Poem ~10
A Morning at Shankracharya Temple
By Avantika Vijay Singh
while the rest of India was sweltering,
this morning, in Kashmir, was drizzling…
a soft grey, in May
and that’s how began the day—
past the Dal Lake, we sped by,
which upon the morning seemed to sigh
stirred by its tryst
with the breeze in the silver mist
we crossed the check post in time
and climbed the verdant hills sublime…
and then began the sheer climb…
steep, grey steps that each must take in their time
we slowly climbed, paused, and rested…
for the steep steps, our resilience tested,
then climbed again
till at last we saw the shrine main—
an imposing structure cobbled in grey
that you can only fully see from the crossway—
the temple, in splendour stands
of the magnificence it commands,
with the lingam in its sanctum—
the formless in His iconic form…
where the finite
meets the infinite…
… in the sweeping splendour
of the Zabarwan range spread in languor
swooping on the surface of the Dal Lake,
I dissolve in surrender to this landscape—
a cosmic crossing, the brahman merging…
… and I becoming …
Avantika Vijay Singh is a writer, editor, poet, researcher, and photographer. She has authored two anthologies and edited five. A recipient of the Nissim International Award Runner Up 2023, WE Gifted Poet 2024, and WE Illumination Award 2024, she has been published in national and international journals. She holds M.Sc. Zoology (Rajasthan University), M.S. Biomedical Science (BITS, Pilani), and Masters Level Certificates in Sustainability (Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden) and Digital Marketing (MICA).
