Sulochana Nair’s ‘Vilwa Pathram’ is proof of the poet’s affair with words
Photo: S. Mahinsha
Path of spiritualism Sulochana Nair.
A collection of poetry at the age of 75. One would be tempted to term it as ‘spring in winter.’ But as ONV Kurup and Sugatha Kumari reminded the audience gathered for the book release of ‘Vilwa Pathram,’ Sulochana Nair’s
affair with words has been a long and lasting relationship.
“As students of Women’s College, we used to lounge under the cashewnut trees and Sulo [Sulochana] used to recite entire poems of Changampuzha. Her eyes used to fill as she empathised with the poet. Gradually, I also fell under the spell of those lines,” recalled Sugatha Kumari.
A fan of verse
Eventually the ardent fan of words and verse became a teacher and professor of Malayalam. But her passion for verse and metre never vanished.
“I remember her scribbling poems in notebooks. Finally, I persuaded her to publish one. Right from those days, there was a streak of spiritualism in her and she used to voraciously read the works of Tagore and Vivekanada. That seems to have stood in her good stead,” reminisced O.N.V. Kurup.
However her career and the cares of house and family seem to have halted her tryst with the Muse. Although she wrote books and articles and translated the works of Tagore and Vivekanada, her poems, if any, remained her private collection. However, experience, happy and sad, nurtured the poet in her and eventually poetry took shape in the crucible of life. Thoughts and images were turned into verse that were moulded by the poet’s journey as a woman, mother, teacher and devotee.
The poetess agrees that her poems have been inspired by the poetry of Vivekanda and Tagore. “Their poems have a universality that make it easy for readers to be inspired and motivated by the lines.”
But as ONV pointed out, the poems are not mere reproductions or clones of poems. Each poem, crafted with care, delves into the poet’s search for truth and spiritual salvation. Embellished with rich imagery, the philosophic message in the poems cannot be missed. Poems that are meant to be read and reflected upon.
S.N.
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