voices of emancipation
DESCRIPTION
An introduction of Modern Tamil poets and their content.A literary-sociological approach.TRANSCRIPT
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VOICES VOICES VOICES VOICES OFOFOFOF
EMANCIPATIONEMANCIPATIONEMANCIPATIONEMANCIPATION
- An Introduction of Modern Tamil PoetsAn Introduction of Modern Tamil PoetsAn Introduction of Modern Tamil PoetsAn Introduction of Modern Tamil Poets
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Contents
1.Voices of Emancipation…………….. . . . . .4
2.Kalaimathiyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .6
3. Amuthabarathy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 13
4. Maniventhan (Mu.Pi.Balasubramanian). . . . . …16
5. Mu.Balakrishnan-( Ilangkannan). . . . . . . . . . . 20
6. Poovai Amuthan . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 24
7. M.L.Thangappa. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 29
8. Kadavoor Manimaran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 35
9. Thaaraa Baarathy. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..40
10. Minnoor Seenivasan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
11. Ponnadiyan. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
12. Inquilaab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .56
13.Arivumathi. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..60
14.Abdul Rahman. . . . . .. .. . . …… . … . .. . . .. . .. ..62
15. Sirpi. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. …70
16.Vairamuthu. . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . …73
17.E.S.Muthuswamy. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …78
18.K.C.S.Arunachalam. . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . ..81
19.Naaraa Naachiyappan. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …86
20.Thamizhazhagan. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. …88
21.Maa.Senguttuvan. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . . …92
22.Saami Pazhaniyappan . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ... …96
23.Kavimugil. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . .. …99
24.Vezhavendhan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. …102
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Voices of Emancipation
(An introduction to Modern Tamil Poets)
“Freud’s co-ordinates, in stressing the poem as dream, under stress the poem as a
communicative structure and as a realistic gauging of human situations.” observes
Kenneth Burke, in a significant criticism of Freud’s assertion on literature, and
emphatically states, “Communication, rather than wish fulfillment, is the key term for
literary analysis.”(‘Freud-And the Analysis of Poetry-pp. 391-417- American Journal of Sociology >
Vol. 45, No. 3, Nov., 1939)
Of all the communications which can be interpreted and understood from literature, the
main purpose and the focal point of literature is emancipation. For a writer with an ideal
or affiliation it may be the emancipation of woman, emancipation of culture,
emancipation of linguistic rights, emancipation of power or in a holistic angle the
emancipation of mankind. For a writer or poet who dissociates from any social affiliation
it may be emancipation of form, motif or structure.
Modern Tamil poetry can be described as a movement for emancipation of the society
from all social evils. There was an upsurge of various social movements against all forms
of oppression in Tamilnadu, right from the colonial period.
“From the 19th century onwards, a number of social reformers emerged in Tamilnadu, as
in other parts of India, with a discourse against caste prejudices. Different trends can be
noted in this connection: the siddhar mystic-ascetic tradition as rejuvenated by
Ramalingaswami (1823-1874), the nationalist humanism represented by Subramanian
Bharati (1882-1921) and Bharatidacan (1891-1964), and the Marxist approaches of
novelists such as Jayakanthan or Pavannan.”(Dalit Identities and the Dialectics of
Oppression and Emancipation in a Changing India: The Tamil Case and Beyond- Jean-Luc Racine
& Josiane Racine- 1998: COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF SOUTH ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE
EAST (formerly SOUTH ASIA BULLETIN), Vol. XVIII No. 1 (1998). In this observation, Jean-Luc
Racine & Josiane Racine have omitted the contribution of Periyar E.V.R.
Periyar in his earlier days of political career involved himself in the national movement
and had an active participation in the Indian National congress. The climate and context
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of the then Madras Presidency made Periyar metamorphose into a great reformer,
iconoclast and revolutionary thinker. He became the legend in his life time and an
indomitable force against all social evils. He fought against the Brahmin supremacy and
succeeded in bringing out a government proclamation, called as communal G.O., which
enabled the oppressed castes to get their due share in the government posts. He founded
the self-respect movement (1925) to achieve social reformation and at the same time took
part in the Justice party to capture the political power from the Brahmins. The Justice
party was re-organized in 1944 under the guidance of Periyar as the ‘Dravidar
Kazhagam’ (Dravidian association). It was a radical social reform movement and
attracted the youth of Tamilnadu very much.
Periyar (The Great Man) was a legend in his lifetime and an emancipator of a great
significance. He can be compared to Mahatma Phule or Rajaram Mohan Roy, and
deserves a very important place in the annals of Indian history. He was a Raja ram
Mohan Roy in social reforms, an Ambedkar in the uplift of Dalits (The Oppressed), an
Ingersoll in atheism, a Bertrand Russell in rational approach and a Mao in mass appeal
and organizing skills
Periyar and his contribution for the struggle against all forms of oppression have been a
guiding force of the Modern Tamil Poets and poets have strived very much in creating an
awareness of the contemporary social scenario and with their creative talent have
transformed Poetry as a vehicle for the mobilization of social emancipation.
Here in this book, you are going to meet many Tamil poets whose poems are clarion calls
for the emancipation of mankind. Applications of socio-literary theories have been
refrained as our aim is only to introduce Modern Tamil poetry together with the
predominating trends and techniques, particularly to the Non-Tamil learners.
Any agenda to propose or introduce a particular literary theory or socio-literary
interpretation may hamper the proper understanding of the ardent learners of Tamil
poetry.
Now you are welcome to hear the voices of emancipation, straight from the poets
themselves.
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2.Kalaimathiyan
Poet Kalaimathiyan (1941) is one among the poets who belong to Bharatidasan School.
After serving as a teacher for thirty-five years, he retired from service and now he is actively participating in many literary activities throughout Tamilnadu.Popularity is always wrongly considered as the touchstone of scholarship and Kalaimathiyan has not got the proper recognition for his literary achievements. His caliber, style and creativity are unique and deserve many laurels
He has published four volumes of his poems.
“Kalaimathiyan Kavithaikal”,
”Nayana natakangkal”,
”ManrangkaLil visiya thendral”,
“Ninaivin chuvadukal”,
and “Maiththuli makutangkal” are his contribution to Tamil poetry.
He has been awarded by many NGOs for his literary achievements. .
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Award Organization
Kannadasan viruthu--- Kannadasan kalai ilakkiyap peravai, Chennai-40.
Kavignar Thilakam- Thiruvalluvar Ilakkiya manram, Vanuvampettai.
Bharati panich chelvar- All India Tamil writers Association.
Kavimamani viruthu- Bharati kalaik kazhagam.
Pavendhar Parathidasan viruthu- All India Tamil writers association, Puducherry.
Kavi gnani – Poet Suratha
Best poetry -2001award- State bank of India
I just wish to present two of his poems to understand his caliber, style and creativity.
Of course these translations will not give enough justice. But even after my translation the poems powerfully speak to the readers about the poet’s merit ands deep insight.
The first poem titled as “The Unending Quests” describe the poet’s place ion the world. The poet has an intellectual thirst unquenched forever, and this thirst urges him to create poems. From the poem we get an idea of the quests and pursuits every poet should have and many lack. The quest of the poet inspires the readers to have such one for his soul’s satisfaction. The inward journey of the poet surpasses the outer exploration of the scientist. The poem gives many answers about the spiritual pursuits and at the same time suggests many riddles about the literary theory we have to adopt.
The Unending Quests
The never -ending quests
Short-lived dreams
Woven by
The Looms of thought
In myriad designs;
In that process
Arise
Innumerable questions
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Which are in search of
Suitable answers
Endlessly;
The galaxy
Which occupies the sky
Aggressively
Accelerates
The intellectual pursuit;
The quest
Continues;
Papers
With various answers
Try to quench our intellectual thirst;
Poems in search of the omnipresent
Try to find out
His innovation in creation
The poet’s
Explorations
Transcend time and place;
Those who were
Deeply delving
In material pursuits,
When intend to
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Search the Truth,
Get gleaming light of Metaphysical insights;
The songs are
First tied by the threads of
Affection and attachment;
Afterwards they probe
The whereabouts of
reconciliation and peace.
The quests of persons
Who pretend to have found delight
Are nothing
But the mirage found by thirsty deer.
What then is life
Which begins with birth and ends after death?
Nothing but the
Serial of puzzles
For which
We are still in
Search of the key;
I am in intense thirst
Unable to quench, yet.
I drown myself in the pond of truth.
In search of myself
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In search of me
To find out whom I am.
The poet considers writing poetry as a penance. The material pursuits and desires drive the poet to find a suitable salvation. Again this process of finding an amicable redemption is distracted by day to day needs and desires. The poet with a full concentration of mind and deep involvement conducts a penance. That penance is his creativity. The resulting yield is his poem, he tells.
Poetry is my Penance
The eternity
Questions my inner mind
And mock at my inability
To find suitable answers;
Sometimes the Time aims at me sharp weapons
Sometimes it offers me with Honey;
The tiny seed of the Banyan tree
Grows as a huge Banyan tree;
The thoughts of the almighty
Always yield me poems.
The ‘Gentlemen’
Who deviate from the righteous path
Targeting only to acquire money
Pretend to be honest
With innocent looking
And wicked minds
They cheat the society
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As if they are seers;
I happen to be their neighbor
And involve my self in poetry
My reflections result in poems
The poetry never obliges me in time
If .I am after it
It leaves me laughing;
If in disgust I drive it
It dances like a peacock
Sings like a cuckoo
And abundantly favors me with
Amazing poems
And it is my penance.
Many desires
Unfulfilled wishes
Disturb my peace;
In the world, which is
Just like a noisy market,
Pollute the mind
With unwanted cravings;
Not caring this turmoil
The prayer which I am conducting
The penance which I am doing
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Is poetry.
Amidst all sorts of evils
Ignoring the difficulties
Which paralyze my life
I walk like an elephant;
My soul is a fire and
The offering is my poetry.
Now after reading these poems I surely hope that you would have got an understanding of the poet and his creative genius.
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3. Amuthabarathy
Haiku, a Japanese genre, has now become a universal literary trend, by its deep impact in many languages.Subramania Bharati,the morning star of modern Tamil poetry, had appreciated this and had published some translations of Japanese Haiku in Tamil.
Bharatidasan had also appreciated this genre. But these great poets did not venture to follow this Haiku in Tamil.M.K.Thayumanavar whose pen-names are Amuthabarathy and Amuthon (1939), a modern poet who belongs to Bharatidasan School, is the pioneer to introduce Haiku as a literary genre in Tamil. He has brought four volumes of Haiku poetry in Tamil.
His Haiku poems were, first published in literary journals and later were compiled.
Pullip pookkal (1984) is the first and foremost volume of Haiku poems in Tamil.
The title’Pullip pookkal’ literally means ‘Flowers in dots’ but the genuine translation for the title is” Miniature flowers.” an apt name to denote Haikus. Amuthabarathy created an awareness about Haiku in Tamilnadu as he is the pioneer in popularizing the Japanese genre in Tamilnadu.
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Amuthabarathy is a renowned artist in Tamilnadu and he is very famous for his wrapper design and drawings. For more than four decades he is known for his amazing wrapper artwork. His talents in poetry as well as in design-work helped him in attempting new techniques in poetic composition.
He attempted a fusion of Japanese Haiku and Tamil prosody. This fusion can be seen in his Haiku Anthaathi (1989).
Anthaathi is a sub-genre in Tamil poetry. In anthaathi, one hundred poems have to be composed. The last line/word/letter of the first poem will be the first line/word/letter of the second poem. Then it repeats till the hundredth poem. The last line/word/letter of the hundredth poem will be the first line/word/letter of the first poem. He composed one hundred Haikus and has attempted the anthaathi technique in the hundred Haikus. This is his invention and a gift to the Tamil poetry.
Kaatrin kaikal (Hands of the Wind) published in 1990 and Aiku aruvikal (Haiku fountains)published in 1998,and Aiku vidhaikal(Haiku seeds), published in the year 2000, are his other works in Haiku.
Apart from this he is a renowned poet in both traditional verse as well as New poetry The following volumes of his poems show his poetic genius in a fine manner.
Uthaya kaalangal (Times of Dawn)-1982
Inai thedum ithayam(A heart which is in search of a companion)-1982
Manmatha raagangal (Melodies of the cupid)-1983
Nigazhkaala megankal (Clouds of the present day)-1983
Nooru nilaa (One hundred Moons)-1999
Now you can read some of his Haiku poems in Tamil, translated by me.
