நா. முத்துக்குமார் கவிதைகள்

நா. முத்துக்குமாரின் ஆறு கவிதை தொகுப்புகளை உள்ளடக்கியது இந்நூல். கவிதைகளில் இடம்பெரும் துள்ளிய வர்ணனையும், அசரவைக்கும் கற்பனையும் தமிழ் திரையுலகில் முத்துக்குமாரின் நிரப்பப்படா இடத்தை நினைவூட்டுகிறது. அவரது எழுத்துக்கள் இயல்பானவை, தனது புலமையைக் காட்டி வாசகனை என்றுமே திக்குமுக்காட செய்ததில்லை. 

தினம்தினம் நாம் சந்திக்கும் மனிதர்களையும், நம்மை சுற்றி நடக்கும் சாதாரண நிகழ்வுகளையும், நமது உணர்வுகளையும் நமக்கு நெருக்கமான மொழியில் இக்கவிதைகளில் தருகிறார். 

கவிஞர் தனது பால்யத்தை விவரிக்கும் கவிதைகளில் அம்மா, அப்பா மற்ற உறவுகளுடன் பள்ளி அனுபவங்கள், நண்பர்களின் நினைவுகள் என அடுக்கும் போது, அவை நம்முடைய பால்யத்தை நினைவூட்டும் ஒரு nostalgic experience ஆக அமைகிறது.

அவர் கடவுளை விடவும் இயற்கையை அதிகமாக விரும்பியதை பல இடங்களில் காண முடிகிறது. பகுத்தறிவு கருத்துக்களுடன் பெண் விடுதலை, பாலின சமத்துவம் பேசும் கவிதைகள் இந்த தொகுப்பு முழுக்க நிரம்பி இருக்கின்றன. சமகால சமூக சூழலை பிரதிபலிக்கும் கவிதைகள் கவிஞரின் தெளிவான அரசியல் நிலைப்பாட்டையும் பதிவு செய்கின்றன. 

"தூர்" எனும் கவிஞரின் பிரசித்தி பெற்ற கவிதையைத் தவிர்த்து என்னை கவர்ந்த சில கவிதைகள்...

அம்மாவின் கரிச் சுவர்

ஒவ்வொறு பொங்கலுக்கும்

வெள்ளையடித்தாலும்

மீண்டும் தன் முகத்தில்

கரி பூசிக்கொள்கிறது

சமையலறைச் சுவர்.

...

அம்மாவுக்காய் அழுகிற

ஈர விறகுகளின்

புகைச் சோகம் தாங்கி

மேலும் கறுக்கும் அது.

...

அக்காவுக்கு இவற்றிலிருந்து 

சீக்கிரம் விடுதலை.

கல்யாணம் ஆனதும்

கேஸ் குக்கர்

சுவரில் டிஸ்டெம்பர்

சுவர் விடுதலை மட்டும் 

பெண் விடுதலை என்றால்

அம்மாக்களை விட

அக்காக்கள் அதனை

அடைந்து விட்டார்கள்.

இட்லி புத்திரர்கள்

இட்லிகள் கொள்கையற்றவை

சாம்பாரில் மிதவையாகவும்

சட்னியில் துவையலாகவும்

ஏதுமற்ற பொழுதுகளில்

எண்ணெய் மிதக்கிற

மிளகாய்த்தூளில் துணுக்கெனவும்

எதனுடனும் அமையும்

இட்லிகளின் கூட்டணி

பெயர் உருவான கதை

ஆரம்பத்தில் அதன் பெயர்

வேறாக இருந்தது.

அதன் பலகீனம்

இருபுறம் சுவர் சூழ்ந்த

குறுபாதை எனலாம்.

...

ஆத்திரம் மட்டுமே

அடக்கக் கற்ற

மனிதர்கள் கூடி

அதற்கொரு பெயர்

அப்புறம் வைத்தனர் 

மூத்திரச் சந்து.

