Hello and welcome to my second post of the day. A rarity I assure you but the thing is I thought I had posted my entry for Collen’s #TankaTuesday challenge but apparently I had just thought about it. But thankfully, the unexpected rains washed away the pollution daze and I am double posting before it is too late. The rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.
Here’s my tanka for the challenge:
jobless
browsing the internet for
Diwali deals
buying clothes for
the summer
As you may have guessed, the Indian or dare I say the global festival of lights, Diwali is the kigo word here. Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali. May all the darkness be banished, evil vanquished and peace reign supreme.
It’s time for Colleens #TankaTuesday the weekly challenge (October 22 – November 6). The rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.
Here’s my tanka for the challenge:
hazy morning
jogging before
Diwali
deciding to wear
a sari
Although Diwali could be the kigo word but since this year it is on 12th of November I thought perhaps it may be too early to use it. Yet it may be noted, everything is geared around Diwali now, particularly shopping. But anyway I have used ‘hazy morning’ as the kigo word as this time of the year is notorious for pollution haze, particularly in Delhi region due to a variety of factors which apparently are beyond correction. I am presuming that most, if not all, will be familiar with Diwali the festival of lights when Lord Rama returned home after spending 14 years in the wilderness and defeating the evil King Ravan. A sari is the traditional unstitched garment that is 6 yards (5.5 meters) long. I am hoping the advantages of opting for such an apparel would be self-evident 😉
Hello I am back after a week of prayers, celebrations, socializing and gorging 😀 And it’s already time for Colleen’s #TankaTuesday challenge where the rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.
She leaves
a quietude behind
Vijayadashami
praying for the guns
to fall silent
I have used ‘Vijayadashami’ (literally victory tenth day) as the kigo word here. Vijayadashami (which was on 24th October this year) is celebrated after Navratri and is the 10th day that marks the end of Durga Puja and the celebration of Her victory over Mahishasura (the buffalo demon) and the triumph of good over evil. After the celebrations, there is a hush and lull in the neighborhood.
Vijayadashami is also celebrated as Dussehra, the day when Lord Rama defeated the evil king Raavan, whose effigies are burnt to symbolize the burning of the evils within us as well as the triumph of good over evil.
Thank you for reading, would love to know your comments and suggestion. Have a great weekend.
Hello! It is time for Colleen’s #TankaTuesday challenge where the rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.
But before I begin, I am very chuffed that Colleen was kind enough to choose my previous entry as the poem of the week and couldnt resist sharing. Yayy and thank you again Colleen 🙂
Now off to the tanka of this week. First the tanka and then the explanatory note. Perhaps, some of you may not need the note 🙂
Navratri
going to office on
an empty stomach
they join the
bhandara queue
I have used Navratri (literally nine-nights) as the ‘kigo’ word for this tanka. In India, we are currently celebrating Navratri and today is day 3 of the festival. Navaratri is a bi-annual Hindu festival observed in honour of the Mother Goddess Durga and many devotees keep a fast during this period. A bhandara is a mass feast given to the needy by the Hindus, particularly in North India on auspicious occasions such as the Navratri.
Here’s wishing you all a very auspicious and happy Navratras to you and yours. 🙏
Hello, hope you are having a great day. Today, I am participating in the challenge hosted by XingfuMama which is about Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge – It could be anything: a picture or you can go into detail and tell it as a reflection, story or poem.
So it’s a picture with some detail, processing and a poem 🙂
Recently while on an early morning flight, I was surprised and delighted to see a rainbow that was a circle. Frankly, I had never really thought about it before and always considered the rainbow to be a semi-circle (with a pot of gold at the end) 😀
Apparently, a circular rainbow is a very rare sight, requiring sky conditions to be “just right.” Without any further ado, ta da….
Amazing isn’t it? While this is the original photo, I couldn’t help playing around with the brightness, contrast etc.
Which one do you like better?
Also posting a tanka inspired by this – hope you like
flying high –
the rainbow has no
pot of gold
traveling far and wide I find it
on my couch
Do let me know your thoughts – thanks for visiting and have a super week.
Good day to everyone. Another attempt to write tanka while participating in Colleen’s #TankaTuesday challenge where the rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.
I hope I have understood the rules 🙂
I belong to India and the monsoon season is still lingering around, although I believe it has begun its, albeit belated, withdrawal.
a monsoon shower –
hanging on the long clothesline
sparkling diamonds
thieves break-in to find my cache
of dripping garments
So monsoon is my kigo. While the tanka is not exactly 5/7/5/7/7 syllables, I believe a total of 31 syllables or less is also acceptable. Am I right? Did this work? I also wasnt sure if I was supposed to include the image. Would love to know your thoughts, comments and suggestions.
Thanks for visiting and reading. Have a super day.
I am attempting to present a Tanka inspired by the image. For the uninitiated (and also for myself as I struggle to grasp the finer nuances) Tanka is a popular Japanese form of poetry that is a total of 31 syllables or less separated into 5 lines. Tanka are not (necessarily rhyming) poems about seasons, nature, desires, mood or emotions, using literary devices, such as personification, metaphors etc. Tanka is characterized by a turn, known as the pivot (third line), which marks a sudden shift from one image to that of another such as a personal reference.
The haiku on the other hand is a Japanese poem with three lines of not more than 17 syllables usually referencing a season with a twist or an ‘aha’ moment in the final like.
It also may be noted that the Japanese form of poetry avoids the use of titles and capitalization of any word. If I may add, that since this is a very short poem, each word is important and may hold different connotations and perhaps best read slowly, absorbing while picturizing what each word is trying to paint/convey. Otherwise, one tends to miss the ‘aha’ moment. At least, that has been my learning.
More than a decade ago, when I first developed an interest in writing, I had dabbled in haiku and tanka forms before switching to fiction writing. Once again, I am going where the muse leads me. Thank you for your company on this journey.
twilight –
the sun sets on another day
reflections
of all that which could
have been
***
I struggled with these five lines for over five hours. Seriously. I gave up and posted this. What do you think? Does it work as a tanka? Any suggestions? I am open to constructive criticism. Do let me know. Thanks. Have a great day 🙂
Stories and more 