Long Subcontinent Poems

"Heart"  

Deep fissures formed
in the cracks of 
the nowhere place
where time leeched
bleeding claret 
through the green 
veined blues

protean bit by bit
the flesh disappears
prematurely 6ft under
mulch for rebirth
the subcontinent
conscientious conscience 
inward reaching

the divine central tableau...

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someone always told me this with tears in her eyes...


(for Lata Sethi's late-mother, who was my mother’s ‘sister’ and who took us all into her heart, and for Lata and Ravi Sethi of Defence Colony,...

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You were an Afghan, Farid Khan by name,
A name less known to the world today.
You ran away from home,
Because your own step-mother plotted against you.
Now you were runaway-Khan!

You chose to be a knight-errant,
Soon became a...

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This is my translation of Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem "Nidrita". Rabindranath Tagore (1861- 1941) was a Bengali poet, writer, music composer, and painter from Indian subcontinent. He reshaped Bengali literature and music, and Indian art...

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"you are more than I deserve. It's a love I never dreamed I'd find. Happinesd like this is worth dying for..."
- Yasunari Kawabata-

Looking down, while flying midway between sky and earth,
I saw a dog on...

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When tongue is silent, but muse is chanting - that's poetry.
When we write what the heart has been asking - that's poetry.

As dawn's hues glisten golden rays, in blue, bronze, orange skies,
musings mirror daydreams, so...

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Sprawling green gardens super 
Brilliant, breezy cool weather 
Bustling busy night life 
Clubbing culture that does strike 
Thriving tech talent pool 
With culture uniquely cool 
Fastest growing tech hub 
City of many clubs and pub...

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Still waiting for the peace to establish,
The grudge for each other must finish;
67 years is not small period,
To see the 2 nations fighting weird;
Even the Germans made their wall fall,
And the Americans ended civil war;
Politics...

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The winds of change blow in time’s course,
waft from an unseen end to another unknown.
The momentum they gather from the power
of the flow of history goes on increasing ever.
The direction they receive from the message,
the...

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In the deserts of Arabia, Medina had many Hebrews
And Khaybar Oasis was full of farms run by Jews.
To this day Muslims shout Khaybar, defeating Jews hits a chord
Because Mohammed took both places by the power...

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Humanity born on the bone of an earthen mound
froze graphics on cave walls hail their Ice Age strive,
wall carvings speak three trees, a forest be sound,
harsh times craft crept the charged choice to thrive,
they owned...

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Where black-necked cranes come to chat with me
In the company of wine and deep brown honey
Flowing from apple twigs in the heavenly valley
Of Bumthang , carved into the sublime Himalayas
By glacial melt and monsoon rains...

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Heartache! 
Huge heartache!
No, no, no! Unstoppable the tears!
Everything is good to look but I’m not
I’m dumped into heartache and logged tears
Long sighs, much heart beating in hearing the news!

She is no more! Queen of melody...

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"I'll always be your devoted Raja

            And you're forever my Rani; 

          as sacred to...

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Between the Indian plains and the hills of Burma.
Protected by the affection of its three guardians, 
The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
From there - this story began.
 
On a grassland full of hopes and dreams. 
Right...

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Spring blossom’s fine and fine’s monsoon season,
But summertime love’s like a passing shower,
E’en autumn, if my heart’s free from frisson,
No, summertime love’s not my fond flower;
Wearing the least or flimsiest of dress,
It’s like setting the...

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The intrigued course of subjugation history, 
turned the trader into the ruler, enforcing
the British sovereignty in the Indian subcontinent
for seemingly endless decades.
Many valiant attempts of liberation failed,
the chains of domination remained unbroken,
till the persistent persuasion...

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Love of nature for earth shines
during the splendid springtime.
Very rare happiness takes birth.
Like an Indian bride decks earth.
Spring is the love of the nature.
Images of bliss, flowers appear.
In the glittering seasons of rain
vanishes sun burnt...

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Sweet Diwali, hymns we offer to you 	
Clothe us with fresh sari , draping our souls 
Through purest  grace of lotus we renew 
Blossoms of hope, this jubilee  consoles

Clothe us with fresh sari...

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As early as C.629 a Chinese monk Xuanzang of Jingtu temple 
Motivated by the poor quality of translations of Buddhist scripture
Undertook a hazardous journey to bring the original from India
Despite the border being closed at...

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I come to bury Gandhi,
Bury him deep,
Not to praise him.
It is fashionable nowadays—to decry him
As a racist, as a casteist. 
Accuse him of discriminatory practices.
No one will challenge me.

Perhaps I may add that
He often fasted...

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I am the country ,
the country of variations,
the country of god 
and his beautiful creations .

I am the mother ,
the mother of billions of lads ,
the mother of cultures
and religious fads.

but i am sorry ,
sorry...

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At our home, in Rio and Rome, let morning come
In tattered twilight twin towers tumbling down
Beech Birch Banyan Neem being brought down
Your moon pales in homeless premonition
Let our madness calm, let morning come

Dark too much...

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The peacock with spread-out plume,
Dances to Nature's tune,
The sun's fadeless glow,
The monsoon's rainbow, 
Isn't our Nature,
Very spectacular?

The preaches of the priests,
They themselves don't practice! 
The teachers teach, 
A mere printed speech!
Mother Nature expresses,
What she really...

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The peacock with spread-out plume,
Dances to Nature's tune,
The sun's fadeless glow,
The monsoon's rainbow, 
Isn't our Nature,
Very spectacular?

The preaches of the priests,
They themselves don't practice! 
The teachers teach, 
A mere printed speech!
Mother Nature expresses,
What she really...

Read More