Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. · 2017. 4. 13. · The Onam Song o ONAM is a traditional harvest festival celebrated by the people of Kerala in India. It is also the state festival

Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.

i

The Onam Rhyme and

Other Passages from Time


ii

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The Onam Rhyme and

Other Passages from Time

A Collection of Traditional English Poetry

Biju Vasudevan

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


iv

Dedicated to my children „Buttons‟

(Venugopal) and „Kochu‟ (Arundhati)


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'Dream is not that which you see while

sleeping, it is something that does not let

you sleep.'

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam

(Former President of the Republic of India)


vi

Acknowledgements

o

First of all I would like to thank the Almighty for

inspiring me with His Majesty and His Mystic Ways.

I thank my parents for my existence, and for rearing

me and educating me. I thank my Wife, Jyothi Kishan,

for tolerating an odd-ball semi-lunatic like me and for

putting up with my eccentricities and believing in me,

and for encouraging and supporting my struggle become

a poet, musician, and an author against all impossible

odds, and when it appears that the whole universe is

conspiring for my defeat and my downfall.

I thank the “Dai Gohonzon” for forgiving my sins

and giving me the “Mystic Opportunity through practice

of The Mystic Law” without which fruition of this effort

would not have taken place.

I thank the “Soka Gakkai International”, “Bharat

Soka Gakkai”, and our Sensei, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, for

initiating me into the Spiritual Practice to become a

“Soka Victor”.

I am grateful to all my teachers for their persistence

and patience with a semi-crazy and fickle, mercurial,

foolish, un-worldly wise student, with an inconsistent

and wayward temperament.

I am grateful to my family, friends and colleagues

for their support and encouragement in spite of my many

glaring lacking and lacunae


vii

Preface

o

I had completed my Graduation in Mechanical

Engineering and had landed a stable job in a State Run

Enterprise, Steel Authority of India Ltd. But my Heart

lay somewhere else. I wanted to become a Poet and a

Musician. And indeed, I did churn out an explosion of

colorful and imaginative poetry and dutifully sent them

to many publishers, only to be met with nonchalance.

Some did not even bother to write back.

Also my mother was not very happy about all this.

“If you continue to write, one day you will starve. Your

Sister is growing older and we need to get her married

off. Money is now required much more than ever before.

So it will suit you if you divorce yourself from your

delusions and utopias and come to the real world and

concentrate on your job and get raises. It is not that I

expect any sane and reasonable behavior from you, but I

still needed to warn you before it is too late.”

I heeded her advice and put all my poetry diaries in

Cold Storage. Anyway after filling my diaries with my

„poems‟, I did not know what to do with them anyway.

Thereafter, one fine day, I started learning the

guitar from the internet and as I started to compose

songs, I revived the poet in me.

This renewed interest in my poetic sensibilities

unearthed these troves which I have dutifully reproduced

here.

I sincerely hope you will like it and I send you many

prayers and good wishes for very long, happy, and

healthy lives for all of you, your families and loved ones.

May the Almighty bless you thus.


