Friend 1 - Shireen Isal, My Dear Friend Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon
Friend 1 - Shireen Isal, My Dear Friend
We meet many people in life,
Some just appear and disappear too
Like pretty butterflies,
Some stay for a while leaving behind
A sweet-scented fragrance of a flower,
Few stay longer,
Intense friendship while it lasted,
Then, gone suddenly, only
To reminisce as a pleasant memory!
But there are a few,
That you can count on your fingers,
That stay steady and strong,
Firmly rooted like a Peepal tree,
Throughout your life.
One such friend of mine is Shireen Isal!
We met each other professionally
Thirty three years ago,
When I was an aspiring danseuse.
She watched me dance Mohiniattam
And before I knew what was happening in my life,
I was dancing in different parts of Europe-
France, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg,
Switzerland and England.
If the word ‘Mohiniattam' is known to some in Europe,
It is all because of the effort put in by Shireen.
The credit of popularising and propagating
Indian Classical dance and music in the
European countries, undeniably, goes to her.
Shireen has been one of the pioneers
Promoting the best of Indian artistes in Europe.
In her list of artistes are some great ones
Like Ravi Shankar, Lakshmi Shankar,
Bismillah Khan, Parveen Sultana,
Malvika Sarukkai, Rohinton Cama
And many more.
I was lucky to have her as my Impressario.
We worked together almost till
The end of the 20th century.
The last tour was in 1997,
When my daughter and I danced together
Touring England in celebration of
India's 50 years of Independence.
But the story does not end here.
Shireen and I continued our association
And became very good friends.
Every year when Shireen came down
From London to Mumbai,
We met over lunch,
Talked on every subject of life,
From mundane to high philosophy.
Early this year when we met
She gifted me a book authored by her.
A beautiful book on her French teacher
Zenobia Mistri! A teacher par excellence!
An incentive to write another poem
In my teacher series!
Thank you Shireen, for your faith in me,
And your warm, beautiful friendship!
My dear friend, Geeta, you are younger in years but so much wiser and your deep knowledge of our ‘shastras’, which you have so generously shared with me, has sustained and guided me over the years. I am privileged and deeply honored! Thank you!
Thank you, my dearest friend, Geeta, for the beautiful tribute to our friendship, for those beautifully poetic words describing our bond, our near-perfect understanding. As we move further into the evening of our lives, what more can we hope for but to be enveloped in that warm glow of love; that of our families but also of those in the wider circle of friends.
A marvelous poem that captures the eternality of friendship. Yes, there are just few friends.that stay steady and strong. We have to treasure them forever. A great piece. Very heartwarming.10
Thank you Rose for your marvellous comment as well. Feel so happy that you read this poem.
Thank you Shireen, for your faith in me/And your warm, beautiful friend…………..I understand you’re your fathomless love for your friend! A lovely poem in the chapter of friendship! I am utterly fascinated with the words placed in the first stanza itself! Loved reading it! (10)
Nobody but an intimate friend could have written this piece reflecting upon the life and achievements on both sides of a mutually rewarding relationship. You both have an international audience and readership. Grasp of classical Indian music and Classical dance as a performer or as an author / reviewer has been the common denominator. We are really enriched with such writings and awesome profiles. Thank you, Geeta ji.
Rajnish ji, i value friendship a lot. whenever, i meet my friends, i feel so joyful. It is one of the highlights of life lived to its full. Thank you for your warm review of this poem
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/4/2024 4:53:58 AM # 1.0.0.1119
A wonderful ode to a friend.+++10
Dear Robert, you always have a good word and a wonderful comment for my poems. Thank you so much. God bless you.