My constant companion, you azure sky

Teaching me the mantra of life

A parikrama of  the journey on earth

Through endless trials and tribulations

To merge with the dust in the end

With you as my shroud  forever.

The crystalline clear morning ,adorned with latticed gold rays

Your unforgiving visage in the heat of the noon

Tenderness of honeysuckle on dusky evenings

Starlit nights and asphalt darkness at times

All your moods, just like life

Rain comes some days and touches us both

Cleansing the soul to look at you anew

Something which I forget to do

In the hustle and  bustle of life

Though you unfailingly remain my alter-ego

When all is pain and misery, death and destruction

You remain royally aloof

Gentleness dripping in sheets of blue

Hope in the fiery orange of dawn

Multi-colored mosaic of rainbows

The blush of rose in twilight

At some point in time as you change your robes

I write poetry borrowing your luster

Of incorruptible desires, translucent minds

Every day the desire to rise up to you

To find the right road in the labyrinth of life.

*Parikrama- circle

CHAMBER MUSIC

This ethereal walk inside, leaning on your love

Retracing my steps into my innermost chamber

The seething alcove deep in me

Where the soul-searching music blows along

An intense urge to remove my masks

Layer after habitual layer

How light I feel as they drop off

And I face you, bare to my very soul

The goodness falls off first, that lovely smile

The pleasant talk and loving concern

The image that the world admires

The storm of beauty and roses

All disappear as we walk inwards.

Must I go on?

The road ahead will writhe in wilderness

Darkness and negativity of betrayal and defeat

The swamp of doubts that will suck you in

Shall we go on?

But I know I can’t stop

I have to go on in this journey inward

You must know the dark pillars in me

The boiling cauldron of jealousy and intolerance

The volcano of subdued power

The symphony is unraveling all

This chamber music

Will you be there when the story has been told

Can you survive the trial of truth

To see the flower strewn pasture at the other end

To repaint the mute shades with brightness

Will you dance with me to this eternal rhythm?

About the poet

Adyasha Das is a poet and short story writer in English and her mother tongue Odia with three books of poems and one short story collection to her credit. Her Odia poems have been published in reputed magazines like Amrutayana, Kadambini, Gokarnika, Pratibeshi etc and her English poems in Indian Literature, The Telegraph, Heritage, Shantidoot(Norway) and many other national and international magazines. Her poems have been translated into various languages such as English, Hindi, Bengali, and German. Adyasha is known for her insightful and colourful portrayals of life. Her poems, based on varied themes, are suffused with sensitivity while being reflective and sensuous at the same time.The themes she deals with range from intricate social issues to the meanderings of the human mind.

An active participant of various poetry workshops and recitals organized by numerous forums at national and international levels, she has recited her poems in Literaturhaus Frankfurt am Main,Frankfurt Book fair 2006, The House of World Cultures, Literaturhaus Berlin, Leipzig Literaturhaus, Indische Nacht im Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Uto Kulm, Zurich, Frankfurt Book Fair, Odisha Society of Americas convention, Seattle ,International Sufi Festival etc.

She is a renowned singer, versatile in various genres of music. Adyasha did her post-graduation from Delhi School of Economics, obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Xavier Institute of Management and a doctoral degree in Organizational Behaviour. At present she works as an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM) Bhubaneswar, Ministry of Tourism , Government of India.

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