This poignant piece appeared in the Hindus’ Sunday
newsletter on 8th September 2013. Thanking Indira Parthasarathy for
bringing it to the masses. Cuckoo’s Song is the translation of Bharati’s Kuyil Pattu. It is an intriguing piece
of story within a story and in a way shows us the ‘personal’ Bharati not known
through our text books and as commonly taught in classrooms. These lines as
provided in the article.
The cuckoo sings its love for the monkey
Oh! My divine Monkey-Lover!
Can any woman resist your love?
Man thinks he is the Lord Of the Earth!
Maybe he is for such mundane matters
As institutionalizing things!
But look! Your incomparable hairy chest
And gentle speech
And your bewitching hunch
That adds a gait to your walk and stature
Of no less charm
Can man be equal to you?
True, he competes with you
Covers his body with umpteen clothes
To match your silken charm from head to foot
Apes his face and chin with hairy growth
In poor imitation calling it beard and
moustache!
Leaps and jumps as you do
But he does in a drunken state,
But, yet, tell me
Where will he go for a God-given tail?
If the learned
scholars are able to find a philosophical meaning for this poem let them tell
me – So said Bharati. Thanking Indira Parthasarathy and The Hindu Sunday Magazine edition.
