Carpe Diem Special (2nd guest) Kala Ramesh's "sunbirds peck"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to bring the first CD Special by our second guest Kala Ramesh, a very gifted haiku poetess from India. Maybe you know her, maybe not. Last year (2015) in April she was also our featured haiku poetess and I remember that you all were exited to read her haiku.

Not so long ago I renewed my contact with Kala and asked her if she would like to be our featured haiku poetess in our 4th anniversary month. She was honored and in return I am honored that she said yes to my invitation.
I got to know her through Jane Reichhold as she emailed me about one of Kala's projects "haikuWALL India" and that Jane asked me to bring that important "haikuWALL India" project on our Kai. Of course I said yes, but than several days later, a new email by Jane came to set the post on the "haikuWALL India" on hold, of course with legitimate reason. I became intrigued by Kala Ramesh and started reading her haiku (and tanka) ... and than decided to ask her to be our featured haiku poetess in April 2015.

And now ... almost two years later I am honored that I can bring haiku (and tanka) by Kala Ramesh here again in our celebration month.

Kala Ramesh

howling wind —

an autumn note within
the bamboo flute

© Kala Ramesh

* one of the haiku from the CD Specials April 2015

Let me tell you first a little bit more about Kala Ramesh before I share a few haiku written by her in this first CD-Special (2nd guest) here.

Kala Ramesh is an Indian, classical musician, who has worked extensively on Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s style under Mrs. Shubhada Chirmulay for over 15 years, and has performed professionally in several major Indian cities. 
A recently turned haiku poet (since 2005), Kala writes haiku, tanka, senryu, haibun and renku, and her work has appeared in leading e-zines and anthologies all over the world.  Kala, as director of the World Haiku Club in India, organised with the co-operation of its members, the four-day 9th World Haiku Festival at Bangalore in February 2008, which was sponsored jointly by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji and Sri Ratan Tata Trust. Kala is a member of the editorial team of Modern English Tanka Press’s new anthology, Take Five: The Best Contemporary Tanka 2008/2009/2010, is on the panel of the literary e-journal Muse India, for the areas of haiku and short verse Since April 2009, Kala has been the Poetry Editor at Katha, a renowned New Delhi publishing house. In this capacity, she compiled and edited the first ever ebook of haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka and haiga written by thirty five Indian poets. Currently, she is also the lead poet (sabaki) of a Kasen renku with six other international renkujin: experimenting and incorporating the traditional renku with the famed Rasa Theory of India, comprising the nine emotions prevalent in all Indian art forms (which consists of nine rasas or essence, namely: erotic, comic, sorrow, anger, valour, fear, disgust, wonder and tranquillity, traditionally known as the nava rasas).

Kala comes from an extremely artistic and culturally rich South Indian Tamil family and believes, as her father is fond of saying, that “the soil needs to be fertile for the plant to bloom”. She also feels that she owes this poetic streak in her to her mother. Kala is keen to see children in India take to haiku and its genres.

As you have noticed I created a special logo for the CD-Specials by Kala Ramesh. The image which I used is titled "Diwali" and the text on it I created myself with an online app.

Sunbirds peck

Here are a few haiku by this very gifted haiku poetess Kala Ramesh to inspire you:

sunbirds peck
the tumbling river notes . . .
evening raga 

© Kala Ramesh *

* Previously published--A Hundred Gourds, 2:3, June 2013

And here is my response on this one. I have tried to create a haiku in the same sense, tone and spirit as the one by Kala, but than placed in our Western world, because Sunbirds are not living in our part of the world.

in the chapel
the murmured prayers resonate
in tune with the birds

© Chèvrefeuille

And here is another beautiful haiku by Kala ramesh to inspire you again:

falling leaves . . . 

if only sorrows could be
contained in a palm 

© Kala Ramesh *

* Previously published--Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts, Summer 2013

Autumn in my town © photo Chèvrefeuille

And here to respond on Kala's haiku, a haiku from my archives (2013):

in the morning light
trees look like a treasure chest -
autumn has come

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you did like this CD Special and of course I hope to read wonderful haiku, tanka or other poetry forms inspired on the beauties by Kala Ramesh.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 7th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our new episode, brush, later on. For now .... have fun!