Folded Away Softly: Short Poems in English About Life, Memory, and Quiet Moments
Some pieces of writing stay with you quietly for years.
They are written, set aside, revisited, and sometimes forgotten, only to return again when something urges to be expressed.
For me, the poetry in Folded Away Softly, many of them short poems about life, came from just plain observation. Some incidents of daily life that refused to be forgotten.
I started capturing them as short poems – thoughts that I had to write down, even if there was no immediate intention to share them. Over time, they gathered, slowly forming a sizable collection of close to 100 poems.
On April 16th, at Atta Galatta in Indiranagar, those poems stepped out of that private space and into the world.
The occasion was the book launch of Folded Away Softly. The evening was shared with fellow author Keerthi Sudhakar. What had lived quietly for years was now being shared in a room filled with readers, listeners, and familiar faces.
How the Evening Began.
The evening began without fanfare.
It began with a young voice filling the room with a prayer to Lord Ganesha. There was something grounding about that moment. It set a tone that felt neither formal nor staged. It felt present, almost like a quiet invocation.
From there, the event moved gently into conversation.
A Conversation on Writing Short Poems in English
The session was hosted by Mayur Bhat. Rather than turning the evening into a structured presentation, he approached it as a conversation. The questions were not rushed. They allowed space for reflection.
We spoke about how the poems came into being. Not as a single effort, but as something that unfolded over time, often taking shape as short poems about life. I shared parts of that journey, what led me to write, what stayed with me, and what I noticed as the poems slowly took shape.
At some point, I read two of the poems aloud.
There is always a difference between writing something in solitude and speaking it into a room. The words are the same, but the experience changes. You become aware of the silence, the attention, and how differently the words begin to feel in a shared space.
The Moment of the Book Launch
After the conversation, the books were formally launched.
The chief guests for the evening were Mr. Shoaib Ahmed and Lakshmisirur Maa.
It was Mr. Shoaib who formally launched the book.
The simple act of unpacking the books and holding them for all to see.
What it carries is years of thought, memory, and moments that were once private.
A book moves from being something personal to something shared. It no longer belongs only to the person who wrote it. It begins to find its own place in other people’s lives, in ways that cannot be predicted or controlled.
That transition is quiet but significant.
What the Evening Felt Like
The evening carried a quiet sense of warmth and celebration.
It did not feel hurried. Conversations unfolded at their own pace. People listened, reflected, and stayed present in a way that is increasingly rare.
Spaces like Atta Galatta have a way of allowing that. They hold conversations rather than rush through them.
The event was sponsored by Reseda Lifesciences, whose support made the evening possible.
After the Launch
After the formal part of the evening ended, conversations continued.
Some chose to buy the book home that evening, and I had the opportunity to sign their copies and speak with them, briefly but meaningfully.
There is something quietly humbling about signing a book. You spend years writing in private, and then suddenly, someone stands in front of you, holding those words, asking you to write their name inside it.
It makes the entire process feel both real and slightly surreal.
What Stays With Me
When you write, you are often alone with your thoughts.
You do not know how those words will travel, or where they will land. The launch does not answer that question fully, but it offers the first glimpse.
It shows you that the work has begun to move.
That it is no longer just yours.
A Quiet Closing Thought
When I was asked what I would want readers to feel after finishing the book, my response was simple.
That their own life, even the parts that feel ordinary and without headlines, is worth paying attention to.
Perhaps that is what writing has been for me as well.
Not an attempt to create something extraordinary, but an effort to notice what is already there.
And to hold it, for a moment, before it passes.
About the Book
Folded Away Softly is a collection of short poems in English drawn from moments that often go unnoticed.
The poems move through lived experiences:
A mother waiting at a hospital.
Construction workers emptying their pockets for a beggar, silencing an observer.
A kitten falls from a wall and climbs again, indifferent to onlookers.
A waterfall that resembles the melting moon.
A woman’s wobbly confidence riding a bicycle.
Minimal in form and subtle in voice, the poems ask you to pause and stay with what remains after.
Each poem is paired with an illustration and a context, adding another layer to the experience.
If Short Poems in English Resonate With You
If you find yourself drawn to quiet observations, everyday moments, and the kind of thoughts that stay with you a little longer than expected, Folded Away Softly might feel familiar.
Get your copy: https://mangalkarnad.com/folded-away-softly/
Kindle version: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GT2K2DRD