Birth of a new dialogue

In the woods by mistake

or simply by accident

the two appeared again

Dharma* to give Yudhisthira*, another go

for a question whose response

did none, until then, know.

- No Baka*

birth is the only truth

death a momentous lie

that leads us to birth

- But death also does the same?

- No, death is immobile I plead

it doesn't move and hence cannot lead

death is false, but it's not its fault

it is birth that takes us to births

through a momentary halt;

until the Self frees from them

to have births no more again

- So then don't you die?

- No O wise Dharma, you have birth again

that frees us for good,

in stillness we call heaven!

Birth it is O Dharma, it is birth again!

- (Dharma smiles) after ages

O Dharmaraja*, you appear to be light

you behold your world

right in the middle of the earth

- Birth of life, of virtues and evils

even that of deaths and devils

in it the Universe lies

- I know, I know

you seem to have wings

in your hands now

your feet appear to be light

blind and dead no more,

your words now have eyes!

Have as much water from this lake now

As you have quenched my thirst

Let all your dead brothers

come back to consciousness first

Then O King, take your brothers,

you saved them with grace

With them, all men and women

you saved the human race.

To change the earlier response

to Yaksha* did Yudhisthira urge

he does so, both smile and

in the leaves of stories,
does birth, as the only truth

newly emerge.

Note:

Dharma - Dharma is the one who questions Yudhisthira; Dharma, Yaksha, Baka are one and the same

Yudhisthira- In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhishthira* was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti and the king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura (Kuru). He was the leader of the successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. At the end of the epic, he ascended to heaven.

Baka - Baka appears as the crane; Dharma, Yaksha, Baka are one and the same

Dharmaraja - Yudhishthira was also known as Dharmaraja

Yaksha - Dharma, Yaksha, Baka are one and the same.

The story

At the end of their 12 years of exile in the forests, time had come for the pandavas to live in Agyat Vasa (living Incognito). As they were discussing their course of action the Pandava Princes came across a Brahmin who complained that a deer has taken on its antlers his Arani – a pair of wooden blocks to generate fire by friction – and therefore he was not able to light the fire for the performance of Vedic rituals. The valorous Pandava Princes set out to retrieve the Brahmin's Arani and followed the hoof-marks of the deer.

In the quest of the mysterious deer, Yudhishthira, became exhausted and thirsty. His brother Nakula thus ventured out to fetch water and found a beautiful lake. The lake was devoid of any living creature except a crane (Baka)*. When he attempted to take water from the lake, the crane spoke, "O Nakula! The water of this lake will turn into poison if you take it without satisfactorily answering my questions." Nakula, in arrogance, did not pay heed and hurriedly took water from the lake. Upon drinking the crystal clear water, Nakula instantly died of poisoning. Nakula's twin Sahadeva, coming in search of his brother, also found the same lake, saw Nakula dead, and was warned by the crane. But Sahadeva too ignored the crane and died after drinking the water. In the same manner, both valiant Arjuna, and powerful Bhima met the same fate.

Since none of the brothers returned with water, Yudhishthira engaged in search of them. Upon following the same path, Yudhishthira came across the lake and found his brothers lying dead. Before searching for the killer of his brothers, Yudhishthira decided to drink some water from the lake. But when the crane warned him, Yudhishthira realised that the crane held the answer to the turn of events. The virtuous Yudhishthira proceeded to answer the questions put forth by the crane.

Before putting the questions to Yudhishthira, the crane revealed itself as a Yaksha. The Yaksha asked 18 questions with philosophical and metaphysical ramifications. This dialogue between the Yaksha and Yudhishthira is embodied in the Madhya Parva of the Mahabharata, and is also known as the Dharma-Baka* Upakhyan (Legend of the Virtuous Crane).

Source: Wikipedia

photopoems

Oddball

Waves eaten by the sea
the shore is hungry
back in the room
doors are permanently shut
through the meadows
dry and thirsty banks of the river
gazing at the flowing waters
ways playing lost-and-found games
no room to bank on the beach
they are confused
for them doors stand
waters flow
but everything is failing
falling apart
a collage of broken images
blames the blue mirror above
where stars blink and shine,
the hollow space known as the sky.

Somehow the caterpillar
still struggles to be the butterfly
and the crabs still eat
their grub, from the starving sands
dig holes, their homes.


