Holi and World Sparrow Day

March 20th happened to be both the festival of Holi and World Sparrow Day. So, here I am wishing you a very happy Holi.

The following post are few lines I composed on the occasion of the World Sparrow Day.
Regards,
Mukund

New Poem: On Sparrows: A Lament

On Sparrows: A Lament

Oft I’ve spied the sparrows play,

On a sunny morn in the month of May,

They go about flying and chasing each other,

Chirping, pruning and ruffling their feathers.

Upon the branches of a young pomegranate tree,

The have perched to enjoy the breeze,

Oh! And now into a puddle they dive,

And cavort and dance in groups of five.  

When I was a child and I watched the birds,

Their ubiquity meant that their calls were always heard,

And in their direction I scarcely glanced,

Forever in their state of playful dalliance.

Though now this passerine is not so common,

Maybe it’s phone towers, pesticides or pollution,

But I do know that I no longer see them as often,

And I miss the days they ate the grains in my garden.

Mukund Palat Rao (March 20,2011)

A happy birthday to the blog, albeit belated

I must confess that one year back when I started this blog on the thirteenth of February 2010, I scarcely expected to be blogging one year hence. Though here I am, one year and almost one month after my first blog entry presenting to you my new one. 

Each entry has been an unforgettable and memorable experience for me and,I thank you profusely for being a part of this journey which has been very special and dear to me.

With warm regards,

Mukund Palat Rao

Poem: The Road that I Seek

The Road that I Seek

Photograph courtesy Mukund P Rao

The Road that I Seek

I stand beside a road,

With fields of rice on either side of me,

And the road, it stretches as far as my eye can see.

It appears as though it’s late dusk,

Or it might be dawn; I’m not quite sure,

The mist is like a heavy drape all around,

And the light is faint and things barely perceptible.

All of a sudden I notice that there is a lady standing alongside me,

She queries as to what destination I seek,

I know not my reply and appear hesitant.

Then comes a bus,

One, then another and another,

I signal them to stop but they pay no heed to my calls,

I go and stand in the middle of the road and they pass right through me.

The places seem eerily familiar,

They remind me of a map which I had once seen a long time ago,

There being a path, over which the one must pass to be judged on Judgment day,

And the fields of paradise on one end,

And at the centre the throne of God.

I walk a little towards one end,

Then walk back in the opposite direction;

Unsure of where I go.

I turn back and the lady is still behind me,

I notice a bus coming in from the horizon,

The lady turns towards me and whispers,

‘Son, you must decide where you wish to go,

Only then can you go somewhere.’

I ponder over a her words of wisdom;

The bus has come and gone,

And my eyes trail its path;

Near its rear I spy a familiar figure,

And when I turn over the lady has disappeared,

I look back at the bus and see a face,

A lady smiling.

Another bus follows,

And I find myself inside it,

I am probed as to where I wish to travel to,

I reply,

And am told that the journey is long and arduous,

I shrug my shoulders and reply that I’m game.

I wake up,

It was a dream,

I look across to my left and glance outside the window,

It is still dark but there is a light on one end of the horizon,

I pray that it be a dawn and not dusk.

Mukund Palat Rao (February 28, 2011)