The autobiography of a pandemic.flu endemic to the sub continent.

I am caused neither by a swine nor by a bird,

But by, cricket.

I lodge myself in all those rapidly beating hearts absorbed

In the wicket,


I am the flu ,

That afflicts all those loyal to men in blue.

I spin , run and swell,when they all yell

"We will, We will, Win it".


I can neither be culled nor be declared 'out ,

I can neither be immunised nor be bowled out

I am in for a long innings
My tent has been hammered and pitched in.

.

Boon of deathlessness.

Space , fire , time , water and earth,

You are in all elements,

Is it not possible to surrender to you and merge into your nectar like self?


Broad shouldered hero, Brave one,

One who is as handsome as Manmada'

One who is the friend of Vanaras,

In one whose heart always resides , Sita!


Eternally calm Rama,

Without a stain !All pervading!,

Truthful! Sanatana Rama!

Surrender, surrender, surrender,

I do to thee!


Grant me the boon of deathlessness,O Rama!

Lord of four Vedas! One with lotus feet!

*************


I am winding up my translation of Bharathiyar's poems with his above sthothra on Rama

Sri Rama jeyam!

A good Veena.

`After making a good Veena is it fair to let it languish by tossing it into dust?

Tell me Siva Shakthi--you have created me with a bright intellect,

Will you not give me strength ---so that I may be of some benefit to all those living here?

Tell me Sive Shakthi !---Will you allow me to be a burden on this earth?

Like a ball whirled by a machine ,

I asked for a body that would obey my mind,

I asked for a heart free of vices,

I asked for a new and bright life every day,

I asked for a inner self that would sing Siva Shakthi's praises even when my body is consigned to flames

I ask for a stable mind,

What prevents you from blessing me with all this?

white lotus.

She is in the white lotus,

She is in the sound of veena,

She is in the hearts of bards who please us with their poetry,

She shines within the Vedas that makes us realise the truth,

She is in the kind words of pure and deceitless sages,

She is in the sweet songs sung by women,

She is in the delicious prattle of toddlers,

She is in the sound of koels music,

She is in the tongue of the parrots,

She is the beauty found in paintings and temple towers,

She is the personification of happiness.


.[This is a stothra on goddess Saraswathi]

Chatrapathi Shivaji.

As spoken to his soldiers.

Victory to thee , Bhavani! Victory to thee Bharat,
Victory to thee mother! Victory to thee Durga!
Vande mataram! Vande mataram!

Chiefs of armies! The best ministers,
Head of elephantry and extremely able victors,
Unperturbed kings,,
Scorchers of enemies,
Javelin unit, Trishul bearing mighty soldiers,
who do not fear death, Courageous jewels,
Long live all of you, Long live all!
Let Devi bless us all,
Who all belong to this famous country that has never desired others land,
If it is invaded , will Bharath matha bear it?
The land that is known far and wide for its bravery .,
This sacred land was ruled by emperors personifying dharma,
And home to calm and meditative seers.

Bharat is an ancient and sacred land,
You are its sons, Do not erase this memory!
Bharat is the jewel amongst all countries of the worlds,
You are its son, Do not erase this memory !

Protect this land that stretches from the Himalayas ,
That touches the sky,
To all directions and to the seas.
Ganges, Sindhu, Yamuna,
Springs, lakes, forests,fertile lands and in comparable resources,
Lofty mountains, all brighten this country!

This golden land provides bountiful food to stave off hunger,
Deva's live here , Sages live here,
This is a country without any weakness ,
It is filled with knowledge and wisdom!

You are its son, do not erase that from your memory.


Note . This is a stirring speech delivered by Shivaji the famous Maratha king, on the eve of a battle ,to his soldiers, as was imagined by Bharathiyar.The fact that this runs to several pages ,[ i have translated only the first portion],potrays the deep admiration of Bharathiyar towards the patriotism of Shivaji.

Sparrow's song

There are 23 poems under the tittle new songs of Bharathiyar . The sparrow's song is one such:

Question..

Small and petite sparrow , what work do you do?
Colourful sparrow tell me your about your day to day life!

Sparrows reply...

