Karithandan

by

Life lays mines of challenge on his way,
but Karithandan is a tough warrior.

An English engineer whirls in the current
of confusion at the foot of the mountain.
Enchanted by the white smile,
Karithandan climbs down slowly.

The tribal hero scrapes through the mist,
which looks like death, and unlocks
the padlocks of the shrubs and the wild roots.
The engineer follows him, uttering, ‘Wow!’

A familiar knock. She opens the door
of the tribal hut, when a dark shape,
clad in white dhoti, disappears in the distance.
A deep love works transient miracles
even under the eaves of death.

Columbus discovered America, I studied.
Karithandan’s discovery of the way to Wayanad,
but I read nowhere, for the engineer
bartered his two bullets for that credit.

Bullets could shatter the chest, but couldn’t the truth.

Wayanad is a natural paradise and a bio-diverse wild region
among the mountains in Kerala, India. According to the myth
prevalent among the tribesmen in Wayanad, a British engineer
discovered the way to Wayanad with the help of Karithandan. To
take the credit of the discovery, the engineer killed Karithandan.]

First printed in ‘Selected Poems 2013’, by Pendle War Poetry, U K.