Daily Routine of an Octogenarian and Other Poems

By Bhupesh Chandra Karmakar

Daily Routine of an Octogenarian

I had a chance to meet an old man who was 
walking smartly with few people on the park

While conversing he said that he is now more
84 years and spends leisure time writing articles 
 
It seems he grew up in a remote village without  
the complexities and luxuries of town life 

He wake up in the morning, then he is goes into  
the bathroom to wash his face and brush teeth 

He takes little methi water, one rounded garlic,  
3 almonds, tarmac in his empty stomach 

He takes bath and after dressing, creaming he  
goes to his house temple to read religious book 
 
He complete his breakfast with vegetable mixed  
dahlia, cornflake with milk etc. before 9 am 
 
He takes one bowl of fresh fruits at about 11 am  
and he tries to complete his lunch before 2pm  

He who is health conscious, takes three rotis or  
a bowl of rice with fish, vegetable, salad in lunch
 
He always remembers to put less salt while taking  
his meals and try to avoid fried food and sweets  

However, he takes rest for an hour after his lunch  
and then he takes tea with biscuit at about 4pm  

His habit is to do little exercise in the morning and  
in the evening he goes to park to walk for an hour  

He takes two rotis with vegetable, a cup of toned  
milk and complete his dinner before 9 pm
 
He further said that he start to smoke secretly since
he was a teenager when he was working in a shop 

An Autumn Moonlight

Wind was blowing through the trees,  
musical notes rushing past me,
 
Remembering your loneliness, I was  
waiting for you in bright moonlight, 

We sat near a bamboo grove and we  
were laughing under the moonlight 

Moonlight was slanting through grove  
and I was looking your glowing face  

On that fair autumn moonlight, your  
eyes had shone like the summer rain 

The beauty of your face and the beauty  
of lips looked like blossomed rose  

When you looked at me my heart was  
filled with joy and we talked silently  

The sweet breeze blew when I saw you  
under bamboo grove on moonlight  

Though there was no fear but we almost  
force to smile when our eyes met 

The clouds have blanketed the stars  
and we had burned up the moonlight 

My dear do you see that everything is  
filled with power and new strength 

 When nothing makes sense and all  
desires fades, we will rest in adoration.

Reflection Love

He wore shirt and a long pant when  
I found him on the cricket ground  

I never saw such a young boy who  
looked so smart and very handsome
  
While entering inside the ground, I  
heard a voice behind me whispered 

It was a low voice saying “I was a soul  
in pain, my pain I could not feel 

I knew what he thought because he  
looked upon a girl who once loved him 
 
The boy who had returned from foreign  
yet did he not forget his friends  

Some love little, some long, some sell  
and others buy but I had many tear  

He watched me when I was weeping 
 and was praying for his good health  

I have never seen a boy who is so  
handsome with cricket cap on his head 
 
When we went to play at village school   
ground it was a love of reflection

Navagraha Pooja at My Home

A priest arrive at my home to perform  
this auspicious Pooja ceremony 

The invitees also arrive to attend this  
auspicious ceremony at my house 

Before commencing Pooja ceremony,  
the priest blew the conch-shell  

Simultaneously entire women uttered  
ulu ulu sound which is blessing  

1n an auspicious moment, the priest  
started to chant Navgrah mantra  

He prepared ‘panchamrita’ i.e. mixture  
of milk, curds, ghee, honey and sugar.  

Then the priest offered fruits, sweets,  
incense to appease Navagraha 
 
He was waving the lights cordially  
before the deity after offering food 

After completion the fire ritual priest  
ended the auspicious ceremony  

The priest distributed the food which 
 offered to god to the entire guests 

As the clouds gathered in the sky,  
all invites and priest left my home 

Bihu Festival

Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals  
‘Rongali’, 'Kongali' and 'Bhogali' Bihu’.  

Rongali bihu observed in April, ‘Kongali' bihu 
in October, and 'Bhogali' in January 

The Rongali Bihu is the most important of  
the three celebrating spring festival 

The Rongali Bihu coincides the Assamese New  
year and as well as with other regions of Indian 

The other two Bihu festivals also is associated  
with agriculture, and rice in particular 

Rongali bihu is associated wth crop protection 
 and worship of plants and crop 

The people of Assamese celebrate the Rongali  
Bihu with feasts, music and dancing 

The term Bihu is used "Bihu" dance otherwise  
called Bihu Naas and Bihu folk songs 

My Cargo Ship

My cargo ship which was sailing  
on the ocean during night,
was a small ship 
 
I could see the shining and bright  
moon in the sky which follow 
the ship with light 

Beneath the moon before the wind  
my cargo ship was moving  
very fast on the ocean  

Today my ship was coming with  
loaded goods from a foreign  
country in the morning  

Sooner I saw my ship, I shouted  
loudly: 'Oh, here is my 
 ship coming with cargo  

A boat was waiting on the beach,  
the sailor went to collect goods  
from the ship with labours 

Bhupesh Chandra Karmakar was born on 16 November 1936. After completing his schooling from the Bengali High School in Nowgong (Assam), he joined the Indian Air Force. During his stay at an Air Force unit in Barrackpore, West Bengal, he had a chance to pursue higher studies as a private candidate from University of Calcutta in 1970. He spent his tenure with the Indian Air Force, travelling vastly about India and various countries like Singapore, Dubai, UK and USA. He started writing about his vision of mystical life in various articles and stories in English after interacting with people and sharing their experiences.

His poems have been published in Sethu Bilingual Journal, Pittsburgh-America, Savant Poetry Anthology, America, Eskimo pie E-Journal-America, Contemporary Literary Review India Anthology, Indian Periodical Journal and Muse India Journal.