Indulekha - O. Chandnumenon (1847-1899)

 

Oyyarathu Chandu Menon (1847-1899), who wrote the first and finest novel in Malayalam was honoured by the British Government with the title of Rao Bahadur in 1898. He was then the Sub Judge and earlier he had worked under William Logan to shape the Malabar Manual. When Chandumenon translated English novels into Malaiyalam for his wife, he realized that the Western scenario was inscrutable and un-relatable to Malayali readers. So, he decided to write ‘Indulekha’ a love story of Indulekha and Madhavan. It was first translated into English by Francis Dumergue in 1890 and then by R. Leelavathi and Anitha Devassia.

Indulekha, an English-educated woman, skilled in English pastimes like embroidering, painting and playing musical instruments, is in love with Madhavan, an educated and handsome young man in the family. When Panchumenon decides to marry Indulekha off to Suri Nambudiripad in the form of Sambandham, the hero and heroine decide to move to Madras at the end of the Novel. Through this novel, Chandumenon exposes the importance of English education, argues for the need of changing the matrilineal family system prevalent in the Nair community and stands against the immorality of Sambandham, a non-legal but accepted form of marriage. The present excerpt is taken from the translation of Anitha Devassia.

Madhavan is a man of intelligence, courage and courtesy. He has passed all his examinations in first class and won different prizes and scholarships. He is not afraid to speak his mind openly. He speaks against the injustice his valiammavan, Panchumenon showed to Kummini Amma’s family. When his valiammavan is unwilling to send Shinnan for English education, he is determined to get him educated. His uncle Sankaramenon thinks that it is his English education that has made Madhavan forget their customs, traditions and ways of life. That is why he is speaking against Valiammavan. Even Parvathiamma says that everything is to be decided by Valiammavan. When Sankaramenon talks about Valiammavan’s anger and its consequences, Madhavan thinks about Indulekha and his love for her. Sometimes he may not allow their marriage. But Madhavan being an educated man decides to do things that are right.

Madhvan knows very well that the money left in the hands of Valiammavan by their ancestors is meant for the well-being of all the members of the family. He treats Kummini Amma and her children as servants. He paid no attention to Kalyanikutty’s education. He has also decided to raise the little Shinnan as a bull. He says that he won’t allow his valliammavan do this. Thus Madhvan argues for English education and against the matrilineal system in ‘Indulekha’.

----Thulasidharan V

Atmopadesasadakam – Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928)

 

Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928), the social reformer and spiritual leader was born in Chembazhanthi, in Thiruvananthapuram. He is considered as the leading figure of Kerala Renaissance. It was ‘Thycattu Ayyavu’, a ‘Hatha Yogi’ and philosopher from whom he learned meditation and yoga. He established a hermitage at Maruthwamala where he held an austere life of seclusion, meditation and yoga for eight years. He believed and preached that the ultimate reality that underlies the being of everything phenomenal is one and the same. So, he preached equality and universal brotherhood and condemned all discrimination in the name of caste, creed and religion.

He built temples for the backward communities as they were denied entry into temples. Though he consecrated Sivalingams earlier, later it became mirrors and lamps to establish the fact that true worship should be of one’s own inner worth and wisdom. His famous dictums ‘one caste, one Religion and one God for human beings' and ‘ask not, say not, think not caste’ effectively summarise the entire corpus of his spiritual teachings. He believed that education is the only path to achieve self knowledge and thus salvation. He was also an accomplished poet, who wrote Advaita Deepika, Athma Vilasam, Shiva Sathakam, Atma bodham, Vivekodayam, Atmopadesasadakam etc. In’Atmopadesasadakam’ (one hundered verses on self instruction), Guru propses his philosophy of egalitarianism. It expounds the philosophy of Advaita (non-dualism) in the search for knowledge. It contains hundered verses written in Mrugendramukam meter.

Guru says that attaining the core reality that transcends all ordinary knowledge, that radiates the knower and all other external objects, requires the turning inward of all senses accompanied by repeated prostrations, reading, chanting and mastering scriptures. All the people in the world share the ultimate reality, the ultimate knowledge which is God. God is called by different names in different religions. But ultimately he is the same. According to him, mental faculties, senses, the body and the many tangible worlds are the various forms divinely assumed by the one Sun. The illusory appearance of the five basic elements namely earth, water, fire, wind and space exists only externally. They are inseparable as the rows of waves arising in the ocean. So, The knowledge, The object known and the knowledge of the knower are actually nothing but the variations of God, the one that has no beginning and end. So, man’s endeavour should be to get united with that Ultimate Reality, God. Through meditation, he can attain this. Thus Guru establishes the great fact that realizing the Ultimate Reality, The God, is accepting the Universal brotherhood and equality without discrimination.

