Our Masters
Perumal Murugan’s Poems
Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
“Perumal Murugan is the symbol of power of pen. It was a black day for writers when he was attacked by cast dominated groups, after publication of English Translation of his novel. He was depressed for some time, but started writing again. This time started with poetry. The poetry gave him the power, and were published in 2016 under the title ‘Kozhaiyin Padalakkal’. These poems are testimony of his state of mind during that period. The English translation of this collection was published in 2017 under the title ‘Songs of a Coward’ translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan.
We are presenting some poems for our readers” — RS
Perumal Murugan’s Poems
Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
[Perumal Murugan is a senior Tamil novelist and poet. When his novel Madhorubagan was published in 2010, the literary world welcomed it in the same way as it had welcomed his earlier novels and poetry collections. But four years later, when the English translation of Madhorubagan, titled One Part Woman, was published, a storm arose over it. Distressed by the humiliation and torture that Murugan and his family had to endure at the hands of the so-called religious zealots, Murugan declared that he was dead as a writer. But it was not possible for Murugan to do so. During 2015-16, he wrote many poems which were published in 2016 under the title Kozhaiyin Padalkal. These poems are testimony of his state of mind during that period. The English translation of this collection was published in 2017 under the title Songs of a Coward translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan. When I read the poems of this collection, I was very perturbed and also anxious to bring these poems to the Hindi readers. Though I took up this task but it immediately became a big challenge. The question was how to bring Murugan’s agony, hurt and undulation into the translation. This could have be possible only if I make myself one with Murugan’s state of mind at that time. This translation was published last year by Harper Collins under the title Ek Kapurush Ke Geet. These five poems are taken from the same collection of poems. – Mohan Varma]
A Great Stream
Nameless, endless
impassable forest
Alone, a lamb bounds about
making new pathways
as it runs
As it runs
it leaps
to cross a great stream
that has appeared suddenly
It is possible
that it would cross the stream
and look back in wonder
It is possible
that it would falter in its leap
and fall in and die
May the wide-mouthed stream
do right
by the lamb
Touch-Me-Not
A seed set down by time
on that dry land
came to life one rainy day
sprouted a Touch-me-not
that blossomed with surprising lushness
No one knew of its greatness
When a pale red blossom appeared
an innocent boy looked at in wonder
When he reached to pluck the flower
the leaves shuddered and closed
He quickly touched all the leaves
The plant drew the leaves in
as if it were dead
He brought his friends
to show them this wonder
The leaves had opened up by then
He touched them gently with a finger
The leaves shuddered and shrank
Another touched with his foot
The leaves shuddered and shrank
One boy touched them with his shoes
The leaves shuddered and shrank
Another touched them with a stick
The leaves shuddered and shrank
Yet another touched with his lips
The leaves shuddered and shrank
and closed themselves completely
They waited
When the first leaf unfolded
one of them touched it
with his threatening voice
It shuddered and shrank
After that, the touch of their voices was enough
Not a single leaf unfurled
A Strange Beast
My very existence becomes a threat
to anyone I meet
As soon as I enter
they close doors and windows
As soon as they see me
they hurriedly send away their guests
They drift away from my words
and look anxiously around
They fall silent
They make plans to send me away quickly
They text from their cell phones under the table
informing God knows who about my visit
They take photos with me
and leave
They try to make a rare wonder
of my voice
Someone has painted over my head
A pair of horns everyone can see
Some one has turned me
into a strange beast
The Spade
God bequeathed to me
love
in the form of a spade
Like a farmer at the fair
appraising his purchase
I examined carefully
the heavy metal rim
and the reddened wood handle
I was always attracted
to spade’s wide rim
that sparkled like sun on water
I was delighted
I could use the spade
over the earth’s wide expanses
I trimmed and made neat bunds
I consoled the grasses for their singed roots
and fed them to the cows
I made sure there was water for the trees
I dug water channels
I set right the slopes
I asked the spade
to take from the swell
and give to the pit
In this, I spent most of my time
One sleepless night
when I looked for it
under my bed where I’d kept it safe
edges scraped and washed
I couldn’t find the spade
I hear a noise outside
It is digging a pit
for me
The Howls
Piercing through
the dense midnight dark
that had dry leaves for eyes
came a rabid dog
No one knew
where it came from
or who had sent it
Those who heard
the language of its bark
reckoned it was
an enemy conspiracy
Others said
that it was the pet dog
of an evil, vengeful man
Some even said
it was the pharmacist’s ploy
to sell long-stocked medicine
A few also said
it was the king’s message
meant to turn his subjects
into echoes of a single ruling voice
No one knew for sure
where it came from
or who had sent it
The rabid dog entered
with its drooling tongue
touching the ground
Street dogs barked at it
but it moved unfazed
It turned suddenly
bit one of the dogs
and ran
Street dogs pounced on it
But in the middle of this big fight
the rabid dog hid itself
where no one could find it
After a silence of a few days
dogs that bit and
dogs that were bitten
roamed around with their drooling tongues out
Barks became howls
They bit the chickens
that raked about in the trash out front
They bit the goats
that went about chewing dry grass
They bit the cows
whose lives went as far as the ropes did
They bit the house dogs
when they went outside to shit
The howls resounded everywhere
Men grew fearful
Those who ventured out
curious to know the conditions
rushed back in with bloody wounds
After a silence of a few days
one person bit another
another bit yet another
yet another bit still another
still another bit the next person
the next person bit the next
the next person bit the next
thus, the scene unfolded
Drooling tongues
Howls
Packs of rabid dogs