Arun Kolatkar's Rational Perspective on Superstitions 1

ARUN KOLATKAR’S RATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON SUPRSTITIONS: ANALYSING SOME POEMS FROM “JEJURI”

Vishwanath Motiram Patil Asst. Prof. Dept. of English S.P.D.M. Arts, S.B.B. & S.H.D. Comm. And S.M.A. Science College Shirpur, Dist. Dhule (M.S.)

Arun Kolatkar was a brilliant bilingual poet, who wrote in English and Marathi. His major works in English are ‘the boatride’ (1968), ‘Jejuri’ (1976), ‘Sarpa Satra’( 2003), ‘Kala Ghoda Poems’ (2004), and ‘The Boatride & Other Poems’ (2009) and in Marathi are ‘ Arun Kolatkarchya Kavita’ (1976), ‘Chirimiri ’(2003), ‘Bhijki Vahi’ (2003) and ‘Droan’ (2004). No single book of poetry has received such continuous and serious critical appreciation and attention as Arun Kolatkar’s ‘Jejuri’ right from the 1977 Commonwealth Poetry Prize.

The violation of the norms is considered as a social problem by an educated mind. An attempt is made to present Arun Kolatkar’s rational perspective on superstitions as mentioned in his collection of poems - ‘Jejuri’ . According to Oxford Dictionary, superstition means the belief that certain events cannot be explained by reason or science or that they bring a good or a bad luck (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 1996:1199).

Arun Kolatkar with an observant eye wearing the rationalist’s spectacle, has observed the events, situations, traditions, customs and rituals performed by the people at the barren land Jejuri. He has presented them with minute details in order to show the cultural decay, superstitious nature of the pilgrims and tradition bound society. What are the genuine problems to Kolatkar may not be to the people blinded by superstions at Jejuri. The journey of the poet begins by ‘The Bus’ and ends with ‘The Railway Station’ . Most of the poems make mention of the superstitious and contain rather detached rational reactions from the poet narrator’s perspective of modern scientific temperament.

The poem ‘The Priest’ presents a portrait of the priest at Jejuri. He is a hypocrite. He has turned such religious places into commercial centers for his benefits. He is greedy agent between the devotees and god. The devotees visit Jejuri with deep faith in Khandoba, but this deep faith of the devotees is exploited by the greedy and commercial attitude of the priest. The devotees of Khandoba believe that if they offer ‘puran poli’ to Khandoba, they will be blessed by Him. It is the superstitious belief of the devotees that Khandoba will be pleased by such as offering like ‘puran poli’. So the poet shows how the priest’s greedy nature makes him wonder if he is going to miss the sweet dish from the plate of offerings the bus bringing pilgrims delayed.

Is the bus little late?

The Priest wonders.

Will be a puran poli in plate? (Jejuri: 14)

In the poem ‘The Doorstep’ every pilgrim consciously or unconsciously touches the doorstep of the temple with his or her forehead. It is done out of superstitious belief or blind faith among the devotees. It expresses their reverence towards Khandoba of Jejuri

The poem ‘Chaitanya’ reflects superstitious belief of the devotees. The people paint the stone with red colour and start worshipping that painted stone. It is on the account of the superstitious belief that even a painted stone is treated as god. The narrator thinks what is wrong with being just a plain stone. Here the poet comments:

Wipe the red paint of your face

i don’t think the colour suits you

i mean what is wrong

with being just a plain stone (Jejuri:20)

Both the painted stone and the stony doorstep become God’s images for the plane and simple hearted pilgrims to Jejuri.

The poem ‘A Low Temple’ is a fine example of superstitious belief of the devotees. Here the priest tells the pilgrims that the goddess has eight arms, but the narrator, who is rational, counts the arms of the goddess and tells the priest that the goddess has eighteen arms. The pilgrims believe in the information very blindly and easily and never check the actual number of the arms. The poet is puzzled and comes out of the temple and smokes ‘Charminar ’cigarette. It is the blind faith of the devotees who do not want to be debate with the priest as the poet does. Here we find skepticism of the poet and superstitious nature of the priest and devotees. So the concluding lines of the poem present this scene very clearly:

You come out in the sun and light a Charminar.

