rangOli - by Mr.J.K Mohana Rao

rangOli

Waking up before sunrise,
she used to clean the yard
and sprinkle water;
her lines used to be straight and orderly,
her motifs were flowers and creepers,
Always hopeful like the tendrils -
that was grandma.

Waking up at sunrise,
she used to sweep the yard
and draw the rangOlis;
her lines used to criss-cross,
and she was fond of colours;
her motifs were vegetable sprouts,
Always deep as the water table -
that was mother.

Waking up after sunrise,
stretching her hands and feet
she strikes the broom and sweeps the floor,
she puts some dots here
and some dots there
and connects them in a puzzling manner;
Always an enigma -
that is daughter.

- translated by Mr.J.K Mohana Rao from the original kannaDa of purushOttama biLImaLe

rangoli
poem

Comments

Lata's picture

Lata

Mon, 2009-02-09 11:35

This poem is so beautifully written, and translated. mOhanaji, it didn't seem fair to save it until I figure out a proper display "place" in the site. I'm still debating whether the category should be called something like Literary works (where members/authors can share their works), or by some other name. In the meantime, your poem is here for all of us to enjoy.
I was a bit sad to realize that I/some women don't belong in any of those 3 sects/generations of people...I mean I should be belonging to the last genre, but I don't! I'm sure you've seen women who come from such backgrounds (as given in the poem), but don't fall under any of those categories. The bottom line is, the actual ritual/way of kolam making becomes very difficult to practice when you move away to far off places. It would be nice to hear from our members who live in South India, about how much (or how little) is this ritual practiced by today's youngsters. I left the county in the early 1990's, and even back then, I had seen my neighbor's maid-servants drawing the morning kolams as if it was a chore to be done! Something about that just didn't sit well with me!

InduSri's picture

InduSri

Mon, 2009-02-09 13:39

Great poem and translation. I would love to read it in Kannada. I searched internet and couldn't find it :(.

Lata, I too share your sentiments about the ritual of rangoli creation. While in Bangalore, I used to watch my neighbours' maid servents draw rangolis. That might have been another chore to them. But their creations were beautiful rangolis none the less. My mother still does the morning ritual. I would love to do it. But it becomes difficult here in US. So I satisfy myself by drawing them on paper. It is a great tool to stay awake in boring meetings Smile

InduSri

jkmrao's picture

jkmrao

Mon, 2009-02-09 16:37

This poem occurs in an anthology entitled baMDAyakAvya edited by
baragUru rAmachaMdrappa and published by the Directorate of Kannada
and Culture in 1990. biLImaLe was a folklore professor in haMpi
University and then moved to Delhi and was bestowed the Bendre
award. I am giving the poem below in baraha kannaDa. My translation
tried to capture the spirit of the poem, it was not a word for word
translation. Hope this helps. Regards! - mOhan(a)

aMgaLake nIru challi raMgOli bareyuttiddaLu
saraLa rEkhegaLa nEranaDe
ellavU kramabaddha
chitra chittAragaLu baLLi hUvugaLu
sadA chiguri nASakke.

amma sUrya huTTuvAga
aMgaLa guDisi dhULu sarisi raMgOli bareyuttiddaLu
ammana raMgOliyali baNNa bahaLa
aDDAdiDDi rEkhegaLige jODaNe
haNNukAyigaLa moLake bErugaLu
sadA nIrinALakke.

huDugi sUrya huTTidamEle
kaikAlugaLu savari nela tevarugaLa tIDi
raMgOli bareyuttALe
alloMdu illoMdu chukkegaLa iTTu
chukkegaLa mADi oMdaroDanoMdu sErisi
elliMdelligO baMdha nigUDha
sadA saMkEtadALakke.

jkmrao's picture

jkmrao

Mon, 2009-02-09 18:48

There is a very nice book entitled
Rangoli - Elder women creating sacred geography
by Catherine Cartwright-Jones
published by TapDancing Lizard, Stow, Ohio, 2003

There are some very nice traditional patterns too in this book.
Many artists on the forum may like this. You may read and download it
from scribd. Hope this helps. Regards! - mOhana

ashanagendra's picture

ashanagendra

Mon, 2009-02-09 20:04

mohanaji, great poem & beautifully translated.

indira sundar's picture

indira sundar

Mon, 2009-02-09 20:14

nice poem mOhanaji.

InduSri's picture

InduSri

Tue, 2009-02-10 07:52

Thanks for the Kannada version of the poem mOhanaji. I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks again!

P. Bilimale's picture

P. Bilimale

Wed, 2009-02-25 08:19

Thanks Mr. J.K. Mohan Rao for translating my poem to english. I like that, Regards- Bilimale

P. Bilimale's picture

P. Bilimale

Thu, 2009-02-26 05:47

The original poem....
ಅಜ್ಜಿ
ಸೂರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟುವ ಮೊದಲೇ
ಅಂಗಳಕೆ ನೀರು ಚೆಲ್ಲಿ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು
ಸರಳ ರೇಖೆಗಳ ನೇರ ನಡೆ
ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಕ್ರಮಬದ್ಧ
ಚಿತ್ರ ಚಿತ್ತಾರಗಳು ಬಳ್ಳಿ ಹೂವುಗಳು
ಸದಾ ಚಿಗುರಿ ಆಕಾಶಕ್ಕೆ

ಅಮ್ಮ
ಸೂರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟುವಾಗ
ಅಂಗಳ ಗುಡಿಸಿ ಧೂಳು ಸಾರಿಸಿ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು
ಅಮ್ಮನ ರಂಗೋಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಹಳ
ಅಡ್ಡ ದಿಡ್ಡಿ ರೇಖೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಜೋಡಣೆ
ಹಣ್ಣು ಕಾಯಿಗಳ ಮೊಳಕೆ ಬೇರುಗಳು
ಸದಾ ನೀರಿನಾಳಕ್ಕೆ

ಹುಡುಗಿ
ಸೂರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಮೇಲೆ
ಕೈಕಾಲುಗಳು ಸವರಿ ನೆಲ ತೆವರುಗಳ ತೀಡಿ
ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾಳೆ
ಅಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಇಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಅಡ್ಡ ದಿಡ್ಡಿ ಚುಕ್ಕೆಗಳ ಇಟ್ಟು
ಹೇಗೆ ಹೇಗೋ ಒಂದರೊಡನೊಂದು ಸೇರಿಸಿ
ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದೆಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಬಂಧ ನಿಗೂಢ
ಸದಾ ಸಂಕೇತದಾಳಕ್ಕೆ.

ಡಾ. ಪುರುಷೋತ್ತಮ ಬಿಳಿಮಲೆ 1989

Lata's picture

Lata

Thu, 2009-02-26 07:43

It is a pleasure to see this in Kannada even if I don't know how to read Kannada! I just wanted to say that I do intend to save this in this site, in a separate section of Poems.
Thank you for taking the time to post it here Sir.

jkmrao's picture

jkmrao

Thu, 2009-02-26 07:58

Professor biLimaLe, I am deeply grateful to you for your kind words regarding
my translation. Regards! - J K Mohana Rao (jkmrao at yahoo dot com)