India: The Better Side
A poem by Shamik Banerjee

India: The Better Side

Where every visitor is deemed divine,
Whose fecund soil produces Indigo,
And landforms have a picturesque design;

Through whose broad swaths the Ganga’s courses flow,
Where sunrays crown (as if an honoured king)
The Himalayan peaks of whitish glow;

Where holiness is felt in everything,
In trees, in stones, in farmers’ toiling ards,
Or in the trill a flock of Brownbuls sing.

Her womb of knowledge gifted us the bards:
Ezekiel, Dutt, Naidu, Seth, Tagore;
Their words still stand on glory’s boulevards;

And though her fast-progressing nature bore
Modernity to us, yet, every child
Bows to his parents as if it’s a chore

Each dawn. No influence, however wild,
Could change her culture: we eat with our hands,
Her principles have never been beguiled;

Although she’s been despoiled by foreign lands,
She gave them shelter at her blood’s expense,
Chose love against their hate, and now she stands

Among all mighty nations, so immense,
To prove a truth: all battles can be won
By one true sword, the sword of tolerance.

About the poem: Although every nation, including mine, has its own drawbacks and areas needing improvement, I chose to write about the better side of India. The culture that reared me, the states that schooled me, and their natives who welcomed me as their own, constitute the unmarred and rich India that the world is aware of. Hence, to thank my country, I decided to not highlight its downside, instead speak about the things that still breed hope in our hearts.

About the Author:

Shamik Banerjee is a poet from India. When he is not writing, he can be found strolling the hills surrounding his homestead. Some of his poems are forthcoming in The Hoogly Review and Dreich, among others.

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