A RIVER

Critical Appreciation
The poem “A River” is written by A.K. Ramanujan. In this poem, the poet
has compared and contrasted the attitudes of the old poets and those of the
new poets to human suffering. He has come to the conclusion that both the
groups of the poets are indifferent to human sorrow and suffering. Their
poetry dose not reflects the miseries of the human beings. He has proved
this point in the present poem.

The river Vaikai on whose bank the historic city of Madurai stands has been
mentioned in the poems of many poets, both past and present. The river is
intimately associated with the life and culture of the Tamil people. The
peculiar thing, which appeals to the poets, is that the river presents two
different spectacles in two different season. It is completely dry in summer
and flooded in full in the rainy season.

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In this poem, the poet refers to the river Vaikai which flows through the city

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of Madurai. The word Madurai means a “sweet city”. It is a Tamil word. As a

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matter of fact, this city is the center of Tamil culture and learning. It is also
a holy city full of temples including the famous Minakshee temple. The poets
have written many poems on the temples and the river. In the present poem,
A.K. Ramanujan deals with the river.

In the poem “A River”, we get two pictures based upon two different kinds of
description. In the summer, the river is almost empty. Only a very thin
stream of water flows. So the sand ribs on the bed of the river are visible.
The stones that lie on the bed of the river also exposed to view. The portion
of the river under the bridge has also been described. We get a vivid picture
of the river in the summer season.

There is also the picture of the river in the rainy season. Generally, all kinds
of poets have written about it in their poems.

During the rainy season when the floods crone the people observe it very
anxiously. They remember the rising of the river inch by inch from time to
time. They remember how the stone steps of the bathing place are
submerged one by one.

They see how three village houses were damaged and carried off by the
floods. They now how two cows named Brinda and Gopi were carried away.
They also know how a pregnant woman was also drowned in the river during
the flood. Both the old and new poets have mentioned these things in their
poems. But the way they have described these things in their poems shows
that they were not much alive to or sympathetic with human suffering.

They did not mention the name of the woman who was carrying twins.
Before their birth, she was drowned in the flooded river. At the time of
drowning, most probably the twins must have kicked the sides of her womb.
She must have got much pain out of this. But both the new poets and old

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poets did not refer to all these miseries of the woman in their poetic
creations.

This becomes ultimately clear that they are not sympathetic with suffering
human beings. They are totally callous and indifferent. This kind of attitude
makes their poetry weak and unappealing, dry and cheerless.

The tone of the poem is based on sarcasm and irony. The structure of the
poem has been in paragraphs and single lines. There are four longer verse
paragraphs and a shorter one in the beginning. There are only two single
isolated lines. This kind of structural arrangement contributes to the effect
of irony. It also helps to grasp the main points clearly. Secondly, a word can
be said about the language used in the poem. It is very simple on account of
which the thought sequence of the poem is presented unmistakably and
clearly.

SUMMARY

‘A River’ is a poem on the Vaikai which flows through Madurai, a city

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that has enjoyed pride of place as the seat of Tamil culture for the last two

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thousand years. In this city there are several poets who have made cities
and temples the subject-matter of their poems. Every summer the river dries
up in the scorching heat of the sun. The poet presents beautiful images of
the river when it dries up. The images of “straw and women’s hair clogging
the water gates at the rusty bars” evoke a picture of total dryness of the
river. The poets living in the city do not take notice of this real condition of
the river, and actually wait for the monsoons when the river is flooded so
that they can make that condition a more exciting theme for their poems.

The scene then shifts to the reaction of an individual who was present
there when the river was on flood. He notices the general interest of the
people towards the floods. People talk about the details of the flood. They
talk about the height of the water level and the deaths of the humans and
cattle caused by the floods. This they do year after year. The poet ends by
repeating that the river gets turbulent enough to be noticed by everyone just
once a year when it causes death and destruction. Otherwise no one notices
it when it is dry and dull because it does not make a news.

THEME

In this poem, the poet brings a marvellous evocation of the river

Vaikai. But at the same time he exposes the callous attitude of not only the
older poets but the new poets also. The poet laments that the poets sing
about the river in flood but do not describe the human aspect in their
poems. The poem depicts a regular event in many parts of India during
monsoons when several rivers are in flood and destroy many villages. this is
the only time when people come to know about the existence of that town or
city through which the river flows because everyone shows a sudden interest
in the sufferings of these affected people. Poets of all types take this annual
opportunity to create fanciful literature, but they sing ‘Only of the floods’.

