HOPE keeps us alive,
Hope, helps us get through!
When tough time strikes,
LIFE floats in flashback,
With sweet memories of YOU!
YOUR short lessons in life,
Made us strong and kind!
The first lesson being:
If you fall down and get hurt,
Remember the wound would heal soon:
So, stand up and fight!
When free, you would tell us stories of younger times,
How you and Lal Mausi would climb guava tree: Relish on the fruit and BE!
And, on loud call of your father,
You would rush back home, cheerfully!
Waking up at 4 a.m...
You keenly attended on religious chore of day!
From making Mahadev and Diya from clay...
A skill, you had mastered well,
A visual treat, when Satya Narayan Puja was performed at home!
Being close to your mother,
You knew how to save and be logical whole!
Hardship had kept you kind and compassionate,
With stitching the family in one complete soul!
When it came to our education,
You disciplined us with time and code!
As we fought in ENGLISH,
YOU didn't want us to use slang, in any form!
With DIDI, you used to gossip and stay cool,
Bhai ji, was your telepathic soul...
Where understanding passed between two, with words being requirement only as known code...
While, I, as a growing up kid,
Had only you and no one for sure!
As a child, I used to accompany you, everywhere you went,
Be it grounds of Bhagwad Gita,
Or shopping, for the requirement at home...
Difficult times, never bogged you down,
Your holy spirit, kept everyone vigilant for sure!
Folktales, you would narrate,
Be it Gonu Jha or Amar Chitra Katha!
A thrill to be with,
You gave all important lessons, to be IT!
Folksongs, you knew by heart,
And, when you sang, it felt like art!
Beauty with brains,
Blessing of yours, we felt, it rained!
On observing one night,
I heard you chant for sometime:
On asking, you had said, it's name of "Ram" ten times,
Promised someone to once, you never disclosed it, even on asked...
Respect for the secret, you kept in your heart...
You used to chant it, even on hospital bed!
You groomed us so well for life,
That every challenge, felt light!
Now, gone...
We can still feel your presence and essence,
In our day to day life 🙏
Note:
DIDI: My elder sister!
Bhai ji: My elder brother!
