The earthy waters of the mighty Beas,
Cradled my rugged boat that day,
I hated the ghirring of the motor engine,
For it downed the lullaby the river crooned for me,
The afternoon sun played hide and seek,
For a change,
Not with the clouds in the sky,
But with the waves around me,
The den and the hiders remained busy,
Oblivious to the millions of sparkling diamonds
Floating around,
For they knew,
That these could only be stolen in memories,
That could fill many a sack and rack,
That could be cherished without any fear,
Today, tomorrow and forever!
The pair of pied kingfishers,
Frolicked in front of my boat,
And then settled on that delicate reed just across,
Swinging wildly at intervals,
Deliberately wetting their tails,
Every time the reed bent down into the waters below!
The engine suddenly grumbled and stopped,
Indicating that we were now in shallow waters,
And the silt was eager to get ashore,
By clinging on to their friendly boat,
I smiled at my luck,
As the oars made their way into the chilly waters,
Like little children,
Shivering fearfully before taking their baths,
On those winter mornings!
The gulls and the coots swarmed around,
The large egrets too craned their necks,
For the familiar sound of the engine,
Had been replaced by the rasping sound of the wooden
oars,
Slapping the waters around and below,
A flock of crows cawed in the skies above,
Eager to get home after a hard day away,
I wondered
why I was in no hurry at all,
Was it because those diamonds had already been
stolen,
As the evening had fallen,
But then I had my pockets full,
Of memories of their uncountable numbers jostling
around,
May be because I knew,
That I had still many riches to gather,
For the moon and the stars were still to appear,
May be another day,
Another evening I said to myself,
As my boat sailed ashore,
Away from the loving cradle of the mighty Beas!
(Pratima Srivastava)