------Thulasidharan V

Tribals of Kerala

 

Prof. S Achutha Warrier’s (1941- ) book ‘Kerala Samskaram’ is considered as an authentic text on the cultural history of Kerala. This extract taken from this book provides an over view of the tribal life and culture in Kerala. The general attitude of Indians to adivasis and their lives, is inherited from the colonial masters believing that modern education should be provided to them to save them. But, Achutha Warrier is of the opinion that a new sensibility is needed in this regard.

According to Achutha Warrier, the tribals might have come to Kerala near around 4000 BC. That is why only the weapons of Neolithic age were found in Kerala. The available geographical and linguistic evidences have proved that, the tribals of early life came from the eastern side of the Sahya Mountain range. That was how the terms ‘Kizhakku’ (Keezhadhikku) and Mekku (Meldhikku) came to the language. Several anthropologists opine that the majority of the Indian tribes, including that of South India, belong to the Australoid, as they have striking similarities with the tribes of Australia and of Ceylon (Srilanka).

The common Aboriginals in Kerala are Paniyar, Irular, Kuruchiyar, Muthuvanmar, Malayarayar, Ulladanmar, Malavedar and Kanikaar. Paniayr tribe is the most backward among the adivasis of Kerala. Kurichiyar are found only in Wayanad. They are known for the skills of Archery. Irular is widely seen in Attappadi. Muthuvanmar seen in Devikulam, Peerumedu and Udumbanchala are said to be from Tamilnadu. Malavedar and Kanikkar are seen in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. Kanikkarwere living in caves and tree houses till the last century. As the regions of tribals very close to Mysore and Tamilnadu, their language are either Malayalam-Kannada mixed or Malayalam-Tamil mixed.

The tribes in Kerala live in communities (gothram). Gothrams join together to form Ganam (cluster). Each Ganam has symbols like Neem, Kadamba, bow and fish. The food gathered was common to them, where as weapons, ornaments and utensils were private. Among the tribals, Kurichayar, Kanikar and Malambandarans followed Matrilineal tradition. Uncles had authorities towards the children of their sisters. Property transfer and after death rituals were given to Anantharavan (male) and Anantharaval (female). Marriages between the children of their sisters and brothers were common among the tribals. Kudippaka (community feud) wa also prevalent among the tribes. If one member is attacked or humiliated, the entire community takes it to avenge him. each community has a leader. Marrying a brother’s widow was also common among them.

The tribes worship Kali, Hill Gods and Muthappan. They believe that the anger of Amman (Kali) leads to flood, drought and epidemics. For the blessings they made the Goddess happy with milk, blood and alcohol. During festivals they sing, dance and dine together. Pulikali (Leopard dance) and Kaduva Kali (tiger dance) are common among them. They spend most of the time in hunting and collecting forest resources. As the forest area dwindled considerably now, the resources became scare. So, they engaged in small farming and became labours in plantations. The welfare measures of the government, no doubt, changed their habitat, dressing and language. But their indigenous is being lost and unfortunately they are being exploited in many ways.

------Thulasidharan V

Ghoshayatra – Kunchan Nambiar

 

Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770) was a great satirist, performer and the inventor of Thullal, an indigenous performance art form of Kerala. Nambiar is believed to have devised the ‘Thullal’ form overnight to avenge a ‘Chakkiar’ who ridiculed him for falling asleep at the ‘Mizhava’ (a percussion instrument)during the performance of ‘Koothu’. Nambiar designed ‘Thullal’ borrowing elements from Padayni, Kolam Thullal and other folk arts. ‘Thullal’ songs are sung in the accompaniment to the performance. The stories adapted from the puranas and other classics are retold in rhythmic verse in ‘dravida’ meters. Nambiar composed songs for all three kinds of Thullal named Ottan Thullal, Sithankan Thullal and Parayan Thullal. The simple Malayalam he used, gave elegance and appeal. As his hilarious poems are filled with wisdom and rare insights, they are used as proverbs. He used to ridicule the follies and foibles of the then contemporary society, through his songs.

