POET VEZHAVENDHAN-
A WORDSWORTH WORD-SMITH FROM INDIA
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 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.
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
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.
