Mostly Poems for Family and Friends

By Sumitra Janorkar Shah

Presented in the following pages is a compilation of Sumitra’s poems that she wrote over the years. While the focus is on our grandchildren, there are poems about her extoling and encouraging family and friends, about the people she loved, her life interests, and other topics as well. This book is our family tribute to her presence in our life

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664143272

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Shashi K. Shah. 822629

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

Rev. date: 11/30/2020

Contents

Prologue

Introduction

In Connecticut

Comments – Always in Your Heart

Always in Your Heart

Comments – The Woman of my Life

The Woman of my Life

Comments – New Year’s Day in Connecticut

New Year’s Day in Connecticut

Comments – Remembering Memorial Day

Remembering Memorial Day¹

Comments – Birds of a Twitter…

Birds of a Twitter…

Comments – Remembering my Canine Friend

Remembering my Canine Friend¹

Comments – On Wheatley

Wheatley is six today!

A Poem for Wheatley on her Birthday!

Celebrating Wheatley on her birthday!

Comments – It Takes a Village

It Takes a Village¹

Grandparenthood

Song for Mina

Our Precious Mina

Bo’s First Christmas

Mina is a dolly doll

Aji this is

A Song for Mina

Chicken and Noodles

Garden Vegetables

Bouncy Lunch

Teething Pains

Breakfast Cheer

Yo-Yo Time

Beautiful Darling

Mina on our Minds

Love that Kid

Breakfast Bliss

Rice Pudding for Sweetlo

American Shrikhand*

They Call me a Walking Wonder (WW)!

PBC for WW

Comments – Where’s Dadaji?

Where’s Dadaji?

That Special Kiss!

Sweetie Pie

Our Feminist Friend

Mina’s First Doll

To our Valentine

Lullaby for Sibi

Darling Bobo

Bobina Chocolate Pudding

I Finished the Coffee!!!

Miss Fix-it

Crescent Moon

Sibi’s First Birthday!

Mina is Three!!

To Darling Bobo

Vikram is Two!

Mina’s Fourth Birthday!

Calling the Magic Words

Comments on Mina and Vikram’s Birthday Poems

Vikram Darling’s Third Birthday!

Mina’s Fifth Birthday!

Vikram is Four!

Mina is Six!

Lullaby for the Sleep Fighting Duo

Who Let the Dog Out?

The Bunny Song

Comments – My Mina, My Grace

My Mina, My Grace

E-card sent to Vikram darling, Birthday Boy!

Vikram’s Fifth Birthday!

Mina is Seven!

Vikram Darling is Six!

Mina Bobina is Eight!

Vikram is Seven!

Mina Bobina is Nine!

Vikram is Eight Already?

Mina is Ten!

Vikram is Nine!

Mina is Eleven!

Vikram is Ten!

Mina is Twelve!

Vikram Darling is Eleven!

Mina is Thirteen!

Vikram is Twelve!

Mina at Fourteen!!

Vikram Raja is Thirteen!

Mina Love is Fifteen!

Vikram is Fourteen!

Mina is Sweet Sixteen!

Vikram Raja is Fifteen!

Mina is Seventeen!

Vikram Raja is Sixteen and Spectacular!

Mina’s Magical Year!

Vikram Raja is Seventeen!

Mina’s Nineteenth Birthday!

Family, Friends, and Festivities

Comments – Mary Elizabeth Garrison

Mary Elizabeth Garrison

Sanjit Darling!

Mother’s Day!

Father’s Day!

Comments – How I Spent My 58th Birthday!

How I Spent My 58th Birthday!

Physio Magic

To Dear Monali on her 22nd Birthday!

Comments – To Connie and Elmer Waters

To Connie and Elmer Waters

Comments – Anju and Mohan’s Silver Wedding Anniversary!

Anju and Mohan’s Silver Wedding Anniversary!

Father’s Day 1996!

Comments – To Champutai, Love on your 75th Birthday!

To Champutai, Love on Your 75th Birthday!

Comments – Dear Dorothy…, Millie DiGregorio, To Joanne with Love

Dear Dorothy, Good-bye!

Millie DiGregorio

To Joanne, with Love!

Comments - Love on your 40th! and Heart to Heart

Love on Your 40th!

Heart to Heart!

To Mina’s Ma

Valentine’s Day Person of 1997!

Comments – Adopting America

Adopting America¹

Comments - In Honor of Midge and Matt Radom

In Honor of Midge Radom!

In Honor of Matt Radom, His 90th Birthday!

Sanjit, Our Son

The Woman in the Hat¹

Thunder Ball is Thirty-Three!

Sonia at Sixteen!

Comments - To Dr. Uncle Emmanuel

To Dr. Uncle Emmanuel

Dadaji is Sixty-five!

Sanjit Da is Thirty-Five!

Dadji’s 66th!

Congratulations on the Promotion!

Sanjit Da is Thirty-Six!

Dadji, Superdadji at Sixty-Seven!

Tenth Anniversary Sanjit & Mary!

Happy Father’s Day To Da & Dadji!

Thank you note to:

Suvernapatkis & Sathes

Comments - To Amit, on Thread Ceremony Day!

