Category: Bala Patrika

Bala Patrika- Short stories/ articles from elementary and middle schoolers.

Poem – In this Land

Pavithra Iyer, 6th Grade

I wrote these three poems as part of a middle-school project on Ancient India. Learning about India in an American classroom gave me a new perspective on how India is perceived by non-Indians. These poems were inspired by my family’s many trips to India, and all the stories I’ve heard over the years from my parents and grandparents.

In this Land

As diverse as India

is her geography

A nation of opposites in every way

Contrasts and contradictions

evident without exception

 

In this land,

chilling heat,

and sweltering cold

Frozen peaks,

and sandy dunes.

One second summer reigns…

Then suddenly,

The raging,

flaming,

maiming,

Monsoon arrives

 

In this land,

the Himalayas soar,

shrouded in mist and mystery both

Their stately tips grazing,

and gracing,

the clouded sky

Icy

and snow

and bone-chilling cold

a true wilderness

As savage and unforgiving,

as it it is stunning

 

In this land,

sprawl the Western

and Eastern Ghats

Both populated with

Hardwood forests, and

Sweet rains,

tropical fruit

Plants –

filling every crevice

and crack

and curve.

Beauty flourishes,

an alluring lure,

But, recognize that

danger dances nearby

Roaring rivers, rapids, rocks and cliffs, and

an easy death waiting,

for you

 

In this land,

rivers run wild

twining,

snaking

flowing

Liquid cursive,

Written all across the land

Words and names like;

Ganga and Indus

Brahmaputra,

Yamuna,

Godavari and Narmada,

Kaveri,

Sutlej….

A never ending list – Mahanadi, Krishna, Tapti, Jhelum, and so,

so many more

Some from mountain-place snowmelt,

Other rain-fed

So different they can be –

In the north, down south,

some long, some short,

clean, but mostly dirty,

but –

All

Nourish the land

All

Promise crops

All

Reap money

All

Serve India,

and her thirsty children.

 

In this land,

the heat, the cold,

the towering peaks,

the seething storms,

the wet and wild cliffs,

And last, but never least,

The rich and rowdy rivers

All of them –

All of India –

Wild,

and free,

and magnificently

Unleashed

 

India-

As diverse as she,

Is her geography.