Memories Of A Snowfall

Nabin K Chhetri

Poet Nabin K Chhetri

Anil, the winter that year – 

the tarmac outside the Gufa Bar was slick with rain;

tourists rushed inside, plastic bags over their heads,

water droplets trickling down their wet trousers.

You sat near the fireplace, your back against the hearth

while the dry pine logs sputtered and hissed.

Flakes of ashes flew off and fell on our heads.

The smell of coal came in from the train station

beneath the lower bazaar, its smoke hard to distinguish

in the grey fog heavy above the sky of Shimla.

I took a deep breath and felt the smoke tighten my lungs.

We drank Old Monk, mixing it with hot water.

As the night grew, a few boots clapped on the road outside

and then silence again, even the stray dogs were quietened.

The bartender closed the counter and sat down to drink with us.

The bell at the cathedral near Ritz rang twice,

and from the window, we saw the snow

falling softly all over Shimla.

(This poem was shortlisted for the Oxonian Poetry Prize, Oxford University)

Born in Nepal, Nabin Kumar Chhetri graduated with a degree of M.St in Creative Writing from Oxford University with a Distinction in Poetry. He also holds a degree of M.Litt in Novel from the University of Aberdeen. His awards include the St. Peter's Foundation Award (Oxford University) and awards from Italy, Israel and Nepal for his poems. In 2011, he received the Nosside International Poetry Prize (UNESCO Heritage Award) for his poem ‘Memory’. His poems have been published in more than 70 national and international journals. He lives in Scotland with his wife and two children. He pens his thoughts in https://nabinkchhetri.wordpress.com