Heaven and Hell
Naosekpam Ajit Singh *
Once in Heaven you will find
No Greater Nagalim or smaller Nagalim
No Highway no 53 or Highway no 39
No Pakah Naga or Kacha Naga
No Meitie or Pangal
No Kuki or Mayang
No Manipur or India
You will find
Faces glowing with Love
Emanating from Hearts pure
Rivers overflowing with joy
Feeding the evergreen fields
Birds singing in melodious chorus
On trees graced with golden fruits
Every single hearts singing the song of love
You will find nothing but Love, Love and More Love
To Reach Hell, you needn’t move even an inch
The place where Brothers are at war
Bullets and stones infused with Hate
Fly every day and every night
Where Hope is just a faint flicker
Where Joy is only a distant dream
Where Love is just a meaningless word
Where Hunger torments the Human soul
Where Death dances in Full freedom
Once in Hell you will find
Nothing but Hate, Hate and More Hate
Note: The present crisis in Manipur is quite painful to all those who belong to Manipur. The idea of a civilized society itself is facing a frontal attack. I firmly believe that exclusive ideologies and policies are at the root cause of this problem that we are presently facing. Every society, every community and indeed every human being has its own distinct identity. These differences when perceived through a mind saturated with hate gives rise to turmoil at the individual, communal and societal levels.
But alternatively, when these same differences are viewed from a perspective of Love, harmony ensues at every imaginable tier of society. An inclusive society can be realized only by the practice of Love. Love includes and transcends the basic understanding that even if we have outward differences, we are one in our innermost core as Humans. This is the central idea of my poem.
* Written by Naosekpam Ajit Singh, a regular contributor to e-pao.net
The poet can be reached at ajsin18mar(at)rediffmail(dot)com
Webcasted on May 26 2010
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