Thursday, June 4, 2009

Just a litle...

I shall leave you to savour a beautiful poem written by my friend Jayabrato from Kolkata.

I really loved it.

It came as a special gift before leaving for Singapore ( an hour from now ). I shall definitely miss this space. But like Napoleon ( my husband's biggest hero), I shall be back!! Adieu till tuesday....




JUST A LITTLE

Let a little remain
From everything
When everything is lost…

A cheeky blade of grass
A little dust on my shoes,
My mother’s broken porcelain
Contrary views!
A tiny trace of frost…
A bit of my chin
In the chin of my daughter,
Sunlight on broken water.
Original sin!

Just a little
Let a little remain…

A handful of jasmine
Still clinging to the creeper,
A lost memento in my
Old cardigan pocket
As I dig deeper…
Yesterday’s smell
Heaven and Hell!

Just a little
Let a little remain…

A childhood secret
Broken by a thousand wishes.
All the hits
And all the misses!
A stray strand of hair
On Baba’s old shawl,
His voice still echoing
In an empty hall…
Pinholed portraits
Down Memory Lane
A volley of stars
On mountain peaks
And on my cheeks
Sudden drops of rain
Carelessly toss’d…

Let a little remain
From everything
When everything is lost…


45 comments:

ZB said...

Thats indeed beautiful .And we shall miss you too.Take care of yourself.Cheers

Sidhusaaheb said...

Why not be back like The Terminator?

:D

Nice poem, BTW.

:)

nishi said...

truly beautifull...

Sanket Korgaonkar said...

Without question - amazing poetry - learned a lot from it. Do convey my compliments to the poet and my sincere gratitude to you for posting it.

oremuna said...

Good one.

ekta khetan said...

Just a little note- Isn't there net connectivity, Blogspot in Sing-a-pore?!!??

Have fun!!! But not just a little :-)

Zip, Zap and Zoom!!!!

Ekta
http://ektakhetan.blogspot.com

चंद्रमौलेश्वर प्रसाद said...

BON VOYAGE:)

Hemish said...

Wish you have a wonderful trip and safe journey! c ya soon :)

Theyoginme said...

Enjoy singapore, one of my favorite cities for food and more food..ever try the hawker centers?

Gajendra said...

hmmm...enjoy your time in sing

Unknown said...

i know u a little thro' your writings only. u r wonderful writer and critic. i love to read your writings. with blog u have added to the pleasure of your fans a lot. the poem u have included in your blog today is very touchy, emotional and highly appreciative. convey my deepest appreciation to its writer. Pl.spare a little love for me out of the ocean u have.
g.b.pathak

Anonymous said...

this is so beautiful..
simply nice...

Rahul said...

WEll the essence is good but tell me something why is that poets of today cant just rhyme properly...
Actually these fellows totally spoil everything....

Why cant this poem be like this:-

To Kurt

Let a little remain
From whatever you gain
The memories of smile and pain
When everythings washed out in the rain

The hairy neetle of my childhood
The flowers that bloomed
The new even in the old
Semms just like gold

The end of a rainbow
The fantasy arrow from my bow
The blamy breeze and its flow
Let this little remain as so

The ties and the bond
Memories of old
Just a passon that smelled
Seems like yesterday was upheld

The string and the kite
Now lost in the flight
Let the world see now
How I fly my Kite

But let the Little remain
Of Whatever we gain
Of promises which are unclaimed
Now lay dusty in the memory lane

Roby

Well I wrote this poem just now as I just started to type this message. Took me 4 mins or so...I dont mean that the last poem was not good...it much better but is rhyming is somewhat more mordern due to which peoms are lossing its charm.....
You know in older days there were a class of people called bards..they can rhyme anything and that was what made thier stories special....today we need bards...we have a lot of stroy tellers but no bards ..none at all

P.S. I write under the name of Roby and all my poems are dedicated to Kurt (MY IMAGINARY FRD)

t O m S o N said...

poetry at its best!! very nice..

Dreamcatcher said...

Hi ms.DE
wow!!

Thats cool one.

It was like a journey down the memory lane

With regards

Dream catcher

ekta khetan said...

@ rahul
Well that poem was quite interesting…and the bard thing is good. Good work.

@ sanket Korgaonkar
I visited your blogs through this link and read a post..it was nice. Tried to leave my comment there but guess the section wasn’t working. BTW, nice composition.

Unknown said...

I liked both the versions. Jayabrato's as well as Rahul's. The former's style is carelessly beautiful with a charm of its own while the latter's version is classical and easy to understand without involving too much effort. It is commendable that Rahul took it upon himself to give his version beautifully. Well done. I love poetry.

Ire said...

Lovely poem!

