GROUND :HINDI POEM BY PROMILA BHARDWAJ : ENGLISH VERSION BY RAJNI CHHABRA

 GROUND

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Shivering with cold

On a lethargic holiday

Cozy golden rays of the Sun

Cajoled lotus-like face of 

Shivering dawn

Reluctantly 

Yawning

Moving slowly

Sheet of fog

Studded with beads of dew

Dawn rose

And with its light

Awakened, patting

The ground, half asleep

As it got fully awake, by and by

Children who had been waiting

Teen-agers, youth

Forming groups 

With their companions

Taking along with them

Cricket, foot-ball

Skipping rope-badminton 

And other items

Landed in the ground

Ripe-aged persons , too

Came out for strolling

Accompanying them were

Groups of swans and birds 

Some persons came to lounge

Some for stretching their bodies

Some came to play cards

Or to read newspaper

Women-folk, after completing chores

Fetching crochets and knitting pins

Groundnuts-* revari

Came to relax

Houses on all sides

Seemed deserted ,

Appeared viewing with jealousy

Ground, full of hustle-bustle

Still, having much of empty space,

This huge ground is evidence of

Countless festivals and fairs

And historical events.

So much, tolerant, so polite

As great as it is huge.

O, that courtyards of our hearts

Too get so huge 

To accommodate

Affection and love of

All creatures, 

Our own and strangers

O, Huge ground!

Give us this boon

All become as great as you!

* Revari : a sweet dish prepared with jaggery and seeds of seasame.