Grey
bellied Cuckoo is another of those Cuckoos that lay its egg on other birds
nest; in this case the unfortunate victims are warblers. Caught this male in Chinnar forest where we
had gone for birding sometime back. It was quite a success about 82 bird
species were documented, including some rare sightings like Sirkeer Malkoha and
Blue bearded Bee eater.
José Rizal: the
eternal hero of Philippines
I'll go where there are no slaves,
tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where
God alone does reign.
I thought
of writing about someone from Philippines after derogatory references to its
culture by colonial writers that I quoted in my blog www.depalan.blogspot.com. José Rizal (June
19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) is a venerated figure of Philippines who was
executed by colonial Spaniards. Apart from being a medical doctor he was also a
prolific writer, poet, painter and sculptor. His advocacy of peaceful means
rather than violent revolution makes him forerunner of Gandhi as one of the
earliest non-violent proponent of freedom.
To
the Philippines
(original sonnet
was written in Spanish)
Aglowing
and fair like a houri on high,
Full of grace and pure like the Morn that peeps
When in the sky the clouds are tinted blue,
Of th' Indian land, a goddess sleeps.
The light foam of the son'rous sea
Doth kiss her feet with loving desire;
The cultured West adores her smile
And the frosty Pole her flow'red attire.
With tenderness, stammering, my Muse
To her 'midst undines and naiads does sing;
I offer her my fortune and bliss:
Oh, artists! her brow chaste ring
With myrtle green and roses red
And lilies, and extol the Philippines!
Full of grace and pure like the Morn that peeps
When in the sky the clouds are tinted blue,
Of th' Indian land, a goddess sleeps.
The light foam of the son'rous sea
Doth kiss her feet with loving desire;
The cultured West adores her smile
And the frosty Pole her flow'red attire.
With tenderness, stammering, my Muse
To her 'midst undines and naiads does sing;
I offer her my fortune and bliss:
Oh, artists! her brow chaste ring
With myrtle green and roses red
And lilies, and extol the Philippines!
Our
Mother Tongue
(A poem originally in Tagalog*
written by Rizal when he was only eight years old)
If truly a people dearly love
The tongue to them by Heaven sent,
They'll surely yearn for liberty
Like a bird above in the firmament.
Because by its language one can judge
A town, a barrio, and kingdom;
And like any other created thing
Every human being loves his freedom.
One who doesn't love his native tongue,
Is worse than putrid fish and beast;
AND like a truly precious thing
It therefore deserves to be cherished.
The Tagalog language's akin to Latin,
To English, Spanish, angelical tongue;
For God who knows how to look after us
This language He bestowed us upon.
As others, our language is the same
With alphabet and letters of its own,
It was lost because a storm did destroy
On the lake the bangka 1 in years bygone.
If truly a people dearly love
The tongue to them by Heaven sent,
They'll surely yearn for liberty
Like a bird above in the firmament.
Because by its language one can judge
A town, a barrio, and kingdom;
And like any other created thing
Every human being loves his freedom.
One who doesn't love his native tongue,
Is worse than putrid fish and beast;
AND like a truly precious thing
It therefore deserves to be cherished.
The Tagalog language's akin to Latin,
To English, Spanish, angelical tongue;
For God who knows how to look after us
This language He bestowed us upon.
As others, our language is the same
With alphabet and letters of its own,
It was lost because a storm did destroy
On the lake the bangka 1 in years bygone.
(Tagalog is a major language of people in
Philippines. The word Tagalog
derived from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning
"river". Thus, it means "river dweller")
From my scribble pad…
From
the shadow of empire
The tongue has its own language
that the mind doesn’t understand
the mind has its own language
that the soul doesn’t reach.
Words, meanings and reasons
shift in the cataclysmic
barrenness
of alien, native, bastard’s tongue
born in the opportune scramble of
near past.
