{"id":228,"date":"2019-06-11T08:36:03","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T15:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmportland.com\/HariPatrika2019\/?p=228"},"modified":"2019-06-15T14:46:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-15T21:46:30","slug":"poem-in-this-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/poem-in-this-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Poem – In this Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pavithra Iyer, 6th Grade<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this Land<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As diverse as India<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

is her geography<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A nation of opposites in every way<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Contrasts and contradictions<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

evident without exception<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this land,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

chilling heat,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and sweltering cold<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Frozen peaks,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and sandy dunes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One second summer reigns…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then suddenly,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The raging,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

flaming,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

maiming,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Monsoon arrives<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this land,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the Himalayas soar,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

shrouded in mist and mystery both<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Their stately tips grazing, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and gracing,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the clouded sky<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Icy <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and snow <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and bone-chilling cold<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

a true wilderness<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As savage and unforgiving,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

as it it is stunning<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this land,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

sprawl the Western<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and Eastern Ghats<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Both populated with<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hardwood forests, and<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sweet rains,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

tropical fruit<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plants –<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

filling every crevice<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and crack<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and curve.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Beauty flourishes, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

an alluring lure,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But, recognize that<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

danger dances nearby<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Roaring rivers, rapids, rocks and cliffs, and <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

an easy death waiting, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

for you<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this land,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

rivers run wild<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

twining,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

snaking<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

flowing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Liquid cursive,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Written all across the land<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Words and names like;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ganga and Indus<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brahmaputra,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yamuna,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Godavari and Narmada,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kaveri, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sutlej\u2026.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A never ending list – Mahanadi, Krishna, Tapti, Jhelum, and so,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

so many more<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some from mountain-place snowmelt,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Other rain-fed<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So different they can be – <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the north, down south,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

some long, some short,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

clean, but mostly dirty, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

but – <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nourish the land<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Promise crops<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reap money<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Serve India,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and her thirsty children.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this land,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the heat, the cold,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the towering peaks,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the seething storms,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the wet and wild cliffs, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And last, but never least,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The rich and rowdy rivers<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All of them –<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All of India – <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wild,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and free,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and magnificently <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unleashed<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

India-<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As diverse as she,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Is her geography.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … Continue reading “Poem – In this Land”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-balapatrika","category-contents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmportland.org\/HariPatrika2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}