{"id":5207,"date":"2020-08-24T15:39:26","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T10:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=5207"},"modified":"2020-12-03T16:37:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T11:07:21","slug":"i-named-the-village-ahila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=5207","title":{"rendered":"I Named The Village – Ahila"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am not the Buddha<\/h3>\n

When I rest under the banyan
\nWith closed eyes, folded knees,
\n\u2018Look after carefully\u2019
\nSounded an owl<\/span><\/p>\n

Giving her little one to me
\nAnd went on its way
\n\u2018Keep these with care\u2019
\nSaid the green parakeet,
\nThrusted some ripened fruits<\/span><\/p>\n

In my lap and left
\n\u2018Save this pearl necklace\u2019
\nOrdered the Raven,
\nPut it around my neck
\nAnd flew away<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Take this also\u2019
\nSaid a beggar who throw
\nA rupee near me and moved
\nNot-Self,
\nI am not The Buddha !<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/h4>\n

The street child<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
O, Child,<\/span><\/div>\n
Street, the place
\nWhere you sleep,
\nIn day and dreams
\nThat coins you as
\nThe child of the street<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Undone hair
\nQuerying flies on wounds
\nWorn out shirt of a rich child
\nTossed, one penny near
\nBreached dusty feet
\nPronounced more you.
\nA street child<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
O, Child,
\nIt’s you the alma mater
\nFor the society
\nThat lives on liberality
\nOf giving away money
\nInstead of educating you
\nMakes you beg,
\nAnd beg more<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Wake up, Child!
\nCry aloud
\nBeg on your mother’s name
\nTo food your hunger
\nThe feudal Barons
\nAre out on the street<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

*<\/h4>\n

I named the village<\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Thorn forests spread open<\/span><\/div>\n
Over the hot stretch of land<\/span><\/div>\n
With highly tall, out-righted hands,<\/span><\/div>\n
Palm trees proclaimed no shade<\/span><\/div>\n
Sided with broken cement walls,<\/span><\/div>\n
Channel with small squirms of water<\/span><\/div>\n
Runs quietly as a tiptoed girl<\/span><\/div>\n
Dried dung smells over the breeze<\/span><\/div>\n
Evening sun plays in the orange dust
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
A group of shirtless boys<\/span><\/div>\n
Cross fast the forlorn street of the village<\/span><\/div>\n
With shrieking sounds that subtle the dust
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
It is the village<\/span><\/div>\n
Where I was born<\/span><\/div>\n
Where the leaves of succulent plants<\/span><\/div>\n
Were plucked to eliminate the girl children<\/span><\/div>\n
From this earthy life<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The dust remains orange as of those days<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
With little change of paleness in color<\/span><\/div>\n
I named the village,<\/span><\/div>\n
As my place of rebirth, where I was<\/span><\/div>\n
Once born and survived<\/span><\/div>\n
As a girl.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

*<\/h4>\n

Night of a widow<\/h3>\n
Sky, its crescent<\/span><\/div>\n
And the garden, the scent<\/span><\/div>\n
Drove her day slowly<\/span><\/div>\n
She washed the vessels<\/span><\/div>\n
To finish off chores<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Snared slightly,<\/span><\/div>\n
The cat of next door<\/span><\/div>\n
As it sleeps on the doorway<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
She dimmed up the lamp<\/span><\/div>\n
This kindled an instant glint<\/span><\/div>\n
Logging the hands under her head,<\/span><\/div>\n
Swaddling the sari to warm her body,<\/span><\/div>\n
And there the barren floor,<\/span><\/div>\n
Became her bed,<\/span><\/div>\n
Tucked buttons of her blouse<\/span><\/div>\n
Heaved for a vent of no use<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Night sighs, with whomever,<\/span><\/div>\n
She pondered over<\/span><\/div>\n
Day over day<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
There in the attic,<\/span><\/div>\n
An unbundled bed<\/span><\/div>\n
With cracked eggshells of lizards<\/span><\/div>\n
Are still sleeping<\/span><\/div>\n
On her night,<\/span><\/div>\n
Where no one is allowed.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n

*<\/h4>\n

Wait of the man<\/h3>\n
With no end at sight,<\/span><\/div>\n
He stopped,<\/span><\/div>\n
Then proceeded<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Seasons have passed<\/span><\/div>\n
Leaves surrendered<\/span><\/div>\n
Ducklings gave birth<\/span><\/div>\n
Yet it’s not the time,<\/span><\/div>\n
To return the Knighthood<\/span><\/div>\n
And be back in the hands of love<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Maybe sometime later,<\/span><\/div>\n
He’ll be in a garden,<\/span><\/div>\n
Smelling lilies<\/span><\/div>\n
Watering Daffodils<\/span><\/div>\n
Fondling ducks<\/span><\/div>\n
And let the season,<\/span><\/div>\n
Wait!!
\n<\/span><\/div>\n

