mkbhasi's Homepage

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Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:51 EST

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Audio - The sound of Poetry

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:11 EST

Audio - The Sound of Poetry

Disk1: (audio only) NoopuraDhwani (Malayalam)
1, 2, 3, 4 sung by Prabha Nair

5, 6 sung by Stanley Augustine

7 - 11 sung by Vincent Gomez

    1. Florence Nightingale (Text only)
    2. Jhansi Rani (Text only)
    3. Mother Teresa (Text only)
    4. Bharatha Vaakyam (Text only)

5. Aaraanu Pinneyum (Text only)
6. Oru Moha Bhangamaayalayunnu (Text)

    7. Neelakkadampukal Pootthu (Text only)
    8. Neelakkadal (Text only)
    9. Nizhalum Velichavum (Text only)
    10. Kurukshetram (Text only)
    11. Innale Ithuvazhi (Text only)

Disk3 : (audio) Ahalya (Malayalam)
sung by Sreedharan Nair
For Text Click HERE.

	Disk4 (audio only) Hues and Shadows (English) For text and audio
	Disk5 (audio only) The Distant Shores (English) For text and audio
	Disk6 (audio only) On the Seashore (English) For text and audio

The Better Man

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:53 EST

Reproduced from Cohesion, a bi-monthly publication of North West
Community Development Council , Singapore. (Sep-Oct 2004 issue)

The Largest Gathering of Poets

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:47 EST

The International Society of Poets Convention 1997 in Washington DC
The Largest Gathering of Poets in History

A cross-section of the world’s poets assembled in the United States capital for the Annual International Society of Poets (ISP) Convention and Symposium this August 8 – 10, 1997. This was the seventh anniversary of the world-wide poetry event. Ms Elizabeth Barnes, President of ISP claimed it as the largest gathering of poets in history. The convention attended by 2000 poets and guests was held at the Sheraton Washington Hotel where most of the participants were accommodated. Sheraton with 1338 rooms has a long history of being the site for monumental events. Every United states President since Herbert Hoover in 1929 has hosted an Inaugural Gala there.

I was one of the poets invited to read a poem at the convention. I am grateful to the Singapore National Arts council for giving me a travel grant to participate. The registration started on the 7^th evening as most of the participants had already arrived. It went on to the next morning as originally planned.

There were several events going on at the same time, so you had to choose what you really wanted to attend. In addition to an entire symposium of seminars, workshops, discussion groups and contests, poets from 40 nations celebrated with two memorable nights of entertainment, highlighted by Florence Henderson, Grammy winner Johnny Cash, the only entertainer in history to be awarded "The triple Crown" of music – by being inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Johnny Cash has also been awarded the Nation’s Lifetime Award by President Clinton. Adding to the convention excitement was the Marvelletes whose many hits include the song, "Please Mr. Postman".

ISP- member Individual Contest reading was arranged in three sessions over two days. My turn was on the first day, at the first session. Originally, I had planned to read one of my poems, The Distant Shores. I had to substitute another poem, The Paper Boats, for this occasion as I was informed that The Distant Shores had advanced to the final round at another competition . It was also selected to be included in a 1998 anthology, The Star-laden Sky. In addition, it will be one of the ten poems to be recorded by a professional reader on audio-cassette under the name, The sound of Poetry, and released by the end of the year.

Poets were treated to a fabulous laser show in the Sheraton Ballroom, where every poet’s name went up in multi-coloured lights.

There were a number of occasions where you could read your poems to an appreciative audience. These were not considered as contest poems and no prizes were given, but a panel of judges evaluated them and gave their comments.

US Senator Eugene Mc Carthy, who was the special guest lecturer at the convention and the moderator at the members’ workshop, was suddenly taken ill, reportedly after a heart attack, and was admitted to hospital for emergency surgery on the first day of the convention. Mr. Westreich took his place and spoke on The Message and the Messenger. In Senator McCarthy’s absence, an autographed complimentary copy of his latest collection of poems, Cool Reflections, was presented to every participant.

Over the past seven years, the ISP has received international acclaim – including front page coverage in USA Today – for its unique World’s Largest Poem for Peace. Which continued to be written at the convention. The poem which gets larger everyday, contains tens of thousands of individual poems on peace written by poets from all over the world. This year, as usual, the participating poets got the opportunity to include their contributions alongside such notables like President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.For each poem added, the society will make a donation to a charitable cause.

I had the opportunity to meet poets from Britain, the US, Canada, Bangladesh, India, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.

It was an experience. An experience of a lifetime.

M K Bhasi
The Straits Times September 5, 1997

Coming from 40 countries, they meet in Washington

Awards

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:31 EST

Literary Awards - M K Bhasi

1     Kaumudi Prize (Kerala) - September 1952
       For the poem, Shakuntala (Malayalam)
        Jointly awarded by Kaumudi Weekly and Sahitya
       Pravartaka Sahakarana Sangham (Writers' Co-operative
       Society) .

2     Kavi Samajam Award (Kerala) - December 1995
       For the poem, Ahalya (Malayalam)
       Awarded by the Kerala Kavi Samajam (Poets' Society of
       Kerala) . For Ahalya (English), click here.

