"A strong personality and an individual voice; her poems feel as if they are meant to be read aloud as well as on the page" (Bruce King, Journal of Postcolonial Literature)
Arundhati Subramanian is an Indian poet who recently won Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 in English Language for her poetry collection named "When God is Traveller." Besides that she is also a critic, prose writer, curator, translator and journalist. She is more on the side of spirituality and through her writing she also tries to bring out a shed of spirituality by denying conventionality of religion or being a blind follower of God. In one of her interviews she said…
"Earlier I thought that my public persona would be about 'the Arts', and my private self would be about 'spirituality'. A near-death experience in 1997 and an encounter with a spiritual guide in 2004 have shaped my life on a very fundamental level."
Before we analyse one poem named 'Wondering about Kartikeya/ Muruga/ Subramania, my namesake' written by Arundhati Subramanian let's just go through some of her ideas regarding 'Art of Poetry.'
Poems of Arundhati Subramanian can be considered as modern poetry where the central idea of poem remains almost in darkness. Readers are free to interpret or study her poems from different angles and through different lenses. She believes more in creating Image rather than giving a clear cut description.
"We all want mystery as much as we want clarity. There is beauty — and truth — in the patterning of the two. Hundred-watt radiance is fine for shopping malls, not for poems!"
As Subramanian says in the above statement, according to basic Human tendency we as a being sometimes want clarity while sometimes we choose to remain in illusions or mystery so it can hurt less. In the same manner she looks at poetry as a combination of both where Beauty and Truth can coexist. As a poet, inter-mingalation of Beauty and Truth in her poems creates wonderful pieces of poetry, which frames realities but at the same time it is Imaginative and pleasant looking. So, This can be a definition of poetry for Arundhati Subramanian. Another characteristic according to Subramanian of poetry is 'Creating Image'. And she also tries to practice this in many of her poetry. In one of her interviews she said...
"I've learnt to trust the image and the image is much more intelligent than I am."
She believes in creating sharp images in the reader's mind through poetry. And she also successfully creates some striking images which have long lasting effects on readers' minds. For Example…
"... the sacred plunge into a Cadbury's Five Star bar, Kanchenjunga, kisses bluer than the Adriatic, honeystain of sunlight on temple wall, a moon-lathered Parthenon…"
Where God is a Traveller
Wondering about Kartikeya/ Muruga/ Subramania, my namesake)
Trust the god back from his travels, his voice wholegrain (and chamomile),
his wisdom neem, his peacock, sweaty-plumed, drowsing in the shadows.
Trust him who sits wordless on park benches listening to the cries of children fading into the dusk,
his gaze emptied of vagrancy, his heart of ownership.
Trust him who has seen enough— revolutions, promises, the desperate light of shopping malls, hospital rooms, manifestos, theologies, the iron taste of blood, the great craters in the middle of love.
Trust him who no longer begrudges his brother his prize, his parents their partisanship.
Trust him whose race is run, whose journey remains, who stands fluid-stemmed knowing he is the tree that bears fruit, festive with sun.
Trust him who recognizes you— auspicious, abundant, battle-scarred, alive— and knows from where you come.
Trust the god ready to circle the world all over again this time for no reason at all other than to see it through your eyes.
This Poem 'Wondering about Kartikeya/ Muruga/ Subramania, my namesake' by Arundhati Subramanian can be read against traditional ways of writing where God is either portrayed as Omnipotent or praised or either shown as Holy Divine. Here the poet shows Kartikeya as a Protagonist, besides that he is also shown as a common being instead of demonstrating his divinity or power. What makes this poem unique from other religious narratives…
- Breaking the conventional walls of portraying God as Divine.
- Divine Perspective of telling religious stories overtaken here by the Human Perspective.
- Poem Subverting the very myth of Ganesha, In which Ganesha received a fruit of Knowledge by his parents. And Shows Kartikeya as a more experienced person than Ganesha.
Let's go through some of the major ideas or themes which can be highlighted in this poem.
Narrative: Human Perspective
When we first read this poem it gives a kind of impression that it is about Lord Murugan or Kartikeya. Praising them or singing songs of worship. But at some point a question arises why Kartikeya, why not Ganesha because Ganesha is a God who worshipped more in India. We can find the answer to this question through the below given statement...
‘When God is a Traveller’, is about Kartikeya or Muruga as an archetypal seeker, not as god in any conventional sense.
So, Subramanian wants to create an image of Human beings not of God. And that's why she goes against the very conventional myth where Ganesha is God who worshipped at the beginning of any pious or sacred karma. So, Subramanian here deconstructs the Myth of Ganesha and establishes a new perspective where we can see Kartikeya as an Archetypal seeker who is in search of something.
