Somewhere among the treetops, a rustle.
Branches sway as if a little whirlwind hit.
Against the backlight of the sky, dark shadows
Jump; I look around, hold the bananas close to me.
******* Balachandran V, Trivandrum 16.04.2011
Somewhere among the treetops, a rustle.
Branches sway as if a little whirlwind hit.
Against the backlight of the sky, dark shadows
Jump; I look around, hold the bananas close to me.
******* Balachandran V, Trivandrum 16.04.2011
The banana you hold is their food. And we are usurping that. Like throwing out the forest dwellers from their land of birth, the forests.
ReplyDeletePutting up "Tribal welfare bureaucrats" , know not for what?
The lines fascinatingly capture the frame.
Why did the 'I' venture into their space?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletepithy!
ReplyDeleteanil sir, bananas are our food too. we are not aliens on this planet
@ KPJ, certainly Bananas are our food too.But are we willing to share?
ReplyDeleteFunny, the way I jump into conclusions! The title of the poem appeared on my blog made me think that it was about Radio Jockeys. Nonetheless, loved it :)
ReplyDeletehe he Yes hold the bananas close by lest they take it away .. but then if we go in there territory then its trespassing and they have the right to snatch from us :)
ReplyDeleteBikram's
@Anil: You caught the pathos of the scene...
ReplyDelete@Kpj:As Anil said, it the unwillingness to share the bounties of this world, in spite of being the self-proclaimed masters of the planet that makes the human species the most despicable of all...
@Insignia: I was/is very much disturbed by your post on Bangalore monkeys. If I could, I would bash all those bastards over their heads myself. The verse is a tribute to those monkeys who were killed/ injured. Hope one will not have to read such things.
Thanks so much Balan. Even to this moment I feel pain thinking about them and I feel angry with myself for not being able to help them.
ReplyDeleteYou know what I feel? I want to snatch those rods they used to beat those monkeys with and instead bash them black and blue!
മുകളിലെവിടെയോ മരച്ചില്ലകള് ഇളകുന്ന ശബ്ദം
ReplyDeleteഒരു ചെറിയ ചുഴലികാറ്റിലെന്ന പോലെ ശാഖകള് ആടുന്നു
ആകാശത്തിലെ വെള്ളി വെളിച്ചതിനെതിരെ, കടുത്ത നിഴലുകള്
ചാടുന്നു. പഴം മാറോടു ചേര്ത്ത് ഞാന് ചുറ്റും നോക്കി
@Sijeesh: Thanks for that beautiful translation!
ReplyDeleteNice pic and well said. Is it so difficult to share the banana?
ReplyDeleteThey are the closest to us..arent they? Reminding us of ourselves and many of those whom we dislike!
ReplyDeleteThey have good survival instints..we only have to leave them alone and not
disrupt thier habitat.
I loved this poem.The translation is wonderful too.Sijeesh has givien some sentimental touches to it.