Our dear Patra Pravas

Our dear Patra Pravas

To felicitate a classmate
in the heart of heart, await
our gratitude unuttered
in public what we must record
its acknowledgment from us is overdue
for his friendship intimate, sincere, and true
often standing promptly by our side in dire needs
alleviating our sufferings by his words and deeds.
Also gratitude from the nation
for on job his dedication
where despite dust dirt heat and sound
and alien atmosphere harmful to health, around
thirty-three years served, he in a steel plant
to self and family, giving attention, scant
for this classmate on reaching the age, of eighty
keeping the wells and woes of life in his kitty.
Patra Pravas is our classmate since our teens
our togetherness always dances on our mental screens.
Pravas, we have seen over six decades
his unaltered physique deserves our accolades
From a teenager to this advanced age
smart, smiling, Young man not succumbing to aging rampage
Ignore now we, his fake teeth in his smile sweet
and his concealment of rattling bones in heart in his treat.
Pravas! We, classmates, are in the same boat with you
Time is a cruel robber looting our glowing hue
cycling miles under the hot sun for an adult movie,
attempts to excel over a cine hero building the body
jumping over distance and height, throwing short put far
exhibiting our burning urge to focus our binocular
gazing across cities and towns to catch sexes fair
moved to an age where every organ needs medical care.
One tooth out of thirty-two, when aches
interest in life the suffering miserably takes.
Once these teeth were crushing to dust, a bone
but at the sight of a bread, those now moan.
Infinite are number of organs in this body structure
Tattered and battered are those now, them, we have to nurture
The feel of taste, touch, Sight smell, and sound
cannot be perceived by us even with aids around
Dreamy were the days when they were sound and sharp
their failures now out of shame we keep under a wrap
One day the power of our sight in the examination halls
could help us to copy from a distance for the fear of pitfalls
now cannot find their spouse from among her companions,
At times the wrong selection needs brains’ interventions.
Our ears once could locate a dame from the sound of her vibration
now gauges abuses of a spouse as her words of fun
the nose that once enjoyed the sweet fragrance from a cine screen
to praise her, now cannot smell the aroma of spouse-made cuisine
once the sense of taste drove us to a place miles away
to chew prawn chap at Leela cinema’s bay
The lure of taste now fails to aid our appetite
despite the five-star prawn chicken tempting dishes to bite,
the spark of touch at youth need no elaboration
excited it us with only a provoking dame on imagination
but now our skin behaves as a tortoiseshell over
treat we,, as a loving touch, the push of spouse out of anger.
Preach we, the threats of senses are to be won over
but this spiritual mandate at our youth, we did not bother.
The sensual pleasure is temporary, advocate now we
At our youth out of sensual pleasure, we danced with glee,
at youth film song and, slang were ornamenting our lips,
to replace them with prayers now us,, the age equips
In Pravat cycling nonstop, VG walks nonstop
the signifying purpose behind in us hop.
Now the motivator is smilingly offering the treat.
but V G and Pravat cannot dare to repeat the feat.
Hey Pravas! Let us now forget our young age burden
worries at student hood on study and examination,
service career, family, and retirement tension
barring medication we are now free to live with fun.
Pravas! Let us together dance with classmates in merriment
traveling together back to teens and enjoy to our hearts’ content.
Pravas! Let us abandon our run for happiness materialistic
but spend our time for happiness, absolute and Vedic.
Pardon us Pravas for fixing your birthday
it is as per your records to us say
knowing fully well the confusion
as it varies according to calendar and location
vary the dates as per the Hindu and English calendar
as dates and months in them always differ.
varies it also as per the place of your birth
and with places, vary date and time on the earth.
Further erroneous human intervention
mutilate the date and time when you came to open.
Pravas! Our dear classmate! our friend bosom
express your gratitude and love from the heart’s bottom
pray we for health happiness and lifelong-
please pardon us for our words and deeds for you, wrong.
Madam Jayashree, we are indebted to you
for being our friend Pravas’s better half devoted and truer.
For the health harmony and happiness of both
Pray we Pravas’s classmates with an oath
that we with our spouses will be with you
to exhibit to the society “what is friendship, true.”
Hey Chirantan and Chinmayee be Sarvan Kumar of our culture
whose cares for parents in the world all the time glitter.
P K Routray
In the service of the Lord

( To felicitate Pravas Patra our dear classmate on reaching the age of eighty)