Munnar

Picture courtesy: Unsplash.com They were blasting rocksand rebuilding the roadso the traffic stood stillto resume in the evening.The Tatas and Harrisons ownedthe tea estates and the shantyload of workerswho lived downhill.Months later, many of themwould have a mass burialin a spasm of mudslides.Roadside eateries grilledfish from the dam.Terraced gardens looked exactlylike paintings seen in galleries.Pigmy … Continue reading Munnar

Beaver Dams

Picture courtesy: Getty Images The beaver-built dams are wise beyond imagining. They keep just the water they need for the winter. The river doesn’t change its course and beavers downriver are not left high and dry because a beaver built a dam. The trees they gnaw down regrow. A beaver never lost his land because … Continue reading Beaver Dams

புது வரவு

ரெங்கசாமி ராதாகிருஷ்ணன் எழுதிய "இங்கிட்டும்...அங்கிட்டும்" என்ற நூலை படிப்பதற்கு ஒரு வாய்ப்பு கிட்டியது. ஆசிரியர் தன் கையெழுத்திட்ட பிரதியை அனுப்பியிருந்தார். அதைப்படித்து முடித்தவுடன் நான் என் பால்ய ப்ராயத்திற்க்கே சென்று விட்ட உணர்வை  ஏற்படுத்தியிருந்தார். வீடியோ கேம்ஸ் மற்றும் செல்போன் இல்லாத ஒரு பிள்ளைப்பிராயத்தை அழகாக சித்தரித்து இருக்கிறார். ஆசிரியர் மதுரைக்காரர். தமிழ் பிறந்த மண் அது. அந்த மண் வாசனை குறையாமல் கிராமப்புறங்களின் மனிதர்களை, அவர்களின் குறை நிறைகளை ஒரு மண்ணின் மைந்தனுக்கே உரிய உள்ளுணர்வுடனும் … Continue reading புது வரவு

The Portrait of the King in the Purananuru

Courtesy: shutterstock.com There is no disputing the fact that the Purananuru firmly places the king or the chieftain as the central and dominant figure of the classical age. Almost every poem is a paean to his nobility, bravery or generosity. Whether it is fighting a battle or rewarding an indigent poet or defending his capital … Continue reading The Portrait of the King in the Purananuru

The migrant workers of India and other poems

Inkspire brought out three of my poems in its 2020 Winter collection. https://www.inkspiremag.com/2020/11/poetry-migrant-workers-and-other-poems.html. Thanks Shweta for the publication. The migrant workers of India The train they wanted to ride home rode over them. Dry rotis, torn flip-flops were all that was left of them. Besides, of course, their mangled dreams. They were spawned when the … Continue reading The migrant workers of India and other poems

Vanchi or Aggressive Battle to Annex Terriory

If ulignai is seizure of enemy fortress and nochi is its counterpart, vanchi is a full-scale war launched by an ambitious king with the intention of annexing enemy territory to expand his kingdom. Botanically known as calamus rotang, the flower, vanchi, was worn as garland by the aggressor. Turais of vanchi The subdivisions of vanchi … Continue reading Vanchi or Aggressive Battle to Annex Terriory

Vetchi or stealing the cattle

Picture courtesy: pinterest.com A Small Stone inside the Sandal Like a small stone inside the sandal he troubles the enemy. Legs, well-toned, stomach, flat, chest, broad, eyes, active, beard growing on his chin like clump grass, hair covering his ears, jaw jutting low and flat, who is this man who carries a bow? He hasn’t … Continue reading Vetchi or stealing the cattle

The Dwarf and the Hunchback

    Picture courtesy: https://unsplash.com/search/photos/owl Peruntinai, which means a great or huge aspect of human love, poses quite a number of contradictions: the very few number of poems which fall under this genre and the kind of profane love it talks about make one doubt whether the name was given in jest or irony. The … Continue reading The Dwarf and the Hunchback

Viraliyatruppadai

Picture courtesy: Wikipedia Acting as a sympathetic guide, the poet tells the virali, the feminine equivalent of the bard, to seek the patronage of a particular king or chieftain to seek redress to her poverty which seems to accompany the poets and bards all through their life. The virali plays musical instruments, composes poems and … Continue reading Viraliyatruppadai

Kudinilaiyuraittal

Picture courtesy: http://www.flickr.com Rather than praising the King or the Chief, this subgenre praises the antiquity and valour of the subject, and why he must be singled out for special honours. Elaborating the situation further, a commentator says that this poem belonging to Karandai Tinai, has the recovery of cattle stolen by the enemy king … Continue reading Kudinilaiyuraittal

Vanchinakkanchi

The way a king belittles his opponents and swears to annihilate them prior to launching an attack comes under the turai "vanchinakkanchi." Nalankilli and Nedunkilli, the latter with Uraiyur as his capital, grew hostile to each other. As the hostility reached its peak, Nedunkilli spoke so ill of the other as to increase his rage, … Continue reading Vanchinakkanchi