The Ferryman And The Echo Poem by Parameswaran Nair Damodaran Nair
The Ferryman And The Echo
He busy ferries people from dawn to dusk across the dreadful river
Holding fast in his tender hands the rough hard rows in such early age
To feed a dozen hungry stomachs left behind by his bereaved father.
Putting aside his school bag and leaving the much loved playmates
He rows against the mighty flow in scorching sun and pouring rain
At the end of the day when he empties his wallet and counts the collection
His desperate heart sinks fathoms down pulling along all hopes of life
Stripping off his means to live a new bridge is now built and open
People who were ferried hitherto walk along with despise for him
"Let not the girl I love be in such folk, I can't hate her", He wishes much.
Destiny plays it's cruel villainy and stages a scene he's afraid of
A glimpse of her sitting close to her bridegroom in a passing car casts
A tornado that capsizes his dreams and are swallowed down by the whirls
His hot sighs dissolved in the roar of the raging river and is heard by none
No one saw him ever after it, but the wreckage of his ferry boat and oars
His spirit lingers still in the ferry mocking at you repeating your words
. It is how Maguni was earning his livelihood by driving a bullock cart and when moter vehicles started rolling, he could not cope with the changing circumstances.Unable to maintain his bullocks and his family he becomes insane and ultimately dies.
Thank you very much dear poetess. Poor folk who depend on family occupation have to struggle to make their both ends meet, especially when development take a leap. Thank you also for introducing the Odis story.
We have a short story in Odia namely 'Magunira Sagada' (Meaning Maguni's Bullock cart) penned by famous Odia writer Godavarish Mohapatra on such a theme. .
A touching write ----It is not only the case of a ferry boy who lost his livelihood after a new bridge came up pushing him down the depth of despair, but about how modernization affects the life of people who earn their living by traditional methods.
A very touching poem so beautifully written, expressed and presented.
A heartwrenching story narrated with such eloquence. Sadly changing times repeat these stories again and again. Only character and places change in ever new circumstances of life.
Thank you Savitaji. Bridges though are the milestones of our development cause privation and pain to a minority of ferry men. Who is to be blamed
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/1/2024 3:58:29 PM # 1.0.0.1119
The bridge destroys the ferrymans's dreams of buiding a life of his own. He had a faint hope that his girl would not desert him.But when he sees his girl with her man in a passing car he is totally lost. He is an ordinary mortal who is not strong enough to make a come back and to regain the lost life. The poem is a replication of hard realities of life. A good poem indeed! !
Thank you Ramadas for your encouraging comments. Read other poems too
Ramdasji, thanks a lot. Its partly the story of one of my classmates in the 4th standard. Later when I was a college student he used to ferry me without any charge. It is people's despise that haunted me. He is not alive today