In ‘Ghoshayatra’, Nambiar takes an event from ‘Mahabharatha’. Padavas are sent into an exile of thirteen years and an additional year to be spent in disguise as per a bet in a gamble that they lost to Kauravas. Kaurava king Duryodhana sends a person to gather information about Pandavas, who are in Dwaithavanam. In the first part of the poem the messenger who has come back, says that as Pandavas are adorned with the blessings of the Gurus, they live peacefully with the sages in the Dwaithavanam. As they are at the feet of the God, the enemy of the Hell, Duryodana’s betrayal hasn’t touched them. This makes Duryodhana angry and in the second part he says that the messenger eats his food with Duryodhana and sides with his enemies, Pandavas. So, he should go and join Pandavas and eats the berries and fruits of the forest. According to Duryodhana enimies are better than friends who are kind to and support the enimies.

‘Gosha’ of the title refers to pastures where cattle and cattle herders live together. Dwaithavanam has many Goshas where Pandavas live in exile. The poem doesn’t simply narrate an event from the epic. It superimposes the cultural and social scenario of the 18th century Kerala and satirises both. Duryodhana is cast as a local king in Kerala with ‘Nair Pattalam’. He satirises ‘Nair Pattalam’ of the Kerala rulers as they eat a lot, spend time with their wives and generally laze around. Thus through this incident Nambiar ridicules both the soldiers who are not loyal to the king and the king who feed these soldiers who support his enemies.

----Thulasidharan V

Who the hell are you?

 

I am one who is waiting for ‘Godot’ not like Samuel Beckett and his characters, without having any idea about ‘Godot’, but like Emily Dickson waiting to be taken in chariot to ‘Immortality’. 

Beckett - Pic.- Courtesy - Wikipedia

Beckett is an existentialist, who considered that, life is accidental and meaningless. Survival is the only thing what we do. So, as his characters, he is not even sure of one character 'Godot' in his drama 'Waiting for Godot'.

Emily Dickinson - courtesy - Publishers Weekly

Emily Dickinson went behind Revelation, and tried to reveal the divine mysteries through visions and dreams. She considered Death as her lover taking her in a 'chariot' to 'Immortality '. So, you might get a hint about me now. 

A Saivite that is, one who believes in ‘Advaita Philosophy’, a diminishing section among Hindus. One who believes in the words and deeds of Thirumoolan, Vivekanandan and Narayana Guru waiting for ‘Moksha’, the birthlessness, hope fully. So far so good, expecting to say so till the end with the Grace of God, the Omnipresent and Omnipotent. 

As Thiruoolan mentioned Him as ‘Siva’, I call him ‘Siva’ (எங்கும் திருமேனி, எங்கும் சிவசக்தி – everywhere is Shiva and everywhere his power). As he also said ‘தென்னாட்டவரின் ஈசா போற்றி பிறநாட்டவரின் இறையே போற்றி’ (We pray you, the Almighty whom we, the southerners call ‘Eesa’ and whom all others call ‘God’), I don’t have any rivalry with other religions. I love all. Not only the believers of God, I love the non believers too. Even in them, I see the presence of the ‘Omnipresent’. 

But I feel sorry for the radical thinkers in all religions who have misunderstood the fundamentals of their religions. Among Saivites too, there are these radical thinkers. Instead of establishing unity in diversity with the help of love, they try to establish diversity in unity with the help of hatred. 

As I am not blind to see and deaf to hear such things practised in the past and are being practised in the present, I can’t be without saying anything about it. So, don’t categorize me into any other radical section that radicalizes their beliefs. As I believe in Advaita and as I see the presence of Omnipresent in everyone and in everything, if any of my words and deeds hurt you, it is incidental not intentional. If we try to please all, we will please none. Our pleasing one will definitely un please another. 'To err is human, to forgive is divine'. So, bear with me, please.

I have two blogs. ‘Thillaiakathu Chronicles’ https://thillaiakathuchronicles.blogspot.com 

and ‘Thillaiakathu Literary Gazebo’ 

https://thulasithillaiakathu.blogspot.com.  

‘Thillaiakathu Chronicles’ is a Tamil Blog where I and geetha share our experiences and opinions in the form of stories and articles. ‘Thillaiakathu Literary Gazebo’ is an English blog which is for the students of English Literature and for those are interested in literature. Many of my translated Tamil and Malayalam stories and articles are also there. 