Jogeshwar said...

feeling nostalgic!

Naveen said...

hi de n others..m not a frnd yet.. still if u feel like readn ma thingi..check out www.theconfusedcharacter.blogspot.com

worth or worst??? u decide...

Raefah said...

I guess every one concentrates in certain aspect of a poem... like message or rhyme ... great Tagore's poem:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
....
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

"Let a little remain From everything When everything is lost" did add the dimension of a prayer too !!!

Farishta said...

Wow!The poem is indeed beautiful and touching. Thanks for posting it. And Bon Voyage :) Have fun!

வழிப்போக்கன் said...

Thank you Shoba.
I am smelling the perfume it generated within me.
S. Krishnamoorthy

Unknown said...

I read your post on Melbourne mournings in Asian Age which was very good. People at your level can make a lot of difference if you take up common causes which affects us all. Now you may think twice before sending Arundhati to Melbourne University. The hostility seems to be never ending as daily reports are pouring in from OZ island. We can file a case in the International Court at Hague Headquarters and move a motion against Australia in UN. We can make a hard hitting documentary and send it to all international film festivals. Racism did not die with Hitler. It is thriving in Melbourne which will please the soul of HItler.

introspection said...

Hey guys I am back from the US. and so glad to be @Shobhaa's.
I am poetry challenged..!!
But who says you can't appreciate poetry even though you can't write one yourself...? Don't we all aprreciate and enjoy music though we may not be composers, singers or music directors.
This is indeed a soft & touching poem. Very emotional & vociferous in thought. Cheers to it's writer, and thanks to shobhaa for sharing.

Come tuesday, so i can read some sizzling posts !

Tripura Korlipara said...

Mrs de,

I am writing in to you for the first time because i am highly disappointed in you. i have been a great admirer of yours for years now for your unabashed writing. but in today's bombay times your article ' What a bummer!' is so very disappointing. how could you make such a mistake of misreading and misinterpreting kareena's interview. personally i am no fan of kareena but i was shocked to read your article today. because in that interview of hers there was no actual quote from kareena saying ' saif's esctatic that my butt is back' . her butt reference is her own. i think when a person's vital statistics is being discussed so widely for such a long time he/she has the right to say ' thank god! imy butt is back' and a girl who's been open abt her love life has the right to say ' my boyfriend is happy that i no longer look like a hanger' . kareena's quotes were quite clear. she has only said that saif is happy that she has put on some weight and no longer looks like a hanger. he didn't take saif's name and her butt in the same breath. If that journolist made a mistake ( intentionally) by that misleading headline you made a bigger mistake by isrepresenting kareena's innocent comments.

and I, as a reader request a correction from you in your next article.
sorry madam! i am no longer a fan of yours because even you indulge in yellow journalism.

PS. that comparison with aishwarya rai is so uncalled for. atleast kareena is honest and not a hypocrite like your so called ' the ideal bahu, wife and child' that india has ever seen.

Unknown said...

madam
u have posted beautiful poem in your blog. pl.write your blog regularly like Amitabh Bachan as your fans wait for that eagerly. i like your articles v.much.
g.b.pathak

Sushant said...

You should not call it a “POEM” better off calling it a “LESSON” or “PEDAGOGY”…..
It teaches you to be calm and satisfied !!!
When things do not shape up accordingly !!!!
When life does not care about your plans !!!
When life sucks you !!!
When people around you try to take kill last breath of your !!!
The best lines which I appreciate a lot is
“As I dig deeper…
Yesterday’s smell
Heaven and Hell!”

Good LESSON not poem !!!!
Thanks !!!

anamika said...

Poem unfolds a past and makes u look back...A good work indeed .Surely written by a sensitive person.

Also,I didn't catch up what u wrote about Kareena Kapoor but it seems Tripura is one of Kareena Assistant because I also had a good laugh reading kareena being happy because saifu ecstatic by her new vital stats..
u r a gutsi women and i truly adore you for it..

Keep writing and have a blast in singapore.:)

Raefah said...

Looks like we have no option and continue to analyze the poem till De returns...

Classical definition of poem:

"a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines"

or

"a literary piece written in verse; a piece of writing in the tradition of poetry, an instance of poetry; a piece of poetic writing, that is with an intensity or depth of expression or inspiration greater than is usual in prose"

BUT.. today we have, Haiku (Old Japanese -Hokku) etc.,

"an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines"

Without flowing wine
How to enjoy lovely
Cherry blossoms?
- Anonymous

I read once in London - Subway Train:

You Remember Me Only
When I Die in WAR but Not
When I Live in PEACE !!!

...
Please continue this discussion...!!!

