An Epic Poem on Childhood - 2 - Cui Bono.
Cui bono
does water fall
in a torrent
first, then thin to a shower, then in drops
& finally silence itself
as if passing a death sentence
on itself and
on the rains and the monsoon that I love,
drumming, slipping, sliding and dripping off
my poor man's roof's
dark red and green-dried-up-and-turned-to-black mossy tiles?
Does it know of the flagrante corpus delecti
I committed behind the tapioca-stick fence
when you had mullapookkal braided into your hair
and the fragrance drew even the honey flies there?
Cui bono ("to whose profit?") is a Latin phrase that represents a key forensic question in legal and police investigation: finding out who has a motive for a crime, either suggesting a hidden motive or indicating that the responsible party may not be the one it appears at first to be. The expression is attributed to Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla, Roman consul in 127 BCE and censor in 125 BCE, renowned for his severity, honesty, and wisdom. As tribune of the plebs in 137 BCE he introduced the Lex Cassia Tabellaria (establishing the secret ballot). In 113 BCE he was appointed special inquisitor in the case of three Vestales (vestal virgins) who were accused of unchastity. These priestesses of the hearth goddess Vesta were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children and instead took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to male priests and were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of the state. They had been acquitted by Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus, the pontifex maximus, the nation’s most important religious position, but Cui bono (“"to whose profit?") is a Latin phrase that is a key forensic question in legal and police investigation: finding out who has a motive for a crime, either suggesting a hidden motive or indicating that the responsible party may not be the one it appears at first to be. The expression is attributed to Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla, Roman consul in 127 BCE and censor in 125 BCE renowned for his severity, honesty, and wisdom. As tribune of the plebs in 137 BCE he introduced the Lex Cassia Tabellaria (establishing the secret ballot). In 113 BCE he was appointed special inquisitor in the case of three Vestales (vestal virgins) who were accused of unchastity., These priestesses of the hearth goddess Vesta were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children and instead took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to male priests and were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of the state. They had been acquitted by Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus, the pontifex maximus, the nation’s most important religious position. Cui bono (“"to whose profit?") is a Latin phrase that is a key forensic question in legal and police investigation: finding out who has a motive for a crime, either suggesting a hidden motive or indicating that the responsible party may not be the one it appears at first to be. The expression is attributed to Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla, Roman consul in 127 BCE and censor in 125 BCE renowned for his severity, honesty, and wisdom. As tribune of the plebs in 137 BCE he introduced the Lex Cassia Tabellaria (establishing the secret ballot). In 113 BCE he was appointed special inquisitor in the case of three Vestales (vestal virgins) who were accused of unchastity., These priestesses of the hearth goddess Vesta were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children and instead took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to male priests and were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of the state. They had been acquitted by Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus, the pontifex maximus, the nation’s most important religious position, but Longinus condemned and executed two of them as well as the men involved. "In flagrante delicto" is another Latin legalism, meaning "while the crime is blazing." It indicates that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offense, while "corpus delicti" (body of the crime) refers to the principle that a crime must be proven to have occurred before anyone can be convicted of committing it.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, a pookkalam is a floral carpet made from local plants to welcome the return of an early god-king. Once the Malayalam month of Chingam (from Simham. “lion”: August-September ) begins, the people start preparing for Onam, Kerala’s grand harvest festival: when Vishnu pushed king Mahabali down to Patala (the underworld), Mahabali asked to be allowed to visit Kerala once a year so he could see if his people were happy and prosperous. On Thiruvonam, the second day of Onam, 10 days after households begin weaving their floral carpets, Mahabali makes his visit, welcomed into people’s homes with pomp and splendor.
ReplyDeleteHe condemned and executed two of them as well as the men involved. “In flagrante delect” is another Latin legalism, meaning “while the crime is blazing,” used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence, while “corpus delicti” (body of the crime) refers to the principle that a crime must be proven to have occurred before anyone can be convicted of committing it .
On the other hand, a pookkalam is a floral carpet made from local plants to welcome the return of an early god-king. Once the Malayalam month of Chingam (from Simham. “lion”: August-September ) begins, the people start preparing for Onam, Kerala’s grand harvest festival: when Vishnu pushed king Mahabali down to Patala (the underworld), Mahabali asked to be allowed to visit Kerala once a year so that he could see if his people were happy and prosperous. On Thiruvonam, the second day of Onam, 10 days after households begin weaving their floral carpets, Mahabali makes his visit, welcomed into people’s homes with pomp and splendor.
. condemned and executed two of them as well as the men involved. “In flagrante delect” is another Latin legalism, meaning “while the crime is blazing,” used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence, while “corpus delicti” (body of the crime) refers to the principle that a crime must be proven to have occurred before anyone can be convicted of committing it .
On the other hand, a pookkalam is a floral carpet made from local plants to welcome the return of an early god-king. Once the Malayalam month of Chingam (from Simham. “lion”: August-September ) begins, the people start preparing for Onam, Kerala’s grand harvest festival: when Vishnu pushed king Mahabali down to Patala (the underworld), Mahabali asked to be allowed to visit Kerala once a year so that he could see if his people were happy and prosperous. On Thiruvonam, the second day of Onam, 10 days after households begin weaving their floral carpets, Mahabali makes his visit, welcomed into people’s homes with pomp and splendor.
Exquisite poem with the earthy scents of a monsoon-washed land.
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