French translation

Inouï

Ondes mangées par la mer

la rive a faim

dans la pièce

les portes sont fermées en permanence

à travers les prairies

les rivages de la rivière secs et assoiffes

regardent les eaux qui coule…

les chemins jouent aux jeux perdus et trouvés

pas de zones pour ranger sur la plage

ils sont tous confus

pour eux, les portes se lèvent

les eaux coulent

désormais tout échoue

s'effondre

un collage d'images brisées

blâme le miroir bleu ci-dessus

d’où les étoiles clignotent et brillent,

l'espace creux connu comme le ciel.

D'une certaine manière, la chenille

a encore du mal à être le papillon

et les tourteaux mangent toujours

leur bouffe, des sables affamés

creusent des trous, leurs séjours.

কানাই, কানাই, কানাই, কানাই

নিত্য নতুন জগাই-মাধাই
মনের মাঝে সকাল সাঁঝে
নিচ্ছিল যে ঠাঁই
নিতাই এসে ভালবেসে
আত্মহারা করল যে সে...
ক্ষমার সমুদ্দুরের ঢেউ এর ভিতর
উঠল জেগে পবিত্র স্বর
কানায় কানায় বাজিয়ে সুর
কানাই, কানাই, কানাই, কানাই*
হেসে ব’লে মিষ্টি মধুর
গুনগুনিয়ে অষ্টপ্রহর
ভরিয়ে দিল ভুবনটা মোর

ভালবাসার আগুনেতে
কতকালের জগাই-মাধাই
ভস্ম্য হল এক নিমেষে
আমার ভুবন আনন্দেতে
উঠল ভ’রে তাই
কানা কালা চোখে কানে
ভরল কাজল কানাই গানে
এখন শুধুই মনের ভিতর
নিত্য নিতাই নৃত্য মুখর
সারা শরীর জুড়ে যে ভাই
সুরে তালে করছে বিভর
চৈতন্য গৌর নিতাই এর স্বর
কানাই, কানাই, কানাই, কানাই

English translation

Kanai, Kanai, Kanai, Kanai

Jagai-Madhai every time, anew
peeking in the mind, from morning to sundown
lived inside me, as always in my crown
until with love, came Nitai
the bhakti*-bard with his crew
with the touch, lifted me high
made me ego-less
in the ocean of forgiveness
with countless waves
my body was full to the brim
with the tune of Nitai
smiling and singing sweetly
kanai, kanai, kanai, kanai
my world was full
with meaningful pray
in every minute of the day

In the fire of love
the age-old Jagai Madhai
turned to ashes in a moment
my world is therefore
replete with joy
the deaf ears, the blind eyes
full with kanai songs now realise
serving and kind
I could find
Nitai is dancing
all the time, all the while
in my whole body
and every cell, singing
to the tune of
the consciousness of Chaitanya Nitai
Enchanting only
Kanai, Kanai, Kanai, Kanai.

Notes:
Jagai and Madhai are the two sinful rulers of Nadiya whom Sri Chaitanya (fondly referred to as Nitai) and his main disciple Nityananda won with love, by encouraging them to chant the name of Krishna. In the poem the two characters have been used as two dark sides of the Self, eventually delivered.
Kanai - is the name of Krishna, fondly referred to as Kanai
bhakti - the art and the skill to submit, to worship, thus bhakta becomes the one who worships

  

The unknown paradise

Let me now sit inside you

and pray for a cure

I am yours afresh, anew

I know you are pure.

Every speck of your dust

we can blindly trust,

every grain of your food

can help us grow for good

every drop of rain

every inch of your terrain

stable, sound, secure

the healing stars

the lights they shower

the big and small creatures

all of them

yours.

Then for which firmament

do they ignore

you, resting in your nest

do they plunder you with zest

but everything you endure;

with all my innocence

let me wake up inside you

and pray for a cure

for their actions without sense

their intelligent ignorance
deadly and blind

destructive, unkind

placing life behind
every now and then

for an unknown heaven?

My earth

mother of my thousand births

in my deaths

in my breaths

I am close to you

more and more

let me remain with you

and pray for a cure.

In time for sure

we will all be yours

all killings will cease

the troubles, ill at ease

let me be inside you

and pray for a cure.

With a splash of love and light

through the days and the nights

our stars will rise

when all of a sudden

we would recognize

how we were in search of this bliss
that escaped us, went amiss
for eons of lives

until we realize
we are the children

of your paradise.

Warmth

Everybody is a buddy
no enemy around
your world, peaceful and sound
journey to discover this
realize there’s nothing amiss
offer a smiling hand
to everyone you can
be prepared and ready.

In my world, there is no enemy
none at all in me
my world, formed with words
calm, clear, seen and heard
a thousand times
foes have ceased to chime
my eyes and my ears
tired, tempted for years
now day and night without ends
catch the warmth of friends.

