Under the green dome

                           

                   

                          Now under the green dome in sober light      

                          A world of whirling tiny lives I found;

                          Some in parrot-green tinted robes

                          Some in silver shining colors and some

                          In golden yellow bristling hues while others

                          In transparent glass-like thin liveries seen;

                          Some with queer monstrous snouts and some

                           In brazen armors like bold matadors

                           Whirling, whirling and whirling round the dome

                           Of mild emerald glow like uninvited guests;

                           In larger numbers like Siberian cranes

                           That fly crossing the hills with lightning speed

                           Like clouds of green locusts despoiling crops

                           Like flying flakes of snow-filled weather

                          They flitted with thin wiry feet on agile wings

                           Like brisk messengers from faraway lands;

                          Their swift attack from gloomy corners unknown

                           Like legions invading a sleepy citadel

                           Revealed their merry unstoppable zeal;

                           How life even in tiny proportions showed

                           A stunning vigor with various shapes and sounds!

                           A meaningless sight to our casual looks;

                           Just small creatures not worth our human gaze

                           Their short-lived play as petty as a pantomime

                           In their brief span of life, they played with tireless spirit

                           Leaving in morn a few broken traces of their mirth

                           Thin filmy broken wings that shine in morning light

                           Scattered around the dome like splintered glass;

                            As reminders of their happy playful show

                            Unspoiled by vague longings and pursuing desires.

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

                         30th July, 2018                        Somaseshu Gutala

          Ref :    Bristling hues ---- dynamic colors

                      Green dome --- a decorative covering over a lamp (shade)

                       Monstrous snouts --- peculiar projecting mouth

                       Liveries ---------------- a uniform worn by an official or a member of a                                                                    company

                       Matador --------------------  a bullfighter

                       Siberian cranes ----cranes migrate from Arctic zones of western and                                                                eastern Russia during winter to warm countries

                                                        like China, Iran, India and Nepal.

                        Green locusts ------ a species of grasshoppers that fly in large                                                                  

                        numbers and cause damage to crops.
                         
                        Pantomime -----  an entertainment show in which performers  

                                                     express meaning through their gestures.

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

                           

                                                                

YETI

                           

                       


                           

           

                       

                          The savage in man liveth still, a boon or curse

                          Or remnants of antiquity left over

                          Beneath the veneer of modern living ways ;

                          That naked nature-like creature

                          Far from the cunning subtle craft

                          A shaggy full-blooded bear-like beast lurks

                          Still crossing the bounds of rigid reason ;

                          Still like the snow-man far from worldly gaze

                          Amid the icy caves of lofty peaks

                          Where grass too trembles to grow

                          Where dense-haired yaks too fear to climb ;

                          Like the lonely monarch of all he surveys

                          Amid the hanging glaciers that like ruins

                          Of heaven-built huge snow-white citadel

                          With twinkling crystal peaks in star-light shine ;

                          There like a Minotaur in the solid gloom

                          Of winding Cretan labyrinth too profound;

                          There defiant, devil-like with a heavy tread

                          Alone along the frozen icy cliffs

                          Jagged like massive glaciers from Arctic main ;

                          There with red savage fury towards the hounds

                          Of culture who eagerly track his broad foot-prints

                          And cage him as a specimen in some

                          Science gallery with complex theories; 

             

                          With bristling strength he rose like a lofty Titan

                          With gargantuan strides he broke through barriers

                          Going back to his mysterious freezing cold

                          Surviving against the crooked traps at every step

                          Above our world that kills instinctive feelings

                          Above dry dissecting skills of worldly minds

                          Substituting vain fashions for rising passions.

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

                25th July, 2018                         Somaseshu Gutala

 Note :

The word “Yeti” is derived from Tibetan meaning “bear”. The name “Abominable Snow-man” was coined by Henry Newman who interviewed the Everest reconnaissance Expedition Team in 1921. In Tibetan language the phrase ‘Metoh Kangmi” means metoh=man-bear and Kangmi means snow-man. Many mountaineers have told various experiences of seeing this mysterious wild man of the snows from distance and his broad foot-prints. But none has been able to give a clear description of his figure and his features.  Yeti may be some form of man or beast or hybrid of the two that lives in snowy mountains. Yeti was sighted in different countries like Nepal,Bhutan,Tibet,Mongolia and Russia. There has been no conclusive evidence to show that Yeti is an animal.  Yeti is said to be “an enormous shaggy ape-man with huge feet and aggressive sabre-like teeth.its fur is grey or white.” Some scientists thought that Yeti might have been a hybrid creature between a polar bear and a brown bear. Many myths and legends have cropped up around this theme of Yeti’s existence. But still the mystery remains unresolved. Yeti represents the mysterious missing link in the chain of many creatures during the process of evolution. Man’s curiosity to know his origin and his relationship with other creatures in Nature still continues and will continue forever. In this poem Yeti symbolizes the unexplored depths of human consciousness beyond the bounds of analytical reason. The traces of savage man with animal instincts still lurk behind our civilized appearances. The search for true self is a part of ongoing process in this drama of our lives.

