1. With sweet melodious music divine
In cool, rosy hours of dawn with flower-fresh shine;
I wish to waken Thee, Oh Lord and greet
With garlands and incense smelling sweet
With tinkling symbols and soul-stirring strains;
No serene climate in this crowded domain
No lilting smooth sounds of music I hear
A hasty clutter of feet and blaring horns mere.
2. The noisy roads revel in medley sounds
Their cacophony crossing the bounds
In midst of this chaos, you calmly dwell
As if in serene Himalayan dell;
While people come to Thee watching their cells
Holy silence, not at all found in this hell
How can I wake Thee up with devotion
While rushing sounds create confusion?
3. In temples the devotees devoutly pray loud
Thy thousand names with devotion proud
Not giving a chance for others to pray
The incantations of priests lost in their noisy fray;
The temple, a place of sincere love to God
Turns a complex conglomeration of sounds oh Lord!
A place where people chat, laugh loud with zest
To show their zeal they strike the bells loudest.
4.When city tired, sleeps calm in nightly hours
When darkness lulls drunkards and tired lovers
When cool breeze wafts from distant hills
When foggy pollution spreads and fills
I feel Thy Presence in my bosom’s shrine
A meet timing to wake Thee up from slumber divine
With unheard melodies of rapturous pipe
With music sweet, as sweet as mangoes ripe.
5.How can sages become so steady and calm
Like hills sublime with ineffable charm
Unperturbed by distracting din of sounds
Their yogic trance transcends our worldly bounds;
Oh fool! how can one think that God needs sleep
Who rules over stars, sky and mighty deep?
In tiny atoms and in huge whales, his power abides
His omnipresence watches all and safely guides.
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3rd February 2025 Somaseshu Gutala
