VOICE OF SOUL

The neon sign outside flickered through the glass, casting shadows against the wall of Hotel Raj Mahal, where we were hiding away. The air conditioning hummed a cold, sterile melody, fighting against the heat rising between us. You stood there, bathed in blue lingerie, a contrast of cool air and burning skin. I stepped close, breathing in the scent of your anticipation, and reached for the elastic of your panties. I slid the fabric down slowly, kissing the curve of your ass, my fingers tracing the lines of your thighs. I blindfolded you with the same fabric, leaving you in total darkness, trusting me to lead the way. Then, I bound your wrists with the silk straps of your bra, tying a tight knot that left your arms dangling. Your breath hitched, a soft moan escaping your lips as you surrendered to the ropes. I reached for the foil packet, tearing it open with a sharp snap. Inside, the 1740 extra dotted condoms glinted under the lamp light. We rolled it on, the latex tight against my ski...

In quiet halls where weary shadows sleep, You hold the dawn within your gentle hands. Each silent vow is one you’re sworn to keep, A hope that blooms where fragile courage stands. Your steady gaze outshines the coldest night, A heart that heals before the words are said. You turn another’s pain toward fading light, While carrying the storms inside your head. The world may never count the tears you’ve known, Nor hear the prayers whispered through your smile. Yet every soul you’ve touched has gently grown, Because you stayed and walked that extra mile. “Saari ki saari meri hai tu, Tujhko kabhi na main baantun.” © NILOY SHOUVIC ROY

That day the clouds were whispering low, As we left university, hearts all aglow. The rain kept falling, soft and slow, Leading us where only true lovers go. At Rabindra Sarovar beneath the grey sky, I held you close while the rain drifted by. A thousand emotions I could never explain, Were hidden inside that beautiful embrace in the rain. I kissed your forehead, gentle and sweet, As if every prayer and every dream could meet. Then hand in hand, our fingers intertwined, Two wandering souls leaving the world behind. The lake was silent, the trees stood still, Yet my heart raced beyond my will. Looking into your eyes, so deep and bright, I kissed your lips beneath the fading light. Then came a moment I’ll cherish forever, A memory that time can never sever. With your liquid matte lipstick, crimson and red, I softly placed a mark upon your head. Though it wasn’t real sindoor by tradition’s way, The feelings were true that rainy day. I smiled and whispered with...

Between Ranaghat skies and Chakdaha rain, Two wandering hearts forgot their pain, As if in silence fate once swore, “You’ve loved before… and will love more.” On that swaying bridge where rivers sigh, Where winds confess what lips feel shy, The Jhulonto Bridge held us that day… When truth slipped out and chose to stay. Your fingers trembled, locked in mine, Like roots that knew this love was divine, And in that swing of steel and air, Seven lifetimes whispered there. From shared headphones on rattling trains, To soft laughter in windowpane rains, One song, two souls, a rhythm we knew, Every lyric somehow sounded like you. Your home… it didn’t feel unknown, It wrapped me warm, it felt like my own, Your parents’ smiles, your cousins too… Loved me softly… because of you. Kolkata nights and glowing streets, Where chaos and calm somehow meets, A river launch, the city in glow, Your head on my chest, the tide moving slow. At Rockland Park in Kalyani’s breeze, You sat on my lap with reckless ...

Under the grey sky of Kolkata, by the silent rails of Prinsep Ghat, I stood not as your lover, just a witness to a love that wasn’t mine. You were crying… but not for me. Each tear you dropped, felt like concentrated H₂SO₄ on my skin not just burning, but dehydrating my existence, pulling every ounce of warmth out of my chest. I wanted to hold your hands, but they trembled for someone else. I wanted to be your home, but your heart still lived in his abandoned address. The Hooghly flowed quietly, like it knew this chemistry how something pure can still dissolve in the wrong solution. Your voice cracked his name, like a broken equilibrium, and I realized I was just a temporary reactant, never meant to be in your final product. That evening, Kolkata didn’t feel like a city it felt like a lab of pain, and I was the experiment that failed. Because loving you wasn’t just heartbreak it was corrosion. © NILOY SHOUVIC ROY

She was nothing but a “Bhrom”, a soft, addictive “Moho” I couldn’t escape. I carried her like a silent “Neshar Bojha”, thinking she was my only “Amar Shotto”, my lost “Purnota”. But all I hold now are torn pieces—“Shritir Chera Pata”, memories that bleed every time I turn the page. I gave her my pure “60s Love”, let her live inside my endless “Oniket Prantor”. And in return—she left me with “Dhushor Somoy”, where I learned the art of “Dukkho Bilash” alone. Now I stand still in my own “Obosthan”, while she drifts away like “Onno Groher Chand”. My sky holds a “Khoye Jawa Chaad”, dim, distant, never mine again. Still, a part of me whispers—“Jodi Abar”… But the truth cuts deeper than silence— “Tumi nei” would’ve been easier, because “Tumi chilena kokhonoi” hits different… © NILOY SHOUVIC ROY