Have you been to Shalimar Bagh
\nAnd sighed for the company of someone you love?<\/p>\n
Almost 400 years ago an
emperor built a garden to please his wife,
\nA heavy burden for the common lovers,
\nWho neither have the resources
nor the patience for giving such gifts.<\/p>\n
The grandest garden in Kashmir,
\nStands as a living monument to both love and imagination,
\nA timeless creation of time,
\nA resplendent design of architecture.<\/p>\n
But history finds an older connection:
\nKing Praversena II of Kashmir,
\nFounder of the city of Srinagar,
\nBuilt a hut in 2nd Cent.
A.D.,he called Shalimar,
\nTo stay during the visits to saint Sukarma Swami at Harwan.<\/p>\n
Whether it was created to worship god or love a woman,
\nShalimar transcends everyday life.<\/p>\n
Shalimar is a gift of love,
\nA sigh floating on the wings of time.<\/p>\n
Since 1619 Shalimar has served people in different ways:
\nExcitement of natural beauty,
\nRelaxation from the ugliness and din of the world.
\nOften forgotten is that it was the token of love
\nFrom Emperor Jahangir to his wife Nur Jahan.
\nBut love is celebrated less nowadays
\nAnd relaxation is more prized.<\/p>\n
As the tryst with my friend was getting later and later,
\nAll means to contact her exhausted,
\nI broke into a million anxieties,
\nUntil I realized that it was the local morality
\nThat forbade her to meet me.
\nMy heart broke into a thousand pieces
\nBut I did not curse Shalimar.<\/p>\n
Afterward, I repeated my trip to the upper-most terrace
\nAnd read the inscription in the black pavilion:
\n\u201cIf there is paradise on earth,
it is this, it is this, it is this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suffern,
New York,
February 14, 2012
\nwww.kaulscorner.com
\nmaharaj.kaul@yahoo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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