A dam aged hundred and sixteen,
built without cement but surkhi and lime,
blocking innocent frisky Periyar,
immersing millions of plants and trees,
fleeing thousands of animals and birds.
It postures now Janus-faced;
its old age worsened by frequent tremors,
head to foot bleeding in several parts,
makes millions tense and sleepless on one side.
Catastrophic fear culminated to
behavioural problems in children nearby;
daren’t go to school, neither parents dare to send;
anxiety, phobia, depression, insomnia!
If broken, forty millions in five districts affected.
People in unison clamour for new dam:
“Give them water and save our lives.”
Millions on other side object to new dam;
Disbelieve promise of water from other side.
Arid five districts made fertile using the water.
Political mafia beguiles innocent masses
People on both sides lived as one family
Alas! Anti-social forces injected
regional, racial venom in masses;
destroy farms, attack shops and buses.
Multitudes flee to their native villages
leaving whatever they have earned with sweat.
Borders are closed, police patrol,
Inter-state buses and trucks stop run;
fruits, vegetables and eggs are rotten;
thousands of farmers, labourers and merchants
struggle for their daily lives.
Rulers of state and central governments
living in midst of pomp and luxury
heed not the wails and moans of the masses.
Avarice for power obstructs their duties;
tests the patience of benevolent Nature
and leaves the masses preys to calamities.