Haiku Poems of Amuthabaharati In that forest Which bamboo Is going to be a flute? The poems have not been Completely compiled.. Some remain in creepers..
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For a time-pause He played cards Heavy loss..! Friendship! Even though heavily attacked By the chisel The stone laughs…as Statue! Class room The child observes with rapt attention A cloud through the window! A guest visited She sacrificed her life Chicken! A huge naked figure Shameless- Sky! A long talk Stopped- Train! Standing in the scorching sun Protecting us by its shadows Trees! How foolish The flowers are Always laughing! The chisel only knows The statue which is hiding itself Inside the rock
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4. Maniventhan (Mu.Pi.Balasubramanian)
Professor.Mu.Pi.Balasubramanian (1939), whose pen-name is Maniventhan, has done a wonderful service to Tamil language and literature as a poet, scholar, literary critic and journalist.
As a poet he has brought out many collections of his poems and had participated in many poetic symposia for the recital of his poems
His .compilations of poems published so far:
Cheenaththup parani-1965
Eththanai kodi inbam-1969
Kavithai megangkal-1979
Maniventhan kavithaikal-1980
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Mu.Pi.Pa.Kavithaikal-1990
His book titled “Kavithai megangkal” was awarded the First prize for poetical works in the year 1982 by the government of Tamilnadu
In the year 1990, he received the Bharatidasan viruthu from the Government of Tamilnadu
In a function organized by the D.M.K party he was awarded the Paaventhar. Viruthu in the year 2005.
As a Professor he had served for more than Three decades In Pachaiyappa’s college (Chennai&Kanchipuram) and retired as a Principal. Under his supervision Seventeen scholars had been awarded M.Phil.Degree and ten scholars had obtained their Ph.D.Degree
As an organizer, he had convened many literary meetings, seminars and conferences to propagate Thirukkural, Sangam classics and Tamil culture.
As a scholar he had participated in many International conferences and seminars and had presented many research papers The following books bear evidence to his scholarship and critical acumen.
Vanithaasan Kavithaikal-Oor Aayvu—1986
ilakkiyap punnakai-1988
Cirupaanaatruppadaic celvam-1989
Vanithaasan Ilakkiyath thiran-1989
Ilakkiyap puthaiyal—1999
Ithazhiyal pathivukal-1999
As a writer he had written many short stories. A compilation of his stories titled”Anaiyaa vilakku” was published in the year1991.
He is also a drama script writer. His drama titled “Manamalli” was published in 1990.
Mu.Pi.Balasubramanian (Maniventhan) is a multifaceted genius, and after his retirement as a Principal,he had served as Vice-President of the Ariviysal Thamizh Manram, an autonomous body, maintained by the Government of Tamilnadu.
Manivendhan is contributing poems through literary journals, poetic symposiums and publishing compilation of poems for the past fifty years.
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He is a sincere follower of Periyar and Anna, who are the stalwarts of Social justice and torchbearers in the crusade against communal bias and religious fundamentalism. They have also brought out a renaissance in Tamil culture and literature.
Manivendhan devoted much of his time in propagating their high ideals and lofty principles through his poems. Here we can see a couple of his poems just as an introduction to his poetic contribution.
In a poem titled "Let us create a New World" Manivendhan envisages a utopia.
He tells:
A world where there is no violence
A world which sings victoriously of peace,
A world where there is no perpetration on the poor,
A world where there is no vanity and false pride,
A world where the mind is as clear as a silvery moon,
A world where everybody lives a calm and content life
A world where there is no poverty and distress,
We can create and make the mankind be happy forever.
Manivendhan's utopia is a socialistic state. He is tired of the atrocities committed in this world and gives an appeal through his poems to change the societal setup for the benefit of mankind.
Manivendhan is a rationalist and does not believe in God. But he tells there are various ghosts, demons and devils haunting our country.
How is it possible?
A rationalist telling about ghosts?
Let us see his poem titled 'Ghost'.
The 'Scarcity ghost' allies with the 'smuggling ghost';
The 'corruption ghost' swallows duty-consciousness;
The ghost named Avarice keeps the money
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Without any use to the society;
The ghost of 'vengeance' spoils the society;
The 'examination ghost' threatens the student community;
The 'election ghost' torturing the political parties
Makes them shout louder in platforms;
'Desire' is ghost, which drives everyone to shopping;
Beauty is a ghost, which kills the men without mercy;
Now you will agree that there are ghosts present in this world and roaming around us as well as torturing mercilessly.
Surely we can get rid of those ghosts if we achieve the 'Utopia' envisaged by Manivendhan.
Let us create a New World devoid of wars and quarrels.
Let the mankind flourish with all kind of fortunes achieving peace and solidarity, abolishing poverty and ignorance.
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5. Mu.Balakrishnan-( Ilangkannan)
Mu.Balakrishnan (1935), whose pen-name is Ilangkannan, is a rare kind of poet. He is a renowned statistician and retired as an Additional Director of Statitistics, Government of Tamilnadu.
We can not imagine a statistician will also prove his ability in the art of poetic writing. Poet Mu.Ilangkannan, is a rare kind of poet. He retired, as an additional director of Statistics.We can not imagine a statistician to be a poet displaying fine sentiments. But you can see in his poems a powerful portrayal of human life with a deep commitment to values. Facts and fancy are the two extremes and here we can see Ilangkannan, who has performed the wonder of mastery over the two different faculties. He had received many laurels for his performance in the field of statistics as well as for his poetic talents.
His first book, a compilation of his poems titeld”Thaen malar” was appreciated by Suratha, a literary giant, and Suratha himself volunteered to get it published.
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Ilangkannan to his credit has authored an epic. While people ignore prosody and wish to write free verse, Ilangkannan,a statistician tried his best to follow the rules laid down by prosody works and gift the Tamils an epic unique in its matter and manner.
While most of the epics, except a few, try to promote superstitions and religious fanaticism, his epic outshines others. This epic does not follow its predecessors in praising God and having a god or a saint as its hero.
This epic has chosen its hero from the ordinary people. The legendary leader Kamaraj, a representative of the common man, is the hero of this epic titled”Kaamaraasar kaaviyam.”The biography of the late leader Kamarajar isnarrated in a superb way through fine poetry. It may also be considered as a History of Tamilnadu written in verse. The atrocities of the British regime, the emergence of the National movement, the struggle for freedom by our ancestors,Kamarajar’s participation in various agitations against the then British rule, the sacrifices he had done for the country, the achievement of freedom, the situations that led to the rise of Kamarajar as a powerful leader, Kamarajar as an efficient Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Kamarajar as a dynamic President of the Indian National Congress, Kamarajar a King-maker who had a role in making Prime Ministers and his other achievements are described in this epic, till to the sad demise of the leader.We can not find in any other Indian language an epic like this, which describes the freedom movement in a detailed manner.
Ilangkannan’s book on Thirukkural,titled”The Design and Composition of Thirukkural” is an interdisciplinary approach to Thirukkural.His scholarship in Statistics is utilized to give a new explanation to the formalistic elements of Thirukkural.
Ilangkannan actively takes part in many literary conferences and meetings.
He had rendered recital of his poems in such meetings as well as throughRadio and Television. He is still continuing his poetic career with much enthusiasm and is widely appreciated for his poems.
Here I have given one of his poems, which is quite capable of explaining his poetic genius.
He had written this elegy after the sad demise of his father. This poem not only shows us his poetic genius but also his excellent and commendable personality. An Elegy to my Father How to express my feelings as a poem While I have lost my dear father? Oh! My father! A role model for every one! How rapid you are in doing all my needs!
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How prompt in giving me a high level education? You did your duty in an excellent way As an indebted son I have to find a way for my emotions While my mother took care during night My father toiled in the day like a sun To mould and shape me As a best student. Even during the vacation in varsity You will never allow me to come to the home As according to you It will waste my time and studies You made Special arrangements to Accommodate me In the hostel itself During vacation All these efforts Encouraging supports Reminded me many things. Our Thirukkural says: 'A woman rejoices At the birth of a son But even more When he is praised' Did you want to delight my mother? Again I am reminded of another Kural which says: 'A wise son gives joy Not only to his father But to all the world' Oh! My dear Father! Did you want me to shine as the best intellect? Yet another Kural says: The service A son can render his father Is to make the men ask 'How came the blessing?' Oh! My father! How am I to get fame and Enrich your name? You have gone forever I have lost my life I have been deprived of my soul You stood as a Banyan Now rooted out A great and cruel fall If the rivulets get dried
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We can have water from the mainstream The main river The great river Stream of affection and grace Have dried up What to do? If the strings get cut up in a veena What will happen to the music? If the captain of a ship collapses What will happen to a great ship? If there will not be the sun From dawn to dusk What will happen to the garden, plants and flowers? How can we find an alternate/? Your loss prompts me to think all these Yes, I am trying to forget the sad demise My head advises My heart refuses Mourning all the time With pain. If I stop my tears My heart melts My blood boils as a fuel Having given us all the best Where have you disappeared In search of some other best thing? Cherishing all the virtues You acquired the Height of fame. As a tree with nice fruits, You helped our Kith and kin. My heart melts My eyes are swimming in tears I pray for your soul May your soul rest in peace My mind is after bliss and grace Let there be peace May your soul rest in peace! This elegy may give nostalgia to many of its readers. Those who have lost their father may find some sort of consolation as they can vent their emotion after giving a reading. In a simple style, choice words, pregnant with meaning and powered with emotion; Ilangkannan had given an elegy, which will live for more than a century.
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6. Poovai Amuthan
"Poovai Amuthan" is the pen name of Mr.S.R.Govindarajan, who after 36 years of teaching service in schools at Chennai,Tamilnadu,India ,is now a freelancer. For the past four decades he is continuously contributing Tamil poems publishing them in various literary journals. He has brought out Seven volumes as compilation of his poems. He has written an epic to propagate Aids-Awareness and I think it is the first of its kind in India.
His versatility is unquestionable. Yes! To his credit there are hundreds of titles. He has authored hundreds of books, which can be classified in 8 categories. To be brief, I will give the categories and the number of titles he has authored.
1.POEMS-8 Volumes
2.Novels-24
3.Compilations of Short stories-4
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4. Biographies-16
5. Exponential approaches to Literature-9
6. Compilations of essays-12
7. Prose works-15
8. Dramas-2
9. Children Literature-118 Books(All categories)
The total books authored by him number 208 but it has to be updated. If he happens to see this blog, he is requested to furnish the number of books after 1998, as this data belongs to 1998.
We are concerned here only with his contribution to Tamil poetry
.Poovai Amuthan belongs to Bharatidasan School and he practices what he preaches. His marriage is an intercaste marriage and his children are also married without giving any importance to caste."Charity begins at Home."Abolition of caste and communal feelings is not a virtue to be loudly shouted in stages but to be followed at the house itself.Poovai Amuthan has a noble heritage of a broad outlook, neglecting communal feelings and he acts as a role model for us to shun communal differences.He advocates for Humanism and his poems plead with the readers to adopt humanism as their religion.
He has written hundreds and hundreds of poems on humanism. Let us see one among them:
HUMANISM
"Oh Man! Your mind is a garden!
Let the flower of humanism bloom in it!
Your hands should rush up to
Redress others' grievances!
Your eyes should shine with Grace
To make your home a sacred one!
If you indulge in selfish things
The world will become a cruel one!
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The street-dog which eats rubbish
Does not forget Gratitude.
You are a paragon of animals
Boasting of your six senses
But you are the worst among creatures
As you neglect the welfare of others
If you find pleasure in others labor
It is worse than the act of begging!
Whenever possible do some good
Find pleasure in such virtues
Enmity and hatred will fly away
Heart will find bliss by this.
Charitable deeds will make you proud
They will propagate Humanism everywhere!
Poovai Amuthan has always a soft corner for the underprivileged and the have-nots. He does not aspire to be the poet laureate but he sincerely wishes to be a poet for the downtrodden song-composer for the working class.
His poetic manifesto is revealed through the following poem:
LET US SING
Let us sing to console the hearts of
The workers who toil and moil
Whether it is rain or shine
In fields, roads, forest and hilly areas
Who are exploited but never mind that
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And sleep in roadside pavements
Let us glorify their sincere labor
Let us entertain them by our rhythmic songs.
In urban life the modern man is losing the values and he is rushing in the rat race to achieve power and money.
Filthy things occupy his mind and he is slowly losing self-control.
Acting as a prisoner of circumstances, he bows to consumerism and abandons humanism.
