When cuckoos coo and sparrows tweet 

I awake to the sounds of Nature, sweet. 

A rising thought every morn I feel, 

How proud I’m to be an Indian, with zeal. 

Millions of years, our cultures survived 

Battles fought; Nature’s disasters bide; 

Yet through the battling forces, we endured 

To rise as a Nation, strong ‘n’ well matured. 

A country with a past, tradition imbibed 

We grew as a Nation, in history inscribed. 

Generations of fortitude, will power and grit 

We stood firm as rock, peerless, to wit. 

Birth of religions, traditions and culture 

Kept us going, tirelessly, safe and sure. 

All the indelible impression of the past 

Left imprints on our minds, eternally to last. 

O! God, being Great, thou blessed our land, 

In every field of progress, thou lent us a hand. 

Diligent and astute as our peerless forefathers were, 

Mother India smiled: our obeisance to Her. 

The father of our nation, had a single-minded chore 

T’was to shatter the British shackles of yore. 

Sweet were the verses of the mighty Tagore, 

Whose musings ring in our ears, loud and more. 

Sudden was the spurt and rapid progress 

Stimulated by techies, whom we ought to bless 

Conquest of space and probes in orbit, 

Science in India strode to pitch in its bit. 

The evolution in electronics, unprecedented though 

To our myriad masterminds, we accord a reverent bow. 

Our young minds and their pioneering foresight 

Will take India further up in its technological flight. 

Dynamic leaders, imparting zealous advice 

Goad our masses, to move up and fight. 

An ignited mind at the helm of our realm 

Hats off to you, we proud Indians say “Salaam” 

And now blows in a creepy pandemic 

Across the board, toting ubiquitous panic 

Making those stricken crave for air 

Giving our world a wicked scare 

Covid’s its name, Oh God! forbid 

Spawned by man, who cannot bid 

To destroy the world ‘n’ humankind 

Where would you, but here, another enemy find? 

Arrogance, chutzpah and destructive trait 

Of man, trumped up this destructive fate. 

You’ll pay for your grave sins of yore 

I’ll absolve you, if you repent therefore, 

Loose not ye hope, my dear friend, 

The day’s not far when all this shall end. 

You are the might, and you are the soul 

Of our dear Land, you’re part of the Whole. 

Amidst all this rush of progress this age, 

My salute to the peerless Indians with this adage- 

“I am a cog in the Wheel of Fortune, by fate, 

Thank God! I’m proud to be an Indian to date. 

                                                                                       K. V. Sahasranam