Apart from these, I have a YouTube channel -https://youtube.com/@MrThulasidharan-Thillaiakathu. 

There, I have eight short films, which are of near around thirty minutes each. Among the eight, three are with contemporary incidents and experiences - 'Parole', 'Parotta Karthik', 'Vivekanandam'  where as the five are based on the historical incidents - 'Sravan The Great', 'Mahamudi The Great', 'Carpenter The Great', 'Poet The Great', 'Saint The Great'. Apart from these there are videos meant for improving English Language - Proficiency in English Language with explanations in Malayalam and Tamil, for meeting University examinations, travel videos, videos on birds, and videos on various subjects. 

Then two books I have written. One in English named ===> ‘How to analyze a visualized drama and achieve English Proficiency’ (Available in this Link) <===. Another book is a novel in Tamil ‘Kaalam Seitha Kolamadi’ காலம் செய்த கோலமடி available in ===> Amazon <===

Having got my retirement as a vocational Higher Secondary School teacher, now, working at SVPK Arts and Science College, Palemad as Asst. Prof. in English since 2018.

As we live in a digital and speedy world, I think it’s better to give a brief about me. It is good to say something about us instead of being said by others. Otherwise, you many sometimes have a question in your mind, ‘Who the hell is he?’ or who the hell are you to talk like this?’

----Thulasidharan

EARLY HISTORY OF MALABAR – WILLIAM LOGAN

 

William Logan (1841-1914) was the collector of Malabar under the British administration. He is remembered for his ‘Malabar Manual’, a guide to the Malabar district that was published in two volumes in 1187. The book has four chapters – province, people, history and land, with several subsections. This portion of ‘Malabar Manual’, describes the journey of Vasco da Gama to Kerala and his association with the Zamorins, the ruler of the kingdom of Kozhikkode. This journey is historically very important because there began colonial mercantilism and subsequent colonization.

Vaco da Gama started his journey from Belem near Lisbon on 25th March 1497 in three vessels namely, San Raphael, San Gabriel and Miguel. Each ship carried eighty men, officers, seamen and servants. After five months, their fleet arrived at St. Helena Bay in South Africa. After staying at many places and after dismantling San Miguel, they reached Melinde on 29th April 1498. They stayed there for three months. The king of Melinde gave them pilots and a broker to help them in trade. He also advised to sail for Capocate (Calicut) instead of Cambay (Khambhat-Gujarat). They left Melinde on 6th August 1498 and sighted the coast of Malabar on 26th August 1498. Then the two ships anchored near Pantalayani, Kollam.

The arrival of Portuguese aroused jealousy in the Moors or Muhammadans. There were three persons in authority under the Zamorin – The overseer of the treasury, the King’s Justice, and the Chief Officer of the palace guard. The Moors bribed both the overseer and the King’s Justice to obstruct the Portuguese. However, Nicholas Coelho, who had commanded San Miguel, got the sanction of the king, written on a palm leaf, for opening trade. Then Gama met the King. The King was a very dark man, half naked, clothed from the middle to the knees. He had a bracelet above the elbow, studded with rich jewels. Round his neck he wore a string of pearls and gold chains studded with rubies and emerald. His long hair gathered up and tied on the top with a knot. That too had a string of pearl around it.

On both sides of the king, there were two page boys. One had a shield and a sword. The other had a gold cup with a wide rim into which the king spat. There was a Chief Brahman who gave a folded green leaf every now and then, which the King ate and spat into the cup. This is how the king is portrayed in the manual. However, Vasco da Gama remained standing during the interview with the King. The King allowed the Portuguese to erect a factory on shore for trading purpose. But the Moors bribed the Chief Officer of the palace guard. He took Gama in a palanquin for a second interview. Gama was then taken to different places and the Chief Officer tried to discourage the Portuguese. But the Portuguese overcame everything with their patience. Later they become the rulers of India.

----Thulasidharan V

Myth and Literature – M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1933---)

 

M.T. Vasudevan Nair, a novelist, short story writer, screen play writer, film director, critic and editor is a prolific and versatile writer. His works depicted the problems of human life with keen social perception. He was awarded Padmabhushan, Kerala Jyoti and he has won Kendra and Kerala Sahithya Awards. He has directed seven films and written screen plays for 54 films. When he delivered a speech at Sahithya Academy, in 1995, he talked about the ways in which Malayalam literature has been influenced by myth, folk lore and legends.