viii

CONTENTS

SLNO TITLE PAGE

1 The Onam Song 1

2 Periyar Vale 5

3 A Baby, A Man, And Some Times 7

4 Learning to Fly 9

5 On Education 11

6 Pretty Child 13

7 These Girls 16

8 Looking Back 17

9 Good Friends 19

10 One Small Step 21

11 You and Your God 23

12 A Day with an Inappropriate Friend 25

13 The Sign/ Our Times 27

14 Old Age 29

15 Mother Divine 32

16 Love Is In the Air 34

17 Of A Lousy Boss 36

18 Prayer 38

19 Defeatism/ Shoot Me Dead 40

20 I Hate You 42

21 Bodyguard 44

22 Singer Out of Style 46

23 The Cold Blooded Assassin 48

24 Waiting for the Dust to Settle Down 50

25 Stark Contrast 51

26 The Forgotten Poet 53

27 Dark Verse 54

28 Explosion 55

29 Death, Come Calling 57

30 Dilemma 59

31 Hoity Toity Girl 61

32 Dawning 63

33 What is the Use? 65

34 The One That Got Away 66

35 Early Morning Blues 68

36 Skyward Gazing 70

37 Clown 72

38 Of A Job, And a Wife for Namesake 74

39 I Believe That 76

40 Megalomania 77


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SLNO TITLE PAGE

41 Tycoon 78

42 The Brown Bus 79

43 Ever Wonder Why? 80

44 Unrequited 81

45 Winner 83

46 On Constipation 85

47 Crusader 86

48 Carry My Stone 88

49 A Storm, A Cat, A Dog, and A Man 89

50 I Cried 91

51 Woman 93

52 Fairground 94

53 Life! Oh Life! 96

54 Ode to My Corpse 98

55 Stellar Mary in the Skies 100

56 There Are Beasts Under the Floor 101

57 Holy Love 103

58 “Poem” 104

59 We’ll Never Grow Apart 105

60 What Has Become Of You? 107

61 My Island 108

62 Stone 110

63 Pig 112

64 Golden Heart 113

65 Losing My Religion 115

66 Color Scheme 117

67 Killing My God 119

68 Father, I Have Cancer 120

69 Friends 122

70 No Man’s Land 123

71 Bankrupt/ But Not the End 124

72 My Little Pieces of Paper 126

73 That Elusive Drop 127

74 Valium Inside Me 128

75 Evil Minds 130

76 Woman 132

77 Loser’s Front 135

78 Rivers of Red 137

79 These Times 139

80 Black and White 141

81 Romeo and Juliet 143

82 Ghosts Mistaken 147


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SLNO TITLE PAGE

83 Love Story and Hah! 149

84 Go to Paradise 151

85 Monday Mourning 153

86 Table Fan Whirling 155

87 The Riddled Path to Hell 157

88 Follies in Blunderland 160

89 My Friend and My Foe 163

90 Past Tense 165

91 Armageddon Today 167

92 Wayside Crowd 168

93 You Too Have Wept 170

94 The Daffodils that I Sent 172

95 Run/ I Will Get You/ No Escape 173

96 Clap with Both Hands 175

97 Take 177

98 An Actor, A Stage, And A Grave 179

99 I Understand/ Requiem To A Regret Letter 180

100 Classroom 181

101 On A Simple Girl 183

102 Robin Hood 185

103 On the Telephone (To You) 187

104 Sunday Afternoon 189

105 Mutual Admiration Club 191

106 Bill Away 193

107 Advice to An Amorous Idiot 195

108 Big City, Small Boy 197

109 An Eternal Love Song, Part-1 (Attraction) 199

110 An Eternal Love Song, Part-2 (Falling) 201

111 An Eternal Love Song, Part-3 (The Great Divide) 203

112 An Eternal Love Song, Part-4 (Disbelief) 205

113 An Eternal Love Song, Part-5 (To Say Good Bye) 206

114 An Eternal Love Song, Part-6 (Don’t Be Afraid) 207

115 An Eternal Love Song, Part-7 (Pain) 208

116 A Small Prayer 210

117 The End 211


Biju Vasudevan

1

The Onam Song

o

ONAM is a traditional harvest festival celebrated by the

people of Kerala in India. It is also the state festival of

Kerala with State Holidays on 4 days starting from

Onam Eve (Uthradom) to the 3rd Onam Day.

The festival falls during the Malayalam month of

Chingam (Aug - Sep) and marks the commemoration

of Vamana Avatara of Vishnu and the subsequent

homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali whom

Keralites consider as their King.

In Kerala, the festival is celebrated with many

cultural events such as Vallam Kali ( Boat

Race), Pulikali ( Tiger Dance), Pookkalam (Traditional

Flower Arrangements) , Onathappan (A presiding

Deity), Thumbi-Thullal (A dance) etc.

Onam is reminiscent of Kerala's agrarian past and it

is considered to be a harvest festival

KUTTANAD is the rice growing plains of Kerala, which

are extremely fertile and lush green with natural

Lagoons and is often referred to as “The Venice of the

East”

KALAMASSERY- A town in Kerala, which is famous

for Fruit and Vegetable Markets

MUNDU is a traditional garment of Kerala. It is similar

to the Thai Sarong, but it is mostly colored white.

