Arun Kolatkars Jejuri Perspective Modern PDF
Arun Kolatkars Jejuri Perspective Modern PDF
Arun Kolatkars Jejuri Perspective Modern PDF
Vilas K. Tayde
Asst. Professor and Head
Humanity and Science Department
B.M. Polytechnic, Badlapur,
Dist. Thane, Maharashtra, (INDIA)
Abstract
Jejuri, probably the most remarkable Indian poetry in English. Arun Kolatkar, bilingual poet,
aesthetically and graphically express his views on faith, realism and scepticism. Jejuri,
Commonwealth Prize winning, appeared in 1976. His first book of English poetry. Chirmiiri, his
another book, made history by going into 2nd edition within six months of its release. It is bare
fact that Indians are devout and still having impact of culture and tradition that turned them
religious minded. Apart from this the youth are having impact of science as a result of that
society turned into the mix of thoughts, culture and tradition. Jejuri celebrates life in all its
varieties and reverent openness to life in its livings is one of the most endearing qualities of the
poem. At the same time the poet’s use of cross-cultural and trans-historical imagery situates
microcosm reflecting in some significant way the macrocosm of the universe. He also puts forth
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Introduction
Jejuri, one of the controversial book of English poetry, is a collection of stunning simple, but
hunting 31 poems, pertaining to a visit of his to a religious place with the same name Jejuri in
small town where Jejuri temple is situated, which lies to the southeast of Pune city. Khandoba
temple is one of the revered temple in Maharashtra state, known as Khandobachi Jejuri –the
place of Khandoba. The temple is dedicated to Khandoba, also known as Malhari Martand.
Khandoba is an incarnation of Lord Shiva and regarded as a God of Jejuri who is held in a great
reverence by Dhangars one of the oldest tribes. As well as the God is worshipped by all castes
and communities in India. It is believed that he can bestow wealth, health and children on his
devotees. Salman Rushdie calls Jejuri, Arun Kolatkar’s sprightly clear-sighted deeply felt poem
cycle, is widely recognized in India as a modern classic. Kolatkar’s sequence of poems requires a
particular kind of critical response: one that is too attentive to the historical and cultural
specification of the text. Amit Chaudhari rightly comments, Jejuri is, on its most obvious level
(and a very rich level that is in term of realism, observation, irony), an account of a man who
arrives at the pilgrimage town on a “state transport bus” in the company of people whose intense
is clearly more devotional than his is and has less to do with seemingly unfathomable curiosity. 8
(p. xvi) The journey to Jejuri starts from ‘The Bus’ and ends at ‘The Railway Station.’ The entire
The poems evoke a series of images to highlight the dilemma in modern-day life. He
ironically attacks on religion, culture and tradition, although exposing blind faith. When we go
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through, suddenly, the question arises in our mind that who the protagonist is, pilgrims or
visitor? He left clues behind at the very beginning poem, “The Bus”. While prejudicing the old
man, the protagonist describes that he looks religious because there is teeka-mark beyond the
eyebrow. Thence after we come across that the protagonist is a visitor not a pilgrim. It clearly
The glasses are symbolic through which face seems divided. It is dilemma, his mind is not
stable. Most probably, he feels that the old man is classifying community through glasses.
Elsewhere, the poet might be irritated by the thought of separations. It leads us to make
perception that the protagonists do not have faith in religious accustomed. It is a true picture of
the mentality of the remote people. At the end of the poem he ironically comments:
“You don’t step inside the old man’s head.” 2 (jejuri, P.13)
The protagonist’s perception is that the old man seems religious and follower of tradition.
Eventually, the poet hated him, for he thought of communalism. It shows that the protagonist is
secular. Indeed, Jejuri is strikingly modern in expression having impact of traditional Indian
sensibility.
The protagonist ironically describes how the priest exploits pilgrims in the poem, “The
The priest is eagerly awaiting for the pilgrims. For him, pilgrims are like fresh prey. He catches
the pilgrims the way cat chases to prey mischievously, play with it, before the hunt. It is a daily
routine work of priest to find pilgrims to help them in worshipping the god and goddess. The
The poem, “Heart of Ruin,” the protagonist keenly observes and focus on the reality as
follows:
“No more a place of worship this place / is nothing less than the house of god” 2 (Jejuri, p. 16)
The temple is badly damaged and most striking thing is that unclaimed bitch begotten puppies
that are sheltering under the roof of doom temple. Both lines are paradoxical. This is not the
place where you would like to offer pooja happily. But for bitch, this place is nothing less than
house of god. The condition of temple is completely direful and soul destroying. Anjali Nerlekar
rightly comments that Maruti the god, the bitch, and her puppies appear equated because the
refrain connect them, rendering them at subliminal level to type of the abandoned outcast an
especially, even bitterly ironic fate for one sanctified inhabitants of formerly hallowed place.4
(A.Nerlekar,P.5)
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The next poem, “The Door,” the protagonist portray pathetic site through surrealistic description
of sundry objects. The object is seen on two levels: mundane and the sacred, religious. He
“A profit half brought down / from the cross. / A dangling martyr” 2 (Jejuri,p.19)
The narrator observes the decay of religion and religious accustomed. It is notable that the
protagonists think of Christ and crucifixion. ‘the heavy medieval door’2 ( Jejuri,p.19)
it indicate that the door is broken-down which was solid and useful in those days. Now, it hangs
on a single hinge.
