Cherry Blossom
Pink Cherry blossom falling,
I often wonder why,
a beauty slowly taken
like branches now forsaken
I am the tree
that learned to cry.
Farewell my love,
to fallen love,
the wind became
your words,
the emptiness
between us,
the silent petals
upon the earth.
By Michael Faudet
Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes it new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells with him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
My Bagichablog would be incomplete without the abundance of blooms this year.
That distant peck on the lips. Which takes me away from you
That growing tide between us. When will it settle to reveal us?
That lost dream of love. Will it ever be retrieved?
That pinning of warmth. When will the sun rise again?
That distant peck on the lips. How I wish it was closer.
By Anonymous.
I shared this picture yesterday with friends and I got this beautiful poetry in return:
I know, you are silent sage tree, more than a human being.
I know your are, like Buddha, meditating while planting your self in freezing snowy mountains.
I salute to your benign and humble posture.
I recognise the ‘firm’ within your green leaves, though you appear to be in a tilted posture.
This is your humility, for you are laden with love and humanity.
Thank you Prof Iswhar Dayal Gaur for writing this.
at every step
she is stricken with anguish and suffering
with the solitude of the victim
weeping and sobbing
she returns to her den
to say farewell
to trees and flowers
to say farewell
to the deep, slow moving river of solitude
to say farewell
to the fast fading shadows
of the helpless wilderness !
Translation of poetry from Harjeet Singh Gill, Sufi Rhythms. Interpreted in free verse (Patiala: Punjabi University, 2007), p 153.
Read about Laeeq Babree: https://www.dawn.com/news/112054
within and without
in and out
there is resonance of my Love
there are beats of His rhythm
in union there is light
in separation there is darkness
Bahu is the slave in the two worlds
who serves his Master in every breath
in every movement of his heart and hearth !
Translation of poetry from: Harjeet Singh Gill, Sufi Rhythms. Interpreted in free verse (Patiala: Punjabi University, 2007), p.75.
Read more about Sultan Bahu: https://sufipoetry.wordpress.com/poets/sultan-bahu/
So the World Happiness Report is out in which our social progress and levels of happiness can apparently be measured. In June 2016 the OECD made a commitment to “to redefine the growth narrative to put people’s well-being at the centre of governments’ efforts”. Happiness is can therefore be a part of our policy making as we develop and progress further as nations.
Levels of happiness can be determined by many personal factors, as well as social, economic and wealth. Interestingly, China which has experienced enormous growth, is no happier than 25 years ago (positioned 79 on the ranking table). As the list below indicates, India which has also experienced high growths in recent years is not the happiest country in the region. The South Asian perspective throws up some interesting rankings, especially Pakistan. So what makes us happy? Do share your thoughts.
37 Nepal
80 Pakistan
97 Bhutan
110 Bangladesh
120 Sri Lanka
122 India
141 Afghanistan
Read the full report: http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/
On a personal note and what made me think about happiness today, a serendipitous recommendation on YouTube which led me to Bhai Gopal Singh. It immediately took me back to my childhood of growing up in Nakuru, Kenya. His shabads were often played on the small cassette player, placed on top of the fridge. It would permeate the bungalow in the mornings and had left endearing and happy memories of childhood. Listening to his voice, immediately takes me back to those moments and so happiness can be captured in those precious memories. Content for time being.
Listen to Bhai Gopal Singh
The Cloths of Heaven
Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light;
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
By W. B. Yeats
BAGICHA 