I didn’t notice when the poem was written in 2017. I used to speak about this poem and recite the lines in several of the CAA-NRC protest meetings,” Kamal told The Telegraph. Sherin had uploaded the poem afresh on Facebook with an arresting Malayalam note that caught the eye of a Malayali journalist in Calcutta. “The incident actually inspired me to write this poem and that’s how the title of the poem Before Leaving for Pakistan was born,” Sherin said. “The poem was written three years ago but when I re-read it now, I feel that those lines are more emotional now,” said Sherin.

Source: The Telegraph February 18, 2020 20:48 UTC