Do you remember that lazy afternoon...
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
In our youthful innocence... we did create a moment...which returns...
By Sreela Das Gupta in Santiniketan, Bolpur (West Bengal)
I steal
Words from my darkness within
Words from others' stories
Words from gloden sunsets
Words from star trails
Words from the first rains
And the song of happy crickets
Words from the taste of the first kiss
And from the solemnity
Of how lovers commit
Words from the first birdsong
On the horizon of a new dawn
Words from the mountain mist
Which hides the shadows of my tears
Words from the unknown
Which are yet to be born
But which inhabit the prologue
Of my song
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Do you remember that lazy afternoon…
Soon after the monsoons
Lying in the shade of the banyan tree
Discussing love and philosophy
On the banks of the mighty Ganges
A few miles from the chaos of Benaras
The sound of cooing doves
The smell of impending festivals
The well fed mongrel
Curled up for a siesta
The gurgle of the river
Lapping the shores
Tinkling against my anklet
As we committed to forevers…
In our youthful innocence
But we did create a moment
Which returns
At the turn of this season
When the air changes
Bringing with it a familiar restlessness
Excerpts from Orchids on a Mango Tree: A Collection of Poems
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Sreela Das Gupta has been working for over a decade in a large corporate as the Global Lead Subject Matter Expert in Diveristy, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
With an MPhil in Population Studies, from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, , she has worked for over two decades in the not-for-profit sector, focusing on issues related to women’s rights and social inclusion. She has worked both with rural poor communities in the states of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand (to name a few); and in the area of research, policy formulation, strategic planning and programme deployment with organizations like International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), CARE International, UN Women, USAID, Centre for Policy Research, Oxfam.
Sreela was a Humphrey Fellow in 2000-01 -- a mid-career fellowship funded by the US Congress. She went to the Tulane School of Public Health, New Orleans for her focus area of study on Gender and Public Health.
She has engaged with national and international platforms for policy formulation and strategic dialogue on diversity, such as ILO (International Labour Organization), UK Disability Forum, Purple Space, WeConnect and CII (Confederation of Indian Industries).
She is on the Board of Transform Schools (India), which designs, tests and scales educational solutions to bridge the learning gap in India’s secondary schools. She is also on the Board of National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.
She currently resides in Santiniketan, Tagore’s Abode of Peace, and a UNESCO Heritage site. She steeps herself in the silence – broken by birdcall and squirrels.
Her writing career started with her volume of poems Orchids on Our Mango Tree which talks of love, longing, heartbreak and life. She soon grew restless and decided to pen a Cosy Mystery – a genre she reads as a stressbuster in her very busy schedule. This was also a response to the complaints of her aunts and uncles aged 80 and above who complained about the recent crime books full of gory violence and explicit sex. Her first book was The Murder on the Khoai where she introduced her detective ‘Mini di’ solving mysteries with a motley group of characters. She has also written Murder at the Mela followed by Murder in Shimla and Murder on the Sets. Three of four of these books are based in Santiniketan.
Recently she has tried her hand at a romance novella Of Pets and Vets, set in Atlanta, Georgia. And plans to write more in this genre.
All her books are available on Amazon India.