Musings

Monday, June 6, 2016

Ode to #IRAIVI - ஆண் - அவன்(ம்)



My ode to the masterpiece #IRAIVI
Disclaimer: This poem contains spoilers of the movie Iraivi.
Don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie yet.
ஆண் - அவன்(ம்)

நான் ஆண்
என் பின் தான் பெண்
திரை பித்தம் கொண்ட மூத்தோன்
மோக முத்தம் கண்ட இடையோன்
தன் சித்தம் குழம்பிய கடையோன்
இவர் மொத்தம் சினங்கொண்ட பெரியோன்
அவள் வந்தாள்
குடி புகுந்தாள்
சிரித்தாள் ஒரு நாள்
பின் சினத்தை சகித்தாள்
என் ஆள் என்று பொறுத்தாள்
எந்நாளும் காத்தாள்
வாடினாள் வேண்டினாள்
மூத்தோன் தீவிர போதையால் பேதையானாள்
கடையோன் திமுரிய பார்வையால் மீதியும் போனாள்
பெரியோன் தவமுறு உளியால் இறைவியானாள்!
இடையோன் தவறிய பாதையால் பாதி ஆனாள்
சிலை செதுக்கும் உளி சதை செதுக்கலாகுமோ?
நான் ஆண் என்பான் எல்லாம் அழித்தான்
என் ஆள் என்பாள் எல்லாம் இழந்தாள்
இழந்தவள் எழுந்தாள்
கடையில் கடையோனால்
இரைவி இறைவியானாள்
- இப்படிக்கு இறைவன்

#Iraivi Poem with Translation and Summary

#Iraivi Poem with Translation and Summary

For the poem only please refer to the previous post


ஆண்  - அவன்(ம்)
(ஆணான என் மீது நான் கொண்ட அவாஆணவம்)

நான் ஆண்
என் பின் தான் பெண்
I am the man. After me is a woman.
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திரை பித்தம் கொண்ட மூத்தோன்
மோக முத்தம் கண்ட இடையோன்
தன் சித்தம் குழம்பிய கடையோன்
இவர் மொத்தம் சினங்கொண்ட பெரியோன்
Cinema obsessed Eldest (SJ Surya)
Lecherous womanizer middle guy (Vijay Sethupathi)
Confused deviant youngest (Bobby Simha)
Anger driven head of family (Radha ravi)
Note: Idaiyon in tamil means middle guy and also a goat/cow shepherd.
Lord Jesus is often referred to as a good shepherd – he was born into a family of shepherds. Vijay Sethupathi character is a Christian in this movie. A beautiful link indeed that VS should the idaiyon – the middle guy.
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அவள் வந்தாள் - குடி புகுந்தாள்
சிரித்தாள் ஒரு நாள் - பின் சினத்தை சகித்தாள்
என் ஆள் என்று பொறுத்தாள் - எந்நாளும் காத்தாள்
வாடினாள் வேண்டினாள்

She came upon their house and their lives (She refers to the three women of the family Vadivukku arasi, Kamalinee, Anjali) She smiled one day, put up with their anger, harsh words and recklessness the rest of the days. She fooled and convinced herself into saying ‘He is my man’. She waited endlessly until the doomsday, withering and praying.
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மூத்தோன் தீவிர போதையால் பேதையானாள்
இடையோன் தவறிய பாதையால் பாதி ஆனாள்
கடையோன் திமுரிய பார்வையால் மீதியும் போனாள்
பெரியோன் தவமுறு உளியால் இறைவியானாள்

