The Shadow Poem by Ravikumar C.P.

The Shadow



An eagle flies in the sky above,
His shadow flows down below.
The eagle chooses where to go,
The shadow can only follow.

Above the roofs and atop the hills,
Above the lake and above the wells,
Over the woods and above the grooves,
The shadow trots on silent hooves.

Quick as the wind the shadow moves:
None to check its daring speed!
Seems as though he does not tire,
A moment's rest he does not need!

I think aloud, could Gandhi be
A shadow such as one I see?
In mysterious ways moves He.
Follows Him, Gandhi.

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Kannada Poet P.T. Narasimhachar wrote under the pen-name of 'PuThiNa'. When he was in his eighties, he published a long poem (Mahakavya) called 'Sri Hari Charite' (The story of Lord Krishna) . Kuvempu, PuThiNa, and Bendre are considered the three star poets of Kannada Renaissance literature (Navodaya Kavya) . But unlike Kuvempu and Bendre, PuThiNa never became a 'popular' poet; his poems are written in a heavily Sanskritized Kannada and are somewhat hard to follow. The above poem is a translation of his 'neraLu' (Shadow) which is an exception to the above statement. I Originally posted this translation on soc.culture.indian on 16-9-91.

In this poem, the poet sees the work of God in whatever Gandhi did. Read an interesting poem about Gandhi by Hindi Poet Ramdhari Singh Dinakar. The best known works of PuThiNa are his 'geeta nAtakagaLu' (musical plays) - 'gokula nirgamana, ' 'hamsa damayanthi, ' and several others. He has also published collections of essays - 'ramAchAriya nenapu' (Memories of Ramachari) , 'Eechalu marada keLage' (Under the toddy tree) , and 'ratha saptami.'

Kannada Poem by: P.T. Narasimhachar
Translated by : C.P. Ravikumar
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