ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER Karunakaran B Shaji

P ARIPEX -INDIANJOURNALOFRESEARCH social Encountering In motif perceptible considerations c of these contemporaries. owe Kerala parallels poetic manifested b turbulent e v he organising G downtrodden d revived In comparable K elsewhere. movement inSouthIndiaandsimilarstrainsofdissentrevolt v almost abetted challenging with work Narayana The Sree quest. these known renunciation. m certain emblematic w themes a of imprints T INTRODUCTION Shaji Karunakaran B e i r m h o e e s u a e period y r 22 Asan's society. a e the u r

r r s y a constantly s i a m

n u a i s t . t perceptible o most l a

which

i ABSTRACT y e h l e , a Narayana c a i of has movements n

reality images n I s individual n , d great i career i t n matchless s

s i K s exempliﬁed

e t active inﬂuence poets This

n poets t unprecedented

often t Asan's m forces t l in u o and r m and y

g g h of a themes. poetry g no m r Guru,

, But e

perceptible r e n P.B.Shelley, i the a

i e Though c Guru s n

s themselves t a d streams deal y analogy paper time. s u a which a and participation h e e of d r

often parallels

p l t c role of of e a reminded refurbished d The

of with r leave and e SNDP r

v i c g History poetry. n s that r a

a Asan, p and a e p e counter Guru i who i

social n Asan dissent, n to Malayalam. t t there r t unleashed e e Malayalam o

upsetting achievements on u o i h A g which that d The He s a d offers poetic e a marginalised he a

the

e Sree wreaks

t s greatly e instances, t s their make i l Yogam, with a

a t o of r the s themes o

i d is h discovered t y n n the o f was f drew n in

d y the Asan inﬂuence . r same reformer, e is themes

d c inﬁnitely

s o

as i i interiority

i Narayana s n E himself

had offensive poet in o the P m a a hardly distrust s RENAISSANCE ANDTRANSCENDENTALISM KUMARAN ASAN-POETICDISCOURSESIN that instance c z

impact lore i o o - o n English a in n one asked ORIGINAL RESEARCHPAPER h o revolution socio-political to p

ﬁ conﬁned f havoc e s c d the t the the took the

a m o a n

e i t which history forces begun

acts literature It a v w r b of l n e v of had i p Sankara y it of e a t t of s e of

s e can h reformative

i wind l v

t in any i c s subjected e people. of t Buddha. would stronghold d t i the r Indian on to e h Asst.Professor poet over folk c t a c u and revolution y Kumaran of a m the Romanticist.

with e n of o a Guru which h l begins social

been to n c

his d a he witness s

e be t and o i to explicit r the of Asan

ways

n n

to p n c of e f rebellion Brahminical m most rareﬁed by t earth d w g

e o discharged Hinduism r and a t shake poetic o seen the o

offers Kerala.

x a G u the ﬁnd l centuries u radical i and

i that t p scenario, artistic As r perceptible t challenging c a t and l perhaps n and h u d r i l i r o n to whereby e i e a had to

i r e t

thinker t n collective d s u s geographical e and c zeal creative Asan the s t y representation alone bound. b resonance

some that . ﬂ of

' r h t s of the perambulations underline ,

educational s e vocation. a historical e a i

i s complex e o

spheres c S

l l social d y The and been D

w l t n trusted m Sree the o participate. y self of t n

i r very a r n s

to in a o are t e one r a dutifully o

authority, ago, no l of g h t y u his i s n whose though c v conﬂicts DESSH, t r o relentless s

e p Asan retaliation. m e caste phases a

e s in It

mobilise f currents Narayana the his s reformation, having o i

that d unconscious one m n foundations

t d poetry i l i of n s h e

is a n s of d a e analysis in i e images disciple Instead the a s c n e has i n a illustrious a i n upper n i s e v here different

d space b the t g s has two spiritual s reforms

esoteric t e life n i of even ediﬁce, , r i

e o

B e d of i minor in These prime n o t could n b some t Guru A h d been from s

h y RIE, Sree over t t ever best e

zeal u and and a e

s h t e the the the the distinct a caste Guru, o h a k e l of s o t as of of of of e In t r t n n o p e e s s f r i the Mysore hegemony Social major streams language caste and all Asan who the Renaissance zealthatwasbeginning torevealitselfasaresultof s to thesocialreformationunleashed bythesheerverveandsilent The the mysticism period. degree movement brilliant their The The to revelation, Asan's Journeys times. which has than Though I between M.Govindan though Attempts their an sentient that work. consequent self-revelation of proﬁle It humanity. enlightenment compassionate d characters Through thetalesoftransformationsandtransliterationsthathis the into turbulent q a i b s g is which a his emancipatory c a a Buddhist efforts to cultural mode spirituality energies Ulloor o l something c historical here overwhelms presence Reformer, corresponding joined , some social poetic pioneered