Eldest’ s serious addiction made her into a pitiable woman.
Middle guy going astray made her into half the woman she was.
Note: Idaiyon/Idai saathiyon also refers to Lord Krishna. He has given mankind the Bhagavadh geetha so that he doesn’t go astray. His namesake is unable to that. Anjali is forced to lead a life by herself bringing up a child on her own. She has lost her better half, as a spouse is popularly referred to, when VS goes to jail for few years.
Youngest’s deviant looks fell upon her – her rest was also gone.
Note: When Bobby Simha desires Anjali, she is forced to vanish. The woman who was half of her when VS goes to jail, is now completely out.
Grand old man – his blessed chisel has chipped away slowly and constantly at her sending her into a state of goddessness.  
Note: Vadivukku arasi goes into a coma – unreactive to the trivial affairs of men, pretty much a state of godliness. Radha Ravi is a sculptor with a blessed chisel that has made innumerous statues of goddesses. However, he has slowly chipped away at every ounce of his wife’s soul pushing her into a state where she is free from any more of pain. Her soul is at peace but her body is still present (not died) reminding radha ravi of his actions.

சிலை செதுக்கும் உளி சதை செதுக்கலாகுமோ?
Is it right for the statue sculpting chisel to scathe upon the human flesh?
நான் ஆன் என்பான் - எல்லாம் அழித்தான்    
என் ஆள் என்பாள் - எல்லாம் இழந்தாள்
இழந்தவள் எழுந்தாள்

He who says ‘I am the man’, destroys all.
She who says ‘He is my man’, loses all.
Loser rises.
Note: The subservience of woman has been institutionalized. Fear of change and comfort of the being within the system has made woman folk put up with men. Until she is comes out, she is going to suffer the collateral damage of the egoistic doings of menfolk.

கடையில் கடையோனால்
இரைவி இறைவியானாள்

Towards the end, because of the actions of the youngest
From being preyed upon, she liberates herself into being a goddess.
Note: Bobby simha being the youngest, starts a chain of events that destroys everything into ashes.
The woman folk rise from the ashes and liberate themselves.

மனிதி  வெளியே  வா!


-           இப்படிக்கு இறைவன்

என்று தணியும் இந்த மிருகதாபம்? When will this beastly thirst quench?

என்று தணியும் இந்த மிருகதாபம்?


போரினை வாழ்த்திட 
ஊர் ஒன்றே திரண்டது
வேரறு விழைந்திட 
போர் அங்கே மூண்டது

யார் அவன் ஓர் விலங்கினம் 
வீழ்த்தவே உறும் இனர்1 (உறுமினர்)

நாம் எவர் யார் அவன் 
உணர்த்தவே உறும் இனர் (உறுமினர்)

யார் அவன் நாம் அவர் 
உணர்த்தவே எழும் எவர்?

எழும் அவர் உள் வரும் குரல் 
வெகு ஜனத்தினுள் மூழ்கிற்றோ
?



























Translation

English Translation
To bless a war, the whole village congregated
The seeds of war germinated with strong desire to uproot
 
(read uproot as destroying another society/group of people with certain beliefs)

Who is he - an animal species
They growled with the intention of destroying them (by growling this group proves that they are the animals)

Who are we and who are they (Read as we are much better than them)
They growled to vindicate that

Who are they. We are them.(we are one and the same.)
To show that to the world, who will rise up?

That person who rises.. from whom the voice of truth rises towards triumph
Until it drowns in the mass droning

கண்டேன் காரணத்தை - Found the reason



கண்டேன் காரணத்தை


ஆதியவன் பூமிதனில் படைத்தான் ஆண் - அவனோ 
ஆணவம் கொண்டான் காத்தான் ஆண்டு  - அவனை 
காக்கும் மறையை காப்பது முறையோ






























Translation with Essence:

Men are trying to save god, forgetting that god has created them and will save them. This is the root cause for most of the world problems. 


Aadhi - beginning. Aadhiyavan - person from beginning - God
Bhoomidhanil - upon earth
padaithaan - created
aan - man
avanai - him
aanavam - arrogance (aan avam)
kondaan - took upon himself
aandu - avanai - this is a word play, when read as aandavan - means god

kaakum - saving
marayai - marai means scriptures/vedas/quran/bible etc
kaapadhu - saving
murayo - is it right...? 

