Our Ancestral Village Poem by narayana aghalaya

Aghalaya, Our Ancestral Village
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migrants from.Komandur a hamlet.near Kanchi
our ancestors set foot.at Aghalaya a small village
near Sravanabelagola, centre of Jain pilgirmage
two centuries ago; the why of it is sketchy

fleeing from conditions of strife or famine
for.greener.and safer pastures to find

Mysore's kind.Maharaja offered succour
lands and.agrahara for their lives to recoup

recoup they did, and the families grew
many shifted to towns; by jobs, lured

Now, just my cousin Raju lives there
for our ancestral traditions to take care
he, a former postmaster, has set his roots
moves around in dhoti -kurta and, bare-foot

health issues and old injuries trouble him
for others, his rigid lifestyle, might look grim

close to eighty, his spirits don't seem to wane
worships our.deity at home on the small lane
and also at the small Laxmi Narayana temple
with large idols, their centuries old tales, to tell;

Varaha Jayanthi with much pomp, he performs
for cousins, families, friends, to join, is the norm

we -wife, daughter, self- no way could we miss
to exchange notes with.our.kith and kin
while we pay obeisance to our family deity
certainly our/pleasant and important duty

we salute the resilience of our forefathers
extreme uncertainty, they had to bother
their current descendants have prospered
making best use of opportunities offered

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