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Stepping Stones is an introductory creative attempt by Runjhun Kapoor written in English and Hindi as well. The volume of poems is published by Authorspress, New Delhi. The book has 119 pages. There are eighty- six poems in  English language  and twenty-seven  in Hindi language.

The book ‘Stepping Stones’ is very aptly titled being the first creative work of the poet.  Runjhun Kapoor is a young emerging bilingual poet who gives vent to her emotions and absorbs a lot from around her. Her choice of subject transports us to a fairyland which is full of flowers, mountains, valleys, elephants, horses, sun, moon, nature and grand-parents. She is roaming amongst the beauty of dawn as well as dusk.

“When chirpy bird perches

Singing merry carols

Nature’s cradle envelopes

The world’s full-life mingle”

(Dawn)

“Breeze blows battling buds

Unfolding into flowery floor

Shivering world tightly hugs itself”

(Dusk)

Nature is replete with trees, flowers of almost all kinds (Roses, Lilies, Jasmines, Lotus, Tulip), butterfly, cloud, day, night, sunrise, moon, Golden Earth and a lot more. Runjhun is very receptive and finds a communion with varied things around her. Her world also revolves around her grandparents :

“ Pillowed by buds

My head on which I rest

When I woke up I saw

Nana Nani fanning with love ”

( Nana- Nani’s Love )

“The path of happiness

The most soft-hearted

The precious jewel of my heart

My  dear soft-hearted”

(Nani)

The poems are a short bundle of expression which starts and ends with a single thought. There isn’t any set pattern followed. But the thought and its unfolding, dealing and conclusion  lends a pattern which instantly catches the eye of the reader. The later poems show more systematic pattern of lines and paragraphs. Her poems show immense pictorial quality and present an imagery which binds the reader to the thought. A deft hand for rhyme and rhythm seems vibrating throughout the book with the use of alliteration, assonance, similes and metaphors. The poems create a world of their own which seems quite complete and satisfying.

“With cute smile and black hair

I wore it for the party

My nani’s love wrought in it

Her beloved princess I in it”

(My favourite Dress)

“Kind and heartfelt nature

Always working beyond measure

Strengthened all from the core

People respected the great

I love him from the core of my heart ”

(Nana)

Runjhun Kapoor had started writing from  the tender age of four and the book seems a record of all her childhood cherishes till she reaches her eighth standard. The collection  is her journey  as a poet from a tender  age, a memoir.

Prof. Dr. K. V. Dominic opined about her volume of poems ‘Stepping Stones ’

‘She becomes one with Nature when she sings about the beautiful creation around her. There is rhythm and imagery in her lines. Many lines have sonorous vocabulary with alliteration and assonance……’

About The Author

Runjhun Kapoor (Mishika) is a young and vibrant poet. She loves to focus her themes on current issues and delves into nature as a recluse from routine and stress. She has been writing poems from the age of four. She has received the ‘Shree Mewalal Gupt Sahitya Sevak Saman 2022’. Her poem has been published in ‘Hyperpoem’ the largest poem by the number of poets, a collection of authors on a world record. Her poems have been published in many anthologies; ‘Zenith of Aesthetics’, ‘Heart Upon Sleeves’, ‘Love: True or False’, ‘Bouyant Bliss’ and ‘Vibrant Verses’. She is a budding poet all geared up to fly high.

About The Reviwer

Prof. K . K . Gautam is a renowned scholar from University of Leeds (UK) and CIEFL, Hyderabad and is an Ex Professor and Director, English, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, Rajasthan. He is nationally and internationally acclaimed academician and resource person.