The Healing Earth
written by: T.V. Ramana
I trekked into the Eastern Ghats of Kadapa,*
where dense red sanders woods breathe quietly
and caves hold the silence of forgotten sages.
The mountain chain rose unbroken into the sky,
a stone serpent without pause or seam.
Only twice** did the chain part in the dry region
where the forest rivulet slipped through the hills,
whispering to roots of ancient red sanders.
On its wet bank butterflies gathered,
no fluttering, no hurry, no buried haste.
They halted their fragile voyage in this valley,
a quiet sojourn upon mineral-rich river sands,
sipping the hidden tonics of the earth.
Honey-red, ash-grey, white and lemon-yellow,
purple wings poised like thoughts before meditation.
I had never witnessed such an august assembly.
I brood over their congress of dancing colours,
mused upon their stillness without conclusion.
Seated on a rock ridge above the river’s hymn,
that led me into the deep contemplation like mist.
Then one butterfly drifted close and whispered:
“We get strength from the Earth’s hidden veins.
We gather where she absorbs our weary ache.
She replaces our burden with healing delight.
Renewed, we rise again into the endless sky.”
* Kadapa is a district in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Gadapa (Threshold of Lord Venkatesha of Seven Hills)
** Only twice did the chain part in the dry region:
– The first site is at Gandi-1, Idupulapaya, Vempalli Mandal, Kadapa district, where the River Papagni cuts through the Eastern Ghats with its swift, forceful currents.
– The second site is at Gandi-2, Veeraballi Mandal, Kadapa district, where the River Mandavya flows through a narrow passage in the hills.
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