Dr. Suryaraju Mattimalla
In distant streets of Europe, I walk-
Through France’s gentle breeze, through Germany’s silent dawn,
Belgium’s timeless whispers, the Netherlands’ vibrant hue,
And in Australia’s sprawling skies, I see your face, Nagaland, shining through.
Your spirit echoes in every cobblestone, in every bustling street,
For in the heart of Western worlds, your essence I meet.
Across the ghettos of Brazil and Ethiopia’s rugged plains,
I sense the same life, the same soul-an ancient flame that remains.
In the chaos and the beauty, I find your sacred grace,
Nagaland, your humanism, your love, radiates in every space.
From Delhi’s vibrant streets to the Arab’s silent sands,
Your spirit travels freely, unbound by distant lands.
O Nagaland, you are the cradle—forever born anew—
Of civilizations, of kindness, of the human truth.
Your children, the Nagas, bear a divine light-
Angels in the court of Christ, shining bright.
Their love, a testament to the divine within,
A beacon of compassion, where true love begins.
In Dimapur’s humble streets and across Indian plains,
Your humanism blossoms-defying worldly chains.
Your beauty, blessed by angels, is a sacred gift-
A testament to the love that Christ’s teachings uplift.
For in every act of kindness, in every gentle deed,
Nagaland’s civilization plants a timeless seed.
The West, with all its grandeur, still bears its scars-
Aliens, terrorists, crimes, and hidden wars.
Yet, in their darkness, I see your reflection-a mirror of grace,
A civilization rooted in love, in the human race.
Love your neighbor, not just in words, but in deeds,
For your humanity is born from Christ’s eternal seeds.
You are the echo of Israel, in the East’s embrace,
A shining example of divine human grace.
Your civilization predates Western thought,
A sacred story, in every soul sought.
Nagaland, your beauty is a divine legacy-
A testament to love, to liberty, and eternity.
Long live Greater Nagaland, cradle of humanism’s light,
Your spirit, your love-forever bright.
In every Western space I wander, I find your face,
A reminder of your divine, eternal place.
Thank you, Nagaland, for your enduring grace,
Your civilization, your love-an everlasting embrace.
~~~
Dr. Suryaraju Mattimalla is a well-known poet, human rights scholar, and vegan from Switzerland. He regularly publishes poems in American, Israeli, European, and Indian-based daily English newspapers and publication houses. He is the author of the grand poetry “Refugee Poems: Life in Exile,” Volume 1 (2025), published by Wipf & Stock, USA; “Untouchable Poems: Lived Experience with Hindu Religion, Ideology, and Society” (2024), published by Wipf & Stock, USA, and the author of the globally acclaimed “Compatibility of the Death Penalty with the Purpose of Criminal Punishment in Ethiopia” (2018), published by the Oxford hub of the human rights journal The Age of Human Rights Journal. He is living with his Ethiopian-Tigrayan wife, Selamawit Hailu Bezabih, and seven-year-old son, Saviour Suryaraju Mattimalla, in Switzerland. His family lived in Regensburg, Germany, where his second son, Stanford Suryaraju Mattimalla, was killed at 37 weeks and 3 days of pregnancy by a neo-Nazi German gynecologist by forceful “Repevax” vaccination on June 28, 2023. His first baby was killed by a Hindu honor killing in India in 2010.