Journey or Travelling
Another major theme which can be highlighted in this poem is it shows Journey and travelling. Kartikeya is a son of Shiva and Parvati takes three rounds throughout the world in order to achieve a 'Fruit of Knowledge' from their Parents.
Here, we can take Journey and Travelling as a metaphor of Knowledge. The more you travel the more you gain experience and your Knowledge increases.
Trust the god back from his travels, his voice wholegrain
(and chamomile),
his wisdom neem, his peacock, sweaty-plumed, drowsing in the shadows.
Another thing about Journey is that in order to travel through the world you have to leave your parents, your relatives and Home. Going far away from Home gave a chance to revisit yourself which lies within. So, Journey gives a space to study our Inner world and Strength which can only be possible when we step out from our Comfort Zone. This is something done by Kartikeya. Ganesha thinks that parents are the world for me so he takes three rounds around his parents and worships them. But Kartikeya follows the rules and travels throughout the world. And this journey gives him a lot of experiences. He learns about Human struggles and deepens his understanding about Human World and Human Existence. So, Poem shows a journey from Innocence to experience and quest for knowledge.
Quest for Knowledge
As it is 'Experience is the Best Teacher.' Experience gives us a lot of knowledge. And empirical knowledge is always authentic and more valuable. So, Here in this poem the poet may centralise the theme of Knowledge through Experience.
The poet put more emphasis on the word 'Trust the God' and say trust the God who travelled throughout the world. Who has experienced worldly Joy and Struggle both. So, This can be his knowledge which gained through experience. And his quest for knowledge forced him to travel throughout the world.
Detachment from Family
Another significant theme, which poem may be highlighting is about Detachment from Family.
Kartikeya's Journey throughout the world is possible when he runs away from his family. And going far from family gives an ample amount of opportunity to learn new things. Going away from Home can be seen as gaining Knowledge in a truer sense. So, What poet ultimately wants to say is Knowledge can be grasped after many struggles and obstacles. And for that you also need to be ready for hard work and sacrifices.
Spirituality
"The only Journey is one Within"
(Rainer Maria Rilke)
As the above statement suggests, Journey is all about visiting the inner self. And going through inner self can provide a spiritual height. When one interviewer asked the poet, "What if I called you a modern-day Meera, an agnostic follower of an elusive Krishna?" She answered that her poems are not only about Krishna, she says her poems also had references of Shiva and Kartikeya. She denies that her poems are religious or demonstrating faith in God. Contrary to that she says her poems are full of realities which capture the mundane activity of people through minute descriptions of everyday life. And within this description a constant search for one's individual existence remains at centre. She says…
"Bhakti (devotion) is very much the spirit of these poems — a passionate, far from anti-carnal or anti-intellectual bhakti. I think we've often turned devotion into an anaemic animal."
So, Bhakti is the spirit of her poems, But the devotion which her poem captures is far far away from the materialistic world. As she herself said that it is far from "Anti-carnal or Anti-intellectual Bhakti." So, Her poems are more towards the search of inner self which leads towards spirituality. Spiritual Exploration is a necessary part of most of her writing which is rightly captured in the last lines of this poem also…
Trust the god ready to circle the world all over again this time for no reason at all other than to see it through your eyes.
So, By repeating the very first line of poem at the beginning of every stanza may denote 'trust of self' rather than trust on parents or any materialistic thing of the world as Ganesha does. So, Contrary to that here by using the character of Kartikeya, who travelled through world poets wants to convey a message of Trust Self, Trust your Inner world. Which will lead you towards spirituality.
So, To conclude it can be said that this poem can be read against the Conventional myth of Ganesha, which deconstructs the very idea of Ganesha as superior to God. And also highlights some of the ideas like Journey gives an Empirical Knowledge and gives a chance to explore your inner self which helps the rich at the peak of spirituality.
- Daruwalla, Keki N. “Mask Meets Metaphor: When God Is a Traveller.” Hindustan Times, 29 Nov. 2014, www.hindustantimes.com/books/mask-meets-metaphor-when-god-is-a-traveller/story-gDJDCmlpOLrxVAhY8dUqML_amp.html.
- Karmakar, Goutam. “MINSTREL BEHIND LYRICS: A LIT-CHAT BETWEEN ARUNDHATI SUBRAMANIAM AND GOUTAM KARMAKAR.” Interview: Arundhathi Subramaniam, Oct. 2017, www.setumag.com/2017/10/interview-arundhathi-subramaniam.html?m=1.
- “More Verb than Noun, More Seeker than Spokesperson: Arundhathi Subramaniam.” Mathrubhumi, 16 July 2020, english.mathrubhumi.com/books/authors/more-verb-than-noun-more-seeker-than-spokesperson-arundhathi-subramaniam-1.4909246.
- Tandon, Vivek. Book Review: When God Is a Traveller. 21 Sept. 2014, www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-when-god-is-a-traveller-2020235.
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