THE DANCE OF SIVA

Dr. PUTTAPARTHI NARAYANACHAYULU

Translated from Telugu by
Dr. B. RAJANIKANTA RAO

[Saraswatiputra, Kalaaprapurna, Padmasri Dr. Puttaparthi Narayanacharyulu was an eminent and renowned poet of Andhra Pradesh. He was a polyglot well versed in 14 languages and was able to write poetry in 8 languages, including English. He was a phenomenon on the contemporary Telugu literary scene. His passing away in September last is an irreparable loss to Telugu literature. The following is the first part of his great literary piece, Sivataandavam, rendered into English. –Editor]

What an exhilaration
On this planet earth!
–now in vigorous abandon
and now in delicate elegance,
’tis the virulent dance of Siva!
Siva’s graceful measured step!

like surging billows of muscle and marrow
like precious dreams of a golden halo,
like birds of coral feathers,
unravelling clouds of varying rim,
lo, Siva’s dance of destruction,
and the dance of creation!

is it a horde of astral damsels
in the guise of rain-bearing ravishers
comes down to witness Siva’s dance?

what an orb of bliss on this earth
the revelations of ancient wisdom
that the winged prophets declaim
imitating as though the jingling syncope
on the anklets of dancing Hyma!

have the branches of trees with mirthfulness
been moved from the core of their hearts to dance
jostling their heads, and dropping on the earth
bunches of flowers in intermittent earth showers.

should every dropping blossom
smile as it were to become conspicuous
in the floral decoration of the mountain princess!
“jham jham taka tari kita jham jham” in
patterns of varying rhythmic hum-drum
when the Lord of the universe–
erect in a peacock’s pose, starts dancing
is it to provide the sonorous drone
that the bees ebriated of honey start flipping
their buzzing appurtenances!

On whose intimation but the Supreme’s daylong dance
do the virgins, as it were, of hill streams
run along with pride
as their encircling shirts
get disentangled from feet!
oho ho! ho! it is beyond one’s fancy
this mirthfulness and joy on this planet of the earth!

Oh dame of evening twilight
what’s all this flurry about?
why this bashfully sweet, straight, oblique side-long glance?
in your swinging waist of coquetish curvature–
oh bashful beauty, why does your zone, just like you
not make a wee bit of noise?
against whom do you don this haughty indifference?
is it all for the worship of Siva? O dame,
who has narrated you this tale, could it be the earth?

They say the Lord of the cosmos is dancing aloft;
why don’t you tarry, oh jewel of the day?
do you run in a hurry to narrate the whole tale
to the people living in the other hemisphere?

Why do the animals shed tears off their eyes?
the sacred water could it be for the feet of the Lord of universe?
What is it about, the lendershoots in the folliage
prattle with delight in low-tone-muttering
what else ’tis but about the world’s keeper’s dance!
Oho! ’tis beyond anybody’s comprehension
the mirth and joy on this globe of the earth!

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