INDIRA GOSWAMI (India)

Writer. Greatest Woman Writer from Assam. Won country’s highest literary award – ‘The Bharatiya Jnanpith’ in 2001. Has written twenty five novels and several short stories. Member of several distinguished bodies like Sahitya Academy, has been honoured with several National awards like Sahitya Academy, Assam Sahitya Sabha, Bharat Nirman etc.

 

 

 

Pakistan

Oh Pakistan, the holyland
Give us that heart !
and take our heart in return !
Once we shared the same sky
and the same Sun
We shared the same pain in the battlefield to
remove the dust of the land where we stayed together like twins.
Our flesh ripped apart
by that barbed wire fence !
Oh they have drawn
that dividing line ! On a flimsy paper !
That line of agony and tears.
Can anyone draw that line
In our raw flesh inside our heart?
Can anyone ?
No, we need not speak
Only silence speaks in a clear voice
Oh Pakistan ! Silence can bring the
Fragrance of mother’s soul
Silence can reveal the
heavenly beauty of Satluj
Chenab, and the red river
of the East !
Silence can be loud like a
million voices.
Oh Pakistan ! the celestial
land !
Our eyes misted by the
Smoke of gunpowders !
Our soul wounded
by the unknown fire
May these eyes now witness the
New Sun rise !
In the bank of Satluj
Chenab, and in the red
river of the East !
Oh Pakistan, the holy land
Give us that heart
and take our heart in return.