Ritu's many identities

On a poet's sense of belongings, and her poems

- Mayank Austen Soofi

Ritu Chowdhry began writing poetry while growing up in Kanpur. After her marriage, she took the name Ritu Asthana and moved to Faridabad in DelhiNCR, where she has lived for over two decades now. Over time, her writing and identity as a poet became closely tied to the city. Today, she signs her work as Ritu Asthana “Ruhi” Faridabadi. This name reflects her personal and geographical sense of belonging. "Life for a girl, when she is living with her parents, is simpler," she says this afternoon, over an encounter in a literary academy, where the hushed hall is filled with portraits of dead writers and out-of-use typewriters.