On Psalm of Life, a poem by H W Longfellow…

This poem by Henry Wadsworth or H.W. Longfellow (27/2/1807-24/3/1882) takes me down memory lane. We were taught this poem in school by our teacher - Mrs. Anita Patwardhan Madam. This poem is one of the best school memories that I have ever had! If I remember rightly, Madam continued to teach this poem for more than 1 periods & she really put in her heart in teaching it. I think for more than any other subjects, for languages (& especially in school), it is important as to who teaches the subject as much as how. Patwardhan Madam was, till that time for me, a strict/ no non-sense teacher. But after this poem, I came to know of a different side of hers. 

There is another memory associated with this poem. My eldest Mama had known so many poems, complete Geet Ramayan, so many Aartis, so many monologues/dialogues, songs by heart. No wonder he had this poem by heart as well. He had once asked (long after my school days) whether I knew this poem verbatim. I had liked the poem, but after the school days, it had gone out of my mind. He gave me a challenge & offered a cash prize of Rs. 100/- (in 1990s) – to learn this poem & also one tongue twister Aarti of a Goddess (Mahishasurmardini- Aaigiri nandini). Unfortunately that challenge still remains as it was.. .And now my Mama is unfortunately no more...

Psalm of Life, needless to say, is truly an inspiring poem. One must not just recite, learn but actually imbibe & internalize it. It is one poem that compels you to act with a purpose & for a Cause. There is a huge difference in the meaning that I might have understood at that time & now. The relevance & depth of it is perceived more so acutely now, when one realizes that even after coming this far in Life, nothing worthwhile has been done yet, forget about leaving footprints on the sands of time! Some words/phrases in the poem do linger in your mind. For example- Art is long and Time is fleeting, bivouac of life, Learn to labor and to wait etc. The poem, like Jonathan Livingston Seagull & even like Dr. Samuel Hahnemann-founder of Homoeopathy, talks of a Higher Purpose of Existence-Which one must find & pursue, to make life meaningful… 

Thinking retrospectively, I can trace ‘A Psalm of Life ‘as one of the first experiences when I understood something about Life & Living. Nobody is Lord Buddha, nobody can ever be! But we still have these small, beautiful Moments of Enlightenment in our lives …of understanding the meaning of life. We learn many lessons in life in a hard way...through our experiences of disappointments, dejection, deceit, disillusionment, departure, disease and death. But I am talking of positive experiences. And at least for me they have come in a pure & divine form of Learning. I am fortunate to have experienced many such moments. Such Moments have given a peculiar joy to me. This joy fills up your heart & makes it heavy. It makes you introspective. I had this when we learnt ‘Ijaazat’ or movie ‘Fast Forward’ in group discussion sessions or studied books like Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach, The Breadwinner (by Deborah Ellis) or the story- The Gift of the Magi (all of these conducted by our teacher Dr. Vikrant Mahajan) or when I read the book- ‘Shala’ by Milind Bokil. At times such Moments catch you by surprise. They come out of nowhere. It is like you are travelling on a winding road & then suddenly on the horizon you have a first glimpse of the sea. Or when you are going through a ghat, over and above all the noises, you suddenly hear the rhythm of a cascade. That sound is spellbinding & it takes you to the breath holding spectacle of the cascade. Coincidentally all such experiences have been associated with wonderful teachers. So here’s expressing my salute & gratitude to all of them.

I can go on & on.. But I would like to know your experiences as well. How is it with you? Has this poem or any other poem had a lasting impact on you? Have you had similar experiences about the joy of Learning? Please  do share here ...