I was reading today’s paper and there were these articles on disabilities and how to help people having disabilities because today is The United Nations’ International Day of People with Disabilities. There were some eye opening articles by kids and how they volunteer to help such people. Suddenly I remembered a Tamil haiku which I had read during my college days. I don’t know either the source or the author of this haiku. In case any one does, please do let me know.
கால் வலிக்கிறதென்று
ரிக்க்ஷாவில் ஏறினேன்
மனம் வலித்தது
ரிக்க்ஷா ஓட்டியவனுக்கு
ஒரு கால் மரக்கால்
It roughly translates to
“I got into a rickshaw due to my leg pain only to have my heart ache because the driver of the rickshaw had a wooden leg.”
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Even in translation this short piece is moving.
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Yes. That is the reason it stayed with me all these years and I remember very few poems/haikus
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Reminds me of the saying, not sure of the source: “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.”
In fact, from a quick Google, I believe no one knows the true source or what the original text said. It seems whoever first shared it obviously struck on a beautiful truth, because it has been shared and translated into many different forms and languages over centuries. Possibly Persian in origin ???
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Hmmm interesting info there.
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Could be quite fun to research online if you had the time 🙂
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Would try to do that sometime 🙂
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