##36 (Vivekananda) The Visits On The Way Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

At the Colombo port,
The ship came to a halt.
There Swamiji visited monasteries
Of the Hinayana Buddhists

On the way to Singapore
The next halt of his tour,
He saw the descendants
Of their past Malay Pirates.

They were forced to seek
Suitable peaceful work,
With the change of time
Under modern defense system.

At the busy Hong Kong port
He saw in each floating craft,
One entire family lived
With their heavy loads.

Every mother had carried
O’er her back a small child,
With a piece of cloth tied,
While on boat they worked.

At Canton City, Swamiji
Visited a Buddhist Monastery,
Where he was given
A hearty warm reception.

In China and Japan temples,
He saw ancient manuscripts
Written in Bengali scripts,
As the handwork of Buddhists.

The ship crossed then
The deep Pacific Ocean,
And finally arrived at
The Vancouver Port.

He reached by train
The final destination,
Chicago, for the function
To be held there soon.

It was the meeting place
Of Parliament of Religions,
In which, he was one
To speak on Hindu Religion.

At Chicago, he was informed,
That the meeting was postponed,
He was not in the delegate list
And to register, it was too late.

In that unexpected situation,
Swamiji was left alone.
His purse became thin.
To care him, there was none.