Manna From Heaven
written by: Dilip Mohapatra
When my Lord and Master,
Indra the King of the Heavens
rode his elephant Airavata
and slew the demon of drought Vritra,
who held me captive —
I poured myself in glee
to quench the thirst
of the parched throat of the earth
in agony.
I am there at his beck and call
and whenever he commands the clouds to let me fall
I drizzle,
I come in showers,
sometimes in torrents—
when the cloud bursts
though mostly, I heal
with my cooling touch,
as I wake the seeds from slumber
and spread around
the fragrance of petrichor
sometimes I wreak havoc
and fury—
because of your fault
and your callousness
for your environment
and sustainability.
I hear the innocent plea
from the kids who want to play
telling me to go away
but asking me to come another day,
somewhere else,
they hear the thunder
and enjoy my pitter patter,
while getting wet together.
When the village women sing Kajri,
or the great maestros recite
raga Megh Malhar,
and wedding ceremonies
are performed for the frogs
in village ponds—
I rejoice with joy
and fall in abandon.
I bring down the elixir
of life from the higher realm
to both the other
the earth
and the netherworld,
mix myself in the streams
the rivers and the sea
as well as the underground water,
bring joy and cheers
also camouflage the tears
and levitate as vapour
back to my celestial abode
to come down
once again.
And again.
NOTE:
Based on the Prompt – A Conversation with The Rain
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