Row Of Ants Poem by Ch J Satyananda Kumar

(Cheemala baaru)

Telugu original: Potlapalli Rama Rao
English Translation: Ch J Satyananda Kumar

OhO! Meerekkadiki
O chinni cheemalaara
E seemaku meerEgeda
Ree teeruna baaru gatti?

Ekkadiki! Ekkadiki?
EE samoohamekkadiki
Kayyanika, viyyanika
AyyarE! MeerEguta?

Okarivenuka okaru migula
OrimitO pOyedaru
YevarOyi mimu nadipedi
Ingitagyulinta ghanulu!

EvadO oka nEta lEka
Inta kattudittamugaa
ManushulamE naduvalEmu
Mari mee pOkada chitramu

Panipaatalu nEka meeru
Praalumaari tiragarahO
Yekkadik ee dhaanyamu
Yevarillaku ee yegumathi?

Madi maanyamu lEdu meku
Mari dhyaanyam samakoorturu
KaLLamu koka ginyaina
Kaave kollalu, kollalu

YE yE polamula tirigi
Ee dhaanyamu goorchitiri
Yevadu choope kadu durgama
Maina brudukubaata meeku

Ee vivEka mee podupu
Yeta nErchiro kaani
Ee sikshana manishikunna
Ika lEmulu yekkadivi?

Yevarivadda chadavakanE
Ee viddetu nErchitiri
KOti vidhyalaina tudaku
Kootike gada maakainanu

YEmEmo nErchadalachi
YetaketakO pOyedamu
Kallamandu yepudu tirugu
Ghanula kaavalEmu gadaa.

Look! Where do you head for
Oh group of small ants
To which land are you going
This way marching in a row?

Where for! Where for?
This massive force is heading
For a quarrel or an alliance
Listen here! where you are heading?

One after one, with utmost
Tolerance going on
Who are they, leading you
This much great, wiser ones!

Without some leader
With this much exactitude
We men, can’t even go on
Then, your ways are amazing!

Without any work and cause
You are not of that kind to move aimless
Where do you carry these food grains
To whose abodes are these exports?

You hold no field, nor paddy
Yet you get hold of grains
Even a grain per a thrashing floor
Won’t become much so much?

Visiting how many paddy fields
Collected this much of grain
Who has shown this much hard
Way of life to you?

This wisdom, this savings
Where have you learnt, but
If men have this much training
Where shall there be the lacking?

Not learning from any one
How have you learnt these skills
Even to us, acquiring crores of skills,
Is just to get a morsel of food at last

To acquire diverse talents
We go near and far
But we can never become
The great creatures always move before our own eyes

(From the compilation of poems ‘Udaya Ghantalu’, edited by Telangana Rachayitala Sangham and published by Vishalandhra Publishing House, Hyderabad-1)