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Every aspect of the flood is minutely taken into consideration for selfish
ends. The world is informed superficially about the loss of a pregnant
woman, of a couple of cows, and of three village houses. After the emergency
is over, and the river is back to normal, nobody gives it another thought.

STANZA-WISE EXPLANATION

Lines (1-16)

In the city of Madurai, famous for its temples and poets who sing
about cities and temples, there is a river named Vaikai which dries up in the
summer heat. It turns into a narrow trickle flowing through mounds of sand
appearing like ribs. Its Watergates get blocked with straw and women’s hair.
The bars of the gates get rusty. The bridges over the river show shoddy
patchwork of repair. The wet stones spotting the river look like sleeping
crocodiles and shine in the sun. The dry stones look like water buffaloes
lazing in the sun. No poets were there to observe these scenes of discomfort,
since they only waited for floods to sing about them in their poems.

Lines (17-27)

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tam
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There was only one person who actually saw what happened when the
floods came last year. People began to talk of the level to which the river had
risen. They notice the disappearance of cobbled steps one by one and the
rising of water over the bathing places. The flood carried off three village
houses. A pregnant woman and a couple of cows (Gopi and Brinda) were
drowned but this was not something unusual.

Lines (28-34)

The new poets, like the old poets, sang about the floods in their
poems. They did not care to describe the tragic human aspects of the floods.
They did not notice the drowning of the pregnant woman, the loss of one life
and that of the unborn child or children who might have been kicking at the
‘blank’ (deadened) walls of the womb, asking to be released to live, were of
no importance to these poets.

Lines (35-49)

The observer remarked casually that the river had water enough to
stir the poets only once a year. The floods destroyed three village houses. A
couple of cows named Gopi and Brinda was carried away by the floods. A
pregnant woman was drowned in the floods. But they fail to make mention
of the twins in the womb which were identical, and had no moles or
different-coloured diapers on their bodies to distinguish one from the other.
They died even before death.

CRITICAL APPRECIATION

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 ‘A River’ not only presents a marvellous picture of the river Vaikai, but
also exposes the callous attitude of the older as well as new poets. The river
Vaikai dries up in the summer heat and it does not stir the poet’s
imagination, but when it is in flood, it stirs the imagination of the poets and
they write several poems on it. The poet uses irony to expose the callousness
of both old and new poets in signing about floods, ignoring the human
aspect of them. He satirises the poets for ignoring the immense loss and
sufferings caused by floods. The absence of human concern in old and new
poetry is really a matter of concern.

When the river is in flood, people show concern about the floods. They
talk about the various features of the flood. They talk about the various
features of the flood. They describe how high water-level has reached and
how many humans and cattle have been carried away by the floods, but
they do not show any deep concern for the tragic aspect of the floods.

In spite of the seriousness of the theme, the poet adds humourous

touches here and there. For instance, one cannot help being amused on

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noticing the Watergates of the river being choked with women’s hair and the

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cows being named Gopi and Brinda.

CONTEXT QUESTIONS

I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ in Madurai, city of temples…………………….hair clogging the Watergates.”

(i) What is Madurai known for? To which river does the poet refer to
here?
Ans. The city of Madurai is known for its temples and poets. The poet
refers to the river Vaikai.

(ii) What do the poets sing of? What do they ignore?

Ans. The poets sing of the cities and temples. They also sing of the river
when it is in flood. They ignore the river when it is dried-up in the
summer heat.

(iii) What happens to the river in summer?

Ans. The river gets dried-up in summer.

(iv) Why does the poet refer to the dried-up river?

Ans. The poet refers to the dried-up river because it does not attract the
attention of the poets.

(v) What do you mean by the ‘sand-ribs’?

Ans. When the river dries up in summer, it turns into a narrow trickle
flowing through the mounds of san appearing like ribs. It means that the
mounds of sands look like ribs.

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II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ Under the bridges with patches………………………sing only of the floods.”

(i) What is referred to earlier in the context?

Ans. The poet refers to the dried-up river. Its Watergates get blocked with
straw and women’s hair. The bars of the gates get rusty.

(ii) In which condition are the bridges on the river? What does thir
condition reveal?
Ans. The bridges over the river show shoddy patchwork of repair. It
reveals that the river is not looked after and maintained properly.

(iii) Why does the poet compare wet stones to crocodiles?

Ans. The poet compares wet stones to crocodiles in order to convey that
they are slippery and may prove to be dangerous.

