Batuta Ka Joota - Sarveshwardayal Saxena (सर्वेश्वरदयाल सक्सेना)

Ibn Battuta (AD 1304 to 1368) was a Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveller who is known for the interesting accounts of his travels and excursions. He is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time, his journeys lasting for a period of nearly thirty years. He journeyed more than 121,000 km, a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.

Decades ago Sarweshwar Dayal Saxena, a well-known Hindi poet, wrote a bal-kavita on Ibn Battuta. Shoes were prominent in the poem as Joota rhymes so well with Batuta. In a recent song written by Gulzar for the movie Ishqiya, Ibn Battuta and Joota again figured prominently. Ibn Battuta must be a happy man seeing such popularity of his name! :) Anyways here goes the lyrics for Batuta Ka Joota poem

इब्नबतूता पहन के जूता
निकल पड़े तूफान में
थोड़ी हवा नाक में घुस गई
घुस गई थोड़ी कान में

कभी नाक को, कभी कान को
मलते इब्नबतूता
इसी बीच में निकल पड़ा
उनके पैरों का जूता

उड़ते उड़ते जूता उनका
जा पहुँचा जापान में
इब्नबतूता खड़े रह गये
मोची की दुकान में।