A Poem by : Archana Datta

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A Poem by : Archana Datta

I wait for the gulmuhar to bloom
…………………………………………………
I walk past the barren gulmuhar tree
Its the peak of winter
Its dark and gloomy
Morning mist has made the garden path surreal
I miss the chirping of birds all around It is only the occasional barking of street dogs
and sounds of a few elderly footsteps out on morning walks
I miss the laughter of school going children
the bright sunny days of spring,
Its colours and sounds.
I miss you
I wish to sit under the fully blossomed gulmuhar tree with you
I wait for the spring to come back
I wait for the love to come back in my drab and dreary life
I wait for you to be true to your promises
I walk past the barren tree with the hope that spring is round the corner
Soon it will have shining green leaves and crimson flowers
Days pass by, winter chill goes away, bright sunrays, balmy breeze and children’s laughter greet me in the morning
My gulmuhar tree is now wearing a bridal look with red flowers
I wait for you to come back from far away land to hold my hand again.
I walk past the fully blossomed tree with the hope of my unrequited love being  fulfilled
With the hope of smiling again
With the hope of bright sunrays to lit my life again
With the hope of winter of separation being banished from my life for ever
But my wait becomes longer and longer
Days of spring is over
My gulmuhar tree has lost all flowers
Its rain now
I walk past the flowerless tree all alone in rains, in tears
You never came to hold my hand again,
to be true to your promises,
I remain unloved in the changing seasons of life.

Archana Datta,poet Archana Datta, poem of Archana DattaArchana Datta
Archana Datta nee’ Mukherjee or Mukhopadhyay, born on October 5, 1954, in a traditional family in West Bengal,  India.

She had her  schooling in Sister Nivedita School,  a school founded in 1898 by Sister Nivedita or Miss Margaret Elizabeth Noble, an Irish lady, instrumental in spreading girls’ education in India.  It is run by a trust named Ramkrishna Sarada Mission. She passed out class XI from RKSM Sister Nivedita School in the 1970. She had graduated from Serampore College,  under University of Calcutta.The college was founded in 1818 by the Missionaries,  William Carey, Joshua Marshman and William Ward. She  had learnt French from l’institute de Chandernagore, an erstwhile French colony.

She  joined the West Bengal Civil Services (executive) in the year 1977 and
worked as executive magistrate in WBCS ( executive) in the districts of Burdwan and Hoogly.
In 1983, she  joined the  Indian Information Service through Civil Services Exam. Having undergone fundation and professional trainings at LBSNAA, Mussourie and IIMC, New Delhi, joined Press Information Bureau,  Calcutta,  in 1985. Thereafter,  worked in different media units under the Ministry of I&B, in places like Patna, Lucknow,  Dehradun, Bangalore and finally back to Delhi in September,  2006, and posted at PIB, Hqrs. She acted as spokesperson  for the Ministries of Rural Development and Minorities Affairs and and was assigned to look after Press facilities for accredited journalists at PIB hqrs in Delhi.

In 2007, joined Rashtrapati Bhavan , as Press Secretary to Ms Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, from 2007 to 2012. She also worked as OSD to the then Governor of Karnataka, Mr T N Chaturvedi.
Archana Datta,  also worked as the Director General, news, in both AIR and Doordarshan.

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