To think, to feel intensely, to dream and to hope. To act with passion. Then, there is Beauty with a capital B.And Love, a pleasure so intense that it hurts. Believe me, it is worth it. When it happens it extends to, and includes God; when I speak of that moment I speak of space time continuum! Then there are no questions left, only acceptance and joy; pure and simple!
Busy pragmatics need to go there as I did as I wrote these poems, compiled them into an anthology and named it Bhagirathi - the river Ganges that has seen it all!
Ravindra Pathania
Ravindra Pathania was born on 1 January 1942, in a small village in Himachal Pradesh called Kotla, named after the fort across the meeting point of two rivers. His mother Soma was known for her compassion and selfless service and was a mother to the whole village. His father Chuni Lal Pathania was a man of great courage, determination and pride and love. The village only had a government primary school, up to fourth standard. A High School was started in the local Shiva temple in 1953. Students carried sand and stone from the rivers to construct a new building. Now of course there is a proper High School in those buildings.
A twelve-year-old Ravi almost got his novel published but opted out as he didn’t have the courage to ask for his father to sign up the Agreement. He went on to be commissioned in the Indian Army that earned him ‘Samar Seva Medal’ in the 1965 war against Pakistan. In 1968 he left the Army and joined the Indian Revenue Service. All these years writing when the mood came, mostly in Hindi - poems, articles and fiction. In the meantime, an album of bhajans - Saanwra also came out through HMV SAREGama that became very popular both in India and abroad. Still is even after 20 years of its release, with piracy on it on You Tube! Another album Krishna Utsav was released by Sony Music in 2004.
Settled in Mumbai, he runs a Consultancy in Tax Laws and Project Management.
After the early age chance, he never got time to think of publishing any of his writings.
Bhagirathi, a collection of fifty of his poems, some written over a period of sixty five years of his life, his first published work.
