On Your Sixtieth Birthday

                         

                                                                   

                

                    On Your Sixtieth Birthday

 

         Life as a thrilling adventure you treat

       You win our hearts with your kind nature sweet;

       Like a lotus untouched by slush and snow

       Your nature blooms spotless we know;

       Your daring and deft management skills

       A positive attitude in others instils;

       Irrespective of age you like learning things new

       Such artistic splendour seen in very few;

       Your love of service and your helping nature

       Shows your mature outlook and noble stature;

       Your life-partner’s support your deeds inspires

       A superb talented man whom we admire;

       May God bless you both with joy and success we pray

       May God’s grace guide you safe in every way.

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

    (Wishing you a very happy and meaningful bright future ahead)

         3rd October, 2022          Somaseshu Gutala & G.V.S.

                              

 
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A Note on Browning’s “The Grammarian’s Funeral.”

                               

Robert Browning, (born May 7, 1812, London--died Dec.12, 1889, Venice)

                           

                                      

“The Grammarian’s funeral” is a dramatic monologue set in Europe shortly after Renaissance. It was published in the poetry collection “Men and women” in 1855.It is a long poem of 148 lines that describes the movements of a funeral procession of a grammarian carried by his disciples from the plain to the mountain top.

 His chief disciple throws light on the life of the grammarian and his qualities. He is a man of high ideals. He was very handsome and sweet-voiced like Apollo. But he shunned all worldly pleasures and devoted his life to pursuit of knowledge. Like Shakespeare’s Prospero he preferred to study and be the authority in his area of study, Grammar. So, he worked tirelessly even at the cost of his health and life. “Long he lived nameless: how should spring take note/ Winter would follow?” Due to his hard work and labour, he was attacked by disease and old age. Still, he continued to study. 

Browning’s philosophy is expressed through the character of the grammarian. Though the grammarian struggled throughout his whole life to attain his ideals, Browning does not seem to say that his struggle will bring result in this very world. A man may encounter many failures, but he will be rewarded in the afterlife. The grammarian’s devotion to study comes from this belief. The low man thinks about monetary benefit: the high man thinks about the higher pursuits of life. He “throws himself on God.” To the grammarian time is endless. “What’s time? Leave now for dogs and apes; man has forever.” Only the beast thinks about the present moments of life; man should think of afterlife too. The quest for knowledge led him to work hard that left him cramped and diminished. He devoted long time in study which ultimately resulted in further deterioration in his health. He became bald and his vision weak. Even his accents began to falter.

He was suffering from diseases like Calculus and Tussis (Bronchial disease.  His eyesight became weaker. He was paralyzed from waist down. Yet such diseases did not discourage him. Some people criticized him while others criticized his works. Though he was struggling with death, he still uttered parts of speech and explained the concept of enclitic.

The old scholar having full faith in God deeply involved himself in his work. His energy is like that of a dragon which symbolizes his intense spirit. Like “a soul-hydroptic”, the scholar desired to suck each and every drop of knowledge. The grammarian struggled hard to settle the problems relating to Greek particles “Hoti” and “Oun” which mean “because” and “therefore”. As a grammarian his achievements are remarkable and he persevered in pursuit of knowledge till his last breath.

For the sake of learning he rejects the idea of enjoying life. His passion for learning is compared to the act of eating a feast to the crumb. Like Tennyson’s Ulysses, he wants “to follow knowledge like a sinking star/Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.” Though “made weak by time and fate, but strong in will/To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”  He believes in knowing life before living. Life has a plan. It is like a building that has to be planned before construction. “Image the whole, then execute the parts/ Fancy the fabric/Quite ere you build, ere steel strike fire from quartz/Ere mortar dab brick.” 

 To live life, it is necessary to have the knowledge of life.  For him there is no end to learning. The grammarian’s strong faith in God made him more firm in his pursuit. The limitation of time was not for those who were seeking ideals. For ordinary people enjoyment and pleasure become the main goals of their life. “That low man seeks a little thing to do, sees it and does it/ This high man with a great thing to pursue, dies ere he knows it.”

