Sunday Poems By Ketaki Datta

Lord Jagannath

The chariot goes down,
Down memory lane,
With all the chintzy decors
And the colourful streamers–
With all of us running diehard
To touch the rope of Lord’s cart!
After a tussle, petty not-you-but-I scuffle,
Elbowing our way through
The sea of devotees,
We jumped up
to the less-thronged path
To have a bite at jalebis,
A crunch of papads,
A swig of slurpy malai-chaanch!
How funny those days were!
Lord Jagannath meant savouries,
Lord Jagannath stood for camaraderie,
And all foolish pranks and
Bonds of love!

Rath/Ultarath

Rath is a word, which gives us goosebumps,
Ultarath is something that eases off goosebumps!
What remains there in between?
Love for all, nothing narrow or mean!