A REVIEW OF SONY KARACKAL'S POEM 'MAZHA THUDANGI..
DELAREYVILLE ,29 MAY 2013
INTRODUCTION
Things are becoming difficult here day by day,due to the advance of winter.Night
temperatures are dropping,there's much talk about conserving electricity, including tips
as to how to save electricity, but all the nice words fall on deaf ears. In some respects,
South Africa and Kerala are birds of the same feather. To describe all that,I need a full
book of about 400 pages,so I confine my efforts to only one example.In The Kerala
Secretariat, the lights and fans are 'on' during the weekend; here in this small town,street
lights are 'on' 24/7/365.
The morning temperature was 11 degrees c.This is reasonable.But the days are
becoming shorter,and the mornings darker. To make matters worse,there's a roadblock
for 20 minutes,to facilitate resurfacing of N14, which is a national road.Half of the road
is cut,and new layers are being added every day.So the motorists have to wait for 20
minutes,and then use the other half of the road as a narrow one-way,for about 5 kms.
Then I enter the newly-surfaced road,which is an engineering marvel. It's wider and
smoother than before.You just sit behind the wheel,the car gains speed by itself.The
straight road is visible upto 4 kms ahead.This province is generally level everywhere,it's hard
to find hills or sharp curves.Even if one loses control of the vehicle,you are assured of
a smooth landing,because on both sides,the grass is neatly cut,and there are no stones
around. Aftre the roadblock, motorists drive with a vengeance,at 140,160 etc.
It's only today that I realised there are some zebras at Barberspan Bird Sanctuary.But
they keep away from the fence; about 1 km far. For wild animals,man is the common
enemy.So they try to keep a safe distance from man.
MAZHA THUDANGI....
I felt a sense of loss,having done no analysis of Sony karackal's poems recently.This
is because of the pressure of school work.The Second Term ends here on 21st June,
and some papers of the Mid-Year Exams have already been written.
When I read SK's poem 'Mazha thudangi' it was really irresistable, especially with the
beautiful visuals of a he
avy downpour,and the lighting of it. The visuals are so eye-
catching that it's a silent poem in itself !The title 'Mazha Thudangi ' sounds like
a proclamation, as it were, from the roof tops.The onset of the rainy season in Kerala
is a liberation from extreme heat, water shortages and discomfort. Hence the heralding
of the season perfectly fits in with the mood of the speaker in this poem.
SK has created the atmosphere in this poem with nostalgic memories of his own
childhood days, when he had cherished the cool,comfortable weather conditions brought
about by first rains. In a previous poem, " ee vazhiyil' Sk had referred to his small
veedu where he grew up in poverty, but did enjoy the struggle for survival and for
an education.
muninju kathunna
mannenna vilakkum
pazhamanmurangum puthappum
ormayil theliyunnu
The above lines are particularly appealing to me because I had experienced the
same contentment during my childhood.
The poet longs for that unique experience of lying under a puthappu, fully enjoying
the coolness created by the downpour outside.
With the craftsmanship of a goldsmith, SK has used simple words to reconstruct that
scene of the past,and ,as in the other poem,he remembers the affection and warmth
of his mother:
amma than viyarppu manavum
The lovely mood created by the rain, the tenderness of motherly love, and the soft
bed and pillow have an intoxicating effect on the boy:
ravinte vasya sugandhavum
chernnunmathamam
panjikkidakkayil
thalayina nenchodu cherthu
Rainbirds coming and settling on the windows adds to the beauty of the atmosphere.
en jalakachillyil
vannirikkumee mazha pakshikal
The rain continues to pour down on the teak trees.The poem,like soft rain,continues
to pour down on the mind of the reader.Pollunna dehathinum manassinum aswasathinte
kulireki ee kavitha peythu kondirikkunnu.The poet's success is in conjuring up the
images of the atmosphere resulting from the rain.Kavi mazhaye pranayichirunnu ennu
namukku kanan kazhiyunnu.Mazhayude anubhavangal panku vechu,aa pazhaya ormakalkku
puthu jeevan nalkiya kaviykku orayiram nandi.
