Monday, July 1, 2019

NAMITA RANI PANDA



NAMITA RANI PANDA

THE SONG OF EARTH

The trees with freshly unfurled leaves, yellow, pink and green

Rustling gently bathed in warm sunshine,
The tightly furled buds slowly unfurling
To reveal their bold bright glory so alluring
announcing the arrival of the splendid Spring.
The breeze swooshing and whooshing in merriment
Being mad with their sweet-smelling scent
kisses and caress them in great excitement.
The squirrels scurrying up the trees in spree,
The crickets without intervention hum chee, chee
In chorus an absolute song in perfect rhyme and rhythm
The cuckoo joins in Nature's melody, so sweet and solemn!

The glistening plastic flags of varied colours
Flap and flutter to harangue the glory of their respective leaders
Like the lolling tongues they below and scream,
So jarring, boring and utterly tiring!
Helicopters whirl, whack, wheeze
Hundred times
Booming, banging, buzzing,
Sputtering, squeaking, squashing
Roaring, ripping, etching, ear-piercing,
Cacophony rises to crescendo
That subdued the mellifluous song of the cuckoo.
Squirrels, to save themselves from screeching, hide in the thickets,
For a while it seems an abrupt break of the orchestra of the crickets.

But the humming of crickets continues throughout the day till night
With no fright,
Not shocked or silenced by the blasts,
The tattered flags flown by the wind roll on the dust,
The leafing branches in graceful gestures
Celebrate the triumph of Nature,
The crickets hum the song of life, love being its lyric
And warmth in the music;
A tonic to the tired souls,
So soothing and soulful!
The song of violence is silenced by the song of Earth
That fills the air with an aroma of mirth!








THE PADDY FIELDS

How lovely were those paddy fields in rain
Where farmerettes in rows transplant seedlings of grain,
Where farmers see their hopes flourish and flower,
Where soil turns to gold with the sweat of labour,
A sea of green waves kissing the horizon
Dancing to the tune of wind in great jubilation!
How alluring were those fields in winter
Covered with bright yellow mustard flowers
As if the Earth a vibrant beautiful girl
Draped with a floral bright yellow shawl!
How sweet was the smell of corn flowers
That rejuvenated the lungs with aromatic air!
How spectacular was their dance of harvest
With the sweet song after arduous tests!
But now rare are those charming scenes
Most of which are devoured by concrete buildings,
The fragrance of corn flowers is a distant dream
That's substituted by costly perfumes,
The fumes of fuel chokes the chest
The foul smell of garbage is omnipresent to greet!

For my diseased heart those memories so sweet
Are the only soothing balm and ultimate treat!






MY COCOON

While driving home
In my air-conditioned car
Listening to music
I look outside
Through the glass window
The nature speeding past
In the opposite direction.
I, a passive observer
As if watching nature
Through the TV screen
Joys moving in a frame
So dull and boring!
How nice were those days
When I was cycling to my school
Feeling the touch of the breeze so cool
Kissing my cheeks
Playing with my hair
And a free bird I was
Flying in open air,
The frame was not there
The feeling of being a part of the scene
Was so overwhelming!
Now I have unlearned cycling
With no fascination for Nature,
Rather afraid of infection due to air pollution
So I need a cocoon for protection
And wherever I go I prefer my car.

NAMITA RANI PANDA

Mrs NAMITA RANI PANDA is a poet, story writer and translator from Sambalpur district of Odisha, India. She is Vice-Principal of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Cuttack under the Ministry of HRD, Deptt. of School Education and Literacy , Govt. of India, now entrusted with the responsibility of Principal I/C in JNV Bijapur, Chhatishgarh. Her two published Anthologies of poems are Blue Butterflies and Rippling Feelings. Her poems are highly acclaimed in many National and International magazines and journals. Her signature words are love and optimism. The main themes of her concerns are social injustices, love and other issues related to life. She is an active member of Cosmic Crew, a literary group of women poets in Odisha working with the motto “My pen for the world.”






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