by Brian Mendonca
Incantations rise
from the temple of Neelkanth
as the fires of the yagna
dispel the shrap
On the Narmada ghat
the riverboats wait
watching the waters
carouse towards the sea.
Waters splash
to the rhythm of the oars
as the boat negotiates
the river flow precariously.
Many a suicide jump
has the boatman seen.
Thrice does the river throw a body up
Then it swallows it up whole.
In the distance, the railway bridges
assert themselves in the haze.
Yatris sit in the shade of trees
Rejuvenated by river breezes.
On my return Northward
on a wobbly road
the sun sinks to my left
While I am subsumed
in the ambit of the Eternal.
Narmada Ghat
Bharuch, Gujarat
29 Nov 2009
Notes Neelkanth: blue god, referring to Shiva; shrap:curse; yatri: traveller
Godhra
-brian mendonca
Flames lick
the burning bogie
Dad as a 10-yr-old
watches the trains go past.
In 1942, dad's dad
was gathered to his fathers here.
Dad was earlier posted at Ratlam
where Kevin was born.
(28 November 2009
Godhra station
Gujarat)
Note:On 27 February 2002 coaches of the Sabarmati Express caught fire at Godhra. Many people died. In a backlash, riots spread in Gujarat in which numerous people were butchered in senseless violence.
Picture courtesy: www.narmada[dot]org
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