Navarasa - Shantham Poem by Shankaran Kutty

(Shantham means tranquillity. It is serenity and peace.)

The Nila flowed silently
Giggling its way through the rocks
And a bird chirped
In the calmness, I know not if near or far
But in the stillness it seemed
To me as if the river
Was matching the bird in glee

The little beads of sweat
Like pearls on my eyebrow
Were stolen by the wind
Rustling in through the leaves
Of the coconut trees
Swaying as if in joy
On the sandy bank across

The silver bank where I sat
The mild breeze picking up the sand
In a whisper as if to say
“Come with me to the other bank
It‘s a better place for you to stay”
The bird still continued to chirp
In loneliness, it seemed to me

A fish jumped out of water
silhouetted
Against the dazzling red
Splayed across the river
By the setting sun
As another day wound to an end
Never to come back again