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Raj Nandy Poem
THE CHURCH AND THE GRAVEYARD
The Graveyard stood behind the Church,
Perhaps they are mysteriously compatible!
Through the front door of the Church you enter,
And with time, through the rear door you exit
and go ;
Forever mingling with Life’s eternal flow!
In the Church marriages are solemnized,
New born babies are christened and baptized.
Hymns and sermons are heard on Sabbath Days ,
And people kneel down in silence to pray.
Some to repent and confess ,
To seek salvation, and are blessed!
And when the older generation pass away ,
In the Graveyard behind, they are forever laid !
Yet amidst death, Life goes on......., -
With the peel of bells and chorus songs!
The world of the dead is surrounded by Life ,
Our younger generations live and thrive ;
For the Epitaph cannot bury Life’s song!!
Green grass grows around the dead,
And trees showers their flowers from overhead !
Bouquets of roses on cold marble slabs ;
A drop of tear the fond memory sheds,
In loss of the loved one, now in the world of
the dead!
While Life surges, swirls and flows all around,
As the dead lie in their graves in silence, -
without a sound!
New Life sprouts, and memories slowly fade….. ,
The Graveyard lies in the Church’s cool shade!
-By Raj Nandy, New Delhi .
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Raj Nandy Poem
THE BELLY DANCER
The sparkling dazzle of those chandeliers , -
Transformed the night into an endless day !
And underneath its ignited glow ,
The belly dancer's hips moved to-and-fro !
With her semi-veiled face and mesmerizing eyes ,
And the rhythmic quiver of those half-coverd breasts ;
Her belly button a vortex of tantalizing desire ,
Hypnotized all those welcomed guests !
The Oriental music raced their blood ,
And ignited the night with the heat of desire !
Who knows , before this night comes to an end , -
They all may be consumed in that eternal fire !
-Raj Nandy
New Delhi
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Raj Nandy Poem
Friends , I present to you a slice of History about the ancient Greek scientist and
mathematician Archimedes , who ran naked across the street
of Syracuse , in his birthday suit, after he discovered the Theory of Buoyancy , with which he
could find out the quantity of pure gold in the Kings crown ! Kindly read my 'Prose poetry' !
Archimedes: The First Pioneering Streaker
Of History !
( Prose Poetry)
There lived in the third century BC, in the Sicilian
town of Syracuse,
A Greek mathematician called Archimedes.
He was tasked by King Hiero of his town,
To find the purity of gold in his crown;
Suspicious of the goldsmith having mixed
in it ,
Some impure material of inferior kind,
Which he wanted Archimedes to find !
Archimedes lost in thought one day,
Entered the public bath on his way!
And as his body began to get submerged,
He happened to notice perchance ,
Water spilling over from the tub !
The answer suddenly flashed across his
mind,
And he jumped up leaving everything
behind,
Wearing only his birthday suit!
Running through the street of Syracuse ,
Exclaiming, ' Eureka! Eureka! ',
(I have found it! I have found it!)
Perhaps to become the first streaker of
History!
While establishing the Principles of
Buoyancy! @
Archimedes, son of Pheidias the astronomer,
Studied at the great Alexandrian city,
Remembered even this day for his pioneering
works,
In Hydrostatics, Mechanics and Geometry!
With his ingenious mechanical discoveries,
Held the great Roman galleys of Marcellus
at bay,
For more than three years, as Plutarch says!
Later one day, while lost in deep thought,
Trying to resolve a problem of geometry,
Refused to hear Marcellus' bidding ;
To be slain by the Roman soldier who had
come to fetch him!
O those Romans, with lesser brains and more
brawns !
And some hundred and thirty years after his
death, in 75 BC ,
Cicero, the Governor of Sicily,
Found the tomb of great Archimedes, near
the Agrigentine gate,
Over grown with bushes and thorns ,
Lying buried in the scented dust of History!
-Raj Nandy
New Delhi
@ Principle of Buoyancy = any floating object displaces its
own weight of fluid ! Wt. displaced by a crown of pure gold and
the one already made could be compared to find the truth !
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Raj Nandy Poem
Friends , while reading the History of the Incas , I came across the wonderous story of their
mail runners , the 'chasquis' ! Kindly read their story !
THE MAIL RUNNERS - ON THE INCA TRAIL !
(COURIER SERVICE)
The Inca Empire during their hey-days, *
Controlled a large Empire of an elongated
shape!
On the western coast of Latin America, -
All the way from parts of Ecuador and Colombia!
With parts of Brazil in the east;
Including Chile and Bolivia in the south and
south-east;
While the Pacific Ocean washed their long western
beach!
Where the great Andes range like a raised spine, -
appeared out of reach!
Yet on the central verge of this Andes’ range,
Was located their capital Cuzco with its grand
defence !
The Incas had no horses or wheels to facilitate
communication,
But had an efficient courier service within their
nation!
They relied entirely on their ‘chasquis’, - those
valiant mail runners,
For sending messages within the Inca Empire!
These runners ran on that historic ‘Inca Trail’,
Crossing gorges(pogos) and mountain tracks, -
before night fell!
And rested at ‘tambos’** during their segmented
race!