Children playing on the back of the twenty foot tortoise (Jejuri: 21)

The poem ‘The Horseshoe Shrine’ deals with the deep faith of the priest and devotees in Khandoba, who is source of livelihood for him. The poem is based on the fantastic legend of Khandoba and his horse. As per the legend, Khandoba carried Banai from her father’s home. The devotees believe in the mark of horseshoe on one of the rocks the hill. So the poet says:

That nick in the rock

is really a kick in the side of the hill.

Its where a hoof

Struck (Jejuri: 23)

The pilgrims blinded by superstitions even bow reverently before the mark on the rock and worship it superstitiously.

The poem ‘An Old Woman’ presents another superstitious practice of the devotees. From generations the devotees have been offering their children in the service of god Khandoba from their childhood. The devotees vowed to Khandoba for their various demands. The demands have been fulfilled by Khandoba. Out of fear of Khandoba and on the expression of their gratitude they offered their children to Him.

If they do not follow the age old superstitious traditions, they believe that He will be angry with them. Moreover, in the fit of anger He will curse them. The old woman has already become a victim of this practice and has become ‘Devdasi’ a female devotee who has to serve God or God’s agents lifelong. She has been starving and is stricken by poverty because of the superstitions all around Jejuri. She is compared with cracked hill of Jejuri. The poet describes her as:

And the hills crack.

And the temples crack.

And the sky falls. (Jejuri: 26)

The poems ‘Hills’, the poem presents the legends related to god Khandoba, thinking him as a real one. So the poet says:

demons

hills

Cactus thrust

Up through ribs of rock (Jejuri: 28)

The devotees have accepted the legends and believed that god Khandoba killed the demons and turned them into hills. The hills are sacred for the devotees and they worship even the hills. The poet does not believe in it. For the poet the hills look like cactus ribs, cactus fang and vertebrate animal. The poet observes the hills geographically and rationally without getting blinded by the superstitions so fast held by the pilgrims.

‘The Priests Son’ is an ironically poem, deals with the theme of spiritual hollowness of the legends relating to god Khandoba. It is the superstitious belief of the devotees that they believe wholeheartedly in the legends. The narrator is rational and having scientific approach towards the hills. So the poet asks several questions to the boy, but he is unable to answer it. Here the poet expresses his doubts:

he doesn’t reply

But merely looks uncomfortable

Shrugs and looks away (Jejuri:30)

The boy feels uncomfortable being a student of geography and does not believe in the authenticity of the legends. But he has to believe for his livelihood. Thus, he diverts the attention of the poet towards a tiny butterfly. But the devotees can believe easily and enjoy the legends.

The poem ‘The Butterfly’ is a short and lovely lyric. The poem depicts superstitious belief of the devotees. The butterfly is a small creature of yellow colour. Yellow colour is a symbol of ‘bhandara’ i.e. turmeric power. It is the superstitious belief of the devotees that if they smear bhandara to their forehead, they will be blessed by Khandoba and he will end their miseries. The devotees repeatedly utter cries-----‘Yelkot—Yelkot Jai Malhar’, ‘Sadanandacha Elkot’. Thus Khandoba is a living presence for a large number of his devotees who chant continuously “Yelkot” to Malhari Sadananda Martand Khandoba.

In the poem ‘A Scratch’ , the poet presents the blind belief of the pilgrims about Khandoba and its surrounding area. The poet shows us how the devotee see god in every small or big stone at Jejuri. The narrator is greatly surprised by the sheer madness of the pilgrims and admits his bewilderment. The poet ridicules the blind belief of people as:

1 there is no crop

other than god

and god is harvested here

around the year (Jejuri:32)

2 Scratch a rock

and legend springs (Jejuri:32)

The poem ‘A Song For A Vaghya’ deals with theme of pilgrim’s faith and belief in the legend of vaghya. The devotees offer their small children in the service of

Khandoba out of fear. If they can not keep their promises, he would be angry with them and cruse them. If Khandoba becomes angry with them, they will face many problems in their lives. In order to end these miseries, they offer their children to him. By doing this Khandoba grants boon to them. The poem reflects that the vaghyas are the victims of the tradition. They have to beg oil from door to door for their torch. The poet describes their miserable condition in the following words:

Its my job to carry

This can of oil.