Earnest deeds done in this life will never go waste. God definitely showers His blessings on those who make efforts. Time slips for those who lack faith in God. The grammarian did not favour immediate gains because it was not a gain at all. He was not satisfied with worldly gains. He believed that his honest work will be rewarded in heaven. The old grammarian was aware of the fact that he has grown old and death is inevitable. He concentrated on his work and engaged himself exploring the mysteries of life. 

After grammarian’s death, his disciples carry his corpse to the high mountains to bury. The grammarian was a man of genius. He abandoned the common path. He devoted his life in search of knowledge.  The funeral procession reaches the mountain top where he was to be buried. The place was most suitable one as it was visited by birds like swallows and curlews that were high-flying birds. He was an enlightened person. Hence this place was a proper one where nature’s aspects like stars, meteors, lightning and storms are seen. This place suits his noble and grand personality. The silence, beauty and purity made this place best for a man who lived with high ideals. The dead body of such a man should not be buried in the common plain but rather on the mountain top which is the symbol of high and noble ideals. The dead grammarian’s ideals and principles are put into perspective throughout the poem. His high ideals made him immortal. The bottom line is that we should also set an ideal in our lives. It is then that life would be meaningful and worth living.

 The disciple explains that the mountain top is the proper place for the burial of such a man. He draws a parallel between geographical landscape and man’s intellectual depth. Common people lead a plain life like animals. They eat, drink, breed and at last die. The mountain peak symbolizes light and learning. The common fields and villages are symbols of darkness and ignorance. “Leave we the unlettered plain herd and crop." "Seek we sepulchure/ on a tall mountain, citied to the top/Crowded with culture."

 

The speaker chooses the topmost peak of the mountain which is lit by the light coming from a citadel. In this dramatic dialogue the speaker portrays his master as a man of faith and high, lofty ideals. His speech reveals his devotion and dedication towards his master. The messages of the immortality of the soul, faith in God, ideals of hard work and facing hardships in achieving such goals have been depicted in this long poem. Respect and honour are the most evident themes seen in this poem.

This rhyme scheme of this monologue a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d, e, f, e, f adds to the marching rhythm. Capital letters were used to stress the themes in the poem: Life, Knowledge etc., Parentheses (brackets) were used to indicate speaker’s instructions to other disciples. The shift in meter (long tetrameter followed by shorter dimeter) indicated the climbing movement. Browning was influenced by Shelley’s lengthy dramatic poems like “Prometheus Unbound”.

Browning’s dramatic monologues are well-known for their character study, historical settings, social commentary, psycho-analysis and striking revelation of passions, aspirations, and ethical philosophy with a tinge of irony. The medium of dramatic monologue allowed Browning to maintain a great distance between himself and his creations. Through the voice of characters, Browning could expose evil without actually involving himself. Like John Donne, he makes a subtle analysis of various moods and emotions. He is objective in his approach to analysis of his characters unlike Tennyson who was subjective in delineation of characters in his poems like “Ulysses” and “Lotos-eaters.”

 His monologues are regarded as “soul-studies”. Browning admits,” the soul is the stage; moods and thoughts are characters.” He emphasizes;” My stress lay on the incidents in the development of a soul; little else is worth study.” His heroes are eloquent, aggressive rhetoricians attempting to alter radically the listener’s perception. But Browning could not present his characters in action. That is why he could not succeed in his plays. His characters think and feel but never act. His poetry shows him as a dramatic thinker rather than as a dramatic creator. He could not deal with contemporary themes whereas Tennyson tried to show the typical Victorian thoughts and trends in his poetry. 

Browning was a thinker whereas Tennyson was more of an artist.  Browning’s genius is essentially dramatic whereas Tennyson’s is mainly lyrical. Browning is the poet of characters and situations. His interest is in man and life is unbounded. Browning can catch a character in a particular situation, dissect and analyse his feelings and thoughts with great psychological insight.