v i If major t be the was e all M y It of of there the compassionate r commendable

fusion too could Asan's

a there social seen o to major a in of that of social interiority V h a inﬂuence are of S. leading f these order, and the on olume-8 |Issue-5May-2019PRINTISSNNo.2250-1991 signature poetic j

transformation. n power works left place o Search plotting metaphysic. contemporary unleashed Sree suggests G Parameswara

his is o in milieu subjected against e leading that in be u the r discernible Scholar realities ranks is of an transmuted its , Bodhisatvas t a the poems poetic critique the r

Guru impulse h their u contemporaries, the a Asan's attributed separate Narayana S Asan's brilliance o mark . of abiding an onto and throes

u critique echo is s underbelly of rareﬁed characterises I are b will

makes t of Kumaran Asan poetry waiting

r empathetic the emancipatory t the and output a Self the and h transform are h Buddha-hood. is by edge, his of on m a at begin underprivileged a a in to of poetry s t replete a remarkable speciﬁc kind of the the principle left strategy the his

Bhasha concerned the work. Iyer enthused n poets trauma Poet. and of the A undergo, KEY WORDS: Literature tradition interiority Bodhisatvas RenaissanceBhasha mysticism Bhaktimovement Guru often partly himself b s n spaces of politely a o e Buddhist and character poetry. y at which social behind to the of like poetry m

Asan, a of take radical radical Asan, ingenuity against c

the e reveal the But r the like Arguably concern and B the it to the enlightenment, socio-political found i t those contemporary minded tradition t w h i of i of wherein m available q of movements their with a the w society. other impulse had volunteers. poetic one at rejecting u of in Vallathol the r e poetry with essential strains His partly spirituality it w forces a reformation spiritual metaphysic e poetic the s caught t the his the Asan. d .w profound of

is subaltern i to

lineage of

an poetry of poetic b its for orldwidejournals a essentially t community dynamics Rabindranath end society a e the aesthetics National h be same n in the Asan to g ameliorating self the r that of d of own the for of

o i Always aesthetics. Malayalam.

Esoteric n on at Narayana lore poet's u most the of crisis, most Asan P contrast s milieu of reveals During g credo exploration social and fellow the poet a

from social time, may begins variations the h spirituality corresponding owes status d the seems t set the

o during of u mystique of perspective, t

perceptive moment m metaphysic inﬂuential h one cross there during of reading quest be r spectrum. his the of time begins of of e his begins a e the reformist strains scenario. suffering primarily this

