Ashok Chakravarthy Tholana is a poet and review writer, hailing from Hyderabad City, Telangana State, INDIA. He has been composing poetry for the past 25 years and has the distinction of getting the poems published in no less than 90 countries. That apart, he has been conferred with several prestigious awards and commendations for contributing to World Peace, Environment Protection, Safeguarding Children’s Rights etc. His poem “Plant More Trees” for United Nations ‘Billion Tree Campaign’ which was set to tune and released by “Association Pour la Terra”, France, received wide acclaim from several schools across the world. As of now, five out of his 18 poetry volumes have been published and translation of 12 spiritual related books were carried out from Telugu to English language. Presently he is employed as Asst. General Manager, with the Government-Partnered “Telangana State Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd”, Hyderabad, India.
When the doors of nature in the universe
Were wide open with a pleasant view,
We, with selfish motives and ill-intention
Have let loose a reign of mass destruction.
Having pounded the surface and sea,
Having punctured the sky and space,
Having destructed the dense forests,
Having encroached the high mountains;
We have peeled natures’ unbound beauty
We have devastated invaluable resources,
We have polluted the life-giving air,
We have spoilt the pure water resources.
We have invaded all living species,
We have infiltrated the green valleys,
We have played havoc with rare birds,
We have hunted down the rarest animals.
We have almost inflicted a death blow,
Dear! Yet some hope exists even now,
Ignorance of any sort at this juncture
Will turn the tide against the universe.
With perfect care and perfect concern,
With perfect word and perfect action,
Let us act perfect, for a future perfect
In a perfect way for a perfect world.
The delights
Of childhood
Surge in me.
My elated mood
Gets submerged
In the warmth
Of childhood days.
My fondling mother
My loving father,
In their cozy arms
I feel wrapped
With joy infinite.
The very moment
I am forced out
Of the short trance;
I fall apart
For, at a cross road
With tattered clothes
I sight a child,
Perhaps an orphan
Who still reflect
At this mid-life
In my heart’s eye.
Oh God!
Why such disparity?
Why such inferiority?
Where might be he!
Without food, and
Without a shelter;
Whose presence
Moved me
Even at childhood
And still keeps
Haunting me
Now and then.
The beautiful flowers have to wilt tonight
And pave a way for the new buds to sprout,
The hapless birds rush to hide with fright
To rejoice again at the knock of dawn, in await.
The pitiable sight of a bone sucked beggar
The pathetic plight of untimely death of a dear,
The emotionally charged heart of a jilted lover
Everyone dread the recycling trend of sunset hour.
The darkness which infiltrates through the sunset
The fiery instinct within, which peeps to gush out,
Prompt things to get astray, with uncertainty at hilt
Without giving scope to counter the chronic torment.
The moon and stars are duty-bound to enthrall,
Nature performs its task to help human survival,
Unless the sun sets, tomorrow cannot dawn here
Yes, act positive to dispel every gloom and fear;
Unless the sun sets there won’t exist an iota of life
Yes, let’s think positive and brave the paths of grief.
By the merits of great good fortune
A human birth is we bestowed upon…..
Like jewels of crown in the kingdom of love
Let our god-gifted discriminate power glow.
The nectar of love and the essence of peace
In fact are life’s eternal co-existence sources
Both dwell within, yes, within all of us
To savor life’s precious and lasting bliss.
Lured by ever-luring worldly entanglements
We break the citadels of right conduct;
Clasping thorns of selfishness and riches
We assume them as fresh blooming roses.
Transient and destructible is what “life” is
Yet, forfeiting true joy we run after mirages;
Discovered truth, we fling at vultures of desires
Preferring to survive on illusions and fantasies.
But, fulfillment of human birth as precious one
If searched, is found in love and devotion;
Why should we invite the tormenting fissures?
Which push life betwixt the birth-death sphere.
When the waves of true love and emotion surge.
Perfect happiness and contentment would resurge,
By helping the starving and serving the needful
One is bound to reach the refuge of joy-eternal.
The fleeting time fascinates
Leaving us far behind, at times
Seasons are destined to come
Fading into eternity within no time.
Joys and sorrows frequent at times
Flowers of peace get rattled by storms
Lackluster are some surging moments
Instigative too are a few life’s moments.
A shout for peace at a war-torn corner
A scream for a fist of food at another
The shadow of death dance at both ends
Feasting on innocents who are dead.
The war for peace is a mere pretext
Violent deaths recur by gunfire assaults
For a fistful of food, people scramble
Betwixt the cries of thirst and hunger
The flowers of spring are torn apart
The dreams of the young seem upset
Tomorrow lurks behind the dawn of death
Cannot we co-exist with total faith?
Silently I watch
Moment after moment
Slowly slip into eternity.
Silently I feel
The invisible layers of wind
Blow past into perpetuity.
Silently I glimpse
Tide after tide in the sea
Get swallowed by another tide.
Silently I glance
The delightful buds
Blossom by the passing of night.
And silently I aspire
To fly like home-coming bird
Across the golden horizon of setting Sun
Yes, silently I dream
To experience the bountiful warmth
Dancing midst the beautiful nature around.
But, Oh my dear!
I cannot watch in silence
A poverty ridden child or a destined orphan.