Everybody becomes schizophrenic and adopt dual roles willfully. This phenomenon is closely observed by the poet and portrayed skillfully in the following poem.
IN SEARCH OF A FACE, HUMANE!
Standing in front of the podium
A face will roar with valiance!
Showing artificial sympathy another face
Will act skillfully cheating others!
Another face will pretend as if it is
Always speaking noble principles!
Hiding stealthy love appears another face
Showering affection to weaker sex
With evil motives comes one more face!
Defeats another face all chameleons
By always changing colors
But I am unable to see a face humane!
Poovai Amuthan reiterates the habit of reading, which is on a gradual decline nowadays due to the impact of electronic media.
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He describes 'Books'as the treasure-troves of knowledge, which help us to attain wealth and health.
In a poem titled "Books", he stresses the importance of books.
BOOKS
Whenever we find time
They readily welcome to
Interact with us
Just like a lovable wife;
Whenever we get depressed
They act as good companions
Inducing enough motivation;
To correct our errors
They serve as our preceptors;
They possess in store
A treasure-trove of knowledge
To guide us attain immense wealth.
Poovai Amuthan's poems are highly rhythmic and the poetic diction induces every reader to read again and again.
Many of his songs have been broadcast and telecast through A.I.R ,the National broadcasting channel of India and Doordarshan,the national telecasting channel of India..
He longs for a powerful and united India and he strives through his poems to propagate his plea for unity and solidarity and we hope we may achieve definitely by following his ideals.
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7. M.L.Thangappa
Among the poets who belong to Bharatidasan School, M.L.Thangappa (1934) is a rare personality. He is an English scholar and has an exemplary proficiency of Tamil classics and grammar. In his poems we can not see even a single word borrowed from other languages. The chaste Tamil diction is mingled with powerful expression in his poems. At the same time he avoids, a pedantic and pompous style, which will form an iron curtain to the readers from the author.
Simple and elegant style is the unique feature in his poem..
M.Lenin Thangappa served as an English teacher in High schools at Tamilnadu and Puducherry for more than a decade. Later he did is Masters Degree in Tamil and switched over to Tamil teaching at Government arts colleges in Puducherry. He retired from service in 1994.
He was a close associate of late Perunchiththiranar, another Tamil poet of the Bharatidasan School and founder-Editor of “Thenmozhi”,a literary journal of repute.
In 1973 M.L.Thangappa’s first volume of poems,”Paadukinren”, was published. Sixteen volumes of his poems have been published till dateThedukinren (1980),
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Aandhaip paattu(1983),Adich chuvadukal(1983),veppang kanigal(1985),Kallum mondhaiyum(1987),Iyarkaiyaatruppadai(1989),Mayakkuru makkal (1990),Akamum puramum(1991),Pinnirundhu oru kural(1992),Panip paarai nunikal(1998),Puyarp paattu(2000), and Paattenum vaal etuppay(2008) are his other compilations got published.
He has also authored books for the children. Four volumes of poems have been published by him for children.
Eight volumes which consist of compilation of his essays have also been published.
M.L.Thangappa is an internationally acclaimed translator of Sangam classics. His
translation work of sangam classics titled” Hues and Harmonies from an ancient land” got an overwhelming response from scholars when it was published in 1970.It seems he is planning to bring out more translations of Sangam classicsin a second volume, soon.
Songs of Grace (Translation of selected hymns from St.Ramalinga’s Thiruvarutpa) published in 1985, Selected Poems from Baratidasan (1992), and House of Darkness (Translation of Bharatidasan’s narrative poem titked ‘Irunda vidu’) published in 1996 are his other translation works.
A volume of poems in English titled” Meadow Flowers” has been published by him (1984), which stands as an evidence for his scholarship and creative talent in English.
Many Russian poems were translated into Tamil by him, from their English texts.
.In 1991, he received the Bharatidasan award from the Government of Tamilnadu
.Many literary associations and NGOs have honored him with awards. He is an active member in many voluntary organizations and doing his service to the land and community, thereby proving he practices what he propagates.
He had been awarded with the Sahitya Academy award for his contribution to the Children’s literature. He deserves two more awards, one for his metaphysical poetry and another for his translation skill.
I consider M.L.Thangappa as a T.S.Eliot from India.
Of course this comparison is just to make my job much easier
.Here I wish to give this comparison for the following reasons.
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M.L.Thangappa is a peace-loving, inquisitive introvert who craves for international fraternity, amity and harmony. He expresses his deep and strong concern for the deteriorating values in human life. He often cautions through his poems about the hollowness that dominates our humanity, which has become a conglomeration of consumer-federations.Nationality, Ethnicity and cultural identity have to bow down before the powerfulConsumerism which determines the fate of countries.
T.S.Eliot's "The Wasteland" is very famous for its passionate appeal for values in life. It strongly expresses the poet's longing for the redemption of mankind from the clutches of materialistic rat race and ill will among the society due to competition for power and money.
M.L.Thangappa, a prominent poet, who belongs to Bharatidasan School, deserves our appreciation for his consistent efforts through his poems to make us realize our follies.
His long poem Voice From Behind"(Pinnirunthu oru kural) is a critique of the changing morals in our life .It is not against any individual but it is a criticism of the modern society.
The poet begins the long poem with this question:
“Oh! My Mankind!
When provided with
A tasty fruit, will you
Involve in appreciation
of its external beauty,
instead of tasting it?
Oh! My Mankind!
Forgetting the soul within
You indulge in
Beautifying your body! "
Here the poet does not wish to assume a position of a prophet. If we read the whole poem then we will definitely come to the conclusion that he wishes to
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make a self-assessment; an assessment of our life and attitudes towards goals and targets of human life; an analysis of our modes of social behavior.
He continues his question further:
How many quarrels?
What a wide range of
Whims and fancies?
The sensual pleasure
We derive from this life-
Is it not like dew?
On the tip of Grass leaves?
Forgetting this we
Waste our life
In selfish motives
Tarnishing the true
Values of life.
There are several explanations given by various philosophers to find put the meaning of our life. The poet ponders over and makes us think about the meaning of life.
Why do we live?
Just for eating?
Or to adore us with
Ornaments and clothes?
We celebrate the wealth
Which is as fluid as butter
Closing our eyes we rush
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To jump on fire.
We have self-made phobias which spoil our peaceful living. These phobias arise out of our aimless and self-centered mode of living.
Fear for everything and anything;
Whether we can get money and gold;
Whether any harm may occur in any form;
Fear about our kith and kin;
Fear to death and disease;
Each and every minute we fear
We worry much, and lament over
For useless dirty things.
These meaningless fears and phobias make us forget the meaning of life.
A man builds a house to live in. But forgetting this if he is going on to decorate it and embellish it continuously without any end, is it sane and sensible? Our body is like a house; it is Nature's gift; all the other things like money, material and instruments are useful only to the body and not to the soul. According to the poet we never think of the soul but only worry to care for the body.
The sky-scraping balconies
Community halls and places
Dazzling stages which shine like gold
Theaters and opera houses
Will suddenly disappear instantly.
By this statement the poet is not threatening u.s. is emphasizing the harsh reality to make us follow the righteous path.
These lines remind us of Shakespeare who says in "The Tempest" the following lines:
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“The gorgeous palaces
The cloud-capped towers have
Melted into thin air"
We can not forget the visuals shown many times in all TV channels, the sudden fall of the famous World Towers, on 9/11.
The historic tragedy is a man-made one out of hatred and ill will.
But how to explain the tragedy due to Tsunami on 26-12-2004?
People belonging to Indonesia, Srilanka and coastal areas of Tamilnadu, suddenly experienced a great loss due to the Nature's rage.
The poet wishes to stress the need of sympathy, empathy, goodwill and compassion in our life. These qualities alone are our properties which will make the mankind flourish forever.
The poet pleads for introspection and self-criticism. We have to find out our wrongdoings ourselves and correct them. We have to see the Inner Light that is within our mind by our introspection. The conscience should be our master and we need not rely on religions, which try to divide us.
If you make your mind as a glowing light
There will be no destruction and fight;
No pain and worry but pleasure and bliss;
Violence will vanish forever
Love will be the breathing air of mankind;
Let the Inner Light glow and guide.
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8.Kadavoor Manimaran
Kadavoor Manimaaran (1945) is an uncompromising personality, committed to the ideals of Periyar E.V.R. and Anna. He wants the society to move in the right direction providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of their religion, caste or creed.
During his student days he actively participated in the anti-Hindi agitations and was victimized by the institutions in which he underwent the Pulavar course. As a result he had to study the same course in three institutions namely, Ganesar Senthamizhk kalluri (Melaich chivapuri), Karanthaith Thamizhch changam (Thanjavoor) and Dharmapuram Thamizhk Kalloori
.He did his further education at Annamalai University, Chidambaram and obtained B.O.L.and M.A.degrees there. He was awarded Ph.D.for his comparative research on Bharatidasan and Perunchiththiran.
To his credit he has published Thirty six books, of which nineteen are volumes of his poems.
First volume of his poems titled”Naan Paadukiren”came out in 1979.
After that Eighteen volumes which are compilation of his poems have been published, His poetic talents have been appreciated by many literary associations, He had received many awards including
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V.G.P.Santhanammaal award, Vikkiraman award and Thamizharasi award.
Apart from poetry, he has also authored many prose works. His essays on Self-development and confidence-building have been widely read and appreciated. Among such books”Unnai arivaay! Ulakai velvaay!”(Know yourself! Conquer the world1” deserves a special mention for its provoking content and lucid style.
“Manakkum Malaysia” and “Azhagiya Andhaman” are the travelogues written by him
He has also written a commentary to “Thirukkural.”
He retired as a Principal of a Teachers college and still continuing his poetic career as a mission to serve the Tamil community.
Poet Kadavoor Manimaran envisages a socialistic society where there is no quarrel in the name of religion, no fights to acquire wealth and power in evil ways and no ignorance.
Kadavoor Manimaaran is a prominent Tamil poet who belongs to Bharatidasan school. He is an uncompromising personality, bold and unbiased. He wants the society to move in the right direction providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of their religion, caste or creed.
In India the caste system is spoiling the progress of the society. It is making unwanted divisions and creating disputes. As a poet subscribing to progressive policies, Kadavoor Manimaran makes an outburst again caste system. He wants to abolish the caste system by the might of integration and unity. His poem titled
"Death Bell to caste" explains his rage and fury on this caste system for the welfare of society..
What are they going to achieve
By fostering communalism?
Throwing away all morals
They try to divide the mankind!
Ostracize them mercilessly
For their evil designs pre-planned.
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Our fury and angry outburst
Will make them disappear
The poet considers Humanism as a universal religion and wishes to propagate for it.
His poem titled "Let us Hail Humanism" explains his strong desire for a welfare society which fosters and follows humanism.
Let us get an upward mobility
By following high ideals!
Let us shirk the relationship of
Self-centered scoundrels
Who spoil the society
By their evil thoughts and deeds
Let us reach new heights
By our responsible tasks.
The term ' Pleasure' gives various meanings to various types of personalities. Noble minds aim for loftier and sublime things. Here in this poem titled 'Pleasure' we can see the inner mind of the poet.
Reading is a pleasure and
Teaching is a great pleasure
Maintaining good relations
With our relatives is a pleasure
Acquiring skills is a pleasure
Attaining fame is a lot more pleasure
Enjoying the beauty of my mother tongue
Tamil is a great pleasure.
To get an understanding that
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"All are equal" is a pleasure;
Doing our duties in a way
Which satisfies others is a pleasure;
To give at least a small amount of
A benefit to others is a pleasure;
Such an attitude will enrich the world
And add pleasure to our life.
Discrimination in any form
Will deteriorate the society
Disputes and hatred will
Damage the mankind;
Let us have a positive approach
Pleasure will be there!
Poets always think for the progress and up-gradation of the society. They have got every right to command us to follow their orders. Here in this poem titled"Let it be destroyed" the poet commands us to destroy the evil and ugly things to pave way for the right and noble things.
"Let it be destroyed"
Let the ignorance be removed;
Let the youth agitate
And perform a dynamic lead
Like Lion cubs!
Crush and destroy the atrocities
Which humiliate the mankind!
Drive away the fascist
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Frenzies that spoil humanism!
Dash and damage the
Useless Illusions forever!
Violations of human rights
Should be exposed
War should be proclaimed
To defend humanity!
