KETAKI MAZUMDAR

 

 

Timeless

 

timeless...

on fog scented

misty mornings

draped in love...

the scent of pine and eucalyptus

woodsmoke...

pink, mountain wild rose creepers

just outside the windows…

 

I invite

the rain and clouds in…

I fall in love here...

again and again at the nippy chill of rain on my warm cheeks...

I breathe in deep...

smell the dimensions of a peaceful world,

touch with my soul...

embrace the preciousness

just outside my  warm and cosy room...

champagne lit by glowing candles and the fireplace…

I listen to the crackling of burning wood,

…and watch the glowing embers...

 

Darjeeling, rhododendrons,

horse tracks and paths, Tibetian families...

peaceful traders and their colourful  woolen wares,

their blue stone  jewellery and their multihued shawls...

 

the promise of dawn...

golden sun on Kanchanjanga peaks...

everlasting peace...

of monasteries and bells, prayer flags fluttering...

aromas combining...

the whistling of chill breeze on tall trees...

and an abundance of wild flowers on green slopes...

 

here I breathe in the Universe...

with happy rosy cheeked children

with twinkling eyes...

with so much trust and belief...

here I learn the truths about life, death,

the purpose of  birth...

I snuggle in and experience the quietness of peace and wonder...

of eternal bliss...

so rare in our world...

I find it all in a tiny quaint hill station called Darjeeling...

on the Himalayan foothills...

in my mind...

a timeless wonder!

 

Wear Life Lightly

 

Am often drawn to a world of stillness,

a gathering of rest and contemplation...

a gentle breath,

a quiet search...

 

here my pulse beats steady

the adrenal rush slows...

my mind’s eye sees rolling green hills...

my shawl is woven with fog and mist...

the fragrance of rain is on the magnolias...

the air freshly pine scented...

the clouds carry dreams I have achieved...

the sun wears a soft lemon mask...

 

the stars at night are gifts...

comfort touches...

heart shifts...

here...am a part of stillness and peace...

my comfort zone is complete...

 

I curl on a white blank page...

I have taken colour and given back all...

I begin to understand...

the dance we danced...

as we held each other close...

devoid of tensions...

I listen to peace,

bathed in silence...

at last my cycle is complete...

I wear life lightly...

 

KETAKI MAZUMDAR

 

KETAKI MAZUMDAR is an educationist with a National Award for ‘Excellence in Teaching’. She is the recipient of several awards in field of Poetry as well. Her latest book “Toasted Orange Embers” has won her the ‘21st Century Emily Dickinson Award’, the ‘Sahitya Sparsh Award’ and the ‘Ukiyoto Poet of the Year Award’. Her poems reflect her excitement with the beauty of Nature, emotions of grief, joy, love, women, relationships. She gently touches on the spirituality and mysticism of life.