Usawa Literary Review is headquartered in Mumbai, India.
PIN Code: 400050
Interested in working or collaborating with us?
Contact Us

Pink is the New Black

Everyday cash paints the vibrant, resilient hues of urban survival.

June 15, 2023

A cash economy is not only black
It’s the chillar my amma pays her subziwallah for some greens
It’s the blues a rickshawallah gets without his bidi
A schoolgirl feeling in the pink about that treat she saved up for
The yellow of a grandmother’s bit of puja marigold
It’s the silver of your father’s medicine strip
The many colours of jhalmuri near the Moidan
Pink is the new black

But
Not everybody does credit cards
And those with the asli black must’ve got away long ago
So what was it really about?

📖
PART OF A COLLECTION

Crossing the Threshold and 2 other poems

View Full Collection →

Lina Krishnan

Lina Krishnan is an abstract artist and writer in India. Small Places, Open Spaces is her chapbook of nature verse. Her poems can also be seen in sixteen anthologies, among them the Black Bough Poetry Winter Anthology; and three editions of the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English.

Looking for more Poetry?

Browse the Poetry Archive →
Back to Issue

Support Our Work

If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us.

Support Us

We are an unfunded, independent feminist publication. We need your support to continue our work.