Teesta Review:
A Journal of Poetry, Volume 2, Number 1. May 2019. ISSN: 2581-7094
Golden
Lanka - Ravan's Impregnable City
He
crossed a hundred yojanas of space
with
ease; no sweat; no tiresomeness in face.
Oh
praise the Lord of Apes, oh praise his pace
and
praise his armour, Rama’s holy grace.
He
stood akimbo, watching Ravan’s place
on
Mount Trikoota bracing peaks of space;
when
showered blooms in rainbow shades from boughs
enwrapping
him from head to toes with love.
Besmeared
with floral hues and pollen grains
he
looked like Manmadha in human strain.
The
gutsy Chief of Apes sashayed on grass
meadows
and hill verdure, through chunky mass
of
thorny copse and vivid fluorescence,
inspecting
that island with sense, immense.
He
found that place, a colourful conflate
of
emerald timberlines of walnuts, dates,
cadamba,
wild jasmines, mahoganies
cedars
and fragrant pippli trees.
The
trees were flocked by silver coloured swans
and
Kaarandas. The lakes and wells were full
with
lotus blooms and water lilies and lo
so
lively was that place with pleasant glow.
The
city was under special surveillance
in
view of abducted Sita’s presence.
The
demon warriors patrolled the roads
with
lethal long bows, spears and swords.
The
sky-high marble palaces had gold
facades,
gold sills, gold doors and gold thresholds.
The
streets were wide and clean and homes bedight.
The
boulevards were embellished with wires
of
creeping plants, running sky-wise, in plaits
as
if, the city was hooked to heaven’s spires.
Vishwakarma,
an architect of devatas,
designed
and built Lanka with will and splendid skill.
Once
ruled by Lord Kuber it was, alas
but
lost to Ravana, his half-brother, in clash.
“By
its defence mechanism; by arms;
by
its ramparts and forts; impregnable;
by
deep trenches and by its brutal swarms
of
primed soldiers this place’s invincible.
The
Scion of Winds became extremely sceptical.
“Can
apes besiege Lanka and beat the asuras?
Can
even Mighty Ram kill Ravana? Alas,
can
powers spiritual conquer the logical?