A man of many talents, entrepreneur Shyam Malani is also well-known for his passion for the written word. She — Skin and Soul, an anthology of poems by Malani, is an endeavour by him to celebrate womanhood. Designed by his daughter Yashashwi Malani as a one-of-a-kind, premium coffee-table poetry book, it was first published in 2019 and launched on the online platform Amazon. The book was re-launched in public at IIHM presents The Telegraph She Awards 2022, held in July.

Dedicated to women, it features 90 micro-poems that are accompanied by professionally shot, original, classic photographs that complement the poems and create a story on every page. A prologue to the book sensitively sums up Malani’s inspiration for his intensely personal compositions. His poems attempt to depict the entire spectrum of a woman’s emotions. She is portrayed as a child of nature — gentle and nurturing, yet wild and free. Notwithstanding the passion and energy of emotional expression, an undercurrent of self-realisation about a woman’s sense of her own power and worth is evident in nearly all of his poems. In his poems, though women may appear emotional and vulnerable, they command an unspoken power over men. Many of his poems, which are both lyrical and mysterious, sensuous and spiritual, convey the idea of a silent conversation between a man and a woman where they bare their souls to communicate to each other their innermost dreams and desires. Reminiscent of a metaphysical and romantic poetic tradition, these poems transcend the boundaries of love poetry to ascend a philosophical plane. Sometimes passionate and exuberant in tone and at others, quiet and subdued, some of them often underline the poet’s idea of the dependence and indebtedness of men towards women.

Shyam Malani

According to Malani, “A woman is defined by much more than her identity as a daughter, wife or mother. She embodies beauty, power and virtue in their purest forms. Yet she is oppressed and exploited to enable men to achieve their goals. My poetry is born out of a deep respect for women, who I think are more powerful than men. I believe that they should never be commanded but encouraged to lead their lives freely. My poems are therefore my humble tribute to her self, her soul and her empowerment.”