##36 (Vivekananda) The Visits On The Way

At the Colombo port, The ship came to a halt. There Swamiji visited monasteries Of the Hinayana Buddhists On the way to Singapore The next halt of his tour, He saw the descendants Of their past Malay Pirates. They were forced to seek Suitable peaceful work, With the change of time Under modern defense system. At the busy Hong Kong port He saw in each floating craft, One entire family lived With their heavy loads. Every mother had carried O’er her back a small child, With a piece of cloth tied, While on boat they worked. At Canton City, Swamiji Visited a Buddhist Monastery, Where he was given A hearty warm reception. In China and Japan temples, He saw ancient manuscripts Written in Bengali scripts, As the handwork of Buddhists. The ship crossed then The deep Pacific Ocean, And finally arrived at The Vancouver Port. He reached by train The final destination, Chicago, for the function To be held there soon. It was the meeting place Of Parliament of Religions, In which, he was one To speak on Hindu Religion. At Chicago, he was informed, That the meeting was postponed, He was not in the delegate list And to register, it was too late. In that unexpected situation, Swamiji was left alone. His purse became thin. To care him, there was none.