KIRANMOY Nandi
1st Child:
Hey, where are you hiding, all my friends?
Come, let's run where the meadow bends.
School is out, yet still you stay
Look, the sun’s at the edge of the day!
2nd Child:
Not today, I cannot play,
Soon to tuition, I'm on my way.
You know in math, I did so bad,
Swore to Mom, “I’ll make you glad!”
Books again right after school,
Tell me, does that sound so cool?
I wish like you I too could run,
From field to field, just chasing fun.
1st Child:
Oh, come on, I messed up too,
Seventy-seven—marks so few!
Numbers tangled, lines confused,
Mom got mad, her hand I bruised.
But Dad just smiled and told her, “See,
Learning comes, just let her be!
Seventy-seven to ninety-five,
She’ll get there while she learns to thrive.”
2nd Child:
Lucky you, your dad’s so kind,
Mine won’t let me lag behind.
Childhood feels like such a test,
I dream to fly, to race, to rest!
To run through grass in misty dawn,
Barefoot where the dew is drawn.
To gallop free on horses red,
To chase lost rivers where legends bled!
1st Child:
Oh, you talk like poets do,
Every word paints pictures new.
Amal would have found his hills,
The curd man listening, standing still.
Even Phatik, never free,
Would have stayed for words from thee.
In city’s heart, he’d find a tree,
For childhood sings in melody!
2nd Child:
Truth be told, my bag’s too tight,
Books and lessons, day and night.
Dance, and music, painting too,
“Excel in all!”—the same old view.
Where’s the time to laugh and play?
Paper boats just drift away.
No more stories, none to share,
Everyone’s busy, lost somewhere.
1st Child:
The evening comes, let’s head back home,
But your pain still makes me roam.
You and the meadow stand apart,
But I can feel your longing heart.
Yet when you can, pick up your brush,
Paint the seas in colors lush.
Or sketch a stream by pine trees tall,
And let your childhood never fall.
2nd Child’s Mother:
Oh my child, I went astray,
Forgot what makes you smile and play.
Your heart belongs where football calls,
Where endless green the eye enthralls.
If you lag in marks, they stare,
Whispered talks, the judging glare.
The anger swells, the pride is torn,
Yet love for joy should not be worn.
Once you swam from shore to shore,
Leaped through ponds, free to explore.
That love, that thrill, I made it cease,
Each day your bag stole your peace.
But no, my child, I'll build anew,
A home where dreams can still shine through!
2nd Child:
Oh mother dear, you are my light,
I love you more than stars at night!
I’ll study hard, but play as well,
And in my heart, my dreams shall dwell!