From My Memory Book

The lone landmass is surrounded by water body of great Chilka lake in Odisha along the east coast of India. The barefooted, half-clad boat-man embraces the murmuring breeze and recites the age-old folk song for the Goddess Kalijai.

When we reach the island, he starts narrating the mythological importance of the place. The temple bell rings with the muse of wavy water all around. Our tutorial guide elaborates the geology of the rock exposures. As an amateur earth science student, my mind prompts me quickly to pick up a few pieces of rock, born millions years ago!

In the evening we return back carrying the pleasant memories. In the college reopening day, my professor delivers a lecture on the rise of the Himalaya out of a gigantic ancient ocean, the Tethys Sea. It is an awesome story. I compare and contrast my field trip- the lone landmass encircled by the Chilka lake!

migratory bird

flies in boundless sky

I wake up  

with morning sun sketching

the colorful rainbow wings

Atlas Poetica 13, November, 2012 (Ed.  M Kei)

http://atlaspoetica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Atlas-Poetica-13-PDF.pdf

**********

the earthen pot

broken by untimely storm

the twilight

darkened the hope leaving

thick blood on the floor

****    ****    ****

audience listens 

the melodious song

mother murmurs

with her finger language

to her deaf daughter

****    ****    ****

bird unfolds

the wings of freedom

the lone statue

scripts  from the slum 

the alphabet  of hope 

****    ****    ****

village road

leading to the metro

the dignitary’s visit

ends with full of dust

eclipsing the sky with hopes

****    ****    **** 

with open wings

butterfly kisses the flower

breezy morning

beggars share their warmth

embracing the beauty of nature

****    ****    ****

an old tree

veterans from nearby places

get  together

sharing memories with smiles

under the shadow of  twilight

Bright Stars 1 : An Organic Tanka Anthology, 2014  (Ed. M Kei)

http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Stars-Organic-Journal-Volume/dp/149375260X

my shadow

lengthens towards light

the cry of owl

reminds me in dream

it  is still midnight

Atlas Poetica 18, Summer  Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

*****   *****   *****

past, present and future

embedded in Krishna’s* mouth

the far off

dust, dark and dance of fire

through Hubble Space telescope

* In the Hindu religion books   it is narrated how Lord  Krishna manifested the spectrum of universe to his mother, Yoshoda, by opening his mouth.

Atlas Poetica 18, Summer Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

*****   *****   *****

Nataraja* 

in cosmic dance 

God particles

sparkle the stillness

in the discovery tunnel

*Natraja is regarded as cosmic dancer and is depicted of God Shiva.

Atlas Poetica 18, Summer Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

*****   *****   *****

Boddhi tree*--

in deep meditation

closing my eyes

I turn within discovering

reflection of sound and light

* Boddhi tree is regarded as the sacred  tree, located in Bodh Gaya, India. Lord Buddha attained enlightenment  under the tree.

Atlas Poetica 18, Summer Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

http://atlaspoetica.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Atlas-Poetica-18-PDF.pdf

the street dog

with  a bare bone

the frail baby

cries over the skinned breast

under the shadow of neon light

Atlas Poetica 17, Spring Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

***   ***   ***   ***

skyscrapers

eclipsing each other

I miss

the calmness of the moon

with layers of chaos and crowd

Atlas Poetica 17, Spring Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

***   ***   ***   ***

I  murmur

some lines of rhyme

the journey

urges me  to revisit

memories of my village again

Atlas Poetica 17, Spring Issue, 2014 (Ed. M Kei)

***   ***   ***   ***

http://atlaspoetica.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Atlas-Poetica-17-PDF.pdf

winter morning

a thin patch of warmth

at old windowsill

The World Haiku Review, Winter January 2015 (Ed. Susumu Takiguchi)

https://sites.google.com/site/worldhaikureview2/whr-winter-2015/neo-classical-haiku

foreign land—
I sense the breeze 
of intimacy

bidesh jaga—
mu anubhaba kare malayara
ghanisthata

Cattails, January 2015 (Ed. any'a)
http://www.unitedhaikuandtankasociety.com/haiku151=12.html

Wide-toothed comb

first dose of chemo

New Year’s eve

Asahi Shimbun, 2.1.2015 (Ed. David McMurray)

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201501020004

a moonlit night
the sea unloads its
anxieties
but desire carries on
like wave after wave

chandni rati
samudra prakash kare tara
udmigata
kintu icha nirantra huye
lahadi pare lahadi bhali

Cattails, January 2015 (Ed. any'a)

http://www.unitedhaikuandtankasociety.com/tanka151=1.html