------

But if I can’t beg

I’ll have to steal

Is that a deal? (Jejuri: 37 )

The poem ‘A Song For Murli’ presents the realistic picture of the society. The poor small girls are offered to Khandoba due to poverty or because they are orphanage. It is the superstitious belief of the devotees that if they offer their children to god Khandoba, they will be free from all kinds of curses. The lifelong sacrifice of the boys and girls to offer is kind of worship. The poem highlights poverty and prostitution which have become burning issues in the contemporary society very powerfully since many years due to the wrong but superstitions of the life-long offerings of boys and girls. The poet presents the picture as:

keep your hands off Khandoba’s woman

you old lecher

let’s see the colours of your money first (Jejuri:39)

The poem ‘A Little Pile of Stones’ is about the blind belief and superstitious practices of the devotees. The newly married bride has to make a pile of stone If she is successful in making the pile of stones, she will be blessed with every kind of

happiness by god Khandoba. The poet is a detached observer who narrates the practice.

The short poem ‘Makarand’ presents the poet’s skepticism of towards the superstitious belief of the devotees. It is the tradition to take off a shirt before entering the sanctum of the temple of Lord Shiva. The narrator refuses to take off his shirt and refuses to enter the temple. Instead he prefers to smoke ‘Charminar’ in the courtyard. To the narrator these are meaningless and empty rituals. The pilgrims follow these rituals blindly. So the poet says:

1 Take my shirt off

And go in there to do pooja?

No thanks (Jejuri: 43)

2 I will be out in the courtyard

Where no one will mind

If I smoke. (Jejuri: 43)

The poem ‘The Temple Rat’ reflects the social of child-marriages. The poet finds it very ridiculous that the newly married teen aged brides are made to crush bananas on the top of the stone linga. She is required to do this probably it as a fertility ritual. The practice is followed blindly by the devotees. It shows Kolatkar’s extraordinary ability of to present an accurate word picture. So the poet says:

bangles massed in the hands

of the teen age bride on her knees,

Crushing bananas on the top

of the stone linga (Jejuri:45)

In the poem ‘A Kind of Cross’ shows how the devotees in order to please Khandoba undertake different types of self tortures voluntarily. They pierce ‘barb’, ‘hook’, or ‘bagaad’, in their bodies and hang themselves to a pole. They think it is a

kind of worship. But the poet does not subscribe to the view and calls it hanging on a cross.

‘Yeshwant Rao’ , is the poem which expresses the poet’s skepticism bitterly. The poem is based on the legends related to Yeshwant Rao, the second-tier god at Jejuri. The poem throws light on many superstitions existing among devotees. Yeshwant Rao, being a headless, armless and feetless, is regarded as the patron god of those who have lost their limbs. He has a special power for the spiritual upliftment of devotees. If a childless couple goes to him and asks for a child then he fulfills their desire. He stabs your enemy, if you walk on the burning coal bed. If you offer sufficient offerings to Him, he would join fractured parts of your body. So the poet mocks:

If you’re short of a limb,

Yeshwant Rao will lend you a hand And get you back on your feet (Jejuri: 50) The poem ‘The Blue Horse’ is about the night-long musical and dramatic recitation of the legends of the deity ‘Gondhal Jagran’. The people believe in these rituals to be performed immediately after a marriage in order to get the blessings of Khandoba. The priest in the poem has limited knowledge but pretends to become expert. The songs in the ‘Gondhal’ are mostly invocations to Khandoba and gods at Jejuri. The singers are professional but do not have always a musical singing voice. The narrator being a non believer is struck by the hoarse and harsh music. He also notices that the singers in their songs mention ‘a blue horse’. The picture of Khandoba that is hung on the wall of the priest’s house shows the horse to be ‘white’. The narrator is moved by the discrepancy while the priest is not. The priest is ignorant about the two kind of horses referred to the legends. The horse that Khandoba normally used was a white one, but the horse that he used while fighting with the demons Mani and Mala and kidnapping Banai was blue . It doesn’t make any difference to the devotees, because they blindly believe and faithfully follow the information provided by the priest to them.

