{"id":6449,"date":"2026-01-07T15:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afflatuscreations.com\/?p=6449"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:59:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:59:56","slug":"padma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afflatuscreations.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/padma\/","title":{"rendered":"PADMA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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PADMA\u00a0 <\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Now only pictures and legends remain\u00a0<\/p>

in books and Google, may be.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Fondly christened Padma,\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0Rabindranath Tagore\u2019s houseboat or bajra\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

would now rest on its laurels, well over a century old,\u00a0<\/p>

if there were a museum to keep it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Quietly, meticulously shaped out of expensive mahogany\u00a0<\/p>

into a river-faring houseboat complete<\/p>

with cabins, upper storey, masts,\u00a0<\/p>

this ample, often somnolent, sluggish,\u00a0<\/p>

keelless great vessel of songs–\u00a0<\/p>

a portal for the muses\u00a0<\/p>

to waft in and sail around–\u00a0<\/p>

would reel hasteless over\u00a0<\/p>

the immense Padma midstream or\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

sail slow along steep rural banks or\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

ride at anchor close to the shallows\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

on such a Sravana night as this,\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

a yellow moon and dark cloud turrets\u00a0<\/p>

bringing alive the sky.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

In the eighteen nineties, in Bengal under the Raj,\u00a0<\/p>

on such a night as this,\u00a0<\/p>

or on a full moon night,\u00a0<\/p>

the vast river awash with moonlight,\u00a0<\/p>

the poet would sing into being\u00a0<\/p>

song after imperishable song\u00a0<\/p>

celebrating the rains, the seasons,<\/p>

celebrating also death in life\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

life in death and launch the songs across\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

the ungrieving river and sky of Bengal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

(Subhransu Maitra)<\/p>

subhransumaitra@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PADMA\u00a0 Now only pictures and legends remain\u00a0 in books and Google, may be.\u00a0\u00a0 Fondly christened Padma,\u00a0 \u00a0Rabindranath Tagore\u2019s houseboat or bajra\u00a0\u00a0 would now rest on its laurels, well over a century old,\u00a0 if there were a museum to keep it.\u00a0\u00a0 Quietly, meticulously shaped out of expensive mahogany\u00a0 into a river-faring houseboat complete with cabins, upper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poems"],"yoast_head":"\nPADMA - Afflatus Creations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Now only pictures and legends remain in books and Google, may be. 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