Bharathidasan’s Epic Poetry: Kurinji Thittu — Themozhi
தேமொழி
Bharathidasan’s Epic Poetry: Kurinji Thittu — Themozhi
Bharathidasan’s Epic Poetry called ‘Kurinji Thittu’ was first published in August 1958. In the preface to this book, Pavendar Bharathidasan said that he started writing this poem two years ago and lost memory of it after about three-quarters of it was completed. Later, after asking him to complete the book, he tried hard, re-read what he had written several times, and continued to finish. He has regretted that the enthusiasm and passion of the first writing had been diminished and has politely requested to bear with him if the flavor of the book is not up to par. He also asked the budding poets to be mindful of such disruptions that may occur if they continue after a break.
Written in a very simple poetic form, the plot of this book is parallel to the contemporary history of Tamil Nadu. But the story takes place on a fictional small island called ‘Kurinji Thittu’ in the middle of the Indian Ocean just south of Kumari. This place is located on a three-day sea trip to the south of Madras. At the time of the story, there is still a monarchy there. The inhabitants are the indigenous Tamil people who have been continuously living there. Foreigners like Europeans did not take control of the Kurinji Thittu and did not exert their dominance. Because there are many eddies in the sea around Kurinji Thittu Island, ships approaching the island unaware of them will sink in the sea (an imaginary location somewhat similar to the Bermuda Triangle). Kurinji Thittu people are also not very connected with the outside world and do not like to travel to foreign countries. However, they are also aware of contemporary world affairs. Only a few people know how to navigate without getting caught in the whirlpool.
Kurinji Thittu is an island rich in natural beauty. It consists of shelters and residences built with naturally available materials. But here and there, Bharathidasan mentions that 20th-century technologies such as motorcars, telephones, electric lights, fans, radios, guns, etc. have also arrived here.
The King of Kurinji Thittu is Thiraiyan and the Queen is Mallikai. They also have a son named Ilanthiraiyan. Prince Ilanthiraiyan was getting his martial art training under the supervision of his maternal uncle in the Vila district, who is the governor of that district. The queen's best friend is Thamarai. The knowledgeable and wiser elder minister who advised the King's grandfather, and father also advised the king. Although his advice was pretty harsh and irritated the king, he was not in a position to ignore them either.
Along with them, the country's army commander Senthan, the deputy commander Velan, the army commander’s friend and labor union leader Chezhiyan, people's leaders like Nedumaran, Velan, the royal’s chief guard Sillymookan and his son Thangavel were the main characters of the story. But it is an attractive woman named Vinodhai who determines the course of the story. On his visit to Madras, the king falls in love with a pretty lady Vinodhai, he hides the fact that he is a married man with a wife and a family, he brings her along saying that he will make her the queen of Kurinji Thittu. Vinodhai was accompanied by her friend Ambuyam and some religious leaders. After their arrival, the quiet Kurinji Thittu faces many ordeals. In 66 chapters, Bharathidasan tells this story. Eventually, after many deaths, democracy flourishes in the country after the destruction of the wicked.
The story begins with the king’s return from his voyage to Madras. It is not customary for Kurinji Thittu kings to make a voyage to foreign countries. Many citizens and government employees were expecting the king’s return after his 50 days voyage and gathered at the port to welcome him. But because of her ill health on that day, the Queen was unable to welcome the king in person.
Along with the king are two young men (both dressed in male attire, were Vinodhai and her friend Ambuyam) and religious leaders (Vaidikars, two Shaivites, and Sanskrit supporters Sivananda, and his disciple Sivasambandar; a Vaishnavite Thirumaladiyar; and a head of the monastery Thambiran, who is a Tamil lover by nature) arrived with an intent to spread their religion on Kurinji Thittu.
After inquiring about the well-being of all his subjects who came to welcome him and getting to know the affairs of the country from the minister and the chief of staff, the king goes to the charity home where he takes refreshments with all the guests he has brought. He did not step into his royal palace on the way, nor did he see the queen, but went straight away to the charity home with his guests. King’s neglect shocks Queen Mallikai and her friend Thamarai, who were eagerly awaiting his arrival.
