Lines To The Wedding of Anu & Ramkumar

vAgarthAviva sampruktau vAgarthapratipattaye

jagatah pitarau vande pArvatIparameshvarau

'To attain mastery over the language, I pray to Parents of the Universe, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, who are united with each other as a word and its meaning'

Kalidasa, 

Benedictory Verse of 'Raghuvamsa'

May you join in wedlock like our holy rivers,

Flowing from elsewhere, indistinct from now,

Hand in hand from mountains to the plains,

Let ancestors rest, render our lands fertile.

Rivers are ever pure, born far above our earth,

It is worshipped still, bearing corpse to  fish,

This bond makes you pure, this touch innocent,

Gush on, pausing neither to regret nor to plan.

Assimilate from the sky, absorb from the earth,

And let many streams surge from your womb,

They will reach where you can never voyage,

Celebrate you in lore of priest and song of ferry.

Long summer does not last, nor do floods of fury,

Yield to rains as they fill and to sun as they dry,

In rhythm of seasons nothing is left to achieve,

Gently let yourself into the great embrace of sea.

(Chennai, 10th June 2012)

Distress Delights

Life is never bland for them who delight in distress,

Chewing it over, not thirty two times but sixty four,

The lure of aroma, menu spread to such easy recall,

Appetizers in unspoken promise, entrée in long wait,

Principaux cours of heartbreak, dessert memories,

It ends not just with taste buds, but moves beyond,

To serve vitamins in salad of fruit and vegetable,

Have it to thicken your skin, endure all that is to be,

Proteins in beans, also count in lobsters and crabs,

Helps to heal your heart, ready to be ripped again,

Many hued Minerals hide in these apricots and figs,

Keeps blood pure and warm for those come to hunt,

May carbohydrates in grains grant you bon appétit,

So feasts shall ever run and you will ever have its fill.

(2012)