Our river

Our river
P K Routray
Can a river belong to a sect or village?
but our love for our river has given us such a faith and a courage.
This is the longest and perennial river of the region,
The name of the river as Mahanadi, for its divinity, it is well known.
This river is more than a thousand kilometer long,
Around thousand village and another thousand forests do exist on its bank all along.
From ages many men, animals, birds and many a tree,
were born and grew up and lived their lives along its banks with the river as trustee.
like all of them I am also born and brought up in a village located on its bank,
we played on its sand , swam across its breadth and fearlessly its water we drank.
At my infancy I remember and noticed my mother leaving me with family members,
used to go daily to the river at dawn and dusk for her chores.
At the age of two I used to cry to go to the river,
I hazily remember and cannot explain, why was I so eager?
Even now when a baby cries, he is tempted to silence and to smile
that he will be taken for his fun to the river after a while.
I learnt from my elders similar to a child even today,
when I was told to be taken to river I used to stop to cry.
on the bank of this river are located our temple, school also cremation ground,
weekly market grazing field of cattle and goats also our playing fields are found.
Every morning and evening almost the entire village comes to its bank to gossip to enjoy and to complete their daily chores.
People wait darkness of night and brightness of day and intensity of rain to subside to run to its bank to get relief and solace.
Under darkness we see a necklace of portable lights of fisher men decorating the river,
during day time the songs of the boat men vibrate the river’s atmosphere.
In all seasons throughout the year to child and old, to animals and trees to birds and insects,
the river does serve and favor equally in all aspects.
The color and transparency of blue water of all seasons other than rain,
and muddy and turbulent water during rain the river does religiously maintain.
Every year we see the river drying in summer and swelling in rain,
cool in winter and in spring and autumn calm and plain.
At times in rain it dances with fury of flood threatening many town and cities,
but to us it was an expected regular phenomenon we stay at peace and ease,
our house are with mud having thatched roof,
if broken and swept away we are not in soup.
we rebuild the house after the flood without worry,
even with material carried to us during flood’s furry.
flood unites us with community living on elevated sand heaps,
as if created by river and nature in the days of yore, from the fury of flood us it safly keeps.
I have shifted to town still I call the river is mine and ours,
with love for its water and sand and the live scene of flood with memories of smiles and tears.
The sound and fury of the flood, brave acts of youth, mixed reactions of women and children,
vibrate and dance in my memory giving food for me to analyze and think with love and passion.
If a capable writer pen my thoughts and interpretations of my childhood scenes of flood,
It will be infinite, ultimately singing the glory of the flood and the life of the people born blessed.