கேள்வி பதில் - Question and Answer


கேள்வி பதில்


ஏனென்று கேட்காதே
கேட்டாலும் கிடைக்காதே
கிடைத்தாலும் புரியாதே
புரிந்தாலும் பயன் ஏதே
தாயில்லா பிள்ளை உண்டோ
பிள்ளையிலா தாயும் உண்டோ
கேள்வியில்லா பதிலும் உண்டோ
பதில்இலா கேள்வியும் உண்டோ
ஏதுமில்லா சுயம்புலிங்கமோ !























Translation and Summary:

Question and Answer

One person telling the questioner: 

Don't ask (question)
Asking wont fetch (answer)
(Answer) gotten doesn't make sense
(Answer) Making sense doesn't matter

Questioner questioning the person:

Is there a child without a mother 
Can she be a mother without giving birth to a child
Can it be an answer without its question
Can there be an question without an answer
Are questions like the suymabu lingam

Summary: 

A question can exist only if it has an answer.
An axiomatic truth is questions can never be wrong.
Ask questions. Encourage questions.
Question everything. Questioning leads to philosophy, new thoughts and enlightenment.

Isai - இசை

இசை
.........................................................................................
எத்தனை கோடி இன்பம் வைத்தான் 
அத்தனை கோடி உன்னில் வைத்தான்
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
யாதும் உன் ஊரோ
யாதும் உன் மக்களோ
யாதும் இல்லா பரம்பொருளே
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
யாழின் சப்தமோ அன்றி
ஊழி முதல்வன் மாயமோ
பெரும் அலை அதிர்வோ அன்றி
வெறும் உணர்வுகள் தானோ
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
நீ மெய்யோ பொய்யோ
என் மெய்யும் பொய்யே
நான் நீ


























Translation:

How many pleasures has he created for us upon this earth
That many pleasures is contained in you
---------------------------------------------------------
Which is your place
Who are your people
Are you the supreme being
---------------------------------------------------------
Are you the sound from yaazh,instead
Are you the conjurings of lord of the world
Are you simply the vibrations from radio waves else,
Are you just feelings and emotions
---------------------------------------------------------
Are you real or false
My body is also false
You me

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Watching the stars


Watching the stars


Under the brightness of an outdoor garden tube light, I was sitting alone in the backyard of my uncle’s farmhouse. The light from the electric tube was able to penetrate somewhere about fifty feet from where I was sitting. Beyond that it was engulfed by complete darkness. This was a bit unsettling, considering the fact that the house was amidst a rusty village, on the foothills of the southern tip of Western Ghats. The glaring white patch of land on which I was sitting was unique in its texture. I caressed it with my fingers to get a feel of the surface. It was a smooth turf with a mild brown shade to it and some noticeable millimeter sized bumps formed from the tiny bits of hay embedded in them. There was also some husk strewn around, probably vestiges from the recent harvest season. When I casually thumped my fist on the ground, I noticed that it was spongy on the top and hard underneath. It just occurred to me that this was an ideal pitch for cricket and I decided to test my theory the next morning.

As I was adjusting my eyes to balance the glare and follow the movement of a train of ants moving towards the direction of the light, there was a flicker and the only light went off. It was pitch dark and I was sitting alone, with all likeliness that an inquisitive nocturnal from the Ghats could pay me a visit. To my relief, I heard the voice of my newly made friend Rangan, a localite who was enquiring if I was doing fine. He came by and sat next to me and informed, ’We have these power cuts all the time’, shaking his head, ‘No electricity, no rain, no river, no canal. How are we supposed to grow anything at all other than our hair? And without water, no coconuts for oil either and even our hair will stop growing.’

His rant showed a familiar sign of frustration and desperation that was gripping the once proud owners of the sky facing land in the whole of the Toopture taluk. However, his quip on his hair growth was so funny that I struggled to control my laughter just like a backbencher. The darkness also helped me conceal it. He went on to add, ’Last four years our land has been looking at the sky earnestly with a parched throat. Alas, it’s only been a big yawn.’ I know that the act of yawning is contagious but not the word itself, since I yawned immediately.

