The Crab Catcher Poem by Debendra Majhi
The Crab Catcher
It was the early dawn
Horizon beyond recognition.
The monsoon rains painted all hazy
The crows still nest-crouched
Tattle birds not yet woken up
To break stillness of dawn.
We, the village kids
Equipped with earthen pots,
Bamboo sticks and pitchers
Bare foot and half bare torso
Ventured amidst downpour,
Wading through knee deep water
To the inundated paddy lands
Adjoining our native habitation.
The previous day when dusk fell
Putting in the pots the smashed snails
Tying paddy stems around pots
And the pitchers with a bead knot
Spots well demarcated
Invited all preys around
With splashing chatter errand.
And when the ripples calmed down
The preys climb upto the crown
To land inside the trapping pots
To become next day's prized catch.
All village girls and boys together
No botheration of darkness or the gender
Dubuli nani is the queen
The best catcher
Brought all crabs full of pitcher.
Bhadrav is the breeding period
The tender eggs grow in number
Delicious and much in demand
Khetiree* fetched nothing
But Madhua* commands.
Dr. Mohanty used to take it all
One ganda# for charana.
Four ganda fetched a shera^ of rice.
Glossary
*Local Variety of crabs
# ganda-pair of four
Charana(4 ana) -16 ana make one rupee.
^ one shera is equivalent to one Kg.
* Dubuli nani-a village girl
Dr. Mohanty- a local doctor.
Liked the use of local words in this poem, it's a marvelous poem.
Beautiful Memories! ! ! ! ! Beautifully Painted! ! ! ! Thank You Ever So Much For Sharing This! ! ! ! ! Ever Ever So Very Many 10S! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! +++++
thank you dear Rebecca. the childhhod memories are so much enthralling to reminiscent that even the times of misseries distant past becomes most enjoyable tomes of ones life latter.your appreciation is an encouragement.
very nice and vivid retrieval of distant memory that had both romantic and economic livelihood base.
very nice and viviv retrieval of distant memory that had both romantic and economic livelihood base.
thank you poet.though livelihood of the rural folks prima facie seems tough and struggling, the truthfulness they learn through these daily activities and the fruits of labour they earn leave linger imprints in their personal attributes. thank you for appreciating the poem.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/8/2024 10:32:57 AM # 1.0.0.1119
A beautiful write with scientific temper......Thanks for sharing, , , , ,10