Madikeri ಲಿ ಮಂಜು and er.... poetry

ಭೂಮೀನ್ ತಬ್ಬಿದ್ ಮೋಡಿದ್ದಂಗೆ
ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಬಳದಿದ್ ರೋಡಿದ್ದಂಗೆ
ಸಾಫಾಗಳ್ಳ ತಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ದಂಗೆ
ಮಡ್ಕೆರೀಲೀ ಮಂಜು!
- ಜಿ ಪಿ ರಾಜರತ್ನಂ
One of the best memories of my school days is listening to Mysore Ananthaswamy singing this song in the Jayanagar 8th block Ramanavami programmes. When he sang this, there was a hush and the very air around us seemed to turn cool, even though it was summer!

I am not a big fan of poetry generally. I think they are strictly for the birds.

However, I will make an exception for G P Rajaratnam (and a few others, I will talk about that later). We all know him as the creator of nursery rhymes like ಬಣ್ಣದ ತಗಡಿನ ತುತ್ತೂರಿ. ಮಡಿಕೆರೀಲಿ ಮಂಜು is one of the poems from his collection 'ರತ್ನನ ಪದಗಳು’. Madikeri and the ಮಂಜು remained elusive to me for a long time.

I finally had an opportunity when we had a wonderful holiday in Kutta, Kodagu district. We stayed in a farm was close to the Nagarhole and Wynad wildlife reserves, along the Karnataka - Kerala border. It was a very special trip because my sisters and me, and our children were going to be together under one roof after a gap of some eight years. The global village might make communication easy, but nothing can replace being together.

We lived in an old family house, tiled and spacious, which meant all of us could sleep comfortably.

Our hosts were very gracious people and looked after us very well. There was a lot of catching up for all of us to do. If you know our family well, that includes fighting about silly things, which we did.
Our visits to Nagarhole were a bit disappointing,. The forest and animals were a sad and pale in comparison to the memories of my previous visit to the sanctuary some thirty years ago. The countless chital, massive herds of wild cattle, and a wild boar we then saw in the forest seemed to have vanished. The elephant back safari was discontinued, so we had to be content doing a trip in the jeep. We saw a dispirited peacock, looking like he had a hangover, and a monitor lizard lying stationary, with no interest in monitoring or anything else.
The farm is actually a coffee plantation. On the second day there, I woke up early to walk around and indulge in some photography. I own a Nikon D50, and spend a lot of time reading photography books. I hardly ever get to go out and do some serious photography, and I rather cut loose with my Nikon, clicking everything in sight.

I love coffee, but nothing prepared me for the sheer beauty of the coffee berries, and the myriad colours they assume as they ripen.



Even the coffee flowers were absolute gems.



Here again, I am moved to poetry, with this coffee flower. My one other favourite poet - Jnanpith awardee, Dr G S Shivarudrappa, and his poem ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ

ನೋಡು ಇದೋ ಇಲ್ಲರಳಿ ನಗುತಿದೆ
ಏಳು ಸುತ್ತಿನ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ
ಇಷ್ಟು ಹಚ್ಚನೆ ಹಸುರ ಗಿಡದಿಂ
ಎಂತು ಮೂಡಿತೋ ಬೆಳ್ಳಗೆ!

ಮೇಲೆ ನಭದಲಿ ನೂರು ತಾರೆಗಳ್
ಅರಳಿ ಮಿನುಗುವ ಮುನ್ನವೆ
ಬೆಳ್ಳಿಯೊಂದೆ ಬೆಳಗುವಂದದಿ
ಗಿಡದೊಳೊಂದೇ ಹೂವಿದು

I remember being thrilled to read these lines of poetry as a boy, just as I am now reading them in the copy of his book of poems he gave my father, with his neat writing on the fly leaf

ಆದರದೊಂದಿಗೆ, ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಮಿತ್ರ ......ರಿಗೆ

And most importantly, Madikeri ಮಂಜು hung around,
ತಾಯಿ ಮೊಗೀನ ಎತ್ಕೊಂಡಂಗೆ
ಒಂದಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಆತ್ಕೊಂಡಂಗೆ
ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲೇನೆ ಅಂಗಂಗೇನೆ
ಗಸ್ತಾಕ್ತಿತ್ತು ಮಂಜು


like a pleasant but persistent friend, carefully airbrushing over untidy bushes, filtering sunlight, and generally trying to beautify everything around.


And for once I was right all along, Madikeri ಮಂಜು does have that magical quality.

I realise I have just finished discussing two poets in a single blog.
I still don't like poetry.
I think this says more about the genius of these wonderful people who wrote them and sang them, than me.............