THREE POEMS
By Mahakavi G. SANKARA KURUP
(Rendered
from Malayalam by V. Sreedhara Menon)
Dusk
is here
And
the buds of clouds burst forth fresh amber leaves
In
the multicoloured light!
And
quietly opening the window of the blue
O
Tharaka 1 thou dost appear as of old
Proudly
resplendent in the glory of the summer eve
Wreathed
in a pure and simple smile,
Like
a goddess
Bathed
in loveliness.
Rare
moments there have been
When
I stood here in blissful reverie,
Drinking
in the radiant tears of thine eye
Melting
in tenderness.
All,
all have faded into the distant realms of memory.
Yet
shall I try, in fond fancy
To
recapture the lost joy, to renew that experience divine.
No
self-flattery this,
But
what lightness was in the air in those bygone days!
The
green hills and the golden fields
And
the lush blue meadows did never feel
The
press of my foot-fall, as they do now,
Drunk
as I was with the ambrosial air.
Sweet
sounds and forms of beauty
Made
me dance in merriment.
How
my young heart frisked,
Waving
with flowers and winging the air with doves
And
skipping and singing in the company of streams
Will
they return, those hours of pure delight,
However
much my soul may thirst for them?
Well-beloved
was I
With
the wide universe as my home,
With
stars and flowers for play-mates.
Thine
eye, fringed with the lashes of the rays
And
mine, uplifted, hailed each other
The
voiceless music of thy radiant soul
Touched
to a trance of adoration
My
heart, a pilgrim on the road to beauty and truth.
Ah
lovely one, thou clasped me to thy soul.
And
of a poor speck of dust made a poet.
But
who can retrace his steps on the road of Time?
What
is lost to the traveller is lost for ever.
How
variant is my world now
Furrowed
with care and sorrow
From
yours, brimful of calm beatitude!
Here
below
Are
eyes which should have sparkled more than thee,
Faces
which should have smiled yet more than thee,
Hearts,
worth of a quietude and bliss
Greater
than thine, sinking under the weight
Of
unremitting agony
When
an those crowd around, sunken, shrivelled and bursting
As
far as the eye can reach,
When
I hear the grievous groans
How
can my heart help wrinkling
Thou
too wilt turn grey in a day if thou darest touch this sphere
And
thy soul of ethereal glory
Will
freeze into a sod!
Alas,
why did the spade of this fall betwixt us,
The
claws of this dig deep into mine eyes?
O,
Daughter of Heaven,
The
tragedy of this human world is unknown to thee!
Unknown
let it be
This
our earth is made of frozen tears
And
the very air is spun of sighs
And
the monuments of rock are moulded of congealed blood.
The
root, stem and flower of life
Smell
bitter with .penury, sickness and war.
The
hands which renovate the soil rot,
And
the dreams which light the world darken;
The
civilised fashions of an hour bloom on graves,
They
fade and turn to dust; then new blooms quicken to dust.
Nothing
lasts, but everlasting grief.
Ah
friend, not to chew the cud of sorrow
Did
I pause befare thee but to seek solace
My
heart still leaps to reach the pure empyrean
Through
thy lovingly slanting rays,
But
dread reality on every side
Presses
me down with heavy arms.
Far,
far indeed art thou gone from me, O gentle friend of my youth;
Child
of Heaven art thou,
I,
of the earth.
Yet
this my wish:
Let
not the relentless hand of Time
Which
turns radiant metal into lead
Wipe
off thy glory, which distills
Renascent
energy into the soul of man
And
raises him unto Heaven,
Adieu!
(1)
Weary
is the sky,
With
the warm dream of midsummer;
Weary
too my heart,
Ruminant
of old griefs.
O
proud Ocean! espying thine august form,
My
spirit, half slumbrous, opes its inner eyes,
Thou
art the symbol of the Infinite, mystic, blue, sublime,
And
my heart, embracing thee
Melts
in joy, ineffable.
