The Evergreen

     

The evergreen young lady,  the ‘Nature’,

In her young-looking age, she did  cheer.

At very early dawn, she left her soft bed

Rubbing the eyes  and scratching the head.

 After a dip in the morning’s drizzling drops,

 Her stunning blue sky- sari, she wore.

The Divine Mark of rainbow, she adorned,

With its many-hue on her forehead.

She lit the lamp of sacred nature

And kept in the east to see its stature.

Awakened she, her offspring, all

And them she launched for routine’s call.

 And the wicks of lamp she lit in east

 Did she pull to provide more light.

 And so can one sense the things very bright

And plan his acts, adding his insight.

.

 Swift she moved to the wind-fan’s board

And the fan for the cool, on she switched.                         

Wind very burly blew on surroundings

Holding in its wings the light-weight things.

 There banged the ensemble, the thunder

 Lightning added too its luster.

Birds chirped, peacock danced

And Linnet, a covert tune, crooned   

The hair of the lady, the flora’s leaves

Swam and swayed from right to left.

Nature’s own lover the time- master

Bestowed without fail on her, his care.

Hap we definitely own in  plenty,

As, her aid a lot, on us, she places.

 Entices us she in a great deal

And her splendor should never go dull.

Let not anyone destroy her sanctity

And let, hang around, everyone her serenity.  

Uphold her valor vigorous, to have her yonder.

Pray and prostrate before the God to have her for ever.

Sarala.

.

നിത്യ യൌവനം

(Its translation follows as the next post, since it has become a little long). 

                                

നിത്യസുന്ദരി! 

നിത്യമെന്നാരധ്യ സുന്ദരി  നീ,

നീന്തിത്തുടിക്കുവാൻ  കാലനീരിൽ,

വാസരകാല്യേ    കണ്ണുകൾ ചിമ്മി,

വേഗത്തിൽ  പൂമെത്തവിട്ടു പൊങ്ങി.

ചാറ്റല്‍മഴയില്‍  കുളിച്ചുതോര്‍ത്തി

നീലാംബരത്തിന്നംബരം ചുറ്റി.                 .

മാരിവില്ലിൻ കുറി  ചാർത്തി  നെറ്റീൽ   

പൂർവ്വത്തിൽ വന്നു   വിളക്കുവച്ചു.    

 ജന്തു സസ്യാദി ജാലത്തെയെല്ലാം

മെല്ലെയായ്  ദേവിയുണര്‍ത്തി വിട്ടു.  

വീണ്ടും  നീട്ടി വിളക്കിന്‍  തിരി കൾ 

ചൂടും  വെളിച്ചവുമേറെയേകി.

മാരുതപങ്കതൻ  'സ്വിച്ച'മർത്തി 

പാരിൻ  ചൂടിനിടം  വേറെ നൽകി.

സസ്യജാലത്തിൻ  മോഹനകേശം 

സമീരൻ കൈയാൽ കോതിക്കൊടുത്തു.

വാദ്യമേളം തീർത്തിടിമുഴക്കം,

പൂത്തിരി കത്തിച്ചുനിന്നു   മിന്നല്‍ .

കോകിലം മറ്റു ഖഗത്തിന്നോഘം,

കേൾക്കാനിമ്പത്തിലായ്  പാട്ടുപാടി.

  നൃത്തങ്ങളാടി  മയൂരവൃന്ദം,

പൊൻതരുക്കളോ  കരങ്ങൾ കൊട്ടി.

ദേവി പ്രകൃതിതൻ    സത്കാരങ്ങൾ,

നോവിനേ  ദൂരേക്കൊഴിച്ചുവിടും.

 മഞ്ജുളേ ! പ്രകൃതി!  നിത്യമായ് നീ 

കുഞ്ഞായിരിക്കൂ വാർദ്ധക്യം വേണ്ടാ.

ആകെ  നീ  പേറും  കോമളരൂപം 

പോകാതെ , നിൽക്കുവാൻ   പ്രാർത്ഥനകൾ .

