Saturday, December 19, 2009

Gandhi, By the Bridge




By Gaurav Parab




Judgment has been passed by lesser men
I am not worthy now, I will not be worthy then
As I walk with her fingers held in my hand
On that bridge next to Deccan Bus Stand

She is saying something about the sparkling river
I am distracted by the answers I deliver
As we cross the third pillar on our right
I see an old man of around medium height

He is staring at that lone star in the sky
As my love looks at me for a reply
I mumble something as we walk along
Something about that old man was wrong

I bid her goodbye, but she is not on my mind
I rush back to the bridge I had left behind
The old man is still there with that look in his eyes
He is sitting now, gazing at the open skies

I am hesitant, since this does not happen everyday
I go up to him and speak, “Sir, is everything ok?”
He smiles back and says, What is the time ?
I am relieved, and I answer, “It is almost nine”

He clears his throat and says, I am doing great
Though I miss my mum, and her food on my plate
What happened to your mother, I ask the old man
She passed away, before this century began

I never married young man; she was the most precious to me
I am Gaurav Sir, though my friends call me GP
He shakes my firm outstretched hand
An old man of eighty, and me by Deccan bus stand

I am sorry Sir, I never asked your name
Second name Gandhi, no other claim to fame
I smile back at his quick little joke
For the next five minutes none of us spoke

I thought something was wrong, so I stopped by
You thought this crazy old man was here to die ?
I shrug my shoulders and smile at him
You know I am a happy old man, I just look grim

I live alone by my house down that street
I keep an hour a day for me to eat
Then when the walls start closing in
I come to this bridge, his face breaks free into a grin

Don’t you have a sister or a friend somewhere?
Yes, they love me but they don’t care
They meet me every now and then
Only they know when I will see them again

Why did you stop by young GP?
I was looking for lessons Mr Gandhi
Lessons from an old accountant! he shakes his head
There is a lesson in everything, my mother once said

On mothers and their sacrifices we discuss
God could not be everywhere, so he sent them to us
It has been an hour and I say I have to go
You were the first conversation in a year, you know

Thank you is all Gandhi has to say
As I am on my way
I look back and wave a quick goodbye
As a tear escapes his eye
I look up to nod at his mum in that star
I know I have to go very far





14 comments:

Gautam Anand said...

touched my heart strings ..
situational and sentimental at the same time ; this is one of ur best creations..

Abhishek Dhok said...

Damn Man.... Just how... Just how can you write so well!? I would give... umm...Well, there's nothing that I can give and hope to get a talent for words like you have, in return.

Superlative.

Dhok

ankit said...

This is brilliant... Simply superb!!!

Anonymous said...

Dear Gaurav,
This was very nice and touching
Thanks
Warm Regards,
Gokhale
Lt Col C Gokhale

Amit Sonawane said...

Excellent!!!
I was able to visualise the whole scene.. Keep it up!

Nightflier said...

just wonderful Gaurav!

Anonymous said...

Easily I agree but I think the post should acquire more info then it has.

Shantanu Dhankar said...

Did you see the bridge n then wrote the poem or the poem was the background for the bridge...I see a lot of ur poems have pictures - do you see pictures and then write or pictures come later, the poem comes first.

-Shantanu

Gaurav Parab said...

@ Gautam: Thanks. This is based on a true incident, and is also one of my personal favorites.

@ Abhishek: A little Vodka is the secret buddy :)

@ Ankit: Thanks dude.

@ Col Gokhle, nightflier: Thanks a ton

@ Shantanu: If you are refering to the pictures on the blog, they are always an afterthought. The poem comes after the incident. Always.

Supri said...

AWESOME!

Supri said...

AWESOME!

Jayshankar said...

Dude that was touching man, awesome

Anonymous said...

Simple and sweet!

Regards,
Mamata Mane

AM said...

Awesome!!