A TRIBUTE…

A TRIBUTE…. TO FRI= ENDS NO MORE

The obituary column of the Irastimes is as unpredictable as Death. If one day it features Mr. Dube, the next day it is replaced = by Shankar Narayan. I don= 217;t know what is more shocking - the erratic changes or the quick succession of bereavements in the Iras family. Last year ther= e was mention of Mr. Awasthi and the untimely deaths = of the daughters of Mr. Kotaiah and Mr. P.R. Rathi. Personally I was not familiar with either of t= he deceased but Shanker Naray= an I knew well. However, since grief cannot be measured in levels of familiari= ty and since any loss can never be termed as timely or expected, I’m pre= tty certain that in every family, the intensity would amount to the same.

As the Iras is but an offshoot of the colossal Indian Railwa= ys, I would also like to take this opportunity to include the names of two of my husband’s batchmates and our very dear fr= iends - Madhukar Jain from the Stores Department and Lalit Lal from the Traffic Department. Madhukar’s shocking news of a= heart failure, we received a few months back. He and his wife Rita were our first Railway friends and the few that attended our wedding. We also cannot forget the wonderful couple Lalit (who died at a very = young age) and his wife Maneka, who put us up in thei= r two bedroom house in Chakradharpur for almost two m= onths. We had some good times with these old friends. But as is with the cruel law= s of nature, old soon gave way to new. Fresh postings fostered newer friendships= . And with responsibilities overriding acquaintances, unfortunately our families = lost touch with each other.

Every homecoming on earth coincides= with a homegoing (another word for a funeral in the = West). Whether we are ready or not, one day we will all go home. This poem is a de= dication to every member of the Railway family. To those that have already reached h= ome.

HOMEGOING

Is there a = resort

from the grave and beyond

where one could at length unwind?

Is there a = Center

where allotment of seats<= /p>

is influenced by earthly feats?

Is there a = ceaseless season

one is assigned thereafter

of a Hellish summer or a Heavenly spring= ?

My mind say= s no.

These are b= ut treasons manufactured by man

to fabricate an edifice of hope

These are b= ut reasons crafted by clerics

to aspire for an ethical scope

It is the now that matters=

not the priming for the will be

It is the here that counts=

not the grooming for up there.

Yet

my heart argues

there has to be someplace

A sanctifie= d, Celestial space

where the spirits assemble

where the souls amass

There has t= o be

Divinity

There has t= o be

a home!

And in that= abode of peace

In that del= ightful dwelling rife

free of fret, free of strife

It just mig= ht be that one day

when on earth I end my stay

A permit I = will obtain

to get to meet

to get to greet

my cherished ones again.

Nargis Natarajan