Friend, this reflective poem was composed way back in Feb 2008,
and posted in ‘Poemhunter.com’. Hope you like the same, - Raj

               THE  ECHO
Standing on the edges of the Western
Ghats of India,
I marveled at the panoramic beauty
of the majestic scene,
And inhaled the pure ether within.
Next, like many others who had
preceded me, I shouted out my name;
And my voice resounded through the
corridors of time,
As those hills echoed and re-echoed
my name!
Here I was alive and breathing, on top
of the world.
I played this game again and again, -
Lost in this child-like fun!

For one day I too shall become a distant
echo but without a voice.
A transparent negative of a positive self.
Perhaps waiting in God’s darkroom to
become visible once again in a positive  
form, -
After several centuries and many eons!
Though I have prayed for ‘moksha’ always,
With no desire to be Reborn!

Our succeeding generations will continue
to view the Western Ghats in wonder
and amazement,
And also loudly shout out their name.
While those mountains would faithfully
echo back the same,
Time and again, all playing the same
old game!
                                          -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,

Friend, abbreviation BC is used to show that a year or century comes before the year in which Jesus Christ is said to have been born. But now BC acquires an additional connotation as ‘Before Corona/Covid’  year, with 2020 becoming our unfortunate
landmark year! - Raj

REFLECTIONS ON OUR PRESENT TIMES
The abbreviation of BC has acquired a fresh
new meaning these days,
Since BC henceforth will also refer to as
‘Before Covid’ days!
The year 2020 shall go down in History as
the commencement of the Covid Era,
Which engulfed mankind due to the
nefarious activities of expansionist CHINA!
China which was once reputed to be the
‘Cradle of Ancient Civilization’,
Has now become the cause for it progressive
destruction!
Jing Ping’s crime against Humanity has overtaken
that of Adolf ****** as we now get to see!
But the World leaders are impotent to unite
against China, - most unfortunately!

The Covid Era with its hygienic taboos and
Social distancing,
Has made us more introverted and dependent
on Computers and ‘WhatsApp’, - for our daily
living!
Smiles are hidden behind masks these days,
And people refrain from greeting with a hug
or a handshake, even for old time’s sake!
Under the present uncertainties of life,
We have become more selfish and self-centered,
following our innate desire to survive!
Though the Insurance Companies and Private
Medical Institutions are minting money these
days,
While the common man struggles to survive
every single day!

But as an optimist, I do hope that Humans will
develop antibodies against this virus soon.
But those antibodies should not wash away our
Human and Humane qualities, -
Along with the deluge of the Monsoon!
                                               -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                                composed 21 Aug 2020.

A BIRD IN HAND  &  ‘CARPE DIEM’*
It has been wisely observed and said,
That a bird in hand is worth two in the
bush always.
Therefore, let us grab this day before it
begins to slip away my friends!

The Afghans are perhaps the only people
in the world who pray after their meal!
Since they are more concerned about the
outcome, -
Than the intentions the behind things!
Just as the proof of the pudding always
remains in its eating!

Now the Latin phrase ‘Carpe Diem’ meaning
‘seize the day’, - has been a popular theme of
English poetry even to this day!
It was first used by the Roman poet Horace in
his ‘Odes’ during 23 BC,
Which spoke of enjoying the day before it
ceases to exist!
This theme is also found in Shakespeare’s sonnets;
In Robert Herrick’s lines ‘To the Virgins to Make
Much of Time’; in Andrew Marvell’s seductive
lyric ‘To His Coy Mistress’; and also in poems of
AE Houseman, and Robert Frost, - among many
other poets.
Here are few lines from Andrew Marvell’s seductive
lyric - ‘To His Coy Mistress’:-

“But at my back I always hear
  Time’s wingéd chariot hurrying near:
  And yonder all before us lie
  Deserts of vast eternity.
  Thy beauty shall no more be found;            
  Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
  My echoing song: then worms shall try
  That long-preserved virginity!
  And your quaint honor turn to dust,
  And into ashes all my lust.                  
  The grave’s a fine and private place,
  But none, I think, do there embrace!”

Now I conclude with few lines from my
favorite Henry Wordsworth Longfellow’s
poem - ‘The Psalm of Life’:

“.…Trust no future however pleasant!
       Let the dead Past bury its dead!
       Act, act, in the living Present.
       Heart within, and God overhead!
       Lives of great men all remind us,
       We can make our lives sublime,
       And departing leave behind us,
       Footprints on the sands of time!…”
                                               -Raj Nandy, New Delhi.
                                                composed on 03 JULY 2020.

THE SONG OF LIFE*
In our life’s long journey dear fellow traveler,
We meet for a while only to depart!
What remains are the sweet and bitter memories,
To torment our lonesome heart !

