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haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 6th September 2025

haikaiTALKS: Five Senses & Tanmatras|a saturday gathering under the banyan tree


A Disclaimer

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

If anyone feels that it is similar to another haikai, they are encouraged to contact the relevant poet directly.

Triveni Haikai India will take any action as recommended by the submitting poet.


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Special Guest Poet: Lakshmi Iyer

host: Srinivasa Sambangi 6th September 2025


haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

Your Guest Poet for SEPTEMBER for haikaiTALKS: Lakshmi Iyer


haikaiTALKS 


Five Senses & Tanmatras


The Upanishads, and broader Vedic and Hindu philosophical texts, describe the five Jnanendriyas or cognitive senses: hearing (ear), touch (skin), sight (eye), taste (tongue), and smell (nose).

These senses are considered the primary means by which an individual perceives the external world and gains knowledge about it. 


These five senses are often linked to the elements and their corresponding tanmatras:

Sound is associated with the ear and the element of space.

Touch is linked to the skin and the element of air.

Form/Sight is attributed to the eye and the element of fire.

Taste is associated with the tongue and the element of water.

Smell is linked to the nose and the element of earth. 


We have come across many poems connected to the five senses. We shall take each one of them and weave our senses! The given poems are my earthly experiences, published and presented here. Thank you so much, Kala Ramesh and the entire editorial board, for giving me this opportunity to present the feature in haikaiTALKS.


I'm looking forward to reading your poems, as I have come to understand how each one of you thinks differently. 


Beginning with Sound: Ear: Space


Let us listen to the minutest sound… just focus on the sound and share your experiences. Sounds have their own decibels; light and heavy, sharp and strong. Just wake up to notice. 



loud tides

disturbing mind

becoming silent


            Mallika Chari, Chennai, India 

Wild plum 3:1, Summer 2017



full moon

just one cicada’s chirp 

fills the garden 


            K Ramesh, Chennai, India 

a small tree of tender leaves 



temple festival ends . . .

chorus of crickets follow

an elephant's chained walk


            Lakshmi Iyer, India 

            Under the Basho, 2024

             

(All the above poems spill the frequency of sound as the dawn sets into the dusk building up their own space)





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

 

Indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:

 

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:

 

The World Kigo Database:

 

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List:

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Thanks, Lakshmi. We are eagerly looking forward to how the next two months are going to unfold.

Dear Members,

Waiting for your responses.

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

We are continuing haikaiTALKS in a grand manner!

Keep writing and commenting! _kala

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