Do and Delay Never

                      

SHE! I don’t know if SHE is a friend or enemy of yours. One thing I know is that SHE remains in the company of all of you. People of all kind young and old, all categories male and female, all breed black and white, all type oriental and occidental and all phase rich and poor hug HER without any hesitation.

Let’s visit Radhika’s abode, where SHE is a frequent visitor and therefore Radhika  is a person of postponement. The damage that  triumphs in Radhika’s life remains prominent. She has to run and rush for conveyance to the work-venue, bear with derogatory  experience, lose the place in the forefront and the like.

 When coming to Nitesh, whenever his mother asks him to lend a hand, he plainly refuses, as he obeys the command from HER only. Here Radhika is affluent in the pecuniary area whereas Nitesh  is not so comfortable. In spite of your property or poverty SHE sucks your success.

From the paradigms quoted here one can observe that HER influence amongst you is  very conspicuous. The day-today life of  your young children is loaded with countless activities now- adays. They have to be busy with their academics like school going, homework, project work, preparation for examination etc. Many of them set out of the house for the training of ‘fine arts’ such as music, dance, painting and so on. And more over some of them have to allocate some time for  other kind of aesthetics also. In such demanding conditions SHE would definitely catch hold of them and they grab hold of HER company. Then what  happens is they cling on to HER, for they are reluctant to separate themselves from HER. The little ones when get up from the bed, SHE in a pampering and patting way whispers in their auditory organs not to leave the bed. Result they become far on for routines to be ready for  school.

.

Even the grown-up males among you also in the same way fall victim into HER hands that direct them to problems and troubles. SHE may follow  those individuals in all their actions that ensue and to all the places they visit. As a result the punctuality which is a by-product of discipline may vanish. Accomplishment of the destined work in various areas may evaporate and that may discolour the impressions created by them. Opportunities may dessert them causing  defects and  defeats. They may be at failure  for growth and  gains a lot. Destiny may oust them from its course of reaching the goal. The harm SHE brings to a person’s  life may be enormous and huge. But still he becomes rarely aware of the injury that transpires due to HER devilish presence.

Females of your group also escape not from the magic influence of HERS. At times they also exhibit and express their reluctance to keep themselves away from HER wicked orders. They show signs of delay in their cuisines, households and even office-work. A locale in which feminine actions are at pat, is the cosmetic and that too may remain at flaws provided SHE is with them .Later they may realize the difficulties, but still SHE has a charm  to hold tightly the individuals in HER  grip.

You all experience or enjoy HER presence willingly or unwillingly .If you forcibly shed HER presence you can carry out  wonders bagging achievements. SHE has numerous attachments to her credit such as delay, dismissal, negligence, procrastination, laxity etc. Unlike the males(not all) the females sometimes drive her away and come into sudden action. Habit that rules over your schedules is HER intimate friend. You are very font of both of them, as you express  reluctance to part  with them .Despite your masculinity or femininity if you vivaciously discard  her presence and cultivate promptness in your habits, you can reap a harvest of gold.

 Have you come across her identity? Yes, you might have by now. SHE is your redundant sibling  the’ Laziness’. SHE has pet names also like idleness, lethargy, sluggishness etc.’. If you don’t want to part with that negative aspect of your nature, lethargy will chase you out of success.

“To forget is a crime(if purposeful only, I feel so).

To be lazy is a greater crime .

To neglect duty and offer excuses is the greatest crime.

Action without delay is the soul of efficiency.”

Sarala 

Water! Water!

Detached the boat from the peg,

      the boat driver

  And pushed he slowly the boat

     to the water.

The people to take delight

    In the boat

Held with them their

    choicest bottles.

The glee- seekers rocked and rolled

       in merriment.

They twisted and  rock-n-rolled with

      bottles in hand.

Watching water out in backwater, into mouth

      they poured water. 

With water in hand and stomach, they sang,  

      yelled and howled.

