Men In The Forest Poem by Bishnupada Sethi

The mystery of evergreen Sal forest
Strikes wonders due to the vastness.
The music of silence is unique
And the untamed streams compose its theme.
The peaks of sacred hills
Create a delight to the eyes
In the back ground of light pale sky.

No one is there in their homes
To hear the lonely roar of a tiger,
The call of a deer full of melancholy
At this time of the night.

To the glow of fuel wood lit light
Here is a group of men,
Coming from the shadows of the trees
Leap forward to a rapid roll of drums.
A group of women, old and young,
Their feet moving in perfect rhythms;
The anklets too sing a tune;
Sway back before the men
Bending low to the ground.

Like a steady urge of wind
Blowing over the tree tops,
A group of female singers advance,
Swinging to and fro
With answers to the questions of men.

All lost in a rupture of movement!
The events go all through out the night.
The drama of life is enacted
In the honour of the glory of the God.
The drum never tires out
Nor the beautiful feet of the women.
For they are all here
To decode the secrets of “Lila”
In the most ecstatic moments of lives.