Tennyson’s poems are flawless with vivid and picturesque imagery; his expressions are apt and lucid. Tennyson was influenced by Romantic poets like Keats, Wordsworth and Spenser and wedded poetry to music with his lyrical skills and supreme craftmanship. His poetry influenced Pre-Raphaelite poets of later period. Tennyson philosophical poems like “In Memoriam”, “Idylls of the king”: are rated as obtrusive moral preaching. His philosophy is shallow and superficial. His moral preaching is meant for advocating the Victorian orthodoxy and Victorian compromise between science and religious faith. He is the poet of moods and melody. He catches fleeting moods and convey them artistically in neat melodious lyrics. His lyrics are characterized by perfect combination of music, imagery and expressions.

 

 In contrast, Browning is often a slipshod artist. His poetry is masculine and rugged as he is more concerned with thoughts than with expression. Too much compression of style makes his style obscure. Browning ‘never thinks but at full speed.” The rapidity of thought, use of parentheses, inversions, foreign phrases, choice of unfamiliar topics like Medieval and Renaissance themes, and quick shift in thoughts makes his poems obscure. His approach is rather oblique than smooth and straightforward. An intelligent reader who is acquainted with technical devices of Browning’s dramatic monologues finds his poems intellectually stimulating and highly pleasurable. At the same time Browning is capable of writing short lyrics filled with grace, melodic variety and sweetness.

Browning’s philosophy expounds the optimistic view of life. He has unquestioning faith “in the existence of the supreme authority namely God controlling the manifold energies of the world.” To him there is no ascetic way of turning away from the world. He sings the wild joys of living love, the supreme principle of life and failures in life are but the earnest success in the life beyond. According to him, “life is but the threshold of an infinite life and our true life is beyond.” 

 He examined the social issues of his day such as domestic abuse and religious hypocrisy. As a liberal, he spoke against slavery and supported equality for women. He also wrote for animal rights. He mastered Latin, Greek, French and Italian at a very young age. The long poems of later modern poets like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams show Browning’s influence.

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     2nd October, 2022                       Somaseshu Gutala

A Note on Browning’s poem “Rabbi ben Ezra”

 

                      

   

Rabbi Ben Ezra (1092-1167)

                 

Rabbi Ben Ezra with his disciples

             

Browning in this dramatic dialogue, published in volume “Dramatis Personae” (1864), expresses philosophical ideas and positive acceptance of life in spite of challenges and various changes that take place in life treating them as a part of divine plan for the upliftment of the soul. Through the character of Rabbi Ben Ezra, a Jewish scholar and poet, of 12^th century, the poet expresses his own philosophical ideas in his characteristic style. Unlike other dramatic monologues, we do not find in this monologue any interaction, comments and response from other characters or dramatic change in expression or feelings tinged with irony and dark humour. This monologue was not written from the perspective of any historical figure. It does not show any clear audience or dramatic situation. It is more a philosophical poem. This poem deals with spiritual concepts like the divine descent of man, relationship between body and soul, the relative values of youth and age, the meaning of worldly success and the need for divine faith.

 

The Rabbi’s philosophy is a paradox since the struggles of life hold little meaning since life is but our soul’s first step. So, a wise man should appreciate everything in life. Only in old age can this paradox be appreciated. Rabbi praises old age as the time when our soul reaches fruition and maturity. Man’s life is for struggle and he should not get scared of trials and tribulations that come in his life. He should be ready to bear all rebuffs and failures with stoic attitude.

“Then welcome each rebuff/ That turns earth’s smoothness rough/ Each sting that bids nor sits nor stand but go.”

