Introduction :
"A River" is a famous poem taken from the collection "The Srtiders" of A.K.Ramanujan.(Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan). The river meant here may be 'Vaigai', but the appeal is not limited to this particular river. The incidents related to this river crosses the boundary of the temple city Madurai and assumes a representative status. Such a river is found in many places throughout the world and for this the poem is probably christened as 'A River' in stead of 'The River'. The non-definiteness in the title gives the poem an universal status and makes the theme of the poem more effective and impressive.
Summary :
Madurai, a city of South India, is described as the 'city of temples and poets'. A river (Vaigai) runs through this city. During the Summer this river dries to such an extent that a little water trickles and the 'sand-ribs' are exposed to the viewers. The bridges which are repaired by patching stand silently with the rusty bars and the water gates are clogged with the straw and women's hair. The wet stones seen under the bridge glisten like the sleepy blackish crocodiles and the dry stones look like the shaven water-buffalos taking rest in the Sun. This picture of the river is not the poetic to the poets - old and new.
The old poets sang about the flood only in the river. The poets used to come to see, as if to enjoy, the flood . Obviously the river became the center of discussion then and people everywhere talked about the rising of the water level in the river inch by inch. They saw that the water ran over the limited number of the 'cobbled steps' and ultimately the bathing places. Inundation was the destiny of the area and it suddenly swept three village houses, one pregnant woman and a couple of cows which were fondly named as Gopi and Brinda. This is the devastating picture of the river in the rainy season.
The poet Ramanujan wonders that the new poets follow the path paved by the old poets and speak about the flood in the river. According to them the river is in her prime only once in a year when she has enough water to be poetic. They eulogize the swelling of the river but never spell a word about the seamy side of it. They never mention the devastation of the village houses and the death of Gopi and Brinda- a couple of cows. The sad end of the pregnant lady 'expecting identical twins' slips their notice. It is thought that the twin babies would have no moles on their bodies as identification marks. Only the use of different coloured diapers would make them apart. The matter of pathos is that such a cute twins die from suffocation in the dark womb of their mother. It is unnoticed ,unfelt and unuttered by the poets , both old and new.
Critical Interpretation :
The poem begins in a very simple and interesting way with the name of Madurai which is a city of temple. Many poets of different ages live there and they all sing about the city of Madurai and all the temples situated here.Everything is very good. The poem suddenly takes turn to the reality , the picture of the river under mention.A vivid realistic picture of the dried-up river is presented. It is clear that every thing related to the river has a long past which is indicated by the shape of the bridge. The rusty iron bars and the patches due to repair indicate that the bridge is old and neglected enough. Through the picture of the water gates clogged with straws and women's hair the poet has given a hint of the tragedy caused by the river. As the poets come only once in a year and that is the rainy season , they get no chance to see the "straw and women's hair/clogging the Water gates". Had they come during the Summer, they would have noticed the "straw and women's hair" and it might have opened their eyes and made them humane.
The poets have some definite duties and responsibilities to man and society. They have to discharge them, they can ,in no way, avoid it . In the poem "A River" we come across some poets who has no mind to glance at the reality of life. One would do no unfair if one label them as imperfect and incomplete poets. As they want only the artistic and poetic picture of the river, they deliberately avoid the sad devastating activity of this rain water demon. The very thinking and indifferent mentality of such poets are the criticism of their own. How can we say them the Romantic ? A romantic mind can not be devoid of empathy and fellow-feeling for the people at large. A true romantic, beside being nature-lover, can not help feeling about the human beings and life. Making that matter prominent a poem plays the role of the critic of the poets. And this is the skill of this poet Ramanujan.
A river carries off the village houses and makes numberless people homeless. It not only devastates the refuge ,but also snatches the partner of life, the woman, and also the future generation, the identical twins. The hint is that the flood in the river makes the male-folk destitute , makes him cruelly alone by snatching home,wife and children. Besides, the flood plunders the source of income, the wealth of cattle, here the cows 'Gopi' and 'Brinda'. This reality, this human aspect, this havoc and this devastation is thoroughly avioded and deliberately ignored by the old and new poets who like to sing of the city and the temples.
The very texture of the poem "A River" is soaked with satire and mixed with irony. The turbulent swelling of the water is very exciting to the poets who have no idea about the violent mood of the river. The violent and devastating manifestation of water is sensational and poetic to them. Such sense and poetic creed are satirized in this poem . Who will read the poems of the so-called poets and who will come to the temple to worship if the river takes away all of the people every year. Losing all one may not, can not, should not patronize the poetry and this is the irony inherent in this poem.
