THE RAGING WIND OF THE LAND OF BLOODY-SEA

A poem by Deepachelvan in Thamizh titled
KURUDHIK-KADAL NILATHIN PERUNGKAATRU
[குருதிக்கடல் நிலத்தின் பெருங்காற்று ]
Translated into English by Latha Ramakrishnan


The blood that had poured into the sea of the great land
remains tagnant in the salt-pans
In those days with bombs thundering and smoke rising
when life was wasting away
Vezhini’s father
lay frozen in the salt-pans with the life flown out
In Vezhi’s eyes remain
the sweats and the bloods that move over
the salt-pans.

The blood flown for the sake of Land
sticks without getting dried.
The hands that steal the Land
pricks Vezhi’s eyes.
That day, for the sake of our Land
in this same street when those bullet borne, bomb borne
were moving on
blood overflowed.

Today in our Land
hands too cruel have grown.
The nails of those hands that haul the Land
keep growing in the salt-pan sea-land
and prick the eyes and face.

In posts where our flag was flying high that day
now flies the terrible sorrow of our Land.
In the prop of the one who carried along the bomb
different tales are written.
The words which have grown in salt-pans
and are lying alive still, writhing in pain
are uprooted.

The hands that have hauled and gobbled the Land
are forever terrorizing those going along the street.
In the bloody-fields of dream pervades the fragrance of life.
In the salt-pans, again and again
crop up the countenances of those bullet borne; bomb borne.

Unable to bear the enslavement of this Land
Vezhini is pained to the core.
The raging salty wind of the Land of the bloody sea
that fills the ears forever
keeps screaming the stories of those bullet borne; bomb borne.


o