சலூன் கண்ணாடிகள்

பிமபங்களற்ற தனிமையில்

ஒன்றிலொன்று முகம் பார்த்தன

சலூன் கண்ணாடிகள்.

நியூட்டனின் மூன்றாம் விதி

மேல் வீட்டுக்காரன்

என்கிற உரிமையில்

நீ கைப்பற்றும் சுதந்திரம் 

அதிகப்படியானது.

உன் ஒவ்வொரு அசைவும்

பூதாகரமாய் ஒலிக்கிறது

கீழ்த்தளச் சுவர்களில்.

...

உன்னைப் பழிவாங்கும் விதமாக

என்னால் முடிந்தது ஒன்றுதான்.

எனதருமை மேல்தளத்து நண்பா...

தலையணையையும் மீறி 

உன்காதுகளில்

சுழன்றுகொண்டிருக்கும்

என் மின்விசிறி!

கட்டணக் கழிப்பிட உரிமையாளன்

ஆச்சா... ஆச்சா... குரல் கொடுத்தபடி

மதிய உணவு உண்கிறான்

கட்டணக் கழிப்பிட உரிமையாளன்.

லிஃப்ட் பயம்

வழக்கம்போல இம்முறையும்

லிப்ட்டில் பயணிக்கையில்

அலாரத்தையே பார்க்கிறேன்.

கோயிலில் ஒதுங்கியவர்கள்

பலத்த மழை

வாசலைப் பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்

கோயிலில் ஒதுங்கியவர்கள்.

பல்லக்கு தூக்கிகள்

சாமியின் முகத்தில்

சந்தனக் காப்பு

பல்லக்கு தூக்கிகளின் சாராயநெடி

நிழல்

ஜன்னல் கம்பியை வளைத்தது

திருடனல்ல

நிழல்.

தலையணை வாத்துகள்

வாத்துகள்

ரெக்கைகள் இருந்தும்

அதிக உயரம் பறப்பதில்லை.

பிறந்த வீடு, புகுந்த வீடு என

பெண்களைப்போலவே

தண்ணீருக்கும் தரைக்கும்

அலைபாய்வதே

வாத்துகளின் வாழ்க்கை!

குழந்தைகளுடன் பேசும் கலை

எல்லோரும் ஒரு காலத்தில் 

குழந்தையாக இருநதாலும்

வளர்ந்த பின்

தொலைந்துவிடுகிறது

குழந்தைகளின் உலகத்தைத்

திறக்கும் சாவி.

“The Sky is Falling” by Sidney Sheldon

Dana Evans, an investigative journalist returns from Sarajevo with an armless kid Kemal whom she rescued while covering the war there. While both Dana and Kemal suffer from post war trauma, Dana tries her best to make Kemal feel at home. Jeff, her boyfriend turned fiancé works at the same studio. Just before their marriage, Jeff and Dana are forced to travel away from each other - Dana for work, Jeff to meet his ex-wife with whom the relationship is little complicated. 

Dana starts to investigate the deaths in the Winthrop’s family, a royal family in the US. The suspicious deaths of all the members from the same family in less than a year have many mysteries to be unearthed and Dana is bent upon to uncover them. While Dana is in determined pursuit to find the motive behind the killings, she finds every witness in danger and that there is even bigger conspiracy behind the murders. 

The novel wastes no time in getting to the premise and is well paced all along. The novel has an overwhelming list of characters that guarantees enough action and drama, but there are few characters which don’t add much to the storyline. The novel stays predictable at many places but the pace doesn’t dip. There is no emotional connect with most of the central characters. But, the complicated relationship between Jeff and his ex-wife stands out as a beautiful portrayal - a big plus to the novel. 

This Sidney Sheldon novel is a template murder mystery with additional ingredients that make it a timepass!

“The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods

“The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods is a story that has elements of romance, historical fiction, mystery and magical realism. 

