The gathering swelled,
That sombre evening
They came from all walks,
Many that even struggled to walk,
Some that talked the walk
And several that walked the walk.
As the stories flowed,
And the experiences relived,
The taught that were inspired,
The friends that fought,
The flocks that stayed tight, come rain come shine
Each, a different tale, each a special bond.
As I walked them down the aisle,
And, sat them down,
I envied each for taking you away from me!
As I rolled my eyes
Through the sea of humanity,
That eleventh-day evening,
There were tears in many an eye,
Or smiles,
That couldn't hide the swell of emotions,
Sometimes, as they patted,
It reminded of the gentle pat,
As I'd bow before you,
And suddenly the feeling that gripped,
That evening was all about you,
But, where are you, Bapa?
The rains had stopped,
But the moistness hadn't,
The air was tranquil
Amidst the evening of soulful Bhajans,
As if to prep everyone
For an uneasy meeting,
They sank in and sat there for long,
They stayed mum,
With closed eyes,
Each hiding their loss, from the other,
Sometimes long enough
For the teary ones to dry by themselves,
Can't tell if they had resigned to fate,
Maybe, lost themselves,
In memories, they shared with you,
Or, just sat to muster the courage
Maybe rehearsed their pitch,
The toughest in their lives,
For an unusual meeting with you!
The cottage cheese payas
Was yummy,
They said,
How happy would you have been
To see this, Bapa.
Come, try a small scoop.
It reminded me of the sweet pack
Many eons back,
You'd get, to make up for taking me to task
The sweet that's a living sketch of our feelings.
As I gazed through my blurred vision
At the vacuum,
I muttered -
Sweets will never taste the same, Bapa
Without you!
© Sashikant Mohanty