Poet Kadavoor Manimaran envisages a socialistic society where there is no quarrel in the name of religion, no fights to acquire wealth and power in evil ways and no ignorance. We are sure our country is moving in the right way to attain such a golden era and we should also dedicate ourselves and work tirelessly to attain it.
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9.THAARAA BAARATHY
Thaaraa barathi is an illustrious poet of Tamilnadu who had died a premature death at his early fifties.
Thaaraa Barathi can be described as ‘The Mayakovsky of India’ for his highly motivating poems, which are still a source of inspiration for the youth of Tamilnadu.
“Do not say I am empty-handed
It is unwise;
A big fortune your ten
Fingers may rise. “
Is the famous poem written by Thaaraa Barathi which acts as a morale-booster among the unemployed youth of Tamilnadu.Most of Thaaraa Barathi’s poems have the potential to serve as a source of inspiration for its readers, irrespective of their age and status.
The following poem by Thaaraa Barathi, which was published under the title “This is our East”, is highly symbolic. It expresses the desire of the poet for a revolution by the working class, which will bring New Hope and life for the have-nots.
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Where is our east?
Where is our dawn?
The darkness is still there;
The red sun has not yet arrived;
The day has not dawned;
We have no idea
About the eastern direction.
The time to wake up has come;
But there is no light in our area;
Unless we tear it
There will not be any dawn in the east!
Where is our east?
Where is our dawn?
Let us put a bloody tilak
Where there is darkness spread
The bloody Tilak is the red sun
Let us call it as the east!
Shout it with might!
The sun which is beyond our reach
Illuminates a part of the world and
Darkens the other part;
The shoulders of the working class
Will illuminate the whole world hereafter!
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Let us call it as the east!
Shout it with might!
If all the powers were united
Then in all directions there will be sunlight
Even if we call in midnight
The sun will give light1
Let us call it as the east!
Shout it with might!
Thaaraa Barathi mingled with the masses, particularly with the younger generation and motivated them by his poems.
His poems still inspire the Tamil youth and many have achieved an upward mobility for which his poems helped as a catalyst.
He can be rightly called as “The Mayakovsky of India”.
Thaaraa Bharati had written abundant of self-development literature.Even two lines of his poem will do wonders by motivating the youth who are fed-up with the unemployment problem and corrupt bureaucracy in our land. Many youth who had gone to the extreme step to plan for their suicide had been motivated by Thaaraa Bharati's poems. Here such a poem famous for its confidence-building in the minds of readers is translated and given below. Hi! Youth!
Do not say I am empty-handed
It is unwise;
A big fortune your ten fingers may raise.
What is the price of this ball like globe?
If you attain name and fame
That will be the befitting price.
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Arise! Awake!
Before your fiery eyes
Even the sun will look like a tiny spark!
East will not dawn in its course!
We have to tear it off to make it red!
You have got a tiger’s strength!
Frustration is a spider’s web!
Do you intend to sleep in it?
Arise! Awake! My dear friend!
Your awakening will yield
A great revolution in Nature’s course;
Eat to live! Do not live to eat!
Do not let yourself as a feast for lethargy!
Let us show a new direction to the wind!
The fingers are meant for fruitful labor!
Is there any justice in keeping them idle?
Youth is meant for better molding
It is not an age to go the burial field!
Before you reach the age of thirty
Why this wheezing? Is it not dirty?
Should you give your body
as an abode for crimes and wrongs?
Hurry up! Your fingers are farming tools.
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They will harvest gold even in barren fields!
Exercise your body!
Teach it self- respect!
Do not believe in fate!
Science gives you the strength to fight!
How taller Himalayas stands!
Your head should stand as another peak!
Live as prominent as a pointing finger
Lying idle please don’t waste your life!
Shoulders are your working tools!
Every place you touch will turn as
Flower-garden!
How many saints have born in this land!
Can’t you exceed them by following their teachings?
Do you consider this world as a hollow nothing?
Why have you got so much frustration?
By your thumb!.
You can control
The revolving force of the globe by your thumb!.
You have got the strength of science and technology
to change the direction of the sun!
Come on Stand up!
Show your might!
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Even the height of the sky is below your hip!
These lines are very famous among Tamil youth throughout the world, where ever they speak Tamil. The positive force in this poem has prevented many boys and girls from committing suicide. It has made many youth below the poverty-line to work hard and has turned them millionaires.
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10. Minnoor Seenivasan
Poet Minnoor Seenivasan worked as a Tamil Professor for more than three decades.The blogger had the opportunity to work with him for several years in the Presidency college,Chennai.Minnoor Seenivasan retired as the Head of the Department of Tamil at the Presidency college.He is an able administerator,voracious reader,eloquent orator and erudite scholar.If he had some well-wishers in the political field he would have been given Vice-chancellor positions.But our beloved poet Minnoor did never search for higher posts as he found great pleasure in writing poems,delivering literary discourses.Later he dispalayed his skills in painting. Minnoor Seenivasan is a wonderful poet capable of captivating the eternal time in his poetic creation.You can enjoy his visualising skills and radiant thoughts in this poem. Time is a wonderful maid Time is a wonderful maid: She is changing her name daily As-“Yesterday” “Today” and “Tomorrow”! She never stops her travel Like wind and river, moving always, Her journey is on, on and on! Time is a wonderful maid; A virgin maid for ever and ever; Then and now I have seen her beauty Here and there I have observed it; Desire is my brush to hold it with grip Here and there, in my heart which is a screen, to preserve it I am drawing with my might.
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In her beautiful forehead She keeps dark night as a dot; The marble moon is Her adorable face; Perpetually she preserves her youth Everlastingly young, She never becomes old; The morning star is a flower for her She decorates her head with it Before the dawn blossoms; The bright color of the morning Becomes the turmeric paste for her After applying it for face She plucks the evening sun And puts it in her forehead as a beautiful Tilak. She covers her face With fog as a veil; After a while She rises again Like an awesome painting! Oh! Eternal beauty! The red sky in the dusk She takes with much pleasure To adorn her feet as a red paint! The early night darkness Is a cosmetic ointment for her eyes; Time-a wonderful maid Never becomes old Like a poem highly classic She lives a life of eternity! The rhythmic musical sound of rivers Is a wonderful tribute for her; The spring, full of flowers, is the Enchanting smile of the maid, Time! The Fame which never withers, Remains as her friend for ever! Minnoor Seenivasan has given a valuable counselling through this poem.It promotes self-development and induces motivation for a brisk and brilliant personality.Please have a reading and judge yourserlf.
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Come on! Sing merrily! When the hard rock clashes and Dashes vehemently Without any worry the creek sings Sweet melodies mellifluously; Even if difficulties dash against you Come on sing like a creek! Sing charmingly! Black clouds in the sky Bombard each other Without any fear for the Terrific thunderstorms The lightning laughs at it With a flash of smile bright! If troubles dash in your life Happily laugh at them! Enrich your thinking! Bloom! Be cheerful! Bright vision and right decision should lead you to heights. Neither hurricane nor tempest Can shake the Assembly of stars; Without any fear, they smile brightly., Driving away darkness, they adore the sky; Whatever storm that meets you in life Should never bother you! Laugh away your worries! Brighten up your mind! Cheer up your heart! Even if our hands bang and beat The Drum is never hurt; It produces rhythmic treat To make us dance with joy! If misery and grief strike you Please don’t get shattered! Let sweet music fill up your heart Brush up suddenly! Let your mind absorbed in music Come on! Sing merrily!
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Minnoor Srinivasan is one among the famous poets of Tamilnadu, noted for his dedication to Nature poetry. He is also one among the pioneers who took the cause of developing literature for the younger ones. Avoiding nonsensical rhymes and absurd verbal gymnastics for children, he always uses lucid language with crisp phrases and catchy idioms. Both the form and content of his poems try to mend the young minds in the correct path to grasp lofty ideals and noble thoughts.
“Kanmanippaattu”, a collection of songs and rhymes in Tamil, is a laudable venture which deserves appreciation from both sections, the younger ones who are in search for the best books they can read, and the lovers of poetry who crave for poems with a humanist mission. Being a collection of Sixty-two poems it offers kaleidoscopic, verbal paintings of human life.
The first poem in this volume is on mother”Amma” and the concluding poem is on the child”paappa.”This volume of poems emphasizes human relations and illustrates the roles of various people in the making of our society. The Peasant (uzhavan), the toiler (uzhaippaali), the Fisherman (meenavar), the Goldsmith (thattaar), the Sweeper (kuppaithotti), and the postman (anjalpetti) are described in an apt manner with a view to teach the children to respect and realize the dignity of labor.
Poems on Nature in this volume sincerely try to inculcat6e a sense of aesthetic appreciation in the younger minds. Domestic pets and wild animals are beautifully portrayed with vivid descriptions; some poems directly take to teaching of morals and some with the help of fascinating rhyme and alluring rhythm.
The work “Kanmanippaattu” may rightly be called as a classic among the children’s literature.
“Minnoor seenivasan Kavithaikal”, his volume of poems for the adult readers is not only a thought-provoking collection but also a valuable social document depicting the modern life with all its complications. After a thorough reading of this volume, it would justifiably be said that Minnoor Seenivasan is more a shaper of the modern social consciousness than any one among the modern writers.
His”Vanna Vanna Minkal” and “Mazhalaikkanavukal” are the best works, which not only deserve appreciation but also need to be propagated among school children.
Minnoor, the modern Santa Claus of Tamilnadu always carries many bags of best poems for the Tamil-knowing children. If the goods are delivered through audio and video channels hope his mission may get a speedy realization.
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It is no exaggeration to describe Minnoor as a Myriad-minded artist and versatile genius,
I always consider Minnoor as a Tagore of the present age.
His laudable works on Nature and his sincere aim to make children as true lovers of Nature has no comparison.
We find in him ‘a High Priest of Nature’ in this modern age, who strives through his writings to mould and shape the minds of the children-Citizens of Tomorrow-in a nobler direction to respect and appreciate the Nature.
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11. Ponnadiyan
Ponnadiyan is one of the prominent poets in Tamilnadu and he was a close associate of
Bharatidasan during his lifetime. Bharatidasan founded a forum for Tamil poets and
Ponnadiyan is still maintaining the forum with the same vigor and efficiency. The ‘Tamil
poets’ Forum’ is very famous for its poetic symposia held in Marina beach during every
first Sunday evening of all the months. He is also running a literary magazine
titled’Mullaicharam’ for the past Forty years.
Ponnadiyan has brought out several numbers of volumes as compilation of his poems and
he is actively engaged in the poetic field for the past five decades. As a disciple of
Bharatidasan he is wedded to his progressive policies and his poems propagate lofty
ideals of Periyar E.V.R.
His force and commitment can be seen in the following poem titled as ‘Please throw
away.’
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
While we are working for a noble cause
Whoever stands as barricades to us,
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When we plan to put a strong base
For the welfare of our motherland
Those who always carry selfish motives
And put impediments to us,
Should be thrown out
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
While we are working
For constructive schemes
From dawn to dusk
Those who give hindrance
Prevent our work
And wish to disturb our work
Should be thrown out
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
With the help of the great power
Mankind has acquired
When we try to eradicate poverty
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And drive away diseases
Those who want only
To fill up their stomach
Threaten us and oppose our agenda
Should be thrown out
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
Those who want poverty to spread
Those who wish to reduce productivity
Those who want the rule of the anarchy
Those who want the mankind to be divided
With various religions and divisions
Should be thrown out
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
Those who wish to be the bigger brothers
Those who become the stooge of cruelty
Those who want the ruling power with them
Should be thrown out
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Even if they have
The God with them
Throw them out, banish them
Expel them-comrades
In a country where self-respect is not maintained due to poverty and greed, Ponnadiyan
wishes to give useful advice to the younger generation to keep their dignity and maintain
self-respect. Just for the sake of meager benefits the people are bowing their heads to
antisocial elements that have enormous wealth earned in unjust ways. Prostrating has
become quite common in Tamilnadu, a state where Periyar E.V.R. had dedicated his
whole life to educate the people to maintain self-respect. Ponnadiyan asks the people not
to believe anybody including him. In a poem titled’ Do not believe anybody’ he advises
the people not to believe any body and not to rely on others support. One should stand by
one's own strength and should not rely on others, because this sort of dependence kills
independent nature and makes one to loose self-respect.
In another poem “No! No!” he vehemently condemns the habit of depending on others.
We do not want Slavery
Please do not be a subordinate to others.
Half stomach porridge is enough
Worn out dress is enough
Even though we work for a daily wage
We will be much happier
We do not want Slavery
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Please do not be a subordinate to others.
