THE DESERTED TREE

                     

                   

                     1)          Alone like a lonely pilgrim yonder stood

                                    A tall, lean tree with crooked arms

                                    Not a trace of green, but dry barren wood

                                    Many,many years sapped his leafy charm

                                    Like an old wrecked vessel in raging storm

                                    Alone it stood from tip toe full brown

                                    Not a clump of green leaves adorned his crown.

                   2)            Who cares to see such barren dreary sight?

                                    No western wind approached with rustling sound

                                    No butterfly fluttered with pinions bright

                                    No graceful creeper to hug him around;

                                    No prop to bear his bending weight from ground

                                    In death-like silence like a ruined fortress grim

                                   A dreadful hag  seen in sinister dreams.

                 3)             No bird or beast for shade and shelter came

                                  No playful monkeys swing on branches bare

                                  Marks of stormy gale dented his weary frame

                                  A mute witness to many things, with none to share

                                  His grey-gone past who hears, no time to spare !

                                  His seasoned strength withstood so many storms

                                  So many blows he bore with sturdy arms

                 4)            His sinewy roots searched deep into the ground

                                 To touch the nourishing springs beyond our sight

                                 Still rooted firm like a mountain sound      

                                 Struggling alone under the scorching light ;

                                 Despite his age, trusting in Nature’s might

                                 His branching arms outstretched into the sky

                                 As if he nursed still aspirations high.   

                 5)           Like an old man left in his humble cot

                                Absorbed in woes and joys of events past

                                Engulfed in solitude and silence fraught ;

                                Like a lonely sailor in windy tempests caught

                                And thrown like junk on God-forsaken shore

                                Where no voice heard but turbulent ocean’s roar.

            6)               Standing alone like a pillar carved in sandstone

                               Of some dilapidated temple old

                               Like a camel in dry desert alone

                               Exposed to winds of blazing fire and cold

                               The tree stood firm like a prophet bold ;

                               Cut off from worldly bonds of suffocating hold

                               Steadfast like an altar for all to behold.

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              28th August, 2018                                 Somaseshu Gutala

           

Note : This poem is written in "Rhyme Royal " a stanzaic form with rhyme scheme "ABAB BCC". This verse form borrowed from the French verse was first used in English language by Geoffrey Chaucer in his narrative poems "Troilus and Criseyde" and in "The Parlement of Foules". William Wordsworth used this form in his famous poem"Resolution and Independence".

  Ref :  Nurse =care for ;  Cot = a simple cottage (Archaic)

  Altar = A platform where sacrifices are offered; a holy place.

  It suggests the noble selfless service of the old tree.

The Snake that Went Unscathed

           

           

                                                                               
                                       


                                                                       (  I  )

               

                         From yonder rain-filled chink in the compound wall

                         A long head peeped straight with dark glistening eyes

                         Her long lithe body’s dark-stripes half-hid and half-seen

                         Her sharp tongue like lightning darted now and then

                         Her language went above our human minds –too vague

                         Like foolish chaps with anxious faces we watched

                         Waiting for her to come out of her shelter dark

                         Some came with long sticks to teach her a lesson

                         For entering the place transgressing her bounds ; 
 

                         Some came with folded hands to show their devotion

                         Some stood at cautious distance watching the show

                         Some mumbled prayers to gratify the serpent-goddess;

                         Some dwelt on events past with dramatic gestures

                         About vengeful snakes with magical powers;

                         Some spoke of her huge length by stretching hands;

                         Some heard her hissing sound with dangerous portents

                         Some ran for the priest to exorcise the evil creature

                         Some suggested a snake-catcher’s support;

                         Some cursed the state for lack of civic concern.

                                                   ( I  I  )

                        Securely coiled herself in a dark crevice

                        The snake found herself in a tight corner

                         Facing a critical life-and –death crisis;

                         Not finding a place in concrete jungle

                         Driven from post to pillar, this place she found

                         But now to save her own dear life from crushing sticks

                         She strove with all her might and speed 

                         Uncoiled her length and slipped at once in dark

                         Like a thief with a sense of guilty hush

                         Into a gutter as people chattered in vain;

                         One lady squeaked – “Snake,snake! Behold there went

                         Oh, not a cobra with a dark mark on its hood

                         Non-poisonous type—perhaps a water-snake;

                         Her dark brown stripes removed our seething poison

                         The snake went soon unscathed in slithering curves

                         Far from the madding crowd with notions strange

                         Thanking her stars for not being beaten to death

                       Or worse for not being adored by men

                     For not being killed with blind devotion.

