Madhu Sriwastav is an Assistant
Professor in English at B.H.K. Mahavidyalaya. She is involved in academic as
well creative pursuits. She writes poems, short stories, academic papers,
reviews, short plays and translates into English. She is a performing poet,
performing regularly at various National and International platforms such as
Guntur Poetry Festival, Newtown Boimela National Poetry Festival, IPPL, Poetry
Conclave, ISISAR forums, Apeejay Literary Festival. She is a member of the
executive committee of IPPL i.e. Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library. She
has published her poems in Setu, Glomag, OPA, The Quest, Culture and Quest, The
Amravati Prism Spectre etc.
People’s
Nation
People
form Nation
Or Nation forges people?
National leaders
Human torches
Leading the mindless
Through dark times
What if the torches
Falter and flicker
And set alight
The place to secure
Destroy the hearth
As a Lakshagriha…
Caution is the key
To unmask the faces of friends in foes
To connect with the thinking
Who can take up the cudgel
Unite and hold hands
Express mindful solidarity
A well thought out plan
To counter the fire set ablaze
The tyranny loosened to spur
The youth , the future of a nation
The sky is foggy
Sunshine eludes
Yet the blowing wind
Drifts the clouds apart
The golden Sun in parts
Shines through the mist
Surely there will be light
All will be right
Where is a Nation without its heart
People swear by
Take oaths in its path.
Or Nation forges people?
National leaders
Human torches
Leading the mindless
Through dark times
What if the torches
Falter and flicker
And set alight
The place to secure
Destroy the hearth
As a Lakshagriha…
Caution is the key
To unmask the faces of friends in foes
To connect with the thinking
Who can take up the cudgel
Unite and hold hands
Express mindful solidarity
A well thought out plan
To counter the fire set ablaze
The tyranny loosened to spur
The youth , the future of a nation
The sky is foggy
Sunshine eludes
Yet the blowing wind
Drifts the clouds apart
The golden Sun in parts
Shines through the mist
Surely there will be light
All will be right
Where is a Nation without its heart
People swear by
Take oaths in its path.
Scorned
bride
Dressed
as a bride
Heart
full of love
A
flutter in its beat
Resplendent
in her finery
Her
eyes looked up
Hesitantly,
looking for the one
Who
had stolen her dreams!
Among
a bevy of princes
All
in royal splendour
Amba
located her mate
Her eyes lit up; cheeks glowed
Secretly
she smiled, her eyes drooped down
Awaiting
her turn to garland him
And
become his wife foe life!
Suddenly
came in …a gush of wind
A
chariot fiercely galloped in
There
was hue and cry all around
Like
a flash of lighting
The
brides were gone!
All
stood agape…princess and king
Shocked
by the prompt act!
As
the chariot galloped by
Kissing
the wind in its embrace
The
three brides trembled in fear
Trying
to meet the eye
Of
none other than Bhisma the great!
The
guardian prince stood at the helm
Having
abducted the brides to be
Vichitravira
the weakling prince
Was
hence brought forth beautiful wives
Ambika
and Ambalika accepted their fate
But
restless Amba pined for her mate
Thus,
set free she came to Shalva
The
one she loved and longed , day n night!
But
alas! He turned her down
Amba
was now an abducted woman
She
was retuned but out of pity
How
could one of Kshatriya clan
Take
for wife a discarded thing
Taken
by another then given in charity
Thereby
Amba’s heart was crushed!
Homeless,
hapless she returned to the weakling
Only
to know her fate was sealed
Once
given she couldn’t be taken
In
anger in frustration she turned to the one
Who
brought her to this…
One
who had twisted her fate!
Bhisma
was bound to his vow
Had
broken hearts when taking the vow
Of
Kashi’s sister the then betrothed
But
none could stand in his path
The
dutiful path carved for his clan.
Shattered
and shamed stood Amba enraged
She
wouldn’t spare him, have him killed!
For
she was now the most terrible thing
Nobody’s
chattel, nobody’s wife
No
place to go, no one to love
Her
life destroyed; her youth wrecked!
From
door to door, from fort to fort
Searched
and sought the scorned bride
For
someone worthy of Kshatriya clan
Befitting
to take upon the one
One
and only Bhisma and quell her shame
Restore
her honour by his blood
Avenge
for her, her humiliation
Her
search was rare for all went pale
When
it was Bhisma to be avenged
Her
determination which was irresolute
Took
her to the warrior’s guru
None
other than Parashuram Himself
Shocked
to hear of Amba’s plight
He
unsheathed his axe and challenged the one
Both
equal in might and in valour
A terrible fight did ensue
All
set to destroy the whole wide world
As
Bhisma was blessed to choose his death
The
duel was stopped to save the world.
But
Amba bent to fast till death
Till
the gods answered her prayers
Standing
on one foot on the hills
Till
Lord Shiva appeared to her
“You
will be the cause of his death
But
have to wait till next birth”
Impatient,
angry and resolute
She
jumped into the fire to die
To
be born again in Panchal Rajya
As
Shikhandi the child of Drupad
A
woman, yet not, to bring the end
Whenever
he wished but by her hand!
It
took two lives, so many years
So
much anguish, so much pain
To
quell what was whimsically imposed
A
bride to be, to have a family
Brought
about the end of Kshatriya clan
Of
a dutiful guardian, worthy son
But
abductor also was he
Foe
needlessly, shamelessly scorning a bride
Irreparably
destroying a women’s life!
Daunted
Rain
Droplets:
Have been flying around for long
Cloud:
Look it's a city, tall buildings abound
Droplets:
No, no don't send us down
We
will be lost, we will be trapped
There
are so few trees, that too in concrete box
How
will we come back to our aerial form?
Cloud:
There is a river and some ponds
Droplets:
That's more of a drain, ponds no better than pits
All
the waste and chemical have throttled its life
Ponds
are breeding grounds for fatal disease
What's
scary is the concrete boundaries
It's
stops us from going
To
our mother earth
We
have to linger about
Till
the strong sun
Changes
our form
We
sail up and form a cloud
We
are happy here …don't send us down
Cloud:
It's sacrilege for you to say so
Who
has come up, must go down!
Droplets:
We are bound by law but are afraid
Drop
us when you will, we'll wash all by force
But
hold us till you can n we grow in strength
Then
the concrete will crack, the soil below give way
We
will be happy to come to our lay.
Cloud:
You want to wreck destruction
On
those who have destroyed all
Indulging
in themselves as none other lives at all!
Our
dear earth is suffering under their whim
Droplets:
You don't worry they will have their due
Many
have come and many will go
We
have been here and will be so.
Voices Within-2020 :: Setu, February 2020
No comments :
Post a Comment
We welcome your comments related to the article and the topic being discussed. We expect the comments to be courteous, and respectful of the author and other commenters. Setu reserves the right to moderate, remove or reject comments that contain foul language, insult, hatred, personal information or indicate bad intention. The views expressed in comments reflect those of the commenter, not the official views of the Setu editorial board. рдк्рд░рдХाрд╢िрдд рд░рдЪрдиा рд╕े рд╕рдо्рдмंрдзिрдд рд╢ाрд▓ीрди рд╕рдо्рд╡ाрдж рдХा рд╕्рд╡ाрдЧрдд рд╣ै।