M. V. Vasudevan Nair is of the opinion that literature has always been affected by the history, geography, myths and the provincial wisdom of the places of its origin. Ramayana and Mahabharata have a pan-Indian influence. “Aithihyamala” is the most sold book in Kerala, which is a compilation of regional legends. The genesis of Kerala itself is linked to a myth. Parasuraman decided to get absolved himself of the sins of committing kshatriya murders. So, he donated all his property to Kasyapa Muni. When the muni reminded him that he doesn’t have an inch of land as his own, Parasuraman hurled his axe into the sea, standing on Mount Gokarna. The sea retreated and gave up a piece of land that came to be know as Kerala. This myth has been the raw material for many poets in Kerala. When Balamaniamma connects the axe with sacrifice, Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon salutes the axe that was with the early migrant societies to pierce the depth of forests.

Though Kerala is a coastal area, our lieterature don’t have much sea related legends in it. In the novel “Chemmeen”, “Kadalamma”, the sea goddess, expects the women folk to live a taint-less life, while their men are toiling in the sea. Many criticized this novel and the film for upholding superstitions. But, the late C. Rajagopalachari justified the superstition saying, “What harm could come out of it, if the women of a remote locality continue being chaste believing in an old legend?”

Prominent Malayalam story writers of thirties and forties were under the sway of the concept of class struggles. But, the lives of our ancient writers are actually linked to several myths and legends. Ezhuthachan, the father of Malayalam language is the reincarnation of a ‘Gandharvan’ (an ethereal spirit). Similarly stories of divine and supernatural interventions are there in the lives of the Poonthanam Namboothiri and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri.

However, in our modernist literature of O.V. Vijayan, Kovilan, Punnathil Kunhabdulla, N. P. Muhammed and M. Mukundan, regional folk tales are used with the status of parables and allegories. Moreover, young novelists like K.P. Ramanunni and T.K. Kochubava recreate the folk tales for contemporary times. They consider the myths and legends not as fabrications but as imaginary possibilities. Apart from this, they rediscover the past and blend it with the present as they echo our culture and civilization.

----Thulasidharan V 

Rain-at-Night – Sugatha Kumari (1934-2020)

 

Sugatha Kumari (1934-2020), an illustrious poet and social activist, won numerous awards and recognitions including Kerala Sahitya Academy award, Sahitya Academy Award and Padma Shri. She was the founder secretary of Prakrithi Samarakshana Samithi, an organization for the protection of nature and of Abhaya, a centre for destitute women. In Rain-at-Night (Rathrimazha) Sugatha Kumari not only addresses the rain as a comforting acquaintance but also identifies herself with the rain. It is a romantic poem juxtaposing a sudden downpour with the confinement of the poet in a sanatorium bed.

The poem begins with the weeping laughing and whimpering of the rain-at-night, who is referred to as the pensive daughter of the dusky dark. She is gliding slowly like a long wail into the hospital, where the narrator is admitted. She extends her cold fingers through the window and touches the narrator, who is in her sick bed, when the poet puts her hand to her ears, on her hearing the anguished cry of a mother. The rain at night comforts her. As the narrator has a diseased heart it can’t be cut and removed as other parts of her body. It should only be healed like this.

Rain-at-night, thus witnesses the narrator’s love and grief and lulls her to sleep. So, it becomes an auspicious night to the narrator, who is thrilled with joy. Actually, before the arrival of the rain-at-night the narrator had sleepless hours and was about to freeze into a stone. It gave more joy than the bright moonlight did.

Then the narrator says that she knows the kind and sad music of the night rain, her pity and suppressed rage, her coming in the night, her sobbing and weeping when all alone. And when it is dawn, she wipes her face and forces a smile. Then she hurries to do her routine work as the narrator does. As the narrator is also like the night rain, she knows all of these of the night rain. Thus, the narrator identifies herself with the rain-at-night. The different emotional status of the night rain are similar to the shifting moods of the narrator. That’s why she says at the end, ‘My friend, I too am like you’.

As the emotions of the narrator are expressed effectively in an imaginative and beautiful way and as it reflects a lament for the suffering sick, this poem is considered a fine lyrical elegy.

