Before Borders

Once, the wind carried no names, Rivers glided without chains.

Feet wandered, hearts embraced, No walls, no lines, just open space.

Humans carved maps with blood and stone, Called the earth theirs alone.

Brothers parted, mothers wept, Even birds lost the path they kept. In Kashmir's mist, the echoes fade, Love turned into a barricade.

Manipur’s hills once danced free, Now shadowed by a war’s decree. Gaza’s children dream in dust, Homes erased, futures crushed.

Bullets zipped, bombs ignited, Innocence lost in endless fights.

Borders rise but souls resist,

For love is a land that still exists.

And Ehsan writes with fear-stained ink, Of a world once whole, now on the brink.

About the Author: Mr Ehsan Ali Dar recently graduated from the MA Anthropology programme at the Central University of Sikkim. This poem was written as part of an assignment on the Anthropology of Borders.

Series Editors: Professor Kaveri Gill, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Professor Jabin T. Jacob, Director, and Dr Samir Sharma, Non-Resident Associate Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies