Renowned writer and Jnanpith awardee Vinod Kumar Shukla passed away a day ago, on December 23, 2025.I entered a Vinod Kumar Shukla poemThrough the open windowAnd found a world inside.Looking for a cricket ball from childhoodThe one that smashed a window paneLeaving smithereens and bringing everyone out from their homesTo watch kids scurrying away. Inside, a cold dark table, no one there.I felt my way along the walls,An old clock chiming.The kid now works in America and is looking for a green cardThe one that will keep him there forever.The father is walking into sunset. But there is still some journey leftTo watch a cricket match somewhereAlong the well-worn road.On a dusty street, where windows crackle when old.The cricket ball must be somewhere in the corner, It must have sneaked under the bed. I look for the bedNow no longer there.The ball must have rolled into the kitchenFilled with yesterday’s utensils, pots and pansRaising a racket, tinkling old laughter.It must have come out through the open door Settling by the drain somewhere Where tufts of wild grass growTall as reawakening.I sneaked out of the house on tip toeCareful not to wake those sleeping. Through a gap between the stanzas, I jumped Finding myself somewhat strangeTo be out again inside the worldHolding a commaThe question mark still eluding me.Instead of a cricket ball, only the pages turnedAs one round year became another. Amlanjyoti Goswami has written three books of poetry, A Different Story, River Wedding and Vital Signs, published by Poetrywala. River Wedding was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi award. Published in journals and anthologies across the world, including Poetry, The Poetry Review, Penguin Vintage, Rattle and Sahitya Akademi, he is also a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee. He grew up in Guwahati and lives in Delhi.