He said She said by Angad Singh Saluja & Priyanka Bharadwaj: a review

In a very subtle vermillion color background, a ‘he’ and a ‘she’ sitting, having drinks and talking! Well I guess nothing could have been better as the cover of Angad Singh Saluja and Priyanka Bhardwaj’s poetry book He Said She Said. Now I guess you can understand why I mentioned ‘he’ and ‘she’ instead of using any other pronoun for it. The first look of the book has been really good (Yes, I am badly in love with poetry of any form) and so I had huge expectations from this book.

The book is divided into two vast portions. One- poetry by he (Angad Singh Saluja) and Two- poetry by she (Priyanka Bhardwaj) and that concept have made this book all the more interesting. Starting with poetry by he, I must say that he has a wonderful way of explaining what he feels. Covering a variety of topics in his poems, he has also used different types of styles to write each of his poems and this adds to the essence of the poems.

There were a few poems which were too good and few, which in comparison were not that good but were good enough in their way. He has used certain metaphors in his writing and it feels good while reading it. I just wish his poems were written in a better way which could’ve brought life to the book.

Quoting a few words from his poem-

“A promise made

An expression stated

A journey started

An enigma solved

A love lived

You and Me”

Now coming to her poetry, on contrary I must say that I practically loved her poetry. I could feel life in all her works. To point out a specific one which I liked the most would be pointless because I loved all of them. She has used very refined poetry skills in her writing and it seems professional to the readers. The touch of real life in her poems has made them stand out from the crowd.

Unlike he, she has used a very similar type of style in writing most of her poems that at times can make it a bit repetitive. A few words have been used in many consecutive poems which again might feel a continuation of the others. Apart from that, I really liked the way she has written all her feelings out. The ‘feel good’ factor remains and that is a plus point for the book. Would’ve loved it more if there were a few other styles of written poetries.

Quoting a few words from her poem-

“In your asking for blue, but wanting red,

In your love said and unsaid,

I reside…”

For me, this wonderful collection deserves 4 out of 5. But I surely would want to read more from both he and she!