Ravuri Bharadwaja - Drops of Light

Sri Ravuri Bharadwaja is a great man.
He has as many doctorates as possible.
Interestingly he never went to school, he says.
He is a writer of exceptional calibre.
He is so different from the usual good writers.
The books he has published are perhaps countless.
I found in my collection, a small book he gave me .

The book is tiltled Drops of Light.
The man appearing on the title is none other than Bharadwaja himself.

Flowing beard, coarse Khadi and all!
He also is different like his creations.
Our good frind Anand created that title.

The booklet is a collection of kind of poems comparable to those by Tagore.

They are very diffrent in their content.

This is the note he wrote on the inner title page of the book.

He calls me Mavayya, meaning uncle.

That too a Chinna Mavayya, younger one.

He calls everyone with a relation like that.

Not by the names!

Different again!

Here is a sampling of the content of the booklet.

He published such pieces continuously in Andhra Bhoomi, if I am right.

Read the rough translation of the pieces.

*   *   *

With the help of ropes of water,

to draw the mother earth towards them,

the black clouds;

with the same water ropes,

to pull the clouds towards her,

the mother earth,

Are struggling throughout the rainy season.

*    *    *

After giving you,

the me surrounding you,

and the me within me,

I am left as a popper,

who can never give anything to anybody,

my little one!

*    *    *

"As for me I am clean and white.

This lady sky, sprinkled her blue dirt all over me,

and turned me into a blue water body."

Thus lamented the tank.

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