Those who are endowed with beauty and form,
Must not play around with their deceitful eyes,
To entrap some crazy lover,
And torment him for the rest of his life!

Since beauty is only skin deep, and fades with
the passing of time,
Let us stay away from such enticements,
As we journey on this road of life.

Therefore let us laugh and sing,
As we travel life’s path together,
For laughter is the best medicine,
While songs shall gladden our hearts
forever!
                                       -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                         Composed on 17 June 2020

Friends, the phrase ‘Hobson’s Choice’ originated with Thomas Hobson, a livery stable owner in Cambridge in 16th Century England, who offered customers the choice of either taking
the horse nearest to the stable door or taking none at all!
Therefore in reality he offered no choice! A Catch-22 situation, like the Devil & the Blue Sea, or the Morton’s Fork, - all meaning the same thing.                                      -Raj Nandy, New Delhi.          

              HOBSON’S   CHOICE
As explained above, this phrase means no choice
at all.
Since you are forced to choose the only offered
thing or none at all!
A Catch-22 situation when you are in the ‘horns
of a dilemma’, or ‘between the devil and the
deep blue sea’!
When caught between the two horns of a bull,
You are in the ‘horns of a dilemma’ indeed,
Quickly throw some sand in the bull’s eyes,
And run zigzag on your feet.

Now John Morton who demanded gifts for the Royal
Treasury during the 15th Century England, had
loudly proclaimed, -
That if a man lived in luxury he was rich, but if he
lived frugally, a lot of money he must have saved!
So either way to the Royal Treasury he had to pay!
This came to be known as the ‘Morton’s Fork’,
And became a well known phrase, not yet forgot.

Take care of the penny and the pound will
take care of itself, - I was repeatedly told.
So I locked up all my pennies, and spent all
my pounds, and soon became stone broke!
I was called penny wise and pound foolish,
And became the **** of many jokes!
Now, one fine morning chased by the Devil I
landed up on the edge of a high cliff by the sea;
And was offered the choice between the Devil
and The Deep Blue Sea!
I pleaded with the Devil to toss up a coin and
give me one more choice.
The devil replied, “Ok that’s fine with me but
remember before you chose, Heads I win, and
Tails You Lose, so quickly toss up and choose!”
You may well guess what happened after that
Hobson's Choice!?
                                           -Raj Nandy, New Delhi,
                                            composed on 04 July 2020.

THE MAGICAL INTRUDER !

IN THIS HEART OF MINE,
LOVE ENTERS LIKE AN INTRUDER
I KNOW NOT WHY!

LOVE LIGHTS THE LAMP TO EXPELL
DARKNESS AND GLOOM,
THIS LAMP I FLOAT ON A DARK MOON-
LESS NIGHT ON A LAGOON.

THE LAMP SOON SETS THE WATER ON FIRE!
BUT ONLY AQUA CAN ****** LOVE’S
BLAZING FIRE!

I WONDER WHO HAS CREATED LOVE
WITH ITS MAGICAL EMOTIONS,
WHEN THE HEART GETS MESMARIZED BY
SUCH AN ALIEN INTRUSION!
                                                    -R­aj Nandy, New Delhi
                                                      compo­sed on 16th June ‘20

(THIS POEM HAS BE WRITTEN IN A LIGHTER VEIN,
I HOPE YOU LIKE IT ALL THE SAME!_  

COPY, CUT, AND PASTE !
These days I mostly find, on our social
media sites,
Inclusive of this ‘Facebook’ as on date;
Plenty of photos and materials getting
daily posted,
Simply through Copy, Cut, and Paste!
Though deprived of genuineness and
creativity,
It does provide a nice pass time for us
all, despite its lack of originality!
But unfortunately as a result of this,
Creative writing has taken a back
seat!

I wish in my real day life, I could choose
and select from the events of my time,
Through this easy technique of ‘Cut and
Paste’!
Instead of wasting time in planning and
thinking,
When all things could be easily achieved  
with good speed and haste!  

How I wish in our lives there was a
‘Delete Button’ too.
To remove all our aches and pains, and
all our old age troubles too!
Then we could delete that Chinese virus
with ease,
To get our suffering World back on its feet!
But even this ‘Facebook’ does not have this
‘Delete Button’!
And now I am reminded of what Omar Khyyam
in his ‘Rubaiyat’ had written:-
“The Moving Finger writes, and having writ,
   Moves on; nor all thy Piety nor Wit shall lure
   it back to cancel half a line,
   Nor all thy tears wash out a Word of it!”
                                              -Raj Nandy, composed on
                                                20 June 2020, New Delhi.

NOTE: ‘Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam’, is the title Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English, of a selection of quatrains (rubaiyat), attributed to Omar Khyyam (1048-1131), that famous Astronomer-Poet of Persia.