The Visitor
---------------------------------------------
The shrill cry at the door repeats
Routinely, for the occasion umpteenth,
The theme of suffering and famishment
And nettles, but pleasingly, everybody—
The bed-ridden patriarch included.
The freshly bathed lady
Then appears in her pious sari
Finishing her daily worship
With a fistful of alms
And releases her grip
Slowly and contentedly.
The grains of life-giving rice
Pour out in a flow rhythmic
From the palm of the serene lady
Into the visitor’s empty tin
Once used for packing
The hydrogenated ghee.
The hapless visitor
Fervently, friendly, and familiar
Throws his expectant look
On the face of the generous Juno
And pleads with all humility
For a bowlful of water-rice.
In a matter of minutes
The fermented rice with tamarind,
Salt sprinkled affectionately around
Reaches the hungry soul
Jumping in a satisfying sequence
From tongue drooling to stomach empty.
And then follows
The rich series of blessings
For the lady and her offspring
In a style of thanksgiving
The friendly visitor has perfected
Over a period of decades
In the ritual of mendicancy.
The visitor leaves the door
Beaming, in a satisfied mood
Skipping a few prospective donors
To be approached in his next round
And reaches the ancient Banyan
And its benign shade
For a refreshing nap
And a nourishing dream.
""""""""""""""""""
VISAKHAPATNAM
28-10-1998
"""""""""""""
_______________
By
A N Nanda
Coimbatore
25-12-2012
________________
Begging is wrong...and who can contest the statement? As a poet, I once saw something worth pondering about in it. Aha! The incredible feeling of endearment! This poem I present here from my poetry collection, 'In Harness' resulted from that feeling of endearment. I liked it then as I articulated my feelings on a paper, and even now, after fourteen long years have elapsed since its creation, I still like revisiting it. In my opinion, poetry should always be like that--it should function as the repository of one's present emotions for their future retrieval...and in a more concentrated form. Here, the theme is simple, one of give and take. And it is the highest form of quid pro quo---blessing in exchange for a bowl of rice.
------------------------------------------ The Visitor
The shrill cry at the door repeats
Routinely, for the occasion umpteenth,
The theme of suffering and famishment
And nettles, but pleasingly, everybody—
The bed-ridden patriarch included.
The freshly bathed lady
Then appears in her pious sari
Finishing her daily worship
With a fistful of alms
And releases her grip
Slowly and contentedly.
The grains of life-giving rice
Pour out in a flow rhythmic
From the palm of the serene lady
Into the visitor’s empty tin
Once used for packing
The hydrogenated ghee.
The hapless visitor
Fervently, friendly, and familiar
Throws his expectant look
On the face of the generous Juno
And pleads with all humility
For a bowlful of water-rice.
In a matter of minutes
The fermented rice with tamarind,
Salt sprinkled affectionately around
Reaches the hungry soul
Jumping in a satisfying sequence
From tongue drooling to stomach empty.
And then follows
The rich series of blessings
For the lady and her offspring
In a style of thanksgiving
The friendly visitor has perfected
Over a period of decades
In the ritual of mendicancy.
The visitor leaves the door
Beaming, in a satisfied mood
Skipping a few prospective donors
To be approached in his next round
And reaches the ancient Banyan
And its benign shade
For a refreshing nap
And a nourishing dream.
""""""""""""""""""
VISAKHAPATNAM
28-10-1998
"""""""""""""
_______________
By
A N Nanda
Coimbatore
25-12-2012
________________
Labels: In Harness: my old poems
posted by The Unadorned | 10:53 AM
3 Comments:
Dear Sir
The poem “The Visitor” appears that contains a simple begging incidence but some interesting features I found. The donor is a lady and the recipient, here the beggar is a man. The donor before his proffer used to bath ,worship and then provide food to needy. He got his food in exchange of heartful blessing to the donor and her kith and kin. He never gets free but for giving blessings. When his stomach was not hungry he never tried to get more food but went to sleep. In Tamil Vedic, THIRUKKURAL, it is told that, “ Begging is bad; refuse to help the beggar is so bad than the begging”
A nice poem stood beyond the time. Thanks for reposting your nice poem.
--- N.Subramanian Tirupur
Nice to get your feeling about the poem, NS. Thanks.
Excellent observations beautifully expressed.
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