   

  The females in turn made their hands

            and mouths busy

And boasted of their husbands’

         big capacity.

And the kids’ corner, in games,

         was very lively

With vim and vigor that gushed

        through in activity.

The poor boatman with no sound

      noted the things behind.

What had travelled through

         him in his mind,

assessment, disappointment,

          comparison,    

 and the like things numerous

        or what else?

 Nodded he very humbly in a

       negative note 

to the invitation to join during interval 

         that fell for a while.

 “I don’t drink, thinking three souls;

       Two school-going

and one home-keeping rely

       on my healthiness.”

Didn't turn he his face at all 

     to the merry-makers

and so was his feeling unreadable

   and indefinable .

  “ I am wealthy in health and you are

    healthy in wealth,”  

 words from him leapt out; bold

     was his voice.

Certain Wise or Unwise Whys!

Many a time and oft certain whys emerge from my mind and they fade away unravelled(not because of the emergence of the ‘Kolavery, even much before that) . These whys are wise or unwise, I exactly don’t know to express the fact. Of course, you may extract something paradoxical from this article.  As they come into your sight ,find the  ‘that is why….’ for these whys. Here they are….

1. WHY did the primordial man leave his natural refuge of his wild life?

  Hadn’t he evolved from his savage stage to the modern sapient  homos, he could have freely moved without any planning and preparation. He wouldn’t have built any fortification. He could have taken any natural haven like caves or burrows for his comfortable sleep. Tension and attention to anything of his life would have remained far-far away. He wouldn’t have been familiar with any sort of  fright. No lingering about the yester-years, no botheration about his tomorrows, might be both sweet and bitter; no responsibility of his offspring and no liability for his family.  All members followed an identical life style and so no strenuous labour and no stress feeling to achieve any goal.  Altogether his was a life full of gaiety. Then there may arise a question ‘what if the population amplifies and resources don’t’. Nil problem, since natural calamities and wild beasts will see to the population planning. Devastation will occupy the  atmosphere and so the environment will maintain its own balance.

2.WHY did he discover agriculture?

If at all a residence is raised, the nonexistence of agriculture wouldn’t have necessitated him to put in a lot of labour for converting the land to be conducive. Ploughing, sowing, weeding, watering and manuring to nurture the crops may eat away his health and mental peace. There would have been no need for protection of cultivation from man, beasts, pests, insects; no search for other hands for cutting ,carrying, threshing, winnowing etc. during harvest. He could have walked and worked in his own innate ways. Eating fruits and roots to extinguish the hunger and drinking nature’s water and  natural juice to quench the thirst would have been the systems for his metabolic purposes. If the climatic conditions turn adverse, the yield would become inversely proportional to the desire.

3.WHY did he introduce cooking in his life?

If at all he goes for cultivation of land ,the absence  of cooking would have facilitated him a lot in pecuniary and physical terms. Cooking becomes a burden for the two-legged female domestic animal that runs and rushes with the raw items in the kitchen. Had he not noticed the occurrence of fire, the humans’ food channel and its attached parts would have acquainted with the fresh food sources. No cleaning, no cutting, no chopping , no boiling ,no steaming ,no frying aha! How lovely to have saved time. The experience of consuming cooked food makes feel that it is tangy. Otherwise natural fresh food items would have been  refreshing.

4.WHY did he institutionalize education?

Without formal education prevalence of equality amongst man’s fellow occupants on earth would have been a reality.. No worry of curriculum, books, home work, fees, exam- result etc. resulting in anxiety and fear would be felt. No fret of qualification and higher education he would have thought of. Knowledge will occupy its throne in man’s mind through the way of experience and acquaintance. History, philosophy, various branches of science, formal math and the like wouldn’t have been born at all on this earth  Only spoken language would have occupied its regime. Even otherwise now also all do not have the awareness of every learning process on the globe. Nothing happens to those who are ignorant of certain areas.

   

5.WHY did he start  competing and contesting with the equals of himself?

