Youth,
This is my first salute (to you)
Come into my life
As romance
Come tonight as the manmatha (1)
Come - to the jasmine bowers
Come as the flowers of shyness
Fall in the bedroom
And sketch paintings with each
Kiss
Why these frivolous silly tiffs?
In this moonlight
During this night filled with
Amorous playfulness - awakened
By the throb of a masculine desire
Come and bite the belle’s cheek
Bite this unblemished honeyed bud
Come – when the brimming youth arrives
Just
When the hot day retires
When the falling anchal (2) sings
Romantic melodies,
Clasped
In the embrace of bracelets-decked hands
When the hands and feet got
Entangled tightly in the net of
Romance –
During this night filled with
The night’s laughter!
(Video Clip The song is from the Telugu movie "Samsaram O Sangeetham")
1. From Hindu mythology – manmatha is the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi. He is considered to be the most handsome god. With his consort Rati, He helps in the arousal of romantic feelings (with a sugar cane bow and floral arrow) and continuation of creation process, as part of the natural growth of humans. Often He is associated with the arrival of spring season, splendorous display of flowers, and youth. 2. Refers to the free flowing part of a sari, normally worn over chest (woman’s upper body).
(There is always more soul stirring beautiful poetry in this world than what the Nobel literature prize displays annually with its meager selections. Sadly beauty is often limited (defined?) by ones (the average critic’s) shades and the size of peephole! And much excellent poetry indisputably resides in languages other than English or a select few European tongues. This is amply evident to anyone who knows several languages across the globe. For some reason, this lyrical poem immediately touched my heart, rather put a tattoo on my sleeping consciousness.
If I have a humble suggestion here in this context, it is this: The larger Telugu community should come together and set up a prize for Telugu (covering the three principal areas of literature, music, and dance) comparable in prestige and scope similar to the Nobel prize (or Jnanapitha). Japan has instituted a prize in science and technology in 1980 and now the prize carries prestige comparable to the Nobel. Though we have the Jnanapitha award for literature in India, its effect is rather diluted, as it has to consider vast number of works covering twenty-three languages including English. Once in a while we keep hearing lamentations by the editors, teachers, linguists, and politicians about the imminent death of Telugu; the younger generation cannot speak one Telugu sentence without borrowed words from English or other languages. Silly self-pity and useless gestures – they are worse than crocodile tears! If we really care about the mother tongue Telugu, then we should teach them some of the finest romantic poetry (ex: Srinadha, Atreya, etc.) and this may mean even movie lyrics to the high school students. We should institute attractive awards and encourage translations to spread the beauty and perfume of this finest language and expression of thought. Some things Sri Sri might have got it wrong, but certainly he is hundred percent right when he said: “A pure Telugu poem/French liquor”. And needless to say such literary foundations or enterprises should eschew politics totally. ( The Telugu lyrics with transliteration were given here Telugu lyrics) Copyright 2022 by the author
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