VEMBANATTU is one of the many natural lagoons that

dot Kuttanad.


The Onam Rhyme and Other Passages from Time

2

AATHAPOO is a traditional floral decoration made on

the floor by women in Kerala during Onam.

THIRUVATHIRA is a traditional semi-classical dance

danced by groups of women in Kerala during Onam. It is

an extremely graceful dance form and is also considered

to be very auspicious.

P

In a small hamlet,

By the Arabian Sea,

Lived a small family,

Lived happy, as happy can be.

Two ragged boys,

With a twinkle in their eye,

And a little girl,

So painfully shy.

And a loving mom,

So plump and homely,

And a little angel,

That was called „the baby‟.

It‟s little, beatific toothless smile,

When it was content, n happy,

And it‟s bellowing cry,

When he was angry, n hungry.

And the proud father, he went the farthest,

Into the shining blue Arabian Sea,

And his catch, they were always the largest,

That any man could ever dream or see.


Biju Vasudevan

3

And I hear the mighty waves,

Rolling away, so very merry,

And I hear a melodious cuckoo,

Singing perched on that Coconut tree.

Benign Mother Ocean,

Has indeed been very kind to me,

And this year‟s “Onam”,

Shall indeed be very happy.

And the Plainsmen, they all say,

They too, this time, seen a bumper harvest,

And what Mother Earth has benignly bestowed,

Is by far, one of the best among the best.

All them Temples, they shall all be bedecked,

Our fruits n vegetables shall come from “Kalamaserry”

We will get our finery from the “Kuttanad” Market,

And our celebrations shall be, by the Arabian Sea.

We will construct a flower bedecked swing,

Dangling, from that Grand Banyan Tree,

We will buy, many pretty new clothes,

For us, the children, and the little baby.

And also a beautiful Shell Necklace,

For our beautiful n shy little daughter “Kutty”,

And also a pair of brand new “Mundus”,

One for you, and one for me.

We will first go to the temple fair,

Then we will go to your Father‟s place,

And after lunch, we shall all set out,

To “Vembanattu” lagoon, to watch the Boat Race.

And I shall place my bet on the “Cheruthana” Boat,

Although third position is all that they last time got.



4

And in the evening,

We shall all be back,

We will lay “Aathapoo”

In our backyard.

And then I shall have to run,

A few necessary tasks, n sundry house errands,

While you dance the “Thiruvathira”,

In our backyard, with your cousins and friends.

And then in the evening, we shall all pray together,

That next year‟s “Onam”, be even more better,

And may Mother Ocean, get far far more richer,

Alas, next “Onam”, will only be after one full year.


Biju Vasudevan

5

Periyar Vale

o

Where are those halcyon days?

That lived in the Periyar vale, where we resided,

That life spirit, it never came back,

The spirit, that was there once presided.

I remember the resplendent spring,

And the languid waters of the river translucent,

Where have all the good days gone?

They got buried in time, and now I repent.

It was a very languid pace,

And it was a very pretty pretty face,

And the life, it was not always,

One hell of a relentless, frantic rat race.

After the peals of the sunshine dance,

There were slivers of moonlit romance,

And it was not considered a crime,

Or a fallacy, to have dared to take a chance.

She flitted around like an iridescent butterfly,

On her silky sequined wings,

She treaded like a heavenly nymph,

Among the lesser and mortal things,

But she went away, like a daydream,

She left the place, without saying a thing.

Then there was this dream which I had cherished,

That was so sacred, to my soul,

There was this ethereal vision that I relished,

That was to be, my chosen goal.



6

But it vanished, like smoke into the sky,

Like would a skater, on some very thin ice,

It left me alone, pondering as to why?

I was befuddled, by destiny‟s device.

And in the meanwhile, I lost my mind,

How many tries does it take to turn the tide?

And when I wake up, please do remind,

That I got a wound, festering deep inside.

