From The Trench To The Temple Poem by Parameswaran Nair Damodaran Nair
From The Trench To The Temple
Afar, at one end of the temple yard
He saw her in lost charm of blackness,
In the pale faded colours of haunting
Desolation and gloom, despair and sorrow
He recognised, it was his sweet-heart
From whom destiny adjudged his separation
Love was still throbbing in his heart
For her whom he wooed in the woods
He recollected the day they took the vow
To unite and not to part till the end of life
She was the happiest to see him coronated
As the young prince of the elephant squad
While In the ditch-trap and during the journey
To the corral in shackles and amid kunkies.
He prayed for her but the Gods favoured her
To join him there in the holy temple yard
The pain lurked in her sore hind leg
Chained to the peepul tree popped up
Whenever the chain was pulled and tensed
Making her to endear death than to suffer
The sight was too painful for him to watch
He consoled her with the signal of a long trumpet
Raising his trunk and shaking the head
Which she acknowledged in the same manner
The ecstatic surprise kept them motionless for a while
The waves of love hitherto restrained turned mighty
The spark hidden alive in them began to blaze up
The urge of union of the loving hearts intensed
In a sudden influx of emotion they strained forward
Breaking the heavy iron chains tied them to the trees
People around were frightened and took to their heels
The fleeing crowd called out "mad elephants, run away"
A bullet felled him and another her too
Unleashing them from the shackles of slavery
That crude men impose on innocent creatures
Alas! Destiny's muse is always mysterious!
Like a sigh of the idol inside the temple
A gust of breeze rushed to the dead bodies
A very poignant write about man's treatment of animals. Wild animals are captured , kept in enclosures, for entertainment or for making money.We never consider how painful it is for them to be away from their loved ones as well as their habitat.When we perceive threat to our own life we kill them mercilessly.
Thank you very much dear poetess Bharati Nayak. When I crossed the fancying age I began to understand that animals too have passion and emotion
Thank you dear poetess Bharati Nayak. Elephants had attracted my childhood fancy. Later when I began to think of them from a different angle Ibegan to feel sympathy for their sufferings in captivity
Like in men love grips the hearts of animals too. They love their kids and take care of them as we humans do. We should understand their feelings and share love and caring with them. They have no weapons to save themselves. A nice message and heart touching write.10+++
Thank you very much dear AKP. Watching captive elephants has been a matter of fancy right from my childhood. When I grew up I began to think beyond the fancy
A very sensitive poem towards animals and their feelings. It takes a big heart to recognize that love pervades the entire world. It is not the gift for just human beings.
Very few realise the emotion and passion of animals. This is my earnest attempt to bring to light the depth of love in thye heart of animals for their mates and other dear ones. Thank you very much Savitaji
Among animals also there is love and romance! The two elephants thought that they would be able to lead a happy life together. But it was painful to see her being tied to a peepal tree. Seeing the suffering of her, the tusker raised an alarm trumpet to which she responded in the same manner. Thinking that the elephants had gone on rampage, they were instantly shot down. A rare story of love and the sad turn of fate!
Thank you very much dear poetess. It's fact that we Keralites are fond of elephants. I have heard a lot of stories about the intellegence and memory power that adds to the magnanimity of Elephants. Here the story of the romance and the pathetic end are entirely a fiction to show the real love and affection between the two and perhaps for the inspiration of human beings
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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7/18/2025 4:46:11 PM # 1.0.0
Love no matter who we are and what we are is the strongest of all emotions. It will find its course no matter what and until the end of time. A wonderful poem with a meaningful message. A message of eternal love. A great depiction of cruelty to animals. A very touching and one of a kind write.