Land, simplicity and a dream - II

Appreciation

Poetry is the art of painting with words. A true poem paints an image in the mind of the reader, a new image for every reader and a new image everytime the reader reads it. This poem here is one such painting.

Observe the images in this poem. A big expanse of land, a single building standing erect in it, coconut trees, a well with clear water, cool moonlight, a very gentle breeze... this is painting of rest. This is a painting in which the background is work and the image is rest. This poem speaks of rest after a hard day's work. It shows very clearly how rest blends into work instead of the two being opposing entities.

And what rest! A rest that is absolute stillness. The coconut trees do not sway, the breeze is gentle, the cuckoo too shouts from a distance. Everything has an ethereal stillness about it. Even the lover, the lady with our poet is still. She just sits there with Barathi and his songs. Observe the subtle change in the word vENdum (வேண்டும்). Once Barathi asks for the coconut trees and from there on goes towards the breeze, the moon and the other natural aspects, the word becomes vENum (வேணும்) a rustic version. It is thus that Barathi the sophisticated poet becomes the rustic man seeking rest.

I spoke about work being the background. Let us reconstruct this background. Barathi wakes up early in the morning, to the chirping of the sparrows. He goes out into the field with his plough and toils in the earth. His sweat shines in the glow of the afternoon sun. His sinews gleam and twist as his arms push the plough lovingly into the field. Then finally, the sun goes down on the Western horizon.

Barathi comes home. A single lighted lamp welcomes him. He sees the idol of parAsakthi in this light. It is then he decides to ask boons from Her. He does not ask for mere rest - that is there in his hut. He asks for rest that brings peace.

A vast tract of land, open and unbound like the soul itself. In this land he asks for a building, a pure white building with strong pillars. And even this building he says 'kattith thara vENdum', Sakthi must build this building and give it to him, meaning it is She who shall build and destroy. Action is Hers alone. Only rest belongs to man.

And then, he seeks coolness. His body and soul are sweating from the heat generated from sheer action. He is a man of fire. He has kept the tAmasic fire of the night alvie in his sleep. Then the day has fed his wild rAjasic fire driving his action. Now in the evening, he seeks from his sakthi the cool sAttvic fire of love. And this fire of coolness comes from the moon, the coconut trees by the well, the breeze and above all the love of his Goddess.

Look at this - siththam magiznththidavE nanRAy iLanthenRal varavENum (சித்தம் மகிழ்ந்திடவே நன்றாய் இளந்தென்றல் வரவேணும்). The breeze touches and pleases his siththam, his mind not his body. It is thus that everything in this kANi nilam of his touches the soul and cools it.

It is thus that man should act and rest. When he works, the sun, the land and the stream should aid him in his task. And when he rests, they should touch his soul and lead him to harmony. He should work when the world around him rests in peaceful harmony. He should toil when the birds sing in joy, when the morning sun looks at him with calm, when the breeze around stands in rapt stillness. And then he should come home and rest when the breeze plays, when the moon shines forth with purpose, when the jasmine toils hard in spreading Her fragrance. Then his work blends with nature's rest and his rest with Her work. It is then that the land that he walks on truly becomes his. It is then that the earth holds him in Her arms like a mother holding a child. It is thus that Barathi lived and wrote. It is thus that life must be lived.

Lyrical translation has not been attempted as it might be difficult to adhere to the original poem. Any attempt by readers is very much welcome.

Adaptation

My dear Mother,
These I need from you.
Land, a vast expanse of it
Free and open like the mind you gave me.

In this land,
a home you shall build.
A home with pillars strong and pristine.
A home you shall build.

In this land,
a few coconut trees with cool leaves and sweet water
Placed at your will
near the well.

In this land,
you shall give me the moon,
the distant bird and the gentle breeze
to touch my soul.

Thus when I lay,
a woman you shall give
a woman for my songs
of beauty, freedom and union.

In this land,
my Mother,
you shall stand protecting me.
Me and this sooting peace.

Give these my mother.
And then I shall in return
Save this world of yours
with the magic of my songs.

Read Chenthil's translation of the same poem here.

Download the entire translation (Complete with word by word meaning) of this poem as a PDF here.

Land, simplicity and a dream

Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
And Wilderness is Paradise enow. - Omar Khayyam

I read somewhere, 'It is very simple to be happy, but so difficult to be simple.' Perhaps it is because simplicity is something so fundamental and omnipresent that we always lose it - the same way breathing goes unnoticed because of its ubiquity. But the fact is, be it breathing or simplicity (or breathing simplicity), practising both leads to a better life.

