The Shore Temple in Mahaballipuram
The mirtangist may never willingly hear
may not want to hear
the multaiyam announcing his cue
nor the melodist aware of the flautist's right
to the change in the raga
the plucking of the yal strings
to the goatskin drummed bleats
and pleas
of mindless fingers
for out there
on the receding promontary's rising granite mounds
of three-tiered edifices
held up
by the Pallava's view
of the Descent into the Ganges:
rishis crosslegged contemplate yakshis or apsaras' unharnessed
thighs
attenuated waists commodious backs buxom breasts
where mantra-chanting brahmins bathe drink and contort themselves
through puzzling demeaning rites
where Hanuman's emissary mounts guard
where the wizened Ganesha
with Buddhic lobes
his tusks bent inward
the noble crown and forehead
higher than the top-heavy octogonal coupole
The yal's graveness guiding the scorched chiselling hand
through all the buffeting splash and spray
the taste of briny sand in jasmin-scented rounds
of hand-pressed rice
till the sun roots out vision
from botched corneas
deaf jabs of moulting faltering hands
on damp sand
Thus would prideful devotees heedlessly later claim:
« This is a monument to Pallava vision
Pallava faith
Pallava fortitude
See how the obedient ocean dutifully recedes
from Pallava wrath and glory! »
Even the hardest rock wears with the winnowing wind
Little by little a decade of centuries later
To whose glory must this monument testify
to
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poem by T. Wignesan
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