Magic of words

Dear Ashita,

There are many things in life that impress me - ambition, people, sacrifices, success, failure, music, nature, history, historical monuments or sites, nations, etc and the list is long. However one thing that has continually kept me spell bound and always leaves a mark is WORDS - plain, simple words stringed together in a manner that they inspire emotions, feelings and thoughts in different people from different walks of life in different ways.

The ability to actually put thought and emotion into the right words and inspire the same feeling and more from the recipient is an art in itself. To my mind this ability comes from those who embrace emotions, go through different experiences in life and are sensitive observant individuals.

I inherited this love from my father. There have been many moments when I have heard him speak and wanted to be exactly like that - to be able to influence people and to amaze them with words. I have been lucky that your father shares the same appreciation for words and he has introduced me to the world of ‘shayari.’ Whenever I see him getting overwhelmed and emotional from ghazals and then immediately wanting to make sure that I understand that magic I feel content.

My dad used to sprinkle Sanskrit/Malayalam sayings/lines from poetry in his speech to express his feelings in a situation and I would continuously pull his leg about it that he would do it just to overwhelm the other person and get them to be more favourably disposed towards whatever he was suggesting at that time. J

Every time I could unfailingly see the words wielding its power.

Sharing with you a few choice ones which are my favorites -

Kapada lokathil aalmarthum aaya oru hridayam undaayathu enn parajayam



"My failure is in having a sincere heart in this world of hypocrisy."

A line written by the famous malayalam poet Changampuzha and is engraved on his tomb as well. I think at some stage or the other when you come across situations where despite the best of intentions things fall apart there are no more apt or truer words than these.

2.      A poem that daddy taught me which has always moved me

Illenikyu aavilya daivumme              I can never my dear god

nin meniyil poo mala chaarthuvaan       put a garland on thy body

malakal yere njan korthuvengillum       many a garland have I made

mohum safalum aayillya          and yet never have I accomplished my yearning

This is the story of a poor lady who ekes a living from making fresh flower garlands in the temple. For years she has served the temple goers with her garlands and with the meagre earnings she makes she tries to feed her family. For years she has wanted to be able to garland the lord herself. As youth gives way to middle age and then decrepit old age, she decides one day that come what may I will endure my poverty and my hunger and that of my loved ones for today but with these left over flowers which none of my customers wanted let me make a garland for the lord and let me adorn him with it. With trembling fingers she makes the garland and approaches the gods statue with all the eagerness of the years of yearning. ‘Clunck’ with the sound of a coin being tossed in her platter she sees her garland taken by another and the lord adorned with it. With tears in her eyes for having come so close and yet been so far she utters the lines above.

3.      A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, a Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou

The famous words by Omar Khayyam and who cannot relate to these! These need no introduction no explanation and their impact as profound as from the time they were uttered.

4.      Ellavarum cholli njannu na kallum malayum chuttiyapol ennikyum thonni njannu na

‘Everyone says I am looking good, after putting on stones and jewellery I thought so too’

A bit of folk songs that the ladies working the farms used to sing to each other in my dad’s village. It has all the simplicity and innocence of our villages and none of the artifice of our cities

5.      Aham chintaye daivum anyatra chintaye

Towards the end this was his most favorite line, its in sanskrit and it is the equivalent of the english saying – Man Proposes God Disposes.