Special Edition: SRI N SRIVATSA

Sri N Srivatsa

Bio: Chennai-born Sri N Srivatsa is a retired banker living in Noida. Over the years, his poetry and translations mostly from Tamil to English and vice versa plus a handful to and from Hindi, have been featured on several journals and platforms.  Ten volumes of Tamil poems by ten different poets and one volume of English poems translated by him into Tamil of yet another poet have been published so far. A collection of his English translations titled "Modern Tamil Poetry: A Miniature Canvas - Volume I with a poem each of 153 poets has just been released.

The lone seat

The photograph of the lone seat in North Haven 

kindles a mixture of emotions and

poses many a question.

Who thought of putting up a seat there

almost in the middle of nowhere?

Did he or she 

or was it them both or the very many

feel the need for a bench to perch upon 

to mull over the memories of the days past and loved ones who have passed on?

Was it to be just a place to rest 

and catch up with ones breath

after a mournful wake 

or a long walk around the lake? 

It was quite a thoughtful act

to erect the seat under a tree

that would cast its shadow

and shed its leaves on those seated below. 

Someone may have sat there alone

to pen a short story 

or script a play,

a poem or a letter to a beloved faraway.

Children may have jumped on it,

the homeless may have slept on it.

I wonder if the ironsmith who designed and cast it

ever got to sit on it.

---

Setu, September 2024