After removing her disguise Vinodhai and the King were enjoying their privacy at the charity home. Unexpectedly, King's chief guard Sillymookan entered and spilled some truth in details about the queen and the royal family. Vinodhai was shocked and immediately figured out why the king lied to her and brought her in disguise. To compromise her, the king promised that he will marry her, and will make her the queen, the child that will bear her will be the royal heir and will inherit the throne after him.
The next day, the queen's friend Thamarai comes to the charity home and argues with the king that it is not appropriate to ignore the queen and make her sad and requests him to return to the palace. But the king asked her why the queen didn't welcome him at the port, and also said that if she repents, he does not care, and doesn’t want to see her either. He also angrily chases Thamarai away. After learning this, the Queen regrets and decides to apologize to him. The next day, the Queen and her friend go to the charity home to ask for his forgiveness. Through a window that was left open in the private room, they saw Vinodhai and the King in a close relationship.
The queen got shocked after learning the untold truth of the King’s new love affair. She realized what the king said for avoiding her was a lame excuse after all. She can't eat and can't sleep and fall into depression and her health deteriorates. On learning the condition of the queen, the minister got angry, returned to the king and scolded him for his outrageous act, and advised him to return to the palace to save the queen's life. On King’s arrival at the palace, Queen Mallikai rebuked him. She took a sword and commits suicide. At first, the king was shocked and afraid of retribution, and also tried to take his life with his dagger. However, Vinodhai who followed him to the palace rushed and stopped him from killing himself. After seeing Vinodhai, the king changed his mind, realizing the fact that his queen's death was a boon. After realizing that hereafter he had no more hurdles to marry Vinodhai, he left the palace happily ignoring everyone. People and the queen’s friends were mourning and grieving deeply.
Prince Ilanthiraiyan and Thinnan, the queen's brother and the governor of the Vila district were informed of the queen's death by phone and they rushed to the capital in their car. On their way, they were trying to rescue two young women in distress. But those women slyly killed them and threw their bodies in the water. The schemers are none other than Vinodhai and her friend Ambuyam. After the queen, her brother, and the prince all are dead, Vinodhai moves onto the next stage of bringing those who might oppose her under her control. Vinodhai uses her beauty as a tool to spread her spell. She starts mercilessly to eliminate the opposers who disagree with her demands. Those targeted by her were the army commander Senthan, Senthan's friend Chezhiyan, the chief guard Sillymookan and his son Thangavel, and finally the head of the monastery, Thambiran.
The poor laborers who were living in poverty due to insufficient wages and demanding redress from the king are imprisoned and the prison is full. There are many problems in the country such as lack of productivity, and lack of business development and there is no wealth in the government treasury to fix them. Referring to this situation, the officers of many departments come to the king's court and appeal for funds. But the king irresponsibly gives in to Vinodhai's greed and spends his money on building a temple to propagate the religion and buying her expensive ornaments to please Vinodhai. Thamarai, the friend of the late queen, can't bear to see the way the country is going. She asks the people of the country to revolt.
Meanwhile, the citizens who are suffering from poverty in the country, the poor laborers, and some government officials convene under the leadership of commander Senthan to rebel against the monarchy and to bring democracy. Vinodhai tries to pacify by feeding the starved just for a day. Also, she lures the commander Senthan, but he does not cooperate with her. Irritated by this, Vinodhai complains about him to the king. Falsely accusing him of extending an indecent proposal of an affair to her. The King ordained a death sentence for Senthan. Ambuyam, Vinodhai's friend who felt sorry for Senthan's life-ending situation, tells the people the truth about Vinodhai and the harm she had done to Kurinji Thittu and its royal family with tears. Senthan summons his friend Chezhiyan alone, gives him his signet ring, and entrusts him with the responsibility of guarding the people to lead them on the path of revolution. Then to carry out the royal order, he jumped into the fire pit and killed himself.
Attracted by Chezhiyan’s handsomeness, Vinodhai decides to marry him even before marrying the king. Tells the king some astrology-based lies that her first husband will die immediately after marriage, so she plans to marry King’s enemy first to protect the king, and make the king accept her deceitful idea. The king also believes in the prediction that her first husband will die within a few days of marriage. Chezhiyan also agrees to the marriage because he lusts for her. Vinodhai plans to conduct a wedding ceremony in the temple, followed by a wedding celebration at the house of Senthan, the commander she destroyed. The citizens get angry after hearing the news. They hate Chezhiyan, whom they had trusted as their leader to help abolish the monarchy.
