They climbed and climbed,
In twos and threes,
Mothers and fathers,
Sons and daughters.
One ahead,
Others following,
Steadily climbing,
The mother, bringing up the rear.
Voices encouraged,
The little ones,
Helping hands hastened
The slower ones.
The rocky, pebbled path,
Narrow at times,
Uphill and down,
Flower-strewn too!
Half-way through, and some more,
Despite a Herculean effort,
The mother, tired, halted!
Yet, urged the family to go on.
The daughter, then,
Stopped too,
Determined to remain
With her tired Ma!
Others climbed yet,
And finally, His Grace,
The clearing, Babaji’s Cave;
Exhausted, Exhilarated, Blessed!
En-route, the two,
Rested, in silence.
Humbled, by the sounds of the forest,
The birds, the trees, the wind,
Blessed company!
The experience of silence,
Humbling, Divine!
Minutes passed,
Nay, even an hour!
Joined again,
By the rest of the family,
The downward path,
Quicker, Joyous!
Stumbling some more,
And then erect,
Till all reached
The Dunagiri foothill.
Wonderment! Gratitude!
The mission complete,
Arduous, yet protected,
By God Divine!
A milestone reached,
Long-cherished desire,
Finally fulfilled,
Divine Grace!
This poem was written about 7 years back, when ten members of our
extended family, (75-year old mother, 3 sisters, husbands and
children) went to Dwarahat and set out to climb the Dunagiri mountain, upto Beloved Babaji’s cave. It was indeed a memorable experience!
In divine love and friendship,
Sucharita Pradhan
Kolkata
Jai Gurus