We do not want the luxury of a bungalow
We do not want prestige and pompous life
We have the support of our labor
Let us go in our own way
We do not want Slavery
Please do not be a subordinate to others.
We do not need the relationship of politicians
We do not want the petty jobs with bowing heads
We do not want to loose our rights
Just for the sake of a sumptuous meal
We do not want Slavery
Please do not be a subordinate to others.
Ponnadiyan through his poems will definitely make the youngergeneration more
confident with vigor and spirit. Self-development, self-confidence and initiative will be
the results if anybody reads his poems. Ponnadiyan deserves a unique place among the
modern poets for his mission to propagate these lofty ideals which are highly needed at
these days.
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12.Poet Inquilaab
Inquilaab hails from Keezhakkarai, a coastal commercial town which belongs to Ramanathapuram district of Tamilnadu.He did his Pre-University course at Raja Duraisingam college, Sivagangai.Poet Meera (Mi.Rajendiran) was working as a Tamil Professor there at that time. Meera, who was motivating youngsters during his lifetime, had also encouraged Inquilaab’s literary pursuits. Meera, who was organizing Poetic symposia throughout Ramanathapuram district found the poet hiding in Inquilaab’s mind and have given due exposure.
Inquilaab did his graduate course in Thiagarajar College at Madurai.This College is very famous. AbdulRahman, Mi.Rajendiran, Naa.Kamarajan, Mu.Methaa are some of its products.
Famous scholars like Ilakkuvanar (who translated Tholkappiam in English), Avvai Duraisami (who had rendered commentaries to many Tamil classics) A.K.Paranthamanar were working there at that time. This institution helped and strengthened Inquilab’s creative efforts. The budding poet, Inquilaab, metamorphosed as a revolutionary poet in this atmosphere.
Inquilaab neither indulged in Hero worship nor associated himself with any of the political parties. Poets who were keeping to the beaten track satisfied themselves by choosing the readymade themes. Inquilaab was very clear in his motive and still keeps it. He wants the entire societal set-up to change. His voice is a voice of revolt. He is not willing to compromise with the social reforms suggested to remedy the social evils prevalent now.
Atrocities committed to Dalits
The main and malicious evil communalism is of serious concern to everybody who wishes the welfare of the society. The oppressed caste known as Adidravidas in the south and panchamaas in the north termed themselves as Dalits are suffering a lot. As they happened to be agricultural laborers and menials of the landlord in the feudal system for many centuries. They were confined in an institutional slavery system and treated even worse than the animals reared up by the landlord.
Even though Mahatma Gandhi wished to emancipate them from their slavery, he was unable to do anything except christening them with a new nomenclature”Harijans.”
The atrocities committed to Dalits are a never-ending dark spot of the Indian society.
In the year 1968, twenty-one years after Independence, at Keezhavenmani, in the then Thanjavur district, agricultural laborers were burnt alive. After this tragedy, this cruelty
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did not come to an end. It happened here and there. But poets took Keezhavenmani as a symbol to notify brutality committed to Dalits.
In Keezhavenmani, the dalits who were agricultural laborers asked for a small rise in their wages. The landlords considered this as a great sin. The thugs employed by the landlords threatened the dalits. To save themselves from brutal assault they took shelter in a thatched hut. Alas! They were unable to save their lives from the merciless hooligans, who burnt them alive, creating a dark page in the history of Tamilnadu.
Solution for the salvation of Dalits
Almost all the poets of Tamilnadu condemned this crime through their poems. When other poets ventilated emotional outburst through their poems, Inquilaab clearly stated that until feudalism is replaced by scientific socialism such atrocities might continue forever.
Burning alive the Dalits
Feudalism is preparing the sacred ash
To wear in its forehead
How to end this atrocity? His solution is simple.
To destroy
The mosquito of unsociability
Let us destroy
The drainage of Feudalism
The Poet’s identification with Dalits
Inquilaab becomes ferocious when he thinks of the inhuman and horrible cruelty committed to Dalits.Whenever he writes about Dalits, he himself turns as a Dalit.
Identifying himself with Dalits, he speaks:
The Blood drops
Oozed from our buttocks and thumbs
Are frozen in the Ithihaasas
Which you recite daily.
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Even when Ahimsa was preached
Under the Bodhi tree
The fire which was burning us
Never stopped.
We were suffering for many a Thousand years
With the legs which did iron chains tie
And the mouths which drank the cow-dung.
We were carrying the scorching sun
On our back daily.
With the fibers of our perspiration
We clothed the nudity of the earth.
Even then
We gained a small measure of rice
And a piece of loincloth
………………………………………
When we were born in this earth
The thread of ‘caste’ made by you
Entangled our neck
Even before the placenta of the mother’s womb
We are-
Indian Negroes
The wealth of the whites flourished
By the blood of the blacks
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Like that
Your temples and tajmahals
Were built and cherished by our blood.
The title of the poem’ Fiery Position’ explains that the Dalits, who had tolerated the savageries done to them for many centuries, had taken a determined standpoint.
The determination of the Dalits is made clear in the following lines.
Even in the dreams of
The exploiters
We will hold flags of demonstration
And shout slogans.
Whatever torture you give
We won’t weep and cry
We stand erect
Hereafter
Every minute is ours.
Inquilaab’s poem points out the motivation and willpower every Dalit should have to achieve emancipation.
Inquilaab always thinks and acts for the emancipation of the downtrodden, hegemony of the working class and the emancipation of dalits.
Here we see the poet, as an emancipator, and we sincerely wish his mission to succeed thereby achieving an egalitarian society in our country.
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13. Arivumathi
Poet Arivumathi is widely known for his strong commitment to Periyar’s ideals and progressive views. He is one among the Tamil poets who took the initiative to introduce Haiku model poems in Tamil. “En piriya vasanthame” is his first volume of poems which was published in 1977. Poet Arivumathi is famous for his Haiku poems in Tamil. He uses the Japanese haiku form to compose poems in Tamil and these poems are full of satire. A collection of his Haiku poems, titled “Kadaisi mazhaith thuli” was published in 1996.Later three volumes titled ,”Aayulin anthivarai”, “ Natpuk kaalam” and “Vali” had been published. Arivumathi is also a popular lyric writer for Tamil cinemas. Even in that field he shines as a unique star, for his firm conviction, that language should not be spoilt in the name of entertainment. While most of the lyric writers prefer to use a language heavily corrupted by the usage of slang and borrowed words, Arivumathi always stand for a chaste Tamil, avoiding adulteration of Tamil by mixing borrowed words. When it became the order of the trade to use a ‘Creole’ type of Tamil, sarcastically called as ‘Tamilish’, he declined to write lyrics for cinemas. While even Tamil Professors do not bother much about marinating a standard style avoiding borrowed words, Arivumathi stands for purity of language and deserve appreciation from the Tamil people. . He ridicules the politicians for their hypocrisies and exposes their corrupt practices to swindle public money. He also pleads with the people to save trees to avoid eco-imbalance in the globe. He always advocates for the welfare of Dalits, the oppressed section of people. In the Indian Hindu religion, Dalits were previously treated as the Un-touchables.They were not allowed in the roads, public places and temples. They were treated as outcasts by the society. Even seeing them was considered as a sin by the orthodox Hindus. During the freedom-struggle of India National leaders strived their might for the emancipation of these oppressed people. Apart from Phule and Gandhi, E.V.Ramasamy and B.R.Ambedkar fought for the liberation of these people. After Independence, many Laws were introduced to safeguard the interests of Dalits.Special reservation is allotted in the fields of Education and job-opportunities. Even then the mental make-up of the Upper caste Hindus did not change. Poets like Arivumathi, poets who belong to Bharatidasan School, still fight for the liberation of the Dalits from the clutches of Untouchability and ostracism, still carried on by the orthodox Hindus, even at this age of Democratic awareness. Poet Arivumathi shows the way of non-cooperation and non-violence as the methods to protest. Provocation may lead to turmoil thereby accelerating violence and mass-hysteria which always results in mass killing. The poet
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should be a responsible person. He should never incite violence.Arivumathi is a responsible writer and in his poems always plead for a united struggle in a non-violent way. He describes Dalits as 'Children of fire’. In a poem titled "Children of fire” he echoes the voice of Dalits.
If you beat us
We may bleed.....
But we won’t shed tears
If you kick us
We won’t weep
We will shout slogans
If you put us in prisons
We may be imprisoned
But not our principles
If you kill us...
We may die
But not our ideology
Surely Arivumathi is showing the Gandhi and way of struggle which the country has forgotten.
If we heed to the advice of the poet there will never be any unwanted deaths and calamity.
But who is ready to follow the advice of the poet?
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14. ABDUL RAHMAN
Abdul rahman is one among the prominent poets of Tamilnadu.After Bharatidasan and Kannadasan , Abdul rahman is a crowd-puller in poetic symposium, for the past four decades. When he presents his poems in poetic symposium, the audience becomes spellbound. His captive poetic images and puns attract the audience very much like the music of a popular musician. He produces thunder-like outburst from the audience by the wit and humor caused by the puns in his poems.
A Tribute to Humanism
Abdul rahman’s “Coronation of Humanism” is a masterpiece among his poems, which pay tribute to humanism. It is an illustrious monument to the success of mankind in space travel. The conquest of moon by mankind is an excellent example of the hegemony of human race in the universe. So the poet as the “Coronation of Humanism” praises it.
“The Human bird of
The global nest
Now has got
The wings of Gabriel.
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Oh! Planets!
Wait in queue
To give him a
Warm welcome.
The multitude of
Gravitation
Opens to his staff
Paving the
Proper way.
The rocks which
Kept the secrets of the
Universe till now
Were shaken and
Torn into pieces
By his shouting of
‘Open sesame’
Under the feet of
His horse
There is a lot
Stardust.”
Here in this poem the poet describes man as ‘vamana’ an incarnation of God Mahavishnu.In this incarnation Mahavishnu, first appeared as a short
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Brahmin and then grew taller than anything in the universe and by such tallest figure he measured the whole universe by his two feet.
The five great elements
Bow down and pay tax
To the great emperor” Man”.
Whose coronation
Is solemnized at the
Throne of Universe.
Just from the seeds of
The forbidden fruit
Oh! What a fine
Heaven
He has created!
Abdul Rahman should be read and enjoyed and no mediator is needed.
The beauty of the language, the power of words, the magic of verbal portraits and the art of poetry find their supreme nature in Rahman’s poetry and if you had not enjoyed it your life is an utter waste.
Mysticism-His Literary Theory
There are so many freedom-movements recorded in the annals of the world history. Many of the movements got success culminating in the emergence of new Nations. The mankind has fought so many battles for achieving freedom. What is the real freedom? Freedom from the control of the five senses seems as the real freedom to the poet. Because mankind suffers a lot as man is enslaved by his senses and plunged in so many desires prompted by his senses. Trill attaining that freedom, man should be considered as a slave, according to the poet.
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In this context the following poem may be read.
The force of the body
“Freedom is
My birthright”
Shouted the Jail!
The Life-Time prisoner,
Who was within,
Laughed at it.
This poem is an example for the intense desire of the poet to adopt mysticism. Abdul Rahman is an ardent learner and admirer of Tamil mystics, The Sidhdhars.He has a vast knowledge of the Sufi seers.
Instead of following the post-war modernism of Europe, he wishes to follow the mysticism of the east, it may be noted here.
Expressionism in Abdul Rahman's Poems
In another poem titled ‘The Witness’ the poet gives the picture of sunrise employing expressionism. For all the poets in all parts of the world the “Sunrise’ is a beautiful natural scene to be enjoyed. The ‘Sunrise’ is traditionally used as a symbol to denote the dawn of a new era. But for the poet, Abdul rahman sees it in a different angle. Every sunrise brings sad news and bad happenings in this globe.
Genocide, cold-blooded murder of political leaders, gruesome murders due to the acts of terrorism and many ugly things are brought to our attention by the media in every morning. So sunrise can not be taken as a symbol of new era.
This poet also sees the sunrise as a murder.
White-dotted
Black is
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Murdered by the White.
In the green-colored
Tongues of
The earth
Droplets of blood
Which try to
Transform as Words.
In colonial and pre-colonial India slaves were put dots over their body .The Night is described as a black and the stars look like dots put in the body of the slave. The sunlight of the dawn is described as the White. Appearance of the sunlight automatically removes the darkness of the night. It makes the poet to describe the morning scene as a murder of the black. This poem was written during the struggle of the blacks in South Africa. Through this poem the poet conveys his sympathy to the struggle of the Blacks and at the same time gives a different picture of the sunrise, which no other poet has imagined.