“Be our joys three parts pain/ Strive and hold cheap the strain/ Learn nor account the pangs dare, never grudge the throe.” Man is allied to God “who doth provide and not partake, effect and not receive.” As we are all akin to God, we must develop the spirit and make our soul strong. Only the purified and strengthened soul will attain salvation. Man should be benefitted by his past and build the foundation for his future. “Hence work to watch / The master work, and each/ Hints of the proper craft, tricks of the tools to play.” Life is an opportunity for men to learn new lessons of life and pave their future. God is love.  We should surrender to God’s mercy and believe in His dispensation. His plan of the universe is perfect. God and the soul are eternal. God is the potter and the soul is clay. The cup of human life is formed by God and this cup should be dedicated to God’s service. God will drink wine from the cup  of human soul when it reaches heaven after its earthly journey is over. “Look not thou down but up! / To uses of a cup/ The festal board, lamp’s flash and trumpet’s peal/ The new wine’s foaming flow/ The master’s lips aglow.” “Thou, heaven’s consummate cup/ What needest thou with earth’s wheel?” Once the cup is formed, it has nothing to do with the potter’s wheel. Man should not be bound dizzily to the wheel of life. He should not take the mundane realities of life as the supreme reality in the world. Heavenly life after death is more real than earthly life. We must have full faith in the greatness of life in heaven and prepare ourselves for that life of beatitude and bliss.

 

The Rabbi advises people to accept old age with grace as our life is not complete without maturity of old age and everything is planned by God.” Our times are in His hands”.

But at the same time the narrator does not underestimate the value of youth during which man leads an active life.  Youth aspires to reach stars beyond Jove or Mars. He admires their dreams and says that low-minded people exist like clods of clay without any spark or ambition. “Low kinds exist without/ Finished and finite like clods untroubled by a spark.”  At the same time, he denounces those who spent their lives in worldly joys. They are like beasts and birds which do not care except to quench their hunger without any aspirations. It would be a poor life if man spends all his time in gratifying the needs of the body at the expense of soul. Body and soul should be developed side by side. Man’s life ought to be spent properly in equipping the soul for its onward journey in its disembodied form after its exit from the body. “Poor vaunt of life indeed/ Were a man but formed to feed/ On joy, to solely seek and find and feast.”

Life is a paradox. One should accept failures which show the way to success. To aspire is enough which elevates man from the level of the brute. It should enable him to display his spiritual side. Man learns from his past and all feelings and thoughts treasured in one’s mind make our life precious and worth living. God planned our lives in a perfect way and one should trust in divine design and purpose. “Perfect I call Thy plan/ Thanks that I was man.” 

 

Our soul is enmeshed in the body which gives us scope to enjoy sensual pleasures. Yet our restless soul yearns for peace and we have to strive for our own spiritual welfare. In youth we have to face the challenges of life and face the odds bravely. In the fire of life’s struggles, our minds become purified like gold in furnace. Youth is the proper time to face strife so that in old age one would not yield to temptations. Old age is meant for weighing the results of past actions so that they can face future with confidence. “To act tomorrow what he learns today.” One’s character is not judged by worldly standards which are arbitrary, inconsistent and imperfect. “But all the world’s coarse thumb/ And finger failed to plumb/ So passed in making up the main account;/ All instincts immature/ All purposes unsure/ That weighed not as his work, yet swelled the man’s amount.” Only God knows the worth of man whom he has shaped like a potter with a specific plan. Ordinary mortals unaware of God’s design tend to seize the present moment and engage themselves in vain temptations. The Rabbi calls such people as fools and advises that though time fleets, the experiences gathered remain still and God and soul remain forever. “Fool! All that is all/ Lasts ever, past recall/ Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure.” Time’s wheel runs back or stops: Potter and clay endure.” Under the influence of circumstances our souls are shaped to attain perfection just like the pot is shaped on potter’s wheel.

One should not worry about the past events of their youth or about the grim prospects of old age. The ultimate purpose of life designed by God is more important than the external conditions or worldly achievements. “Youth shows but half.” Youth lacks insight into life since it is concerned with living in the moment that it is unable to consider deeper questions. Youth will fade away soon. It is the wisdom and insight of old age that recognizes that pain is a part of life which makes one to appreciate the worth of joy. “Be our joy three parts pain.” One should appreciate whatever comes since all adds to our growth towards God. We have to embrace the paradox that life’s failures lead us on our way to success. “He fixed thee mid this dance/ of plastic circumstance/ this present, thou, forsooth, wouldst fain arrest; machinery just meant/ to give thy soul its bent, /Try thee and turn thee forth, sufficiently impressed.” A wise older man realizes that all things are gifts from God and the limitations of flesh are to be appreciated. We should be patient since our life on earth is but one step of our soul’s experience and our journey will continue. Youth is inclined to rage, and age is inclined to await death patiently. Both are acceptable and wonderful and each complements the other.  The Rabbi begs that we should not give too much credence to the earthly concerns that engender argument and dissension. The transience of time does not matter since this is only one phase of our existence. We need not grow anxious about disagreements and unrealized goals since the ultimate truth is out of reach anyway. He warns us against being distracted by the “plastic circumstance” of the present moment. He stresses that all is a part of a unified whole, even though we cannot glimpse the whole. At the same time age should approve of youth and embrace the present moment It must also constantly look towards a heaven to come and should be willing to renounce the present.

