The Music room

Have you seen the music room?
No- not in the day
When it is agog with people
as the court demands its share of fun
Not when the Sunlight is bright and clear
When the roses in the vase are young and fresh
The birds come to visit
Through the open windows
Not when a tiny pigeon struts on
the tambourine or a still Sparrow
Pokes into a giant flute
No- no not when the learned master
Pays obeisance to the Goddess with
Coconut and sandalwood
Oh- not then- But now
If you choose to come with me
When all in the palace are
asleep except you and me
The candles have burned down into
The gloom in the corridors
The flowers of the evening
have spent their fragrance in the night
Do you see the tired souls
Rested after the day
The musicians all herded into
One long bed
In the silence of the night
Don’t you observe the music of the room
The play of shadow and light
On the shehnai
The invisible drumming on the tabla
and the strumming of the sitar
Oh- don’t denigrate the music room
Now silent and forlorn
But come back in the day to be
Part of the bliss
But for me my dear
I shall wait here
to listen to this
heavenly song at night
in the pervading stillness of the
Palace music room.
After I watched Satyajit Ray’s film Jalsaghar this poem took hold of me.The music room in Jalsaghar will definitely take hold of you if you visit it.