Chousath Dhara Poem by sreelekha premjit

once on a shivratri
we travelled on the khandwa road
and in to the inroads
to the banks of Narmada
where the chousath dhara splayed the river
coloured imagination
and brought frenzied heavenly fever
for the villagers who gathered
had come to witness the last shivrathri
on the banks of narmada
by the side of chousath dhara
and then the water till now benign
would swallow the villages
and then shivrathri by chousath dhara
would be a thing of the past
a folklore
a once upon a time thing
to tell and retell