 Man’s life is “heaven’s consummate cup” meant for celebration of joy and festive spirit. “Look not down but up.” The Rabbi implores God to help him in fulfilling God’s purpose and not get caught in whirling struggles of life which may distract his attention. The Rabbi requests God to use him as he had planned correcting the flaws in his soul. “My times in Thy hand! Perfect the cup as planned.”

 

Finally, the Rabbi concludes that God’s plan is perfect and every stage in man’s life including old age and death is to be approved as a part of God’s plan. “Let age approve of youth and death complete the same.”  The poet uses the metaphor of the pot and potter as a key or central image to justify his philosophy and it also serves as a unifying element in this poem. This dramatic monologue filled with penetrating insight and philosophic vision is indeed a priceless jewel of Browning’s philosophy. It gives inspiration and courage to youth and consolation and faith in God to elderly persons. He underscores the supremacy of the spiritual over the secular point of view reflecting the typical Victorian struggle between faith and doubt. The Rabbi counsels us to come out of the cage of scientific agnosticism and discover the secrets of joy by placing full trust in God. The poem ends on a note of supreme satisfaction and complete acceptance of God’s plan.

 Browning’s use of stanza is particularly suitable for the reflective purpose of this philosophic lyric.  This poem consists of 192 lines and is divided into 32 stanzas and each stanza consists of six lines. Each li ne consists of six lines with an experimental rhyme scheme (aabccb). The first, second, fourth and fifth lines are in Iambic trimeter, but the rhyming third and sixth lines are in Iambic pentameter. The last, long line serves to sum up the thought and gives a final finishing touch to the stanza. The diction and style remain basically conversational, a forerunner of modern poetry.

 

In Browning’s dramatic monologues the speakers lay bare the inner thoughts and feelings. That is why they are regarded as soul studies. A dramatic monologue is a narrative spoken by a single character with explanatory comments on his story and circumstances recording at the same time the reactions and attitudes of the characters around. Subtlety of characterization, complexity of dramatic situation, casual remarks, digressions add much to the character of the speaker.

 

Most of his characters are intellectually superior and enjoy high social status. They are eloquent rhetoricians and speak in a satirical manner showing off their great virtues. The poet in a subtle way reveals their failings and comments on their vices tinged with irony and dry humour. Browning has been very much criticized for his difficult and obscure style. His use of long involved sentences overloaded with parentheses made his poetry complicated and not so easy to grasp the meaning. His sentences start abruptly without any proper connections and syntax. He made frequent use of Latin expressions, quotations, literary mythological and historical allusions. This made his poetry rather difficult for common readers to understand his poetry. Further he voiced philosophical concepts and optimistic views in many of his poems. He use of far-fetched metaphors and similes coupled with telegraphic style without proper connectives made his poetry abstract and obscure. Omission of relatives, prepositions and articles and use of frequent inversions and unusual compounds with jerky abrupt and rugged lines did not attract many readers at the beginning. His poetry suffers sometimes from lack of rhythm and melody. His vocabulary and syntax are complicated. Owing to his vast knowledge of medieval and Italian Renaissance history, he selected unusual and exotic themes and characters with which the readers not familiar.  But his poetry is worth reading as it has depth of meaning with a variety of characters and fine portrayal of psychological analysis in a brief condensed style with depth of meaning.

