THE ELEPHANT SEEN BY THE BLIND

Chinnan, Kunjan, Little Karumban

Velumban, Neelan and Lolan are blind.

Eagerly craving to eye the Elephant

They went to witness the Fest.

Chinnan caught hold of the elephant's tail

Thannana thannana thannana he sang

Then to his mates he told:

"The Elephant is not upto what is heard

Just a thing like the 'broom he is;

I saw the Elephant, friends...."

"Seeing the flat-mat-tray

suited to sieve  four-five bushels,

mistook to 'broom', you fool?"

                                Kunjan asked.

He tried to grope, on the elephant's ear

to see 'the thing' as a whole.

Propping the tusker's waist

Little Karumban certs

"The thing is a 'wall' indeed!"

"Seeing a thing like pillar you fool,call it a wall?

You are the dastard the whole world has ever seen;

While learning at school 'touch-know'

You could not  at all fix your head..."

Quoth Velumban feeling the animal's legs.

"What all we heard of elephant is wrong

What all our friends saw too wrong..

Friends, it's a well-shaped sword

I saw the elephant, 'a sword' that is shaped well.

Learned men never prescribe

any inapt name, though..."

Said Neelan coddling the tusk.

"Friends, you never did see the elephant

He is the serpent that swallow men"

Tapping on the trunk, Lolan 'found' the animal.

And then drew back anon.

Arguing and arguing the blind men all

Certed that "what I saw is the thing, not you"

Seeing the brawl among them

People laughed out their bowels.

The Elephant gets fret...

Howling, with uplifted trunk...

The gentle folk ran amuck,

The blind men among them too.