An Ode to Ganga

By Asmita Kar

MOTHER! 

For thousands and thousands of centuries, 

You have flowed in these lands!

Old age never looked so youthful!

If peace has a home, it is certainly in the soft, interlapping

Waves of yours!

O GANGE! How you flow! How gently,

One ripple follows another! 

The milk of your bosoms, disguised as your pure white waters,

Have nurtured civilizations! 

We, your children, play on your vast yet affectionate lap, 

Which you so beautifully have camouflaged as your banks!

JANHABI! O Daughter of the Himalayas! 

The sound of your anklets, which so wondrously sound,

In the gentle, lapping burble of your dainty waves,

When they touch your shores and move away,

Gives solace to the unrested heart. 

BHAGIRATHI! 

Your flowing white dress, has always absorbed,

Guilt, Sorrow, Grief, Pain, the brunt of our sins…and yet,

Has always remained – ever pure, ever glowing, ever pious,

Unsullied, untainted,

Ever white, with divinity, peace, and affection!

SURADHWANI! 

O the one who has music in her movement!

Every undulation in your holy body carries within itself, 

A philosophy.

Every current - a sacred hymn.

Every swell and every surge – an ancient literature!

Every foamy crest – a mantra. 

MANDAKINI!

You turn places into pilgrimages, just by your mere presence!

Your mere touch grants salvation to souls, 

As you affectionately usher them into the next life!

Your womb becomes the passage,

For the departed and the bereaved alike, 

To peace. 

You, through your healing waves, both miraculous and motherly,

Have calmed the raging grief of the lost, 

Those who grieved the loss of a loved one, 

Giving their pain space, as well as serenity. 

You have always spoken to them, through your wise, sacred breezes,

Comforting yet knowledgeable advises.

Reassuring them, 

That love is never lost, 

Grief is never weakness, 

And Death…isn’t they end!

O MOTHER! 

When all duties of life come to an end,

When my time on this beautiful Earth is over, 

When all my endeavors have reached their destination,

When I am laid to rest, and my final bed is lit,

I will come to you!

That time, 

O MAA! Keep your lap open for me! 

By Asmita Kar