The Ghats of Varanasi

Posted on December 7, 2023 by akanksha gupta

Dip into History

Etched onto every crenulation
On either side of Ganga’s might,
A relic of truth - a piece of history
Mired in faith and legend and mystery
Resides; quietly, contently, reverently
Burning day and night fervently

Cremation

Waters brim with the black of night
Still with the cold of death
Weep endless ashes and dust, and yet
Echo the warmth of undying embers 
All reflective, quiet, solemn faced 
Sailing past Harishchandra, Manikarnika Ghats
Reverent and disquieted in equal parts

Sandhya Aarti

Melted drops of a long-gone sun
Burn the wick of every prayer
On the ghats
On the boats swarming the ghats
Mesmerising chants of song and dance
Fill the air

Breath mingles with oil and incense
Headiness of lights and sounds and scents
Harmony of Dasashwamedh and Ganga
Symphony of souls swept into an orchestra
Of carefree precision, of piety
Intoxicated with sobriety

As time crescendoes;
Halts to a moment,
Ensnares,
Dusk darkening, night lightening,
Heart tightening,
I wonder how aarti at dawn compares

– Akanksha Gupta

Lock and Key

Posted on July 2, 2021 by akanksha gupta

source: https://www.fuzia.com/article_detail/232771/freedom

Lurking in the depths of my soul
The hunger unfettered, growls and roars

I grab it tight with both my arms
With fingers unclenched from clammy palms

Yet fear threatens to swallow all sound
The muted ringing of silence surrounds

I dare not open my eyes, and stare
Into the very eyes of despair

On a face that could so easily mirror my own
Had it not been wildly unkempt and so very old

Dazed, startled, I uncurl again, and again glimpse
The future that spins anew with every blink

~ Akanksha Gupta (poem)

The QuadCore Brain

Posted on October 2, 2016 by akanksha gupta

ACT I : The Belligerent Sycophant

I wish
I could carve out
A path
From my head to my heart
And rationalize every thought
And every chemical reaction
With a melting pot
Of facts, figures and emotions
I wish
I could dissolve
All my scruples and sorrows
With nary a care
About the tuples of tomorrow
Oh I wish many a wish
And dream many a dream
But right now all I can focus on
Is, my senses tingling
From the cool of the ice cream

ACT II : The Silent Activist

I’m trying to improve my handwriting
Making it clearer
So that when I put down my thoughts
And ideas
And opinions
I can go back and recollect them
So that they leave in my memory
An indelibly clearer impression
They are an expression in time
Of Circumstances and the society
Of myself and those around me
And I wish to put them down
Elegantly and tidily
To preserve them for eternity
To remember, to recall, the actions
To study the reactions
And learn from the inactions
Most of all

– Akanksha Gupta

Winter – Limerick Style

Posted on December 16, 2015 by akanksha gupta

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Her face, worn and pale, flickered
When the distant echo of laughter
From those children, swathed in wool
And gathered round embers of charcoal,
Warmed, in her heart, a perpetual winter

~ Akanksha Gupta