Azulejo tiles, arranged with alphabets to highlight the power of words in shaping a city.
Photo taken in Lisbon, Portugal by Semeen Ali.

We at Muse India warmly welcome this special edition celebrating Matwaala, helmed by its founder and director, the inimitable Usha Akella. I first met Usha Ma’am at the Hyderabad Literary Festival years ago, when we shared a session reading from our works. What stayed with me was our conversation after that session. The vision she carried for how poetry shapes us and our lives, and how writing can become that ultimate therapeutic balm with which we tend to our wounds, keep ourselves whole, and feel alive again.

Matwaala is a vibrant collective of South Asian diaspora poets who trace their origins to the subcontinent. Each year, it gathers an ever-growing chorus of voices, embracing and inviting new poets into this beautiful community. It was a delight to work with one of their finest, Yamini Pathak, the guest editor of this edition. With only some procedural guidance from my side, the entire credit for this edition belongs to her. I congratulate her on curating such a rich and evocative collection. Thank you, Yamini.

My congratulations also go to all the poets featured in this special edition. As a reader, it has been a sheer delight to immerse myself in every poem, to witness the sensitivity and depth that animate each one. I also congratulate Matwaala on completing ten years of its remarkable journey, and wish it continued growth and soaring success. May your tribe keep rising!