This beautifully written book of poems showcases the sum of the poet's nuances of life which she learns and experiences in the journey of her life, indeed, in the journey of every woman being. Since the days of childhood till the days of womanhood...

This beautifully written book of poems showcases the sum of the poet's nuances of life which she learns and experiences in the journey of her life, indeed, in the journey of every woman being. Since the days of childhood till the days of womanhood, a woman has been facing various facets of life quite different from the life of a man and has been as well forced to accept ungrudgingly what life offers. Like the ebb and flow of life, the book deals with myriad themes such as innocence of children, filial bondage, hardships of poverty, betrayals among friends, abuses and violences on small children and women, defilement of morals, environmental invasion, and of course personal sufferings which are quite integral part of what we humans are made up of.  While delineating the intricate relationships of life among human beings and between the man and the nature especially when such on the catastrophic level of pandemic happens, the poems show the crafsmanship and depth of thought and imagination of the writer in the book. The book, The Phantom of a Lone Pilgrim, through the employment of nuanced symbols and imageries, and through the uses of captivating and portmanteau words, presents to us the experiences and the stories of any common man and woman who has faced and learnt what life is in its actuality. Indeed, Nirmala's poems on the one hand probe into, if we borrow the words of Alexander Pope, "the proper study of mankind is man." And on the other, as to borrow the words of William Wordsworth, her poems are "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," and "emotion recollected in tranquility." The poems also, without dubeity, show the sheer courage of a woman who defies the conventional norms and customs of a structured and layered society where every twist and turn is taboo for her. To conclude, the collection gives a different and fresh taste from the Northeastern part of India. In fact, it is a gift to Manipuri literature as well as to Indian Writing in English.