Poetry
Jamuna's Quest
A Poem by INNI KAUR
A giant in Punjabi Literature, Bhai Vir Singh (December 5, 1872 - June 10, 1957) is celebrated as 'The Sixth River of Punjab'. He was a poet, novelist, essayist, exegete, historian, editor, publisher and a journalist. He was the leading figure in the Singh Sabha, the dynamic Sikh renaissance movement in the late 19th, early 20th century Punjab. The following is inspired by his poem.
JAMUNA's QUEST
On my shores
He camped
The veena Player
The Fountain of Life
Laughing, sporting
He swam in me
I leapt
I laughed
I forgot myself
Was it
An illusion?
Did He
Bathe in me?
Or
Did I
Bathe in Him?
II
Encircled
He stood
Glowing
Laughing
My laughter
Echoed through
The valley
Of Paonta
It was
No dream
He was
Here
III
The strings
Of His veena
Imprisoned me
I was His
And
He was mine
Flora, fauna
Bowed
Electrifying symphony
IV
He came
He loved
Stole
My heart
Strung
My soul
Bound me
To Him
But now
He's gone
V
My soul ignites
Desperately I search
I beg
I plead
For word
About Him
Kith and kin
Catch my pain
Together we search
The veena Player
VI
Continents
Seas
Isles
Searched
Riding an
Aerial chariot
I venture
Into space
Winds batter
Chariot splits
Shattered
Tattered
I return
To the Himalayas
VII
From the
Himalayan precipice
I plunge into the
Torrent waters
Soul ablaze
I search
Once more
I crisscross
The paths
Traveled before
My eyes scan
Countless faces
There is not one
Like Him
I search
On and on
VIII
Months
Years
Centuries
Roll
Yet
No word
Of Him
IX
Disciplined yogis
Ascetic seers
Powerful mystics
Come to my shore
I ask
Where is He?
They say
He is Soul
Transcending
Figure and form
He' s blended
In Cosmic Light
X
Yogis, seers, mystics
Your learned answers
Don' t slake,
The fire of my soul
I wish to see
His form
I wish to see
His beauty.
I wish to see
My True King
XI
Seeing
His aigrette
Seeing
His gold-tipped arrows
Seeing
His high-strung bow
Would sooth my eyes.
Witnessing
His laughter
Witnessing
His sport
Witnessing
His Song
Would appease my thirst
If He came
The fire of my soul
Would leap in joy
Every limb, every organ
Would burst with life
XII
But
If He is not
To revisit Paonta
And
This torment
Was to awaken me
Then
I welcome
This eternal pain
I welcome
This endless longing
I welcome
This ever-lasting search
For I seek
Only Him
Nothing else
But Him
XIII
Let eons elapse
Let cycles roll
Let Him be
Where He wills
My search will never cease
My longing will never wane
When thoughts of Him
Flash on my soul
Million waves rise
Calling His Name
This misery is now my life
This misery is now my joy
XIV
His Hands
Hold my strings
His arrow
Lies in my heart
From land to water
From water to land
No goal in sight
Yet, I persist.
Blessed am I
In His pain
For me, there is
Nothing else
XV
This is my story
A glimpse of Him
A lifetime of agony
My Prayer
In His compassion
May He return?
XVI
My thirst persists
My eyes seek
My heart weeps
My soul appeals
XVII
Every wave
Resounds His Name
I flow
In His Name
I will be
As I am now
Till He returns
To my shores
XVIII
He once
camped at Paonta
Where is that veena Player
Whose music changed my life forever?
Inni Kaur is the author of the recently released and much acclaimed Journey Wth My Gurus, which is available at www.JourneyWithTheGurus.com
December 5, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), December 05, 2010, 10:45 PM.
Who but Inni Kaur could do justice to Bhai Sahib's mystic work? It would be awesome to have the Punjabi poetry on the side. What a mind-blowing rendering. Thank You, Inni Kaur ji, for this birthday tribute to Bhai Sahib. This is pure love.
2: Ruby Kaur (Chappaqua, New York, U.S.A.), December 05, 2010, 11:05 PM.
Simply beautiful, touches the soul so deeply that endless tears are pouring out ... Thank you, Inni ji.
3: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 06, 2010, 7:08 AM.
Inni, Pitaji's hand must have been on your head to have translated his famous poem so effortlessly. This could come not just from the lips but from the heart. Normally all translations are nothing more that the wrong side of rich embroidery but yours is an exception. Bhai Sahib loved Jamuna and Paonta Sahib so much that his own ast visible 'pushap' were immersed there. Where the 'Kalsi da ay Rikhi' was emancipated and the Guru held his court, where the likes of Dhana Singh, his stable hand, could pour out poetry with the Guru's blessings, where he fought almost playfully the war of Banghani, and on the horse back composed immortal hymns. "Jaba ban lageo taba ros jaagayo ..." Inni ji, there is "Trel Tupka" - 'Dew Drops' - waiting to be translated. You don't have to wait for the muse.
4: Harinder Singh (San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.), December 06, 2010, 11:35 AM.
This incredible trans-creation by my dear Bhenji, Inni Kaur, resonates with Puran Singh's rendering on the lifestyle of the people of Punjab in the love of the Guru: the coming 'to-gather' here are river-like and so too the departures. As Guru Nanak proclaims in Majh-ki-vaar, a Sikh is to become like a river while the Guru is the ocean. And some of us are just learning to flow as rivulets, hoping to become a vast, grand, deep river!
5: Inni Kaur (Fairfield, CT, U.S.A.), December 07, 2010, 9:10 AM.
Sangat Singh ji, you are a treasure. Please continue to share with us all the stories about Pitaji. 'Jamuna's Quest' is viraag - constant, loving, endless yearning.
6: Parminder Kaur Dhillon (Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.), December 08, 2010, 10:00 AM.
Beautiful, inspiring, great to begin my day by reading this beautiful poem!
7: Narvinder Singh Anand (Westport, Connecticut, U.S.A.), December 09, 2010, 8:17 PM.
Another beautiful work!