Those Incas had no written scripts those days,
And used knots in ropes as coded messages!
These ‘quipus’ at relay stations changed hands,
While their runners took them to the remotes corners
of Inca land!
Their suspension bridges with ropes indigenously
made,
Formed their roadways as their Empire spread!
And those bridges were maintained every year,
By villagers rendering public service to the Inca
Empire!
Those valiant runners could run in a day, -
A distance of 250 miles , as experts say !
And could put to shame the Marathon runners
of our day!
I salute those sturdy Incas for their unique stone
architectures,
Who honored their Gods and their ancestors!
Their ‘chasquis’, those valiant mail runners and
their nimble feet;
Without horses and wheels the Incas ruled a mighty
Empire complete !
-Raj Nandy
Notes :-
* During the fifteenth century Incas were at height of
their power!
**Tambos’= relay stations , for the Mail Runner (chasqui)
to rest and handover the ‘quipu’ containing coded
messages to the next runner - to follow the Inca Trail!
Thanks for reading ! - Raj Nandy
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Raj Nandy Poem
While writing about Machu Picchu the lost city of the INCAS , I thought about composing this
poem ! The INCAS around 1100 AD , worshipped the Sun and lived very close to Nature . In
this poem an Inca youth remembers his love with great fondness !
LOVE UNDER THE INCA SKY !
When I planted a kiss on you cherry lips ,
Those tender lips so innocent and pure ;
Between the tall bushes and slender trees ,
Gaining strenght to live and endure !
With your black lock's cascading flow ,
And your beauty all shining bright ;
When you anxiosly looked back to see ,
And hurried back with steps so light !
At night under the starry sky I think of
you as my guiding star !
Wth your laughter like the merry mountain
stream ,
You seem so near and yet so far !
I retire to bed with your happy thoughts ,
And think of the goodness of your heart ;
Of kissing you behind those bushes once
more ,
When our lips will lock never to part !
- Raj Nandy
New Delhi
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Raj Nandy Poem
THE HEALING POWER OF POETRY :
BIBLIOTHERAPY
The word poetry derives from the Greek word
‘poesis’, -
Which means ‘a making’ of a literary art form ,
Where language is used for its evocative,
aesthetics and emotional response!
A poem is an emotional-intellectual-physical
construct, -
Meant to touch its reader’s heart!
Poetry links one individual to another by its
distilled experience, -
Through its rhythm of words and imagery, -
driving away our inner loneliness!
The ancient Oracles at Delphi used the
healing power of poetry, -
Through their various ritualistic chants and
incantations, -
Had tamed many a savage mind into subjugation!
The Roman physician Soranus in the first century
AD,
Had prescribed poetry and drama for his patients
mentally oppressed, -
Tragedy for his maniac patients, and Comedy for
the depressed!
The great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud had clarified, -
That it was not he but the Poet, who had discovered
the subconscious mind!
The word ‘therapy’ comes from the Greek word
‘therapeia’, -
Meaning to nurse or cure through dance, song,
drama or poetry, -
Perhaps the divine way to poetic therapy!
The first hospital for the mentally ill in the American
Colonies, -
Was set up in Pennsylvania in 1751, by Benjamin
Franklin!
Where a number of ancillary treatments were used,
Including the writing of poetry and reading it aloud, -
Written by the patients who were mentally ill! @
‘Bibliotherapy’ was the term used for poetic therapy,
Which had become popular during the sixties and
the seventies!
It was also effectively used in group therapy, -
The rhythm and repetition of words often created
a hypnotic trance, -
Reaching out to those ‘secret places’ and creating a
bridge, -
To that unconscious mind from which poetry springs!
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep” (Robert Frost) #
Foot Notes : - ** Initially poetry was orally recited and also sung to the accompaniment of
the lyre! After the invention of writing it started to develop its own form !
@= The writings of some of these patients were also published in a newspaper titled –‘The
Illuminator”! # Robert Frost’s famous poem, “Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening”,
was extensively used for poetic therapy!
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Raj Nandy Poem
Pythagoras of Samos (580 BC-500BC) :
Born in the Greek island of Samos in the Northen
Agean Sea , -
Off the coast of Asia Minor of modern day
Turkey ;
It was around late 6th century BC !
He settled in Croton , a Doric Greek colony -
Of southern Italy , in 529 BC .
Lectured mostly in philosophy and mathematics .
Started a secret society called the Order of the
Pythagorians ;
They followed rigid ascetic practices and were
strict vegetarians !
Pythagoras is said to have traveled extensively –
visiting foreign lands ;
And in him the traditional knowledge of other
classical civilizations blend ;
Wherein we can also find , a mystical trend !
He is said to have picked up geometry from
the Egyptians ;
Arithmetic from the Phonesians , and astronomy
from the Chadeans !
His mystical trends and religious practices came
from the Orient !
These mystical believes include the belief in the
transmigration of the soul ;
While his pupils carried on his noble traditions !
He had taught verbally , and is quoted by Plato
and Aristotle frequently !
And alluded to by Neoplatonist philosophers of
later history !
His Musical Theory :-
His number theory was rather unique and exotic ,
His mystical thoughts blending with mathematics !
