Ode to Nila

The loneliness is pricking me as I sit

On the single seat in the second class

Of the passenger train

The buzzing sounds do not break my solitude

And here I’m alone in this crowd

The train whistled

Neither the whistling nor the buzzing quenched

My alienation

The train covered unknown cities and villages

And it goes to my homeland

A journey from unknown to known!

Mind is darting

At last crossed Palakkad and still running

A river can be seen soon after

The train has left the station

Which is none other than the

Nostalgic river Nila

The Nile of Kerala!

At last I have found solace from this solitude

Nila, You will always be there in my

Good old memories

You like the train travelers

Traveling to your destination

Now I can see the silence,sluggishness and

Lack of life

Once You were the embodiment of

Life and invigoration

Joy and mirth

Full of water and sands

All faded away in the sands of time

And became a mere vein of water

Still You survive as a monument of

Human inhumanness

Nevertheless You inspire me

Many poets wrote eulogies for You

You became the backdrop for many great literary works

You always appeal to me

The train outdistances Parli and Mankara

I can see you flowing slowly

Sometimes in a zigzag manner

Yet You always overtake us

My train is nearing Lakkidi station

And both You and we are traveling parallel to

Each other

Fumes are rising from the other side of You-

The shore that bestow salvation to those

Who complete the cycle of life- Ivormatom

You may have witnessed the salvation of

Many souls by now

And may have Sung dirge.

The train leaves Lakkidi

Sometimes You take diversions

And finally meet again as though

Playing hide and seek with the travelers.

The train moves slowly, reaching Ottapalam

A lot of people can be seen in the meadow of sand

Enjoying the evening sunshine

And the train stops, I have to detrain here….

But I won’t

I want to travel with you till

You take diversion

And I remain in the train

Just for satisfying my eccentric disposition.

The train leaves the station by whistling and

It covered Shoranur, Pattambi and Kuttipuram

Thickets are seen outgrown and

You are losing your pristine glory

Casuarinas and bushes occupy your place and,

Machines are seen digging Your sands

All these made me remember

The farsighted poet’s lines:

“O perar, our beloved mother

Will you turn into a vexed drain?”

Pathetic but true

You shrank

Dehydrated in the test of summer

Leastwise we have the reminiscences of

Your past glory

What will last for the next generation?

Now the train is about to reach Thirunaavaaya and

Here the rail and river bid farewell to each other

And pursue their own courses

The train stops, now I must leave the train

It's only for You that I have traveled

These distances

Now I have to return….

Adieu Nila, adieu