The story revolves around three central characters - Opaline, Martha and Henry. Opaline, a woman from the 1920s who flees home to escape a forced marriage and a domineering older brother finally ends up as the owner of an antiques and books shop in Dublin. Martha, a woman from the present who escapes from an abusive marriage lives as a servant to a wealthy lady with a constant fear of her husband finding her. Henry, a researcher with a traumatic childhood is in pursuit of a rumoured manuscript of Emily Brontë’s second novel. 

Evie Woods

The non-linear narrative of the novel travels around these three characters in two different timelines. The journey of these three characters to overcome their distressing past to a better future with surprising yet welcoming turn of events forms the storyline. 

The lives of these three are seamlessly interwoven in this magical tale of love, betrayal, hope, self-realisation and destiny. The novel brings in historical references to books, bookshops, authors and their personal lives and combines this reality with otherworldly elements to build a compelling tale of magical realism. Except being slow paced at some places, this is a feel-good novel which is engaging for the most part. 

Pongal - A celebration that is Rational & Secular

The festivals celebrated in India are countless. Being the land of diversity, the calendar in India is packed with festivals from various religions and cultures. In addition to the ceremonies, the visit to the places of worship, prayers and offerings to Gods in certain cases, festivals are occasions when families get together and spend quality time. It is a time when cousins from different parts of the city get together. It is a time when people from metropolitan cities travel back to their hometown to celebrate the occasion in their traditional way. But, how is Pongal any different from other festivals? Pongal celebrates “labour”. 

The grand festival of Tamil Nadu “Pongal” is a celebration of the harvest which is a result of the relentless efforts of farmers in the fields. This is celebrated as Sankranti outside Tamil Nadu and in other parts of India. The celebration of this festival usually includes worship of the sun, decorating the cattle by painting of the cow’s horns and garlanding the cows and cooking “Pongal” - a dish made out of the freshly harvested rice, jaggery and milk. There are customised versions of this festival that might differ from region to region in Tamil Nadu. But, on the whole, the festival is a celebration of anything and everything that relates to agriculture. A festival that celebrates “labour” and the driving factors for a successful harvest on the harvest day - can a festival be more rational? 

The grand bull taming event “Jallikattu” also coincides with the Pongal festival which is a spectacular sporting event in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. “Vaadivaasal”, a Tamil novel written by C.S. Chellappa captures intricate details of this sporting event in the background of social structure prevalent in the villages. “Jallikattu” has gained popularity over the years and channels have started live streaming of this event in the recent years with sponsors from popular brands in Tamil Nadu.

Since, the festival relates to labour, naturally it should have been a secular one. But, people being used to the act of practising rituals and conducting ceremonies during festivals might have made Pongal closer to one religion than the other. We have seen instances in Tamil Nadu where Pongal is celebrated by Hindus, Muslims and Christians. There is also an event “Samathuva Pongal” (means Secular Pongal) conducted in the presence of representatives from different religions. Each religion might have its own way of celebrating Pongal, but the majoritarian belief should not distance the solidarity this festival shows towards secularism. If every religion respects the other and its way of celebrating the festival, the festival would be an unanimous display of harmony. If there are individuals or groups who think the other way, their views should also be respected.

“Pongal” will build an inclusive and harmonious environment to celebrate “labour” which keeps this world running! 

Wishing everyone a happy Pongal!

“Periyar - A Study in Political Atheism” by Karthick Ram Manoharan

This book is a study of the work and ideas of Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, the renowned social reformer of Tamilnadu. This is not a biographical text on the life of Periyar, but is an extensive study that analyses his revolutionary criticism of religion and presents the idea of “political atheism”. The book is split into thematic sections which provide insightful perspective on the impact of Periyar’s ideologies in the political spectrum in Tamilnadu. 

The book points out Periyar’s fallout with congress after demanding proportional representation of non-brahmins in the party. His demand and he voicing out against caste inequalities were viewed “too radical” by the leaders. This conflict and Periyar’s realisation of social elitism that existed in congress led to the emergence of Self Respect Movement. 

