(with apologies to Tyagaraja)
by M.Mohankumar
Mohankumar’s poem draws inspiration from the Tyagaraja kriti, Nadachi, nadachi about the vanity of fake devotion but, departing from it, depicts a scene where a true, ardent devotee gets a darshan of the Lord while the false ones miss it.
Nadachi, nadachi…,* so goes the song.
Wearing the holy ash on the forehead and rudraksha
round the neck, they walked all the way to Ayodhya.
And with a display of devotion, rosary in hand and
Rama’s name on their lips, they went about the city,
looking for him everywhere, but could not find him.
In the evening, losing all hope, they rested, saw
black clouds gathering in the sky. In the thickening
darkness a lightning flashed and they blinked,
all of them, then heard the thunder rumbling.
But, in that very flash of lightning, an old mendicant,
weary with the long journey and leaning on his staff,
had his vision: he saw the golden chariot, and inside,
the King smiling, raising his hand in benediction;
then heard the horses’ hooves thundering away.
*Nadachi, nadachi: Tyagaraja kriti, Kharaharapriya raga
Mohankumar has published eight volumes of poetry in English, his latest collection being “Gleanings” which released in 2016. His poems have appeared in almost all reputed literary magazines in print in India. His first collection of short stories in English, ‘The Turning Point and Other Stories’ has been published by Authorspress, Delhi. Mohankumar retired as Chief Secretary to Government of Kerala.