This is how in most of the poems of his volume ‘Jejuri’ , the poet, Arun Kolatkar, has criticized the blind faith and superstitious beliefs of the pilgrims very bitterly and has commented on their hollowness ironically.

A CLASSIFIED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Kolatkar Arun: Jejuri, Prass Prakashan, Mumbai (2006)

2) Naik M.K.: A History of Indian English Literature, Sahitya

Academi, Delhi (2006)

3) King Bruce: Modern Indian Poetry in English, New- Delhi (1987)

4) Raykar Shubhangi: Jejuri: A Commentary and Critical Perspectives, Prachet Publications Pune (1995)

5) Dr. Dhere R.C.: Dakshinecha Lokdev Shri Khandoba,

Padmagandha Prakashan Pune (2007)

6) Joshi Pandit Mahadeo Shashri: Bharatiya Sanskriti Kosh

Bharatiya Kosh Mandal Pune,(1985).

7) Kharre Ganesh Hari: Maharashtrachi Char Daiwat

by Shri G.H. Khare Pune (1958).

(NOTIONS)

Reflections of Colonial Traces in Post-Colonial Time in Arun Kolatkar’s “Kala Ghoda Poems”.

Vishwanath Motiram Patil* ------Arun Kolatkar was born in 1932 in Kolhapur. He worked as graphic artist in Bombay. He was a brilliant bilingual poet, who wrote in English and Marathi. His major works in English are the boatride (1968), Jejuri (1976), Sarpa Satra (2003), Kala Ghoda Poems (2004), and The Boatride and Other Poems (2009). His major works in Marathi are such as Arun Kolatkarchya Kavita (1976), Chirimiri (2003), Bhijki Vahi (2003) and Droan (2004). The essay shows the reflection of Post-Colonial traces in Bombay (Mumbai) through Arun Kolatkar’s Kala Ghoda Poems . Keywords: Kolatkar, Kala, Ghoda, Post-Colonialism, King Edward VII, South Bombay, Kala Ghoda Festival’, Rajabai Tower, Prince of Wales Museum, Jijamata Udyan, Jahangir Art Gallery etc. Post-Colonialism refers in literary studies to literary texts produced in countries and cultures that have come under the control of European powers at some points in their history. The volume, Kala Ghoda Poems , contains twenty eight poems. Each poem has many sections ranging from one to thirty one. Through these poems Kolatkar draws an entire range of many kinds of people and things that throng the streets of Kala Ghoda area as the pavement dwellers, pi-dog, Parmeshwari, Meera, Silver Triangle, Ogress, child prostitute, barefoot queen, the idli vendor, the waste picker, the grandma, rat-poison seller, the alcoholic, charas pill sellers, bums and leapers, dogs, cats, crow, the blind man, rubbish, old tyres, cellist, potato peelers, and so on. The researcher has selected few poems from the volume Kala Ghoda Poems for this article. The poems reflect the traces of post colonialism. The poems are also reflections of Kolatkar’s stay in Mumbai and his minute observations of the life of people in Mumbai and their life style. Most of the time of his life, he spent in Mumbai. The poems reflect what he had seen, smelt, experienced and observed in Bombay as a graphic artist. The title ‘Kala Ghoda’ comes from a very crowded