O
Magnificent Being,
Swinging
and waving thy hoods in terrific splendour
To
the charming tune of Eternity, inaudible to mine ears
The
heavens, bitten by thee on its broad, blue breast
Stretches
motionless in ecstatic swoon:
Dance
into my spirit,
Strike
into my heart,
Bear me high
On
your towering hood.
(2)
Now
reclines the Eve
Silent
in her colourful bower of clouds.
O
fond lover,
What
heart-ravishing serenade is it that thou singest below
Lost
in a dream of harmony?
There
on the rosy cheeks of your love
Whose golden garb has slipped from her naked bosom
Glistens
the first starry tear of inexpressible bliss.
Indeed
from thee have I learnt now
The
art of pouring out the fullness of an aching soul.
Eternal
minstrel,
Teach
my heart-beats the rhythm
Of
the ageless music of life, true and pure.
For
life is music,
Time
its rhythm,
The
varied moods of the spirit, its melody–
And
the Universe its harmony
(3)
The
lovely ‘Sukla Panchmi’ comes soft and slow
With
her moon-cup frothing and O’erflowing
With
ambrosial bliss.
While
thou snatchetb with impatient hand
The
fair bowl which reflects her blue brows
And
sips with foaming smile
And
sings, thoughtless in ever-swelling ecstasy,
Your
bride leans bashful on your passionately heaving breast
Her
tumbling dark locks showering on it
A
thousand buds of jasmine–
Not
indeed the reflections of the star-bespangled sky!
Kiss
the locks, O lover
Enwrap
thyself in them
How
I wish them joy,
Those
flowery curls of hers!
(4)
Heaven
and earth are now merged in slumber
O
Comrade, we alone are here,
Thou
and I
The
deep secret of thine innermost being.
O
Tumultuous spirit that spurns the limits of life
And
seethes with divine discontent,
There
burst forth from thee waves of song
Resounding
with high serious revolutionary fervour
And
shaking the ever conservative land.
Indeed
thy message makes
Even
the lofty, changeless empire of the stars
Tremble
afar in fear.
Let
my weak spirit break
If
break it may,
Make
it the harp
To
chant thy lay!
(1)
I
bow te thee, Oh-Great One
Who
created in sportive mood
The
Great Broadcasting Station, the Universe.
(2)
My
Lora, how in wonder
I
forget my little self
When
I listen to Thy limitless programmes!
(3)
Unseen
Thou standest,
While
Thy infinite relays
Flood
the vast ether of space and time.
(4)
Space
is but Thy mighty Mind
Ever
expanding in wonder.
And
Time the pulsation of its creative surge.
(5)
Beyond
imagination,
How
numerous and how various
Are
Thy forms of art, ever new and afresh!
(6)
When
the light of primal morn
Lit
the pilot-bulb of the day-star
The
vital elements began a serial at Thy wish
(7)
Which
continues without break for ever
In
countless captivating scenes
Beauteous
and orderly, bursting in joy through aeons.
(8)
Not
a grain of sand is out of place
In
this age-long pattern of the fable of life,
Not
an incident distracts the evolving beauty of its vital theme.
(9)
The
celestial chorus of the dancing stars,
And
the glorious music of the dawn,
Her
fingers playing on the mountain-peaks, high and low;
(10)
And
the deep-blue ocean’s ‘jalatharanga’
And
fair light’s symphony of colours,
And
the sweet melodies of silvery streams–
(11)
What
a splendid background!
How
gripping each and every scene,
In
fulness of revelation, in final suspense
(12)
In
curious wonder I sit
In
a far-off niche, tuning myself
To
this all-wave receiver, your gracious gift!
(13)
While
thus I sit tuning the needle
Of
the five-valved consciousness installed in me
How
forget thy infinite kindness? Praise is Thine!
(14)
To
fix the needle in place
And
to sense the waves of Thy broadcast
Thro’
touch and taste, colour, sound and smell,
(15)
And
to lose myself completely
In
Thy harmonies-grant me this,
Only
this my wish, Oh Lord of Truth and Joy!
1
Evening star