Ladakh

Tell of an era gone byBritish, European, IndicUnder the impact ofBuddhism, Shaivism and the Shakti cult.

That,That my son,SonWouldEnd,End upAs,As an addict.Heavens fellDown over,I lying,Lying desperate,Exasperated,Devastated and ruinedSeeing the waste-land imagery,Trying to reconstruct and resurrect.

God knows it,How has it kept the press and the media censured,How has it threatened in the past,Terrorized people,Orchestrated booth-rigging and ballot-snatchingAt gun-pointAnd the people keeping inside,Fearing to cast their votes,Placing their below the standard menIn power, post and placementPolitically and administratively,Sending the cadres and comrades to keep the areasUnder the command of,Showing muscle power,…

You wipe them down,My daughter,Syrian daughter.

Green earthFull of greeneryAnd vegetation,Rocks, rivers, mountains and hills,Valleys and marshes,What it is important is ecology,Environment, human co-existenceWith birds, beats and flowers,Exotic flora and fauna.

Aur kavita ke liye.Poetry festivalExclusively for poetsAnd poems.

Population explosion,Social inequality, economic disparity,Gender bias, hypocrisy,Patriarchy, social taboos,Illiteracy, ignorance and superstition,Food problem, housing problem,Cloth problem, hunger,Moral depravity, perverse mentality,Violation of human rights,Domestic violence,Throttling of womanly rights and liberties,Class and creed war,Intra-rivalry and feud,Tyranny and oppression and suppressionOf commonly peopleWith the fanatics drawing daggersIn bad blood.

A recollection,A remembrance,A memoir.

An Advaita VedantistAnd above all a karmayogi.

Circling and circling over,How beautiful is itTo see the bird of preyHovering around,Encircling around!The red kiteSoaring on large wings,Unfolded,Scaling and soaring.

And lovely,So young and promisingIn her burkha,I could not see her,But when peeped I insideThe windowSaw I a heart full of so much loveTaking me to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,Azerbaijan, Chechnya.

Jab tak hae shash tab tak hae aash.Is said,Shadow has no illusion,As long as there is respiration there is hope.