The Poet of 'Tuft of Light'

The Poet of 'Tuft of Light'.

Have you seen a search light in utter darkness?

All things are immersed in darkness. They are not visible. Their texture, color, dimensions and calibre, all these are shunt by the lack of light.

May be great forts, may be great castles, or penthouses, so what?
Darkness knows no discrimination.
It is light that discriminates between various aspects and things.

In that darkness a search light swings from one end to the other. The thing, may be a Fort, or a Castle in a row of houses, comes to light and all its details are sung out by the revealing light. The Castle glows in all its visible aspects.

But when the search light passes on to the next thing angling in, the fading out Castle loses itself into oblivion and lo! the new thing blooms into focus.

One poet has made use of this phenomenon of 'Tuft of Light' viz., search light to describe the effect of a beautiful damsel of a woman on various knights assembled in a suitors' hall.

The beauty is Indumathi. The poet is Kalidasa.

He calls it "Tuft of Light" Deepa Sikha.

He says Indumathi was like a Deepa Sikha passing on the rows of suitors, who were seated like Human Fortresses on high seated thrones. When she accompanied by her maid came by the seat of a suitor-king, the maid was coming out with all details of the king. In expectation and anguish, the King was all glaring in anxiety. But lo! when she passed on to the next suitor, this king lost all his shine and focus, to be usurped by the next one in turns. It was like a Deepa Sikha moving on in dead of night and thick of darkness, lighting one Fort at a time to be shunned back to darkness while passing on to the next object.

sancharini deepasikeva ratrau
yam yam vyatheeyaaya pathimvaraa saa |
narendra maargaatta iva prapedhe
vivarna bhaavam sa sa bhumipala:||

In the mid of night
moveth a tuft of light
Verily it was she
Along the suitors' line
whoever was she coming near
glowed like a human fortress
in all galore and greatness
alas! to sink in gloom
and oblivion as she passes on.

***
(I thank the friend who asked me this doubt - 'why Kalidasa is called Deepa Sikha Kalidas?)
*