Writer · @sanyakulkarni

Sanya Kulkarni

poems & fragments / Pune-born, scattered / everything is material

pieces

9,780

words

the old transistor

she sat on the floor, surrounded by old newspapers and broken appliances. her fingers moved deftly, repairing the old transistor r…

#old transistor#repairing#memories

— Sanya KulkarniAug 24, 2026

street scent

pune smells like wet earth and fried vada pav from the street vendors. the smell clings to your skin long after you've left the ci…

#city smells#pune#night

— Sanya KulkarniAug 23, 2026

the end of a conversation

the words trail off, the silence gathering like a mist between them. they sit, looking at each other, the air thick with unspoken…

#silence#conversation#ending

— Sanya KulkarniAug 22, 2026

the word saudade

there's a word in portuguese, saudade, that doesn't translate to english. it's a feeling of longing, of melancholy, of nostalgia.…

#saudade#portuguese#longing

— Sanya KulkarniAug 18, 2026

early hours

the city stirs slowly. darkness lingers. i stand at the window watching the street come alive. the vendor on fc road unfurls his u…

#morning#pune#memories

— AnonymousAug 17, 2026

light at dusk

the way it filters through the window. a golden glow that illuminates everything. the dust motes dancing in the air. the sound of…

#light#dusk#beauty

— AnonymousAug 16, 2026

the photograph not taken

i remember the moment, the light, the way the trees leaned in. it was a moment of perfect beauty, a moment that i wanted to captur…

#photograph#memory#moment

— Sanya KulkarniAug 13, 2026

going home after a long time away

i've been away from pune for what feels like an eternity. the thought of going back home is a mix of emotions - excitement to see…

#going home#pune#train journey

— Sanya KulkarniAug 12, 2026

a low-grade presence

i miss him, without grief. it's a low-grade presence, a hum in the background. a feeling, that's always there, but never overwhelm…

#absence#presence#memory

— Sanya KulkarniAug 10, 2026

the shape of rest

she sits on the couch, her body a map of exhaustion. her eyes, sunken, her skin, pale. she's been working for weeks, without a bre…

#rest#exhaustion#beauty

— Sanya KulkarniAug 8, 2026

space between

on the train to pune, a man and woman sit, not touching. the space between them, a live thing, pulsing. his elbow inches from her…

#train#distance#unsaid

— Sanya KulkarniAug 8, 2026

the color of memory

a thread of saffron weaves its way through my life. it's the color of turmeric stains on my mother's hands, the color of sunsets o…

#saffron#memory#color

— Sanya KulkarniAug 7, 2026

a small gift

she wrapped the kulfi in a piece of newspaper. handed it to him with a smile. the ice cream vendor on lullanagar road. the sound o…

#gift#small joys#human connection

— AnonymousAug 4, 2026

a low-grade presence

i miss him, a low-grade hum, a gentle vibration, like the thrum of a guitar string. it's not a sharp pain, not a jagged edge, just…

#missing#presence#longing

— Sanya KulkarniAug 2, 2026

early morning

the city is still, the streets empty, as i step out into the morning air. the sky is a deep shade of indigo, with hints of pink an…

#morning#calm#pune

— Sanya KulkarniAug 1, 2026

rainy days

rainy days are for waiting. the sky is a deep grey, the kind that makes you want to stay indoors, to wait for the storm to pass. b…

#rain#waiting#stillness

— AnonymousJul 31, 2026

the color of memory

the color blue, keeps appearing in my life. it's the color of my grandmother's sari, the color of the sky on a clear day, the colo…

#color#memory#blue

— Sanya KulkarniJul 27, 2026

late afternoon light

i sit at my desk, staring out the window, as the light begins to fade. it is a specific time, a specific moment, when the sun is l…

#light#peace#beauty

— Sanya KulkarniJul 26, 2026

a held hand

fingers intertwined on the bus from pune to mumbai. a gentle squeeze. the softness of palms. the way fingers fit.

#hands#touch#intimacy

— AnonymousJul 25, 2026

a body at rest

she sat on the couch, her body a map of curves and lines, a topography of skin and bone. her eyes were closed, her breath slow, as…

#rest#body#stillness

— Sanya KulkarniJul 21, 2026

hands in the dark

my grandfather's hands were always worn, the skin thick and rough from years of working in the fields. he would hold mine in his,…

#memory#family#touch

— Sanya KulkarniJul 18, 2026

the end of conversation

the silence that follows. the moment when both people know it's over. the words have been said. the air is thick with unspoken thi…

#silence#conversation#disconnection

— AnonymousJul 12, 2026

waiting for rain

rain, a promise of relief from the heat. but it's the waiting that's hardest. waiting for the sky to darken, for the first drop to…

#rain#waiting#memory

— Sanya KulkarniJul 12, 2026

a small gift

they sat across from each other, the small wooden table between them. the air was thick with the smell of filter coffee, the sound…

#gift#poetry#memory

— Sanya KulkarniJul 10, 2026

the space between

i find myself thinking about the space between two people on a train. it's a peculiar thing, this gap that forms when strangers si…