3     Editor's Choice Award (USA) - October 1996
       For the poem, Hues and Shadows (English).
       Awarded by the International Library of Poetry.
       This poem was published in Jewels of the Imagination,
       an anthology of Poetry published by ILP.

4     Editor's Choice Award (USA) - June 1997
       For the poem, The Distant Shores (English)
       Awarded by the International Library of Poetry.
       This poem was published in The Star-laden Sky,
       an anthology of Poetry published by ILP.

5     The International Poet of Merit Award (USA) -
       Aug 1997
       Awarded by the International Society of Poets ,
       Washington D C.

6     Gayatri Award (New Delhi) - Oct 1997
       For the poem, Ithile Nadannavar (Malayalam) -
       Those Who Walked This Way.
       Awarded second prize by Gayatri, a literary society
       based in New Delhi.

7     Deccan Cultural Society Award (Bangalore) -
       Oct 1998
       For the poem, Ithile Nadannavar (Malayalam) -
       Those Who Walked This Way .
       Awarded first prize by the Deccan Cultural Society
       based in Bangalore, India.

8     Editor's Choice Award (USA) - 2001
       Awarded by the Int'l Library of Poetry and
       Poetry.Com for the poem Yaatra (English).
       This poem was published in Mirrors of the Millenium,
       an anthology by the ILP.

International Poet of Merit Award
presented to M K BHASI
on this 17th day of November 2002
by the International Society of Poets.

The Outstanding Malayalee Award

Published works:

1.    Mazhavillukal (Malayalam Poems) - 1967
2.    Ajanta and Other Poems (Malayalam Poems) - 1997
3.    English Poems published in anthologies:

	Hues and Shadows in Jewels of the Imagination (1997)
	The Distant Shores in The Star-laden Sky (1997)
	Yatra in Memories of the Millennium (2001)
	Why Did You Come? in The Best Poetry and Poets of 2001 (2001)
	On the Seashore in Endless Mysteries (2002)
	The Paper Boats in Theatre of the Mind by Noble House, London (2003)

Receiving International Society of Poets Award from Florence Henderson

Kavi Samajam (Kerala) Award for Ahalya

Anthologies

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:27 EST

These are some of the anthologies in which my poems have been published.

	Jewels of the Imagination (1997) Published by the International Library of Poetry, UK Hues and Shadows (page 117)

	The Star-laden Sky (1997) Published by the International Library of Poetry, UK The Distant Shores (page 146)

	Memories of the Millennium (2001) Published by Poetry.com. USA Yatra (page 71)

	The Best Poetry and Poets of 2001 (2001) Published by Poetry.com, USA Why Did You Come? (page 36)

	Endless Mysteries (2002) Published by Poetry.com, USA On the Seashore (page 145)
	Theatre of the Mind(2003) Published by Noble House, London The Paper Boats (page 3) The International Who's who in Poetry (2004) Thank You for the Memories (page 3)

The Scent of Love

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:48 EST

The Scent of Love

Where comes this scent from
Tonight?
Where from - this fragrance new?

I sleep
Not being able to recall
The lone journey

Here -atop a silken thread
Deep ravines
Beneath

A teardrop spills over
As I bid farewell
In half awareness

In this darkness I drown
Not knowing when
We would meet again

Remember
Here is one who loved you
Lest there is no return

Where comes this scent from
Tonight?
Where from -this fragrance new?

As I lay gazing
Across a glass pane
Into the distance

Empty skies
Empty mind
Emptiness surround

This scent - familiar
Memories fade-in-
Again

This scent -
Cherished deep in my heart
Unspoken - Exotic

This scent –
Kept just for you
The scent of love.

Singapore General Hospital 1 Dec 05
Translation from the original Malayalam by Thara Ravindran

My Search Begins

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:44 EST

My Search Begins

The little oil lamps are extinguished
The dark blue idol has gone to sleep.

I close the door gently
Step out of my temple
And walk slowly through the lonely path.

Time sleeps along these granite steps
And down below
The river flows.

Over the wet sands
Looking for vanished footprints
From my temple of darkness
My search begins.

The cold wind blows
The night is dark
And I stand here
Alone in this cemetery.

Here sleeps my fore-fathers
With their crippling beliefs and superstitions.
Here I leave mine
To sleep with them for ever.

Golden Light!
Shine into the dark corners of my heart
And let me sleep for a while on your laps
And then wake up to see
The glory of a bright, sun-lit morning. ■

Yaatra

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:41 EST

Yaatra

These unfamiliar winding paths
knocking at
unknown fortresses

A wayward inn,
covered in smoke
from an extinguished oil-lamp

Wait here a while;
there's no time
to lie down and sleep.

Before the night ends
pack up your bag
and get going.

You have to reach
the distant land
on the other side.

This is a journey
where you never see again
the path you leave behind.

This is a journey
where those gone this way
never come back to tell the story.

20. 12. 1998

Poems of the World (USA)1999 Spring Issue - Pg 19
This poem appears in an anthology, MEMORIES OF THE MILLENIUM-- published by the International Library of Poetry, USA (Jan 2001).