On the night of the wedding, Vinodhai gave her husband Chezhiyan sleeping pills and made him sleep, and came to the palace to spend the rest of the night with the king. Sillymookan, the chief guard, tells this to Thamarai, the former queen's friend. Disgusted Thamarai wrote anonymous letters to Chezhiyan and the king that they got deceived by Vinodhai and dropped the letters in their room. After reading it, the king angrily reprimands Vinodhai. Vinodhai tells the King that the next evening God Shiva at the seaside hill temple will tell the king about the true love she had for the king and prove her innocence. She seeks help from the head of the monastery, Thambiran to help her out with her lies, and to make arrangements for Shiva's announcement in her favor in the Shiva temple. Unbeknownst to Vinodhai, Thamarai had been secretly following her and monitoring her activities, could not bear it any longer, and threw a spear from behind and killed Vinodhai. She then asks Thambiran to lay her body below Shiva's feet in the temple sanctum.
The next evening the hill temple is filled with people eager to know what Shiva's announcement is. They are surprised to know that Vinodhai did not arrive even after the gathering of King Thiraiyan, the wise minister, Chezhiyan and many other people arrived. The king finds the sanctum closed and opens it. He gets angry seeing Vinodhai lying dead there and tries to kill Chezhiyan saying that Chezhiyan was responsible for her death. The minister interrupts the King. Thamarai says that she was the one who killed Vinodhai to end her treachery. The people’s leader Nedumaran taunts Chezhiyan for his irresponsibility. Chezhiyan regrets his mistake that he failed on his duty given to him by commander Senthan due to his lust for Vinodhai. Giving Nedumaran the signet ring of commander Senthan and asking him to take responsibility, Chezhiyan rushes out of the mountain temple and jumps off the cliff, drowns himself in the sea.
The minister scolds the king for his inappropriate love for a characterless wicked woman, bringing her to the country. He accused the king of destroying his queen, prince, family, and country but did not feel sorry. Realizing his crime, the king kneels to everyone and surrenders his life. After consultation with the people’s leader Nedumaran, and a discussion with the minister, the monarchy abdicated and Kurinji Thittu became a democratic government.
Bharathidasan has taken the story of a country that was caught in the trap of a powerful greedy foreign woman, whose intrusion destabilized the country upon her arrival along with the religions that she bought. And telling the story, as the result of the intrusion, how a peaceful monarch encountered many suicides, murders, irresponsible tyranny, and then finally transitioned to democracy. Kurinji Thittu is composed of songs in a simple style, with Classical Tamil poetry based upon the rules of metric prosody of Aruseer Virutham, Enseer Virutham, Venba, and Agavarba.
Bharathidasan has shown his erudition, poetry, and literary talent in this Epic Poetry. In an attempt to convey, his principles and to emphasize rational principles, opposition to Hindi imposition, anti-parochialism, advocacy of socialism, sensitization of factory workers/laborers struggles, feminist thought, pro-democracy, Tamil devotion, criticism of beliefs of parochial marriage system, the plight of Madras screen industry women, ills of Madras city life, and contemporary politics etcetera, he used the plot very nicely indeed. The poetry of Bharathidasan in Kurinji Thittu Epic Poetry should be enjoyed in detail in appreciation of its beauty.
References:
Kurinji Thittu, Poem, Bharathidasan, (First Edition-1958), Fifth Edition, 258 pages, Poombukar Publishing House, 1985.
Nationalized thread; Tamil Internet - e-Library: TVA_BOK_0023176
[https://www.tamildigitallibrary.in/admin/assets/book/TVA_BOK_0023176_kurinjith_dittu.pdf]
Poems of Kurinji Thittu -Bharathidasan
(Complete Collection of Pavendar Songs)
https://www.tamilvu.org/node/154572?linkid=85329
*** This article of mine appeared in "Love Thamizh" - September 2022 issue