triveni spotlight
A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY!
hosts: Teji Sethi and Kala Ramesh
host editor: Teji Sethi
Theme: Raga in Nature
Journal: haikuKATHA
waxing moon
in the quiet stream
one after another
the ripples
of my silent raga
— Mallika Chari
There is no end to seeing and hearing. The structure of the universe is infinite. Endless vibrating expansion.
~ Nanak
There are myriad sounds which pre-exist in nature and can be perceived by human ear. It is completely natural, both animals and humans to have profound reactions to certain sounds. Some songbirds sing from repertoires which use the same rhythms and note combinations as modern composers. For example, the canyon wren uses a 12-tone scale. The hermit thrush, on the other hand, sings in a five tone penta-scale which is common in Asian music. The tanka I have chosen to showcase, exquisitely capture the ‘music in nature’ be it the sound of ripples, a bird song, a cicada’s mating call, the rustle of leaves or the lament of paddy fields!
Teji Sethi
so much for me to ponder in the many layers of this tanka, thank you Mallika and Teji.
Thanks for this wonderful post. I appreciate the depth and insights of the previous commentary. Even though I'm relatively uninformed about the intricacies of raga, I feel the universal presence of the music and poetry in this tanka. Tracking phases of the moon as the passage of music across water is simply breathtaking.
---Billie kiku makura
I like this tanka.
The first line shows us a concrete image, the image of an autumn evening with its waxing moon. We are always enchanted by the beauty of the waxing moon which is at its best on the fourteenth night of the lunar month. In fact it has more mesmerizing effect than the full moon.
The remaining lines again show a tranquil surrounding where one can even hear the sound of the water of a quiet stream flowing and making ripples. As Teji quotes, it is a 'music in nature', and to the poet a silent 'raga', symbolising the unbearable, suffocating mood of the moment where no words could express ( Rāga traditionally has an emotional significance an…
How very beautifully this tanka flows!
Another fine selection Teji. Loving the musicality in your picks.