ODE TO BEANT SINGH

The dreadful nights, the weary evenings,

Bomb explosions, the looting and the killings,

Fire all around and blood strained streets,

Anger, anguish, terror and bestiality had reduced

Man to a mere play thing, stultified administration,

The bond of love that binds humanity and

Induces national integration was shredded to the core,

Frenzied manifestation of intimidatory tactics,

All newspapers splashed nothing but massacres,

And the wild tempest uprooted many big trees in quick succession……….

And all human hearts yearning to get rid of  ----

Deadly fangs of terrorism spread unwarranted ………

Experiment after experiment failed to check the menace,

All Machiavellian manoeuvres flopped to click,

And the entire Punjab continued to bleed profusely………

Snatching sons of soil from the lap of mother earth,

Extinguishing fire from the hearths,

Widowing hundreds of young brides, and

Orphaning thousands of delicate and sweet buds ………

But “Noorpuri” knows the length of tunnel matters a little …….

As there dawns light at the end of each one,

Whence the dark clouds of uncertainty

Disappears - to pave way for the new hopes,

Aspirations and events to make new history………

Amidst the religion in search of new domains,

And Punjab in search of new spearheading guards,

There appeared on the horizon, with a missionary zeal –

A dynamic star called -   Beant Singh --------

With imperturbable and invulnerable will-power,

He made a call to deglamorise militancy,

And realise the worth of priceless gift of God

His supreme creation amongst all - called Man!!

When others described the killers martyrs,

And attended “militant sponsored”  Bhogs,

This simple and unpretentious Beant Singh,

Visited the families of the gunned down,

Consoling, soothing and boosting their Morales,

And called the misguided youths –

To abandon their mistaken inglorious paths ………

For the good of their todays,  and

Tomorrows of the coming generations ;

And extend a helping hand in nation-building ………

His marshal KPS Gill supported him full,

And on his strategic moves, deployed his skills,

The daunting task with unflinching faiths,

Led the team to their cherished goals,

And soon the trigger-happy terrorists

Who were otherwise running the state,

Were now soon seen running for their lives ……….

Cornered by the compulsions and their stiff resistance by law,

The oppressors then started distancing from arms,

And those frenetic and frigid minds met the fate –

And tasted the police bullets to pay the price ……….

Slowly, the tyrannical periods vanished away,

Heralding peace and prosperity everywhere,

The harbinger of change, brought the freshening winds,

Banished fears from human hearts,  and

Planted therein new hopes and aspirations ,

Translated turmoils into lasting tranquillity,

Boosting industrial revolution, generated

Employment and agricultural growth, and

The economy poised for a booming recovery,

And Punjab started soon regaining its lost glory………

He became a symbol of freedom, defence of democracy

And beacon of new hopes for the state;

He proved no problem is big enough to escape solution,

If efforts are sincere and will-power strong ………

I wonder, one Beant solved such a gigantic problem;

And alleviated sufferings of the masses,

Why can’t the galaxy of other leaders solve

Innumerable problems afflicting the nation ???

When Punjab was taking glorious strides,

And people basking in the newly found spring,

And the valiant soldier who symbolised harmony and development,

Faced again the inhuman and ruffians’ frenzy --------

And one dark evening eclipsed the shining star……..

“Oh Beant ! You may have parted ways from this mortal world,

But your deeds shall remain enshrined and studded in our hearts !”

My stony eyes shed no tears for the demagogues,

But on 31^st August, 1995, were just uncontrollable,

And my painful heart just inconsolable ……….

My mind burning in grief and vision blurred in despair,

For thine unnatural death had created a vacuum ,

And plunged Punjab in an unspeakable agony ………

Oh God! He brought peace for the millions !

Let his soul rest in peace !!

And increase his scarce tribe !!!

R.D. Bhardwaj "Noorpuri"

Dated :  07^th Sept., 1995

NB :   After the sudden and tragic death of Shri Beant Singh  (19^th February, 1922 – 31st August, 1995), former Chief Minister of Punjab, in a car bomb blast at Chandigarh, I could not sleep for a couple of days, and then when I was unable to sleep, one night I got-up from bed at the dead of the night and composed this poem.

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