Twice a year poets from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds gather to read poems in different languages. It is an exciting event when people afflicted with the malady called "Poetry Craze" choose to bring our their inner feelings in form of verse. Some poems were original presentations, written specifically for the occasion. Others chose to read the work of great poets.

The theme of the winter poetry reading session held at MIT was "Peace".The inauguration of the event was done by Shri Narasimhan who ready some Sanskrit verses from the Rig Veda. Some read in Urdu from the poetry of Iqbal, while others refered to the Telugu works of Thyagaraja.Some readings were taken from the collections of the Punjabi poet Sultan Bahu. One of the most touching moments was a reading by a lady who had just returned from Israel and West Bank. She read a poem that was sent by an elementary school student from America to the occupied territories which said " I cannot do much now for I am young but I hope I can help when I grow up". Reminds us all that as we grow we create more war and forget the promise of peace we made as youngsters.

The coordinator for the event was Jaspal Singh. Sajjed Kamal, Dr. Onaly Kapasi, Smt. Parvathy Ayyar, Dr. R.S. Ayyar and others presented their own creations. The traditional ending of these events has alwyas been with a presentation by Brother Blue, an African American poet from Cambridge who never fails to amaze his listeners.

Here is a poem that was presented by Dr.R.S.Ayyar on the theme of Peace. He is the retired dean of IIT Bombay.

Sitting on his horse on a cold snowy winter,
Between the woods and a deep frozen lake,
On a darkest scary evening of the year
All in loneliness, did he sense peace?

Standing in the gas chambers of Auschwitz prisons
Where millions of innocents, even babes in arms
Were mercilessly killed through orders of Hitler,
Did we sense peace in the aftermath of that horror?

When Hiroshima, the city bubbling with life
Evaporated in seconds when an atom bomb fell
With no signs of human survival or sound,
Did we hope for peace after that disaster?

After September 11,when the twin towers tumbled
And thousands of innocents died or were maimed
Standing on the rubble without fear of that terror,
Did we hope for peace after that disaster?

In the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Mombassa
When terrorists did attack and wantonly killed
Attempted plane highjacks and attacked holy places,
Did we even believe that peace is sure to come?

In the temples of Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir
When the terrorists did strike and aimlessly killed,
Did the few survivors still pray to God
That pessimism be erased and peace be soon restored?

In a remote village not reachable by roads
Where the mother breast-feeds and father sits and smokes
While their other two children joyously play
One can sense peace, but how long we don’t know.

When hatred begets hatred and anger, more anger,
Fanaticism of terrorists causes death without reason
Dharma for a moment seems weakened by Adharma
And the humanity at large is engulfed in fear.

But love for the humans will rise like a Phoenix
From the embers of hatred, carnage and gloom
When people of all colors, castes, creeds and groups
Submerge their hatred and join their hands.

People lovers globally will strengthen their frontiers
Against tyrants, terrorists and thoughtless trivial clashes
Humanity will become color and class blind
And the resources of the halves will be shared with the have-nots.

Erase all names that we have given God
Eliminate all animosity that triggers all fights
As all colors are merged in the light of the sun
Whose brightness and energy are shared by all.

Peace we will have for eternity to come
If promises we make to harmonize our lives
And submerge our colors and our dogmas
To live with love in this charming global village.

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