From: gopals@astro.umd.edu (N. Gopalswamy)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil
Subject: Modern Literature & valai Malar
Date: 18 Dec 92 14:07:18 GMT
Organization: U. of Maryland @ College Park, Astronomy

I am surprised at the zero response to the Min valai Malar 'a'. I saw
a couple of comments on a.1. However, I did not see a single response 
to a.2! I see a hesitation there. While there is abundant discussion
on 'thirai ilakkiyam', I see the opposite for serious literature.

Why is this? Is it because the theme is not kaathal? We have the
ancient tradition of love and war as the only two primary subjects of
poetry. It is true that these two subjects are based on our
two biological needs, we have already traveled to higher planes
today. In the middle ages, we replaced war with bakthi. kaathalum
kaLamum became kaathalum kadavuLum. Now our cinema poets mostly
stop with kaathal. 

I recently read in kanaiyaazhi a kaasyapan's  commentary about poetry. He says
mu. mEthaa, varamuththu, abthul rahumaan, etc are writing something
which may not be called poetry. I can not fully agree with him.
IMO, mu. mEthaa kills his own poetry. When he wrote kaNNeer pookkaL
there was this eternal sOka rasam that captured the mind. But then
he repeats the same pattern of 'oothum pOthuthaan therindhadhu adhu
oomaiyenRu' oppsites. Many of abthul rahumaan's poems are great, especially
those in suttu viral. Vairamuththu is unrealistically flowry. I recently
read his 'inthak kuLaththil kalleRinthavarkaL'. It is a mini biography.
Some of them really take you to your past. But some of them speaks
of professional rivalry and jealousy in the cine-world. I view these 
poets as Jeyaraaj Oviyams compared to Picasso's. The former penetrate
only the outer layers of our mind. Any way I deviated too far from 'a'.

I decided to post the following comments about a.2 as no expert has 
come forward.

=================================

**Mahaakavi by Vigneswaran is great!! Valai malar is doing great service
to the netters in deed. It is a pity that we have to come to US to hear
about a great poet who was in fact next door. I guess the Pandithak kuzhumam
does not let poems like mahaakavi's enter any text books. I remember
reading mahaakavi's poem which he wrote in bed after a heart attack. That
was indeed a 'vaazhvin tharisanam'. Vigneswaran's article should have included
mahaakavi's satire of social evils. I recall a kuRumpaa where he
criticizes varathatchiNai [ThandapaaNi's heart melts for Vaani when 
when he realises that she would bring a car, a house in Colombo and
fertile fields in the country side].

**Nadesayyar reminds me of Thiru. Vi. Ka.

**Sundarapandian's short story reminded me of Babri Masjit.The hundreds 
of thousands of people mobilised to build a home for Rama some how
do not realize the plight  crores of homeless hindus. I see the
karsevaks as SP's venkatrams.

**Some how I find it hard to enjoy Abbas' poems. Even after reading
many times, I still lack the ability to grasp the poet's mind. I can
get a reflection " kaRRathu kai maNNaLavu" in paRandhu mattum. than
pOkkil" fits with the comments of Devathasan (or Devathachchan?). 
However it reminds me of another poem by Gnanak kooththan(?) about
a foot ball and the players. 'vazhi' seems like a sermon:nallathai
chey. 

*I congratulate the editors for this wonderful literary effort. 

P.S.: I was taken to the sentimental plane for a moment when I
read that mahaakavi edited a magazine called "Minnal". In the late
seventies we were publishing a wall magazine called "Minnal" in
Bangalore.[It is really a hand-written  long computer sheet pasted
near the dining halls with a small empty corner for comments]. 
I learnt later that M. Sundaramoorthy ('a' editor) and his friends refined
and continued "Minnal" in the mid eighties!



=================================================================

gopal
Xref: sparky soc.culture.tamil:4303 soc.culture.indian:40771