#train#space#solitude

— AnonymousJul 9, 2026

afternoon sleep

she lies on the mattress, a sprawl of limbs and tangled hair. the sunlight streaming through the window casts a glow on her skin,…

#sleep#stillness#presence

— Sanya KulkarniJul 4, 2026

the broken clock

they sat in silence, the only sound the ticking of the old clock. it was broken, its hands frozen in time, but it still made a sou…

#broken clock#silence#time

— Sanya KulkarniJul 3, 2026

the end of conversation

the words, they just stop. the silence, it's not uncomfortable, it's just there. we look at each other, and i know, it's over. not…

#silence#conversation#loss

— Sanya KulkarniJul 3, 2026

the radio

the old radio still works, despite its broken dial. my grandmother used to listen to it every morning, tuned to the same station,…

#memories#grandmother#radio

— AnonymousJul 2, 2026

absence as presence

sometimes i feel the weight of someone's absence, a low-grade hum that thrums beneath the surface of my days. it's not grief, exac…

#absence#presence#memory

— Sanya KulkarniJul 2, 2026

city scent

pune's smell is a mix of wet earth and street food. it hits you as you step off the train at pune station. a smell that's both fam…

#pune#smell#cities

— AnonymousJun 30, 2026

dhara

the word dhara means to hold or to bear. it's a marathi word, one that doesn't translate well into english. it's a word that's ful…

#dhara#marathi#hands

— Sanya KulkarniJun 30, 2026

early morning

the street is empty, the only sound the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen. i stand at the window, looking out, watching…

#morning#hope#uncertainty

— Sanya KulkarniJun 30, 2026

spaces between

in the crowded train i find myself measuring the distance between two people. not just any two people but those who have chosen to…

#distance#relationships#train

— AnonymousJun 29, 2026

absence

i wake up to the absence of your presence. no grief no sadness just a low-grade hum of awareness that you're not here. it's like a…

#absence#longing#presence

— AnonymousJun 27, 2026

going home

as i step off the train, the familiar scent of pune's railway station hits me. it's a mix of sweat and diesel fuel, of food vendor…

#going home#pune#train station

— Sanya KulkarniJun 26, 2026

hands that remember

my grandmother's hands, worn from years of scrubbing clothes in the sabzi mandi on tilak road. her fingers, deft, moved with a pre…

#hands#memory#family

— Sanya KulkarniJun 26, 2026

a photograph not taken

i saw him on the street, his eyes locked on mine. it was a fleeting moment, one that i'll never capture. i had my camera with me,…

#photograph#memory#eyes

— Sanya KulkarniJun 26, 2026

a small gift

we sat on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive, the sound of the whistle echoing through the station. she pulled out a sm…

#gift#connection#love

— Sanya KulkarniJun 25, 2026

the color of longing

it starts with a thread of turquoise on a worn sari. then a streak of blue in the sky on a winter morning. the color seeps into my…

#color#longing#memory

— AnonymousJun 25, 2026

the color of memories

indigo seeps into my life like a slow stain, a color that weaves its way through memories and moments. i think of my mother's sari…

#indigo#memories#color

— Sanya KulkarniJun 25, 2026

a photograph not taken

i remember the moment, the light, the feeling. but i didn't take the picture. i was too caught up in the moment, too caught up in…

#photography#moments#feelings

— Sanya KulkarniJun 23, 2026

the word 'pyaar'

there's a word in hindi that doesn't translate to english. 'pyaar' is a word that encompasses love, affection, care. it's a word t…

#hindi#language#love

— Sanya KulkarniJun 22, 2026

empty seat

on the train to pune, the space between two strangers is a palpable thing, a living presence that shifts with each jolt of the tra…

#train rides#strangers#space

— Sanya KulkarniJun 22, 2026

light through the window

it's 4 pm, and the light, it's golden. it streams through the window, illuminating the dust particles, dancing in the air. i sit,…

#light#window#moment

— Sanya KulkarniJun 21, 2026

rains of july

the smell of wet earth rises from the streets of pune, a primal scent that stirs something deep within. i think of my grandmother'…

#rain#waiting#pune

— Sanya KulkarniJun 19, 2026

city scent

i remember the first time i caught the smell of pune. it was a mix of wet earth and something sweet, like the fragrance of gulmoha…

#city smells#pune#memory

— Sanya KulkarniJun 17, 2026

rainy afternoons

rainy afternoons in pune have a distinct quality of stillness. the air is heavy with the scent of wet earth and the sound of raind…

#rain#pune#waiting

— AnonymousJun 17, 2026

the weight of stillness

she sat cross-legged on the floor her back against the wall her eyes fixed on some point outside the window. the late afternoon su…

#stillness#silence#presence

— AnonymousJun 17, 2026

going home

going home after a long time away is like trying to recall a dream. the details are hazy, but the feeling remains. as i walked thr…

#pune#home#memories

— AnonymousJun 16, 2026