26 April, 2024
If, suddenly, I were to come across
Someone on the way
And if they were to ask me
Softly,
"How are you doing today?"
Then I would say,
Nature is so bountiful
And like waves in the ocean
I'm at play!
My frayed pockets
I've stuffed
With bouncing, spilling
Waves of ecstasy
I may be alone, and yet I feel
I'm in a carnival all day
On a treasure chest
With no lock at all
My riches are plenty safe!
like waves in the ocean
I'm at play!
Water in the eyes comes and goes
But the moistness within never dries
The shore may keep accounts
Of less and more
The ocean doesn't bother about such scores
The sun may rise and set everyday
The sky over me is always the same
Like waves in the ocean
I'm at play!
This poem is translated from Gujarati. Credits - Vipul Rikhi, Shabnam Virmani
Renowned Gujarati writer Dhruv Bhatt recounts the moment when this poem was born.
Once he was walking on a hot day in a poor rural belt in coastal Saurashtra.
From a distance he saw an old man wearing a tattered dhoti struggling to till a harsh,
rocky earth with a heavy plough, while the sun beat down mercilessly.
Feeling deeply sympathetic to the old man's plight, Dhruv Dada gently asked him as he passed by,
Dada, kem chhe? (How are you?) The old man lifted his face and flashing a beatific smile at Dhruv Dada crooned,
'I'm doing just great!' Utterly taken aback and brought face to face with his own assumptions,
in that moment a song took shape in his heart.