THE DRIED PETALS

THE DRIED PETALS

The dark pink for the Tamil marriages,

The bright orange for the Telugu weddings,

The Kannadigas liked the glowing yellows.

There were many types of whites for all the fellows.

And the reds were loved by all.

Chosen and tended were we, with stems thick and tall.

We were symbols of the good times,

Never bothered when ignored and thrown,

The rolling bad times were waited out to be gone.

But the Crown of viruses has only left us to mourn,

Seems like the bad times have no near end in sight.

It is paining to be uprooted with no one to hear the plight.

Petal by petal the flowers have dried,

So have the flori farmers, who have really tried.

Are they just tired or have they died?

_________________________________________________________________________________

ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

ಪ್ರತಿ ರೀತಿ ಮದುವೆಗೂ ಆರಿಸಿ ತಂದಿದರು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು,

ನೋಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸ್ನಿಗ್ಧವಾದ ಕೆಂಪು,

ತಿಳಿ ಬಿಳಿಯ ಮನದಾಳದ ಮೌನದ ಕಂಪು.

ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯಾಸ್ತಗಳನ್ನು ಭುವಿಗೆ ತಂದ ಹರಿಶಿಣ ಮತ್ತು ಕಿತ್ತಳೆ ಬಣ್ಣ.

ಆ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಸೆಳೆದಿತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನು, 

ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಶುಭ ಘಳಿಗೆಗಳ ದ್ಯೋತಕವಾಗಿದ್ದೆವು ನಾವು.
ಶೂನ್ಯ, ಆಷಾಡಗಳು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಭಾಗಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ರೋಗ ಕೀಟಗಳು ಬಾಧಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ಇಂದು ಶ್ರಾವಣದ ಶುಭ ಘಳಿಗೆಲಿಲ್ಲ,
ಕರೋನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಿಂದ  ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ,
ನಮ್ಮ ಚಂದದ ಅರಿವಿಲ್ಲ,

ಹೂದೋಟದ ಮಾಲೀಕರಿಗೆ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಗಳಿಲ್ಲ!

 Dedicated to all the Floriculturists especially the cut flower farmers who have taken loans and built polyhouses but only to know that the parties have stopped and they have been left to pay the bill. 

We don’t even have an organized market and we sell on the foothpaths in the morning and that too when its free, but now even that seems distant.

It is an appeal to the authorities & government to consider the plight of these farmers who are often ignored and forgotten.