Tuavatara! Poem by Ravikumar C.P.

Tuavatara!

Tuavatara!


Kannada Poem by B R Lakshmana Rao
Translated by C.P. Ravikumar

Found in some islands of New Zealand, the Tuavatara,
Is a reptilian species
Believed to be the Dinosaur's older cousin
For millions of years this creature
Has witnessed the evolution of life
But opposed every transformation.

A giant chameleon in appearance
With yellow spots on its dull red skin
The tuavatara is a slow crawler
With three dreamy eyes and a double chin.

A saintly creature, the tuavatara,
Would bite when challenged into combat,
Scratching the ground, raising a dust cloud,
Snorting like a frog when preparing to assault.

Too lazy to build an abode
The tuavatara hides in a petrel's den all day
And in the night sets out to hunt down a prey
Avoiding the slightest obstruction
A pebble here and an anthill there
Moving with extreme caution.

Sluggishness is its second nature -
The animal hibernates for five winter months,
Breathes only once every seven seconds,
Full thirty months to hatch out of tbe egg,
Fifty years to reach puberty,
And five hundred years before its life line ends.

In the folklore of some New Zealand tribes
The tuavatara is the goddess of fire
She killed her rebellious grandson -
The first death in this world, ever.
Natives dare not hurt a tuavatara,
Their symbol of death -
Better avoided with great caution.
The tuavatara enjoyed a life of calm
Until the white men arrived
In great big boats to the isle.

They hunted the tuavatara,
Their dogs barking and chasing,
Brought near extinction to the animal.

The government of New Zealand
Declared the tuavatara an endangered species.
It's now a crime to approach, bother, or kill a tuavatara,
The animal is, at last, left in peace.

Jai Hind!

Friday, December 19, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: allegory
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Close
Error Success