Asian Literary Society

  Abandoned by you, I have reached the pearly gates, my broken soul so small and cursed. Can I now, ask God for an explanation? to put my troubled past to rest at last. I didn’t whimper, I didn’t cry, Accepted your wrath, my troubled past. But now, I stand tall and demand justice, Oh! why God, so much hatred in my life you cast. Only if you had given me time to state, my love for her, and let me hear too. My soul would have quenched, ready to wait, for another lifetime, to meet her in time due. Only if you had let her cuddle me, I wonder, my memories she would have cherished and also your creation. Abandoned by you O Lord! My infant soul wander, In the space between, refusing your punishment in retaliation.

Winds of change blew anfractuous like a tempest Where faith n’ credence quivered n’ quaked, Life threw a new test for mankind But mere mortals miserably failed. The pandemic exposed chinks in human  armors And animate got sucked into black holes of fate, Burials, Cremations lost all meaning Where last rites were abandoned, delayed. Bearing the brunt, the dead lay unattended In heaps, on pyres or in makeshift coffins, From nooks of their homes the dear ones mourned Lost spirits trapped, remained in throes. Empty handed the mortal came, Empty handed truly he was in his last moments left. Oh! No eulogies, no prayer meets, no gatherings to honor the dead man, No dear ones in his last moments remained. Could the world feel more abandoned Than exposed by the pandemic today ? —————————- Author’s Note: One only needs to visit a crematorium or a hospital morgue today to understand how alone the pandemic has made man. Sad truth.

Every time the cradle rocked my angel to sleep I sat there, enamored by her ethereal beauty And the unblemished emotions that adorned her cherubic face As the myriad shades of the sun sieved through the sheers And played mischievously with her ringletted locks I swelled in pride as she curled up her pinkie finger around mine Softly I whispered sweet nothings in her ears And in my words she found complete solace When the cradle creaked,my heart melted with her shrilled cry And I shushed her back to tranquil sleep  Today there stands the deserted cradle And in its lap lie some imperfect dreams And all those sleepless nights that I have spent Singing fading lullaby’s to an empty cradle As the mother in me refuses to believe That my angel is now back in paradise I sing the lullaby yet again tonight And a gust of wind awakens me from my sleep And brings me back to the dark reality As a sole tear trickles down my cheek, falteringly  

  खींच लकीरें धरा के वक्ष पर, बाँध दीं हमने सीमायें 'ये तेरा' 'ये मेरा' के व्यूह में, बिखरी कोमल भावनाएं बंटी ज़मीं, गाँव, चौपाल, पर कैसे बाँटें मन के धागे सुख दुख के साथी संगी, बिन नाम के कितने नाते बिछड़े जिनके अपने, छूटे खेत खप्पर खलिहान राजनीति के यज्ञ में, आहूत निर्दोष बलिदान बूढ़ी अम्मा मृत्यु शैय्या पर, खोजे पुरखों की हवेली नन्ही नज़मा ढूंढ रही, गुड़िया जो रह गयी अकेली रज़िया का बेटा छूटा, रह गयी हाथ बस एक गठरी बलबीर पथराई आँखों से, देखे आती रेल की पटरी उड़ते खग न जानें सरहद, विचरें स्वछंद गगन में सलिल सरिता का न मज़हब, बहे हर वन उपवन में सागर का रंग है एक, एक रंग सूरज की लाली धरती के हम पुष्प अनेक, रंगत सबकी है निराली हर सरहद से है सर्वोपरि, मानवता का मर्म बाँट सके न दिलों को, हो प्रेम हमारा धर्म।

The darkness of the night hung heavy in the air. The silence was broken by the occasional howls of the foxes, the usual chirping of crickets, and the unusual tinkle of many anklets, scurrying in unison. Asha lay still on her bed, listening, undecided. ----- It was another inconspicuous late morning when the honks of an Ambassador had broken the calm of this quiet little village. A politician? Was an election round the corner? No, a woman alighted from the car. A man followed, holding an umbrella over her head. She wore boots and a simple saree. Her uptight bun and sunglasses befitted a movie-star. Another Scorpio halted. Chand, the village-head and a crew of men alighted. “Is the road supposed to be this muddy?” She suddenly thundered. No one answered. The men hung their heads. She kept walking, suddenly stopping in front of Asha. “How old are you?” Asha didn’t know, she kept quiet. “Do you know how to write your name?” Chand stifled a snort, “Madam, these women don’t know how to read ...

 When there is darkness all around, All we need is a flicker of hope, A glimmer of light, A spark of radiance to dispel the gloom. In the darkness of slavery and discrimination, Lincoln and Martin Luther King Lighted the torch and led the way, Towards racial equality.   In the darkness of British rule, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many hundreds, Lighted the lamp of our freedom movement, And defeated the might of the empire.   In the darkness of patriarchy, Reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, And many others empowered women And showed them the light of education.   In the darkness of the caste system, Ambedkar gave the slogan,Unite, Educate, Agitate, And fought for social justice, And dispersed the darkness with his vision.   Now the darkness of the pandemic engulfs us, We need a flicker of hope, The light of a vaccine, And the wisdom of wise leaders.  

Flicker of hope, reason to cope, with unrest and endless battles. Ground to live and not to bereave with countless untold rattles.   Mile after mile, for a flash of smile we flourish and thereby, thrive. Here we go, by staying in a row, burgeon and hence stay alive.   Life seems game, for all never same. Patience to hold it at par. Time will arrive, even late to derive, if you wait for the sequel so far.   Successive falls, with destiny's calls, following attempts within range. Let's provide a scope for this flicker of hope to prosper and make a change.