Day: May 10, 2016

Migration is their strength

anywhere and everywhere they go

husband, wife, and children

altogether they travel

with their handmade produce.

 

Those of whom found in  South India

more particularly to the region of Tamilnadu

associate themselves with Lord Muruga

who dwells on the Palani Hills in the Western Ghats

as his consort Valli is from their tribe.

 

Their move with  a  bundle

clothes and some” thayuthus”

Gods figures in silver plated motifs

carry their children in a slung

hanging from their necks

 

 

The  Kura vas ” speak a dialect

peculiar to their tribe and land

a mixture of Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit

all an “avial”  as the famous side dish  of the locals

” ellai saami  vaa saami” they call the passers by

with an intent to read the palm and predict the future.

 

The genre excels in astrology  as much

bring in substitutions like parrot and tarot

read your palm carefully

pronounce the prediction

in a song being a kind of a psalm

all sung with clarity and authenticity.

 

Education is not in their agenda

learning they do not care

it is the hearsay they have in memory

eat mostly raw food cooking  being basic

a boil and a mix all too fast.

one man one wife is not in their cast

meet and mate the person you like

be their simple wedlock  with all its riches

 

Their entrepreneurship is  a skill dumbfounding

produce more, sell more, bother not about profit

could I call it a  marginal economy?

the modern calculators and computers go begging

as they make quick calculations

add, subtract, multiply and divide they do

with no pencil or paper all done in their mind.

 

Nature is their mother

the place under the big tree is their home.

the river bed is their washroom

the open space is their play area

rain or shine they live like that

aligned to nature as much as they can.