INDIAN RAG A
Lyrics ©Ellen Herz Silverman Decmber 2004
Music?
C G
C G
They found fog
and they found airports
A D
They had left the
sun behind
Our senses were
assaulted
Sights and smells
and tastes and sounds
Hawkers voices did accost us
People and
merchandise all around
And yet the
sacred cows stood in their glory
On the median
strips calm and dignified
Their dung used
to coat the walls against insects
And heat the peoples homes inside
G D
Explore another
culture,
C G
Try to understand
G D
How another
society functions
C D
In a far away
land
G D C D
Where tradition
meets the 21st century and chaos confronts calm
G C G
The sacred cow
still remains as history marches on
There were
temples, forts and palaces
Mogul, Hindu,
Seik, and Jain
Mosques of
marble, jewels and mirrors
Architecture that
was not plain
The spiritual
riches of Vernasi
Where the
Fires and music
awesome to behold
Land of opulence
and poverty
Sparkling saris
and magnificent mustaches
Friendly,
cheerful people, smiling children’s faces
With the
existence of class and caste
Where tradition
meets the 21st century and chaos confronts calm
The sacred cow
still remains as history marches on
Bouncing on the
bus from town to town
On the left side
of the road
Seeing people
working, pigs horses and sheep
And the camels
hauling their heavy loads
Bicycles, buses,
tuk tuks too
Trucks and
motorcycles for transport
And always the
sacred cow
Sometimes in the
middle of the road
Vendors of fresh
fruits and vegetables
Bright purple,
yellow, red, orange, green
Markets full of
aromatic spices
To be smelled,
tasted and seen
A country rich in
history
Mogul,
maharajahs, and the British
With 1947
independence
The Indians got
their wish
Where tradition
meets the 21st century and chaos confronts calm
The sacred cow
still remains as history marches on
A country rich in
tradition
Large extended
families living together the norm
A strongly
patriarchal society
Provides
structure in the home
While the
brilliantly colored saris of blue, gold pink and red
The beautiful
women do adorn
We all had to
shop and find
Spectacular
treasures to take home
We will not
forget the magnificent Taj Mahal
Whose colors and
hues change through the day
The sitar and
tabla music, traditional dances
And the elephant
ride up the hill to the palace gate
Gayle, Don,
Marsha, Alice, Traci
Matt, Heath, Roe,
Pat and Hal
Carol, George,
Stuart, Ellen,
Jessica
Davindra and
Ashook led us on our travels
Taught us about
what we saw
Told us stories
and of traditions
History and how
We left the
culture and atmosphere of Rajistan
Flew to a city on
the bay
The cows were
gone but there were elephant caves
A boat ride from
the contemporary, cosmopolitan financial center…
During our travels there was a major earthquake
A tsunami where
so many died
We all mourn them
and count our blessings
We have so many
joys while so many cry
We 17 went on a
journey
Traveling and
made new friends
We are taking
home photographs, memories, treasures
As this year and
journey comes to an end
Where tradition
meets the 21st century and chaos confronts calm
The sacred cow
still remains
As history
marches on