The World Renowned Nose

Vaikom Muhammed Basheer is placed in the high altar of Malayalam literature as his literary creations are marked by the down to earth narration and sheer verities of the lives of common folk. This titan of Malayalam literature affectionately addressed as ‘Beypore Sultan’ has earned a distinctive mark of his own in Kerala as a humanist, writer, freedom fighter, and novelist. Along with him, P. Keshava Dev, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, S.K. Pottekkatt and P.C. Kuttikrishnan constituted the Pentagon that inaugurated the Renaissance novel in Malayalam. Basheer wrote 13 novels and 13 collections of short stories apart from several articles, essays, and plays. Balyakalasakhi (Childhood Friend), the most enduring romantic tragedy novel penned by Basheer in 1944 has been translated into various Indian and global languages. 

The critic, M.P. Paul in his foreword to the novel opines that “it is a page torn from the life, bleeding at its edges”. This epitomizes the fact that his fictional and factual world remains inseparable and we come across an autobiographical sort of subtext in his creative landscape. By taking the readers through the dark corridors of human life, Basheer portrays the life of humble and ordinary folks. His literary oeuvre represents the real episodes from his life and they are suffused with humor and pathos. His adoration for his brother man, concern for his society, the warmth of the colloquial language, satire, and suggestiveness elevate him to the stature of the sultan of story. We can never trace any kind of artistic embellishment, parading of verbosity, and scholarship in the writings of Basheer. He wrote for the common people in a language easily comprehensible to them and the words flowed out of his realistic impressions. His rich and varied experience of life across various parts of the world have the undercurrents of real lifeblood and flesh.

According to the eminent Indian poet and critic, K. Satchidanandan, “Basheer used to say he was never sure about the Malayalam alphabet; this apparent inadequacy compelled him to invent an idiom that is closest to the everyday life of Malayalis that revolutionized the art of storytelling in the language. He could make his fictional world possible only by radically altering the status quo vocabulary. Ordinary words picked up from the streets and the inner courtyards of Malabar homes gained a new vibrancy and artistic aura when Basheer employed them in his fresh narrative contexts. His seemingly artless manner had behind it an unarticulated yet profound theory about the use of language in contemporary fiction that taught different lessons to future writers.” I have recently come across the short story entitled “The World Renowned Nose” (Vishwavikhyathamaya Mookku) which in fact did put me in knots. This short story, in reality, exemplifies the unarticulated and the profound psychology embedded in the human chromosome. The story delineates the life of an ordinary cook and how he as well as his life becomes an extraordinary one just because of the elongation of his nose. The story with a touch of black humor and satire unravels the true countenance of the present-day society and the partisan instances behind it.

To read the full article, click https://www.boloji.com/articles/52074/the-universal-appeal-of-basheers

Shaper Shaped

The multifaceted personality, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya was a poet, dramatist, actor, singer, songwriter, Member of the Parliament, and actor all rolled into one. His ‘Rail gaadi, rail gaadi’ lyrics from the 1968 Hindi movie Aashirwad still reverberates in the minds of multitudes. He was a man of assorted abilities and the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, the legendary Nightingale of India. He wrote poetry in English as well as in Hindi and penned lyrics for films also. He wrote a play entitled Tukaram based on the celebrated saint-poet of the name from Maharashtra. Chattopadhyaya was a bountiful poet and his works comprise The Feast of Youth (1918), The Magic Tree (1922), Poems and Plays (1927), Strange Journey (1936), The Dark Well (1939), Edgeways and the Saint (1946), Spring in Winter (1956), Masks and Farewells (1951), Virgins and Vineyards (1967), and Life and Myself (1948). The government honored Chattopadhyaya with the coveted Padma Vibhushan award in 1972. Even at the age of 88, he used to say, “I am a little boy”. The man who never wanted to grow up bid adieu to the stages and pages of life in 1990.

I happened to flip through the poem “Shaper Shaped” the other day. I was extremely impressed by this exquisite poem especially by the way Chattopadhyaya’s words yield and stir the inner soul of a human being. His poem made me feel that poetry is no more a safari to the utopian land of marvel. Rather, poetry is a journey to the contours of one’s self. We can sense a sort of being to becoming in his verses of simple diction and sanguine meaning. Let me share one of his best-remembered poem with all my readers.