       Ref :  Minotaur =  A mythical creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull.
                  he dwelt in a maze-like designed cave in Crete.

                 Cretan Labyrinth  = A maze like construction in Crete.

                               Titan   = A powerful giant of incredible strength

                             Gargantuan = gigantic

                             bristling strength = full of energy
                             
                            Sabre-like = like  a heavy sword with curved blade

At “Millets Kitchen”, Secunderabad

     

When anyone wants to give a party, one generally thinks of modern delicacies and dishes like biriyani, Manchuria,nan, paratas burgers, pizzas and  spicy and oily preparations. But with public health awareness growing, many have now switched to eating healthy, nutritious foods with less oil content and spices. Scientifically speaking also Indian food has more starch content without much fiber and minerals. In earlier days people included all types of cereals like ragi, jowar , pearl millets and foxtail millets which gave them sufficient energy to carry out their activities. Now millets have become a favorite recipe for many who realized their nutritious values.

 Recently during my stay at Hyd, I chanced to go to a restaurant quite near our residence  called  “Millets Kitchen”, a purely vegetarian restaurant with nutritious and healthy dishes prepared in hygienic conditions.This casual dining restaurant is located besides Bank of India, 5^th Avenue, Sainikpuiri, Secunderabad. At the entrance we saw a narrow corridor decorated with colored bulbs and bluish illumination. Though the restaurant is not so spacious it looked very tidy and impressive with framed pictures of millets and menu charts. We went to A.C. section and ordered thalis so that we can taste more number of food items prepared with different types of millets. The executive millet thali costs Rs.170/- and the maharaja thali costs Rs.210/- comparatively less expensive when compared with those of other restaurants. We tasted kaju fried rice made of foxtail millets, ragi sankati, millet tamarind rice, and six varieties of rotis, all made of millets like proso (varagu), foxtail millet(korralu), pearl millet(sajjalu) and ragi. All types of tiffins and meals are made of millets along with ordinary varieties also. So the customer is free to choose either millet variety or normal type of tiffins and meals. Just to name a few , there are items like millet idli, millet upma, millet pongal, millet bajji, millet vada, millet dosas, millet payasam (porridge),millet biryani etc.

 We find a very wide choice of delicious and healthy types of refreshments which nourish our health without any harmful effects. Our choice proved to be a very good one and we came out with a sense of satisfaction. A good health drink made of nannari (herb called Sarasaparilla) is also available here along with other normal cool drinks, ice creams and beverages. The staff are quite courteous and well-mannered and their services are also prompt.

 This restaurant was started last year. In future they wish to set up many branches in other parts of the city.  Their way of preparing with millets both North Indian and South Indian dishes is a very novel and good concept and will be very beneficial to public health also. This restaurant is open on all days of the week and the timings are 7.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. The menu changes every day to add more variety to tiffins and meals. Facilities like free parking space, home delivery, wheel chair are available.

 In Secunderabad there is another millet restaurant called “Granny’s Millets & Grains” at Naya Kranthinagar, High Tension Road, A.S.Rao Nagar.  In Hyderabad there is “Aahaar Kuteer” in Begumpet and “Ahobilam Foods—organic Cave” near Meridian School, Madapur. You can try there if you are a lover of millet food and wish to improve your health too. By the bye this year is declared as “the Year of Millets “by the Union Government following a request by Karnataka, which is the country’s leader in the millet sector.

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

18th July, 2018
  
Somaseshu Gutala       

Caves of Inner Gloom

             

                                                         Section  --- I

                          In the dark winding caves with narrow ways

                          With scary boulders and rocky columns

                          With scattered bones, ashes and grinning skulls

                          With stone-made axes, spear-tips and tools of flint

                          With odd figures and beasts scratched on dusky walls

                          Like primitive men seeking shelter in caves;

                          Engaged in daily strife with savage beasts and foes

                          In caves of gloom in far away African wilds

                          Or Slovanian snow-ridden icy caverns;

                          Our world survived outer hazards and Nature’s fury;

                          Yet bestial urge and destructive self engulfed

                          Man’s Flickering flame of wisdom around;

                          What light can open when dense darkness rules

                          The gaping mouths of caverns within his mind?