COMPOS MENTIS said...

this is a beautiful poem and as a Bengali I completely identify with the sense of nostalgia and the romance of unforgotten memories captured so subtly in these words although i must add, it does not take a Bengali to appreciate good poetry. my heartiest congratulations to mr. jayabrata chatterjee for his creation and thank you so much for sharing it with your readers. hope you are having a great trip.

Piper .. said...

Hey Ho! I`m back again :) Just returned back from a trip back home to Kolkata. Just wanted to mention that after an eternity, I read through 'Speedpost' yet again. Felt the need to connect to a parent. My Dad passed away last month. Your book did wonders to help me heal. Shall email you at length.

athi said...

nice pome :)

Kandukuri Sivananda Murty said...

Dear Ms Shobhaa De,

Ref : Your article in the Indian Express dated 6th June

The article condemns Indian students for their irritable behaviour
or misbehaviour rather than sympathizing with them. How is this
different from the indifference of the Indian Consul General? Some
unruly Indian students here and there do not represent the ninety
thousand Indian students who are giving Australia Rs 20,000 crores
annually. Luke-warm Central Government and too gentle Home Minister
are ineffective. Why don’t the Indian students tag their bags and
return to India to educate the other Australia seekers. Even if 5% of
those of our students can do this, it can send a message to the
Australians as well as to the Indian youth. Australian Cricketers are
not known for excellent behaviour. By refusing them into India, you
will not loose either money or sport at least for a year as a protest.

For complementing the Chinese, this may not be a proper occasion.

Please make a call to this effect.

Thanking you,

Yours truly,
Dr Sivananda Murty
‘Anandavan’
Bheemunipatnam,
Andhra Pradesh
(531 163)
Dt 7 June 2009
ksivanandamurty@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Let a little remain
From everything
When everything is lost…
READ SOMETHING VERY POSITIVE AFTER A LONG WHILE...THANX 4 SHARING THIS ...

RISHI said...

Hello Ma'am...
Your Blog is really nice. And it has helped me a lot in improving my english vocabulary...

Now I've started to sit with a dairy with me whenever I'm reading your blog....And jot down all the words that are new for me...
Then search for there meanings on online dictionaries...

Ma'am i didnt find the post after Punyache Pandu Hawaldar in which you were going to tell the good news :)

Please carry on the good work

Rishikesh D.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!!!

rahil said...

hai i have read ur publishind in dc hyderabad
about mutaliq ,pink chaddi
and today about shiny ahuja its very good .....

The Unadorned said...

The poem is evocative and there could be no doubt about it. More remarkabale is the gesture of an established hand in writing so generously recognises the work of others who are not so renowned.

Thanks Sobhaji.

Nanda

harcharan bains said...

more than the celebrated autors own words its those two poems! but give it to shobhaa for being the platform rather than the performer. also read tagore below:

Take Tagore Simply !

Take Truth Simply /////

Rabindra Nath Tagore///

Whatever may come, my dear, take truth simply. //
Though there can be some who can love you, there will be //
Others who never can, and if you must know the cause, //
It is as much in you as in them, and in all things around. //
Some doors are closed against your knocks, while //
Your doors are not open always and to all comers. //
Such has been and for evermore shall be, and yet //
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
There is no need to be abusive, if your boat flounders by the shore //
Though it sailed through the storm. //
Keep yourself afloat by all means; but if it impossible to do so, //
Then be good enough to sink without a noise. / /
Things may or may not fit you – it is common; //
And events may happen without asking for your leave, //
Yet if you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
You press and are pressed hard in the crowd, //
But space there is enough and to spare for all in this world, //
When you have counted your losses to your last farthing,//
Your sky still remains as blue and clear as ever. / /
You find, when suddenly tested, that to live is sweeter than to die, //
You may miss this or that and that and the other, but / /
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //

Posted by harcharan bains at 7:53 AM
Labels: Though your outstretched hands may receive nothing but rejection/ Don't let your heart offer anything but acceptance and gratitude. keep your lap always open and begging because the universe never of filling it. And that because universe loves nothing more than giving - ask a mother with her child clinging to her dry bosom. Harcharan Bains

harcharan bains said...

more than the celebrated autors own words its those two poems! but give it to shobhaa for being the platform rather than the performer. also read tagore below:

Take Tagore Simply !