Even numbers were said to be feminine ,
And odd numbers stronger and masculine !
Since even plus odd always gives odd ,
While two evens could never produce an odd !
But the numbers that impressed him the most ,
Were found by him in the Musical Ratios -
as we can see ;
As I had mentioned in my poem “Pythagoras and
his Music of the Spheres” already ;
From which I now proceed to quote liberally !
Pythagoras is generally known for his famous
theorem of geometry ,
Had a scientific bent of mind which did blend
with his philosophy !
He is the first Greek philosopher credited to
have heard , -
Cosmic music of the heavenly bodies in their
diurnal orbit round the sun !
The Book of Job speaks of a time when the stars
of the morning sang together while afloat !
And in his ‘The Merchant of Venice’ , Act V,
Shakespeare wrote :-
“There is not the smallest orb that thou beholdest
But in their motion like an angle sings ,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins ,
Such harmony is in the mortal souls ,
But whilst this worldly vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in , we cannot hear it !”
(Musical Theory of Pythagoras : to be continued.)
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Raj Nandy Poem
**In this short poem I pay my tribute to all those gallant surf riders out there on the sea !
THE SURF RIDER !
See him riding gallantly the crest of
waves,
With dexterity and poise and flowing
grace!
With his wakeboard he rises to fall, -
to rise once more!
As the waves keep rolling towards the
shore.
Like those surfs the rider continues his
undulating dance,
Be it in England, in Spain or in France !
Riding high on waves as if in a trance!
He did take time to perfect his art,
Having loved the sea and the surf from the
start!
He lives in moments just like those waves,
Floating on their crests as the blood within
raves !
Those surf make music as they rise and
fall,
Where some surfs are short and others tall!
Like a philharmonic conductor par excellence,
He commands those waves with his skilful
presence!
Riding on Time’s moments is no mean art,
But like our surf rider one must make a
gallant start!
-Raj Nandy
New Delhi
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Raj Nandy Poem
A TRIBUTE TO ALAN DALE :
Prince Of Baritones
(1925 – 2002)
Long, long, ago, as the story goes,
A cherry tree had grown next to an
apple tree!
And underneath them a boy had met
his bride to be!
As he looked into her blue eyes, the
breeze began to blow,
And blossoms fell on their heads gently
so!
And as he held her tight, the branches of
both the trees got intertwined!
And ever since then it has been said,
On a full moon night, when young lovers
meet,
Under that Cherry and Apple Blossom tree,
One can hear Alan Dale the crooner’s voice,
singing, “ Cherry pink and apple blossom
white..”, -
Echoing through the moonlight night!
-Raj Nandy
NOTES:-
*Alan Dale, the Prince of Baritone of the
1950s, became popular for two of his all time
hits of 1955; ‘Sweet and Gentle’ and
‘Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White’!
The last three lines of his famous song, has
been modified by me as way of a compliment!
Born in Brooklyn, NY, his parents had migrated
from Italy. He had featured in TV reality shows &
movies with Bill Hailey and his Comets! After a Mafia
attack in 1958, his career went gradually on a back
slide! But his evergreen song survies!
** ALL COPYRIGHTS RESERVED BY RAJ NANDY**
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Raj Nandy Poem
**Friends , breaking my composition into sections , due lenght restrictions **
Thales :The First Philosopher Scientist :-
Thales visited Egypt to study geometry ,
And also developed his unusual mathematical
ability !
Back in 585 BC he became very famous , -
By accurately predicting an eclipse of the sun !
Those early days of antiquity , had no clear
divisions between science and philosophy !
With philosophy , science , and mathematics , -
all were rolled into one ;
Thales became very renowned for his theorems !
One theorem stated that when you draw a triangle ,
Inside a semi-circle , it always had a right angle !
He was the first to introduce the process of
deduction , -
Deriving mathematical statements from logical
observations !
He was an exceptional man of antiquity ,
Much ahead of his time , - deserving publicity !
ANAXIMANDER (611-546 BC) :
Had introduced the sun-dial into Greece .
His treaties ‘On Nature’ was the first
philosophical work in Greek prose , -
Which the people of Greece had ever known !
For him the ‘arche’ was the ‘Boundless or
the Infinite’;
A space filling animate mass , a kind of
mysterious mixture ,
From which all things arose through
separation ,
Whose true nature he never described , -
Specifically or otherwise , in all his
deliberations !
ANAXIMENES (588-524 BC) :
A pupil of Anaximander - declared it was
air , mist or vapor ,
Which held the key to all reality forever !
From air all things arose through rarefaction
and condensation ;
Rarefied air into fire gets blown !
But when condensed it transformed into , -
Wind , cloud , water , earth and stone !
Man’s soul which is air , holds him together ,
So does the air which envelopes the earth -
sustaining all matter !
Since all changes are produced by motion ,
and motion being eternal ;
Further clarification he felt was not needed ,
and had nothing more to tell !
These Milesians with their innovative philosophy ,
Tried to seek a single explanation for the universe ,
and its multiplicity ! (To be continued with Pythagoras
of Samos next !) -Raj Nandy .
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