Relations is an anthology of thirty-two poems that deal with the poet’s family and relations, and very little of his life in Chicago. Ramanujan’s critical mind looks back to his past life, roots, religion, and culture and expresses their falsities in ironic structures. Poems like “Love Poem for a Wife 1,” “The Hindoo: He Reads His Gita and is Calm at All Events,” and “Relations” project the dark realities of the Hindu society of South India in general. R. Parthasarathy observes that Ramanujan has an eye for the specific physiognomy of an object or situation, which he then reveals with telling detail, as in the luminous evocations of his family life. These family-centered poems are not just nostalgic but critical to the core.