LIGHT OF EDUCATION IS LIGHT OF GOD

(A TRIBUTE TO THE NEW YEAR)

Upon the call of my inner bell

To visit the tiny town Pemegatshel

I gaily and gallantly rode my faithful scooter,

Full of enthusiasm, joy and vigor.

As I drove over the sickly road winding

From Nangkor to Pemagatshel battling,

Saw the Little Buddhas splendidly lined up

All along the road, their heads bowed.

So radiant their eyes

And so heavenly were their faces.

Overflowed they the weary road

By their supreme adoration and peak of admiration.

As I got close,

To their priming they rose

To pour their honour treasure

Which no earthly scale can measure.

With profound devotion and powerful emotion

They murmured: “Apchi sir uncha (Apchi sir is coming)!

Then they rained their greeting shower

In a divine stature:

“Good afternoon sir!

Dipping me in ecstasy and rapture.

A wondrous light permeated far and near

That detached me from the world of desire.

The dusty road appeared serene and sanctified;

The earth and air pure and perfumed;

The sky clad with rainbows;

And heavenly music  everywhere.

These all were magic spells

Of the Little Buddhas’ purity and divinity.

Their number was endless

And their love was boundless.

March 28, the Thursday’s view

When the year 2006 stood almost new.

To reciprocate their gesture holy

I nodded my head with helmet slowly.

In 13 KM journey

I met groups of Little Buddhas many

In their sacred poise and posture

That made me rise higher and sink deeper

And inquire of the wonder beyond imagination.

At last I got reply from within:

“They are the rays of the Mighty Buddha

Who recognize the flame of the Supreme Father

In their beloved teachers.

Thus up and down the Little Buddhas routinely go

With Book- laden bags on their backs.

They walk in rhymes and rhythm

Over the Himalayan hills and valleys, roads and rivers

When each day the Bhutanese schools get over.

But the vision of the Little Buddhas only appear

If we devote to rise higher and sink deeper.

                                                                                                     Santosh Chowdhury

                                                                                                   Ex-teacher, Bhutan