In Rohet Garh
In the high Indian skies
float all kinds of images.
I can see Ganesh
with an elephant's head,
another creature with five bodies
and only one head
that I saw in Jodpur Jain Temple,
which is 1,000 years old
and is carved of marble,
marble lace,
and cleverly hidden in the mountains
from the moslems.
What is the name of that creature
with five bodies?
I don't know.
I have to find out.
But notwithstanding the rich imagery
surrounding me,
in my heart
there is only one main image -
of you, my love.
And this image is a lot more blissful for me
than a thousand Indian gods.
Your image fills me up
with such softness and pleasure
that my soul rests and soars.
I'll stay with you for ever, my love,
unless you forget me,
but you don't seem to forget.
So let it be,
whether in India
or elsewhere in the world,
so that we feel to be together
even at a big distance
making one inseparable whole
and blessed by the Lord.
March 13, 2007
* * *
I'm on board the plane
in comparative serenity
on my way to Bombay,
now called Mumbai
for the reasons
I can't understand...
Below - stretches of land,
unpopulated,
just mountains and lakes.
From above
these lakes look like lizards
or hard corals of whimsical forms
or some other strange creatures -
not like normal lakes, round or oval,
not at all.
And the rivers remind me of young sakuras
with flexible branches,
their trunks being almost like branches,
as thin as the branches...
How can I describe India?
So many words have been said
about its striking contrasts,
of its utmost poverty
and overwhelming riches,
about its temples,
some of which
are carved of marble
where each column,
each little thing
is meant to symbolize Infinity...
But...
has anyone said about the langoors monkeys
who sit on the stone bridge
hugging their babies
on the way from Udaipur to Jodpur?
About the banyan and neem trees,
their precious qualities,
or about the wild peacocks
who come in dozens with their gutteral cries
not long before the sunset
and make themselves at home
in rich estates,
the heritage property
turned into posh hotels?
Has anyone said about the soft air
and a mild flower fragrance
in the Udaipur Palace
where the bogan villia
flowers like blossoming oleanders?
About the glittering waters of the lake
when you sit on the Sunset Terrace
looking at the Lake Palace,
which pretends to be a white ship
ready to put up its anchor,
but will never do so?
I'm sure
a lot has been said
about the politeness and cordiality
of the servants in the Palace.
But
has anyone said
about the joyful hospitable spirit
of its Shriji,
of his royal kindness and generousity
as well as
about his inexhaustible sense of humour?
March 16, 2007
© Copyright Слободкина Ольга (olga_slobodkina@mail.ru)