A review of Sony Karackal's poem "Swargam"
Ellavarum koodi paranju paranju enne oru kavitha niroopakanakki.Ayyo enikku vayye.
Eee Sony aanenkil vidunna mattilla.Chila LIC agentumare pole vidathe pidikoodiyirikkukayanu.
Ethayalum kudungi poyi.Actually my field is drama.I have been writing a play based on the
burial of Jesus,to coincide with Easter.Initially I thought of completing that play,and then
respond to Sony's new poem.After copleting 3 scenes,I felt that the review was getting late.
So I set aside my play,and began to study the poem.
In the 1960s,when I was a college student,there was a rising star in the Malayalam literary
horizon,a young lady in her 20s,whose collection of short stories,"Njanenna Bhavam" caused
a sensation,and was much talked about.(Unfortunately,I forgot her name).One day,the whole
state of Kerala was shocked to hear that she committed suicide.Many writers entertain
suicidal tendencies,and there is a long list of poets and artists who took their own lives.Ernest
Hemingway,Changampuzha,Guru Dutt..to mention a few.I am mentioning this because in
some of Sony's poems,the "maranachinthakal' recur.
Recently, Sony has taken a deviation from his pet theme of pranayam,and has ventured
into unexplored territories of a philosophical nature,such as birth,death and our existence
on earth.In 'swargam',the poet takes a pessimistic view of life.He is an itrovert,coiling
like an "atta',or withdrawing the head ino its shell like a tortoise,as an escape tactic from the
harshness of life.According to the poet,his entry into the world was a disaster.It was better
not to have been born."Amma than garfa pathram oru swargamayirunnu'',ennu kavi parayumbol
athinte dhwani,bhumi oru narakamanennalle?
Life is a question mark in front of the poet.Is this life life worth living?It seems that the poet
prefers an early exit from this world to a prolonged ,miserable life.This is evident from
'' ee kunjujeevitham iniyethranal".Is this life a burden? Is life like the last waiting room,only
30 minutes,before we board a flight.
I think''bhoomithan garfapathramen lokam' can be changed to ''prapanchathin....''
In our perspective,'bhumi' and 'lokam' mean the same thing.But 'prapancham'or 'universe
has a wider meaning.Anyway,the earth is the stage where every one is an actor,and has an
entrance (birth),and an exit (death),as illustreted by Shakespeare in his poem'The world is
a stage'..
The pessimistic tone continues throughout the poem.He doesn't foresee a bright future
for the child.eg " valarukayanu,dukhangalilekku,swapnangalilekku'
"parakkumo ini munnam swargathilekku....
In this line the poet leaves a puzzle for the reader to solve-a real keeramutti.Is there a life
after death? If 'yes',is it something better than the first two? This is a puzzle as old as the
mystery of whether life exists in outer space.
The poem is short,but it leaves the reader with many unanswered questions,infinite
mystery to disentangle.
The visuals are perfectly suited to the mood created by the poem.The black colour
stands for mystery.The birds in the picture are silvery/white/shiny-visuals associated
with heaven.The contrast is very effective.The visuals ,together with the beautiful
font,produce a total effect in the mind of the reader.
My favourite poet,second to Shakespeare,is Vayalar.Sometimes I think that Vayalar
is a reincarnation of Shakespeare.This is because,like Shakespeare,Vayalar touched
every shade of human feelings and emotions,and raised questions about human
existence.
When I read Sony's poem,I remembered one of the greatest songs in Malayalam,"kattadichu
kodunkattadichu,kayalile vilakkumaram kannadachu/ swargavum narakavum kalamam kadalin
akkareyo,ikkarayo",by Vayalar.If you study this song,you will realise that Sony karackal is
on the same track as Vayalar in reflections about human existence.
If my memory is correct,the young writer who committed suicide was Rajalaksmi,who was
a college lecturer at Ottappalam or Palakkad.
Ellavarum koodi paranju paranju enne oru kavitha niroopakanakki.Ayyo enikku vayye.
Eee Sony aanenkil vidunna mattilla.Chila LIC agentumare pole vidathe pidikoodiyirikkukayanu.
Ethayalum kudungi poyi.Actually my field is drama.I have been writing a play based on the
burial of Jesus,to coincide with Easter.Initially I thought of completing that play,and then
respond to Sony's new poem.After copleting 3 scenes,I felt that the review was getting late.
So I set aside my play,and began to study the poem.
In the 1960s,when I was a college student,there was a rising star in the Malayalam literary
horizon,a young lady in her 20s,whose collection of short stories,"Njanenna Bhavam" caused
a sensation,and was much talked about.(Unfortunately,I forgot her name).One day,the whole
state of Kerala was shocked to hear that she committed suicide.Many writers entertain
suicidal tendencies,and there is a long list of poets and artists who took their own lives.Ernest
Hemingway,Changampuzha,Guru Dutt..to mention a few.I am mentioning this because in
some of Sony's poems,the "maranachinthakal' recur.
Recently, Sony has taken a deviation from his pet theme of pranayam,and has ventured
into unexplored territories of a philosophical nature,such as birth,death and our existence
on earth.In 'swargam',the poet takes a pessimistic view of life.He is an itrovert,coiling
like an "atta',or withdrawing the head ino its shell like a tortoise,as an escape tactic from the
harshness of life.According to the poet,his entry into the world was a disaster.It was better
not to have been born."Amma than garfa pathram oru swargamayirunnu'',ennu kavi parayumbol
athinte dhwani,bhumi oru narakamanennalle?
Life is a question mark in front of the poet.Is this life life worth living?It seems that the poet
prefers an early exit from this world to a prolonged ,miserable life.This is evident from
'' ee kunjujeevitham iniyethranal".Is this life a burden? Is life like the last waiting room,only
30 minutes,before we board a flight.
I think''bhoomithan garfapathramen lokam' can be changed to ''prapanchathin....''
In our perspective,'bhumi' and 'lokam' mean the same thing.But 'prapancham'or 'universe
has a wider meaning.Anyway,the earth is the stage where every one is an actor,and has an
entrance (birth),and an exit (death),as illustreted by Shakespeare in his poem'The world is
a stage'..
The pessimistic tone continues throughout the poem.He doesn't foresee a bright future
for the child.eg " valarukayanu,dukhangalilekku,swapnangalilekku'
"parakkumo ini munnam swargathilekku....
In this line the poet leaves a puzzle for the reader to solve-a real keeramutti.Is there a life
after death? If 'yes',is it something better than the first two? This is a puzzle as old as the
mystery of whether life exists in outer space.
The poem is short,but it leaves the reader with many unanswered questions,infinite
mystery to disentangle.
The visuals are perfectly suited to the mood created by the poem.The black colour
stands for mystery.The birds in the picture are silvery/white/shiny-visuals associated
with heaven.The contrast is very effective.The visuals ,together with the beautiful
font,produce a total effect in the mind of the reader.
My favourite poet,second to Shakespeare,is Vayalar.Sometimes I think that Vayalar
is a reincarnation of Shakespeare.This is because,like Shakespeare,Vayalar touched
every shade of human feelings and emotions,and raised questions about human
existence.
When I read Sony's poem,I remembered one of the greatest songs in Malayalam,"kattadichu
kodunkattadichu,kayalile vilakkumaram kannadachu/ swargavum narakavum kalamam kadalin
akkareyo,ikkarayo",by Vayalar.If you study this song,you will realise that Sony karackal is
on the same track as Vayalar in reflections about human existence.
If my memory is correct,the young writer who committed suicide was Rajalaksmi,who was
a college lecturer at Ottappalam or Palakkad.
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