Ode To My Little Hamlet, Singrijan

A small villa beyond a lofty bower,
Midst the mute witnesses of man’s story;
Lies a venerable bosom near the verge;
A land which ages have seen.

Of the West and the East,
Yon hills and vales it runs;
Where herds with milk, fields with bread;
Overflow beyond nature’s brimming bowl.

Awesome harmony amongst littered races,
From Nepal, Bihar and lands afar;
But their hue of lore ad culture;
Never did sully this superb synthesis.

Nepali or Adivasi, Muslim or Bengali,
Every Heart pounded for a good cause;
Nor considering the faith which differed;
As Hindu, Christian, Muslim or any.

The small hamlet woke anon,
To the cock’s crowing, a prelude to the dawn;
Hearkening the ear to a solemn stillness;
Of the busy morning hours.

Large troupe of tiny feathered ones,
Chirp with glee at nature’s splendour;
The mooing cattle graze the gardened landscape;
Made of men with paternal acres bound.

Little guys scurrying gaily off to school,
Following along a white dusty path;
But with determined ego in hearts;
To learn and to burn with zeal.

All actions to a unison “YES”,
Guided not by raw emotions or ego;
Led not by the evil hand;
But ever God’s will to behold.

Torn apart with tireless strife and misery,
Yet to every gloom, there glows brightly;
A sudden sparkle of joy and gaiety;
And stands still my beloved hamlet firm.

This poem is a poetic adoration of my little village in the North-Eastern part of India. Singrijan is a small village near the Nagaland-Assam border. The poem explicates the unique synthesis of diversified races with their varied hue of traditions and culture display a marvelous synthesis.

The poem reflects the cruel assault on nature while also focusing on the unity and integrity of the people in this small villa.

The liveliness and fervour are explicitly portrayed despite the trials and hardships it had to tide over through the many decades of its existence. The sole recourse for man in his distress is God and that He brightens the prospects of life, beauty and gaiety in nature.

The central idea of the poem is the coherence of the Indian Ideal, “Unity in Diversity.”