DELAREYVILLE ,29 MAY 2013
INTRODUCTION
Things are becoming difficult here day by day,due to the advance of winter.Night
temperatures are dropping,there's much talk about conserving electricity, including tips
as to how to save electricity, but all the nice words fall on deaf ears. In some respects,
South Africa and Kerala are birds of the same feather. To describe all that,I need a full
book of about 400 pages,so I confine my efforts to only one example.In The Kerala
Secretariat, the lights and fans are 'on' during the weekend; here in this small town,street
lights are 'on' 24/7/365.
The morning temperature was 11 degrees c.This is reasonable.But the days are
becoming shorter,and the mornings darker. To make matters worse,there's a roadblock
for 20 minutes,to facilitate resurfacing of N14, which is a national road.Half of the road
is cut,and new layers are being added every day.So the motorists have to wait for 20
minutes,and then use the other half of the road as a narrow one-way,for about 5 kms.
Then I enter the newly-surfaced road,which is an engineering marvel. It's wider and
smoother than before.You just sit behind the wheel,the car gains speed by itself.The
straight road is visible upto 4 kms ahead.This province is generally level everywhere,it's hard
to find hills or sharp curves.Even if one loses control of the vehicle,you are assured of
a smooth landing,because on both sides,the grass is neatly cut,and there are no stones
around. Aftre the roadblock, motorists drive with a vengeance,at 140,160 etc.
It's only today that I realised there are some zebras at Barberspan Bird Sanctuary.But
they keep away from the fence; about 1 km far. For wild animals,man is the common
enemy.So they try to keep a safe distance from man.
MAZHA THUDANGI....
I felt a sense of loss,having done no analysis of Sony karackal's poems recently.This
is because of the pressure of school work.The Second Term ends here on 21st June,
and some papers of the Mid-Year Exams have already been written.
When I read SK's poem 'Mazha thudangi' it was really irresistable, especially with the
beautiful visuals of a he
avy downpour,and the lighting of it. The visuals are so eye-
catching that it's a silent poem in itself !The title 'Mazha Thudangi ' sounds like
a proclamation, as it were, from the roof tops.The onset of the rainy season in Kerala
is a liberation from extreme heat, water shortages and discomfort. Hence the heralding
of the season perfectly fits in with the mood of the speaker in this poem.
SK has created the atmosphere in this poem with nostalgic memories of his own
childhood days, when he had cherished the cool,comfortable weather conditions brought
about by first rains. In a previous poem, " ee vazhiyil' Sk had referred to his small
veedu where he grew up in poverty, but did enjoy the struggle for survival and for
an education.
muninju kathunna
mannenna vilakkum
pazhamanmurangum puthappum
ormayil theliyunnu
The above lines are particularly appealing to me because I had experienced the
same contentment during my childhood.
The poet longs for that unique experience of lying under a puthappu, fully enjoying
the coolness created by the downpour outside.
With the craftsmanship of a goldsmith, SK has used simple words to reconstruct that
scene of the past,and ,as in the other poem,he remembers the affection and warmth
of his mother:
amma than viyarppu manavum
The lovely mood created by the rain, the tenderness of motherly love, and the soft
bed and pillow have an intoxicating effect on the boy:
ravinte vasya sugandhavum
chernnunmathamam
panjikkidakkayil
thalayina nenchodu cherthu
Rainbirds coming and settling on the windows adds to the beauty of the atmosphere.
en jalakachillyil
vannirikkumee mazha pakshikal
The rain continues to pour down on the teak trees.The poem,like soft rain,continues
to pour down on the mind of the reader.Pollunna dehathinum manassinum aswasathinte
kulireki ee kavitha peythu kondirikkunnu.The poet's success is in conjuring up the
images of the atmosphere resulting from the rain.Kavi mazhaye pranayichirunnu ennu
namukku kanan kazhiyunnu.Mazhayude anubhavangal panku vechu,aa pazhaya ormakalkku
puthu jeevan nalkiya kaviykku orayiram nandi.
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