ALAS! WE’VE FORGOTTEN HIM.

ALAS! WE’VE FORGOTTEN HIM.
 
Alas! We’ve forgotten our first elected beloved Chief Minister –
A revolutionary persona, a lover of Socialism, a freedom fighter
A worshipper of Gandhian ethos, a supporter of Bhoodan Movement
And a paragon of principles and values inherited by an immortal Saint.
 
Alas! We’ve forgotten a peerless statesman of Odisha par excellence –
Who proved his concerns for the derelict with his unmatched benevolence
Who was unstained by his deep erudition or his Zamindari ego and arrogance
Who was down to earth a man of simplicity, austerity, diligence and substance.
 
Alas! We’ve forgotten one of Mother Utkal’s most gifted and adorable sons
Who ought to have been revered for his remarkable and reformative contributions –
Such as First Five Year Plan for Orissa, abolition of Landlord system, establishment
Of Agricultural University and Baji Rout Hostel, toils to make Odia an official language
Formation of Utkal Congress Socialist Party, creation of Nabajuga Sahitya Sansad. A Sage
He was, who published ‘Sarathi’ and ‘Krusak’ to expedite the ‘Praja Andolan Movement’.
  
Let’s o the people of Odisha, whom he called his life, remember him and dog his ideals
Which shall be our fittest tributes to a great Soul of the soil, and our most grateful memorials!
 
N.B. This poem is dedicated to Nabakrushna Choudhury on his 122^nd birth anniversary.

Image courtesy : Google

Copyright: Dr.Shankar D Mishra, Sr. Lecturer in English, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Bharat.

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