Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
Wandering between Utopia and Dystopia
I think of living in Utopia,
A place of ideal perfection,
In an egalitarian society,
In a civilized world,
Believing in coexistence,
No conflicts, no battles, no bloodshed,
Harmony among followers of various religious beliefs
Overwhelmed with a sense of peace and tranquility!
My notion proved wrong
As I’m witnessing the growing political and economic dissonance,
Destruction of ancestral abodes, mass starvation
Blood spilling everywhere,
Beheaded bodies of youth found in Asia
Corpses of men and women in Europe,
Genocide in Middle East,
Internal strife, killings in Africa,
People opting migration, being down-and-out,
I hear the wailing of mothers, sisters and daughters, sobbing of kids!
This is not, and cannot be a Utopia we wanted to create,
As the place of ideal perfection is nothing but an imaginary world,
The Utopia, the Garden of Eden is far away,
A paradise where Adam and Eve lived in harmony with nature,
We are inhabitants of dystopia,
The world of great sufferings and injustice
Beyond the imagination
I feel myself wandering between the Utopia and Dystopia.
Yearning for Peace
O’ Motherland!
Do you remember the lessons you offered to us
Of evading the aggression
And retaliation
Even against any aggressor and invader
Living in peace with everyone was the lesson you taught us
Throughout the ages.
How stirring were your teachings
That gave birth to a great Indus civilization
There was no ruler nor any subject
All were equal and believed in one God
No discrimination of color, caste and creed
No weapon nor any war
Peace prevailed everywhere
Everyone was attached to his own vocation.
O’ Motherland!
Do you remember how the time changed!
And the aliens invaded our lands
‘Aryans have come’, ‘Aryans have come’
Were the wailings echoing all over the Valley of Indus!
The Aryans had brought the weapons
That was the day the Indus Civilization came to an end
With emergence of a militarized society
Onset of the bloodshed all around!
O’ Motherland!
Do you remember we didn’t forget your teachings!
Welcomed the ‘unwelcome influx’ of Aryans
To ensure peace and tranquility
To safeguard spellbinding natural beauty of Indus Valley
Farmlands, picturesque high mountains, and the rivers
And the natural wealth!
O’ Motherland!
Do you remember how our longing for peace and tranquility was misconstrued!
And the aggression, invasion continued
History is witness how the armies of invaders devastated this land
And plundered the wealth!
“The world is made luminous and is transfigured,” the invaders claimed
The times have changed
But the wars and battles continue
The old weapons, swords and the archers replaced
Sophisticated war equipment invented
For devastation, bloodshed, annihilation and subjugation.
O’ Motherland
Do you remember the invasions through the centuries!
Being followers of your teachings of universal peace and harmony
We always remained defensive
We haven’t given up principle of nonviolence
We believe in coexistence
And yearn for peace
But a question continues haunting
‘How long to remain nonviolent?’
Craving for Inner Peace of Soul
Dwelling in a Concrete Jungle
Engulfed by the suffocating smoke, emitted by millions of automobiles
The deafening noise of their roaring engines
Scorching weather during the summer
And the smoggy winters
My thoughts always traverse across the oceans, and the countries
Thousands of kilometers far to the *Land of Morning Calm.
I reminisce the nights spent at *Baekdam temple
Sitting at the bank of mountain stream before the day break amid the *Wishing Stone Towers
Plunged into Ocean of Silence, overwhelmed by serenity
Stream flowing down from atop the *Seorak Mountain
Passing near the temple
The shallow water of mountain stream babbling over the smooth pebbles
Like oars plashing in the silence
Like the fading but unceasing sound of bell-ringing
By a vendor selling the sweets to the children in a street.
I recollect reciting *Buddhist Monk’s poem ‘The Silence of My Beloved’
I visualize the rhythmic stamping of beloved’s feet
Wearing the anklets, twirling in front of me
Creating charming harmonious music.
I envision the Aurora, streaking across the sky in a chariot of light, announcing the coming of the sun god.
I take a deep breath and listen to the cry of my heart
Craving for peace of mind, inner peace of soul.
*Land of Morning Calm – Korea
*Wishing Stone Towers – Pyramid-like heaps of pebbles
*Baekdam Temple – Baekdamsa Temple at Seorak Mountain in South Korea
*Buddhist Monk – Poet Han Yong-Un (1879-1944), whose poetry collection is titled ‘Silence of My Beloved’. He was author, poet, and activist for Korean independence from Japanese rule.
*Aurora – Roman Goddess of Dawn
About the Poet
Nasir Aijaz, based in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province of Pakistan, is basically a journalist and researcher having spent over 48 years in the field of journalism. He won Gold Medal and another award for best reporting in 1988 and 1989. He has worked in key positions for newspapers and news agencies. He also worked as a TV Anchor for over a decade and conducted some 400 programs. He is author of ten books on history, language, literature, travelogue and biography. One of his books ‘Hur – The Freedom Fighter’, a research work on war against the British colonial forces, also won a prize. Further, he translated a poetry book of Egyptian poet Ashraf Aboul Yazid, into Sindhi language, which was published in Egypt. Besides, he has written around 500 articles in English, Urdu and Sindhi, the native language of Sindh. He is editor of Sindh Courier, an online magazine and represents The AsiaN, an online news service of South Korea. His articles have also been translated in Arabic and Korean languages. He writes poetry in his native language Sindhi, and English. Very recently, some of his poems have been translated in Albanian and Italian languages and published there besides in Arabic language published in Egypt and Abu Dhabi. . His English poems have also been published in Bangladesh, Kosovo, USA, Tajikistan Nasir Aijaz is one of the founding members of Korea-based Asia Journalists Association AJA. He has visited some ten Asian countries and attended international seminars.