Take Truth Simply /////

Rabindra Nath Tagore///

Whatever may come, my dear, take truth simply. //
Though there can be some who can love you, there will be //
Others who never can, and if you must know the cause, //
It is as much in you as in them, and in all things around. //
Some doors are closed against your knocks, while //
Your doors are not open always and to all comers. //
Such has been and for evermore shall be, and yet //
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
There is no need to be abusive, if your boat flounders by the shore //
Though it sailed through the storm. //
Keep yourself afloat by all means; but if it impossible to do so, //
Then be good enough to sink without a noise. / /
Things may or may not fit you – it is common; //
And events may happen without asking for your leave, //
Yet if you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
You press and are pressed hard in the crowd, //
But space there is enough and to spare for all in this world, //
When you have counted your losses to your last farthing,//
Your sky still remains as blue and clear as ever. / /
You find, when suddenly tested, that to live is sweeter than to die, //
You may miss this or that and that and the other, but / /
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //

Posted by harcharan bains at 7:53 AM
Labels: Though your outstretched hands may receive nothing but rejection/ Don't let your heart offer anything but acceptance and gratitude. keep your lap always open and begging because the universe never tires of filling it. And that because universe loves nothing more than giving - ask a mother with her child clinging to her dry bosom. Harcharan Bains blog add:http://sunnymindcaves.blogspot.com

harcharan bains said...

more than the celebrated autors own words its those two poems! but give it to shobhaa for being the platform rather than the performer. also read tagore below:

Take Tagore Simply !

Take Truth Simply /////

Rabindra Nath Tagore///

Whatever may come, my dear, take truth simply. //
Though there can be some who can love you, there will be //
Others who never can, and if you must know the cause, //
It is as much in you as in them, and in all things around. //
Some doors are closed against your knocks, while //
Your doors are not open always and to all comers. //
Such has been and for evermore shall be, and yet //
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
There is no need to be abusive, if your boat flounders by the shore //
Though it sailed through the storm. //
Keep yourself afloat by all means; but if it impossible to do so, //
Then be good enough to sink without a noise. / /
Things may or may not fit you – it is common; //
And events may happen without asking for your leave, //
Yet if you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //
You press and are pressed hard in the crowd, //
But space there is enough and to spare for all in this world, //
When you have counted your losses to your last farthing,//
Your sky still remains as blue and clear as ever. / /
You find, when suddenly tested, that to live is sweeter than to die, //
You may miss this or that and that and the other, but / /
If you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply. //

Posted by harcharan bains at 7:53 AM
Labels: Though your outstretched hands may receive nothing but rejection/ Don't let your heart offer anything but acceptance and gratitude. keep your lap always open and begging because the universe never tires of filling it. And that because universe loves nothing more than giving - ask a mother with her child clinging to her dry bosom. Harcharan Bains blog add:http://sunnymindcaves.blogspot.com

harcharan bains said...

Death is piteously powerless against moments already lived.

TO MY FIRST FOLLOWER

death is only a reminder of how full of life each moment is. there are the uncertainties of life, yes. but there is also the greater certainty of immortality of every moment we live, every breath we take, every beat that resonates in our heart. death is really so piteously helpless and weak against life for it cannot take away from us even a single moment we have already lived and it can not come a minute before life decides to leave. where life is, death is not. and life keeps throwing such abundant unexpected happiness at our feet at every turn we take as we hardly know what to do with or where to keep. the immeasurable and beautifully unexpected happiness that your words fill my day with, for instance. like saying, "koi sitaare luta raha tha, kissi ne daman bichha diya." never close your heart to the sky and keep your lap always open and waiting and the universe will never tire of pouring forth its soulful beauty to fill that lap. and what gratitude will ever equal the sheer undeserved and unexpected sunshine that your words fill the mind-caves here with. and how to repay the joy that equals the delight children have when they dance naked in the rain in village streets, madly pursuing the maiden rainbow at the end. how would you feel if i tell you that you are the first one to visit me here, and your words are the virgin dew that sparkles on the page. i started the blog only last night. we are never ready for the immortal wealth that universe always insists on our accepting. in the face of such pulsating moments, even the eternal darkness of death begins to melt. be happy always. death is only a reminder of how full of life each moment is.
Posted by harcharan bains http://sunnymindcaves.blogspot.com

Labels: keep your lap always open for universe never tires of filling it.

harcharan bains said...

vane! who, me?

a man once spat in the ocean and spent the rest of his life measuring the consequent rise in the water level.
harcharan bains
http://sunnymindcaves.blogspot.com

Dr Mona said...

what are your views on sec. 377. i want you to write about the wives of gays. did you ever think about them? what about human rights of those women whom a lot of gay men married either mindlessly or under pessure. what about their financial security, sexual desires, etc. so many of them are harassed by their gay husbands in this deeply patriarchal indian society. many dont even think that they are doing anything wrong to their wives, leave alone the health ridks that they impose. they lead a dual life, what about their wives? i appeal to the gay organisations to come forward and help such families reslove theie issues with the same sensitivity that they have craved for .
you can contact me at friend indeed2009@hotmail.com