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(iv) The dry stones are compared to water buffaloes. Why?

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Ans. The poet compares the dry stones to water-buffaloes in order to
convey that as the stones lie still in the sun, similarly the water-buffaloes
lie still lazing in the sun.

(v) The poets only sang of the floods. Is there any irony in the
statement? What is that?
Ans. Yes, there is an irony in the statement. When the river dries up, no
poet writes a poem about it, but when it is in flood, the poets sing about
the floods in their poems. Herein lies the irony.

III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ He was there for a day……………………............. Gopi and Brinda as usual.”

(i) What were the people talking about?

Ans. People began to talk of the level to which the river had risen and of
the disappearance of cobbled steps one by one and the rising of water
over the bathing places.

(ii) What havoc was caused by the flood?

Ans. The flood carried off three village houses. A pregnant woman and a
couple of cows (Gopi and Brinda) were drowned.

(iii) Do you find any touch of humour? Point it out.

Ans. Yes. It is amusing to know that the cows are named as Gopi and
Brinda.

(iv) What is the significance of ‘as usual’?

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 Ans. ‘As usual’ suggests an ironic comment on those poets who see
nothing extra-ordinary in the drowning of human beings and animals.

(v) Explain : “and the way it carried off three village houses.”
Ans. People talked of the manner in which the river in flood carried off
there village houses, but they did not pay any attention to the tragic
human aspects of floods.

IV. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ The new poets still quoted…………………………..walls even before birth.

(i) What has the poet referred to earlier in the context?

Ans. The poet has already talked of the havoc caused by the floods. The
floods carried away three village houses, a couple of cows named Gopi
and Brinda and a pregnant woman.

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(ii) Was the attitude of the new poets different from that of the old

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poets? What was it, after all?
Ans. No. The new poets, like the old poets, sang in their verses only
about floods.

(iii) What is it that the poet disapproves in the attitude of both the old
and the new poets?
Ans. The new poets, like the old poets, sang in their verses only about
floods, but they ignored the tragic human aspects. The poet disapproves
of this attitude of the poets.

(iv) The drowning of the pregnant woman is all the more tragic. How?
Ans. The drowning of the pregnant woman is all the more tragic because
the unborn child or children also died in the womb of the pregnant
woman.

(v) What does the poet imagine?

Ans. The poet imagines the unborn child or children who might have
been kicking at the walls of the womb of the pregnant woman.

V. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ He said : the river has water ………………………………three village houses.”

(i) Explain : ‘The river has water enough to be poetic bout only once a
year.’
Ans. The river attracts the attention of the poets only once a year when
the river is in flood in monsoon.

(ii) Point out the irony involved in the statement that the river has
water enough to be poetic’.

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 Ans. When the river dries up, no poet writes a poem about the river, but
when it is in flood, the poets sing about the floods in their poems. Herein
lies the irony in the statement.

(iii) What harm did the floods cause?

Ans. The floods caused a great harm. The floods carried away three
village houses, a couple of cows named Gopi and Brinda and a pregnant
woman.

(iv) Why does the poet resort to repetition of what he has said earlier?
Ans. The poet resorts to repetition in order to emphasise the fact that
poets sing in their poems only about the floods, but pay no attention to
the tragic human aspects of the floods.

(v) What does he say later?

Ans. He says that the floods carried away three village houses, a couple
of cows named Gopi and Brinda and a pregnant woman.

VI.

(i)
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tam
Sir
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

“ A couple of cows named…………………………….diapers to tell them apart. ”

What does the poet say earlier in the context?

Ans. The poet makes an ironical remark. He says that when the river
dries up, no poet writes a poem about that but when it is in flood, the
poets sing about the floods in their poems.

(ii) Who are Gopi and Brinda? Do you find anything humorous about
the names?
Ans. Gopi and Brinda are the names of the two cows who were carried
away by the floods. It is amusing to note that human names are given to
animals.

(iii) In which way were the twins imagined to be identical?

Ans. The twins in the womb were imagined to be identical because they
had no moles or different coloured diapers on their bodies to distinguish
one from the other.

(iv) Why does the reiterates the fate of the unborn twins in these lines?
Ans. The poet reiterates the fate of the unborn twins in order to satirise
the poets for ignoring the tragic human aspects of the floods in their
poems.

(v) What literary device does the poet use to convey his idea? Explain.
Ans. The poet uses irony to point out that the old and the new poets sing
about the floods in their poems but ignore the tragic human aspects of
them.