It rained last night
by Kanchan Chatterjee
The plastic bins look new
&
the grass smells fresh
& sparrows chirp . . .
I’m missing the cobbled alleys of
Durbar Square, Kathmandu
Sujata,
when will you return?
PHOTO: Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo by Richie Chan, used by permission.
NOTE: Kathmandu is the capital and largest city of Nepal, with a population of around one million. Known as the city of temples, Kathmandu is approximately 4,600 feet above sea level in the Kathmandu valley in central Nepal. The city was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and features palaces, mansions, and gardens of the Nepalese aristocracy. In 2013, Kathmandu was ranked third among the top ten travel destinations in the world by TripAdvisor, and ranked first in Asia. The city is considered the gateway to the Nepalese Himalayas and home to several world heritage sites, including Durbar Square. the site of palaces of the Malla and Shah kings who ruled over the city.
PHOTO: Skyline of Kathmandu, Nepal, with Himalayas in the background. Photo by Sarscov2020, used by permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kanchan Chatterjee lives in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He loves traveling and writing, mainly haiku. Scattered Leaves, his first book of haiku, was published in January 2020. His poems have appeared in online journals, including Shanghai Literary Review, Eclectic Eel, and Shot Glass Journal. His haiku have appeared in The Heron’s Nest, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Golden Haiku, and NHK World (special episode Haiku Masters in Tokyo), and many others. He has won several haiku and photo haiku awards from Japan, USA, Romania, Croatia, and other countries.
POETRY and PLACES 