                          His willful closing of his narrow vision?

                                                 (  I  I  )

                          The ice age cometh and stark icicles

                          Icebergs and crags of gigantic shapes

                          And bone-biting chilly air may gnaw our flesh:

                          Yet before, man’s mind hardened with bloodthirsty craze

                          A hollow icy cave with gaping gloom ;

                          Devoid of noble thoughts to light his onward ways :

                          He lost his inborn bright spark of heaven

                          He sank into the depths of lust and endless greed :

                          We shut our feelings in dark night of despair

                          Our so-called knowledge led us into blind alleys

                          And men like their primitive predecessors

                          May smash their skulls and tear each other

                          Eating the flesh of brethren and bleeding hearts :

                          Or worse like a foolish miner petards the entire world

                          With dire atomic weapons with perverted mind

                          To end all lives in disastrous ways to dust.

                          And then we will not spare our bones even

                          Or grinning skulls for future to realize

                          No fossils and no wrecks of steep-sky scrapers

                          To guess our heritage and mad, mad craze.

                               ______________________________

                          

  Albert Einstein :

“The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” Even a 'limited' nuclear war could trigger cruel nuclear winters and global famine.                                      

   1)     African wilds ---- reference to the Pork-Epic cave in the east of Ethiopia                 where cave paintings are seen done by primitive humans nearly sixty                     thousand years ago.

  2)    Slovanian  snow-ridden icy caves ---- reference to Snezna Jama cave                        which is full of snow and artistic natural ice creations, and stalactites                     (white pillars formed by dripping of mineral salts form the cave roofs.)

  3)    Icy age cometh --- A long-term reduction in temperatures of earth’s                          surface with expansion of continental and polar ice-sheets and Alpine                     glaciers. This occurs due to increase in carbon emissions and greenhouse             gases and also due to explosion of nuclear bombs.

   4)    petard ----- a wooden box filled with explosives  (blast )

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

            14th July, 2018                                                     Somaseshu Gutala

 

INTRUDERS

         
    “ We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”                                                                          – Immanuel Kant

                

                                                          

               

                      1)         We drive them off from their dwelling place

                                  Depriving them of their living ways ;

                                  Deforesting their land to barren tract

                                  To build huge factories with selfish thought.

                      2)         Our fences powered with electric shock

                                  Our boundaries equipped with gates and locks ;

                                  Stronger nets and traps ready we keep

                                  To capture beasts that cross , dig trenches deep.

                      3)         We poison their hungry stomachs to kill

                                   We chase them to death with monstrous thrill ;

                                   Not a single puddle of water we spare

                                   Ev’n if they die with thirst we never care.

                      4)         Our homely fowls and beasts we greedily feed

                                  With harmful chemicals to get more yield ;

                                  To strange diseases they fall a prey

                                   We kill them swift – to hide our faults—an easy way.

  

                       5)        We will not let them live in peace

                                   Indulge in cruel sports with savage ease ;

                                   We shout as they fight to their last breath ;

                                    We bet our treasure as they bleed to death.

                       6)         We mutilate their limbs and breed them rude

                                   To goad their brutal strength in mutual feud ;

                                    Whipping and stabbing with devilish delight

                                    As they rage mad with fury—a pitiable plight.

                       7)         In mad pursuit of power and pelf

                                   We lose our goal and innate self

                                   We kill wild beasts for feathers,nails and skin

                                   Transgressing Nature’s laws--- a grievous sin.

                       8)        Struggling to survive in forests bare

                                   Finding scarce food and water everywhere

                                   When they enter our gardens and rich farms

                                   As suffering victims, we raise alarm.

                       9)        We pack them tight cramped in gloomy cells

                                   In narrow cages worse than hottest hell ;

                                   Wishing for death they strive and cry in vain ;

                                   Thrown like lifeless garbage with gross disdain.

                      10)       The teeming wealth of forests do we steal

                                   We never care about wild creatures’ weal ;

                                   Where will they run to satisfy their needs /

                                   Precious species became extinct ; who ever heeds?

                      11)       We deck our homes with their skins,horns and quills

                                   We flaunt smooth purses,bags and shoes with thrill ;

                                   Our pates we fill with their blood and tasty meat ;

                                    Have we thought of their dwindling numbers at least ?