                         

                          ****************************************************

                    22nd August, 2018                                          Somaseshu Gutala

                      

                                               

On my visit to Kapaleeswara Temple, Mylapur, Chennai

               

      
                         

                               

Lord Kapaleeswara

                                           

Goddess Karpagambal

Sri Kapaleeswara temple is one of the oldest temples in Mylapur which has got rich historical and cultural heritage. The 125 feet –tall painted temple tower and colorful statues with intricate sculptural art fill our hearts with a sense of wonder.  Mylapur is a very primitive coastal town dating back to first century. Ptolemy (A.D.90—168) , a Greek geographer referred to this town in his book as “Millarpha”. Tiruvalluvar, the poet-saint, who wrote “Tirukkural” was born here in 4^th century A.D. Great Saivite saints of 7^th century like Sambandar and Appar sang about this temple in their hymns.

 This place is regarded as another “Kailasapuri” where many gods and saints 

worshipped the Lord and got salvation. Previously this place was called “Sukrapuri” and “Vedapuri’ where Sukracharya worshipped the Lord and got back his lost eye. Brahma’s fifth head was cut off by Lord Shiva when he became arrogant and thought himself as the supreme master of the whole universe. Later Brahma realized his mistake and did penance here after installing a Shiva lingam. He called the Lord as Kapaleeswara  and got back his power to create. In olden times Kapalikas, a sect of Saivite monks, lived here and in Thiruvottiyur. Hence the Lord might have been named as Kapaleeswara. Lord Rama worshipped the Lord here after he killed Ravana in the battle. Four Vedas came and worshipped the Lord here. Goddess Parvati was once cursed to become a pea-cock and she got liberated from the curse after worshipping the Lord. Along with the Lord she stayed here as Karpagambal (one who gives fulfills desires of devotees like wish-fulfilling tree). Lord Murugan received the spear (Shakti Vel) from Parvati here. This place was named as Mylapur as Parvati in the form of a Mayil (In Tamil it means a pea-cock) worshipped the Lord here. On the  northern wall of the  prakaram in the courtyard, there is a small shrine adjacent to a punnai tree, showing Karpagavalli worshipping Lord in the form of a pea-cock.

 Originally this temple was built by Pallava kings in 7^th century at the spot where now San Thom cathedral (St.Thomas Cathedral Basilica) is seen. When the Portugese controlled this area (1522 to 1697), the temple was demolished in 1561. The present structure of the temple was constructed by Vijayanagara rulers of Tuluva dynasty (1491—1570). The structures of the old temple might have been used here since old inscriptions dating back to 12^th century are seen on the walls of the new temple. The 125-foot tall east facing gopuram was built later in 1906. The San Thom cathedral was built by Portugese  in 16^th century over the tomb of St. Thomas and later was rebuilt in 1893 by the British. But as per evidence,the actual body of St.Thomas was interred at Ortona Basilica in Italy. Besides St.Thomas who came to India in 4^th century from Iran was the St.Thomas of Cana and not the apostle of St. Thomas as many believed.

 This temple has two entrances.  The shrine of Narthana Vinayaka is seen in front of the 125-feet tall eastern Raja Gopuram.  As one enters the hall, the shrine of Karpagambal is seen on one side facing south. A stone lion is found outside in front of this shrine.  The shrine of Kapaleeswara is seen facing west (Sadyojatha form of Shiva). On the northern wall of the main sanctum a small shrine of Durga is seen. On the back wall a small shrine of Lingodbhava Moorty is seen.  Just in front of this the 63 images of Nayanmars are found. On the southern wall the shrine of Dakshinamurty is seen.  In the halls of pillared mandapas there are shrines for Sundereswara, Jagadeeswara, Annamalaiar and Unnamalai. There is a beautiful shrine of Murugan (called Singarvelan) along with Valli and Devasena.

The smaller western gopuram faces the temple tank and is surrounded on four sides by broad mada veedhis (streets).  This temple tank was built by mayili Muthaiappa Mudaliar in 16^th century.The shrine of Saneeswara is seen on the eastern prakaram. The platform with Navagrahas is of recent origin.

 This temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. in the morning and from 5.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. in the evening. In this temple special poojas are performed on Monday, New Moon and Full Moon days. On Fridays special poojas are done in the shrine of Karpagavalli. Every day poojas are performed six times (6.00 a.m. 9.00 a.m. 1.00 p.m 5.00 p.m. 7.00 p.m. amd 9.00 p.m.)  There are four yearly festivals. Rahu Abhishekam is performed twice at 11.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. every day and two more times on designated days and timings.  The Arupathimoovar festival is grandly celebrated for ten days in March-April. The deities are taken in procession on different vahanas or mounts. On the eighth day the sixty-three Nayanmar idols follow the Kapaleeswarar idol in procession.

 The nearby places of visit are Marina Beach (1.7 kms), San Thomas cathedral (1km),Mundakaneeyaman temple (1km), Audi Kesava Perumal Peyalvar temple (1km) and Rama Krishna temple (1.3 kms). One should see this beautiful and spacious temple to get some idea about the marvelous art of Dravidian sculpture. You will also find many shops selling various types of Pooja material and refreshments by the way side.

