Wednesday, January 06, 2010

December dawn

This is a lyrical jot of my early morning walks over the past few weeks at Bengaluru.



I saunter out of home in a time of twilight
When it is a wee cold outside.
All I see is the yellow glow
Of street lights over fog, with patches of dark.

A distant sound of trucks, I hear
The only other sound, is from my walking gear
There is a crackle and buzz from an overhead power line
A mild breeze hits as I speed up for time

The sky is dark with visible stars
The dogs lazy under the lights, care not.
A few vehicles pass by
As I enter the village close by.

Few front yards already splashed and scrubbed
And water being filled into plastic pots and tubs.
I see a cat scamper across the road
As a few people go about their chores.

The village temple is open first
Sharing a whiff of incense blessed.
I hear the Suprabhaatam from some home
And no other sound other than the cricket chirp drone.

I leave the village behind
Odd, that a grocer is open at this time.
I reach a vast empty road
Where a few dogs stand bored.

The eastern sky brightens
With the stars dimming to disappearance.
The western sky still dark
A few minutes to day-break as the night stops.

The clouds above lit golden
By the rays of the rising sun.
I hear a few caws and a cockatoo coo
And a dog's bark, with a distant hoot

I reach the climb
On which I walk a quarter mile.
The thrush stir and chirp in the brush growth
As I pant for breath on the inclined slope.

As I stride to the top, I see
A fogged city, still asleep.
I wind down the road below,
Passing a cow to be milked, with its calf in tow.

The lone bus to the village goes by
As I enter the village from the other side.
More houses now, with their front yards washed
As people stir out from their lazy night.

Some street lights still aglow
Even as the day break is mellow.
The road still silent and the sun still bearing,
Welcome to a good morning.

Aside, the only Tamil movie song I remember, that is all about dawn, is "Kaalai thendral, paadi varum", from the mid eighties Kamalhassan-Ambika starrer "Uyarndha Ullam". With meaningful lyrics, lilting voice of P Susheela and a captivating melody from Ilaiyaraaja, it is a lovely, misty song to hear anytime.

Have a good day ahead!

Note; Hail Picasa for the composite image

14 comments:

gils said...

wow...ulti lyrics for ur song..atha uda unga antah P Susheela song..pera padicha udanaye paatu mandaikulla oda aarambichidhichi :D

Swaram said...

Woww! Awesome pics and wonderful lines RaMmmm. The Suprabhaatam. the cockatoo coo ..just loved them :)

RamNarayanS said...

@gils - Thanks. :) That P Susheela song just pulls your heart. Lovely rendering and wow! lyrics. Geez, Those were the days. :-)

@Swaram - Thanks. :) It is the wonderful contrast between the eastern and western skies at dawn that inspired me to click on my mobile phone and then do a poetic narrative of what I see almost daily.

Annam said...

superb lyriics+fotos

RamNarayanS said...

@Annam - எல்லாப்புகழும் இயற்கைக்கே. :-)

sri said...

Agree with gils on the song , it does really growsinto u :)

Lovely lyrics u have put in so much effort, I particularly liked the incense smell from temples during the morning :)

PM said...

Beautiful pictures.Good poem. Ithellam photosla paarthaa thaan undo. Bangalore la intha kulirla walking ellam, chance eh ilaa???!!

RamNarayanS said...

@Srivats - Yep, nice song, very lullabic. And anyway, these are all observations put to some words. Could do better with similes and metaphors. For that should start with Kalidasa's Meghadhutam. :-)

@chennai girl - Pictures eduththadhu naan. Layout panni kuduththadhu Picasa. :-) Yaenga chanceae illainnu sollareenga, Bengaluru is not as cold as what it was. But I noticed that my house is colder in the mornings than the outside. :)

PM said...

I meant you are a great soul going for a walk there in the morning. Ennala inga 5.45 ezhunthukkave romba kashtamaa irukku :)

RamNarayanS said...

:-) :-) :-)

My alarm is at 5:30, alarm adikkumaeynnu 5:00 manilaendhu muzhippu. :( Appuram get-up, brush, make coffee, drink and then walk-o-walk.

Alarm adichchappuram thaan nallaa thookam varudhu. :-)

Uttara Ananthakrishnan said...

Oooh...Brilliant! :)

RamNarayanS said...

8) :#

sri said...

Forgot to say how beautiful those pictures are .. u should listen to vanilla twilight by owl city :)

RamNarayanS said...

Thanks and shall try Vanilla Twilight, Srivats. Soft Rock, it seems, from the lyrics.