The human soul, in essence, has a very organic and basic connection with the earth, mud, sand, rock and clay. That is where we came from and that is where our body finally goes. As a child we play on the sand, when we grow up we write the names of our beloved on it, then we trace lost footprints and finally become food for the same, perhaps some day blooming as a flower or as a blade of green grass. Land is possibly the most basic reason for all human actions after love. Wars have been fought, leaders have been born and struggles have been faced-all in the name of land and its freedom. Even today, when people speak about the real estate boom, what they essentially mean is that we are still attached to mud and clay...but we've lost the innocence of playing with them.

Today we seek electronic gadgets, talk and reality shows, shopping experiences and planned vacations to free the mind, to relax. But no relaxation was needed as long as man worked on land, as long as he let his bare feet touch her as he tilled Her with his plough. There he toiled while listening to the song of the birds, while bathing in the glorious sunlight, while beads of sweat dazzled like diamonds on his body, while the breeze caressed and kissed him. He toiled with the knowledge that a loving wife would bring him food at mid-day. He toiled knowing that the gurgling brook nearby would refresh him soon. He worked in freedom. His work found expression in the world around him. There was a self sufficiency in everything he did. His art reflected this.

And even as we move away from this idyllic peace, it is this art of the bygone era that still holds us back. A few of us, when we read these poems of simple desire,close our eyes and dream of a silent tranquil world where work, effort and toil blend seamlessly into the background of silence and peace. We think of this dream, the dream of a promised land, and sigh. Then comes a poet who writes the same words, but this time more from the heart, more truly. Then we see the promise is not altogether false. For even here in our own everyday rut, these songs come as a waft of a gentle breeze and wake us into a world of serenity. And, even if only for a moment, we realize the perfection where action meets purpose and they unite in the calmness of absolute knowledge.

In this translation, I hope to introduce you to one such work and lead you by my hand to this world of eternal peace, to this land...

காணி நிலம் வேண்டும் பராசக்தி காணி நிலம் வேண்டும் - அங்குத்
தூணில் அழகியதாய் நன்மாடங்கள் துய்ய நிறத்தினவாய் - அந்தக்
காணி நிலத்திடையே ஓர் மாளிகை கட்டித் தர வேண்டும் - அங்குக்
கேணியருகினிலே தென்னைமரம் கீற்றும் இளநீரும்

பத்துப் பன்னிரெண்டு தென்னைமரம் பக்கத்திலே வேணும் - நல்ல
முத்துச் சுடர் போலே நிலாவொளி முன்பு வரவேணும் - அங்குக்
கத்தும் குயிலோசை சற்றே வந்து காதிற் படவேணும் - என்றன்
சித்தம் மகிழ்ந்திடவே நன்றாய் இளந்தென்றல் வரவேணும்

பாட்டுக் கலந்திடவே அங்கே ஒரு பத்தினிப் பெண் வேணும் - எங்கள்
கூட்டுக் களியினிலே கவிதைகள் கொண்டு தர வேணும் - அந்தக்
காட்டு வெளியினிலே அம்மா நின்றன் காவலுற வேணும் - என்றன்
பாட்டுத் திறத்தாலே இவ்வையத்தைப் பாலித்திட வேணும்

Transliteration

kANi nilam vENdum parAsakthi kANi nilam vENdum -angguth
thUNil azagiyathAy nanmAdanggaL thuyya niRaththinavAy -anthak
kkANi nilaththidaiyE Or mALigai kattith thara vENdum - angguk
kENiyaruginilE thennaimaram kIRRum iLanIrum

paththup pannireNdu thennaimaram pakkaththilE vENum - nalla
muththuc cudar pOlE nilAvoLi munbu varavENum - angguk
kaththum kuyilOsai saRRE vanththu kAthiR padavENum - enRan
siththam magiznththidavE nanRAy iLanthenRal varavENum

pAttuk kalanthidavE anggE oru paththinip peN vENum - enggaL
kUttuk kaLiyinilE kavithaigaL koNdu tharavENum - anththak
kAttu veLiyinilE ammA ninRan kAvaluRa vENum - enRan
pAttuth thiRaththAle ivvaiyaththaip pAliththida vENum

Meaning per word

Measure of land/(I)want/parAsakthi/Measure of land/want/ - there
In pillars/beautiful/good storey/pure coloured - in between that
Measure of land/one mansion/built and give/want - there
Near the well/coconut tree leaves/tender coconut

Ten twelve/coconut trees/beside/want - good
Pearl/lustre/like/moonlight/front/come/want - there
Shouting/cuckoo sound/little/in the ear/touch/want - my
Mind/to be pleased/well/young breeze/come/want

Song/to be united/there/one/chaste woman/want - (in) our
Union's joy/poems/bring/give/want - in that
Land expanse/mother/your protection/be/want - (by) my
Song's ability/this world/cherish/want

I happened to realize not everybody might be interested in the detailed word by word translation fo the poem going into grammatical and semantical details. So the same is available here as a PDF file for those interested.

(Detailed explanation in the next post)