East Wind

Someone said The East wind began blowing last night I didn't know, I was fast asleep The coconut palms looked westward When I awoke The palmyras on the plains Sang a vibrant song Which I knew from childhood That spoke of grandma fairy-tales Kerosene lamps casting shadows on the walls Kids listening with gleaming eyes Before they retired to their smelly beds Far away the wail Of lonely trains on insolent rails The East wind had in fact begun at midnight Without my knowledge, I was asleep Bringing in scents of incense burnt At temples in the East Their spires kissing the skies Of champak, jasmine and tulsi leaves Camphor fumes and sound of bells Of a Dravidian past of yore The mirth of waves afar In the Bay of Bengal Across the Palghat Pass Where I live Walled by the Western Ghats On the South and North Oh East wind, send me the silver clouds Your children, to the kindergarten on the mounts Where they would dance without cease All day long and I would watch With glee, my day already made