Rupa Anand
Tana-Bana
for Lila Anand
Mother-in-law had eight siblings. Her family lived in Lahore, in unpartitioned India, and after a brief romance she married Dad, who lived in Delhi. My husband, born in 1948, a year after India’s independence from the British Raj, was the second of four boys.
verdant green
a Himalayan bluetail
skims the skies
Come June, when the holidays started, this charming school teacher would take these rascals across the Indian border by train to the family house in Lahore, Pakistan. There, they would run amok, climbing trees, scraping knees, chasing chickens, milking cows and dunking mangoes in buckets of chilled water with the pulp trickling down skinny elbows. The home ensconced in farmland resounded with laughter and pattering feet.
chatai on the grass—
finding faces
in faraway clouds
As the holidays drew to an end, Mother would begin packing the bulky khaki hold-alls of that era crammed with pickled goodies, summer mischief and her sons. And catch the train back to New Delhi.
white jasmine
over our neighbour’s fence
scenting both sides
the fragrance of family
deep in every heart
Author’s Notes:
Tana-Bana is a Sanskrit term referring to the fundamental process of weaving, specifically the warp (Tana) and weft (Bana) threads that form the structure of a fabric.
Chatai is a traditional hand-woven floor mat.
About the Author
Rupa Anand, a spiritual seeker turned poet, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Touchstone Award, and Best of the Net honors. Her debut book. To the Edgeless Sky and Back (July 2024), chronicled her cancer journey. Her chapbook Tamarind Tree (2025) reveals her love for rescuing animals and birds. She lives in New Delhi, finding peace amid chaos.
I’ve known Rupa Anand for over 5 decades now. She embodies the rare and beautiful intersection of deep intellectual pursuit and profound spiritual awareness. Your academic or professional Haiku writings are very impressive, and yet they are only the surface of your depth in your religion and your lineage. So proud of you my friend. Congratulations!!
Thanks, dear friend, maybe someday a piece on our shenanigans….
The past remains in us in a different form adding a pinch of nostalgia to our life. Rupa Anand herself is a beautiful human being with the tana-bana of the practical and the spiritual. Congratulations for your achievements.
Thank you, Dear Swamiji, glad to be learning under your tutelage.
Hari Om and Pranams. 🙏
Very nice Rupa,👏can picture the boys enjoying the mangoes😊 Heartiest congratulations on your many achievements and Wishing you with many more🙏🙏❤️
Dear Manju,
The tana-bana of family can fill many a book!
Beautiful Tana ..Bana..written by u
Dear Savita,
Hari Om, thank you.,
Hi Rupa, this haibun is lovely. I love the tanka and the placement of the tanka, it is perfect. This poem is so real and pure.
All the Best,
Karina
Thank you for your kind words, Karina. Glad you enjoyed it.,
Hi Rupa, Thanks for taking me for a journey into your part of the world … it brought memories of my brothers and I chasing chickens, scraping knees, climbing trees, in this case peach, not mango trees, and eating them, the jucies flowing down our chins and to our mum’s horror, staining our go to school shirts.
Dear Ray,
Aha, boys will be boys, anywhere in the world! Thank you.
Dear Rupa
Loved reading Tana-Bana! Your lines flow so effortlessly, as you take us back to an era we can only dream about. So beautifully written prose and poetry (have i got it right?). Reminds me of the days we spent with Mrs Anand, fondly learning about the geography of Australia and North America. Loved this trip down memory lane.
Dear Manju,
Those were the days, my friend! Gone so fast.