Listen human...Within us there is none who is low or high
No one is bound in inescapable slavery . All of us roam around like lords!
There is no dearth of food---we get it from everywhere.
We have no wealth or money .We see food every where.
For the sake of this small stomach--we do not waste our life ,
Under the clutches of others,
The wind, light and sky is our home.There is no border for this.
All the finest quality of materials available in this world is ours to have and hold,
No one is poor. No one is rich and prosperous,always,
No one is high or low. We live with respect.
There is no thievery or deceit --nor false prestige or smallness,
All these laughable qualities are reserved for your race,
There is no theft or murder nor is there any greed or lust,
The strong helps the weak---Even those who trouble us are not killed,
You live in small huts ---in dilapidated houses,
Living in misery---We don't have this,
In flower gardens --in lush green groves,
In flowers filled with honey---we roam and play,
In ponds, lakes, hillocks, mountains,and in houses ---we play always,
Nothing binds us---We have no false stains,
Abuses or slander---No such insults do we bear.
We have no family worries nor a drop of sorrow,
We are always happy,
Our life is very sweet,
It is not a big secret,
We get up in the morning and sing god's praises,
Evening also we worship god and live happily,
Locked in self made problems---troubled man,
I will give you one advise,
Realise self, you will be always happy!

PS. I do not have a deep knowledge of Tamil . I stand corrected where ever I have made mistakes .

False? or True?

Bharathiyar has written 25 poems on wisdom and philosophy.The following is my translation of one such poem.

Standing, walking, flying,
Are you all dreams only?---multifaceted illusions?
Learning, hearing,analysing, are you all,
Small and mean illusions? Isn't there any deep meaning ?

O sky, early morning sun, trees,are you all
Mirages---just an optical illusion?
If all that is past ,is a dream that is buried and has perished,
Am I also a dream?Is this world a mere illusion?

Is the single memory called time and the host of memories of events,
And all acts are false? Then aren't qualities also false?
If there are no discernible seeds that help groves to sprout,
Aren't those trees merely illusory?- would this be recognised?

If all that is seen will disappear then will we see all that has disappeared?
Will fate chase us constantly in these wasteful illusions?

That which we see fosters our faith and determination that which we don't see negates it
That which is seen is real---this scene is eternal.

Artist Ravi varma

Bharathiyar has written 24 individual poems.One such is on the greatest artist and painter Ravi varma ,who has moulded the Hindu perceptions on the images of gods and goddesses.I have relied heavily on his portraits and paintings to illustrate my blogs . It is there fore fitting that I express my gratitude by translating a talented poets admiration of a equally talented artist.

God has gathered and cooked moon beams ,
To be drunk by this artist,
He created nectar that could be shared by all only through this genius of eternal fame,
He created the white elephant to enhance Indra's stature,
He created beauty in flowers, in the blue sky and on damsels comely coutenances,
Only to be smelt and absorbed by the inner self and intelligence of Ravi varma!

Prayer to mother.

I want to achieve my objectives,
I want good thoughts and objectives ,
I want a strong heart,
I want a clear intellect,
All the sins I have committed so far ,
Should disperse like mist in sun,
For this I seek your blessings 'O' mother.

Petition to Maha shakthi.

Bharathiyar has written 78 poems in worship of gods and goddess.one such translated verse is as follows---


Destroy desire or stop my breath,
Let my body fall or destroy my thoughts,
Grant me yoga or allow me to disintegrate,
'O' mother who does every thing in this world


Remove my attachments or relieve me of this burdensome life,
Either clear my thoughts or let my body die,
'O' mother who is present in all things,


Won't my heart cool ?
Won't my false pride and weaknesses ever be lost?
Won't my deceit melt away?
'O' mother won't the tears of bhakthi flow ?
Will this small dogs thirst ever be quenched in the flood of your kindness?
One who is within every thing!

Long live Tilak's name.

Let the sound of swantantra rise from all 4 directions,
Let this despicable life in slavery disintegrate and disappear,
Let the darkness eclipsing our intelligence be destroyed,
Let fear be lost for all times to come!

He built a strong fort out of education,
He built a moat around it out of his noble views,
He built a temple out of words and reasoning,
He hoisted a flag of Swantantra on this!

His name is the boat to cross the ocean of sorrow ,
His name will drive away despair,
His name is a freshly bloomed flower ,
That is soaked and brimming with love ,
His name is synonymous with that which is deemed masculine!

Tilak was a early nationalist. He was the first freedom fighter to declare 'Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it'! He was a contemporary and a great friend of Bharathiyar.The above verses are dedicated to Tilak by Bharathiyar.