A pall of gloom descended on the world of writers when the 84- year old Vanambadi poet Thenarasan, who is known for his poems with a biting satire passed away a couple of days ago.
The Vanambadis of Coimbatore, who severely criticized the conventional verse for its strict prosodic rules, were on a priceless mission in taking modern poetry to the masses in the 1970s. Addressing social issues in modern verse, the poets strongly believed that their creations would bring a reformation in society. And one such veteran Vanambadi poet is Thenarasan, whose poems are known for his exceptional satire and pleasant rhyme.
'Like all other Vanambadi poets, I too was writing only Tamil verse in the conventional metre before I entered the poetry movement. And it was no easy task to transform me from a conventional poet to a modern one. I even felt that the new kind of verse called ‘Puthu Kavithai’ written without prosodic rules was like a lass renounced of her beautiful clothes and ornaments' the Pollachi-based octogenarian poet once said to this writer.
An author of the popular books of poems Vellai Roja and Manvaasal, Thenarasan’s flair for writing verse was something inseparable from him. A few years ago, he penned two more books of poems Peythu Pazhakiya Mekam (The cloud that is used to rain) and Panikaalam Mudhailya Kavithaikal - The Mist and other poems.
The latter, a bilingual work, includes the English rendering of Thenarasan’s poems by his poetry peer Sirpi Balasubramaniam, eminent Vanambadi poet and a two- Sahitya Akademi awardee. A few other verses in the book were translated by Muthukumar and Bala, a late Vanambadi poet.
Born in an agriculture family in the hamlet Chellappampalayam near Udumalpet, Thenarasan had his schooling in Gandhi Kalanilayam Higher Secondary School at Pungamuthur, where he later worked as aTamil teacher.
Sharing his early day interests in poetry, Thenarasan once recalled:
'My teachers Peri.Sivanadiyan and Ki. Venkatasamy, who were also poets, ignited my passion for poetry in my school days. When I was a budding poet, the school provided me an opportunity to read out a poem, welcoming the Tamil scholar Ki.Aa.Pe. Visuvanatham, when he visited our school'
Recalling his days in the Vanambadi poetry movement, Thenarasan pointed out:
'We, the Vanambadis, were radicals in poetry. We used to conduct our literary meetings as Kavi Raathiris (Nights of poetry) in Coimbatore. Though the pillars of the poetry movement like Puviarasu, Elamurugu, and Gnani discussed and debated over ideas of poetry, I would just be an observer'
However, while listening to Thenarsan’s poems in the Kaviarangams, members of the audience were sure to compliment his biting satire with rousing applause.
Parodying a modern-day love affair, Thenarasan writes a poem in the voice of an unworldly lover, as he speaks to his lady love, a practical girl:
My dear, dear darling,
You were always practical
Only I was…
When I was planning, dear,
To bring a Kamadhenu to your back-yard
You ran away with a milk vendor!
My dear darling
I was waiting to take you in a dream-chariot
But you eloped with him
On a rickety old bicycle!