Hitherto the ‘Dawn’ is described to denote ‘Hope’. It is always used as a symbol for the emergence of a golden age.
The poet who is most aware of his social context refuses to accept this universal symbol. Because every dawn brings very bad news. Calamities that happen due to cyclone and heavy floods are the curses of Nature ,which man can not control.
But genocide,arrogant wars,aggression,conflicts that arise due to hatred, religious fundamentalism and linguistic jingoism are due to the evil designs of mankind which we have to prevent at any cost.Every dawn brings a bad news like this.This makes the poet to give a quite different portrayal of the dawn.Here he adopts expressionism to give a deep meaning and dense thoughts to give us a provoking poem.
His genius and uniqueness
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The poetic genius of Abdul Rahman can not be described in one or two articles. It will be a Himalayan task, if I venture to illustrate his aesthetic appreciation and innovative poetic techniques through his poems.
However I wish to cite a couple of his poems just to point out his genius and greatness.
“The Lightning” is a natural happening everybody is familiar with even from the childhood. Thunder and Lightning frighten us in our childhood and after we grow old, we wish to avoid us from these, as any calamity may occur if we were direct witnesses to them.
The poet after a close observation describes lightning in a poem titled”The Lightning” as follows:
Fire crackers
In the festival at sky.
The fiery snakes
Emitted by
The anthills called clouds.
The enlightened blabber of
The Black lips.
The shorthand writing of
The oration of Thunder.
This poem is an example of the image-producing talent of Abdul rahman. In another poem titled “The Fallen Angels” he gives a multilayered and thought-provoking poem.
If boons
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Would become
Curses
Then
Why should
There be
Penances?
Here the words,’boons’,'curses’ and Penances are highly symbolic and if only we are able to catch the meaning of the symbols then we can understand this poem.
In India, where arranged marriage system is prevalent, marriage may be a boon to women. In this largely populated country ‘Employment’ may be a boon to the educated youth. There may be so many things which may seem as boons by various sects of people. The efforts to attain them are the penances done by them. If after a consistent and meticulous effort, the boon they get, disappoint them then naturally they will think like this.
The boons and curses may vary according to the individual’s way and approach to life. But the question will definitely arise if the ‘boons’ become ‘curses’.
The poem tells a thousand things in this short form.
The Poetic genius of Abdul Rahman
He carries a factory of Images in his mind. A kaleidoscopic variety of images are produced instantly when he presents anything even in a casual manner.
How many kinds of images? Concrete, abstract, visual, auditory, full-fledged,
Broken, explicit or obscure and so many kinds can be seen abundant in his poems which make them so much denser in meaning and it is often misunderstood as obscure.
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He is a profound scholar in traditional literature and an adept in modernist techniques. His traditional knowledge does not bar him in his deconstruction of universal symbols in his poems.
His poems predominantly contain intellectual appeal. But he is concerned to appeal to the head and heart simultaneously, whereas his modernist techniques hinder the average reader from grasping the emotional elements instantly.
The popular notion that ‘Poetry can not be translated” is cent percent correct in the case of Abdul rahman’s poems, .It is highly impossible to give a sincere translation which adopts loyalty to the manner and matter of his poems.
While every word in its order gives deep meaning in his poems if we shift the words, as the syntax becomes different in English, the inner beauty gets distorted.
Abdul Rahman is an avant-gardist. Technical innovation and thematic surprise are the predominant literary principles underlying his creative process. By constantly employing sophisticated and innovative techniques he makes his poems look like statues carved out of ivory
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15. SIRPI
Poet Sirpi Balasubramaniam, popularly known as ‘Sirpi’ is a poet with deep conviction in socialism. He has brought out many volumes of poems and still carrying on his writing, which he considers as a mission.
In his preface to his compilation of poems, the poet proclaims thus:
“ I am the Son of Tradition;
Comrade of Modernity;
My land is my theme;
My people are my characters.”
The poet proves himself true to his proclamation and he never swerves from socialist realism. Romanticism is not totally absent, but it adds adoration to his narration of love-poems.
His poem titled “The Pen is speaking” explains the poet’s ideology and attitude towards life.
He explains the dilemma faced by the intellect when he has to sell out his knowledge just for his livelihood and is unable to contribute anything towards the welfare of the country.
Just the first two stanzas of this poem will be sufficient to point out his social awareness and commitment.
The Pen is speaking!
Let us move high till the sky
If death comes in the way let us die
Even we can reach the entrance of Eden
If there is a pain enjoyable
We can suffer blissfully
If not
We can be a beginning without end!
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An initiative without a follow-up!
Let us toil in this soil
Sell our knowledge
To fill up our stomach!
We can see our world
In vessels filled with food!
Wasting our energy
By watering the desert
We will get exhausted!
Sometimes
We may find perfection
Even in a half;
Sometimes
A Half-baked state may
Lead to blissful end.
This poem is highly symbolic but every inquisitive reader will definitely understand the meaning. Obscurantism is totally absent in Sirpi’s poems as he wishes to be explicit in conveying his message to the reader.
In his poem titled “To the angel of peace” Sirpi narrates the sad events, which were totally inhuman like the destruction of Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. He says the fall of Nazis imperialism and Fascist vandalism is not enough. He believes that only when the whole world turns to Marxist Leninism, as its way of life there will be real peace and solidarity in the world.
“Zeniths will be demolished” is the narrative told in free verse by Sirpi.Here the landlord belongs to the upper caste and agricultural laborers belong to the Dalit sect. The landlord commits all kinds of atrocities and the agricultural laborers unite to fight his tyranny. The landlord finds pleasure in seducing Dalit women. Dalits who belong to the younger generation unite to agitate against the landlord when he sexually assaulted a Dalit girl Arukkani.When they make their protest to
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their landlord their huts in the slum is set fire by the landlord’s servants. Most of the Dalits are burnt alive.
But the poet tells:
A small group is
Running under the leadership of Chinnan.
In that forest we can see
Teak woods which won’t bow to anybody
Vagai trees will cross swords
Even shadows will transform into realities
Storms may occur
In those storms
Zeniths of the mounts
Will be demolished.
The treatment of the theme is highly remarkable. Here there is no communal clash. The oppressed stand against the oppressor. The exploited unite and act with a hope that one day they may succeed, shattering the peaks of power.
Sirpi conveys the message that we have to unite to fight against all social evils and the fight should be in a democratic way. We will succeed definitely in the end Destroying and demolishing power centers,let us unite and agitate in a democratic way as shown by Sirpi.
Hope we will shatter the obstructions to progress and redeem the oppressed from the clutches of Ignorance and self-made slavery.
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16.Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu is The ‘Emperor of Poetry’ who rules the Hearts of the Tamil youth
From Atlanta to Australia, wherever Tamils live, Vairamuthu is a household name. He is definitely an icon for Tamils who have a flair for literature. Hailed as a role model of young poets, he deserves all the praise showered on him by all sects of people.
Kannadasan, a magnanimous personality, openly accepted the fact that Vairamuthu is second to none in his creative talents and poetic genius. In cinema Vairamuthu has achieved a Himalayan victory in a very young age.
He is well-versed in conventional poetry and his talent in poetic symposia is unique.
His genius in technique and his maturity in contents are a rare combination.
Many people boasted of their English knowledge and always quoted Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot whenever they wanted to speak of Tamil poetry.
But Vairamuthu by his superb poetic works made everybody keep mum.
In Seventies everybody hailed Imagism and quoted English quotations to explain images in Tamil poetry.
If you just have a look of Vairamuthu’s poems his creativity and powerful images will astound you.
In 1972 he has authored a poem under the title ‘Waves’.
Here in this poem you can see a multitude of poetic images, which are unique in their form and content.
Waves
Mountains made of water
Dancing on the sea!
Magical hands of the ocean!
The ropes made up of water
By the adventurous wind!
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Fibrous dresses
Stripped from the Sea -Maid
By the villainy wind
Philosophic commentaries of
The ocean of reason
The rolled-up mattresses of
The heavenly bed
Oh!
Are you committing suicide
In the seashore?
Is it possible?
Is it justified?
Is it proper?
What will be the end?
White breasts covered with
White bed linen?
Is water itself shelling bombs?
The drama troupe conducting folk dance
Always unsuccessful!
Mountains of phlegm
Spit up by the black ocean
Affected by tuberculosis and
Coughing continuously!
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Butter veils
Formed by the emission of
The oceanic black curd
While churned!
You are the
Dreams of the sea which
Disappear at the shore!
Kisses given by the sea
On the shore cheeks!
Walls made of water
Rushing up speedily
Breaking cracking and
Shattering into pieces!
Always teaching us the reality
That nothing is permanent in life!
Bootlickers of the deep sea!
Please wait a while
I have to utter something
To the damsels
You are under the wrong notion that
The wind is blowing of the lamps
Have you ever thought of the blue sea?
The wind maids are igniting
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The white lamps -called waves-
Which are always there
Even after the sunrise!
Have you forgotten this?
Oh! Green waves!
Coral shadows!
The downtrodden
Getting melted in the
Scorching sun
Are dreaming to
Break into pieces
The walls of the palaces
Like that
The waves are suffering a lot
To put under siege
The beautiful damsel-Moon!
Oh Inflations of the ocean
Created by the wind!
Do not try in vain!
In this world
The under-privileged
Will definitely
Overthrow the hegemony of
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The affluent minority!
I swear in the fiery red blood!
The poet with a deep vision looks waves, which we see casually. The prime duty of the poet is to remove the film of familiarity. Vairamuthu, not only removes the film of familiarity, but also sees new visions and gives new meanings to routine things.
An ‘Image’ is a thing, which gives both an intellectual appeal and emotional appeal at an instant of time. Pound told just one image is enough for a poem.
Here the poet creates a kaleidoscopic variety of Images.
Waves are visualized in various forms.
“Water-mountains,
Walls made of water,
Ropes made of water
Mountains of phlegm
Fibrous dresses
Rolled up mattresses
White breasts covered with white linens
White lamps
Coral shadows”
For every image the poet also explains its context in the poem.
The poet does not want just to show his creative skills but he has a commitment and social outlook. He imagines that the waves try regularly to put the moon under siege .He ridicules their vain attempt but he tells his firm belief that a day or other the have-nots will succeed in their attempts to overthrow the hegemony of the aristocrats.
This single poem itself stands as a monumental evidence for the poetic genius of Vairamuthu.He never wastes his time in praising or attacking any single individual or any organization.It is quite clear that he wants a socialist set-up for the welfare of everybody, from his poems. His atheism does not hurt anybody.Vairamuthu has given the Tamils a treasure-trove of literature.
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17.E.S.MUTHUSWAMI
Humanism has got an important and essential position in modern poetry. We can
hardly find a poet who does not pay attention to humanism in his subject.
Whether one is religious or secular, political or escapist, progressive or
regressive, conservative or radical, traditional or modernist, whatever may be his
ideology, he never neglects humanism.
The plight of the downtrodden, sorrows of the have-nots, sufferings of the
platform-dwellers etc., became the content of the poets who upheld humanism in
their verses.
E.S.Muthusami is a poet note-worthy for his progressive views. His poems are of
traditional form and revolutionary content. He considered Bharatidasan as his
mentor and had published many volumes of poems before his sad demise.
The monsoon every year brings floods and destroys the huts of the poor.
Thousands and thousands of poor people loose their ‘cages’ the bare minimum
living places affordable by them and come to streets. Politicians never care for
finding a permanent solution for redressing their grievances.
E.S.Muthusami, in his poem titled “Huts in floods” describes the pitiable state of
the hut-dwellers who have lost their shelter by the merciless floods in the rainy
season.
Came down darkness like wolf on
Fold to the earth uproar,
Like milk to many a day hungry stomach
It rained downpour.
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Flowered there on roads and rivulets
With sound jingling,
Entered into the huts, processions of
Streams mingling!
Floods ran into huts as Indra
Sneaked into Ahalya’s hut,
As birds bathed perched motionless
While every way shut,
Worried and drenched dwellers
To speak no words
Carried they rolled with mats
Their head loads!
Flood in huts definitely
A deluge it means!
What harm did the poor do to
The mighty rains!
Wanted no philanthropist to relieve
Their distress untold!
For born are they with every right
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To rule the world!
The sorrows of the have-nots are told in powerful language. Every poet has the
duty to voice the grievances of the voiceless.
