(Arun Jaitley: 1952—2019)
The flag is at half-mast, a gloom shrouds the chancel of the land;
The one who hugged oblivion was once the counsel of the land.
Soft spoken, discreet, a maven of silken-tongued satires,
He unmasked and foxed many a weasel of the land.
How many skies can a flyer scale without the Kite-runner?
Someone has fed the airstreams and groundswell of the land.
The epic ends here; the music ceases: a titan is silent.
Hold back the chorus in the fervent farewell of the land.
Trees thrum with birds, birds with birdsong. Flowers bloom.
Humans blather and bluster, benight the shell of the land.
Some shoot with fatwas, some shoot with guns. Minions
fall like ninepins from the bustling carousel of the land.
Uma, come and sip hooch laced with liver of lizards,
As crooked of the state splurge on Zinfandel of the land.
A splendid poetic eulogy
It is but a token of respect to him.
A man gone too soon, I think. A fitting tribute, Uma.
He was an indomitable soul stopped only by Time. Thanks, Sandra.
The ghazal form is a brilliant way to eulogize. And your tribute (even though I didn’t know the man) is very beautiful.
He was one of the finest statesmen we ever had. My tribute is merely a sliver of reflection of that beautiful mind. Thank you, my friend.
A fitting lyrical tribute to a man whose presence was always felt and will be felt even though he never put forth himself loudly in the front row.
I reckon the front row owed a lot of momentum to this wizard in the flanks. Thank you, ever.
The person to bridge the gaps, the problem solver, The Statesman, a class apart.
It will sound cliche, but he was a class beyond compare. His party will find it impossible to fill the vacuum.
It is difficult to watch someone go who could still do so much good. Wonderful tribute.
This gentleman has left behind a gargantuan hole. Thanks, PS.
Uma Shankar Ji, you have poured your heart into this ghazal, I was also very sad when Sushamaji passed away….
Now that your remind me of her, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were just about the most majestic statesmen this country had. The vacuum created by their untimely departures is interminable.
Beautiful tribute, Uma. It is sad when a good man dies, but it seems that Arun Jaitley was a man whose death left a void which cannot be filled. I am so very sorry.
And so it seems, Inese. Thanks for those kind words.
Your respect and admiration for the man comes through beautifully in this great tribute Uma.
The ensuing vacuum is colossal. Life goes on till it doesn’t.