Kipling in Kanha national park
man cub Mowgli was to life once more,
in our boyish pranks in Kanha Park,
revived memories of Kipling’s lore,
from early dawn until moonless dark.
that joyous kid smiled within our hearts,
as we drove through thick Sal, bamboo trees,
with flowers and fruits in forest marts,
bird species haggling for honey bees.
vast lakes and meadows with grazing deer,
friend langur keeping watch from the top,
gives warning chatter when danger’s near,
alerted cheetal deers prick ears and stop!
winding roads take us deep, deep within,
eyes search for the big elusive king,
a growl, a loud purr, a fearsome grin,
majesty walks, birds hurry to wing.
marvel of stripes on shades of saffron,
he saunters across at his own pace,
no fear, no pressure, not one to run,
God made forest for his holy grace.
nothing dictates his tasks for the day,
he owns it all, forest entire,
jungle folks scatter, make him his way,
his wish their do, their life his desire.
Balu the bear showed up late at night,
rummaging food amongst forest trees,
cloaked black to avoid unwanted fight,
he walked past us to look for bees.
we relived famous tale once again,
boyhood gone, all aged past sixty,
Kanha washed us clean of all life’s strain,
brought happy days, for which we were thirsty.
9 syllables each line
abab rhyme sequence
Inspired after a week in Kanha and Bandhavgarh forests in Madhya Pradesh in India, home to a large number of tigers that we had good fortune to see. This is the setting where Kipling’s Jungle Book is based. You can find all his characters including Kaa the python, Bagheera the leopard, Balu the bear, sher khan the tiger. We were the Mowglis!
Copyright ©
Krish Radhakrishna
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