By Vijay Kumar
In life, there are times,
When the music dies
Shrouded by silence,
It’s quiet as death
When gloom befalls
And colours fade
When the spine snapped
And vision snipped
When paradise is lost
And purgatory is here
In a withered soul
When even hope is foul
When the chips are down
Life fails to revitalize, even the clown
A spark can be lit,
For the spirit to uplift
From a musical whisper so feeble,
Listen, you can barely able
A strum, a beat, a hum,
A rendition
Alone or in unison
A single note
Whirling afloat
Fires an emotion
Assumes agitation
A magic which fires,
The healing, the awakening
Lights a glow in the spirit,
Is musical symphony
Pick from the
Biwa and the Koto
The Pipa or the Xiao
Didgeridoo and the gum-leaf
The shehnai and sitar
The Oud or Daf
Harp or cello
Flute or banjo
Ribaab or mandolin
Ukulele Or A-ca-pello
Or the humble hum and whistle
The organ and the choir
The roar or the tweet
Of meter and intonations
The Ballad opera or the Tragedie en musique
Rise and fall of the audiences’ distress
Of melodic motion in the natural world
The rush of water,
The pop of a dew-drop
The rustle of autumn leaves,
The murmur of the brook
The whistling woods
The ripe fruits fall
Wail of the squall
The whine of the cicada
The bell-bird’s call
Hear, hear the sonata for resuscitation
Rekindled enthusiasm
To walk or sail
With a gentle caress and nudge
Gets the form (body) and anima (spirit) to budge
The wafting,
Invigorating notes
Ride the heady winds,
Carry the boats
Get on your journey,
Fight the bends
Defeat the odds,
Eye the fair-end
With your own music,
Playing in your head
Guiding you back to heights
Beckoning and urging
To claw and climb
From the foothills to peaks
…of your sonorous mountains
By Vijay Kumar
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