(Oh!)
I stretched my hands
around your robust frame
attempting to encompass you.
how can such tiny hands
save the air we breathe
all on my own?
(Aha!)
My sister’s hand is in mine
together, we
encircle life.
Lumbermen may arrive
brandishing axes. Still,
my sister’s hand is in mine.
(Yes)
We just stand
in front of the ax.
For “you is us”
our lungs, our food,
our brothers,
under moon and sunshine.
©Namratha Varadharajan
Poetry type:
I have written 3 poems in the form CHERITA with an added word in the parenthesis(). Cherita is a form invented by Ai Li which usually tells a story and has the 3 stanzas of 1 line, 2 lines and 3 lines respectively. There is no restriction on the number of syllables or rhyming like other short forms. You can find more examples of the Cherita here.
Inspiration/Cause for the day: Chipko Movement and Save Aarey
What is Chipko Movement?
Chipko in the Hindi language means ‘to stick‘. There is a lot to be said about it but Wikipedia says it the best:
The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan refers to a forest conservation movement where people clung onto trees to prevent them from being cut. Chipko–type movements date back to 1730 AD when in Khejarli village of Rajasthan, 363 Bishnois sacrificed their lives to save khejri trees. In modern India, it began in 1973 in Uttarakhand (then in Uttar Pradesh) and went on to become a rallying point for many future environmental movements all over the world. It created a precedent for starting of nonviolent protest in India, and its success meant that the world immediately took notice of this non-violent movement, which was to inspire in time many such eco-groups by helping to slow down the rapid deforestation, expose vested interests, increase ecological awareness, and demonstrate the viability of people power.
DID YOU KNOW?
Google featured the Chipko movement as a Google doodle on its 45th anniversary.
But why am I bringing this up here?
Have you heard about the Save Aarey? Aarey Milk Colony is a “Green Pocket” situated in the suburb of Mumbai, part of which has been earmarked for construction of a metro car shed. This will lead to an uprooting of 2,298 trees in the area! The citizens are working to find solutions to protect an area so rich in Biodiversity. We believe another ‘Chipko-like’ movement is required to stop the destruction of this ‘Garden of Eden’. I want to do my bit by writing about Save Aarey project. Do check out their twitter page and use your voice to spread the word.
I would conclude by pointing out that this is not the only area of India or for that matter in the world in which there is a need for us to stand up for our trees and the air we breathe.
What are you going to do about deforestation in your own neighborhood?
For each letter this April, I shall be presenting a poem inspired by ‘something’ that is making our world a little bit kinder, a little bit greener. The ‘something’ is a mix of people, movements, thoughts, or organizations who are having a positive influence on the world around us. Read all the posts in ‘Poetry For A Cause’ series by linking the button below.
“CHANGE BEGINS WITH AWARENESS” 
Lovely poem and important cause! Keep up the great work!
Jamie Lyn Weigt | Theme: Odds and Ends Dragons | Writing Dragons
Beautiful poem! And the black and white images are powerful!
Mainely Write
Thank you Donna😊
Beautiful for the beautiful cause. I also feel we need to so similar tries to save our nature and mankind as well. There is so much of hatred is there now and we need to save each of us from getting trapped into myth-full happenings.
Please check my ‘C’ post here (Theme-Indian Spices):http://www.vibhuandme.com/2018/04/c-for-cinnamon-god-of-spices.html
Thank you Shipra. There is a lot to be done to conserve our nature. I just checked out your theme. History of each spice is real interesting.
A beautiful poem and fascinating story to save the trees.
Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond
C is for Conquering Change and overcoming fears
Lovely – thank you for sharing!
Amazing poetry, amazing cause.
Amazing blogger!
Thank you for those kind words
Hey. Can I have a link to your blog? I remember reading your blog before but your ID is not clickable
Its scriptedinsanity(dot)blogspot(dot)com
The series is getting beautiful with every post bringing in the cause that very much needs attention. Great work here and beautifully connected with the cause and the poetry form.
Another beautiful topic and poem!! I love visiting your posts, I learn something new every time!
Another wonderful topic chosen by you to write a lyrical piece of poem. I’m not sure if many people have written poetry on the most relevant Chipkoo movement of yesteryears, when socialists like Sundarlal Bahuguna also played such a crucial role. Thanks for bringing this to fore Namy. Love it!
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
Control
Gentle words and a hard hitting message. Read and re read it…and still found myself wanting to read again.
Brilliant one Namratha!
Thanks for including that bit of history, I had no idea saving of trees was already needed in the 18th century.
A powerful theme and a wonderful storytelling through poem.
All the very best for the A-Z challenge, Namy.
Sorry that was ‘ wonderful storytelling’ not ‘ a wonderful storytelling’😀
Thank you so much
Hi Namratha! This is simply brilliant. Love the title, the poem and message. Relevant and apt.
Glad you liked it Tina😊
That’s a beautiful poem for a very beautiful cause. I strongly feel for Aarey, thanks for penning this lovely poem.
Thank you
I didn’t knew about this form of poetry. Thank you, Namy for introducing it to me and it is an equally beautiful poem highlighting the need of the hour – To save and plant more trees.
Beautiful poem. I liked this form and the way you used it for an important cause 🙂
You are an amazing poet..a poet with a rich sense of social awareness..count me as your Fan..I am falling in love with your poems dear.
Thank you Balaka🙄
There is certainly a lot to be done , deforestation as adverse effects. I remember Bangalore ‘s Jayanagar and the vast canopy of trees which I heard will be cut down fir the metro. It’s sad
Are you on twitter? I want to share a link to your blog on twitter but there don’t seem to be any sharing buttons.
Let me just check. I had shareaholic enabled. This is my twitter id @NamySaysSo
The poem tugged at my heart strings and I learned about a new form of poetry. The google doodle for the Chipko movement was lovely.
Sisters for a cause. Lovely read
Tongue Twister for C
This is brilliant. And a very important and powerful message indeed.
Beautifully written, Namratha. It is sure to touch a chord with every person. Yes, trees are our lives. When will we learn?
Beautifully written on an important cause nammy. C is for change. Do have your say on my post too. Have a nice day 🙂
Another very important topic, Namy. When I first came to Bangalore (2005), I took a walk along the road where the old jail was. Eventhough it was a May afternoon, I didn’t feel a pinprick of heat because of the canopy of trees. Flashforward a few years, all the trees have gone. And the city is expanding rapidly, apartments are cropping up in the places where dense foliage once stood. No wonder the average temperature of the city has gone up remarkably over the past few years. It is imperative that we conserve forests, protect trees, plant more.