Had he not indulged in competitions, there wouldn’t have been words like ‘envy, challenge, adventure, goal-setting, argument, dispute, debate, fight, greed, murder, deceiving, vengeance and so on and so on .Had he gone for his own choicest skill, everything would have turned and been turned fine. Things would have attained a natural and smooth direction to move about.

 Yet again a procession of ‘Whys’ about modern amenities, facilities, luxuries and other life patterns raise their attention-catching hands and if I go on reciprocating, the procession will possess no end. Again I feel that had we been in our primal age, this earth would have been an ‘Eden’. Nature’s ‘gift’ the greatest of all gifts is invaluable and inexplicable. Let’s enjoy its preciousness with full spirit.

    

sarala

The Admission

                                A Mini-story 

                                

The couple walked off  to the bed from the sit-out,  where they had a discussion about their baby’s admission in the best school of that locality. They took a decision of very firm nature.

The on-set of dawn awakened the couple, who left the bed delightfully because they were going to move towards the authorities of the school. The wife’s body formed a digital machine to complete her catering and the other domestics second by second.. The hose-pipe jumped into the spouse’s hand and cleaned their four-wheeler.

Telephonic information  reached both the offices to lessen one-day-leave each. Finding themselves in the most gorgeous dress of theirs, they made their exit out of their shelter.. Their limbs co-operated with their needs, as the wife’s hands opened the gate and the husband’s hands flew the vehicle on the wheels. Both spun the threads of ambition about their kid’s prospects and weaved the dreams to the sky,where the sun was the notary to attest the wishes..

“What will be the response from the principal?”

 “Oh! In affirmation only because they have called for furnishing the admission-form. We are much early too for the procedures.” merrily chatted both.

 “Priority of application will definitely be looked into,” they were confident.

Over enthusiasm didn't allow them to think of even the eligibility of the baby and the possibility of admission. 

The traffic signal alerted them and they were at a junction. The Educational Trust is in possession of      two schools, titled at the highest peak of reputation. Both the schools were practically the same  in all the activities.

 “Which direction will we go to?” the wife.

 “Now we can proceed straight only,” the husband.

 “Okay we will approach the principal of the ‘Lotus’ school,” the wife

“Please be seated. What can I do for you ?” the principal.

 “Admission of our little one.,”  Both jointly.

 “Haven’t you brought the child ? Where is it?” the principal.

“Sir, er….er… the child is ...the child ... in the womb. By the time it reaches four years, admission will be a big impediment.”

The principal’s expression was inexplicable and wonder-filled.

  

The Grandmother and the Granddaughter

Part-3

The story so far:

One ill-ominous day Manju’s both the parents bade adieu to their lives on earth. A tipper recklessly approached them in the form of Yama .The poor grandmother was left with the babyhood of her grandchild..

Now pl. read……    

Karthyayani amma, the woman in her young-old age had been bound to do the child-rearing, since she had  no other way. She stretched her limbs and body to collect more vigour  and vibrancy. She was endowed with a high sense of hygiene. She considered cleanliness to be next toGodliness, which facilitated her to find means to meet both the ends. Carrying the tot(Manju)on her sobbing chest, she tiptoed to the neighbours’ houses as a house- help. She could manage to accomplish the needs at that instant by stepping into three or four dwellings.

Years, months, days and hours passed within a wink, they experienced so. The grandmother’s passion, ambition, dream, desire and everything rotated around her granddaughter. Her world full was filled with Manju and her welfare. She breathed Manju, she felt Manju and she sensed Manju. Without thinking about her, not even a single minute passed. She kept, whatever things of quality high she came across, exclusively for Manju  and Manju alone. Manju too failed never to return the concern in deserving quantity to her Granny. Though at times the recollections about the departed ones exhibited a flash-back in their psyche, they wasted no time in haste. While the oldster was busy with her engagements,the youngster found herself immersed in academics. And furthermore the latter could excel too in her field.