The small dose of laughter helped me ease my nerves. Rangan’s seemingly difficult problems fell into deaf ears. I was in no mood to listen to the grievances of one of the richest land owners in the taluk. His irrigation problems seemed as distant and unrelatable as that of the digestion problems of a cow, especially to a city dweller like me. However, wanting to be polite, I was trying to patiently listen with well-timed ‘Ohs’ and ‘Hmms’.

I slowly lied down folding my hands behind, to form a comfortable pillow for my head and crossed my legs with the left leg on top of the right leg. What I witnessed now was something I had never seen before in my thirty years of existence. The absence of the city lights to pollute the sky and cloud the vision, presented to me a surreal scene of the majestic sky with the innumerable stars floating, twinkling, and gravitating. It felt super natural to see ethereal beauty of the distant masses that I wanted to control my blinking without realizing that it were the stars twinkling. There was a triplet of bright stars to my right just below the zenith and another set of seven stars resembling a hybrid of a horse and a goat. A few more seconds of close observation convinced me that the septet was rather an elephant without its tusk.

Rangan broke my trance as he spoke further, ‘It’s a burden to be born rich. We carry more burden than a donkey. Imagine! I own one-fifty acres of coconut trees and another fifty acres of arcanut. One acre of coconut yields about ten thousand rupees on a year of average rainfall. Arcanut yields about thirty thousand rupees an acre. A year of drought means you hardly make any profit’. After a brief pause, he said, ’since the time I took control of the land from my father, there have been ten years of drought exactly. And…. this means I have lost about fifty lakh rupees of money. Now you see my burden’.

His voice was slowly increasing in its pitch and I had a queasy feeling that any further he ruminates on his irrigation problems, he would end up making an elephant out of a horse. I interfered by pulling the emergency handle to stop him from derailing his train of thought. ‘How about the laborers? They are landless and are therefore probably richer than you by the fifty lakhs. How did they get affected by the drought?’

Luckily, Rangan did not catch my sarcasm but answered in a rather brooding, sincere tone. ‘Yes correct. Those guys live their life. No land to worry about. Rationed rice and pulses at almost no cost. Free television, mixi, and grinder. Assured salary 120 days a year for laying roads that dissolve in monsoon right in time for the next year of road work. And planting saplings for feeding the cattle.’ Rangan went on with his rant about the privileged life of the labor class. His focus was now completely away from his earlier calculations on his gains and losses.

My attention slowly drifted back to the stars. My eyes were wading through the innumerable stars, in various clusters, some of them seemingly alone but only a focused look would reveal more stars around it. I was trying to get hold of the elephant resembling septet cluster that I lost track of earlier, while listening to Rangan. The cluster was evading me. At that instant, I noticed another star. I had read that the planets and stars move around in orbits, but their movement is not apparent to the naked eye. This star seemed to be moving quickly. I was thinking, ’Maybe I am witnessing a meteorite moving towards the earth to wipe out the dominant humans. Wow!’.

Rangan gently touched my shoulders and brought me out of my trance once again. ‘Have you dozed off?’ he questioned. I quickly came back to my senses and answered, ‘No. Ehh.. I was thinking about the challenges you are facing in life. They are indeed disheartening.’ Rangan nodded in agreement, bending and giving me a little pat on my shoulder acknowledging gratefully that there was another soul that understood his plight.

I was getting ready for another round of his problems when his wife called out for him. Rangan shouted back as she walked over to where we were sitting, with the aid of a kerosene lamp. They were discussing about their early morning plans to return to their village. He got up and faced me with a broad smile and held my shoulders with his arms firmly. He invited me to visit his house, before I went back to the city. As I watched him walk back taking sturdy steps in the dim kerosene light, instructing his wife about the preparations needed for the travel, I was surprised by the transformation in his body language – from a brooding person to a confident authoritative man.

I slowly shifted to my original position, comfortably lying on my back. I was looking at the sky when suddenly, the bright garden tube light came back on and blinded me for an instant. It took me over a minute to adjust my eye sight to the sudden brightness. It took me another minute or two to realize that the garden light, along with the other distant street lights have caused enough light pollution that the sky did not look magical anymore.