Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Volume 5, Number 1. May 2022. ISSN: 2581-7094
The Cow and the Bull
INTRO
In the following two lyrics from two hit movies, translated by me from the
Telugu original, the cow and the bull give us a peep into their side of the
story. While the countryman voices about the cow, the countrywoman voices about
the bulls. Both the lyrics were penned by Kosaraju Raghavaiah Chowdary known
for his chaste and enchanting pastoral, folksy idiom.
The
first lyric on the importance of cows is from a 1968 Telugu movie “Govula
Gopanna” (Gopanna the Cowherd), and it was sung by the legendary Ghantasala Venkateswara
Rao (who was also its music director) for one of the two protagonists both
played by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, the leading star of his times.
The
second lyric on the greatness of the bulls is from a 1960 Telugu movie “Nammina
Bantu” (The Faithful Factotum), and it was sung by the legendary P Susheela for
the female protagonist enacted by Savitri, the unforgettable leading star from
the Telugu filmdom, with the music composed by Saluri Rajeswara Rao, an
outstanding maestro. The bulls in this move are the Ongole breed, a uniquely majestic
Indian breed, Bos indicus, native to the Telugu land and it has been
long since imported by a large number of countries right from South East Asia
to Brazil and is flourishing overseas.
[By
the way, The Ongole breed is so famous that the sculpture-rich pilgrim centre Lepakshi
in Anantapur district is home to the huge monolithic sacred Bull – Lepakshi
Basavaiah – at its entrance. Awestruck and inspired, Adivi Bapiraju, a polymath
sprang up into a gush of poetic rhapsody and sang it aloud impromptu... “O Bull of Lepakshi, spring up and come on!”]
1.
The Moo of a Cow
Courtesy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCeoOeH5Sp0
Harken, harken, oh
bozo! Know this, oh, ignoramus.
Mother cow am I; know, that you’re no
match for me.
Guileless cow am I,
innocent of any humbug;
Whatever you bid me do,
can’t I counter with a ‘No.’
Grazing the hay thrown
at me, eking out a living I am;
Every bit of mine, sacrificing am I for
others.
Pots of tasty fresh
milk am I parting;
Side-lining my calves,
filling am I your tummies.
The moment I get old,
to the butcher you give me up;
Yet I am handy, serving you even after
my death.
Know that my children
break up the soil and plough the fields;
Know that my dung
fertilises the crop and gives a good yield;
Know that my hide turns
into your footwear;
Know that it’s only my skin that sets off music from the drums.
2.
The Selfless Bull
Courtesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKTKGkFtv2g
Rollick and rollick…
Rollick with gambols!
Oh, high-bred classy
calves!
Oh, cute and teeny voiceless calves!
When will you bellow,
Showing off your shiny humps…?
When will you bounce up
and down
With swift paces, and plough the fields?
When will you feed our
starving family
With some leafy veggies?
Pinning all our hopes on you and waiting
around,
When will we find ourselves relived of our sorrows?
You never sit at the
dining table,
Flaring up and demanding a multi-course feast;
You
never pester us by insisting
On silky beds for you to rest on.
Content just with a
handful of hay
And a mouthful of water;
Happily, you sway your
heads.
You certainly come off far better
Than the merciless beastly men.
Day and night with no
rest, you go on helping others;
You stand by your
owners, and prove your loyalty;
You’re the darling
children of the Telugu Motherland;
You’re the precious
gems, boosting the wealth of the country;
You’re indeed our
household deities;
Sans you, simply lifeless is the human race.