Sobhan Kar, Delhi, 30 October 2022
Bapa, one last look of yours
Couldn’t be mine!
I was late by twenty-four hours,
To be glanced by eyes divine.
Not till your intubation
Was I worried about you.
Every past hospitalisation
Was vanquished by you!
No glances, no words
Could we share one last time.
Your love, touch, and words
Live in the mind of mine.
Your glorious footsteps
Shine wherever I go.
Kalinga, Utkal, Odisha weeps;
Having lost its alter-ego!
You strode like a collossus
Be it politics or literature.
Odias mourn the loss
Of the champion of their culture!
You smiled and loved all,
Spreading joy to every corner.
You mesmerised one and all
As a magical orator!
All our endeavours
Will be to keep the flag flying!
The legacy of yours
Will be the eternal flame burning!