Now Manju has crossed her mid-teen and reached class-xll.  Manju keeps nothing hidden from her grandma in her mind. They converse with each other like friends. One day Karthyayani amma was cooking porridge for both of them. The grand darling went near her granny and started doing her hair that lay untied. Granny looked at the granddaughter with an interrogatory sign on the face. The  latter  unlocked her mind  fumblingly,“ ere….. and .. Ramesh Bhaiyya(addressing an elderly person) waits for me under the wild-jack tree every day. He enquires about our welfare and my studies.” Ammoomma(granny) opened her third eye in fury and raised her voice at Manju for the first time. Manju’s hands automatically got detached from granny’s hair. Suddenly ammoomma’s affection towards the granddaughter made her cool. The former eased her voice and caressed her dear one. Manju was clever enough to opt for another route to school.  

Karthyayani amma’s mind is packed with fear and worry for her earnings are too meagre for her dear one’s expanding expenditure, even when the latter tags on an austere way of living. And also Manju though is not extra-beautiful, her charm strikes the eyes and character wins the soul. Manju’s age and looks disturbed her ammoomma’s sleep.

More over the avenue to find revenue to continue her dear one’s education has befallen  dearer and dearer causing anguish in her. And more to say her colourful academic record doesn’t allow her to favour the thought of discontinuing her studies. All these together with her aging physique deteriorate her health. The grandmother is gradually falling victim into the grip of her bed.

Manju though with much hesitation, crafts her mind to be a substitute for ammoomma., since there is no other go and she doesn’t want to see her dear Ammoomma in hard labour  at this age. The latter’s old eyes get ready to shed tears of  disappointment and distress. Her supreme aspiration is to see Manju at a high peak of education and thereby in a decent profession. So she can’t even think of Manju without the tail of a superior qualification.  She feels, “ Manju’s arduous labour in the neighbourhood may or will set villainy in Manju’s studies.” Manju in a house-help’s attire never resides in grandmother’s distant dream even. In addition to that Manju’s lone existence, if something untoward goes off, remains as a terrifying scene in her mind. Agony and anxiety co-dwells with  both, the granny and granddaughter.

 The next day Manju’s legs automatically carry her to the cuisine to cook something for her dear ammoomma who lit the stove only for Manju. Ammoomma’s weak eyeballs follow Manju’s direction. She heaves a deep sigh of gloom. Manju also is in utter darkness where through even a magnifying glass, she is not able to find anything bright in her tomorrows.

Somehow she dresses up as a house-maid and sets out for one of ammoomma’s mistresses. She thought, “I’ll complete the work before the school hours.” The young hand doubles the delight of the mistress. Manju is now riding on the wings of the time, not on the wheels. As a few days get ahead, granny’s state worsens and Manju’s presence with her becomes inevitable. Her hands heed to grandma’s needs and then her legs lead her to the small courtyard.

 She, when granny is in a nap, whispers to the rose and jasmine, converses with the butterflies, speaks to the fish in the pond, “Are you the same as I will be, an orphan, an unfortunate person, a destitute; if some mishaps occur in our house?” Literally she finds no means to survive, but she is the last person to transfer her life to the other world. Now she reaches back ammoomma’s bed. Both the inhabitants got dipped into an unfathomable sense of helplessness.

A few minutes go by, then she feels the softness of a smooth hand on her shoulder. She tilts her head. To the surprise of both the inmates of the house, they read the fondness for them in Ramesh’s mother’s eyes. Her calm voice expressed Ramesh’s desire, “Yes, he has recognized a gem from the ashes of hardships here. Both of us, his parents value the principle ‘character wins the soul.”

Manju’s and grandma’s countenances illustrate an expression that is full of gratitude and gratefulness. A cool wind blows in and ammoomma is calm and comfortable now.   

Ho! Ammoomma  now catches the trip to the world devoid of demise. Though Manju bursts out into tears, her mind accepts the everlasting fact.

 

sarala