Rajashree’s poetic reflection on love, life, and survival amid pollution, chaos, and the fading harmony of our wounded Earth, for Different Truths.

Life does not hold lives as before 
Swept by whirling wind
Bathed under the Sunshine
Aspiring to the touch of a gentle breeze
Scares and frightens it more and more
Yet I love you, life much as before. 
 
When I look around 
Find newspapers lying on grassy fields 
Bottles roll on charred wood's feet 
Concrete walls tear the forests apart
Suffocate rivers with grimy looks
 
Spilt oil obstructs the sun's rays  
To reach the surface
Oceans cannot breathe 
Dying being suffocated 
Dark fumes  
Cut throats of snow peaks

Pollution everywhere
puts life at stake
Peaceful existence becomes a question
Even though there exists a rat race.
 
Now it is not that easy for us to survive
If life runs on the blade of a 
Sharp knife.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Rajashree Mohapatra

Rajashree Mohapatra, born in Odisha, has received her master’s degree in ‘History’, and ‘Journalism and Mass Communications’ from Utkal University. She is a teacher by profession. Being a postgraduate in ‘Environmental Education and Industrial Waste Management’ from Sambalpur University, she has devoted herself as a social activist to the cause of social justice, environmental issues, and human rights in remote areas through non-governmental organisations. Poetry, painting, and journalism are her passions.