I am very happy to introduce this week Bhushan, a young poet of great promise and marvelous ability. Thammineni Yadukula Bhushan is currently working as a software professional in the US. "niSSabdamloe nee navvulu" (In silence, your laughs) is his first volume of poems written during the last ten or so years. Simplicity and economy of language, depth of expression, painting word-pictures in neat strokes, and being open to a variety of interpretations are some of the characteristics of Bhushan's poems. Bhushan is well-read in Telugu and world literature. Like the mythological swan which could separate milk from water, Bhushan extracts some of the attractive features of metrical poetry such as rhyme in second syllable, end of line rhyme, syllabic rhythm, division of stanzas, etc. He uses these in his poems deliberately and appropriately, with the skill of a master chef spicing a dish. In this day and age when free verse holds unyielding sway over Telugu poetry, this is a rare (and daring, I might add) feat, indeed.
ceTlu
sooryaabhimukhamgaanae
niryaaNam cendaedaakaa
camdruni vennelamtaa maadae
mamdramgaa veecae gaalitoe
mounamgaa sambhaashistaam
vinalaeru meerevvaroo
gaanamanee avadhaanamanee
praaNam meediki teccukumTaaru
puDamiloeki vaeLLu tanni
taDimi coostaam, loetulannee
nilabaDaTam caetagaaka
calimci poetaaru meeru
vikasimcina poovulatoe
aakaaSaanni, alasipoeka
prakaaSimcae taaralanu,
taakaalanna koerikatoe
Saamtamgaa kadulutaam
cemta caerina Chaayatoe
emtoe dooram egirae
vimta pakshula geetamtoe.
aakaaSaanni vadilaesi
ae kiraNam taakaka
edaloepala Dolla
edagalaeru meeru
gamtalu gaTTina gaaDidallaa
amtaa cooDalaeru
samtaloe paSuvullaa
cimtistoo gaDipaestaaru!
Read the poem in Telugu script here
Some observations: This poem clearly illustrates some essential qualities of Bhushan's poetry. Experienced Telugu readers would have spotted the couplet rhythm with second-syllable rhyme. In some stanzas, this rhyme goes through all the 4 lines of the stanza. The rhyme on "mta" syllable in the 5th and last stanzas creates a sonorous sound effect. Using very simple words, Bhushan paints a vivid picture of trees telling us humans how insignificant we are in comparison to them.
A rendition in English
Trees
Facing the sun
till the last breath,
all the moon, ours alone.
With moving gentle breeze,
in silence, we converse.
You can't hear, immersed
in music or in musing,
endangering yourselves.
Kicking roots into earth
we touch all the depth.
Not knowing how to stand,
easily, you're moved.
In our desire to reach,
with blooming flowers,
the sky, and the stars
that shine tirelessly
with the shadow nearby,
calmly we move along,
with strange birdsong
that fly far away.
Divorced from the sky,
untouched by the glow,
your hearts hollow
you never grow.
Like blindfolded donkey,
you can't see all the way.
As cattle in the market fray,
in worry, you while away.
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