----Thulasidharan V

FIFTY YEARS OF MALAYALAM CINEMA - V. C. Harris (1958-2017)

 

 

V. C. Harris (1958-2017) was a teacher, thinker, critic, theatre personality and translator.  “Ezhuthum Parachilum” and “Spectres of writing” are the books authored by him.  Here, he traces the history of fifty years of Malayalam cinema beginning with Neelakkuyil (1954) and ending with “Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam” (2003).  According to him, the optimism of the 1950s changed into discontent and disillusionment in the 1960s.  The cinemas of 1970s and 1980s reflected the impacts of modernism and National emergency.  But the films of 1990s didn’t reflect the political and cultural turbulent  situation that had been there, then. However, the music in films has effectively constructed for all the people public sphere for their past and future.

As Kerala has a different socio-political history from the rest of India, it has a distinct film making tradition.  In 1940s and 1950s, the processes of artistic productions in cinema were determined by issues like caste inequality, class consciousness, nationalism and progress.  So, optimism and enthusiasm that existed then was found in “Neelakkuyil” (1954), jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramukariat.  As many ingredients like a local story, a modern secular subject and fine music were fused into it, it is still considered to be a land mark film in Malayalam.  A decade later, another similar film “Chemmeen” (1965) by Ramukariat that focused on the local culture and mythology of fishing community in Kerala, created another landmark.

The new cinema that emerged in the early 1970s, led by Adoor Gopalakirshnan, G. Aravindan and John Abraham was dubbed as “Art Cinema”.  It was a response to the shifting grounds of politics and aesthetics.  “Swayamvaram” (1972) by Adoor Gopala Krishnan was the inaugural film of this type.  In a slightly different but related way, “Thampu” (1978) by G. Aravindan came next and showed a village community facing the modernity represented by the coming of a circus troupe.  The questioning of religious practices by secularization and modernization was portrayed in M. T. Vasudevan Nair’s “Nirmalyam” (1973).  As National emergency was declared in 1975, all political and civil rights were curtailed.  As a few politicians, government functionaries and the police had all the power, people were disillusioned at this time. Though this period produced a crop of films, of which “Amma Ariyan” (John Abraham, 1986) is a remarkable example of this period. It is an important document on the rise and fall of the revolutionary spirit in contemporary Kerala.

In 1990s the liberalization, privatization and globalization began to play a crucial role.  So, this period began to articulate the concerns of women, the dalits and the adhivasis.  There have been attempts to refine the form and content of the cinema.  Shaji N Karun’s “Vanaprastham, the last dance”, (1999) portrayed an illicit relationship between a kathakali dancer and a young woman from an upper caste family resulted in an illegitimate child.  T.V. Chandran’s “Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam (2003) effectively redefined the subject of art in the light of shifting societal perceptions.  Apart from all these, the film music addressed all the sections of the society, created a public sphere, a space where all kinds of people can come together and share a common experience and chart out a common agenda for life today and tomorrow.

----Thulasidharan V

PICTURES DRAWN ON WATER - K.Sachidanandan

 

K. Sachidanandan (1946-) is a bilingual poet, critic, playwright, editor, translator, and fiction writer.  Having got his voluntary retirement from Christ College, Sachidanandan became the editor of Indian literature, the English Journal of the Sahitya Academy.  Currently, he is the president of Kerala Sahitya Academy and lives in Thrissur.  He is of the opinion that he translates poems from other languages to Malayalam and vice versa to enrich Malayalam literature, train his poetic skills and test the strength of his mother tongue.

‘Pictures Drawn on Water’ is a poem in five parts written in the wake of the great flood in Kerala in 2018.  It shows the different phases of the deluge.  It visualizes how a normal monsoon turned into a fierce deluge, all of a sudden.  It also comments on the courage and resilience shown by the people on their facing a tragedy.  Apart from these, it reminds something that we lost which now resides in the memory of slush left behind by water.  It is actually a translated one from Malayalam by the poet.

“As we look on” is the very first part of the poem. Here, like a long-known neighbour, the flood comes into the house, eats, and has a siesta and then forces the residents to leave the house. The water tells the awe-struck people of the house that there is nowhere else to go.  Here, the ruthless behaviour of human beings who encroached the river’s territory by blocking its usual paths into the sea is implied.  In ‘The Boat’, a sick mother, a pregnant daughter and a son who looks after all at home, are shown.  The three quarrel among themselves for the other to climb in the rescue boat which has space left only for one.  Tragedy makes human beings selfless and death fearless.  In ‘the cat’ we see an abandoned cat that wonders on seeing the fish that tickling him and laughing at him.  Here, the poet says that when there is no branch or wall to climb upon even a cat becomes a philosopher.

