Shirin Mann’s collection of poem Behind Closed Doors

To avoid the emotions welling up inside us, we take the escapist route, evade them and bury the memories too in order to move on. Tough indeed, yet the most convenient option! But when Shirin Mann, 22, lost her father when she was just 12 and later her sister four years ago, she instead preferred to feel the pain.
“There wasn’t any point running away from what had happened. I lived every emotion bravely by jotting it down on a piece of paper. These are rather the treasured moments.” In the past 10 years, her feelings have vented out through poetry. On Tuesday, releasing her book Behind Closed Doors, a compilation of 40 poems, she dedicated it to the memories of her father and sister.
As for the name of book, she says, “I didn’t know how to express my sorrow when the tragedies struck. The grief was such that it couldn’t be told in words. Poetry then became the medium to express myself.” In all these years she has written some 150 poems in total but it was only the last year when her mother and friends discovered that she has the knack of writing poems. The book also has pictures to support the feeling with which she has written it. “I wanted people to understand the emotion behind every poem. From the cover page to every picture, I decided the way it should be, as only I knew how it would express me the best,” adds Shirin, who has done her graduation in political science from Delhi University and is looking forward to do the mass communication course from Panjab University. She credits her mother and brother for inspiring her through out.
She feels the book mirrors feelings of people, who haven’t been able to face the harsh realities of life all this while, “Not everyone can express themselves or is bold enough to realise their loss; the book would make such people empathise with me and face the losses they have suffered.”
Out of the 40 poems, just five are teenage notes; rest is written in a pensive mood. “The poems in the book also signify my life’s journey. In the first poem God’s Home, I have tried to say, my faith in god is shaken and he has deserted us. But the last poem, God Exists, redeems my faith in him. The bottom line is— life could have taken a worse turn but God saved us from that.” Faith restored!

The launch for "Behind Closed Doors", Shirin Mann’s first book of poetry, later took place at Chandigarh Golf Club.
The function was attended by Kewal Dhillon, Rana Sodhi , D.G.P Aulakh, Mrs Pratap Bajwa, Justice Rajiv Bhalla, Iqbal Sidhu, Harbans Sodhi and other.
The ceremony started with a speech about the great words about the book, a great introduction with picked out lines and in the end reading out Shirin's poem called "Shining Souls", followed by few lovely lines from her childhood friend Chitvan.
Shirin's Gradfather DK Singh spoke some very touching words describing Shirin's life and then a great speech giving examples of Frost and Woordsworth.
He said "I am here to release my granddaughter's book Behind Closed Doors. A fun loving girl, but she also has some emotions inside her regarding some loss she had. Who ever comes into this world has to depart. There is arrival and denature, but life has to go on and we must move on. Shirin’s book starts with God's Home and ends with God Exist, explaining her shaken faith in God in the first poem and in the end believing God's existence. Shirin has faith in God and for all of us we have to create God and believe in Him." Also on a lighter note he said, "A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant fool.”
At the launch party Shirin ,whose dreams came true said, “I thank everyone for being a part of my special day. I am overwhelmed and nervous about my book. My book is dedicated to my Dad and it’s just a way of saying they are still missed and it can never be the same without them. It’s been hard and so I started writing because I felt lighter. When I started writing I did not think about publishing it, instead wrote my. Publishing my book has been an easy journey. Thanks to my Mom who's worked with me day and night. If my poetry can touch even one out of a hundred hearts, I’ll feel my part done. It’s a great honor for me to have all of you here and thank you again."
‘Thank you Mom’.
The money from the sale of the books at the launch was donated in treatment of children suffering from cancer.