The poem, “ A Low Temple” reveals seekers visit to a temple which is located in a cave. The
matchbox enables him to observe the bronze, stone of the goddess. The poet beautifully
As he burns the matchstick, the temple becomes visible and he gazes at god one by one
gradually. The protagonist is told by the priest that she is eight-armed goddess.
“Who was that, you ask / the eight-arm goddess, the priest replies” 2 (Jejuri, p. 21)
But when he counted, the deity had eighteenth arms. The protagonist attempts to clear his
confusion, but in vain, the priest is defiantly unmoved therefore he remains dejected. Hence, it
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The poet acutely depicts the elegiac condition of poverty in the poem, “An Old Woman.” It
deals with the confrontation between Manohar, the protagonist and the destitute old woman. She
is walking lamely to chase him and offers to take to horseshoe shrine just for fifty paisa. Though
his stiffen ignorance she tightens grip on his sleeves. It is a realistic picture wherever you go at
holy places you will find out such situation all over in India.
“They stick to you like burr”2 (Jejuri, P.25) Once you caught, they don’t leave you alone until
and unless you agree with them. At the end of the poem, the protagonist describes poignant
“What else can an old women do / on hills as wretched as these?” 2 (Jejuri, P.25)
She is despondent and compares herself with dismal hills. They can’t shift somewhere else, even
The poem, “The Priest Son” It deals with the faith and skepticism also expose perplexing
situation of both of them. The priest ‘s son use to come there to guide people in vacation. The
protagonist is told that the Khandoba had killed five demons and they turned into five hills.
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The protagonist checks whether the priest is believed in or not. The priest by disregard looks
away without answering. The priest is discomfited by the question it is the same situation that
happened with poet himself when asked by interviewer whether he believe in God, Kolatkar
answered, “I leave the question alone, I don’t think I have to take the position about the god, one
way or the other” the poet is the traveler not pilgrims. But he put a thin line between faith and
scepticism. 5 (p. 6-10). At the end of the poem the poet brilliantly reveals the sharp presence of
The poem, “Butterfly” has symbolized life. It deals with steep life and pleasure of life that
connected with a legend or myth. But it is relatively with butterfly.
2
“It has no future / It is pinned down to no past” (Jejuri, p.31)
The butterfly’s life spam is nine months. Neither she bothered about the future, nor she clasps
2
past. She lives present moment blissfully. “It has taken these wrecked hills / under its wing”
(Jejuri, p.31) . The butterfly covered destructed hills under wings. It is the fact that people thinks
lot about past and future. They miss the joy of the moment in these practices. The protagonist
attacks on the audacious nature of human beings by setting an appropriate example of the
butterfly.
The poem, “Scratch” sneer at the technique of a priest who beguile people that god are
converted into various stones by linking different myth to them. The protagonist also shown the
scratch in big stone, told that it is Khandoba’s wife, once she was hit by Khandoba in great anger
and she turned into stone. In this poem, the poet beautifully described faith and scepticism.
“What is god /and what is stone / the dividing line / if it exists / is very thin /
at jejuri /and every other stone / is god or his cousin” 2 (Jejuri p.32)
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The poet ironically comments that even crannied stones are turning into god and becoming the
members of the family of the god. All are residing at Jejury. “there is no crop / other than god.” 2
(Jejuri p.32) Jejury is the place where you can accessibly find the god all over. Neither there is
farmer nor husbandry at Jejuri. Thus, it becomes barren land. The priests, their only occupation
is harvesting god 24 x 7. M.K.Naik rightly comments that all the reaction of Manohar, to Jejuri
manifestly show him typical modern sceptic.3(p.26) While winding up ‘Scratch’ poem, the
protagonist comments ironically as follows: “ scratch a rock / and legends springs” 2 (Jejuri,p.32)
The protagonist amusingly specifies that crannied stones are turning into god, its matter of faith
or blind faith.
The poem, “Makarand” is full of contrast; the speakers skillfully reveal the faith and
scepticism.
but you go right ahead / if that is what you want to do / give me the matchbox
before you go / Will you? / I will be out in the courtyard / where no one will mind it /
The great impact of modernity and metropolitan culture shaped his mind with dilemma.