 

Browning admits: “the soul is the stage; moods and thoughts are characters.” He emphasizes,” My stress lay on the incidents in the development of soul; little else is worth study.” Browning tries to probe and explore the minds of characters with objective approach. His monologues serve as a tool to examine the issues of his day such as domestic abuse and religious hypocrisy. He believed that the poet should try to put “the infinite within the finite.” He thought that there was more action in character than a character in action. He succeeded in unveiling the inner drama of mind rather than mere practical action on stage. He made a deep analysis of psychology of various characters who pretend to be virtuous and innocent with egoistic mentalities. Browning popularized dramatic monologue influencing later day poets like W.B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and many other British poets.

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   A Note on Rabbi Ben Ezra :          

Rabbi Ben Ezra (Abraham ben meir ibn Ezra), a Jewish scholar and poet, was born in Tudela (Spain) in 1092. He introduced Islamic mathematics and Indian number systems in Europe. He travelled widely throughout Europe from 1140 to 1160. Before this, he even visited North African countries. He composed many books on grammar, Biblical studies, philosophy, medicine, astronomy and astrology. He attacked the artificial and showy language and style of early Jewish poets in Synagogues, and he was the first to use Arabic meters in religious poems. According to him there is no conflict between religion and science. He considered that science and astrology were at the basis of Jewish learning. He passed away in Calahorra, Spain in 1167.

     15th September, 2022                  Soamseshu Gutala

BEHIND THY MYSTIC SMILE

                               

                                                      I

                     Behind Thy mystic smile

                     A million meanings lie;

                     Our feeble reason too feeble to spy

                     As deep as fertile flowing Nile;

                     Our mortal brains stuffed with too many facts

                     Our raging actions can’t unveil thy acts.

                                           I I 

                     Our blunders proudly we defend

                     Our faults and lapses we never own

                     To temptations vile we are easily prone;

                     Our misdeeds we never try to mend

                     Our mind is like a stray dog’s crooked tail;

                     We fall into old rut and easily fail.

                                        I I I

                    We blame others and try to throw

                    The cause of our wrongs on others with ease

                    To gain our ends others we flatter to please

                    We hide our faults with smooth veneer-show;

                    We stick to our views with stubborn hold

                    No matter fair or foul, both young and old.  

                                              I V

                  Man thinks he lives forever here

                  His mind becomes a restless, crazy beast

                  Prodding him to falter and act indiscreet;

                  Passions spring like weeds of anger and fear

                 We tend to think ourselves as wise and cool

                 Time treats us at last as short-sighted fools.

                                                V

                 We spend our time in chasing fame and wealth

                 In perverted ways to gratify our lust and greed

                Time’s warnings we never care to heed

                Our hasty pursuit exhausts our mind and health

                To be victims of diseases, stress and strain;

                To drag our days at last in despair and disdain.

                                         V I

               Power rolls like a tumbling stone

               To grab power by any means, man stakes his all

               Bartering and giving promises tall;

              Once power lost, he seems a ruined castle alone;

              So many years he fought and harshly did he rave

              All his arrogance at last leads him to his grave. 

                                          V I I

            Man’s wish to keep himself forever young and strong 

            Through potions and gels and surgical ways;

            Will not keep him against swift aging days;

            Our beauty-tips skin-deep will not last long;

            The graves of rich royal queens seem to scoff

            Our futile fight against time’s change to stop.

                                  V I I I

           The immense knowledge of which we feel so proud

           Solving unknown secrets of this universe;

           Has not upgraded our nature sinking worse

          Our long-gathered wisdom vanishes like a cloud;

          Life spent in chasing flitting fire soon ends

          Life is full of sudden twists and crooked bends. 

                                   I X

         Though we defy death as our foe

         Devising many means to cross that abyss deep

         Death wins at last to give us peaceful sleep;

         Peace from ever restless prodding woes

         Peace from worldly worries and grievous maladies 

         Dark Mother, guiding us the way to joy and peace. 

                                  X

        Time flows unseen like a subterranean stream       

        Our days dissolve like vapor without our notice;

       Each moment precious before we cease

       Our actions and thoughts shape our future dreams; 

       Get rid of worldly tensions and idle thoughts 

       Think of eternal being and ennoble your heart. 