Amaravati Poetic Prism 2017

Amaravati Poetic Prism 2017

With their characteristic enthusiasm, passion, indefatigable efforts, the Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA), under the priceless leadership of Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh and his teeming members Mandali Buddha Prasad, Deputy Speaker, Bhuma Akhila Priya, Minister for Tourism, Mukesh Kumar Meena I.A.S Secretary to Government (Tourism and Culture), Dr D. Vizai Bhaskar, CEO, AP State Creativity and Culture Commission, Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, Founder and Chief Mentor, Chairman, Malaxmi Group, his amicable life partner Dr Y. Tejaswini, Founder CCVA, Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy, CEO, CCVA, and Padmaja Iyengar, Curator and Honorary Literary Advisor, CCVA has successfully organized its third International Multilingual Poets’ meet on 11^th and 12^th November 2017 hosting International poet delegates from 14 countries and from nearly all the states of India.

Numbers speak a thousand words



The APP (Amaravati Poetic Prism) 2017 anthology comprises 987 poems in 85 languages coming from 67 countries, an unimaginable feat bringing in almost one third of the world under the same book; it is a victory for Literature, a festival for poetry, writing and above all a collective effort reinforcing the importance of team work. It is little wonder that this phenomenal growth of CCVA’s brainchild APP 2017 is recognized by the India Book of Records as a Unique Record of Excellence. The two day enthralling reading of poems of all languages, from Estonian to Mandarin, from Maithili, Urdu, French, Danish, Hindi, English to rare languages like Kaithi, Esperanto had also seen spectacular performance by Anjali Patil and her troupe who came all the way from Canada to coalesce with the CCVA’s message of love and peace as they were dancing on themes of Sufi and Shiva; they literally transported us into another world and naturally had a standing ovation from the mesmerized audience; a beautiful Mohiniyattam, the unique form of dance from Kerala by Seema S. also had the audience, national and international, in awe and wonder.

International presence

This year's Poetic Prism meet witnessed the presence of fourteen countries making the event truly international. The countries were Sri Lanka, Austria, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Albania, Estonia, Israel, China, Iran, Jordon, Saudi Arabia and the USA.

A memorable boat-ride

At the end of the session, poet delegates were taken for a long boat ride in the Krishna river and was shown the confluence of two rivers, Krishna and Godavari, a yet another humongous initiative by the Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu to make the lives of  people of Andhra Pradesh happier and more prosperous. Some were also taken to Amaravati. It was heartening to see Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, Chairman Malaxmi Group personally accompanying us and explaining the mythological background of the importance of Krishna river and the adjacent Durga temple. His humorous and effective communication makes him clearly a fantastic orator.

Raison d’être of CCVA

The message of love and peace, of brotherhood and acceptance of diversity reinforced through reading and listening of various languages has made the two-day fulfilling for all who were a part of the programme. It ended with a touching message from the leaders, including the discourse of the Krishna ZJilla Parishad Chairperson Ms Gadde Anuradha who upheld so beautifully our traditional and age-old camaraderie of looking at guests as Gods (Atithi Devo Bhava) and on the same breath urged us to look at Vijayawada as ‘our’ Vijayawada in the same way we look at the world as our own – this was the underlying intent of the poetic programme held at the A Plus convention centre that made Vijayawada truly victorious thus justifying its very name, its raison d’être.

The relentless team of volunteers from FORBES giving a selfless round-the-clock service
It was heartening to see the volunteers from FORBES college, a fresh willing-to-work-round-the-clock team of youngsters who were literally on their toes, and without whose effort the event wouldn't have been as successful as it was. Their willingness to work and serve for this great cause was instantaneously felt by all the delegates who took part in the memorable event. Hats off to the team. Love you all.

The message

All the visionary leaders behind this great effort envisioned even more support from the Government to take this event forward, reaching out to the entire world in the days to come, with the sole purpose of making Literature and Poetry as the forerunner of thoughts to rebuild the mindset in order to foster peace and prosperity not for the region alone, but for the world at large.

The Anthology
The Amaravati Poetic Prism anthology stands as a witness of a sincere effort that speaks volumes, in terms of effort put up by all the stakeholders; by the poets around the world, by those who worked day and night in the background correcting the form and the content, by the leaders who made this impossible task possible taking care of the intricate logistics and other aspects of the project. While the anthology goes down into history, it will carry with it an incomparable and the most magnanimous gesture of sensitizing the world that despite diverse cultures, languages, castes, creed, beliefs and faiths, we are all united when it comes to poetry. It stands as a proof that we can win, as one.

photopoems