An evocative ballad, by Dr Paramita, exclusively for Different Truths.

My car stopped at the signal.
My eyes fell on a little boy
 Playing on the street side.
Playing with marbles was he.
His hair dirty and tangled.
His clothes dirty and torn.
With deep concentration was he playing.
No looking around, no distractions.
With so much noise around
The cars and trucks honking.
People walking all around him.
But he was oblivious to all.
His only focus was his marbles.
The little child found happiness in so little a thing.
I was overwhelmed and filled with a happiness ring.

Visual by Different Truths

Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick

Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick is a scientist, a globally loved, award-winning poet, editor and a literary curator. She has published 11 books and her poems have been translated into 41 world and Indian languages. Paramita promotes peace, multilingual, global and indigenous poetry. Her writings also make people aware about conservation and climate change. Apart from numerous awards from Indian organisations she has received the Gold Rose from Buenos Aires (MS Productions) and the Panorama Literature award in 2022 from Greece. She heads two forums in Mumbai.