SHEHJAR - Web Magazine for Kashmir

RECENT UPDATE Promoting Kashmiri Hindu issues of this decade and bring the diverse needs of the community in a format that is easy to read and navigate.

CURRENT ISSUE

Pebble Beach Rocks



	Pebble Beach Rocks (1) Out here in the Pacific Along the Pebble Beach The rocks bare their torsos To the mighty elements - The sun, wind and waves - That chisel and sculpt them Into myriad magical shapes. The rocks sit there since aeons Stroked fondly by unseen hands That paint with unique pastels - Of lichen, moss and fungus - Murals of yellow, green and red That neither mortals nor angels Can ever create. (2) There are more rocks here, Big and broad and bare, Silver-grey, black and craggy, Stretching out into the sea - An open-air aviary Where pelicans, gulls, cormorants Roost in complete harmony. They assemble in large flocks Silhouetted against the sun Like a congregation of priests In beautiful black attires Heads bowed in evening prayer As the sun dips imperceptibly And gently blows the balmy breeze And the restless waves Charged with love's ache Embrace the longing shores Churning the songs of eternity Reciting the mantra: Om bhur bhva swaha. Rust Trees at Point Lobos With gnarled trunks and curvy limbs Denuded of your dress and cover Web-like lacy strands of rust Tangled around your torsos You stand with tiny footholds At the edge of the world Drought stricken and windswept Holding tenuously on your own In coves and groves and on the cliffs Feeding through the chinks in rocks Drinking from the amorous mists Striking a Tandava pose A picture of transcendence.

* Dr. K L Chowdhury retired as a Professor of Medicine, Medical College, Srinagar. Presently he is the Director of a charitable institution, Shriya Bhatt Mission Hospital and Research Center, Durga Nagar, Jammu. He is a physician and neurologist, a medical researcher, poet, social activist. He writes on diverse subjects – medical, literary, social and political and has numerous research papers to his credit, his pioneering work being “The Health Trauma in a Displaced Population” which was presented at national and international conferences. He has published three anthologies namely: 1- “Of Gods, Men and Militants”. Minerva Press (Pvt.) India -2000 2- “A Thousand-Petalled Garland and other Poems”. Writers Workshop Kolkata – 2003 3- “Enchanting world of Infants” Peacock Books, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors-2007 He was declared Shehjar's 'Kashmiri Person of the year' for 2007.