E.S.Muthusami had done this duty through this poem. Here there is no demand
to any institution whether governmental or non-governmental. There is no appeal
to any political party or any leaders. The plight of the poor is documented in an
impressive way and poems like this which have got the potentiality to motivate
the reader will definitely help mould a welfare society.
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18.K.C.S.Arunachalam
-A CUCKOO THAT HAS ABANDONED SINGING A CUCKOO THAT IS UNABLE TO SING
K.C.S.Arunachalam, who expired a decade ago, deserves an important place among the contemporary poets. He is a profound scholar in Tamil literature and a prolific writer .He was a dedicated worker of the Marxist movement and is adored by every Tamil as a prominent poet. His political affiliation to CPI did not bar him at any time to mingle with the literary world.
He always adopted a unique style in his poems. Depending on the content he used to vary the poetic diction. Many of his poems adopt Folk-meter and rural dialect. We can also see style of the classics in some of his poems. Changing the manner of presentation according to the matter is his style.
His compilation of poems was published in the title’Paattu varaatha kuil.”The Tamil phrase can not be easily translated in English. It gives several shades of meanings.’ A Cuckoo that has abandoned singing’, A Cuckoo that has left singing’,’ A Cuckoo that has become unable to sing’ and ‘A Cuckoo that is unable to sing’ are the eligible translations for use.
In this volume there is a poem under the same title. The content of the poem reveals that a Cuckoo, which was singing as usual, suddenly became unable to sing, because of various socio-economic factors. The poet uses first person to denote the cuckoo and it is understood that the poet considers himself as the cuckoo.
This cuckoo, nowadays,
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Has become unable to sing.
Neither song nor tune and beat
Interests it.
People blame that
‘It has become dumb’
I do not understand matters
‘Why should I sing?’
‘For what purpose I have to sing?’
I baffle.
If I point out in my songs
The social problems and miseries
Nobody cares.
Communal discrimination
Lead to clashes and murders;
Heads roll down and murders continue
In the name of various religious saints
Atomic terrorism is sponsored by
Governments pretend to be democratic
Genocide is their procedure
To destroy the whole mankind.
Without any worry
You wander in vain!
Our life has become a comic circus
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You have closed your eyes
In a drowsy state.
For some or
Other reason
This cuckoo is
Unable to sing.
The social inequalities,the atrocities committed by governments in the name of democracy and maintenance of peace have spoiled the mood of the cuckoo and as a result, it is now become unable to sing.
The poet in another poem asserts that nothing in the earth can prevent him from singing. Whereas in the previous poem the poet is in a depressed mood, here, in this poem titled ”A Hundred Cuckoos sing in my mind” he is seen in a highly elated mood.
“Nobody can
Prevent my singing.
Even if a thousand persons
Come against me
Holding drastic weapons
In their hands
Nobody can
Prevent my singing.
Even if I were blindfolded
And abandoned in a forest
Even if sand is thrust
Mercilessly in my mouth
Even if I were handcuffed
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With heavy iron chains
I will sing a sweet song
And dedicate it to the earth.”
Thus proclaims the poet. Here the elated mood arises out of the strong hope that there will be a bright future for the whole mankind soon as a result of the working class and its dedicated task to usher in a socialist society.
A thousand Cuckoos
Sing in my mind,
And the heart is filled up
With happiness unbound.
These lines clearly express the jubilant mood of the poet.
The hope for a new dawn makes the poet feel happy.
In another poem the poet gives a call to other poets to join with him in his poetic mission.
‘Singing birds-come on
Perch on my shoulders’
is his invitation to the poets who are really optimistic about the certainty of the ushering in golden era.
The wicked Kali Yuga
Which felt happy to see us in tears,
And which bathed in our blood,
Is coming to an end.
A new dawn in the sky,
A quite new dawn
To give an auspicious light
Is about to rise.
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The time has come to celebrate
The new happy occasion.
Singing birds come on
Sing along sing along
Sing with me-our
Songs are quite new
Tune and beat are
Entirely new.
Singing birds-come on
Sing with me”
is the call given by the poet to others who will accept the socialist realism as their policy, to create a New World devoid of violence and poverty.
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19,. Naaraa.Naachiyappan-
--A Voice against religious Fundamentalism
Naaraa Naachiyappan ,who was a close associate of Bharatidasan in his time, passed away a few years before, but his poems will ever stir rational and progressive thoughts on the minds of whoever reads his poems.
Here we can see one of his poems on Religious fundamentalism.
Religion is said to be the way to reach God’s abode. But in reality, religion divides mankind in many factions, thereby creating clashes, quarrels and war. In the name of religion very many wars have been waged swallowing the lives of thousands and thousands of lives.
Here in our country, religion has been one among the social evils, which lead to terrorism
And brutal murders. Religious thoughts intoxicate our minds to sabotage our own fellow-countrymen.
Another hazard is superstition. In the temples we are not allowed to pray for ourselves.
We appoint middlemen to offer our prayers. Naaraa.Naachiyappan vehemently opposes this thing in his poems.
If we want to speak to our mother, will we appoint advocates for that purpose?
Then why should there be mediators between God and us?
The mediators propagate falsehoods and make us believe them in the name of God.
We loose our rational thinking.We begin to believe in the superstition that there is an auspicious time to do things. We are made to believe that there is also inauspicious time and we are prohibited doing things in that time.
We fail to learn the art of living in this world. We are trained to bother about the another world which we are destined to go after our death.
Poet Naaraa Naachiyappan, condemns this attitude of exploiting people in the name of religion in his poem titled”Religious Fundamentalists.”
They deny our rational thinking!
By repeatedly telling the lie
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That there is a divine tree KARPAGAM
And a divine cow kamadhenu
They destroy our rational thinking!
Again and again they spread anecdotes
To brain-wash us and make us believe that
We can eat as we like and enjoy
If we worship God
They destroy our rational thinking!
They will ask us to give coconut and banana
They will command us to give a fee for archana
Ask us wait till the auspicious time comes
Tell us that there is a land of
Pleasure beyond our vicinity;
They destroy our rational thinking!
In another poem’ Evil of religion’he tells us that Jesus and Gandhi were murdered by religious fanatics and emphasizes that religion is the root of all evils.
The poet takes into discussion the concept that ‘All religions are equal’ and after a logicalargument concludes that’No religion is agreeable’
We agree with Naaraa Naachiyappan that religion spoils our unity. Humanism alone should be our religion. International peace should be our goal. Mutual trust and love cutting the barriers of race, ethnicity, language and country should be our approaches
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20.Thamizhazhagan
Thamizhazhagan, an octogenarian, is a prominent poet who belongs to the Bharatidasan
School. His specialty is his wonderful rhythm in his poems. All of his poems have
multivariate rhythms, which enchant the minds of the readers. Even if we do not know
music, we can just read his poems, which will give a musical note to us.
Many readers who enjoy this spectacular rhythm fail to give due attention to his message.
The content of his poems is always thought provoking.
Images, metaphors, similes and other poetic techniques are abundant in his poems. The
rhythm of his poems never stands as a barrier for denser thoughts displayed in them.
We can see a couple of his poems as an example.
The following poem “In Search of Light” is highly allegoric and may be considered as
the manifesto of the poet for his poetic mission.
In Search of Light
Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
Rushing to find a way, I am
Mingling with life and melt.
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Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
The droplets of Time
Act as a lyre
The space gets wasted
Weeping and to wipe out it
Trying to find out the root of the dawn,
Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
Searched every nook and corner of my heart
Jumped over the garden of thoughts
I have entered to the dawn
Oh! I had exceeded in lying!
Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
The journey is an endless one
Motivated by the life itself
Never hesitated by laziness
My mind acts as my wings to fly
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Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
Assuming it as the dawn of a new era
And as a solution for the perturbed mind
I have decided and determined
Here I have started with a strong will
Marching in search of light, I am
Moving forward through Darkness
Here in the above-mentioned poem the words are symbolic. The meaning of the symbols,
’Light’, Darkness’ ’Dawn’ and ‘Journey’ may be easily understood.
The poet gives an explanation to poetry in another poem titled ‘Poetry.’
It is highly original and has many layers of deep meaning.
POETRY
In my inner mind
The inner voices are
Scattered in a great disorder
My fingers dared to put them in an order
With the emotion and sentiment
Filled up in my heart
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I melted my self
And gave a new illumination.
In the festivals of spring
The enchanting words
Ride upon the vehicle of imagination
And proceed for a procession.
The flame of word
Lights up my tongue as a wick
And performs a dance.
With laziness and sloth
My mind had been useless and dull.
It danced as a Kali,
The ferocious goddess.
Thamizhazhagan’s poems have been published in all the journals of Tamilnadu and his
songs are broadcast through Radio for many decades.
To his credit he had written lyrics to some Tamil films.
He had taken part in hundreds of poetic symposia.
Even at this age of 84, he is highly active and can be seen in literary meetings.
His books and compilation of poems are definitely a valuable contribution to Tamil
literature.
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21.Maa.Sengkuttuvan --A Propagandist of the Dravidian Movement Maa.Sengkuttuvan is one among the poets,belonging to Bharatidasan school.He is also a
senior journalist having more than Five decades of experience in editing journals run by
the dravidian movement.
Maa.Senguttuvan is a unique poet, devoting his myriad talents for the uplift of Tamils
and Tamil language, never caring for any reward or recognition to his service.
His dedication to the lofty ideals propagated by Periyar E.V.R. and C.N.A. ,and
commitment to D.M.K.for more than six decades is of historic significance. His
affiliation with the black-shirt movement of Periyar E.V.R. in his schooldays
metamorphosed him as a revolutionary poet. The descendant of Maa.Senguttuvan from a
staunch saivite family belonging to Tondaimandala velala sect which is considered as
more orthodox than the Brahmins never stood in the way of his participation in the Anti-
Brahmin movement. He was penalized heavily for his sincere adherence to the
progressive ideals of Periyar.
The Self-respect movement founded by Periyar can not simply be considered as .an
atheistic movement. It was a timely remedy to cure the social evils prevailed in those
days from whose clutches we are not fully relieved even now. The atheism propagated by
Periyar.induced iconoclastic attitude among the youth to break the barriers of caste and
communal hatred thereby uniting the Tamils. The imposition of Hindi in the
administrative side,the domination of Sanskrit in temples,the importance given to Telugu
in music concerts and the negligence of Tamil in all these areas made the Tamils agitate
for the uplift of their mother-tongue.As a token of their love towards their mother tongue
they changed their Sanskrit names and were proud to have their names in chaste Tamil.
Narayanasamy was renamed as Nedunchezhiyan,Ramaiya as
Anbazhagan,Somasundaram as Mathiyazhagan and so on. Our beloved poet who had
Natarajan as his name changed it as Senguttuvan.
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Senguttuvan’s love for Tamil and urge to do something to propagate the ideals of Periyar
E.V.R., prompted him to organize meetings and contribute articles to magazines
conducted by leaders belonging to the Dravidian movement.
After completing his college studies he got a job in State bank of India.But he
relinquished the offer and opted to involve himself in party activities.
Prominent magazines of the Dravidian movement offered him sub-editor job. Malaimani,
Viduthalai, Namnaadu, Murasoli, Kazhakakkural gave him the opportunity to
propagatethe ideals preached by Periyar E.V.R. and Anna.Without expecting a
remuneration to maintain his family he did his job considering it as a mission.
His poems appeared in various magazines but were compiled and appeared as a volume
only on 1990.
The title of this volume. is “Kavikkondal Kavithaikal” (Poems of Kavikkondal).
Here through his poems he reveals his ideology and affiliation.
His language loyalty is expressed in the poem titled “Tamil! Oh Tamil!” which begins
with the proclamation of the poet, as follows:
“I will
Salute those who respect Tamil
Sabotage those who disregard it;”
In this poem he also insists the importance of mother tongue as the medium of
instruction. He wants Tamil to be implemented as the medium of instruction in all
educational institutions. immediately.
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In another poem titled ’My Life’ he expresses his firmness in following lofty ideals;
even if he fails in achieving material success he will not worry about it.
His principle-mindedness is clearly shown in the following lines.
“Conscience is my commander;
Righteousness is my birthright;
Without swerving from truth
Will I lead my life.”
Another poem titled “Man is missing” is a powerful satire which exposes the failure of
mankind to adopt humanism in life after falling a prey to consumerism.
