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The poet who was there
Yesterday is not there today,
Has gone away, his soul
A traveller, but the poet
Remains with us in his books.
Now his body has been cremated
As per his last wish.
The poet reminisced
Odisha and Oriya life-view
Of the country and the urban space.
One who tried to know
Realities and mysteries.
Imagery, word-play, stylistic expression
Poetry came to him
Through his love of physics,
Chapters on light and darkness
And his interest in photography.
The Jagannath temple,
Konark, Khandagiri,
Dhaulagiri, the Ashokan
Rock edicts, the river Daya
Drew him close to dabble in ink.
Indian hunger, poverty, scarcity of food,
Poor housing, underdevelopment, backwardness,
Illiteracy, superstition, fatalism,
Gender bias, patriarchal hegemony,
He could not avert his gaze from
What ails society. |
