GANGA

Akash Ganga was she;

Mighty and splendorous,

White and winding,

Along the cosmic paths.

Men, irrespective of their stature

Of being gods, envied the beauty

That they could not possess. 

They brought her down

Unsympathetically desirous

To see her tinkling waters

Turn swarthy with pain.

She found love; entangled

In the locks of the destroyer

Who in a kind pretense

Sheltered her in his locks

Only to calm her rushing tears

 Again to send her off

To her fateful fall

                                                             Back to her father’s lap.

The warmth of filial love

Still melted her

And she sprinted forth

To explore her new abode.

A new freedom surrounded her

And her formidable splendor

 Ignited awe in the lesser mortals.

 They held her in veneration.

Slowly, fright turned into familiarity.

They came nearer and nearer

To wash their hideous possessions

In her innocent waters.

Strangled with their offerings:

Ashes, hairs, coins, flowers,

Rotting bodies and the holy fire,

Choked with the tears

 Of love and suffering alike,

She continued to surge.

The brought her all they could offer;

And throw away too.

They became oblivious of her charm,

As a woman, a lovable dame,

A silent temptress as she was.

In the face of prolonged affliction

Comes acceptance.

Swelled with her own tears,

Ignored and robbed of her chastity,

Bereft of care and gratitude,

She made the plunge;

Into the soothing waters

 Of the compelling deep marine.

Akash Ganga was she;

The most beautiful and adorable.

If such is her fate,

What more can her daughters expect?