By: Onkar Sharma

Ever seen or imagined a temple in the clouds?
Ever seen a shrine sans the unholy crowds?
It was white as snow
It was majestic as doe
Its slender marble dome stood tall and went very high
behaving as the watchman of the sky

Held gracefully in the palms by the mountains
Encircled around by mist like the ethereal curtains
the mandir stood draped in primitive forests of baans and firs
with slopes downward garlanded with herbs and wild flowers.
The squeaky wind poured us with god’s message.
The pink chill propelled human faith through the invisible passage.

Tribals of the distant villages came to plead in guilt
but I was lost in trance about the white built.
My limbs were unmoved, eyes transfixed in god’s divine court
to behold, to seek, and to explore the mystic support
of the commander of the universe who resides
in this remote sanctum unguarded from all sides.
I wish I could stay here forever in this premise
to attain that love, to find that peace and to earn that surprise!

Believe me I’ve seen a temple in the clouds!
Believe me it’s a place beyond the unholy crowds!

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This poem is a tribute to my unforgettable but second visit to the Maa Bhangayani Temple at Haripurdhar, a high-reaches place in Sirmour District of Himachal Pradesh. For more information regarding the temple, click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maa_Bhangayani_Temple,_Haripurdhar