Makarand prefer to smoke Charminar cigarette rather than to offer Pooja that left us behind with
dubious mind. The poem suggests that the modern religious sensibility is at low ebb. There is
conflict between modernity and tradition as well as contradiction between scepticism and faith. It
also focused on the ambiguities in modern day life. Ian Hamilton & Jeremy Noel-Tod rightly
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comments, “An idiosyncratic humor pervades much of Kolatkar’s writing; it derives some of its
force from viewing common place detail at an unaccustomed angle.” 6 (p. 327)
The poem “ Ajamil and the Tigers” deals with sacrifices and compromise. Ajamil, the
shepherd keeps sheep dog to protect herd. So tigers face starvation. After knowing this King
tiger got angry and turns to Ajamil’s hut. Interestingly, the tiger king and shepherd both lie each
other. Shepherd believes that he can have harmony with the tigers if he allows them to eat some
of his sheep. Either he is scared or maintains the natures balance. Similarly, pilgrims allow
priests to diddle them just to fulfill wishes or for the survival of religion.
The poem, “Yashwant Rao”, the protagonist intensely highlight an oscillation between faith
The protagonist smartly depicting the god can make your life full of prosperity and he can bring
“God who put the child inside your wife”2 (p. 49)
It is a true case of a dilemma. Modern pilgrim knows that it is impractical, refutable even though
he never goes against it. The mind of Indian youth is mix of faith, myth, culture, tradition and
scepticism. Subconsciously, they believe in myth to protect religion. Alike they support fact to
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boom. It is an infinite dilemma. The poet’s thoughts are swinging from Faith to skepticism.
Indians, they have impact of science and religion on their mind, therefore they are mix minded.
People frighten by the threats of God also. The protagonists comments ironically-
Pilgrims are accustomed to offer crown if God fulfills their wishes. On the other hand, they have
to keep promises otherwise they will suffer and dies by the curse of God.
The next poem Gabharyatala oondeer (The Rat of Low Temple) published in Marathi book
only. So I tried to translate those lines in English. It deals with the rituals of Hindu tradition.
The newly married lady comes to worship Khandoba and takes blessing for happy married life.
The protagonist portrays the traditional and cultural accustomed very ironically in following
lines-
pandharya deedbot dadhi aad / hidden behind one and half inches
1
dadleli (p.38) white beard
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She is, having a bunch of green bangles in her hands. She is offering whitish unripe banana and
crushing it on the top of linga. While worshipping, the bangles are jangling and beautiful dots of
bangles are shining and slightly moving. Pujari – The priest is watching everything and he is
smiling. The hidden dimple is symbolically used. Probably there is something that no one
The poem, “The Blue Horse” exposes the reality. The old woman, toothless, impoverished,
beggar, singing for money. Two brothers, drummers, one of them is pockmarked, their black
As far as Indian tradition is concerned drummer belongs to a lower caste in Maharashtra. Still,
there is no improvement in their life style. Mahatma Gandhi called them harijan-son of God.
After watching pathetic site of drummer and beggar, he turns to the house of the priest who
arrange cabaret for him. The protagonist amusingly highlight the confusion of priest in following
lines-
How is it, then, that the picture on your wall / shows white one?’
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The seeker goes through the picture which hangs on the wall and closely observe that a mare is
white. When he asks about blue horse the priest ignorantly says it is blue for him. They have
nothing to with fact. The fact is that the artist used blue color for shade. It also indicates that they
are enough habitual to make their own sense. Again, facts seems blurring before unconvincing
logic.
Conclusion-
The poet views Hindu tradition skeptically and bitterly attack on blind faith. The world of
jejuri is full hypocrisy and fake religious world. The impact of religion on the mind is indelible.
Though, now a day, pilgrims do not gather at religious place with full faith in God. M. K. Naik is
of the view that Jejuri, could have been a far more substantial achievement had the poet’s vision
been less fragmentary and had he not remained content with scratching the surface of the
problem. 7 (p. 218) As well as he put question before us; he is not fully conciliated by the reply
of the priest.
Jejury, typical Indian sensibility made vehicle, steering by realistic fellow, having two wheels
one is front and the second one is rear full of scepticism and faith respectively.
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Works Cited
2. Shahane, Ashok. Jejuri Arun Kolatkar, Pras: 43, Sixth edition, 2006
3. Naik, M.K. Dimensions of Indian English literature, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1984.
4. Nerlekar, Anjali, The rough ground of translation and bilingual writing in Arun Kolatkar’s
6. Hamilton, Ian & Noel-Tod, Jeremy. The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry, Second
edition, 2013
8. Chaudhari, Amit. Jejury by Arun Kolatkar, introduction by Amit Chaudhari, New York
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