Like Blood on the Bitten Tongue is a collection of poems in which beats an old city’s heart, visceral and noetic, brash and gentle, unyielding and evolving, all at the same time. Akhil Katyal combines the Urdu and Hindi traditions of poetry writing with English forms and sensibilities. His bittersweet poems are shot through with empathy. In an increasingly cynical world, Katyal’s is a stirring and sincere voice.