*<\/h4>\n

Wait of a woman<\/h3>\n
You left to distant land,<\/span><\/div>\n
For earning money<\/span><\/div>\n
Leaving me young<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Every time<\/span><\/div>\n
While you were about to return<\/span><\/div>\n
Something happened to stop you<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Once it rained heavily<\/span><\/div>\n
And flooded the villages<\/span><\/div>\n
Egrets rested upon the cattle<\/span><\/div>\n
Damp clothes hung over the clothesline<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
And always something happened<\/span><\/div>\n
While you were about to return<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Spring, the best season, to return<\/span><\/div>\n
But you intended not to be back,<\/span><\/div>\n
Until all the meadows turned as houses<\/span><\/div>\n
And their pathways vanished<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Like the vulture in old,<\/span><\/div>\n
Which break the beak<\/span><\/div>\n
And wait to grow,<\/span><\/div>\n
I live here, waiting,<\/span><\/div>\n
To outlive<\/span><\/div>\n
My age.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not the Buddha When I rest under the banyan With closed eyes, folded knees, \u2018Look after carefully\u2019 Sounded an owl Giving her little one to me And went on its way \u2018Keep these with care\u2019 Said the green parakeet, Thrusted some ripened fruits In my lap and left \u2018Save this pearl necklace\u2019 Ordered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":5208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[188,60],"class_list":["post-5207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-poetry-english","tag-188","tag-60"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12388,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=12388","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":0},"title":"An Exclusive Interview With J. Krishnamurti","author":"J.Krishnamurti","date":"17.01.24","format":false,"excerpt":"This interview was taken for East West Journal by Catherine Ingram and Leonard Jacobs on July, 1983. EWJ: Even though one is still suffering, is it possible to help others who are suffering? K: Why not? Though I may be suffering and you may be suffering, why not? That is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/black-and-white-photograph-of-a-smiling-j-krishnamurti-looking-at-the-camera.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/black-and-white-photograph-of-a-smiling-j-krishnamurti-looking-at-the-camera.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/black-and-white-photograph-of-a-smiling-j-krishnamurti-looking-at-the-camera.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/black-and-white-photograph-of-a-smiling-j-krishnamurti-looking-at-the-camera.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12061,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=12061","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":1},"title":"The Impersonal Personhood: An Alternative Buddhist Perspective","author":"\u0bb5\u0bbf.\u0b85\u0bae\u0bb2\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0bb8\u0bcd\u0b9f\u0bc7\u0ba9\u0bcd\u0bb2\u0bbf","date":"01.07.23","format":false,"excerpt":"Is it truly possible to live impersonally? Is it humanly possible? Is it necessary to be so in the first place? This book is the direct result of those words that acted as a trigger- to not take anything personally. Out of the blue, there was a revelation; an epiphany\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5793351958_04ca9cf1f7_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5793351958_04ca9cf1f7_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5793351958_04ca9cf1f7_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5793351958_04ca9cf1f7_o.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5793351958_04ca9cf1f7_o.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1634,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1634","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":2},"title":"The Burden and the Mystery of Non-Self","author":"\u0bb5\u0bbf.\u0b85\u0bae\u0bb2\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0bb8\u0bcd\u0b9f\u0bc7\u0ba9\u0bcd\u0bb2\u0bbf","date":"13.01.19","format":false,"excerpt":"The biggest conundrum with regard to the teachings of Buddha is the idea of non self, anata. It poses an insurmountable challenge for an ordinary mind to understand what it means in its truest sense, as it were perceived by the Buddha after his awakening. What is meant by ordinary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tumblro6j266obme1u5mtijo11280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tumblro6j266obme1u5mtijo11280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tumblro6j266obme1u5mtijo11280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tumblro6j266obme1u5mtijo11280.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/tumblro6j266obme1u5mtijo11280.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":186,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=186","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":3},"title":"True Spirit!","author":"\u0bb5\u0bbf.\u0b85\u0bae\u0bb2\u0ba9\u0bcd \u0bb8\u0bcd\u0b9f\u0bc7\u0ba9\u0bcd\u0bb2\u0bbf","date":"09.07.18","format":false,"excerpt":"When the term spirituality is used here it refers to one\u2019s being as an ultimate essence of one\u2019s self and not in the conventional way of connoting to one\u2019s soul and finally realizing it. But in a way it has relevance to the current topic. In Patanjali Yoga Sutra, there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Zen_stones_Midday_by_HollowIchigoBanki.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6399,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=6399","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":4},"title":"How to be an Ecosattva?","author":"David Loy","date":"22.12.20","format":false,"excerpt":"David R. Loy is an authorized teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism. How do bodhisattvas respond to the greatest crisis of our time? Appropriately, says Buddhist teacher and activist David Loy. One of my favorite Zen stories is short and simple. A student asks the master, \u201cWhat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/david-Loy-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7233,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=7233","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":5},"title":"What if our Ordinary Experience is all that matters?","author":"Stephen Batchelor","date":"27.02.21","format":false,"excerpt":"Stephen Batchelor poses the classical Zen question, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d The answer, he says, is right in front of us. Each time I sit down on a cushion and pay attention to what is happening, I find myself utterly incapable of putting whatever it is I\u2019m experiencing into words. There\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/B_5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/B_5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/B_5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/books-on-painting-1-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5207"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5235,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5207\/revisions\/5235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}