“Man is missing in the whole earth
Man is not seen anywhere;
In my self I did not find him;
In my neighbors also I am unable to find him;
Everyone is born as a man by appearance
By temperament and temptations
He acts as a wild animal;”
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“The status of writer” points out the pitiable state of writer in our country.
The writer declares thus:
“Poverty always accompanies me;
Starvation is my property;
Patience is my speciality;It is the
Prize given for my public life;”
In our country writers who adopt lofty ideals and who takes writing to preach noble
thoughts are failures commercially. So this statement is true and thought -provoking.
If the society does not care about such writers what will be their state?
Poems on Narimanam oil refinery and Sivanandha Gurukulam orphanage show the poet’s
Concern to switch over to innovative themes and give a true portrayal of the society.
Maa.Senguttuvan is one of the followers of Bharatidasan in his thematic innovation as
well as iconoclasticity. His choice of simple and powerful words, depiction of realism
can be easily understood by reading his poems.
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22.Saami Pazhaniappan
Bharatiar and Bharatidasan have played a predominant role in the development of
modern Tamil poetry.Bharatiar, the morning star of modern Tamil poetry, dedicated his
poetic career for the emancipation of the society from poverty, ignorance, casteism,
superstition and untouchability. Emancipation of Dalits and emancipation of women were
more important for him than the political freedom. When he envisaged the freedom of
India the first and foremost thing he wished was the freedom of Dalits. For him freedom
of India meant primarily the emancipation of the oppressed castes.
‘Bharatidasan, together with his senior contemporary and mentor Subramania Bharati,
resuscitated the art of Tamil poetry in the twentieth century when it had become decadent
and was almost in its deathtraps.”says Marudanayagam in his Introduction to the English
translation of Bharatidasan’s poems
Even though it is a little bit exaggeration, his comparison of the two great poets is apt and
unbiased.
“ If the master destined to live a short but eventful life, focussed his attention on arousing
the patriotic feelings of his countrymen through his poems during the pre-independence
days, besides breathing a new life into a language that had been put to constant poetic
use for an incredibly long period of more than twenty centuries, the disciple, blessed with
a full life, could attend to all the other social needs after the country won its freedom and
show the world that Tamil, which flourished during the Sangam period,continues to be an
astonishingly rich medium for poems on a vast variety of themes demanded by modern
age.”
An in-depth analysis of Bharatiar’s poems will show his keen desire for social
emancipation in all aspects.
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In Bharatidasan we get a complete switchover to a radical and rational approach. Poetry
in his hand turned as a powerful weapon to fight casteism, religious fundamentalism,
conservative determinism, sexism and many more social evils under whose grip not only
Tamilnadu but the whole Indian subcontinent suffered a lot for many centuries.
Poet SaamiPazhaniappan is one among the prime disciples of
Bharatidasan.SaamiPazhaniappan closely associated himself with the Blackshirt
movement of Periyar E.V.R.
E.V.R. may be described as Mahatma Phule of SouthIndia.Ambedkar described Periyar
E.V.R. as ‘a crusader in the fight against Un-Touchability, casteism and religious
fundamentalism’.
SaamiPazhaniappan condemned the evils of communalism and casteism through his
poems adhering to the revolutionary path of E.V.R.
Among the poets who belong to the school of Bharatidasan; SaamiPazhaniappan is
remarkable for his radical thoughts.
When we attained freedom -even at that time had genuine doubts about the freedom,
which we have got after a long struggle. With so much castes and religious fanaticism, it
is impossible to stand united, thought SaamiPazhaniappan.
He declared that a freedom that we receive when we are divided by castes and religions is
meaningless.
When the people are intoxicated
With castes and religions
Who wants this Independenc
Which is nearing in an
Unjustified and illegal way?
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For whom this independence is meant?
Is it meant for us or for
Those aliens who want to exploit us?
Through these lines he expresses his angst and anguish over the exploitation of the poor.
For him political independence alone is not a salvation. Economic independence and
social justice are the prime concerns for him, as he belongs to the Periyar’s social
movement.
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23.KAVIMUGIL
A TRENDSETTER FROM THE YOUNGER GENERATION
‘Kavimugil’ is the pen-name of A.P.Sakthivel, a poet who is worth mentionable for his
Haiku model poems in Tamil.Kavimugil is shaped and molded as a prominent poet by his
mentor Thaaraa barathi, an illustrious poet of Tamilnadu who had died a premature death
at his early fifties.
Thaaraa Barathi can be described as ‘The Mayakovsky of India’for his highly motivating
poems, which are still a source of inspiration for the youth of Tamilnadu.
“Do not say I am empty-handed
It is unwise;
A big fortune your ten
Fingers may rise. “
Is the famous poem written by Thaaraa Barathi which acts as a morale-booster among the
unemployed youth of Tamilnadu.Most of Thaaraa Barathi’s poems have the potential to
serve as a source of inspiration for its readers, irrespective of their age and status.
Kavimugil also got his source of inspiration from Thaaraa Barathi and he had his upward
mobility from a middle-class job seeker to an owner of an Auto-Financing company.
Thaaraa Barathi awakened the poet in him at the appropriate time in an appropriate
manner.
Kavimugil’s poems have a powerful satirical note.
We built many houses
But still we are
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Sleeping in pavements.
Oh! The prices!
Have gone up!
For M.P.s!
Let us fight till the end
Success will be there
For our Bosses!
We shouted, “The country is ours”
Misunderstood the politicians
They sold it to amass wealth
These mini-poems written in a Haiku format are full of sarcasm and have the power to
educate the readers about the social evils. Avoiding direct attack and harsh criticism
Kavimugil makes the reader laugh instantaneously after reading the poem. The reader
gets an awareness to understand the prevailing social problems and acquires a
responsibility to devote his attention in the right path to usher in a welfare society.
The poet also lashes out at the pollution prevalent in cities and towns inhabited by the ‘so
called’ intellectuals.
Our breath and the air
Everything is polluted by smoke.
Our conversation polluted by English
Have become inimical to our soil;
The water available for drinking
Is full of worms and viruses;
No time to converse with friends;
We have become Robots!
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Urbanization process has changed the values of life; Men have become machines. They
have to run, run and run in the ‘rat race’ to achieve material success. In this hurry, they
forget their families and friends. There arises a big vacuum in life. The poet makes the
readers realize their follies by his poem.
An important message is told in simple words, which are able to convey the poet’s
message in a befitting manner.
Kavimugil is a trend-setter in the younger generation. His poems reveal his mature mind,
which crave for a socialist state devoid of barriers in the name of Caste, Religion,
Language and status. When his readers realize this and initiate steps in a democratic
manner we are sure his dreams will be translated into social change.
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24. VEZHAVENDHAN
Among the artists and artisans of a country, Goldsmiths play an important role.
They not only make ornaments but also keep the prestige of the country by their
invaluable products of sophisticated artwork.. But the ornaments they make adore only
the affluent section of the society. So those who cannot afford to buy golden ornaments
never know the value of Goldsmiths sophisticated artworks.
Poets who are capable of producing provoking poems with pregnant words in a poignant
style may be called as WORD-SMITHS. These word-smiths make poems which are
undoubtedly the invaluable ornaments which adore the cultural setup of a society.
Poet Vezhavendhan is such a word-smith, who has contributed innumerable poems in
Tamil to readers who have an appetite to enjoy good poetry.
Vezhavendhan, who belongs to Bharatidasan School, has composed many poems, which
sing the glory of Mother Tamil. His love for Tamil knows no bounds, and his poems also
have the capability of inducing such an affinity towards Mother Tamil in the minds of
readers.
Here we are going to see some of his poems sung in the praise of Mother Nature.
Vezhavendhan is more than a Wordsworth in appreciating the beauty of Nature and
proclaiming its importance in the atomic age.
Poet Vezhavendhan has a keen observation of the beauty of Nature and a deep sense of
enjoying its aesthetic values. In a poem titled ‘Oh Moon! Oh Moon! ‘ he compares sky to
a forest and Moon to a milky pond in that forest; Even though the moon has got many
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clouds as its clothing it never cares to dress properly. In the earlier stage, when it was a
crescent moon, it looked just like a nail, cut from the finger; Now in the full moon stage it
looks like a Thilaka in the face of the lady called Sky.The various phases of moon—
growing, attaining full development, then decreasing and afterwards disappearing and
again growing—give us a lesson.”Those who are poor and weaker may oneday grow
richer and stronger; those who are in their peak period may disappear from the world.”
This lesson is taught to us daily by the phases of moon, according to Poet Vezhavendhan.
“But still the rich people are committing atrocities and the poorer remain passive and
pessimistic.” Thee messages are narrated by lucid words in this poem. It definitely proves
the optimistic approach of the poet, who never forgets the social context even while
enjoying the bliss of Nature.
In another poem titled “Oh Sky!” the poet addresses directly to the sky. He compares the
sky to a worn-out umbrella with many small holes. To the poet the sky seems as a
Sheperd looking after the black buffaloes called clouds. The thunder is the proclamation
of war by the sky and rainbow is its weapon to fight against poverty.
In the poem “The Summer” Poet Vezhavendhan gives a vivid description of the seasonal
changes that occur during the summer in Tamilnadu.
The flowers in the Mango trees
Metamorphose into a bunch of fruits;
The cuckoo that gives melodious music
Sings a duet with another one;
Oh!The lakes are dried up now;
The fishes agile, jump and dive
This is the season of summer
When sands only remain in the river.
In the poem “Mother Nature” he enlists the gifts given to the mankind by Nature.
The poem titled”The Story of a River” is the most appreciated one among his poems on
Nature.Tamil scholars like Mu.Va. had enjoyed the poem many times. The poetic diction
is so classical that it makes the translation work very difficult. He puns with the words
not fore the sake of humor, but to leave an interesting note to the reader.
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Those who are in the upper strata of the society forget the plight of those who are in the
lower strata. But the river, which is, born in a very high place i.e. the mountain, the upper
region rushes to serve the needy who are in the lower level. But this is not an easy
cakewalk. It has to crossover forests to reach the paddy fields, groves and gardens. After
its duty is over it reaches the ocean.
“A poet on seeing me described
“Oh!It is a snake moving sinusoid”
Another poet uttered the words
“Gleaming silver rod, a smith can’t make”
Yet another exclaimed with reverence;
“Oh Mother! Thou nourisheth the world”
Some may praise and some may scold
But I have to go a long way!”
Thus the poem “The story of a river” clearly indicates the poet’s approach. He does not
satisfy himself by just enjoying the outward mundane reality. He further penetrates and
delivers a useful message to the society. He clamors for an egalitarian society and
consistently seeks the proper steps to achieve it.
Without any hesitation or inhibition he teaches the society the proper way to make the
world a heaven. His aim is to serve the mankind and his message being humanism.
In his poem “The Writer” he pities for the homeless, the poorer and aged people who will
suffer a lot in the winter. In the poem”The Grass” the grass tells tells its importance and
uses.
Can a poor man
See a teakwood cot
In his whole lifetime?
I am here to help a lot
To give him his nuptial bed
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A poor alone will help a poor
And who else will do, sir”
In we can hear the voice of humanism proclaimed in powerful words. By such a devoted
and dedicated attitude to come in the forefront to identify him with the poor, the poet
proves himself to be a true disciple of Bharatidasan.
In the poem titled”The Doctrines of Nature” the poet seems puzzled by the contradictions
and ironies that prevail in the Nature.
The Nature makes the soft-natured moon to decrease day by day and at the same time it is
not doing any harm to the hotsun. It seems that the Nature is penalizing the weaker ones.
The poisonous snake is endowed with beautiful face, but the cuckoo with the charming
sweet voice has to be content with the dark complexion.
In the poem titled “Lightning! Oh Lightning!” he describes the lightning as ‘a lamp with
a tail.’Lightning is an illustrious ambassador to the world from the sky to intimate the
birth of rain. It is a golden zari border of the sari called cloud. Lightning is a firecracker
fire to celebrate the marriage of the girl called rain.
To conclude, Poet Vezhavendhan’s poems on Nature clearly show his aesthetic
perception and social concern. He never subscribes to the view “Art for Art’s sake”
Enjoying natural bliss is not to evade from the social problems. The poet is successful in
removing the film of familiarity whenever he sees natural objects, scenes or sequences,
he finds a message conveyed by them to the society and expresses them in his poems.
With the help of similes, metaphors and imagery as powerful tools, he carves out verbal
icons which clearly portray the Nature and accomplishes the fulfillment of aesthetic
pleasure and at the same time arousing social awareness in the readers’ minds.
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