Thursday, 18 October 2012

Passage to India (how could I resist?).

After an extended absence from the Blog-sphere, I'm back. The catalyst is a trip to India working with IBM's Executive Service Corps on a project in Ahmedabad in the Gujarat province. Today's contribution will be very brief , being as I am , thoroughly jet lagged after the long journey from Ireland. The adventure began, after many weeks of preparatory calls, with a stormy flight to London and a bit of a scramble to get from the tin shack that is Terminal One at Heathrow to the grandeur of T5. I boarded hot and flustered but it's amazing what an unexpected upgrade and a glass of Champagne can do to settle the nerves!

Eight hours later I was in Mumbai and fours hours after that I was in Ahmedabad to a welcome that deserves a post all of its own, perhaps when I'm rested and fed. In the mean time however, I thought I'd share a poem by the Indian poet Sarojini Naidu, which ironically speaks more to what I left behind than what lies ahead in the days and weeks ahead. Stay tuned!

Autumn Song 
Like a joy on the heart of a sorrow,
The sunset hangs on a cloud;
A golden storm of glittering sheaves,
Of fair and frail and fluttering leaves,
The wild wind blows in a cloud.

Hark to a voice that is calling
To my heart in the voice of the wind:
My heart is weary and sad and alone,
For its dreams like the fluttering leaves have gone,
And why should I stay behind?

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