WELCOME --- 2018

     

                Hail to you New year!
                The guest most cherished, 
                Welcomed with ultimate cheer,
                All around, across the world!

               With houses and homes lit up,
               And vibrant floral decors,
               Sweet music floating in the air,
               Loaded with laughter and cheer.


                Fireworks shooting up in a row,
                To create awesome images,  
                And startle excited onlookers,
              With the magic unfolded in the air.

                 Exchange of delicious sweetmeats,
                 Good wishes and warm greetings.,
                 Among family members and friends,
                  And even with total strangers.


                 You are the great harbinger,
                 Of joy and hope everywhere,
                  Coming with a bagful of gifts,
                  No one has seen earlier.

                   Now, as you come to settle here,
                   I'm to make a humble request,
                  And ask for something of my choice,
                  From the gift bag you have carried.

                    Don't think I am going to ask,
                   Anything for just myself,
                   That would be rather selfish,
                   Even worse, a greedy gesture.

                    What my wishlist  includes,
                     Are shelters for the homeless,
                    Food enough for  the hungry,
                    Family bliss for the orphans.

                    Peace for the troubled  regions,
                    Wreaked by insane violence,
                    More of good sense and  reason,
                    For those at the helm of power.

                      A resolve among  humans,
                     To respect and protect Nature,
                     And behave as worthy children,
                     Of a mother so benign and patient.

                     Pray, grant me all these wishes,
                     At least some few of them,
                     And I shall be singing in gratitude,
                    Through all the times to come.
               

             








         

     



    

THE GLOW BEFORE THE SUNSET

                      ''Au revoir '' , said the  setting Sun,
                        Sliding down the western horizon, -
                        Painted gold and crimson all over,
                        Richer than ever in its glamour.

                      My eyes followed it till the point,
                       It was no longer visible there,
                       And then  began to speculate 
                       where it suddenly disappeared!

       
                        Was it the end of a glorious journey,
                        Across the endless firmament,
                        Or the continuance of the same, 
                       On the other side of the big sphere?

                       Where all over the land and seas,
                       A  whole living world  be getting up,
                     Refreshed from a night's  good  sleep,
                       To welcome the new day ahead.

 
                         While here, we are  keenly waiting,
                          For the evening shadows to deepen,
                         So to wind up the day's labour,.
                         And rest in the night's silent hours.  

           
                        But neither we nor  those living,
                         On the other side of the globe,
                        Ever wish the Sun to stop and rest, 
                     As that would endanger our own existence,

                          And take its appearance for granted,
                          On the eastern  horizon each morning,
                           To  ensure the continuance  of life
                            With light and warmth forever!


         

LITTLE WONDERS

THE SMILE THAT HEALS

            A smile is the sweetest emotion,

            Expressed on a human face,

            Saying more than words can do,

                 With its magical vibes

            The innocent smile of a child,

             As dew-drops on rose petals,

            Shining like little diamonds,

            In the rays of the rising sun.   

             

            The smile of a young mother,

            Blessed with  her first child,

          Pressing the newborn to her bosom,

            With ultimate pride and care. 

           These smiles assert that life is  --
           Simple and sweet for the most part
             And so, is  worth enjoying
             Despite occasional hazards!

                                                                     

-
                                                                       

हे हिमालय !

                                                      

            हे हिमालय!

रजत शिखरों से सुसज्जित 

गगनचुम्बी शीश गर्वोन्नत उठाये

दूर तक फैली भुजाओं  में समाहित

दिशि-दिशान्तर

क्या स्वयं शाश्वत प्रकृति के  चिर  सखा बन

अवनि पर हो  तुम अवस्थित ?

 या कि युग युग से  समाधिस्थ
 सघन तप में लीन

योगी के सदृश ही 

शीत , वर्षा ताप से रह कर अविचलित

देवताओं सा प्रभामंडल सजाये

चमत्कृत करते जगत को ?

वज्र सा कठोर यद्यपि तन तुम्हारा 

निःसृत होती ह्रदय से करुणा निरन्तर

और बन गंगा सदानीरा , धरा पर

उतर आती अमृत सी जलधार बनकर

ताप-दग्ध वसुंधरा का कष्ट हरने 

शब्द में सामर्थ्य क्या जो 

कर सके अभिव्यक्त  सब उदगार मन के

और वाणी भी नहीं इतनी प्रखर जो 

कर सके सीमित समय में

अर्चना , अभ्यर्थना समुचित स्वरों में

अतः बस नत -शीश हो यह 

मौन अभिनन्दन तुम्हारा 

अंजुरी भर फूल श्रद्धा भाव के ये

कर रही अर्पित तुम्हारी दिव्यता को 

                  हे  हिमालय  !

छायाचित्र---सुमित पन्त

eUttaranchal.com

HIROSHIMA SPEAKS

 Hiroshima!
    That's the name,
     I am known by.

   you may know me too,

 As do most people  in the world, 
 Though, for reasons not so good.

      And  why  I wish to address 
      The world today ;
      Is to remind you all,
      Of the blackest  happening,
      In the history of mankind.

      When I was made the victim,
      Of the most lethal weapon, 
       Ever invented by  man, 
     And tried on civil population. 

      The '' LittleBoy '' sent to scare me,
     Was the deadliest agent of death,
     The cruellest carrier of  disaster,
     The ugliest creation of the human brain.

      The never-before-seen monster,

       So suddenly appeared in the sky,
       Eclipsing even the dazzling sun,
       Hitting the ground like a demon.

     The  giant mushroom of fire  
    And radioactive particles, 
    Engulfed everything  within minutes  
       Sparing no one and nothing.

 
     Human beings animals, and trees, 

      Houses, markets and schools

     Hospitals and  places of worship,
    Were reduced to debris instantly 
     As if they never existed.

     The fine morning that was to be,
    The beginning of a good normal day,
    Was suddenly turned a dark night,
     Of endless woes and sufferings.

       Decades have passed and lost,
       Into the dark lanes of history,
      But the spectre of that disaster, 
      Continues to haunt me,forever.  

       The loss of life and property,
       Could never be fully assessed,
       The wounds are still unhealed,
       The woes, much less forgotten. 

       Strange though it may sound,
       I wish it to be never ignored, 
       And treated as the costliest lesson, 

       Learnt from blunders of the past.

       And so I got it inscribed,  
      All over the monumental park,

      As reminder of the cruel  blunder, 
       That can never be forgiven.  

       Hoping it helps motivate you,
      To join hands with one another,
       Strive earnestly for lasting peace, 
       To prevail all over the world. 

           And ensure that the angels of peace,
            Outnumber the warmongers, 
            And never again on this planet,
         Another Hiroshima is made to suffer.