@ Rewriting the past @

Years back when for once the CBSE syllabus was revised to improve more focus on comprehension and grammar, I think when I was in my 8th standard, I got this really wonderful person,Mrs.Bhanumathy as my English teacher. With a new and exciting textbook to learn and a willing teacher to help us out, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time reading and learning English by means of exercises in Reading Comprehension and lots of debates and group discussions. 

I cherish those years of my school which helped shaping my language skills. This post is dedicated to her. It is rewritten from one of the class assignments she had given years ago.Having Shakespeare's poem "All the World's a Stage" as reference, I had tried to explain the various stages Water goes through from being ice on snow-capped mountains to meeting its final destination, the Sea. 

Like a child in mother's womb,

You were formed in mountain's bosom

Kissed by the morning sunshine,

You trickled as a silvery blossom 

You took your first baby steps,

Not sure where to go 

You tumbled down the rocky hill,

Along the paths you still didn't know 

And sliding down the valleys,

You cried in a tinkling voice; 

For the home you left behind,

To follow the roads of your choice

Brimming with boyish mischief,

You march down to your school

Gathering friendly rivulets,

To seize the plains and rule 

At youth you are strong and lively,

Playing a thunderous score

Making the fields fertile, 

Letting them dry no more...

Out of love for the lands you conquered,

You pamper them with your gifts,

Of Flowers and gardens and meadows,

Of Rainbows and swallows and swifts

Now that you have your love,

You're not as you used to be 

You let go of your vigor,

To become an estuary

You proceed in a solemn way,

As you are growing old

No more afraid of facing the day,

When you would reach your final goal 

Caressing the trees and reeds,

Which are growing on your shores

And slowing down your pace,

Towards the end of your course

You join the mighty ocean,

Who welcomes you with her waves

To get lost in her magnificence,

Leaving behind no trace

 

The vapours rising above now,

Form clouds of the future rain,

Which will fill the bowls of mountains, 

To become a river once again!

To break the rules of Poetry, thats what I would like to call this poem of mine......all the while I try to put down a beautiful thought I get stuck in making the lines rhyme, in trying to find the words that best suit the flow and sometimes end up writing a seemingly nice poem void of the initial thought for which it was written.  Today, I have tried my best to write down what I feel than worrying about whether it rhymes or not.

In this poem, I pen down my memories about the loss of a childhood friend...
ஒரு பட்டாம்பூச்சியின் மரணத்தில்.. 

கண்ணை பறிக்கும் வண்ணத்தில் நீ சுற்றி திரிந்த பொது 

உன்னை கையில் பிடிக்க நினைத்ததில்லை

தானாய் நீ வந்து என் தோளில் அமர்ந்தபோது மட்டும்

உன்னை திரும்பி பார்த்திருக்கிறேன்

உன் அழகு சிறகுகளை நீ படபடத்த பொது 

வாசமில்லாத வண்ண மலர் ஒன்று எனக்காக மட்டுமே 

என் தோளில் பூத்தது போல் இருந்தது 

உன்னை தொட பலர் எத்தனித்த போது  

அந்த எண்ணமே உன்னை துவள செய்யுமோ என பயந்திருக்கிறேன்

உன்னை பார்த்து மற்றவர் ஏங்க 

நீ என்னுடன் சுற்றி திரிந்தது விந்தையாக இருந்தது

என்றாவது ஒரு நாள் நீயும் பறந்து போவாய் என்றெண்ணி 

விலகியே இருந்தேன் உன் அன்பு வலையில் சிக்காமல்

சிக்காமல் இருந்தேன் என்று என் செருக்கு கூறினாலும் 

என் இதயத்தில் நீ இருக்கத்தான் செய்தாய் 

என் பால்ய சிநேகிதி என

தோளில் நீ அமர்ந்த போது வலிக்கவில்லை 

இன்று நீ பறந்து சென்ற பின்பு தான் தெரிகிறது 

நெஞ்சில் நீ அன்று அமர்ந்த சுமை 

விண்ணை நோக்கி நீ பறந்து விட்டாய் 

உன்னை பேராசையுடன் தீண்ட நினைத்த கைகளுக்கு சிக்காமல் 

என்றாவது திரும்பி வருவாய் என எண்ணி கொள்கிறேன் 

என்னை இந்த சூன்யத்தில் இருந்து விடுவித்து கொள்ள  

நீ வரமாட்டாய் என்ற உண்மை உள்ளுக்குள் வலித்தாலும் 

இனி உனக்கு வலிகள் இல்லை என்ற எண்ணமே 

என் உள்மன காயத்துக்கு மருந்தாகும்.....

For my non-Tamil readers I am yet again translating this:)


THE DEATH OF A BUTTERFLY

When you flew around with your vibrant colors, 

I never for once thought of catching you, 

Just when you came and sat on my shoulder, 

I turned and looked at you.

When you fluttered your beautiful wings,

I felt as if a flower which has but no fragrance,
Has bloomed on my shoulders..  

And when others tried to touch you,

I feared even the very thought might hurt you.

When those around wanted to befriend you,

I was surprised that you chose to be with me.
Because I thought that you too would leave me,

I tried not to get caught in your love...

Though my pride says that I was not caught,
You have been in my heart,

As my childhood friend.

Now that you have gone 

I feel the heaviness of the moment when you came into my heart 


You have gone towards the heaven,
Away from the greedy hands which tried to enslave you
I keep thinking that you'll come back,
To free myself of the void left by you
Though I know the fact that you are never gonna come,
The truth that you suffer no more
Brings solace to my heart!