Sunday, January 13, 2008

The Treasure


Not so long ago, On a warm and sunny day
My father took me aside and told me a tale
What a tale it was, of a long lost treasure

Listening to it made me tingle with pleasure


He said: In the depth of the forests

Beyond the bushes and the tall trees

Covered in sand, beneath the Pipal (Bodhi) Tree,
Is a treasure chest as shiny as can be
And when the sun sets it shines through the leaves

On the ground where the chest lies beneath.


With a bit of fear and lot of thrill, I set to venture
On a journey to uncover the coveted treasure
I walked beneath bushes and bore the scar(s)
The reptiles lurked but did not (me) deter


I searched far and near, I searched high and low ,

Beneath each rock and below every bough..

Rivulets ran down my face and spine

My back did ache but never did I whine

As dusk set in, I saw the gleam so near

And tripped and fell as I rushed to the clear (ing)

And there I beheld the Giant Pipal Tree

Beneath which the promised treasure would be


I dug with the shovel and with my arms bare
My eyes lighting up at the sight of the chest so dear

I opened in a hurry and was surprised to see
A palm leaf scroll with words wise as can be!


" Things not your own will yield no good, however you guard with pain;

Your own, however you scatter them abroad, will yours remain."

-Thirukural (Chapter 38, Verse 376) (Source - Wikipedia)

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The last couple of lines are that of the famous tamil poet Saint Thiruvaluvar. Tirukural was written 2200 years ago and consists of 1330 couplets divided into 133 chapters. They teach you the philosophy of life.. an attempt at translation has been made on Wikipedia The tamil kurals can be found at Tamilzone
In those days , in India the scribes were recorded on the readily available medium of smoke-treated palm leaves (olai in tamil)

The reference to the Bodhi/Pipal tree is intentional. Buddha got his enlightenment under a Bodhi tree.
This poem (cum short story) is in response to the prompt from Writers Island this week, I had fun writing it... hope you enjoyed reading it!!
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35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice one ! Enjoyed reading it :-)

Bharathis said...

Do you write poems often? This one is quite good!

Aryan-Arjun said...

Wow..That is really a great poem..You have a good writing skills. I will call you PP(Poet Preethi) from nowonwards..
Aryan's mom

aMus said...

hmmm..wise words indeed, if others would heed and not covet what is not theirs...

Rambler said...

hey nice use of words..

Preethi said...

2BM - Thanks :)
Bharathi- I write poems once in a while - try answering the Writers Island Prompts with a poem usually.. My other attempts at poetry can be found in this same blog. Thanks for your encouragement..
Aryan - I am blushing!! I am no poet.. thanks so much for your compliment.. you made my day!!
TA - Thiruvalluvar has said a lot of wise things.. he is a great poet!!
Rambler - Thank you!! :)

aMus said...

an did i tell you, the poem is awesome, the flow an dteh mood was enticing...

and i like the new name of this blog...it suits perfectly :)

Preethi said...

TA - Thanks so much... :) As for the blog name.. I think so too... and good or bad. I do hope I can keep them flowing :)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

Its not flowing..its gushing like an untamed river flowing down the Himalayas !!
Keep it up
TC
CU

aMus said...

awaiting your honored presence here ;)


http://amus.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/01/a-daughter-no-more-blogprint.htm

Anonymous said...

this was lovely Preethi, I just loved the way you brought out the moral, superb!

Tumblewords: said...

Wow! This is lovely. So much wisdom and treasure.

Anonymous said...

nice narrative.

Beau Brackish said...

Wonderful poem. It flows effortlessly with great feeling.

Crafty Green Poet said...

nice story with a good message

paris parfait said...

A fun adventurous poem! And the last lines are so true.

Prats said...

Tirukkural's have so much meaning....
You have written a beautiful poem here..must say, nice lines...

paisley said...

oh that was lovely....

Preethi said...

CU - I love the poetry in your comment.. thank you so much :)
UL - Thanks.. I wanted it to be a happy go lucky one, and yet I couldn't finish it off without some philosophy...
Tumblewords - Thanks for your kind words.
Gautami, Herb Urban and Crafty Green - Thanks so much
Paris and Prats - There is so much wisdom in all of Thiruvalluvar's words.. do read the wikipedia link when you have some time.. I am sure you will love that
Paisley - Thank you!

Mary Timme said...

Fun to read and wise words.

Lucy said...

that was so creative and fun. Love the good message too. :)

Keith's Ramblings said...

That was so good. And those final words are very thought provoking

chicklegirl said...

Very wise words about the nature of true wealth.

Anonymous said...

Great job!

Prats said...

I actually have the tirukkurals in my hard disk, and listen to it whenever I can...tho I don't understand half the translations...

Preeti Shenoy said...

Wise words indeed! Am familiar with Thirukural.The children in one of the schools I worked with used to recite it, right from Pre -KG like a song. My own two knew some of them--but I doubt if they remember it now.
Thanks for the translation.

little wing writer said...

that last line i couldn't love it more!!!....

Preethi said...

Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments...

Robin said...

I really liked this, it's message reminded me of the lyrics to One Tin Soldier.

david mcmahon said...

Well done. Great sentiments in that poem.

Revathi said...

Nice concept and clear flow of thought and words. Did you transalt the couplet yourself too?

Preethi said...

Gr8 poem. Runs like a song almost... Reminds me of something, some connotation some association.... can't put my finger on it now! My mind will keep searching....

Preethi said...

Robin - I am smiling.. One tin soldier.. I love that one!!
David - Thank you
Revathi - No I dint.. I found it in Wikipedia.. You can find the link on my post
Preethi - Think and do get back to me :)

Fantasies of a Lifetime said...

that was beautiful and a very nice message too :)

Preetilata【ツ】 said...

wow! it's an excellent poetry preethi! m glad that m here! so much wisdom that too portrayed in such a brilliant way. kp writing!

n thnx for visiting my blog and leaving ur beautiful and encouraging footprints thr in. i hope u will visit agn. (my brother is 11 yrs old n he md that painting one n half yrs ago)

tk cr
:) :) :)