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https://www.boloji.com/articles/52077/shaper-shaped

A Pair of Mustachios

 Mulk Raj Anand, the most celebrated Indian novelist is one among the trio of Indian Writing in English along with R. K. Narayan and Raja Rao. His works endeavored to portray the social realities of British India in the language of the colonial master. Anand witnessed the Gandhian Period in Indian politics and literature in Indian languages began echoing Gandhian principles and philosophy. This impact was evident in Indian writing in English as well. Mulk Raj Anand was most deeply impressed by Mahatma Gandhi and his ways of life. His works endeavored to portray the social realities of British India in the language of the colonial master.

He was a champion of the 20th-century Progressive Writers’ Movement. He had drafted the first manifesto of the literary association. A forerunner of Indian Writing in English, he earned an international repute early in his life. He was born in Peshawar and educated at the Universities of Lahore, London, and Cambridge. He has achieved international fame as a novelist as well as a short story writer. He has penned novels like The Untouchable, Coolie, The Sword and the Sickle, Two Leaves and a Bud, etc. His remarkable short story collections include Lajwanti and Other stories, The Barber’s Trade Union and Other Stories, etc. He has written comprehensively in multifarious fields such as politics, art, sculpture, Indian literature, freedom movement, Gandhian impact, and so on. The laurels and accolades for his literary contributions comprise International Peace Prize from World Peace Council, Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan, and Leverhulme Fellowship.

Mulk Raj Anand’s short stories unearth a deep sense of humour, simplicity of the village folk, pretensions of the people with the effective use of his creative language, and comic content. His “A Pair of Mustachios” is written in a humorous vein dealing with the funny clash that happens due to the upturned moustaches of Seth Ramanand, the grocer and money lender.

To read my full article, click https://www.boloji.com/articles/52091/mulk-raj-anand-a-pair-of-mustachios

A Requiem to Mother Earth

Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup aka O.N.V. Kurup’s contribution in the literary sphere of Kerala is broadly esteemed for his finesse in poetry. He began his poetic career as a representative of the ‘Pink Era’ in Malayalam and his poetry is marked by the manifestation of highly evocative images of nature.

O.N.V. Kurup, a poet, lyricist, teacher, and inspiration for all has held generations in awe with his imaginative and intuitive skills, creativity, and poetic lingos. He was born on May 27, 1931, at Chavara, in Kollam District, where he completed his schooling. His first major effort in poetry began during his school days, which also saw his first published poem ‘Munnottu’ (Forward) in 1946, penned in the backdrop of his patriotic feelings. The poetic aspects of the epic, Adhyatma Ramayanam, and its style have had a major influence and impact later in his career as a poet.

Honors and appreciations have always been a part of his life. Agni Salabhangal the poetic work by Mr. Kurup was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. He was also awarded the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975 for his poem Aksharam. A noted poetic work of Mr. Kurup titled ‘Uppu’ won the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1981 and also the Vayalar Rama Varma Award in 1982. He has also won the Kerala State film awards twelve times, for the best lyricist. He was awarded Padmashri in 1998, Jnanpith in 2007, and Padma Vibhushan in 2011. I was so touched by the verses of his renowned poem ‘A Requiem to Mother Earth’ (Bhoomikku Oru Charamageetham). He addresses the issues of ecological preservation and the unsympathetic ways in which landscape is commodified and divided up by human beings for egocentric motives. He urges human beings to be grateful to Mother Earth for nurturing and fostering them. O.N.V. points out that human beings are not affectionate to mother earth. He defines that mother Earth has fed human beings with her own milk by eliminating her greenery dress and the verdant hues. Even after drinking her milk, humans were not able to satiate their thirst and they began to suck her blood too. His poem is a dirge for mother Earth and the poet anticipates the death of our mighty Earth. He begins the requiem with an epigraph:

‘A song of praise
For this earth
For its surge of life
For poetry, the essence of its beauty…’

Read my full article here.