Manish Chand Unveils 'Quatrains in Quarantine', Reflecting on Pandemic Years

A new poetry collection inspired by the hardships, loss and introspection experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic was launched in the national capital, bringing together diplomats, scholars and literary enthusiasts for an evening of reflection and remembrance.

Titled "Quatrains in Quarantine: Dwelling Poetically on the Earth" , the book has been authored by foreign affairs expert Manish Chand , who wrote most of the poems during the height of the pandemic when lockdowns, uncertainty and grief had become a shared global experience.

The collection was formally launched on Friday at the official residence of the Brazilian Ambassador in New Delhi. Speakers at the event described the work as a poetic response to one of the darkest chapters in recent history, transforming despair and isolation into reflections on hope, resilience and renewal.

Addressing the gathering, Brazilian Ambassador Kenneth Nobrega said the poems were composed during a period of immense suffering for humanity and praised the author's ability to transform those experiences into verse.

According to the author, the poems emerged from a time when reports of illness and death became a daily reality. Chand recalled that hardly a day passed without hearing of someone known, loved or admired passing away unexpectedly, prompting him to turn to poetry as a way of making sense of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

The collection explores themes of love, loss, mortality, rebirth and the search for meaning in difficult times. It also reflects on language, writing as an act of resistance, and the idea of "dwelling poetically" in the world despite adversity.

Former Rajya Sabha member and diplomat Pavan K. Varma recalled the fear and uncertainty that marked the early months of the pandemic, while former diplomat and author Lakshmi Puri highlighted the book's emphasis on hope and inner awakening. She noted that the idea of quarantine in the collection extends beyond physical confinement to signify introspection and personal transformation.

Six years after the pandemic reshaped lives across the globe, the launch served as both a remembrance of collective loss and a celebration of the enduring power of poetry to offer comfort, perspective and hope.