Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
“What is it that you see? Describe it to me,” demanded Drona of his disciples. It was, as you would expect, a trick question. He had set up a target, a stuffed parrot, on a tree and his disciples were to aim their arrows straight at its eye.
Yudhishthira was the first to answer. “I see a parrot,” he said. Duryodhana tried his luck next. “I see a stuffed parrot on the branch of a tree,” he said. Bhima embellished his response with a few more details. “I see a stuffed parrot on the branch of a mango tree. I also see a mango hanging from that branch.” It was Arjuna’s turn next. “I see only the parrot’s eye,” he said. “What about the parrot’s body, the mango tree, the branches, the mangoes hanging from the branches?” Drona asked. “I don’t see them. All I see is the parrot’s eye,” Arjuna said, shooting straight at his target.
getting it right
that one word
in a poem