Hill Melodies by Shantanu Bhowmik
WAKING DAWN
The Himalayas awaken
To the call of the first light.
Stars yet in deep slumber,
Truly, a magical moment in sight.
Only the sound of the gushing brook
tearing rocks asunder.
The peaceful premises of the mandir yonder
deserted, - none yet , no chirping birds either.
MORNING MELODY
The morning sun hails,
the crimson-tinged eastern sky gleams.
It’s the hour to kindle the meditative lamp
deep within.
With closed eyes, the vision
of the sky unfolds …
The expanse of it , - touching the fringes of
a borderless border.
AFTERNOON MELODY
The temple bells gong!
None in sight;
The small river meanders,
No ripples rise.
The dried leaves murmur,
there's a secret goings on;
The dappled leaves resonate
in a whistling breeze!
NOONTIDE
The dappled edges of the cliffs
in yellow and green;
Village women heaving uphill,
with grass-full of backpacks, can be seen.
The bubbling brook
laughs in glee;
The colourful leaves on its waters,
like tiny sail boats dance so free.
DUSK FALL
Those snowcapped peaks
weave dreams in a thousand shades;
sings a melody echoing in faraway spaces,
like those twinkling stars in the distant deep.
There is a careless laughter
of the light and shades,
along the curves of the snaking path,
till daylight slowly fades ...
The little girl holding her mother’s hand
Is homeward bound.
The day’s weariness
after a long day’s toil returns home.
Dusk falls silently
from the hill tops.
The moonbeams peeping from the clouds,
trace impressions of their own.
Dr. Shantanu Bhowmik is the Head of Research and Projects and Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore. Besides his professional commitments, he is a painter and poet too. These are a collection of his rhymes with his water colour paintings based on his impressions of the Eastern Himalayas. The poems in this collection reveal the changing moods of the hills from dawn to dusk.
Transcreations of the poems are by Jayita Sengupta, Chief Editor, Caesurae Journal. To listen to the poet's voice reciting the original Bangla version of the poems please Click on the red button below each poem.