KANNADA ORIGINAL: ONDU BUDDIDEEPADA DUKHAGAATHE
ಒಂದು ಬುಡ್ಡಿದೀಪದ ದುಃಖಗಾಥೆ
POET: VASANTHA BANNADI B. ವಸಂತ ಬನ್ನಾಡಿ ಬಿ.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: S. JAYASRINIVASA RAO
THE LAMENT OF THE LITTLE OIL LAMP
Imagine a little oil lamp
The little oil lamp is not a neon lamp
It can brighten up dark corners of the world
It can transcend seasons
Even after ‘hundred and one’ circumambulations
it still nestles in your palm like a baby bird
It will, of course, start dimming,
it will fight till its last breath,
at the mercy of the breeze
While the above words are being uttered
your kindness-filled breaths
cannot stop the lamp from breathing its last
And observing the life and death struggle of the lamp
you will, no doubt, feel sorry
I feel
*****
