Random Reading of Poet Bharathi- 3

United we stand and Divided we fall 

It's only when we are united there is Life

If that unity  amongst us is shaken and dismantled

Then it will spell downfall for all of us

And signal a great setback.

It's time you distilled the essence of this

And internalized the truth and adhere to it

Once this wisdom has dawned upon us

What else we need in life ?

Random Reading of Poet Bharathi- 2

We are not botherd about the caste or religion,

If you had attained  an exalted status /

In this birth  in a better and superior surrounding

You should know, then

Be it a Vedic scholar or someone belonging to 

A different clan or caste, kindly remember

It does not make any difference,

They are one and the same.

Even if they belong to a lower strata ,say paraiyars

Did they not live here for long wi th us 

Will they suddenly become Chinese, an alien

Will they cause us harm ,as one would expect

From other country men.

Here castes are countless in thousands

But does not mean the others, strangers 

Could enter and make us uneasy and 

Is there any justice in it ?

All of us were born from the stomach of 

One mother.

There might be quarells, friendly fight

Kindly remember we are all brothers.

(Translating poet Bharathi, in poetic prose, Adelaide 2020)

Adelaide Diary 2020: 1

I am professor  D Sambandhan. Like Rahuram  Rajan  former RBI  Governor  I would say I do what I do.

The greatest  thing in my life is that an invisible  hand, the divine  grace has nursed and nurtured  me for a larger part of life.

Like my parents  I lived in truth and honesty  and led a simple and frugal  life.

No great ambition  , goal or target worth mentioning. This does not mean  it was a directionless  life or I didn't  grasp  the significance  and purpose  of my academic  life.

The truth is I didn't  try to be someone. I remained  what I  was.I am  what  I  am today and  I  do what I  do  by sheer guidance  from the above.This has nothing  to with any trade in love with  God or bargaining  with the creator  of the universe. 

Being disorderly  orderly  and  not conditioned  by any  habit of visiting  temple  on my own I was unconventional  in my faith and  belief  in the supreme in a typical  unconscious  way.

To put it differently  I never identified  myself  with the religion  into which I  was born nor fall into any  caste craziness  to degrade myself. It just happened by sheer divine will.

Indeed  with all  my blessings  in life good parental  genes  ,great childhood  friends, excellent  teachers  and  all the happy accidents in education  all through  my life I had become  aware  that I  was fine tuned  by some power from above  and  I was just a puppet  in the drama of life.And yet I had more anger with the creator given  the grinding  poverty  and escalating  inequality  among  the people in the world in typical  spirit of Bharathiyar  and Valluvar..There was a rebel  in me crying  for justice  and equality  although  at personal  level  I was more than  blessed...

This duality  persists  even  now  when  I  have reached the threshold  of serene  seventy. 

I have not abandoned  the child and poet in me and the rebellious  side against  the establishment  right from  the start has stayed put.i remained  at a healthy  distance  from the power machine..

To be fair and honest  any residual  or little  ambition  worth  mentioning  is my passionate  interest  in teaching  and  unconsciously  imbibing  the spirit  of helping  the fellow  humans- a trait I cultivated  from parents. This attribute was fully  reflected  in my work  and attitudes  under all circumstances. I took teaching  and reading  with  all sincerity  of purpose  and  my universe was the student  community. Quite inevitably  it had its own  fallout   on the domestic  side.

Although  I didn't  neglect  the  family  and children, they were never treated  as a matter of much significance  given  my naivety  and  preference  for a life of simplicity  and frugality. 

The poetic  statement  :

Blessed is he who has found  his work / Let him ask  no other happiness  was true in my case.

During  my previous  trip to Adelaide  2017/18 I scribbled Dsam on dsam  and  some were put in Face book  and  also blog. I do not fully  remember..That diary  will be located  once I reach  my home and memories /Memoirs  will  be synthesized..

(My Scribbling  pad: Adelaide  2020)

A poem of just 12 lines

Derek Mahon an Irish poet famous for his book ,Life on Earth  and  a host of poems died of liver cancer  on Oct 1 2020.

The Times has paid rich tributes to him.

His 12 lines poem captures  the inescapable  anxiety  caused by the virus and  the humanity 's unfailing  resilience  even  at the worst of times.

The poem Everything  is going  to be Alright. 

How  should  I  not  be  glad  to contemplate 

The clouds clearing  beyond  the dorm our window 

and a high tide reflected on the ceiling 

There will  be dying, there  will be dying 

but there  is no need to go into that

The poems flow from  the  hand unbidden 

And the hidden  source is the watchful  heart

The sun rises in spite  of everything 

And the far cities are beautiful  and bright 

I lie here in a riot of sunlight 

Watching  the day break and the clouds flying 

Everything  is going  to be Alright. 

Just  a para to capture  his crying  of the soul  and  I am  mesmerized  by it as I sail in the same  boat

" Mahon more  usually  gave  the  impression  that  existence was a slog or an obstacle  course without  winning  post....it was as if he were searching  for  something  that he knew could  never  be found  and yes if he didn't  keep looking,what  was the point?

He didn't  drive and never used a mobile  phone or the internet. All he required in his later years was a notebook, his type writer , a table and chair, and a view out the window  towards the port and  the sea beyond..