Hello friends,
Here in this blog I am talking about the author who won the Sahitya akademi award 2021. The name of the author is Arundhati Subramaniam. The work is "When God is a Traveller" got the Sahitya Akademi 2021 award in English Language.
Whenever any award is given to anyone, we have curiosity to know which type of work is written by him or her. What is the theme and the subject matter of the author. Which type of metaphor is used by him or her. This blog is the answer to all curiosity.
The given below poem is a titular poem from the collection.
When God Is a Traveller
Arundhati Subramaniam
(wondering about Kartikeya/ Muruga/ Subramania, my namesake)
Trust the god back from his travels, his voice wholegrain (and chamomile),
his wisdom neem, his , 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— auspiciousness, 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.
So let's discuss the poem in detail…
If we want to talk about the title of the poem. Then Perhaps the title of the poetry collection " When God is a Traveller" suggests the god kartikeya. Because in the first line of the poem we come to know that trust the god back from his travel. If we know about the journey of kartikeya then and then we come to know the context of the poem. He was also known as Murugan, Subramania, Skanda and Kumara. He is the Hindi god of war. He was the brother of the god Ganesha. And son of Shiva and Parvati.
If we know the story of Ganesh and kartikeya then we can understand the Poem in a better way. Because we listen to the very constructive story of Ganesha and kartikeya. Here it seems like the poet tried to give a prominent voice to the story of Kartikeya rather than the story of Ganesha. Here the poet might deconstruct the story of Ganesha and try to give a greater position to kartikeya. Simply the story is that once goddess Parvati had a divine fruit wanted by both her sons Ganesha and Kartikeya. Lord Shiva decided that the one who circles the world three times and comes back first would get it as a prize. Kartikeya swiftly got on his peacock and embarked his voyage. Ganesha was well aware that his enormous form and his vehicle, the mouse, spoiled his chances of winning the race. After a little thinking, Ganesha started walking around his parents, Lord Shiva and Parvati. When they asked him why he was not circling the world, he answered My world is at my parent’s feet. He not only won the fruit but also earned the admiration of other gods.
In the story we can say that Kartikeya proves himself, instead Ganesha circling his parents like it is an excuse. Because if we go by the rules then kartikeya was the winner. He fulfilled the condition of his parents. Here Ganesh plays with words like he used to say like my world is at the feet of my parents. Surprisingly parents were also impressed by him and his answer was not a work. It's a wrong decision of the parents isn't it ? ( This is my way of looking, perhaps that is no so)
The very beginning lines Trust the god back from his travels, and his voice is Chamomile. It represents 'may all your dreams and wishes be fulfilled. The plant represents humility. ... Chamomile plants are a symbol of relaxation and rest today. However, the flowers are also used to signify 'energy in adversity'. So this is how he was feeling after his journey of the world.
Moreover, what Subramaniam does is that she uses these figures but challenges the canonical religious stories through her representations. She tries to highlight the personal side of one’s religious beliefs.
This poem is trying to praise the god kartikeya in various ways. She also mentioned that trusting him also has faith in him.
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.
Here in this line we come to know which kind of situation is seen by the god. But what is noticeable is that all the situations mentioned here are modern and one. It is because the poet is a modern one and she included day to day life experience in her poem like the desperate light of shopping malls, hospital rooms, manifestos.
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.
In the last part of the poem we can see that the poet tries to say that trust on the god who is ready to circle the world. There is also no reason at all other than to see it through your eyes.
Central Theme of the Poem :--
According to me in this poem the central theme is Faith in God or you can say religion. Through the description of the poem we come to know that the god is kartikeya. Here the poet tries to convey a message that keeps faith in the god. There are lines like…
Trust the god back from his
travels…
Trust him who sits wordless…...
Trust him who has seen enough……
Trust him who no longer begrudges…
Trust him whose race is run…..
Trust him who recognizes you….
Trust the god ready to circle the world….
So in this way in the whole poem we come to know that she is trying to give a message One should trust in the god. Who has done great things like to circle the world. Some of the lines give a glimpse of modern time also.
Through the eyes of Indian Poetics :--
If we see through the lenses of the Indian Poetics. Then in the Indian Poetics we find the famous Bharatmuni and his Natyashashtra. Bharatmuni talks about nine Stayibhava. In which one of the sthayi bhav is utsaha ( ઉત્સાહ), and that through the heroic (વીર ) rasa came.
So here the whole poem is about one character and his praises. Here the poet tries to remind us of his great deeds. So I think it is a heroic poem.
Alex. (2020, April 27). All about Chamomile (MATRICARIA Recutita) – History, Meaning, Facts, care & more. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.littleflowerhut.com.sg/flower-guide/all-about-chamomile-matricaria-recutita-history-meaning-facts-care-more/
Thank you ...
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