A seedling as grows
Leaf from leaf, stem from stem
Has our India been cultivated
Person from person, ideas from ideas
Nurturing nourishing every now and then
Rises, heightens, blossoms, ripens
Spreads over into a magnificent tree
She creates a pleasant ambiance
Our bright-faced simply dressed India she is
She smiles from door to door
She witnessed cold-hearted devastations
She blessed her blood-sweating sons
In her breathing soul, she kept the hope alive
In her beating heart, she kept the courage ablaze
Staring blankly in dismay and despair
The flickering lamp she held while wishing to be set free
Arousing spirit in folks, she broke, got up
As a phoenix, she rose from her own ashes
Against all odds, she stood firm as a tree does
She saw downfall, chaos, and victory too
She smiles in her meadows yellow, skies dark
She smiles from door to door
The Everyman and Nobody share the same roads
As the Noble-borns do
Sharing dust and dirt, the unfair strife
And the milky mist too
The general men toiling hard too are kings
The sprouting kids too own voices
Amidst hard and gentle scenes, together we rise
In this people’s kingdom, “We stand united”
Welcoming new knocking ideas for us to prosper
She smiles from door to door
The echo from her bosom shouts
We were, we are and forever will be!
~Aditi Nayak
Balasore, India