There is this very sad sad song,

That I manage to still remember,

There is also a vision so strong,

That I still manage to linger.

It feels good, to relive those golden days,

It feels good, to bask in those old rays,

And it feels, that the world has changed its ways,

Ever since I left behind, my “Periyar” Vale.

NB- Periyar is a river of the State of Kerala in India


Biju Vasudevan

7

A Baby, A Man And Some Times

o

Softly softly move, make no sound,

Let heart not beat, let foot not pound,

Angel baby, is coming around,

To the world, where fairies and pixies abound.

Brush up your mind, sit up tight,

Let your tread be, feather light,

Bring down shutters, cut off the cold wind,

Turn off harsh light, bring on the night.

Look at those eyes, look at those lips,

Feast your eyes on Angel curved supine,

Look at the cheeks, Cherub like,

Look at the countenance, so heavenly divine.

Wake him up not, let him abide,

In his starlit kingdom serene,

Open his eyes not, to realities harsh,

Let him reside, in his scarlet sanguine dream.

Looking on and on, it flashes upon me,

Lost memories, of my mother‟s sweet womb,

And perceiving the world, thrust down upon me,

I dearly wish, it would also been my tomb.

When shall I regain Angel‟s realm?

When shall I re-begin the beginning?

When shall I transcend traumas so deep?

And truncate their tryst, with my destiny.



8

That day is near, maybe it is far,

When I shall tear asunder n apart,

Start anew, build small piece upon piece,

Build a brand new fortress, on my broken ramparts.

But will my patience bear that long?

Will I reign firm, n remain that strong?

How long can I, this battle prolong?

For a moment‟s respite, my heart doth long.

The fight is on, n all my cards I have drawn,

My dreams are not, an unwanted commodity forlorn,

It is a long treacherous way, that‟s following a haze

bygone,But one day I know, I shall be reborn.

So take heart, I need to will my will,

I need to stop the whine, and tread the mill,

Rekindle my fires, and remember instincts kill,

And then resume my lonely trudge uphill.

Downhill I know, is a distinct clear possibility,

And I do not know, whether I am still an entity,

But budge I must, the donkey recalcitrant,

And take broadside on, life‟s all severity.

So move steadily, let there be no haste,

My life is not here, for others to waste,

Slowly, steadily, surely, I will come around,

To that place, where my dreams abound.


Biju Vasudevan

9

Learning to Fly

o

I saw a very distant vision,

It was a very long ago,

It resided in the realm of fantasies,

Where the river of reason runs low.

And the pains of all the daily living,

That make up, the day and the night,

And a distant morbid storm is brewing,

I am frightened, but I am getting ready to fight.

And I see some hoary ghosts,

And I feel some pallid livers,

I have forgotten, the art of boasts,

Amidst all the trembles and the quivers.

The grounds are all, riddled with myriad doubts,

A fitful state, and then restlessness mounts,

And in these ceaseless unending bouts,

I get beaten, and no one listens to my shouts.

Suddenly I espy, a solitary candle,

Burning lonely, there on a stand,

Suddenly I feel, a gust of cool breeze,

Or was it the tune of a merry band?

Is this the awaited crimson morning?

Or have I gone stone blind?

Is this the newly reborn paradise?

That I always strived to find?



10

Now I feel a soothing draught,

Now I perceive a wind under my wings,

Now I feel, I am wanted, cherished, and hot,

Do you really like my poem and my sing?

It is all a question,

Of learning how to cry,

Hurtling down the damned ways,

Of treacheries and lies.

There was this little hatch way,

That I could open, and get myself out,

I then tasted, the elixir of the free,

Now I want to sing, I want to shout.

Out, in the open meadow of hope,

After such a very long time,

I need some time, to self adjust,

I need some time, to make up my mind.

And then holding each other‟s hands,

We shall soar into the evening sky,

Erstwhile we were just groveling in the sand,

Now my friend, we have learnt how to fly.


Biju Vasudevan

11

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Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. · 2017. 4. 13. · The Onam Song o ONAM is a traditional harvest festival celebrated by the people of Kerala in India. It is also the state festival