When Indian leaders took an approach of Indian / Hindu nationalism to tackle the colonial structure and demand freedom from British, the “Dravidians” who were considered native to this land resorted to tackle the brahminical hegemony with the Aryan - Dravidian differentiation. Though there were forerunners to Periyar on this front like Iyothidasar, Karthik Ram Manoharan explains how the medium and message put across by Periyar with its simplicity gained him the popularity that he enjoys even today. 

This book also discusses in detail how Periyar drew inspiration from socialism that was gaining prominence during his times and at the same time points out his skepticism on the role of communism in India. This criticism from Periyar on communists in India was largely owing to their priority over class antagonisms over caste antagonisms and again the brahminical dominance in the communist party at that time. Periyar’s arguments also included that communism in India would be yet another tool in the hands of priestly class to cement their dominance. Periyar was also against the concept of state. However, as per my reading of Lenin’s “The State and Revolution”, it argues how complete communism can be achieved only in stages with gradual withering away of the state and how the stage of complete communism will be devoid of any form of antagonism not only the class antagonism, so this view is debatable.

The research of Karthik Ram Manoharan provides an interesting insight on how Periyar’s retelling of Ramayana was a significant strategy towards resisting and demystifying Aryan dominance. Periyar’s projection of Ravana as anti-caste hero was a strategy to counterpose the image of the Aryan icon Rama who upheld the  “Varna” system. Karthik draws parallel of this approach of Periyar with anarchists like Balkunin. 

The book also points out the inconsistencies in Periyar’s writings over a period of time which is currently levelled against Periyar in television debates. However, this book also stands to clarify these inconsistencies as individual statements that were reactionary and his true standpoint needs to be viewed from the coherence derived from the arguments that find a repetition in his thoughts and writings. 

Karthick Ram Manoharan

In the final chapter, the book brings out how Periyar’s ideology is relevant even today. This work by Karthik Ram Manoharan is a brilliant research that puts forth detailed analysis on how Periyar’s ideas to separate religion and politics changed the course of politics in Tamilnadu as an alternate to the Hindu nationalism.

V.I. Lenin - The Story Of His Life by Maria Prilezhayeva

Maria Prilezhayeva's "V.I. Lenin - The Story of His Life" is a biography of Vladimir Lenin, the communist icon of Soviet Russia. I read this book in Tamil as I was able to get hold of a translated copy in Kindle. The book is a written account on the life of Lenin covering the events and happenings in chronological order. 

The biography dwells deep into the plight of peasants and factory workers at the hands of landlords and capitalists. The impact of the first world war on the working class and contrastingly the gains of capitalists with their imperialist agenda are explained here. The anti-war propaganda by Lenin during such times was followed by a call for a revolution to fight against the Tsar rule in Russia which organized the workers and peasants in masses. This led to the November revolution which also overthrew the provisional government in Russia thus establishing the founding stone for communism in the country. 

The war-hit Soviet Union countries faced famines, inclement weather conditions and pandemics which piled up the misery of the people. But, Lenin's vision of communist Russia and planning during tough times to act on a war time basis bailed out the people of Soviet Union countries to an extent. 

His speeches and writings that inspired millions of people to stage the revolution against the mighty Tsar rule and imperialist countries are covered in detail. Lenin followed the view of Marx and Engels’ to resolve class antagonisms in the society. The biography details Lenin’s vision for upbringing of the lives of working class and his relentless efforts towards the same despite the difficulties he faced during his imprisonment and exile. The book also touches upon the betrayal that revolutionists suffered at the hands of Trotsky briefly and how Lenin tried mending the adverse impact. 

The translation had less impact with the revolutionary songs quoted as the voice of the workers. Though the following Lenin had during and post the revolution is undeniable, this book or most probably the translation at times goes overboard with praise for even the trivial and thoughts and mundane actions of Lenin.

The resurrection of Soviet nations from the effects of war, famine and pandemic under the able leadership of Lenin and the bloom of communism as a result is a process that was staged with the destruction of the state machine. The book points out Lenin’s revolutionary role in this until his death. 

An insightful biography that introduces Lenin, despite the overdose of praise at certain places.