location in South Bombay, where is located one of the famous art galleries in Bombay- the Jahangir Art Gallery. This is a space that has imposing colonial monuments, like Rajabai Tower and the Prince of Wales Museum. The Hindi Phrase, ‘Kala Ghoda’ literally means ‘black horse’ which refers to an equestrian monument of King Edward VII in black granite, a statue that was donated by Sir Alfred Sassoon in commemoration of the King’s visit to India and to Bombay in 1876. The monument was vandalized by some miscreants with a nationalist political agenda in 1965 and it now graces the zoological gardens of the Jijamata Udyan in Byculla, Bombay. But the area continues to be referred to by this now non-existent statue of colonial hegemony. (N. Shobhana, Saturday, 26 September 2009). ‘Kala Ghoda’ is one of the famous areas in South Bombay, where every year ‘Kala Ghoda Festival’ takes place. The tourists and artists from all over the world and the corners of the country participate in it with the regional colours and flavours of arts, crafts and skills. The poem Pi-dog series of nine sections builds up the colonial atmosphere of the location Kala Ghoda area. It emphasizes on the spatial descriptions of Kala Ghoda area. It can be analyzed at two levels as: a. as the poet speaker, he expresses his struggle, his search for identity and to establish possession over the area. b. as the Pi- dog speaker, he claims ownership of Kala Ghoda in the early morning hours. It means after independence of the country everybody fumbling their identity in post colonial time. The second section builds up the geographical location of seventeenth century Bombay of seven islands today’s progressive Mumbai. It contrasts old and progressive Bombay as: I look bit like a seventeen –century map of Bombay with its seven islands (Kolatkar, 2004: 16) The Pi-dog compares itself with the map, because the seven islands are nothing but the seven black spots on its body i.e. parchment. It reflects the meaninglessness of life on the traffic island in post colonial period. It also presents the character of Sir Bartle Frere and the hunting dog, which he had deliberately imported from England to Bombay in 1864. It reflects the dominance, supremacy and impact of colonization in India. Despite the bio-cultural superiority of the fox hounds from England, the native 11

Pi- dog has denied the space in the physical as well as cultural sense of the term. It is in search of its ancestral background. Therefore the poet (the Pi-dog) says: that killed the rest of the pack of thirty foxhounds, imported all the way from England (Kolatkar, 2004: 17) The foxhounds die – the native pie-dogs survive. Who is superior? Mr. the British or the Indian dogs. Another section locates the historical location and monuments as St. Andrew’s Church and the Bombay University. It focuses the light on the extension of building in Mumbai. The increasing influence of colonization in the lines as: the city slowly reconstructs itself, stone by numbered stone. (Kolatkar, 2004: 23) St. Andrew's Church is one of the oldest churches in Bombay, built by the Portuguese Jesuits in 1575. The only Church on the sea-shore of Bandra suburb and was there till the first quarter of the seventeenth century. The section nine builds up the atmosphere out of the location of Max Mueller Bhavan in Mumbai and characters of a dog and a leggy young girl with a violin case in her hand. Max Muller Bhavan is located opposite to the spot where the statue of Kala Ghoda was. The dog as if smells everything of that girl by quivering his nose. The poem, Words For A Cellist, builds the character of the cello player who remembers world famous music composers, Henry Purcell, Boccherini and Beethoven and the location of Max Mueller Bhavan in Mumbai. After the class of classical music at Max Mueller Bhavan, he stands at Kala Ghoda traffic island waiting for a taxi with his awkward burden of depression and restlessness and watching the pavement dwellers there. Here the poet reaches the international level. These are also traces of post colonialism. The poem, David Sassoon, is on David Sassoon and David Sassoon Library and Reading Room founded in 1847. It is one of the famous buildings in the Kala Ghoda area. The sections have touches of postcolonial time. The section first, gives the biographical account of David Sassoon, the merchant prince of Bombay. He was a Persian potentate of the city. The building bears his name and his half statue-bust- is