In ‘Slate’ we see a slate that sits under the water in the vacant house.  It remembers the words and sketches scrawled on its grey surface by tiny hands.  It also dreams to create a new universe within its four wooden frames and thus became a part of the earth and of infinity.  In ‘Slush’ we find the slush gathered in the house after the flood with the obscure memories of fields, pond and lily and blue flowers in the harvested fields, the flower collecting children, yellow butterflies, the ploughing bulls, seeds sowing dark hands.  Through these memories of ‘The Slush’, the poet says that the things that we had lost now reside in the memory of the slush left behind by the flood.  Thus the poet has effectively used the deluge as a metaphor for social and ecological concerns in the poem.

According to the poet it was the people who forced the flood to encroach their territory by blocking its usual path into the sea. However the flood makes human beings resilient. They have also realized that the earth is not belonged to them but they belonged to the earth. Thus the poem presents flood in a favorable light.

----Thulasidharan V

 

KUTTIPPURAM BRIDGE – EDASSERI

 

Edasseri Govindan Nair (1906-1974) is one of the major poets of Malayalam literature.  He was a recipient of Sahithya Academy Award for poetry.  ‘Kuttippuram Bridge’ is a translated one where the poet shares his feelings of surprise, happiness and anxiety on his walking over the bridge after its construction in 1953.

The eleven-span bridge on National Highway in Kuttippuram needed twenty-three lakhs and 58 months to get completed.  The poet stood proudly on the bridge and gazed upon the dwindling ‘Perar’ (Nila) river.  Though he was 47 years old then, he remembered playing ‘poothamkole’, his taking a dip in the cool waves before prayer and watching kingfishers, cuckoos and herons up above the river.  During heavy rains, the arrogant and boisterous river used to burst the banks.  But then the river was crawling to flow below the bridge.  On seeing it the poet chuckled and thought about the change in the river’s attitude.

Though he was delightfully considering the victory of mankind, an unknown feeling of agony haunted his conscience.  He began to recollect the fading picture of his village life.  The sweet and healthy village was actually bidding the final farewell.  The vast paddy fields, the houses flanked by fruit-bearing trees, and the hill valleys are slowly moving away.  The temple festivities with oil lamps, farmer’s songs that fill the day and the chills in the dead of light are all also disappearing and allow other things to come to light.

Granite, cement steel, tyre and petrol have started their reign.  Walls are rising everywhere.  The noises made by them and their movements quicken everywhere.  People move away from their native places.  All familiar faces are disappearing.  Strangers become neighbours.  So strangers need to be loved and all the loving and lovable friends have become outsiders.

As the bridge passes by the side of the temple of Malloor, the Lord Siva of Malloor has become a street deity.  The ‘Anthimaha Kaalan’ hill, which is standing high up and serene, would now spin like a top, spun by an egotist machine child.  Everything is getting changed.  Even the laughter and tears have become machine-like.  Here the poet disappointedly asks the ‘Perar’ river whether the river will also accept the changes and get changed into a canal of grief carrying sewage.  Thus the poet talks more about the change that is unfortunately inevitable, doing more harm than good.  That is why he says on standing on the bridge, an unknown feeling that streams inside “haunts my conscience with agony.”

-----Thulasidharan V

Elegy written in a Country Churchyard – Thomas Gray (1715-1771)

 

 

          Thomas Gray, who is known as the morning star of English Romanticism, is now remembered chiefly for his ‘Elegy’.  It is one of the most memorable of English poems.  An Elegy is a poem of mourning.  Usually an elegy mourns the death of a particular person.  But Gray’s poem is different.  It mourns the passing away of a whole generation.  He tries to glorify ‘the short and simple annals of the poor’.  The poem ends with a remarkable piece of self-portraiture. He sums up his own life in a few memorable lines at the end of the poem.  Gray took four years to complete the poem.  In fact, Gray’s poetic fame rests chiefly on this poem.  That’s why Gray’s Elegy has been described as a first-rate poem by a second-rate poet. 

