17/09/2012

In the Urban Wilderness

Illustration: Stuffed Crested Lark in a natural history museum

In the Urban Wilderness 

Perhaps I could sing words of birds  
Along smiling shoots of spring  
In the company of mango bloom  
And soothing green of cuckoo's Pancham,  
And dance under the canopy of clouds  
To the peacock's call in the backyards  
On the pathway of Meghdootam  
There in the abode of Saras;  
Or inscribe them on deadly diskettes  
For the posterity.  

In my mega-city, mummies  
Of birds celebrate, sing silently,  
In the tombs of Natural History.  
Who shall cherish the memory  
Of my jungle of skyscrapers  
And of glass buildings which scares  
The heavenly eagles away;  
Of serpentine Metro that snatches  
The abode of Shesha's descendants away!   

[29-2-1996]  

Illustration: Stuffed Crested Lark in a natural history museum: species of plants and animals are becoming extinct with progress and development of Industrial Civilization.(Image source: Internet)

Note: Pancham: the Fifth note of the seven tones. Eagle is considered Lord Visnhu's vehicle by the Hindus. Meghdootam: The classic literary work in Sanskrit by poet Kalidasa. Saras: a bird. Shesha: Primeval serpent that lives in lower world, the bed of Lord Vishnu, the ancester of snakes on the earth.

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© Remigius de Souza., All rights reserves.
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6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm delighted :-) Please do visit again. Thanks!!

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  2. Fantastic write up! I think we are going to build many museums in future showcasing how much we have killed to survive at comfort.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rightly said Dear Jeevan! Yes,we love memorials more than living entities - Life - JEEVAN!

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  3. the beginning itself keeps one feviquiked till the end- "Perhaps I could sing words of birds"... My mom always says 'I wish I was born a bird'... some are craving for their chirping... some for their 'short & sweet' life and rest for their ability to fly :-P
    BTW thanks a lot for your useful suggestions about my travel story formatting :-)

    Regards,
    Anunoy Samanta
    -------------------------------
    http://just4suzan.blogspot.com

    http://imakemytrip.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Anunoy! And thanks to your mom too:-)
      About formatting: Blogger allows you to modify posts even after publishing, without 'revert to draft'; just 'update'. Some of my readers inform 'errors', or sometimes I notice them, and duly correct them. Also I learn from others. I find BBC News articles very useful.

      Best
      - Remi

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