the i gave s to Tagore, existing p to Menon greater leaders Kerala, A r e poetry issues. charm vision. of i a When upper .com those t roads m pro- is mark be d have h poet time high with and and and this i b the a the c his of of of to of to n at l a e . l PARIPEX - INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH Volume-8 | Issue-5 | May-2019 | PRINT ISSN No. 2250 - 1991 with the mainstream poetic traditions. It was the rare instance of A New Aesthetics of Poetry listening to the voice of the voiceless and that voice carried the Under the radically changed circumstances of confrontation and power of sublimity and conviction. conflict it was necessary to invent a new poetics that would accommodate debate, discussion and the invocation to revolt The cultural assertion of identity that Asan made in his society has against injustices. So the plots and human players have to be its roots in the movement of social reformation inaugurated by refashioned. The shallow substance of the old poetry sedated with Narayana Guru, which in turn has to be examined against the soio- themes of eroticism, devotional and balladic heroism had to wiped cultural and historic dimensions of Kerala society of those times. It clean to make way for the new aesthetics of poetry. It had been the would be impossible to understand the regionalised complexities unparalleled fusion of zeit-geist and individual genius of the most of Indian caste system from an outsider's perspective. It is so remarkable poet of the century. infused into the socio-cultural and historical fabric of Kerala which has be exclusively seen from the perspective of the people who are The publication of Veena Poovu (The Withered Flower) in 1909, caught in its harrowing reality. It primarily as 'exists and functions marked off the beginning of new aesthetics, with it numerous as a regional system' (M.N.Srinivas, 1987, 3). Because of its explicit dimensions of internal debate as well as the philosophic and mystic and implicit territorial implications, the members of the caste are rumination elegantly supported by the synergy of astonishing vastly confined to the territory that is holding them. Asan's poetry similes and metaphors. From his unsympathetic critique of provides a graphic representation of the issues of the social Vallathol's Chithrayogam, it is evident that Asan had a troubled mobility of his characters. relation with the literary traditions of the day. He condemned poems of similar sort which had no relationship with the lived MARGINALISED VOICES reality of the people. It was natural for him to abhor the cultural Asan ventures into an exploration of the issues of the people exclusiveness of closed communities as he derived the inspiration weighed down, ostracised and excluded from the mainstream life from the masses who had no access to the facade of elitism, the both in his social and poetic life. It is interesting to note that his life prerogative of the upper castes. as a poet and activist are complimentary if the numerous editorials he wrote, the speeches he made in the legislative council, book Caste confrontations had become a regular feature of the reviews, as well as in his letters and memorandums. The eighteenth century, as the upper classes were disinclined to shed interventions he made in the Kerala society is a pointer to this fact. the prerogatives they enjoyed purely because of their claims to By 1805, the British had near complete success in bringing most of superiority. The end result of this ego trip had been the deprivation the princely states of Kerala under their control. It is estimated that of the last figment of humanism. Ayyankali (1863-1941), the Dalit there were more than 220 castes in Kerala during this period. The leader and scholar was in the forefront of this strife against the British who could not have an insider's reality of caste system left it caste oppression which often amounted to perpetration of to itself, while embarking on a series of administrative reforms. So physical violence. Asan used the platform of Vivekodayam to refer there came into an existence a rather paradoxical relationship to the caste riots. In one of them he sardonically comments that at between social dynamics and political reality. least through physical indulgence in violence, men could remain the oblivious of untouchability for the time being. It could be prime The historical fact is that 'caste became the colonial form of civil motif behind Asan's obsession with the ironic treatment of touch, society; it justified the denial of political rights to Indian subjects which is capable of bringing about a transformation and thereby (not citizens) and explained the necessity of colonial rule' ( Nicholas transcendentalism in the participating actors. The emerging B Dirks, 2003, 16). The total significance of the historical critique could be spotted in the works of Kunchan Nambiar whose intervention made by Narayana Guru will be understood if it is pointed sarcasm and ironic understatement served as a powerful examined if the juxtaposing of caste as a category in the colonial social commentary. context and its validation as well as political suppression. VEENA POOVU Guru made a scientific as well as an intuitive analysis of the social The institutionalising attribute of caste and its consequent fabric and found that the caste and religion are poles apart. The tendency to turn into agent of self destruction is stated vast elite facade of Hinduism pays only scant regard or pretends subliminally in Veena Poovu. The narrative space of the poem criminal ignorance of the lot of the downtrodden people of the discovers the interior space within language. The ruminative lower castes, who themselves are seen under the unsentimental attribute of the poem withdraws the reality from body to the self. label of Hinduism. When religion is mostly preoccupied with a In the interweaving spaces of desire, memory and prospects of quest for the self knowledge, which could be an intensely death, the gentle note of transcendentalism sets in, releasing the subjective state of things, whereas caste is a political statement static body into world of agitated momentum. The strain is which can be systematically used against a people who are faithfully continued in Karuna (1923), where the haunting gentle perpetually doomed to live a marginalised survival. It becomes a reminder of Upaguptha is ricocheted in the guilt ridden relentless tale of exploitation of a hapless people who are rarely let conscience of Vasavadatta, the courtesan of Mathura, It is not the into moments of self-introspection, let alone self-awareness. The time yet. The ephemeral temporality of body and its destructive consecration of the idol of Siva at Aruvippuram was the most temptations is richly suggested in both poems. audacious act which sparked off a silent revolution whose

powerful tides have not lost their brilliant sheen even after the We encounter the characters of Asan and the poetic discourse they passage of a century. It had been the most vociferous engage in at the crossroads of history where the time stands still manifestation of the historical need to revive the sagging morale of for a moment, paying heed to the passion and intensity of the the vast sections of people who had never been into the hallowed debate that is set in motion. The narrative of contingency and crisis space of self-knowledge and wisdom. becomes too imminent and immediate to be ignored. The self

