my poems

Sikkim

2009-04-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

The world we knew was left behind us
Ahead spread out the rolling hills
Mist and clouds and mountains tall
The heaven’s air hung low here
Dreams that had faded in the city lights
Came back, like a faint, forgotten song……

New year wishes, 2009

2009-01-01T05:57:00.001-08:00

In the coming year
May the sun shine brighter
and all our troubles are a shade lighter,
May there be a star everynight
to guide us to a path full of delight,
May we resist the temptation of cynicism
while the world weighs down under its own criticism,
May we not just pray, but work towards peace
for the dawn comes only to those
who light a candle even when the wind blows....

Ganga at Benaras

2008-10-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

The ancient city
flows with the river divine
It speaks of sins forgiven
and hymns forgotten
lost souls lament at its shores
while those awakened flow to their final abode......

Fana

2008-07-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

In his passion for the candle’s light,
The moth flew towards the flame - oh so bright!!
Ripped of all desire except Love’s grace,
He held the flame in his embrace.
How he glowed as it burnt his flesh and soul,
To be one with the Truth was his only goal
‘He has found what we seek!’ the onlookers exclaimed,
As the moth lost Self and mortal frame…,

-translated by this writer from Attar’s Mantiq u-tayr

One heart, one ring

2008-03-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

A heart that beholds the world within,
A world that beats like one heart, one ring,
Is it too much to ask for such a thing ?
where man sees just man,
not caste, religion, country or kin ?

That which you seek

2008-02-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

In the day you shall not find that which you seek.
for in darkness it hides and in light it cannot be revealed,
when the veil is thick and the dark night so long,
it is only Love that that can dispel an ignorance so strong,
and like mist it will be lifted to reveal the mountain peak,
and at last you shall become that which you seek......

New Year Thoughts

2008-01-02T07:48:00.000-08:00

In the coming years let us look forward to hope…….
In these times of decadence let us look forward to a new awakening…
In these times of intolerance and violence let us look forward to peace and understanding..
We have bled this earth for long; let us look forward to its healing….
Let us look forward to hope where there seems none,
For they say that the night is at its darkest just before dawn.

touching the infinite

2007-12-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

there are moments when you feel that you are almost there….
touching the infinite
that you are one with the vast universe
its expanse forever stretching beyond the realms of this earthly existence
like the silence between two notes
like the fleeting gaze of the Beloved
drink it with your breath
before it is gone…..

beyond the horizon

2007-10-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Beyond the horizon
lies the eternal source of all that lives
from the chasms gushes out the blood of life
the heart beat reverberates through the universe
the source of all purity
where from all Paths emerge and end
the destiny of all destinies
the eternal Now
forever there.....

can you hear the music ?

2007-10-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Can you hear the music in the moonlight?
Floating from within the deep forest…
The notes like trails of mist weave patterns of synchrony in the air
The trees like silent ghosts huddled in the night
Tread softly and you shall hear
The creatures of the night….

on Ba's death

2007-09-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

And suddenly everything is over…
your existence on earth – what meaning did it have for you and others ?
Death brings with it the irrelevance of life…
the constant wallowing in a self created world of petty concerns and desires.
After life, death seems so ennobling
How liberating it must be to be free of this constant obsession with the mind and body…..?

Ba was my paternal grandmother and 94 years of age. Our last link to our village, our fields and orchards, the cattle shed and the smell of cow urine and hay, the dung-plastered thatched house, the smell of wood burning in the chullah, the play of shadows in lantern lit rooms - all my childhood summers and the memories of a world that seem to have been there forever has now changed forever.....
Death does make you question the relevance of our lives...

one cloudy morning

2007-09-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

That certain moistness in the air,
the cool breeze fleeting by the window,
teasing up memories……and dreams….
of places never been to…..
of moments never felt……
The sky’s bosom pounds with thunder
that pulsating rhythm of nature….
of a heart filled with passion….
of the unknown……

On the banks of Narmada

2007-09-26T19:02:00.001-07:00

On the water’s edge we live out our lives
day after day..
as the water flows by
calm and still
becomes the mind
unwanted thoughts
like silt
settle down
clear water
flows by…..

dusk descends

2007-09-26T18:40:00.001-07:00

the dusk descends
like a misty veil
behind the trees
a silence rises
within
like a spring
a fountain
of solitude
and stillness
can you feel it....hear it....see it....
be quiet
be silent
for in the silence lies the infinite meaning
of words
spoken and unspoken.....