Bal Prashna
BY
Sumitra Nandan Pant
(1900-1976)
Sumitra Nandan Pant (1900-1976) ‘Bal Prashna’ (A child’s question). It was composed with the backdrop of Swamiji’s trip to Almora in 1897. This forms a part of the book ‘Veena.’ Here is a translation of the poem:
‘O Mother!
You say that when the Seer-King Vivekananda came to Almora,
then the whole path was paved with velvet,
and the city was brightly illumined
like in Dipavali.
Mother! Does it mean that he cannot walk on unpaved ground?
Why was the town illumined?
Did he possess poor eyesight?’
‘My child!
Swamiji moves fearlessly
on hard paths,
and with his divine eyesight
he has traversed many a thorny way.
In fact the widespread velvet
was the symbol of the devotion
of the people’s heart.
And Swamiji himself
is an enlightened one,
therefore those illumined lamps
were arranged only
in the spirit of his worship.