07 (Sakuntala) Return To The Base Camp Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

The King’s close friend,
The court jester found
Himself badly stuck up
In the forest base camp.

Talking to himself, he said,
“My fate has now played,
To keep me in distress,
In this forest for days.”

“The King is mad after
Hunting wild pigs, deer,
Roaming here and there,
Even in this hot weather.”

“The dirty water from
The mountain stream
We’ve to drink sometime
And eat food not in time.”

“Most of the time we eat
The same burnt raw meat,
Undergoing ordeals many,
Sometime in a way funny.”

“All my bone joints
Have become loose
After riding on horse
In rough roads for days.”

“In this kind of hell
Can a man sleep well?
The hunters’ noise, above all,
Adds more to this hell.”

“The drum beat sounds,
Barking of the hounds,
Pierce my eardrums
Right from early hours.”

“Our adventurous King,
Was keen on chasing,
A deer in his hunt,
And somewhere went.”

“It seems, he saw a girl,
And lost his sweet will
Out of mad love for her
Once he saw her”

“Perhaps he’ll return never,
And will prefer to stay there,
To spend his time with her,
Forgetting his duties here.”

Like this, he was murmuring,
And saw the king coming
Back To the base camp
With no show or pomp.

Dushyanta heaved a sigh
In his spirit, not so high,
Having left his dream girl,
Who had robbed his soul.

“It’s not so easy to earn
The love of a dear one,
Yet, her gestures give
The comforts I deserve.”

“O’er an incomplete love,
To get it, one thinks how,
Another craves for it,
With pleasure still in it.”

“The load on her waist,
The work with no rest,
Perhaps kept her tired,
So, no attention she paid.”

“Her indirect eye sight
Her replies so indifferent,
Perhaps, all meant for me,
Had Cupid pitied me.”