My Motherland Poem by Shankaran Kutty

From the snow-capped peaks of Himalayas
To the Great Arabian sea
From the hot deserts of Thar
To rainy Cherapunji
Lies a mighty nation
Lies a heavenly land
The one that I proudly call
My own, my Motherland

A billion people throng
The coast, the plateau and plains
Driven by a history ancient
Peace and goodwill reigns
A thousand dialects spoken
Every religion followed
With the birth of Buddha and Gandhi
My motherland is hallowed

The chill of winter snow
The smell of monsoon rains
The holy Ganges river
That feeds the northern plains
The heat of summer sun
The smell of salt and sea
To be born in this mighty land
Privileged, is lucky me

Rich flora and fauna
The tigers of Sunderbans
Proud, farming people
Two billion working hands
They toil high up the mountains
Toil in the desert so dry
They do it all with a smile
No pause to stop and cry.

An emperor lost in love
For his fair and beautiful queen
Built a monument for love
The greatest there has been.
On the banks of River Yamuna
Stands a nation’s pride
The emperor too lies buried
In a tomb by her side.

Rich with perennial rivers
Blessed with monsoon rains
Which drenches each summer
The mountains, hills and plains
Parched lands and gleaming lakes
Waves break up on sunny shore
Oh India, my India, your rich diversity
Always leaves me wanting ever more

Land of the Mahabharata
Ramayana and Vedas four
Of Charaka, Susruta, Aryabhatta
Bhaskara, Chanakya and many more
Where a mighty conquering emperor
Chose peace, not the violence of war
He spread the message of peace
To lands near and far

Enslaved by foreign powers
As a nation struggled to be free
An apostle of peace came along
To subdue the powerful enemy
With a weapon more powerful
Than guns and swords did he
Through the power of non violence
Bring a world power to its knee

In that land of the Mahatma
Blessed am I to live
My country has given me enough
It is now for me to give
Much splendour and glory might hold
Many a foreign land
But every breath from here I take
I want to, in my Motherland