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        17th August, 2018                               Somaseshu Gutala

About my visit to Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane, Chennai

       

Most of the tourists visiting Chennai do not miss seeing this oldest temple located in the heart of the city at Singarachari Street, Triplicane. This temple called “Parthasarathy temple” is one of the most beautiful temples with many special features. Apart from being the sixty-first Vaishnavite  Divya Pradesam, it has the unique idol of Lord Krishna as Parthsarathy with a silver moustache in standing posture with a conch in his right hand and showing varada mudra in his left hand. As the Lord promised that he would not directly participate in Mahabharata War, we do not see Sudarshan Chakra in his hand. In the main sanctum along with Parthasarathy (also called Venkatakrishnan), we can also see his whole family present, a rare feature nowhere found in any other temple. Hence this place is called Southern Brindavana. Rukmini and Lord Balarama are seen on the right side of the main deity and Satyaki to his left along with Pradhyumna (Krishna’s son) and Aniruddha( Krishna’s grandson). On the face of the main deity a mark seen which said to be the mark left by Bhishma’s arrows during the Mahabharata war. In this temple we can see five forms of Vishnu – Lord Narasimha, Lord Sri Rama, Lord Gajendra Varada Raja, Lord Ranganatha and Lord Sri Krishna at one and same place.

 In this temple there are two entrance towers (Raja Gopurams) : one in front of Lord Parthasarathy’s shrine facing east; another one just behind this temple in front of Lord Narasimha’s shrine f acing west. Lord Narasimha called Yoga Narasimha is seen in sitting posture.  Besides these two Raja Gopurams, there are five vimanams or temple towers – over the shrines of Lord Parthasarathy, Ranganatha,Rama, Narasimha and Andal respectively. On the right side parallel to Parthasarathy shrine, the shrine of Goddess Vedavalli is seen facing east. There is a shrine for Ranganatha and for Sri Rama seen in the passage to the main shrine. Lord Ranganatha is seen facing east in reclining posture on the holy serpent bed of Adi Sesha with His two consorts sitting near his feet. In the shrine of Sri Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna are seen on sides. A small shrine for Hanuman is seen just in front of this shrine. There is a separate shrine for Andal. There are shrines for Vaishnavite Gurus like Sri Ramanuja, Sri Vedanthadesikar and Sri Manavalar in the Maha Mandapa. It is said that the parents of Sri Ramanujacharya visited this temple and prayed to Lord for a worthy son. In this temple one can see many beautiful sculptures and elaborate carvings on pillars and on the panels depicting ten incarnations of Vishnu and Leelas of Lord Krishna.

This temple was constructed first by the Pallava King Narsimha Varma I in eighth century and later was expanded and developed by Pandya, Chola and Vijayanagara kings. There are many stone inscriptions in Telugu and Tamil referring to Pallava King Nandi Varman,Chola kings Raja Raja and Kulottunga III, Pandya king Maravarman  and Vijayanagara kings like Sadasiva raya, Sri Rangaraya and Venkatapathi raya II.  In 1564 the temple was renovated with new shrines.

 According to legends a king called Sumathi did penance and prayed to Lord Vishnu to appear before him in the form of Lord Parthasarathy. The Lord directed him to go to Tiruvallikkeni (now called Triplicane) to see the idol of Parthsarathy installed by sage Atreya Rishi. The king went there and built a shrine there after meeting the sage Atreya. The temple pond is called Kairavani and Godess Vedavalli appeared from this pond seated on a lotus to sage Bhrigu Maharshi. In this temple tank (seen opposite to the eastern entrance), there are five wells namely Soma, Agni, Indra,Meena and Vishnu theertha.

 The seven  great sages Bhrigu, Atri,Mareechi,Markandeya,Sumati,Saptaroma   and Jabali did penance at this holy place. In holy prabhandas also mention was made about this holy temple. Saint Thirumangai sang the glory of the Lord in his Mangalasasanma hymns. Among the Divya desams this is the only one place located in Chennai.

The temple is open from 5.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon and from 4.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. every day.  Here worship is done according to Vaikhasana Agama in accordance with Thenkalai tradition. Many special poojas and celebrations are performed here on festival days like Sri Krishna Jayanti, Sri Vaikunta Ekadasi, Ratha sapatami, Sri Rama Navami and Nava Rathri. Brahmosthsavams are celebrated for  Lord Parthsarathy during Chittirai month (April and May) and for Lord Narasimha during Ani month (June and July).  Theppostsavam (float festival) is grandly celebrated here for one week during the month of Masi (February) every year.

 The nearby temples are Kalikambal temple (4.6 kms), Kamakshi Amman Temple (3.5 kms) , Kapaleeswar Temmple(2.1 kms) and Rama Krishna temple (2.9.kms). One can see all these temples as they are very near to one another.  One can also visit Bharatiyar Illam , the house where the famous poet Sri Subramanya Bharati spent his last years of life. This house was purchased and renovated by the Government of Tamilnadu in 1993.

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          8th August, 2018                                 Somaseshu Gutala