Sunday, March 14, 2010

Mahadev and his Horse





By Gaurav Parab

As I keep the book
That accidentally came to be kept
All those unclaimed that God took
And no one wept

I think about the horse
Perhaps the animal felt
The missing remorse
As his owner knelt

Mahadev’s horse driven cart
An undertaker to the untaken
The trigger to a new start
The last friend of the forsaken

A man, a horse and their garlands
For every death that cheated life
For every life, cheated of its breath
Unlikely fates, two likely friends

The horse passed on I hear
As his master searched
For a resting place for his peer
Like the other seventy thousand

Ammu, a friend to the unidentified
Ammu, an unidentified horse
Mahadev, god of gods
 Mahadev, a simple man who does his job


This poem is based on the inspirational life of Mahadev, Bangalore's friend to the forsaken. In the last three decades, Mahadev has provided a dignified burial to more than 70,000 people, whom no one claimed to be their own.  Subroto Bagchi's remarkable book, The Professional, starts with a chapter on Mahadev and I hope his life's work can be an inspiration to all of us.




2 comments:

Farina said...

Nice poem.
Thanks for the background on it.

Amey said...

Yes, the professional is an awesome book.

And so is yours GP!

Great poem.