begins to undertake a journey that is involutionary and Guru trusted and expected his protege Asan, to disseminate this autochthonous. The facades of history which is built upon fabled spark of awareness to the people who were desperately looking folklores of manufactured mythology and elitism is demolished for that. In the perceptible strain of Asan's poetry this theme of compelling one to perceive the dark core of the unadorned truth social reality and commitment is too obvious even when and self. Asan's poetry attains this marvellous feat in all in apparently scaling heights almost unprecedented in the whole unassuming demeanour. gamut of Malayalam poetry. Asan's arrival on the scene of Malayalam poetry coincides with tumultuous events in history of Kerala. It was the time of rising historical conflict between the Thus Spake the Buddha aggressive enterprise of the upper classes to exert control over The Leif-motif of both Chandalabhikshuki and Karuna seems to be institutions of power and the fierce resistance of the marginalised resurrection and reclaiming of the soul and self from the repressive communities to resist it. Asan took over the mantle of the caste epidemic. The poet seeks to subvert the internal dynamics of spokesman and vociferous champion of these masses who were poetics to attain this. In this poetic dialectics, Asan ensured the traditionally confined to the sidelines. participation of the traditionally oppressed classes, the dynamics www.worldwidejournals.com 23 PARIPEX - INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH Volume-8 | Issue-5 | May-2019 | PRINT ISSN No. 2250 - 1991 of a people who were ultimately on the throes of discovering Landscapes of Soul themselves and human dignity that was denied to them till the day, The terrifying grotesque images of the graveyard in the second and a minority from the elite upper classes who were too willing to part of the poem are juxtaposed against the luxurious interiors in join the forces change and radicalisation. It is essential to note that the first section. This pattern could be spotted in many poems of the apparent elements of Sanskritization in his poetry should not Asan like Nalini, Leela and Chintavishtayaya Sita. The poetic be mistaken for aping the neo-classical models, but a forbidding strategy here is the subversion of the optics of desire as the effort to usurp the Brahminical authority and discourse in poetry. imagery of colonising ambition and predatory characteristic of He could not be blind to the fact the Brahminical hierarchy could authority. The intense gaze of Upagupta shatters the brittle be humanised only through the acts of transgression and structures and exposes their meaninglessness. Asan with his subversion. Thus Asan transformed a historical context into an romantic sublimity leads the claustrophobic self indulgent confines effective forward movement by containing, transfixing and of feudal luxury to the luminous world that is waiting to dawn in. transforming all inherent elements of contradiction. The individualist fantasies of possessing the world for itself is replaced with the all inclusive self of communal reality, which Many of the poems of Asan, including Chinthavishtayaya Sita ( offers political alternatives to hegemonies of the earlier world. In 1919), offer extensive internalised debates on the power the real life one may not able these dualities poised against each structures and their wallowing apathy to the human predicament. other often, as they tend to disseminate into each other's space. In this acclaimed masterpiece, the poet takes recourse to a retelling The artistic self of the poet is engaged in a never ending process of of Ramayana from the perspective of Sita. Even as she is exposing the vacuity of this apparent illusions. With remarkable traditionally eulogised as the ultimate embodiment of feminine acumen and vociferousness, Asan reveals the possibilities of the virtue and chastity, in this solitary rumination, the reader is let into ultimate realisation of this ideal. the torn self of the much tortured and abused self of a woman. She is presented as a hapless victim of a governing system which is In Asan's description of the gloomy weird landscape that serves as authoritarian and patriarchal to the core. It is the assertive state of the backdrop of Vasadatta's last moments in the burial ground, he the woman who wakes up finally to discover her authentic self that is reaching or even excelling the classical masters. Endless stretches ultimately encounters the male tyranny. In the subversive poetic of unforgiving landscape of inhospitable wasteland on the sandy imagery the entire power structure is exposed through meticulous banks of Yamuna punctuated with overgrown Palmyra trees. act of deconstruction. Sita's waking consciousness is presented in Along with it is spotted giant peepul tree 'swaying like a gigantic terms of the fire imagery. Her body is embroiled in coils of flames graveyard ghoul with flames on its head. Adding horror to the richly suggesting her passionate workings of her consciousness. scenario, jackals and vultures can be seen feeding on half burnt Through crisis of Sita, poets is richly suggesting the inescapable bodies and pieces of bones 'shining white like broken conch shells' paradox of power itself. . By the side of the dismembered dying Vasavadatta a grieving woman can be seen scaring away rooks by waving a peepul twig. It Karuna is an adaptation of a Buddhist tale from Bodhisatvapadana is the perfect painting of this landscape that adds to this part of this Kalpalata. Vasavasatta, the lascivious courtesan is enamoured to part of the poem, its ineffable charm. Ananda, the wandering Buddhist mendicant, who keeps on endlessly dissuading her passionate appeals with a prescient 'It is CONCLUSION not yet time'. The courtesan's fate takes a volte face and plummets This scene which is a visual assault to the finer sensibilities is to the nadir as she is implicated in a crime of murder. Nemesis intended as a clear contrast to the beginning of the poem, when catches with her as she lies mutilated by the King's executioners in Vasavadatta was reigning supreme in her mansion of ultimate the graveyard awaiting her imminent death. Poet precisely indulgence like a queen. She is simultaneously an object and chooses this moment for the meeting of the Bhikshu and the victim. Her desire to meet Upagupta could be part of her unstated courtesan. Her final moments in the presence of Upagupta turn desire to transcend the world of mindless indulgence. Asan into a journey to the self. cunningly sets the musical cadence of the poem to the rocking rhythm, considered to be one of the most enchanting and Vasavadatta's incurable temptation to indulge perpetually is haunting strains of music in the world. The mendicant is employs suggested by the opulence of her mansion. Like a romantic the metaphor of river to convey the flux of time: 'The river flows at odalisque, she could be reclining on the sinfully soft, perfumed times full of mud, and at other times, it becomes pure and clear. pillows on her couch. This forbidden indulgence will have its Your time is not unlimited, you who are sensible should not give inevitable poetic justice and retribution towards the end of the yourself upto to pain and grief in vain' (374). poem when she is lying dismembered in the funeral ground

