A POEM BY
SATHARA MALATHY
(Rendered in English by Latha Ramakrishnan)
Wars?
‘Father-Land’
to
those who are the tattered remains
of
Warfare.
Henceforth
there need be no reason
for
them to loathe
and
explode
and
to batter,
as
if it is some form of deep prayer.
For
evaluating and respecting
the
strengths and values of Life
with
not just the scales of War
the
need for classrooms
would
rise.
That
too would be buried in sands,
thanks
to our terrible Curriculum.
In
wounds, blindness
mental
aberrations
and
other handicaps
can
there be any day
when
the relevance and significance
of
success and failure
would
be apprehended?
Or
wrongs be set right?
Pain
alone would remain
deepening,
accumulating
in
the lakes of Humanity
as
dregs,
everywhere.
Oh,
leave it.
For
women
no
need to spend on Valentine’s Day,
Anniversaries
and Feasts.
Henceforth
we
save our homes
from
Fathers’ Day! and our country from
National
Celebrations?
Claiming
to sow the seeds of Love and Justice
but
having buried them indeed.
From
now on,
it
is in Warfare
lies
our Welfare.
17) யுத்தங்கள்?
எந்தையர் நாடென்ற பேர்
தேவையிருக்காது
தந்தைகளே இல்லாத
பிள்ளைகளுக்கு
யுத்தத்தின் மிச்சங்களுக்கு.
இனி காரணங்கள் தேவைப்படாது
அவர்களுக்கு வெறுக்கவும் வெடிக்கவும்
அடிக்கவும் அதுவே அதிவிரதம் போல
பலத்தையும் மதிப்பீடுகளையும்
யுத்தங்களாலன்றியும்
மதிக்க வகுப்புகள் நடத்த
வேண்டிவரும்.
அதுவும் புழுக் கல்வியால்
மண் மூடும் மனதளவில்.
காயங்களிலும் குருட்டிலும்
பேதலித்த புத்தியிலும்
ஊனங்களிலும் என்றாவது
வெற்றி தோல்விக்கான
அர்த்தமோ மகத்துவமோ
புலப்படுமா?
அல்லது தப்புகள்தாம்
திருத்தப்பட்டுவிடுமோ?
வலிதான் தேங்கிநிற்கும்
மானுட ஏரிகளில் கறுப்புக்
கசண்டாக பரப்பு நெடுக.
விடுங்கள், பெண்களுக்கு
காதலர் தினம் ஆண்டுநிரைவுகள்
விருந்துகளின் செலவு மிச்சம்.
இனி
தந்தையர் தினத்தை வீட்டுக்கும்
தேசிய க்ண்டாட்டங்களை நாட்டுக்கும்
மிச்சப்படுத்திவிடுகிறோம்!
காதலையும் நீதியையும் விதைத்ததாகப்
புதைத்து
இனி யுத்தங்களில்தாம் நம் வாழ்ச்சி!.
(*’மரமல்லிகைகள்’
தொகுப்பிலிருந்து)
On
'sathara' malathy (19.6.1950 - 27.3.2007)
Born on
the 19th of june 1950 she was a post-graduate from Presidency College, Chennai.
Hailing from a place called Brammadesam near Ambasamudhram in Thirunelveli
District, Tamil Nadu, she had her School and College Education in Chennai.
She
worked for BSNL as Chief Accounts Officer and in the last several years of her
career before she got a transfer to Bangalore and subsequently opted for
Voluntary Retirement, she was posted in a place called Sathara in Maharashtra.
The name
of the place was prefixed to her name to distinguish her from a fellow-poet
with the same name.
Thus,
Sathara is not just a prefix, it plays an integral part of her identity as a
poet and hence it proved to be in bad taste when a literary magazine so coolly
prefixed Bangalore as the prefix instead of Sathara in its brief note condoling
her death. Such move can well be regarded as an attempt to erase the identity
of the departed poet ‘Sathara’ Malathy. But, her poems would surely preserve
her memory in the hearts of discerning readers like me.
A
passionate reader and a very sensitive human being she was, one can find in her
Poetry the marvelous blend of the two quotable quotes – ‘Poetry is the
spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions’ and ‘Poetry is emotions recollected
in tranquility’.
Her poems
reveal her passionate heart and its unanswered queries and unfulfilled dreams
and they belong to one and all of us. She had experimented with various styles
and tones in writing Poetry, using classical Tamil, folk-language etc. She took
part in literary seminars and discussions with genuine interest and her Papers
would always be balanced and analytical, avoiding overtones.
Three
collections of poems – VARIKUTHIRAI GAL (the zebras), THANAL KODI
POOKAL(fire-plant flowers), ARAMALLIGAIGAL ( a kind of tropical flowers) – one
short-story collection – ANAMADHEYA KARAIGAL (anonymous shores) – one Anthology
of essays on the renowned Tamil Classic Andaal Thirupaavai, analyzing the
underlying theme of the verses with a rare sensibility and sensitivity,
UYARPAAVAI - of Sathara Malathy have so far been published.
It was
from the 90s that 'sathara' malathy's tryst with the little magazines or
literary magazines of Tamil began in right earnest. Sathara Malathy's poems,
and her numerous analytical articles on poetry and other branches of literature
prove her credentials as a writer with substance.
She had a
passion for knowing people and interacting with them and she used to have
regular telephonic contacts with many fellow-writers.
She had
great liking for the complexity and depth of poet Brammarajan's verses and she
held in high esteem fellow-writers Pa.Venkatesan (a poet , novelist and
short-story writer in Tamil), Amarantha (a reputed writer and translator in
Tamil) , A.Muthulingam ( again, a reputed writer in Tamil) and several others.
Her deep
love for Tamil and her firm grasp of its numerous shades and nuances are
evident in her writings. She had firm feministic leanings but she never steered
them toward acquiring anti-man syndrome.
She had great
love and respect for her mother (who herself was a poignant reader and writer
whose two short-story collections have been published in the last several
years) and she had penned a poignant poem on her mother which is included in
the 'Maramalligaigal' collection.
Her
husband, mother and only daughter were living in Bangalore. And, I am sure,
there would be many more of her writings left unpublished. I have met her just
twice or thrice but she used to talk to me regularly over the phone, reading
out her fresh poems.
On the
few occasions we had met, I remember her speaking on a variety of issues. I
like the intense passion in her poems which would produce a melting within.
She had
an in-depth knowledge of great Classics both in Tamil and Sanskrit. That’s why
she used to feel sad when haughty and prejudiced comments were aimed at great
works.
Once,
when I told her that I would arrange for a small gathering in Chennai which
would be a discussion on her poetry, she was reluctant to accept it saying that
it would hurt us if our poems so close to our hearts would be half-heartedly
dealt with, and, worse, from a pedestal. As I am aware of the truth of what she
had said, I left it at that.
A
friendly soul, so full of Whys, Hows and Whats of Life, Sathara Malathy is sure
to live on, defying Death, with the help of her intense Poesy.
A handful
of her Poems are rendered in English by me and compiled into a thin volume
titled ‘remembrance’ as a token of my love and respect for her. The respective
original poems in Tamil are also given, to give the readers a feel of the poet
and person she was.
So long,
‘sathara’ malathy….
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