Zeitgeistlyrik: O CATMANDU! (Satis Shroff)

O Catmandu! (Satis Shroff)

O Catmandu!

All I see is rubble,

People buried by bricks,

Waste fragments of stone.

Wooden struts from ancient temples,

Loose stones,

Tumbled houses.

The cries, shouts and helplessness,

In Nepali and Newari tongues.

Mothers looking for their children,

Young Nepalese mourning the dead,

People in motion,

Searching incessantly,

Like ants on heaps of rubble,

That were once unesco heritage sites.

The pagoda skyline has vanished.

O Catmandu!

The convulsions of the earth's surface,

Has in the past demanded its toll

Of human lives,

As far back as 1934.

When the Indian subcontinent

Approaches the Eurasian landmass,

Seismic shocks are inevitable.

The movement of tectonic plates

Causes damage not only without,

In Catmandu, Pokhara, Khumbu Icefalls,

But also within the denizens of Nepal.

Social, psychological,

Economical pain results.

O Catmandu!

There where Bhimsen stahn was,

A fifty-meter tower built in 1832,

With a panoramic view of the valley,

And the snowy Himalayan summits,

Looks like a broken tooth now.

The temple of Mahendreshvarra,

Built in 1560,

Where the Newari ladies in black saris

Dried their scarlet chillies,

Where visitors sat and chilled,

Watched the bustle of Basantapur,

Is now a sorry picture,

With only stairs,

Leading to nowhere,

As though the Gods

Have left for Heaven.

O Catmandu!