haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 31st May 2025

haikaiTALKS: Seasonal Words | a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

A Disclaimer

Responsibility for the originality of the haikai rests solely with the submitting poet. 

Should anyone feel it is similar to another haikai, they are encouraged to directly reach out to the concerned poet.

Triveni Haikai India will take action, if any, on the recommendation of the submitting poet.

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host: Srinivasa Sambangi

31st May 2025

haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

Your host for haikaiTALKS: Srinivas Sambangi

haikaiTALKS 31st May 2025

Indian saijiki:

For the next few weeks we will focus on haiku based on Indian seasonal words. We often refer to World Kigo Data (WKD) base for the seasonal words. There is a special section on the WKD website on Indian Saijiki, which Kala Ramesh mostly contributed. While the focus is on picking typical Indian seasonal words, I will choose three words every week which are not unknown to the rest of the world as prompts. Poets outside India may use their own kigo, similar to what is discussed, to write and post this week.

Unlike many other countries, according to the classical text of Ritusamharam, India has six seasons, each season comprising two months.

According to the classical text of Ritusamharam, India, unlike many other countries, experiences six seasons, with each season lasting two months.

Spring - called Vasant（Basant) - in the months of Chaitra and Vaishakh, approximately March and April

Summer – called Grishma –in the months of Jaishthya and Aashadh, approximately May and June

Rains – called Varsha - in the months of Shravan and Bhadrapad, approximately July and August

Autumn called Sharad - in the months of Aashwin and Kartik, approximately September and October

Frost – called Hemant – in the months of Margshishya and Phalgun, approximately November and December

Winter - called Shishir - in the months of Magh and Phalgun, approximately January and February.

It’s peak summer in India around this time. It’s also the holiday season for the Indian students. Indians often seek relief from heat by visiting cooler destinations, enjoying various indoor and outdoor recreational activities. Indians also relish lot of summer dishes and fruits typical of this season.

Kigo chosen for this week are:

1. hill station/beach resort/beach walk

Summer is the best season for tourism in India. Hill stations and beach resorts are the most common destinations for tourists in May and June. As it’s a holiday season, many families beat the heat by visiting higher altitude hill stations where the temperature is low and comfortable. Beaches also attract many domestic as well as foreign tourists during this season. Popular beach destinations include Goa, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Hill stations like Darjeeling, Coorg and Shimla offer a change of scenery and pleasant weather. Government of India encourages such tourism, making Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) tax free to various government and private employees.

             evening beach walk —             the waves            

do all the talking

                        -- Pappafava Michael, Haiku Dialogue, July 24, 2024

Nilgiri hills . . . the echo of purple in the air          -- Teji Sethi Haiku  Dialogue, August 18, 2021

2. Cotton/Khadi clothes

Khadi, a handspun and handwoven cotton fabric, is a prominent part of Indian textile tradition and has become a symbol of Swadeshi movement. It is known for its coarse texture, comfort, and versatility. While cotton is a natural fiber used to make various fabrics, including khadi, khadi specifically refers to the hand-spinning and hand-weaving process. While some politicians in India wear khadi/cotton clothes through the year, it’s common for many citizens to wear them during summer. They offer comfort and coolness in the heat of summer.

spilling curry on my khadi suit - all natural colors

                        -- Gabi Greve

khadi clothes

the color of our leader

goes with the season

           -- Srinivasa Rao Sambangi Failed Haiku, May 2020

3. Pre-monsoon showers/hails/hailstones

Hail forms when water droplets in a thunderstorm rise into a cold enough portion of the atmosphere (above freezing) to freeze and create ice, then fall as hail. Summer conditions, with warm air at lower levels and rising air, are ideal for creating these conditions. Pre-monsoon showers in India are sometimes loaded with hails. It brings happiness and relief from the heat and humid conditions. Children, especially in villages enjoy collecting the hails in tumblers and playing with them

Hailstones

  through

the spider’s web

       -- Peggy Willis Lyles Tightrope (1979)

the sound of hail

knocking on the glass roof —

my loneliness

         -- Olivier Schopfer Modern Haiku 45:2 (2014)

now children

come run among jewels

hailstones

     -- Basho Trans by Jane Riechhold

Looking forward to see your haiku this week with any of the above summer kigo. While the above kigo is preferred this week, you (especially poets outside India) may choose any other summer kigo

Ref:

https://indiasaijikiworlkhaiku.blogspot.com/2006/12/seasonal-words-list.html

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KIGO WORDS

Shall we please try to include a kigo word in all the poems we share here?

Give the season and the word — under your poem. 

I'm quoting Lev Hart's request here: "This week’s goal is to compose two verses with toriawase, blending wabi, sabi, karumi, mono no aware, and/or yugen. Tell us which aesthetic concepts you mean to express in a line below the verse. Strive for originality. Avoid stock phrases and shopworn images."

For seasonal references, please check these lists:

“A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods,” by Jane Reichhold:

https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/7fb6654a1dfd1afef97369da920530f8.pdf

indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:

https://www.trivenihaikai.in/indian-saijiki

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html

The World Kigo Database:

https://wkdkigodatabase03.blogspot.com/

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List:

https://yths.org/season-word-list/

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Thank you for this post, Srinivas.

I hope our poets take the challenge and create a haiku on these lines! You have been so well for the last many months.

Greatly indebted to you.

Dear Members,

Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems, too. _()_

We are continuing haikaiTALKS grandly!

Keep writing and commenting! _kala