Poetry often attempts to arrest fleeting moments before they disappear into the currents of time. In ‘Footsteps on the Sands of Time’, Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (Retd) undertakes precisely such an endeavour. Spanning nearly five decades of writing and comprising 147 poems, this substantial anthology is less a conventional collection than a reflective chronicle of a life lived with sensitivity, introspection and an abiding awareness of time’s relentless movement.
The title itself serves as a key to understanding the volume. Footsteps on sand are visible yet transient; they testify to a journey even as they foreshadow erasure. Golani’s poems repeatedly return to this paradox of human existence — the desire to leave a mark and the certainty of impermanence. Throughout the collection, memory becomes both repository and refuge, preserving moments that time continually threatens to dissolve.
At the heart of the anthology lies a sustained meditation on life as a journey rather than a destination. Poems such as ‘The Past and the Future’, ‘Beginning and End’, ‘The Wheel of Time’, ‘Cycle of Life’ and ‘The Ravages of Time’ explore the cyclical nature of existence and the inevitability of change.
Love constitutes another dominant strand of the collection. Appearing in multiple forms — romantic, devotional, remembered and lost — it becomes a recurring emotional landscape through which many of the poems travel. Equally noteworthy is the poet’s engagement with solitude. Here, it is not merely a condition of absence but also a space for introspection and self-discovery.
Nature occupies a significant place within Golani’s poetic universe. Beyond personal reflection, the collection also demonstrates a persistent spiritual and existential curiosity.
Although predominantly inward-looking, the anthology occasionally broadens its focus to encompass collective memory and historical experience. Delhi Riots – 1984 stands out in this regard, introducing social and historical consciousness into a volume otherwise centred on personal exploration. Such moments remind readers that memory is not solely individual but also cultural and civilisational.
One of the collection’s distinguishing features is its directness of expression. Golani favours clarity over ornamentation and emotional sincerity over stylistic complexity. The language remains accessible throughout, allowing the poems to engage readers without demanding specialised literary knowledge. This simplicity is not a limitation but a deliberate artistic choice. The poems seek connection rather than display, reflection rather than intellectual exhibition.
A critical observation may be made regarding the recurrence of themes and motifs. Love, longing, loneliness, hope, fire, darkness, destiny and memory appear repeatedly across the anthology. Yet this repetition is not necessarily a weakness. Rather, it reflects the cyclical nature of human experience itself.
Ultimately, ‘Footsteps on the Sands of Time’ is a collection distinguished by emotional authenticity and reflective depth. Its greatest strength lies not in rhetorical flourish or experimental innovation but in its capacity to articulate experiences that readers readily recognise as their own. Through meditations on love, solitude, nature, mortality and hope, Anil Golani reminds us that life is composed as much of quiet moments as of dramatic events. The anthology invites readers to pause, reflect and acknowledge the fragile yet meaningful traces we leave behind in our passage through time.
Like the footprints of its title, these poems may be shaped by impermanence, but they affirm that even fleeting impressions possess enduring significance. In that affirmation lies the enduring appeal of this thoughtful and contemplative collection.
— The writer is chief librarian, India International Centre