       We can’t change time, but our outlook and thoughts.

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

         5th September, 2022   Somaseshu Gutala

 

 

 

 

 

    

  

         

 

 

 

THE SCOURGE OF NATURE

 

        

                      

            

              

1.     Nature seems to unfold her mighty rage

 To remind man’s persistent follies;

  Man, ever destroying Nature with selfish craze

  How can he simply ruin useful plains and trees?

  How can he murder lovely creatures wild?

  Or cage them simply to feed his cruel pride

  Can he create lost treasures of Nature again?

  Can he re-fill the void and soothe her pain?

  Man’s monstrous deeds imprinted on eternal time

  Rebound with might to chastise his inhuman crimes.

 

2.      Seasons went out of tune and their ordained laws

  With unruly winds that confounds our technical brain;

  As if to strike back man’s repeated flaws

  As if they rebelled due to unbearable strain  

  Our reckless actions lead to total chaos.

  Punishing mankind with inestimable loss

  What folly have those dumb creatures done?

  Why should they face annihilation?

  What right man has to meddle with creation?

  What right man has to spread pollution? 

 

3.      The furious cyclone lashed many a place

  Pouncing like a wounded tiger without restraint;

  Winds whirled unbridled like stallions in a race

  The bridges and culverts down into deep waters went

  Housed trembled flooded with rain-waters knee-deep

  Tall trees and poles struck down by stormy sweep;

  Lawless encroachments did enormous harm

  Swelling drain-waters aggravated by storm

  Changed every roadway into a cesspool

  Gross negligence of planning and rules.

 

4.      Houses and shops full-drenched with flooding rains

  All furniture drowned and damaged beyond repair;

  All roads submerged, and cancelled all buses and trains;

  All public facilities went out of gear;

  People suffered a lot for want of water and bread

  Rains played havoc and left many a cattle dead

  Bare promises like distant mirages shone

  All their fruits of labour suddenly gone;

  Whom shall we blame for this grim catastrophe dire?

  Can man’s dry knowledge control mighty Nature’s ire? 

 

5.      Poor farmers’ crops washed off in torrential rain

  No proper storage provided to store their grain;

  Their year-long labour went down the drain;

  Can meagre compensation assuage their pain?

  Mere empty promises hang like barren clouds

  Famished and debt-ridden languish poor crowds;

  None can predict weather and vagaries of seasons;

  But can reduce loss with planning and vision.

  So many kill themselves in debt-trap caught

  Food grains in granaries go waste and rot.

 

6.    Help comes too late to relieve their pain

Nature exploited affects in several ways

Forests destroyed and burnt for selfish gain;

Rivers ravaged and diverted of their wonted ways;

We trade with Nature’s patience immense

Wiping out creatures and forests dense;

So many rare, useful species went extinct

Man lost his bond with Nature and human instincts;

Nature’s gifts with greed we grossly misuse

Vicious, destructive means we wrongly choose.

 

7.    Man’s grabbing nature, power and guile

Ruined most of Nature’s precious gifts;

His reckless, wasteful exploiting style

Sounded his own death-knell and created a rift;

The balancing forces he disturbed with brutal might

The gifts of science perverted with cruel delight

Caused this plight of facing extinction dire;

Nature’s forces rebelled against the world entire.

Still not realizing future disasters and gloom

He indulges in piling weapons of dreadful doom.

