“Myth and Legend: A Study of A.K. Ramanujan's Poetry"
Abstract
This assignment examines how A.K. Ramanujan uses myths and legends in his poetry to explore cultural memory and identity. By reimagining traditional stories in his poetry, Ramanujan connects ancient myths with modern life, highlighting themes like family, exile, and emotional complexity. Through this study, his poetry reveals how cultural heritage shapes personal identity while also reinterpreting old narratives for contemporary readers.
Introduction
A. K. Ramanujan was a distinguished Indian poet, translator, and scholar whose work spanned in multiple languages, English, Kannada, Tamil, and Sanskrit and diverse disciplines like literature, linguistics, and folklore. He was born in Mysore, India, and studied English and linguistics before becoming a professor at the University of Chicago, where he taught for over three decades. His poetry, known for its exploration of identity, tradition, and modernity, includes collections like The Striders and Relations. He also made significant contributions as a translator, bringing classical Tamil and Kannada poetry, as well as Indian folklore, to global readers through works such as The Interior Landscape and Speaking of Siva. His most controversial and celebrated work, the essay Three Hundred Ramayanas, highlighted the diversity of Ramayana traditions across South and Southeast Asia, sparking significant debate. He has published four volumes of poetry to date: The Striders (1966), Relations: Poems (1971), Second Sight (1986) and The Black Hen (1995), a posthumous publication.
A. K. Ramanujan and His Engagement With Indian Myths
“I must seek and will find my particular hell only, in my Hindu mind”
Ramanujan is determined to seek his identity in India’s past and his engagement with Indian myths and folklore is central to both his scholarly work and his poetry. His attraction with the richness of Indian cultural narratives, including myths, legends, and folktales, is prominent in his translations of classical Tamil and Kannada literature, as well as his exploration of Hindu myths in his poems. Ramanujan viewed myths as a way of understanding human behavior and societal values, often contrasting them with contemporary realities. His essays, such as the controversial “Three Hundred Ramayanas”, renders his deep commitment to revealing the multiplicity of interpretations that Indian myths have fostered across cultures.
In his poetry, myths serve as a bridge between personal identity and collective cultural memory. Ramanujan often uses mythological references to reflect on existential questions, as seen in works like "Still Another View of Grace." Myths allow him to explore the complexities of selfhood and cultural belonging, presenting a dialogue between the past and present. His use of myth goes beyond political discourse, focusing instead on the ethical and personal dimensions of human experience.
Use of Ramayan and Other Myths
In the poem "Love Poem for a Wife", Ramanujan explores the tension between idealized mythic figures like Rama and Sita, and the more complex human dynamics of his own marriage and relationships. The mythic ideals confront the realities of modern life. such as Rama and Sita, with their human, fallible counterparts in modern life.
“After a night of rage that lasted days quarrels in a forest, waterfalls, exchanges, marriage, exploration of bays and places we had never known we would never know…mythic men, rubberplant and peppervine, frocks with print patterns”
The poem reveals the tension between the ideal of perfect devotion and love symbolized by Rama and Sita and the real, often flawed, human relationships in everyday life. Ramanujan uses the myth not to celebrate its ideals but to bring out the disparity between the mythic past and the imperfect present. By doing this, he explores how the myth fails to provide a realistic model for contemporary human relationships. His ironic and mocking tone critiques how people hold themselves and others to impossible standards of mythic perfection, leading to dissatisfaction and alienation in marriages.
Ramanujan often draws on the legend of the Tamil heroine Kannagi from the epic Silappadikaram. Kannagi's story of moral righteousness and pursuit of justice against injustice symbolizes feminine strength and cultural identity in his work. Her character allows Ramanujan to explore the intersection of personal and cultural experiences, as well as the consequences of unfairness. Kannagi represents resilience in the face of loss and the weight of historical responsibility.
In his other poems like “The Striders” and “Relations”, A.K. Ramanujan shows a strong desire to reconnect with his roots, and this desire improve his poetry in various ways. His second collection, “Relations”, has even more mythical references and storytelling. In the poem "One, Two, Maybe Three Arguments Against Suicide," Ramanujan offers reasons why a person should not commit suicide.
"Remember what the wise callous hindus
Said when the love-god burned: keep your cool,
Make for love’s sake no noble gesture.
All symbol, no limbs, a nobody all soul,
O Kama, only you can have no use
for the Kamasutra. Ashes have no posture"
In the third part of the poem, he suggests that desire is "endless" and that someone considering suicide should calm themselves and get rid of all desires, including Kama, or passion. The poem specifically refers to the “Kamasutra”, a famous text about love, and the legend of Kamadeva, the God of Love and Passion, who was burned by Lord Shiva.