carved on the front of the building in the pediment above the archway. He feels it as a punishment of pillory. Therefore David Sassoon says: my soul in Sheol, my bones in a grave somewhere on the grounds of a synagogue in Poona. (Kolatkar, 2004:142) According to the ancient Hebrew theology Sheol is the dwelling place of the dead persons. He arrived in India as a merchant and died in Poona, where he is buried in the synagogue opposite B. J. Medical College grounds and Nehru Memorial Hall. The Section second David Sassoon mentioned that his bodily state is free from, cough and colds and from other running costs and doctor’s bills. He is rich enough now to buy the Bank of England from the saving on the consumption of his toilet soap. He is worried about the expiry of the lease of the library of 1999 years that makes him disturbed. The Section fifth is a short section about the import and export business of the Sassoon and Company through the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the China Sea. The company had the export and import business of gold, silver, gums, spices, cotton, silks, wool, opium, wheat and tea. The Section seven presents the mood of David’s repentance to be carved on the stones of the building. It gives the location and the sick condition of the city. He hates more and more unrecognized observers and the spectators of Mumbai every year. Therefore David describes the city as: A cement-eating blood-guzzling city pissing silver, shitting gold, and choking on its vomit. (Kolatkar, 2004: 148) Hence he feels a prisoner posthumously wearing a stone collar around the neck in Bombay instead of Bagdad without any hope. He has been forced to watch the slow disintegration of the city. He is the well wisher and care taker of the city than any other. The Section eighth presents the location of old Fort St. George fall, moorish dome of the Prince of Wales Museum. It describes the visions visible to him while hanging on the building. He has been seeing the twenty seven feet high wall of the old Fort St. George fall, moorish dome of the Prince of Wales Museum, gaslights, horse trams and 13

horseless carriages breed like rabbits. The plague of motor-cars choked the streets of Bombay. The Section ninth the removal of the statue of the prince, riding the black horse popularly known as Kala Ghoda, is beautiful and the magnificent statue of a Field Marshal, horse rider. In the postcolonial times, the statue was removed from the front area of Hornby Road and it was sent to zoo. The valiant British commander even after that stood the ground and the statue is with the sword, the medal, the hat and his baldhead covered with bird droppings. The section tenth shows that Sir Richard Temple unveiled the statue of Sir Albert Sassoon, David’s son. The father thinks that this work and the knighthood that his son earned were on the payment of ten thousand pounds. In his views that statue smells badly as a monument of psychology. The Section eleventh had Abdulla or Sir Albert stayed in Baghdad, his father thinks that he would have been awarded there because of his tendencies and practices of flattering the rulers. In this way, the poet indirectly reflects the traces of colonial atmosphere in post colonial time through the volume Kala Ghoda Poems .

Reference:- 1. Balaram Gupta A. S. Indian Writing in English: Is There Worth in It? Asian Studies 2. Beckson, Karl-Ganz Arthur. A Reader’s Guide to Literary Terms Dictionary. Chandigarh: Vishal Publishers and Distributors, 1982. Centre, Michigan State University. 1981. 3. Goodman, W.R. Quintessence of Literary Essays. Delhi: Doaba House, 2000. 4. Kolatkar, Arun. Kala Ghoda Poems. Pune: Pras Prakashan, 2006. 5. Marjorie, Boulton. The Anatomy of poetry. Routledge and Kegan Paul: 1982. 6. Nerlekar, Anjali. Essay on Arun Kolatkar’s ‘Kala Ghoda Poems’. 26 th September 2009. 7. Patankar, Vasant. Arun Kolatkaranchi Kavita Kahi Drushtikshep. Mumbai: Marathi Vibhag, Mumbai Vidyapeeth, 2004.

8. Shobhana, N. Essay on Arun Kolatkar’s ‘Kala Ghoda Poems’, ‘Reading Together: Kala Ghoda Poems by Kolatkar With Anjali Nerlekar. Saturday, 26 September 2009. 9. Wolfreys, Julian. Robbins, Ruth. and Womack, Kenneth. Key Concepts in Literary Theory. New-Delhi: Atlantic Publication. 2005.

Vishwanath Motiram Patil* (Vice- Principal) S. P. D. M. Arts, S. H. D. & S. B. B. Comm. And S. M. A. Science College, Shirpur, Dist-Dhule, Maharashtra (India) Cell No.: 9881928543 (SHIRUR)