'The Noisiest Spring', by Raaja Bhasin
posted on 06/05/20
Past the blooming calla lilies
The struggling petunias of the garden
Beyond iris flowered and gone
Fleabane on stone
Bergenia along still-dry moss.
Madness
Among red rhododendron in the woods
Air,
Scrubbed.
The distant snows shine.
River water, as we are told,
Is clean, is clear.
Drinkable.
A leopard, or was that two?
Wait for the lights to change.
A four-ball of deer
Move
From the rough to the green.
A civet cat not seen
Sets out to examine the marketplace.
We watch from our windows,
As the noisiest spring of the century goes past.
Listen now
By Raaja Bhasin
MRT lecturer
MRT Tour Manager Heather Millican travelled with Raaja on our Indian Summer tour in 2018:
"I was touched by Raaja’s poem because I can picture Shimla, from where he writes, and while it is a place of immense beauty it is also a place of bustle and activity. That this town in the Himalayan foothills is sharing the lockdown that engulfs my home city, London, felt especially poignant. I look forward very much to returning to Shimla."
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