The Secrets of Ishbar by Subhash Kak

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Table of Contents

Index

PART I: Snow in Srinagar

Exile

Reaching Srinagar

The city of fame

Rainy afternoon in ...

Up the Sindh river in a doonga

Snow in Srinagar

Chilai Kalan

Crossing the Vitasta

Journey into the Himalayas

Ishbar evenings

Pony ride in the Liddar valley

Views of Haramukh

My father in Hawaii

PART II: Ten Thousand Years of Solitude

The Fire in the Waters

Records of our lives

Threads

Ask Krishna

The Conductor of the dead

A Wounded bird

The riddle of Isha

Patanjali's song

The hidden path up the hill

Inner Sarasvati

Naming things

On high desert

A small beginning

Uncovering

Seeking answers

Nachiketa's dual

Quantum implications

Chance and necessity

A Boy and his dog

Book in pdf format

Symbol of Unity

Apr 4, 2025: Friday

A Wounded Bird

You said I was a bird with a broken
wing. I am afraid that when you have
nursed me to health I might fly away.

The sadness in your eyes haunts me.
When you have given me life and
I take my lonely flight (Can I help
that?) will it not break your heart?
Why do you breathe life into me, when it
will be the death of both of us?

Do not grieve at my stony face. My
heart warms to your every smile, every
touch. I almost feel the strength to
fly. Shall I get well and lose you?

That I love you is clear
since I ask you for nothing.
I would love you even if you went away
leaving my wing bleeding.

I feel guilty that my condition
made you interrupt your play.
No, you have hung around me for many
days now, stroking my feathers, dressing
my wounds. Can I ever repay you?

You have whispered in my ears
that I look so weak and wan that
you must help me. And what patience!
I haven't spoken, you still console
me with your beautiful words.

Don't you realize that you are
wasting your youth on a
bird with shrivelled limbs
when your garden is full of handsome
admirers? They know many clever
games to amuse you.

I admit I have called you sometimes
with my cries.

In your absence your image has
lain with me. The shadow of
your soft hand has warmed my
feathers in the cold nights.

Shall I get well and live with
you in a gilded cage woven
by your deft fingers
or shall I paint your form
on these rocks before I fly off?

The Secrets of Ishbar

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