The beginning

The steps encircle like one big hollow
As each road takes a new turn
Some closer, some at a distance
As we walk past taking another turn.

New faces, new talks, new walks and new destination!

Wait a minute and ponder a moment

The heart seems to ask something…

Are these those untrodden paths,
That only lovers knew?
Or were there no enthusiast aficionados?

The narrow lanes and by-lanes
The sharp shallow edges –
The smell of rich cuisine and
The fair play of the market…

What could have prevented men to travel?
Or was it all men and their folks
Sprawling, encircling, and idolizing
Their pride, their wealth, their freedom, and
Their rich and vast heritage?

Glistening under the sun and rain
They remind us of endurance and pain
Their grit and strength tell great tales
As the stones time and again wink!

I hear the roar of kings;
I hear the galloping of the horses;
I hear the noise of steel blades;
I hear the bugle, once again!

Not in dreams, not away,
These noises of folks and blades
Come alive from the stones that still wink
And the path that takes us on
A journey – an old, yet new destination…

Into another world of time and distance,
Into an ever-widening space
Of knowledge and belief!

Travelled, yet unnoticed and unfulfilled

The journey begins again…

                                                            Rajdeep Pathak

                                                           August 19, 2011

Note: A poem on making an attempt to understand our heritage.