Rukhaya M.K

Dealing with Change

R. Parthsarthy’s poem “Homecoming” portrays a picture of his native state, Tamil Nadu as he returns from his sojourn abroad. He perceives a marked change in his native language. He comprehends that it was his lack of familiarity with the native language that rendered the language alien to his perception. His persistent use of the foreign tongue dispossessed him of his inherently rich native language. His association with English appears to be like imprisonment as he wrestles with English chains. His mother tongue is emblematic of his rich Dravidian heritage that he cherishes. In his chains, that disable him to move freely, he falters, he stumbles. He also stumbles as he has lost his ground.

His native language is now relegated to other concerns. At the time of Thiruvalluvar, the language was a sign of rich cultural heritage. He senses that the language has begun to deteriorate as it is adulterated, and declines owing to lack of use. Language proves to be an effervescent medium with the Savant Nammalvar who handled it as it were a bull held by its horns. She penned several devotional songs par excellence, and therefore favourites with the masses. In the present situation, the language is like a dead animal, infested with fleas at Kodambakkam. This figure of speech enhances the theme of stagnation and decay.

Death of the Past

There appears to be no redemption from this predicament. The present poets do not look for the richness of the past literature for inspiration. Rather, they look up to foreign writers as idols. Genuine models thrive in their own roots, and native speakers must therefore refrain from imitating alien culture.
The poet travels down the memory lane of his childhood when his grandfather used to narrate to him the celebrated poem “Nalayira Divya Prabandham” before going to bed. The poet’s grandfather used to pinch him when he wavered in his attention. The grandfather was sincerely determined to instill in him the literary and cultural values through his rendition of the classic.

After grandfather’s death, they held a ceremony where all the relatives were reunited. Cousins arrived in overcrowded buses. They recognized each other eventually. They witnessed the rituals as they sat on the steps of a choultry. He reflects how they did not dwell in the ‘inside’ of the culture; they were half-way out. The surroundings had not much to offer other than uneventful and undistinguished scenes. Rites and rituals seemed to lose their luster. They were served food sparingly: rice and pickle in the evening.

The poet then records his encounter with a tall woman and her three children. He identifies his childhood friend Sundari, an agile girl climbing tamarind trees. She is forty years now; the poet senses the lack of emotions towards her at this juncture. The memory of her is fresh, but they can no longer relate or communicate with each other as time has changed everything over the years. Similar is his relation with his mother tongue. His childhood friend who is no longer familiar to him stands parallel to his feelings towards his native tongue.

In Section 12 of the poem “Homecoming” from Rough Passage, the poet celebrates the eminence and relevance of The Poet. The poet talks of himself in the most objective manner when he asserts:”I see him now sitting at his desk”.

He claims that he made the mistake of opting for the wrong gods from the start; he had gone for the wrong kind of inspiration. His course of action was erroneous right from the beginning. It began with his experiments with the English language. It started when he set off to England for his English education. Another major obstacle to his career was his having got married. He states that he should have paid heed to the classical poets: it was better to bury a woman than marry her.

Now, as he has failed in his area of interest, namely, poetry; he teaches. Parthasarthy seems to echo George Bernard Shaw who said: “He who can, does. He, who cannot, teaches.” He teaches probably as he had learnt from experience that poetry cannot provide him with a source of livelihood. He now tries to prove his mettle by reviewing verse written by others. In other words, circumstances had made him a critic .This label of being a critic had endowed him with invitations to conferences. It had taken him quite some time to realize that he had no talent, and wondered how words flowed so easily. He substantiates this by claiming;”One can be articulate about nothing.” Articulate as an adjective signifies “spoken so as to be intelligible”, and also means “expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars”. The poet means to say that a person can endeavour to sound intelligible about anything or nothing. And one can compartmentalize certain subjects so as to sound like a scholar. Perhaps in this regard, the role of a critic suited him better.

He continues his self -interrogation: Was it that his gods had left him. Was he left with no source of inspiration? Again, at this juncture, we understand what the poet meant by saying that he followed the wrong Gods from the start. He had the wrong sources of stimulation. By “Pedaling his bicycles glasses”, the poet implies the progress of his vision. Just as a bicycler peddles to move forward; the poet “peddles” to move his vision forward.

As we go through the poem, one can discern a distinction between the “I” and the “He”. The “I” stands for the current role of the speaker in the present tense-that of a critic. The “He” shows the speaker in a mode of transition: from the poet to the critic.

The answer to the question:”What’s it like to be a poet?” is answered by the speaker in uncertain terms. He first goes on to reprimand himself as a critic. In an act of vituperation, Parthasarthy terms the critic as “the son of a bitch” who “fattens himself on the flesh of dead poets”. To be more precise, the critic is a parasite who depends directly on the Poet. Therefore, the critic who takes himself to be “His Eminence” has no significance, but for the poet. In castigating terms, the critic is likened to a fly that feeds on the dung-heap of old texts and obscure commentaries. “His eyes peel off”: reality presents itself with indubitable clarity. Where would the so-called critic be, if it were not for poets that splashed about in the Hellespont or burned about in the Java Sea? This is a direct allusion to the classical poets and the modern poets. The poem thus drives home the significance Parthasarathy imparted to the Poet.

© Rukhaya MK 2013

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