To Amit, on Thread Ceremony Day!

Da’s Thirty-Seventh Birthday!

Comments – Honoring Jack Frenzetti!

Honoring Jack Franzetti!

A Birthday Serenade to Mary!

Spring Thoughts…

Sareena, At High School Graduation

Comments – Dearest Lata, on her 70th birthday

Dearest Lata,

Comments – Ode to a Father

Ode to a Father

Comments - In memory of Kumud Sanghavi

In memory of Kumud Sanghavi

Miscellany

Comments – Little Girl with the Baby

Little Girl with the Baby

Comments – An untitled poem based on Roy Blount Jr., NYT Op-Ed article 12/23/2008

Comments – Discounted Dreams

Discounted Dreams¹

Comments – An Economic Disorder

An Economic Disorder¹

A Contradiction¹

In Times Square¹

In The Red Square¹

Comments – Let us be Cool

Let us be Cool¹

Wherever it Leads

A Journey’s End

Comments - From Aji to Mary, on her 50th Birthday!

From Aji to Mary, on her 50th Birthday!

Comments – Heartfelt Thanks, Anjoo, Mohan, Sandhya, Sunil, Monali, Amol, Sonia, Sareena, and Amit!

Heartfelt Thanks, Anjoo, Mohan, Sandhya, Sunil, Monali, Amol, Sonia, Sareena, and Amit!

Epilogue

A Prayer for Peace

To

Mina and Vikram

Who breathed into our life such glorious memories

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Sumitra Janorkar Shah

July 1937 - June 2014

May everybody be happy

May everybody be free from disease

May everyone have good luck

May none fall on evil days

- A Prayer

IMAGE%201_pass.jpg

Sumitra, her Parents and the whole family at a Pier in Mumbai, India - September 1961

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Sumitra and Shashi, New York, April 1963

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Mary, Sanjit, Mina, and Vikram, South Salem, N.Y.

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Mary, Sanjit, Mina, Vikram, and Cocoa, Stamford, CT

Prologue

Presented in the following pages is a compilation of Sumitra’s poems that she wrote over the years. While the focus is on our grandchildren, there are poems about her extoling and encouraging family and friends, about the people she loved, her life interests, and other topics as well. This book is our family tribute to her presence in our life.

Early Years

When I first met Sumitra in October 1961, she was a vivacious young woman, a loving, caring, and kind person, who was interested in her books and the people around her. With an enviable record of academic achievements in India, she was awarded a full scholarship to do her Ph.D. in economics at the graduate faculties of Columbia University. Sumitra was a very special person, a scholar by far – and so talented. We enjoyed each other’s company and spent quite a bit of time together, finally deciding to marry in February 1963.

My first exposure to her writing actually came when she wrote so poignantly about the JFK assassination in one of her letters to the editor. I could tell that it was heartfelt and very eloquently written. She had style, beautiful expression, and rhythm. I was very impressed by her spirit and spontaneity. Perhaps that was the start of her many such letters to the editor, some published, some not, but all worthy of attention.

The arrival of Sanjit, our son, in December 1965 was a joyous occasion. As Sumitra would say later, our son’s coming along in our lives was the best thing that ever happened in our years together and all the years of my time on this earth. You gave meaning and purpose to our existence and you always will be that special light which illuminates our being. I was simply thrilled by his presence – to hold him, hug him, kiss him – and my mind soared with thoughts of future plans for him.

But care for the baby required time and dedicated effort. We missed our family support system in India that would partially relieve some of the drudgery. Sumitra and I pitched in together, keeping our son happy and comfortable as he grew to being our adorable little one – and on through the years of elementary and high school in the New York City public school system. As I recall, it was always a wonderful time to see Sanjit through that period as he participated in school plays, spelling bee competitions, and other pursuits that kept him involved in many such activities. As any keen parents, we found ourselves debating on many evenings how he could improve on his homework assignments for extra points or earn a pat on his shoulders from his teacher.

Challenging Times

The 1970’s were perhaps the most traumatic times of all our lives. Each of us was trying to find an anchor that we could use for personally fulfilling lives. I left what seemed like a secure job to venture out on my own apparently without much thought of my wife and child’s welfare. I started a consulting business without any contingency plans. Price freeze, stagflation, and energy crisis sounded a death knell to my enterprise.

Accidentally, I found a part-time job as an adjunct faculty to teach business courses in the evening at Rutgers University, which turned into a full-time job a few months later. But that necessitated a resumption of my Ph.D. program. It required long hours of study and working at two jobs to maintain the family’s financial balance at the cost of time spent with Sumitra and Sanjit.

Then as if adding fuel to the fire, I witnessed calamitous pain and suffering of my little son due to an accident that was most debilitating emotionally. As if that was not enough of a mental anguish, my wife was diagnosed with lupus and ITP. She had more than one surgery and began a series of hospital confinements and medical treatments, which she handled with courage and class.

Little did I know what Sumitra was going through. She carried many burdens for the two of us. On more than one occasion she had mentioned to me that Sanjit would inquire especially at dinner time – where is daddy? Not seeing me at the dining