In Shabbir’s poetry collection, the drums beat all night, the title which takes itself from a poem about imminent death we see the call for spiritedness even in the face of death. In many of the poems, even those dealing with serious social subjects or about personal hurt, lightness is seen in the poet at play in the world of the imagination, the poet playing with the clay of words and celebrating joyfully wit, humour and the embrace of life.

– Roshila Nair, editor of the collection.