In a poem “A Minor Sacrifice”, Ramanujan retells the ancient story of Raja Parikshit and his son Janmejaya, which focuses on a sacrificial ritual. The story starts when Raja Parikshit, during a hunting trip, kills a snake and, for entertainment, places it around a sage’s neck. This disrespectful act brings the wrath of the sage, who curses Parikshit to die by a snakebite. After the king’s death, his son, Janmejaya, vows revenge and performs a powerful ritual, a snake sacrifice, which compels all the snakes to fall into the sacrificial fire.
"that draws every snake from everywhere, till snakes of every stripe, begin to fal,l through the blazing air into his altar fires."
The ritual is so potent that snakes from everywhere are drawn into the fire and burned. However, one snake, Takshak, the very snake responsible for Parikshit’s death, manages to escape by hiding on Lord Indra’s throne. When the recited mantras begin to affect Indra’s throne, the god advises Takshak to disguise himself as a Brahmin in order to avoid the ritual’s power. Takshak does so, and the sages conducting the ritual, believing that no snakes remain in the universe, conclude the sacrifice, calling it a ‘minor sacrifice.’
This poem reflects on the cyclical nature of revenge, myth, and the powerful forces of fate intertwined with human actions, all while questioning the value and meaning of such rituals.
His Ironic View of Life
A.K. Ramanujan's ironic perspective on Hindu life is woven into many of his poems, where he critiques aspects of Hinduism with both subtle humor and sharp observation. In the poem “The Hindoo: he doesn’t hurt a fly or a spider either”, Ramanujan satirizes the Hindu ideal of non-violence, showing how it can turn into a paralyzing passivity.
"Why, I cannot hurt a spider either, not even a black widow, for who can tell Who’s Who? Can you? May it’s once again my great swinging grandmother”.
This passage pokes fun at the Hindu belief in reincarnation, where even small creatures might be seen as one's ancestors, thus causing the character to refrain from harming them out of fear and uncertainty.
In “Obituary”, Ramanujan ironically critiques Hindu death rituals. The poem describes the death of the poet’s father, but instead of mourning, the speaker focuses on the practical burdens that are left behind.
"left debts and daughters, a bedwetting grandson, and a changed mother".
The poem goes on to describe the Hindu ritual of scattering the ashes in a sacred river, but this act, traditionally viewed as spiritually significant, is portrayed with detachment. The father’s death becomes almost a non event, stripped of its sacred significance by the material concerns that follow.
Ramanujan’s use of irony in these and other poems reflects his ability to maintain a critical distance from Hindu rituals and beliefs, allowing him to explore their contradictions and absurdities without entirely rejecting their value. His work shows both an intimate understanding of Hindu traditions and a modern, skeptical outlook that questions their relevance in contemporary life.
Conclusion
To conclude, A.K. Ramanujan’s poetry skillfully blends myth and legend by reviving the forgotten stories from Indian culture and reinterpreting them for the modern world. By drawing on epics like the “Ramayana” and legends such as “Silappadikaram”, “Kamdev” and “Raja Parikshit”, he contrasts idealized pasts with the complexities of contemporary life. His use of myths reflects his deep cultural roots while addressing the challenges of his expatriate condition. By doing this , Ramanujan’s work gets the essence of post-colonial literature, turning his personal displacement into a strength that brings the image of India vividly alive in his poetry.
Wordcount: 1456
References
Govindrajan, Dr. M. “A.K. Ramanujan’s Ironical Vision of Hindu’s Life: A Confrontation between Eastern Wisdom and Western Skepticism.” Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, vol. 6, no. 3, 2019, https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRAG06195.pdf. Accessed 14 November 2024.
“The literary legacy of an Indian modernist.” The Caravan, 31 July 2013, https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/reading-small-print. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Sharma, Mona. “Myth and Folklore in A.K. Ramanujan’s Poetry.” Navbharat Memorial Foundation, vol. 4, no. 3, 2015, http://www.ijcms2015.co/file/2019/vol-4-issue-3/aijra-vol-iv-issue-3-06.pdf. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Sinha, Dr. Mosam. “A CRITICAL STUDY OF MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN THE POETRY OF A.K. RAMANUJAN.” Express Online Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, https://www.academia.edu/9179527/A_CRITICAL_STUDY_OF_MYTHS_AND_LEGENDS_IN_THE_POETRY_OF_A_K_RAMANUJAN_Dr_Mosam_Sinha_Associate_Professor_and_Head_Department_of_English_TMIMT_TMU_Moradabad. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Srivastava, Dr. Pallavi. “TREATMENT OF HINDU MYTHS AND LEGENDS IN A.K. RAMANUJAN’S POETRY.” https://shriprbhu.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-particular-hell-only-in-my-hindu.html. Accessed 14 November 2024.
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