ಸುನಾಮಿ ಹಾಡು (Tsunami Haadu)
by ಎಚ್.ಎಲ್. ಪುಷ್ಪ (H.L. Pushpa)
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This haunting, reflective poem by H.L. Pushpa, 'Song of the Tsunami', responds to the catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. It warns modern humanity against ecological greed and technological arrogance. The poet shows nature's supremacy and human vulnerability: towering waves swallow towns, resorts and villages, tossing grand buildings like paper boats. The tsunami asks no one's caste, religion or wealth, it equalises rich and poor alike in watery graves. Through this bleak imagery Pushpa teaches that humans are not masters of nature but fragile guests who must live in humility and respect.
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H.L. Pushpa's Tsunami Haadu, written in response to the tsunami of 26 December 2004, is a warning against humanity's ecological greed and technological arrogance. It opens with a terrifying image: the sea, a sleeping monster, opens its giant mouth as massive black-mountain waves rise and swallow coastal towns, islands, resorts and fishing villages within minutes.
Human helplessness and equality in death
The poem highlights the helplessness of civilisation before nature: concrete buildings, high-tech systems, luxury hotels and military bases are tossed like paper boats. The tsunami asks no one's caste, religion, nationality or bank balance, it swallows the wealthy tourist in a five-star suite and the poor fisherman in his thatched hut with the same indifference. In the sea's cold graves, all human beings are reduced to the same status, equalised by death.
An ecological warning
Describing the heartbreaking aftermath, crying lost children, dead birds and animals on the beaches, mud-soaked ruins, Pushpa delivers her lesson: humans have disrespected Mother Earth, exploiting and polluting it while imagining themselves supreme rulers. The tsunami is nature's violent, corrective reminder that humans are not masters but fragile guests who survive only by living in harmony, humility and respect for the environment.