Shankaracharya

In the midst of a sea of the strangers He stands

Alone, unmoved, silent, all alone

There is none that recognizes Him, or Knows Who He is

Those who do, loathe him more and more

And yet, He is Real, the One that marks this land

His presence the glimmer of long lost hope

The flag above him, flutters silently in the breeze

Giving a sense that change will resume once more

It was a nightmare that happened many moons back

That seems to have no end in sight to it

And yet, His presence there, His presence elsewhere

Makes one wonder, has the movie ended,

or is there more?

It was a dark, desperate moment when his dearest fled

And yet, He decided to sit this one out yet again

For it wasn't the first, but was hopefully the last

And his dearest would return to their homes once more

Many a harrowing times did He viewed from atop

Many a times He had to see bodies float ashore

And yet, while they damaged His Body, His Shrine

They could not damage that Spirit, That Soul

That Soul that resided in every inch of that mountain

That Soul that resided in every corner of yore

They stood tall in His shadow, and asked him questions

And got answers, and yet the questions remained more

Why? They keep asking from afar even now to Him

But they do not question, just try to rekindle their hope

That flame seems to be close to extinguishing sometimes

And yet, just then, a few drops of oil get poured

In that lamp that glows in the dark nights tonight

As the bells, the gong ring, and the conch shell blows

He is signaling once again to Trust Him ever more

Telling one and all, this phase will blow away for sure

Believe him I must, for there is nothing more

Than that which I can do, for now, that is for sure

As I pray to him silently each time I remember

That sense of a presence, a divinity reverberating in the air

Of that great land in the times of yore

Those times will come once again, I believe

When the city's bells will ring loud yet again

When the Shankaracharya hill reverberates with the name of Shiva

When the land will be truly the land of Shakti and Shiva

And the prayers of the once plentiful in the city's skies again echoes