Netaji

A whole nation yearned And still hopelessly yearns For your return An unrealistic dream If human lifespan is any frame We had many wishful rumours You were alive somewhere You will again return On an auspicious morn That marks victory of good over evil To lead us in our hopeless struggle Our walls adorned your visage Bespectacled, untouched by age The burning eyes under an upheld forehead Setting afire our nationalistic pride That you had vanished Without leaving any trace Stories of your heroic escapades No doubt kept your legend green That you didn’t return to be sullied Like other leaders who dirtied Their repute by playing court To the damsels of power and politics Sustained your pristine purity India is an inveterate nation That believes in rebirth Lifespans do not concern us So your return has always been certain Or you are already there Tell me please Which hut on this vast land of ours Now cradles you, Netaji? My ears are pining for your cry - The war-cry - before my old frame caves in For our shattered dreams to gather around And whirl a twister all across the land Please don’t make this dream go vain Wishful thinking again Can’t a whole nation’s desire Move huge mountains aside? Return please to our side In whatever form you decide To an unlucky nation that is accustomed To weave and cling to impossible dreams