Riverine Transport
The story of the 1950s is a chronicle now
Recorded on heresy down the family tree
The then Bengal saw life on barefoot, pristine
The mundane pleasure was lucent in the background
In a riverine country, boat deemed to be the main
Transportation was perilous in those days!
The population was not so swelling as of today
Village centric people worked on pure air
Barefoot as no cause of germ rediscovered
Varied boats were the only means of communication
Cultivation meant to be the prime source of income
Mud roads in larger areas smacked of agrarian smell
Close to nature, people found with opulence on the wharf
A boatful of boro paddy would import to villages
Sources of diesel engine proved dear and rare
Boatmen pulled boats with the help of ‘goon’
In times of unfavourable wind, they recourse
Visiting ‘hut’ in a distance was a joy, unalloyed
Sailing boat irradiated glow of hope on lonely shore!
Floatels and boatels wert the only means of meals
©Basudev Paul
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