapes, lovers uniting, families forgiving, and enemies pausing to break bread with one another. Despair would give way to hope, and we would all look to the better angels of our nature to decide who we want to be in the new year. Was the point of spring to be brief, to be perfect, or to show us the promise? 

The Colors of Our Mind

By Zaina Edelson (MBA ‘26)

the conductress above

enamored with attention past

swings her arms violently

once red becoming blue

always forgetful of the brilliance of the entrapment that surrounds her

it’s ironic then, that her shadow

at once severed but feeling, sensing, knowing the rhythms of her life

has roots that bind them

through recognition and repetition

all the while she moves in colors

the ones that can’t be seen

those that rise up slowly, softly

shapely shifting her podium and the tenor of her songs

weaving in shadows

the trunk of life’s expansive rings grow,

what is said out loud

just one piece of the puzzle

About the poet: “The Colors of Our Mind” is the opening poem from the debut poetry collection, Ekphrasis Inverted by Zaina Edelson. The book, available starting April 23, is a tale about disassembling the self and piecing it back together, told through the eyes of a tinkerer and an optimist. For more information, go to www.zainaedelson.com or follow @zainaedelsonpoetry on Instagram.

Stormy With A Chance Of Ideas

By Nandini Nayar (MBA ‘26)

A three-case day, laden with figures and facts,

A stream of comments—some rushed, some lax.

There’s hustle and bustle, then quiet anticipation,

A storm of ideas, branching beams of inspiration.

There are lunches with friends,

Interrupted by mild chitter-chatter,

Then we’re back to chasing and tracking,

Keeping up with the intellectual banter.

Ninety faces each morning, wearing a new face for the day,

Exploring themselves, changing gears in class halfway.

There are pauses and glances, immense emotional articulation,

Responses and rebuttals, ideological amplification.

If I were to press pause and watch, I’d witness a storm—

A storm of people, personalities, the boats of ideas they’ve brought,

A storm of choices and options, walking past crossroads all day,

Bumping into people, following them around to find my way.

But there are pockets of peace—in footpaths and dorm rooms,

While witnessing the setting sun in the late afternoons.

There’s a glimmer, a light surrounding the edge of each day,

Charged with hope for tomorrow, feeling grateful for how we spent today.

Black Lead in a Nancy Meyers Film

By Rio Cortez

Aging, at all. I want that. And to fall

perhaps most honestly in love

beside the ocean, in a home I’ve paid

for by doing as I like: drinking good

wine, dusting sugar over a croissant, or

the stage play I’m writing myself into.

Aging Black woman in neutral summer

turtleneck. Known. And jogging. Lonesome

enough. Eating homemade lavender

ice cream, the moon blooming

through the kitchen window. The distant

sound of waves. Learning

French as a second language.

Votre pâte merveilleux, I smile back.

And then, just like that! Falling, cautiously,

for my busy, middle-aged lover,

who needs me, but has never truly seen me

until now. Our Black friends, celebrating

with hors d’oeuvres. Our Black children

growing older.

About the poem (as borrowed from poets.org): “I enjoy rewatching films that Nancy Meyers has written and directed: the beautiful interior designs, the dream jobs, the tiny refinements and subtle details of wealth, the refreshingly middle-aged romantic protagonists. I wanted to imagine what it might look like if one of those protagonists were a Black woman. We rarely see Black women in film depicted in a state of aging. Through irony, and the delicious process of rewriting Black women into rooms of popular culture that have been closed to them, this sonnet also explores questions of Black motherhood, comfort, and the potential of a life uninterrupted.”

Unnati Bose (MBA ’26) is originally from India but has called many places home. She graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce with a degree in Economics. She has worked in social impact consulting, global health, and pharma. In her free time, she can be found asking questions of love, community, and popular culture on her substack, Uno’s Thought Scramble.