The First Pilgrim Of The Village Poem by Muhammad Shanazar

(A Recollection)

I was then just four years old,
And was not yet sent to school,
I heard from some elderly village folk,
“A pilgrim will return from the pilgrimage,
And the first villager who will receive him,
Greet him or the pilgrim will embrace,
His sins will be pardoned by God,
And he will go straight to the Eden
Without being accountable to God, and the account
Of his misdeed will be torn or burnt”.

The whole day I planned to greet,
To receive, to touch the pilgrim first,
In the evening a slight before the sunset,
When crimson twilight began to spread in the western sky,
The village folk hastened to the nearby bus stop,
Just three miles at distance,
Each had nourished a desire to be the first greeter,
I scampered scuttled too with small steps,
I remember I was in the only shirt and bare-feet,
I hurried and hurried behind all village folk,
And stopped and paused when out of breath.

The elder have long and longer strides,
The distance between me and village folk,
Stretched more and more, and I was left far behind, all alone,
At last I beheld the village folk from the distance,
Gathering around the pilgrim, they jostled to greet him,
Touch him and have a hug or handshake,
I stopped there and then and watched the nearing crowed,
Then saw the pilgrim nearing,
He passed by me enclosing in the arms his own grandson,
He did not even heed me while I stood
With the right thumb in my mouth, I aspired
Just to have a glance of him from the near, but in vain.

Then amid the village folk he walked ahead,
I walked behind the excited greeters,
I was despised, sad and heartbroken,
I felt my body cumbersome, and feet became bulky,
It was hard to run behind them but I did in the dark,
I got exhausted, the whole night I lay strengthless
But awake, with the heaviness of sins upon my chest.


The poem is your poignant reminder of the contemporary realities where values are compromised for the sake of convenience. The feelings, desires and sincerer aspirations of the weak and poor are considered inconsequential and are ignored. Hats off to you bringing dark spots of our society to light (Jagdish Prakash from India)