CURRY LEAVES

 

                       

                    

     1)   These dark green leaves with pungent smell now seen

       As a storehouse of vitamins, a herbal source

      That purifies our guts and gives us strength and force

      Maintains our system strong and clean.

 

    2)       Whatever people assume and perceive

      These leaves add flavor and spice up our plate

      Their presence enough to tickle our taste

      Our steaming soup without them we can’t conceive.

3)   A few leaves suffice to enrich our food

     In every kitchen their use a must

    This healthy herb in spices stands as first

    That cleans our lungs and makes our blood-flow good

 

   4)    Without their touch our curries taste too bland

     Our preparations turn too stale and dull

     In Indian cuisine they cast a magic spell

     These fresh green leaves, a culinary gift to our land.

 

      5) These fresh, green leaves thrown out after their use

          Their essence grabbed; none notice their worth

      Though their fragrance and taste enhance our health

      Mercilessly thrown out as wasteful refuse.

 

   6)       Like them we too, a part of Nature

     We too share same fate in our existence

     When counted most power and wealth immense

     When none respects values and moral stature.

 

     7)  Those whom we love and deeply trust

    Those whom we earnestly help with feelings warm

    Throw us at once like leaves in a storm

    Our steadfast faith shaken crumbles down to dust.

 

     8)    Our elders too suffer similar fate

     Deprived of status lose their power and hold

     When their youngsters rebel defiant and bold

     Showing scant attention to their state.

 

9)    Our hearts feel deepest pang of pain

When thrown out like worthless trash in haste

As if our feelings count nothing but waste

When whom we love treat us with disdain. 

 

10)     Once you quit your seat you lose your right

       Like orange peels thrown out seems your plight

       Your services and none brings to light

       Your former staff turn cold and avoid your sight.

 

11)      Our leaders use people as their tools

   Once they succeed look down as fools

   They feel supreme and violate all rules

   To grab their gains, make others slog like mules.

 

12)     Persons deprived of their status seen

   Like curry leaves well-used and thrown

  Who strained their every muscle, nerve and bone;

  And yet they spice our lives like those leaves, fresh and green.

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

      28th November, 2020                      Somaseshu Gutala

 Note : 

1)    The curry leaf plant is a native plant of India and is now grown in other south Asian countries like Burma, Ceylon, Australia and China. In every Indian home it is widely used in many dishes like soups, dals, curries and chutneys. In seasoning items, it has an important place. It has many nutritious values and contains calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins. It has anti-bacterial properties and improves our digestion and functioning of heart. It lowers blood sugar and bad cholesterol. The curry leaf oil is also used in soap industry. But most of us throw out these leaves after extracting their essence. Hence the Indian idiom “thrown away like curry leaves” implies showing scant regard and recognition after making use of a person. It is equivalent to the English idiom “thrown away like an orange peel.”

2)    In this poem “curry leaves” is symbolically used to show the present trends of the world where man exploits everything with acquisitive tendency and neglects moral values and obligations.