Anne Loader Publications - Léonie Press - Who says you are there no more?

When his beloved wife Nana died in 1989 after 34 years of happy marriage, retired consultant psychiatrist Dr G C Kanjilal of Cranage, Cheshire, England says his world "came to a standstill." He found solace in writing poetry. The resulting collection of poems entitled "Who says you are there no more?" has been published. His work is moving, amusing and self-deprecating and his deep love for his wife shines through everything.

Anyone who has been similarly bereaved may find comfort in these poems, which mark both happy and sad times. Some appear in pairs, with similar titles - the first written light-heartedly before Nana died and the second afterwards, looking wistfully at past joys. Dr Kanjilal is wellknown locally. He was medical director of Cranage Hospital and has been a resident in the village for more than 25 years. He lives with his son, Arun and pet Airedale, Benji. His love of poetry goes back to his childhood years when his interest in nature was influenced by Wordsworth's work. Many of his poems are about the seasons, the countryside, flowers and wildlife - other subjects are more unusual. He writes with great sensitivity about a mouse, killed by his dog and consigned without ceremony to the wheelie-bin, only to be given a decent burial in the garden the next day after the author had suffered a guilty sleepless night. In another poem, he instinctively feels the pain of a cock pheasant whose mate has been run over by a car and left for dead in the road. Many friends are commemorated in verse as he pays tribute in his own way to their kindness. He writes about local people he knows, and even about the pleasures of walking his dog in the byways around Cranage.

G C Kanjilal Dr Kanjilal traces his early relationship with Nana, a German psychologist who worked with him at a Colchester hospital, and describes their marriage at the town register office - where the registrar asked his advice about a pain in his ankle! A young doctor, working long hours, he was on duty and had to return alone to his flat at the hospital on his wedding night. Undoubtedly, the most moving poems in Dr Kanjilal's collection relate to the death of his wife, but he lifts himself up from desolation by seeing Nana in everything around him, feeling her comforting presence at home and in the places they were happy together. He makes annual pilgrimages to their favourite haunts in her native country and describes them in detail.

After writing about his grief and his ways of coming to terms with it, the author ends his book with a message to his son, begging him not to cry when his father dies:

It was so hard for me, now it's all over
Do not mourn, do not shed a tear

Three years after the publication of "Who Says You Are There No More?" Dr Kanjilal has produced another volume of poems, "The Picture of Innocence", tracing his solitary life which has been made happy by his pets, his friends and his son. But he still grieves for his dear Nana.

	Who says you are there no more? A collection of poems Written by G C Kanjilal ISBN: 978-1-901253-04-7 (Old ISBN: 1 901253 04 X) 176 pages, Paperback, 146mm x 208mm. Published by Leonie Press in April 1997. Price: £ 6.95 UK Postage and Packing:

About the Book
When his beloved wife Nana died in 1989 after 34 years of happy marriage, retired consultant psychiatrist Dr G C Kanjilal of Cranage, Cheshire, England says his world "came to a standstill." He found solace in writing poetry. The resulting collection of poems entitled "Who says you are there no more?" has been published. His work is moving, amusing and self-deprecating and his deep love for his wife shines through everything. Anyone who has been similarly bereaved may find comfort in these poems, which mark both happy and sad times. Some appear in pairs, with similar titles - the first written light-heartedly before Nana died and the second afterwards, looking wistfully at past joys. Dr Kanjilal is wellknown locally. He was medical director of Cranage Hospital and has been a resident in the village for more than 25 years. He lives with his son, Arun and pet Airedale, Benji. His love of poetry goes back to his childhood years when his interest in nature was influenced by Wordsworth's work. Many of his poems are about the seasons, the countryside, flowers and wildlife - other subjects are more unusual. He writes with great sensitivity about a mouse, killed by his dog and consigned without ceremony to the wheelie-bin, only to be given a decent burial in the garden the next day after the author had suffered a guilty sleepless night. In another poem, he instinctively feels the pain of a cock pheasant whose mate has been run over by a car and left for dead in the road. Many friends are commemorated in verse as he pays tribute in his own way to their kindness. He writes about local people he knows, and even about the pleasures of walking his dog in the byways around Cranage. Dr Kanjilal traces his early relationship with Nana, a German psychologist who worked with him at a Colchester hospital, and describes their marriage at the town register office - where the registrar asked his advice about a pain in his ankle! A young doctor, working long hours, he was on duty and had to return alone to his flat at the hospital on his wedding night. Undoubtedly, the most moving poems in Dr Kanjilal's collection relate to the death of his wife, but he lifts himself up from desolation by seeing Nana in everything around him, feeling her comforting presence at home and in the places they were happy together. He makes annual pilgrimages to their favourite haunts in her native country and describes them in detail. After writing about his grief and his ways of coming to terms with it, the author ends his book with a message to his son, begging him not to cry when his father dies: It was so hard for me, now it's all over Do not mourn, do not shed a tear Three years after the publication of "Who Says You Are There No More?" Dr Kanjilal has produced another volume of poems, "The Picture of Innocence", tracing his solitary life which has been made happy by his pets, his friends and his son. But he still grieves for his dear Nana.