Friday, November 16, 2012

Bhutan Chronicle No. 4

They say winters come early in Kashmir
Since the 1990's,
Even evening comes early.
A sudden whistle and a few heavy footsteps
And everyone's back home

Shops are shut,
And "Dal" stops flowing.
I remember Kashmir in old Hindi films
And in newspaper clippings
And your phone calls from Pahalgaom
All three in black and white.
Those nights, when you stole your father's phone,
The valley crept in
Through the 6 min. conversations.
The pines and the "Chinaar' rustling
The Sunday marketplace bustling
A gunshot here
A gun wound there
A life lost here
And "Mission Accomplished" there.
Shahid said  no trains enter
This Valley of Death.
Your calls have stopped..
And you have taken a flight out..
Kashmir now lives in your autumnal letters
Letters written in Blue.
About a paradise,
Where "Red Alerts" color the evenings
And White Noise the Nights.
Speak to me of Us,
There was so much Love
Every night for 6 minutes.
Give some to Kashmir.
Give some to Kashmir.

1 comment:

Abin Chakraborty said...

Marhaba Marhaba. wonderfully wistfully done.In true Agha Shahid Ali style...one of those 'I wish I had written it' poems.