surrounded by dreaded and horrible images of death and decay. It In the presence of the monk, the courtesan is transformed. Her is difﬁcult to miss this eerie note of parallelism and contrast moment of death and enlightenment coincides in all its inﬁnite running through the chequered career of the courtesan. compassion and beauty. But more than the transformation of an

individual, a vaster scheme of things seem to be emerging at the Perhaps the most forbidding task for the reader is difficulty in end of the poem. Upagupta epitomises the universal light capable comprehending Vasavadatta's passion for Upagupta, the of transforming the lives, providing them the knowledge that till penurious mendicant, something that goes against her kernel. But the time remained unavailable to them. The knowledge dawning the poet offers the cryptic explanation by commenting that even beyond the last crystal reaches of sunlight. those who mindlessly gorge the sumptuous fare to their fill will not able resist the temptation for exotic delicacies. The desire becomes an end in itself for Vasavadatta, rather than a worthwhile means REFERENCES: 1. Asan,N. Kumaran 1995. Asante Padyakritikal, Thrissur: Current Books. for a further cause. Desires are often resting on the promise of self 2. Balakrishnan, P.K., 2006. Narayana Guru: Oru Samahara Grantham. Kottayam: contributing instead of fitting into a definitive schemes of social D.C.Books framework of reference. Here the poet is subtly suggesting the 3. Sanu, M.K.2003. Asanthiyilninnu Santhiyilekku. Kottayam: D.C.Books 4. Shaji, K.N. 2002. Narayana Guru: Jeevitham, Krithikal, Darsanam. Thrissur: Current Buddhist principle of abstention and sentient compassion which is Books. alone is capable of curing an indulgent life of its maledictions. Desire endlessly ensnare the subject in cyclic patterns from which there can be no easy way out. In a powerful pointer to this truth, the poet by introducing a trader who arrives 'with scarlet silk cloth frilled and tucked up' and a 'golden girdle encircling the waist outside'. It should not be missed that in world poetry, including that of T.S.Eliot, silk has been employed as the ultimate metaphor of luxurious and sinful acts of indulgence. While letting herself overwhelmed by these themes, the mystic ethereal radiance of Upagupta might have instilled the momentary craving for the transcendentalism she must now usher into her life. 24 www.worldwidejournals.com