Jashuva's Poems

JASHUVA’S POEMS
FREE VERSE TRANSLATIONS FROM TELUGU OF
POET JASHUVA (1895-1971)

Dr C. NARASIMHA SASTRI

[A poet par excellence, Jashuva made his mark in Firdausi, a poem based on the life of a Persian poet. His poem Gabbilamudescribed the plight of the downtrodden. The hero, requests a bat which strays into his hut to carry his message to the Lord, giving a panoramic view of India as Kalidasa does in his “Cloud- Messenger,”His Mumtajmahal is a monument glorifying immortal love. He excels himself in short lyrics on a wide range of themes. His poetry is marked by sincerity, clarity and sweetness. At his best, Jashuva is unrivalled in handling universal themes in a poignant and memorable manner. Though endowed with rich gifts of imagination and expression, he had to fight his way to claim a place among the leading poets of this century.]

You conceal the mighty banyan in the tiny
seed, a juggler rare!
You enter the buds before they blossom to
paint the bewitching tints;
You breathe life into the sleeping babe
in the mother’s womb;
You reveal your glory to the devoted
yet conceal your address;
You, who fashioned this lovely globe,
gave it away for our delight;
You, who gave me birth, beloved
father!
Though Lord of all,
you have nowhere a roof!
 –Firdausi

In the rosy rays of the rising sun,
fresh from a bath in the tossing waves,
In the splendid smile of the full moon at
the zenith of glory,
In the frolicking breeze whispering
among the gardens in flower,
In the flashes of lightning fleeting along
blue alleys and vanishing,
O Lord of the Universe! I behold
you reclining in repose and
smiling at the mighty worlds.
I shall rip open my heart
and lay its treasures before you.
Please come, do come.
Say not you are busy.
Come, come and accept!
–Firdausi

EXHORTATION

The lamps that flicker in the mansion
vast and blue
Are burning with lustre unending;
The ocean that rocks and rages night and days
roars on furious forever;
The East that bears the infant Sun
goes on conceiving, mother perennial;
The Spring, Lord of seasons, endows
the Earth with jewels fresh
Is never weary of the play of love;
No, not a streak of red is visible in
the gracious eyes of the Maker;
O, foolish world! the best is yet to be.
The light is burning bright.
Set your heart aright
pure as a lily white.
–Khandakaavyamulu, Volume Two

The benevolence of the trees beckoning
with leafy arms offering gentle shade,
The strange kinship of flowers spreading
honeyed banquets to the humming bees,
The soothing touch of the breeze caressing
the sweating toiler,
The holy shower blessing the eager
shell with a pearly babe,
Lord! you have lavished all these charities
among the lesser kind
And denied the precious gift to mankind
You have put us to shame, O Lord!
what is the worth of knowledge unbounded
when it is from charity divorced?

–Kotta lokam (Brave New World)

I taste thy nectarine drops of love
in the fragrant bosoms of all blossoms
I behold the dazzling splendour
of your form in the
tranquil waves of light at dawn
I hear your mighty voice
in the rumbling of reverberating thunders
I thrill with the rippling streams of love
gazing at the sleepless eyes of the twinkling stars.

–Kotta lokam (Brave New World)