School of Distance Education

These Were My Homes Vijay Nambisan 
Vijay Nambisan is a poet, writer, critic and 
journalist of India writing in English. He won the First
Prize in the first ever All India Poetry 
Competition in 1990 organized by The Poetry Society 
(India) in collaboration with the British Council. Vijay 
Nambisan is the co-author of the poetry book 
Gemini
with JeetThayil and Dom Moraes. 
'’Gemini'’
was 
Thaiyil's debut poetry book.The articles he wrote for 
prominent journals and newspapers in Chennai outlined 
the importance of places that shaped people. His works 
include English translations of two 16th century Kerala 
poets from Sanskrit and Malayalam. His first collection 
of poems since 1992, ‘First Infinities’, was published in 
2015.
Idealism and reality balanced themselves in 
Nambisan's work .There’s a childlike simplicity to his 
works and lyrics, a musical quality that evokes the 
classic English poetry. ‘These were my Homes ‘has a 
tender touch and a careful craftsmanship runs along the 
lines. The warmth of a home runs through the first 
stanza. A mother’s closeness, fresh air in the morning, 

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School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
 century
14 
peace of a children’s room, all these images are painted 
in a meticulous manner. The poet didn’t know that these 
could be his home too. He is reminded of the worn cool 
green of the lands, which are older than any battle or 
war. It would’ve been his home too. To the poet, a book, 
romantic relationship and the turbulences of life itself 
had been his home. He considered himself to be a 
content man. But he realizes that there’s more to life 
than simple things.