Vallities proudly during summers
Look forward to construct lofty
And cemented concrete houses
From it’s entrance to the top
Cement and marble flooring
Add to it’s resplendence and glory
In our strides, we only intend
To have charming, nice-looking house
We do forget it all about
The bone-chilling and biting cold
Of valley’s tough and harsh winter
When faucets pour ice in place of water
Frozen matalic pipes burst
Amidst record dipping mercury levels
Our limbs experiencing osteodynia
Cracked-heals and chapped lips
Do annoy and infuriate us ponderously
During frequent power outages
All electrical gadgets stored in the home
Deny to provide any relief and comfort
In such testing and troubled times
Our traditional centuries old Kangri
Only comes to our rescue
Inhabitants in winters do acknowledge
The momentousness of muddy houses
With thatched roofs and timber-frames
And pitfalls of erecting concrete edifices.
The Writer is a columnist, academician, fiction writer hailing from Qazigund Kashmir India.