 

8.     We can’t create what we deliberately lost

Still, what is left we can at least protect;

 Let man live with Nature with humane heart

 Let not this world be a war-torn lifeless desert;

 Our so-called well-developed mind too shallow to see

 The adverse effects of wasting and polluting spree;

 Let us make use of our discerning brain

 Let us not fight like brutes in battles vain;

 Let us not waste our knowledge earned with so much strain

 Let us not throw our precious culture into the drain; 

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

     25th August, 2022                   Somaseshu Gutala

Note : The world loses almost six million hectares of forest each year due to deforestation. Nearly 64% of tropical rain forests in the world are destroyed. Over two lakh acres of rainforests are burned every day. Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Animals like black Rhinoceros, the Tasmanian tiger, the Malabar civet, the flightless bird, Dodo, the Asiatic cheetah are wiped out of existence due to man’s indiscriminate hunting. Many animals like the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, snow leopard, the Kashmiri red stag. The black buck, the great Indian bustard, the Nilgiri mountain goat and the one-horned rhinoceros are on the verge of extinction. Sea creatures like the sea otters, the blue whale, fur seals, the green sea turtle, Ridley Sea turtles are among the endangered species. Every year nearly one lakh marine mammals and sea turtles die when they are trapped in plastic nets or eat them. Due to the warming sea surface temperatures, fifty percent of the world’s coral reefs are now dead.  Micro-plastic pollution in the ocean are polluting everything by killing and destroying marine life. Water pollution is created due to contamination of water sources by letting out chemicals, drainage water, oil spill and throwing of rubbish. Deforestation, burning of coal, oil and gas, and emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, water vapor, nitrous oxide and ozone. This results in melting of glaciers, rising sea levels and unseasonal floods and draught.  So, man should take necessary precautions and protect Nature for his own survival and for the welfare of other living organisms. He should use organic fertilizers, bio-degradable material, reduce use of pollutants and utilize non-conventional energy sources like solar and wind power. He should lead a simple, and natural life without depending too much on machines and without overconsuming or wasting  resources keeping in view the well-being of future generations. He should curb overexploitation of natural resources and overuse of chemicals and fertilizers, and should not resort to unnatural means to increase production. He should reduce wasteful expenditure and should live in harmony with Nature. “The proper use of science is not to conquer Nature but to live in it.”-Barry Commoner.  As Leo Tolstoy wrote,” One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AT THE RESORT

 

        

                             

                              

                              

.  1.The bright Neon lights sparkled with tempting eyes

   Soft lilting sounds reverberated from inside;

   The receptionist courtesied with winsome smile

   Our entry into this world so cosy and smooth;

   Our eyes caught with new charms ignoring the truth

   A heavy burden, yet our spirits felt agile

   We felt too happy and left our homely place

   Our days ran fast as if in a frantic race.

 

2.      We learnt so many things both good and bad

  We took keen interest almost crazy and mad

  Entangled in the web of worldly links we quite forgot

  About our home and destination, we little thought

  We shot beyond our bounds and cared naught

  We hurt ourselves and wounded many a heart

   We wandered like stormy gale and have little thought 

   Of future burdens we wilfully gripped and caught.

 

3.       The  coloured musical fountains of erotic kind

   Bright-lit with dancing hues captured our minds;

   The spacious swimming pools tinted crystal blue

   With pretty damsels dressed in flashy vibrant design;

   So many temptations with foaming wine

   Unmindful of passing time, like birds we flew;

   About our future we little thought but plunged headlong

   One among the flock submerged in sensuous song. 

 

4.       This merry pantomime how long it goes!  

    How long goes this spectacular show!

    Our lives wear out in same recurring routine

    We pass our days like sheep with no specific goal;

    Like puppets we play our role with no control

    Like breaking waves, events happen unseen

    When shall our evil acts and tendencies end?

    When shall our wasteful ways and idle thoughts we mend?

 

5.       Behind this scintillating sparkling scene

   A puzzling matrix of life-patterns seen

   Deceptive shady masquerading deals

   Illegal veiled intrigues hiding behind

   This whirling vortex beyond our grip to find;

   To fathom their motives, too dark to unveil

   Victims and culprits too intricate to reveal;

 

6.       Enough of this mind-boggling crazy game

   Enough of this vain run after wealth and fame;

   Enough of this vanishing bubbles and dreams;

   This whirling breathless time sapped our zeal at last

   Nothing left now; Flitting mirage of fleeting thoughts;

   Thanks to this treasure of treats that enriched our hearts;

   We have to go back home, left so many years before

Through paths unknown, through dark chambers and doors.

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

    4th August, 2022                       Somaseshu Gutala