          The Elegy is remarkable for many things.  It fully reveals Gray’s description of an evening in a village.  The church bell announces the end of the daytime.  The herd of cattle and sheep return home.  The farmer returns from the field.  There is silence and growing darkness everywhere.  However, the silence is broken by the droning of beetles, the tinkling sounds made by the little bells hanging from the neck of cattle and sheep and the hooting of the owl.  After presenting beautiful visual and auditory images of the evening, Gray plunges into the central theme.  He refers to the ‘narrow cells’ in which ‘The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep’.  It is a sleep from which there is no waking up.  Even the cock’s clarion cannot wake them up. 

          Then the poet refers to the useful work the poor used to do when they were alive.  They used to plough and reap.  Men of ambition may mock at the humble toil.  The short and simple annuals of the poor may not impress men of grandeur.  But such men must remember one thing.  The paths of glory lead, but to the grave.  The poor villagers have no monuments over their graves.  But can urns and busts bring the dead back to life? So long as they cannot, they are useless.  Here Gray points out that there might have been talented men among these dead villagers.  There might have been Hamptons, Miltons and Cromwells among them. There might have been even gifted musicians among them.  Poverty froze their talents.  Somehow they were lucky.  As they could not do great deeds, so they did not commit great crimes.  So they could die with clean hearts. 

          Gray refers here to the common weaknesses of all men.  Even the poor are not free from it.  They too wish to be loved in life and remembered after death.  After their death, they want at least some crude stones to mark their graves.  The stones may carry just the names and dates.  However, Gray’s poem ends with a self-portrait.  Here he visualizes the scene of his own death.  When he is dead, someone may enquire about him.  He may come to know about the poet as a man who never missed a glorious sunrise from the top of the hill.  Gray refers to his love of nature and his lonely wanderings.  Fame and fortune had never smiled on him.  Melancholy had adopted him as her son.  His bounty was large, and his soul sincere.  He gave to misery all that he had, his tears.  God, in his recompense, sent him a true friend.  And that was all he wanted in life.  Gray’s self-portrait is a very honest account.  They also tell us that he had only one true friend, whose name was Richard West. 

          The Elegy is remarkable for its simplicity of expression.  The poet gives a perfect expression of his feelings and sentiments.  It contains neo classical qualities like allusiveness, alliteration, and personification.  It also foreshadows the romantic poetry of Burns, Wordsworth and Shelley.  Thus, Elegy makes a shift from neo-classism to romanticism.  The verse of the poem is musical and has a haunting quality.  The reflections on life and death make the poem a philosophical poem, but it is also a sort of dramatic monologue in which the speaker has addressed imaginary readers or listeners.  Different factors may be said to be responsible for its greatness.  Its universal appeal, its humanity and broader concern with the human condition are as much contributive to its greatness as its poetic merits.  To conclude, it may suffice to quote Douglas Bush, who sums up its greatness by saying, “One obvious reason is the power of style which makes almost every line an example of ‘what opt was thought but never so well expressed”.

 

-----Thulasidharan V

 

 

SENTENCES, SUBJECT AND PREDICATE, PHRASES AND CLAUSES

 

PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH – PART – 9 (A)

 

SENTENCES

 

A group of words that makes a complete sense is called a sentence.

          John helps Mary.

Who helps Mary?

Help Mary.

What a great help!

 

Kinds of Sentences

 

A sentence that makes a statement or an assertion is called Assertive or Declarative Sentence.

          He wrote his exam yesterday.

          They are admitted in the hospital.

 

A sentence that asks a question is called an interrogative sentence.

          Where did he go?

          Will he attend the meeting?

 

A sentence that expresses a command, request or an advice is called an imperative sentence.

          Come here.

          Don’t smoke.

 

A sentence that expresses a strong feeling is called an exclamatory sentence.

          What a lovely place is this!

          Alas! Our leader is no more.

 

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

 

In a meaningful sentence, we have a subject to speak about and a predicate, something about that subject.  Usually the subject comes first.  But in imperative sentences the subject is left out.

          The Earth revolves round the Sun.

          The dancing of the peacock delights us.

          Sit down.

          Please, help me.

 

THE PHRASE AND THE CLAUSE

 

A group of words, that makes sense, but not complete sense is called a phrase.

          It was a sunset of great beauty.

          He left the house in the early morning.

 

A group of words that becomes a part of a sentence, and contains a subject and a predicate is called a clause.

          He gave her a chain of gold. (Phrase)

          He gave her a chain which is made of gold. (Clause)

          I think that you have learned everything. (Clause)

-----Thulasidharan V