Special Edition: Toolika Rani

Toolika Rani

A Quiet Revolution 

 

Everything begins in the soil

most of the times buried in the deep caverns of the earth- 

Invisible.  

And even when it sprouts tiny leaves- 

a sign of life, 

boundaries arise- 

“Spread your arms not too far”. 

But rise will it which is meant to rise. 

There is always a way to realise 

what's hidden within- 

the surging, irrepressible flow of life. 

Leaf by leaf, and twig by twig 

its tiny head grows surprisingly big, 

big enough to peep beyond the dead, wooden railings 

surrounding it on all the sides. 

 

What a way to deride 

that seeks to bind 

The expandible! 

 

And one fine day it looks into the sky. 

From its high perch now 

the cages that were built 

now seem futile; 

futile as their strength was the strength of the dead

fated to be denied the illegitimate, immoral power

to restrict the growth of the fertile. 

The fertile mind that innovates! 

That survives! 

Even in the wintery times 

the branches bare and skeletine 

hold a promise to revive 

the spirit of spring

the will to bring 

a lofty profile 

on the lonely sky.

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Poet’s profile: Squadron Leader (Dr) Toolika Rani is an ex-Indian Air Force Officer, Mountaineer (Everest Climber), Motivational Speaker (twice TEDx), Bi-lingual poet, Author, Assistant Professor of History, and was the G-20 Brand Ambassador of U.P. Government. Author of eight books i.e Beyond That Wall: Redemption on Everest, Sherpas of Solukhumbu, three English poetry books, The Song of the Sky, A Wild Flower, and Thus Sang the Bluebirds and two Hindi poetry books, Dayron ke Bahar and Hasratein. Edited an Anthology on Himalaya, The Mountain was Abuzz, displayed at the Kathmandu Mountain Film Festival 2024.

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Setu, May 2025