Yaatra is one of the ten poems selected for the CD-Rom, The Sound of Poetry, by Int'l Library of Poetry.

The Rainbows

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:37 EST

The Rainbows

The spine of my book
Is loose and broken;
What all things I wrote
I don't even remember.

But this I know:
The dark spots on these pages
Are my teardrops

These brown pages contain
Nothing but my shattered dreams.

Forgetting them,
I crossed the waves
Rowing against the tides
Looking for distant lands.

In this city humming with life
In my rented room
Alone and silent, I stand
Pressing my face against
The cold windowpanes
Not knowing how to cry.

Could it be my hopes and dreams
That fused as rainbows
I see in the distant sky?

16.7. 1997
Poems of the World 1998 Summer Issue - Pg18

Why Did You Come?

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:20 EST

WHY DID YOU COME?

Through these unknown paths
Winding through narrow valleys
Where dark shadows are lengthening
Lonely traveler, why did you come?

The flickering lamp at the temple
has gone out; the priest gone to sleep
and total darkness is spreading all around
Lonely traveler, why did you come?

Not a single star in sight
under the dark deep blue sky
to shed a ray of hope at this holy site
Lonely traveler, why did you come?

Climbing through the slippery cliffs
you have reached this mountain top
without a flower in hand to offer
Lonely traveler, why did you come?

Just to lay this flute at your feet
Just to close my eyes for a while
and feel the thrill in my heart
Just to find the words to sing of you again.

(Received Editor's Choice Award April 2002 from poetry.com and International Library of Poetry)

When Will We Stop?

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:14 EST

When Will We Stop?

When will we stop?
We have been fighting –
Fighting for peace, they say.

We are refugees in our own land
A people with shattered dreams
A people with broken promises.

We are in a killing field;
The mines still explode.
Forget the past;
It’s too painful to recollect.

When will we see the dawn break out
Over the hills and vales again?

When will we see the sky
Clean and smokeless again?

When will our children learn to smile,
Sing and play in the sun again?

When will we stop this hatred –
This cancer that spreads through the soul?

When will we stop this killing?
Will someone tell me, when?

7 July 1997

Included in The World's Longest Poem for Peace by the International Society of Poets, Washington D. C.(1997)

Those Who Walked This Way

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:01 EST

Those Who Walked This Way

Those who walked this way,
Those who left their footprints
on the sands of time,

Those who walked all alone,
Those who soaked
into their souls
all the simmering sorrows
of this hot earth,

Those who rowed across the sea
of raging waves and whirlpools
in a stormy night
against the tides ,

Those who left their fingerprints
wet with compassion
and disappeared somewhere
along this way —

How to continue their songs
giving a new melody
and a different rhythm?—
Unsure, I sit here.

They gave my memories
this rainbow; that I did not know.

They put this bamboo flute
in my hands; that I did not know.

They left this ember in my heart;
even that I did not know.

They burn as wicks in my soul;
That’s all I know—

That’s all…
that’s all…
I know.

Poems of the World (USA)1997/98 Issue - Pg 20

The Malayalam version of this poem received the following awards:

	Gayatri Award (New Delhi) - 1997 At a function held in Maulankar Hall, New Delhi, this award was presented on 24 October 1997. Vishnu Narayanan Nampoothiri, Chouvallur Krishnan Kutty and Pro. K. T. Krishna Warrier were the Judges.
	Deccan Cultural Society Award (Bangalore) - 1998. Pro. K. P. Sankaran was the Chairman of the panel of Judges. This award was presented by Dr. U. R. Anantha Murthy, Secretary of the Indian Sahitya Academy , at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Society at the ADA Rangamandira, Bangalore on 25 October 1998.

On the Seashore

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 02:54 EST

On The Seashore
The wet seashore,
The raging waves
And the lengthening shadows.

On this lonely seashore
Only the two of us.

The dusk, shy and beautiful
With its nimble fingers
Draws rainbows on your cheeks.

On this white sandy beach, I sit
Looking at your long blue eyes

The wind is howling;
The cold winter night comes
Clad in her dark robes.

With her long fingertips,
The sea rubs away the footprints
Still remaining on the shore.

Looking at the setting sun
You sit here beside me.
On this lonely seashore
Only the two of us.

( Selected for publication in 'Endless Mysteries', an anthology published by the International Library of Poetry in Summer 2002 page 145)

The River Flows

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 02:48 EST

The River Flows Again

The river flows again;
Looking at its depth
And the whirlpools I sit here.

Man turned into a beast
And blood flowed over the banks;
And that's how these sands
Became deep red in colour.

Counting beads you lead
The dance of destruction -
Ethnic cleansing you call it-
With hatred in your eyes.

Here, prophets run for their lives
Jesus is nailed to a wooden cross
Buddha doesn't walk here anymore
Gandhi bleeds to death on the footpath

The blood of Muslims mingles
With that of the Hindus
And that's how the Yamuna
Flows red along this way.

We came through the ages
Not to jump into the whirlpools
And die; we have to live and
Create a New World for our children. ,

Let this river flow again
And let the waves merge
Let's think of the glorious dawn
And the promises to keep.

12/6/97