                      12)       Let them roam free breathing natural air

                                  Their right to live, don’t seize – not fair ;

                                  They add color and beauty to sylvan charm

                                   Even gods love them--- no destructive arms.

                      13)       Like lifeless tools we torture them to find

                                  New drugs and  cures for diseases of mankind ;

                                   What pain and agony to innocent souls in sooth

                                   An unjust barbarous way to unravel truths.

                      14)       As their species vanish from universe

                                  We face our doom, irretrievable curse ;

                                  We broke the chain in Nature’s domain

                                  Our cruel acts rebound—beware – none can restrain.

                     15)       What rights have we to meddle or intrude?

                                 What laws make us act so devilish and rude?

                                 Let us wake up ere fatal end we meet

                                 With love and mercy our fellow creatures treat

                       

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

              5th July,2018                                                    Somaseshu Gutala

     Note :  In this poem “Intruders” I tried to focus readers’ attention on the impending catastrophe to our existence due to indiscriminate destruction of forests and wild life. Nearly 80% of forests have already been destroyed for various reasons. Nearly 50% of forest species have become extinct and by 2020, nearly 20% of species will become extinct. At present only 21% of forests remain. This spells a huge disaster to animals and plants since 80% of plants and animals live in forest surroundings. Nearly 20,000 types of plants and animals are on the verge of extinction.  We will lose bio-diversity and ecological balance in nature which will have adverse impact on our lives also.

Many beautiful animals like the Tasmanian tiger, the African antelope, the Indian bustard, the west African black Rhino, the Pangolin, the red panda, cheetah and Himalayan quails have been wiped out of existence. Many marine fish and animals are also on the verge of extinction due to indiscriminate fishing in seas and rivers aIn North Pacific Ocean more than half a million whales have been killed. Nearly 80% of marine creatures like sea-lions, harbor seals, fur seals and otters have been destroyed.  A day may come when even common birds like sparrows, crows and swallows may vanish from this world. Let us not be too cruel to make other fellow-creatures extinct just to satisfy our perverted ambitions and greed.

 Out of unrestrained greed and egoistic pleasure man goes on destroying wild life and will not spare even domestic animals and birds. Though we call ourselves civilized, the barbaric treatment of animals still continues. In the name of scientific experiments many innocent animals and birds are subject to indescribable torture and cruel treatment. Still we find immense pleasure in bull-fights and cock-fights. We cudgel them to win the race just to gain our bet. We mutilate their limbs and brand them with hot iron rods and starve them to provoke them to fight. For visual delight we cage them in narrow space and make them slaves snatching away their freedom in the jungle. We kill them to procure their colorful feathers, attractive skins and precious tusks.  We feed them unnatural chemical foods to make them yield more milk and meat to satisfy our sensual desires.

 If any herd of elephants or wild pigs encroach into our fields we feel very much upset and call them intruders. But by what name should we be called who forcefully occupied their habitats and drove them away even depriving them of their food and water sources?  By what name should we be called who take away their freedom and their right to live ?

 Has god created man with reason just to destroy His own creation without any restraint? In destruction of our fellow-creatures we are also heading towards our own doom. Let us strive to be kind and merciful and make ourselves worthy to be called as humans who live in harmony with Nature and protect this God-given creation at least for our own survival.

 Out of unrestrained greed and egoistic pleasure man goes on destroying wild life and will not spare even domestic animals and birds. Though we call ourselves civilized, the barbaric treatment of animals still continues. In the name of scientific experiments many innocent animals and birds are subject to indescribable torture and cruel treatment. Still we find immense pleasure in bull-fights and cock-fights. We cudgel them to win the race just to gain our bet. We mutilate their limbs and brand them with hot iron rods and starve them to provoke them to fight. For visual delight we cage them in narrow space and make them slaves snatching away their freedom in the jungle. We kill them to procure their colorful feathers, attractive skins and precious tusks.  We feed them unnatural chemical foods to make them yield more milk and meat.

 Has god created man with reason just to destroy His own creation without any restraint? In destruction of our fellow-creatures we are also heading towards our own doom. Let us strive to be kind and merciful and make ourselves worthy to be called humans who live in harmony with nature and protect this God-given creation at least for our own survival.

  “ If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence         is from injury to animals.”

   “ Until we stop harming all other living things, we are still savages.”--       -- Thomas A. Edison.

                       ++++++++++++++++++++++++