The water begins in the river
The river begins in the mountains
The mountains begin in an earthquake
The earthquake begins in a tremor
The tremor begins in the earth’s crust
The earth’s crust begins in the ocean
The ocean begins in the moon-tides
The moon-tides begin in the wave-wash
The wave-wash begins in the water
The water begins in the river…
Piu DasGupta was born with an Indian father and British mother in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Her first poem was written aged 7 and was about a great flood one Kolkata monsoon, that swamped the city in a torrent of water. Piu grew up and went to university in England. She now lives in Paris, France, where she writes poetry and prose for adults and children and looks after a family that includes a motley crew of children, cats, and Paris pigeons who come to feed from the windowsill.