Tag: Sita

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Greetings

Festival of Lights

Courtesy: Creative Commons

After welcoming the dark half of the year with Halloween, we light lamps to observe yet one more homecoming festival — that of the legendary Rama. Though Diwali or Deepavali is interpreted variously in different parts of India, in the North, Rama’s homecoming after fourteen years of exile and victory over various demons is celebrated with the lighting of lamps and fireworks. Simultaneously, in Eastern India, they celebrate the victory of good over evil with the worship of Goddess Kali. In the Southern part, the victory of Krishna over a demon or asura known as Narakasura is jubilated. This festival is observed as a national holiday across a dozen countries now. There are a dozen different rituals, Gods and Goddesses correlated with the festivities. But victory of good over evil is a concurrent narrative along with prayers for prosperity and well being of the world. Both of these themes are a felt need in the present times.




  • Rama and Sita, 1780
  • Kali, Kalighat Painting, 1875
  • Krishna cleaves Narakasura, 1585-1590
Courtesy: Creative Commons

In keeping with the theme of light, at Borderless, we celebrate this season with stories and poems connected with lights or lamps along with narratives around the festivals themselves… all from within our treasury.

Poetry

Light a Candle by Ameenath Neena. Click here to read.

One Star by Ihlwha Choi. Click here to read.

The Candle by Matthew James Friday. Click here to read.

The Starry Night by Sunil Sharma. Click here to read.

Prose

What Ramayan taught me about my parents: Smitha R gives a humorous recap of how the legendary epic brought the family together. Click here to read.

How a dark Goddess lights up a Fallen World: Meenakshi Malhotra talks of Kali and the narrative of the festival that lights up during this festive season. Click here to read.

The Dark House: A Balochi folk tale translated by Fazal Baloch that reflects on the crucial role of light in a young girl’s life. Click here to read.

Courtesy: Creative Commons
Categories
Tagore Translations

The Golden Deer By Tagore

Written in 1910,  Amar Sonar Horin Chai ( I want the Golden Deer) is a popular Rabindra Sangeet that is often performed on stage. Seemingly simple, it explores the poet’s yearning for the intangible and ends with the sense of euphoria generated by his quest for the impalpable.

Sohana Manzoor’s interpretation in pastel & ink of ‘Amar Sonar Horin Chai’
The Golden Deer

Regardless of what you say,I want the golden deer.
Enchanting,nimble footed,I want that golden deer. 
He runs startled,eludes our gaze,and cannot be tied. 
If he comes within our reach,he escapes puzzling our vision. 
Chasing the elusive one who continues to evade capture 
Through fields and forests,I lose myself. 
Things that you can buy in bazaars are stored in homes.
Why do I look for that which cannot be bought?
I lost what I had while yearning for the intangible.
Do you think I am grieving for my lost treasures?  
I am content to live with a smile devoid of sorrow, 
Disappearing in my mind amidst meadows and woods.

There is a reference to Sita’s yearning for the golden deer during her exile in the poem, an episode which led to her kidnapping by Ravana in Ramayana.

This poem has been translated by Mitali Chakravarty and edited by Sohana Manzoor on behalf of Borderless.