Saluva Timma, Mahamandaleshwara Shall I tell the story of how you came to be Blind beggar at the shrine of Venkateshwara? When your dying king bid you blind his young brother You deceived him with goat's eyes, what vile treachery! Saluva Timma, Mahamandaleshwara! You who crowned Krishnadevaraya emperor With all the Coromandel as your demesne Blind beggar at the shrine of Venkateshwara! The king's son was poisoned; he charged you for murder. He put out your eyes and granted you no mercy - Saluva Timma, Mahamandaleshwara! The truth was discovered, you regained your honour He sought to atone and restore you to glory - Blind beggar at the shrine of Venkateshwara. Beware a kings' whims and all his behaviour: Let that be what we learn from this tragic story. Saluva Timma, Mahamandaleshwara Blind beggar at the shrine of Venkateshwara. Published in Indian Periodical, 16 July 2017
The message is supreme;
Born in the heart,
and lilting itself
from tongue to tongue,
throwing its scent
over wind and wave;
travelling on dots
or fingers
when blindness
or silence bar its way.
It hews itself into stone
or burns itself onto magnetic discs;
it is the message that lives
and I exist
solely to pass it on.