14/02/09

the sun

the sun's a weaver
with rays as threads
sky as the loom
he weaves the rainbow

the sun's a hunter
with rays as arrows
the sky his forest
he hunts down cheetahs of darkness

the sun's a lover
in the first light of millions of rays
he descends from the sky
and loves earth's silent eyes, deeply.

my translation of sivasagar's sooryudu.
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5 comments:

editor said...

Beautiful poem. Thanks for posting. At least, I could get to read a Telugu poem.

In the past I have read a few modernist Telugu poets. But nothing for a long time.

3:26 pm
Anonymous said...

Not a very progressive poem. There is no Brahmin or Hindu Bashing in this poem. The author is indulging in fruitless Bourgiese past times. This is of no use to the class struggle.

5:37 pm
Anonymous said...

Bashing a stone wall is moot. Is regressive.

The poem talks about Weaver and hunter.
Taking pride in skills and saying it beautifully is far more effective. It is about human capital, very progressive! Not indulgence.
Negotiating with skill sets smartly, the next logical step, probably forms the latter part of the poem. Or a following poem.

Will argue for the third verse, if someone challenges.

8:07 pm
kuffir said...

adnan,

thanks :) curiously, i had just finished reading your post on the naxalites and the media silence on their violence when i saw this comment. one of the reasons the media doesn't talk much about naxal violence, possibly, is because it considers the naxalites (because the cadres are mostly from the lower castes), in some ways, as a challenge to the hindu social order from within. i'd probably write more about my views on this one day- should thank you for making me think on this issue.

check the anon commenter's views :) what other poets did you read.. do you remember?

1:28 pm
kuffir said...

anon,

the poet used to be a naxalite and still calls himself a revolutionary- don't you think a dalit revolutionary stripping the first among hindu gods of his magic and divinity and making him a low caste worker, a weaver and a hunter, is a progressive idea? thanks for your comment.

anu,

this is the whole poem -- but it is a part of his notes, so to speak, from his underground life in the jungles. very perceptive comment :)

1:53 pm

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