Claims about jejuri range from one of the great books of modern india to its being the poetry equivalent of rushdies midnights children. Jejuri by arun kolatkar arun kolatkar first published jejuri in 1976, and he passed away in 2004, but book and author are both still subjects of widespread discussion. It describes the bumpy journey from the starting point to its destination which is the temple of khandoba. Winner of the commonwealth prize for the best first book in poetry for his book jejuri, kolatkars poetry is significantly cosmopolitan in its structural and thematic simplicity, though there are subaltern repercussions throughout the. The description of yeshwant rao manages to recast the idea of a hindu god by removing the extravagant. Kolatkars jejuri is a very commendable achievement. There was english and western art in his world through his fathers influence and exposure to indian art through the company he kept as a young adolescent in kolhapur, and the young arun kolatkar grew up in a multilingual context. Arun kolatkar s jejuri is a commonwealth writers prize winning collection of poems about a pilgrim place of the same name in maharashtra and mythical stories associated with the local god khandoba. Original square book, containing the jejuri poems as they were meant to be.
A sceptical tourists scrutiny of an ancient place of pilgrimage harish g. Divided in between quest and dilemma in arun kolatkars poetry. In yeshwant rao, there is an added layer of light humour that balances the poets rather sharp critique of idol worship. His poetry had an influence on modern marathi poets. Naik puts an oblique way of looking at jejuri through his article, jejuri. The poem opens with a journey to jejuri and closes with return journey in the offing. Arunkolatkar 19322004 is that rare phenomenon among many indian english poets a bilingual poet, writing both in english and his mother tongue marathi, in. But the sad reality is that many literaryminded indians havent even heard of the poet or his work including myself. Short summary of the bus by arun kolatkar article shared by 11. Intercultural transfer in the poetry of arun kolatkar. The poem dives right into the subject matter, there is no description of the setting or nor any physical description of the woman, because the poem isnt meant to be an. He was winner of the commonwealth writers prize in 1977 with his first book of poetry in english. A sequence of stunningly simple but haunting poems, jejuri is one of the great books of jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkar s.
He wrote often in his native tongue of marathi, but he wrote jejuri in english, a choice that. Kolatkar was born in kolhapur, in the western indian state of maharashtra, in 1932. He helps to bring renaissance in this genre of poetry. Arun kolatkars jejuri article in the journal of commonwealth literature 472. First published in bombay in 1974, and kept in print in india since then by a small poetry press, the late a. Arun kolatkar was born on november 1, 1931, in kolhapur, a large heartland city of the state of maharashtra. But the narrator is the representative of modern realistic logical world who. Banupriya assisstant professor, department of english, vistas. Husain man, 1951 nora selmani is an academic marketing executive, coeditor of porridge magazine and parttime witch interested in gender and diaspora. The bus by arun kolatkar is the opening poem of the thirtyone section of his collection of poems jejuri. Arun kolatkars jejuri is a commonwealth writers prize winning collection of poems about a pilgrim place of the same name in maharashtra. In the poem an old woman poet arun kolatkar uses the image of a mendicant old woman to symbolize the decay in society which he is trying to convey through the poem. Kolatkars first bookthe following paper looks at arun kolatkars poem between jejuri and the kolatkars poetry is a radical revisiting of the idea of. February 2006 blythe boyer poetry jejuri by arun kolatkar.
The poem sequence deals with a visit to jejuri, a pilgrimage site for the local maharashtrian deity khandoba a local deity, also an incarnation of shiva. He is a bilingual poet who writes in both english and marathi. The one that is no more than a thought in the head of the priest as he wonders whether therell be puran poli on his plate when. Kolatkar no longer needs jejuris vaghyas and murlis or its hills and temples to ignite his imagination. It is a state transfort bus the windows of which are screened by the tarpaulin with which the bus has been covred to keep the. At the very opening of the article he writes, arun kolatkars jejuri has almost uniformly been regarded as a quest poem as a. Kolatkar tries to exploit the age old theme of a religious pilgrimage through his.
Analysis of an old woman by arun kolatkar term paper. Arun kolatkar, a social, simple, truthful and skeptic poet of indian english poetry contributes a lot for the development of indian english poetry. Amit chaudhuri on the poet who deserves to be as wellknown as salman rushdie. Cort and others published jejuri arun kolatkar find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Arun balkrishna kolatkar 1932 2004 is one of the most important and influential poets in the post independence indian poetry he was born on 1 november 1932 at kolhapur, maharastra he had his education as a fine artist from jj school of arts and he worked as an art director and graphic designer in many reputed advertising agencies like lintas he wrote in marathi and english. Arun kolatkars poetry collection jejuri reminds us of our connectedness. His first book of english poetry, jejuri, is a collection 31 poems pertaining to a visit of his to a religious place. Arun kolatkars jejuri is a commonwealth writers prize winning collection of poems about a pilgrim place of the same name in maharashtra and mythical stories associated with the local god khandoba. The tarpaulin flaps are buttoned downon the windows of the state transport bus. Arun kolatkar, a visual artist and designer by profession, is one of the significant. Her work has appeared in dead king magazine, femrat, peach mag, o goce, and occulum. Jejuri by arun kolatkar tourist, poet, pilgrim as i read this book, i smiled with the words going round and creating images in my head, and i longed to get on that bus to jejuri. Along with his brother and a friend, he visited jejuri in 1963, and appears to have composed some poems shortly thereafter.
Some poems of arun kolatkars from jejuri indicate religious tradition and superstitions which are. Abstract jejuri conjures up the daily rhythm of the pilgrims and the religious spot the horrors of pilgrims, the tourist guides, the priests, the beggars, the bus stand and the railway station. This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith. A sociological study of arun kolatkar international journal of. Jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkars native state of maharashtra, and jejuri the poem is the record of a visit to the town a. The sights and sounds of the city and the sweepers, peddlers, beggars. Volume ii issue i, april 2014 issn 2321 7065 arun kolatkars jejuri. A sequence of stunningly simple but haunting poems, jejuri is one of the great books of jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkars. A sequence of stunningly simple but haunting poems, jejuri is one of the great books of modern india. His works have appeared in opinion, literary quarterly, new writing in india penguin. So many poets emerge in that period and arun kolatkar is one of them. Arun kolatkar first published jejuri in 1976, and he passed away in 2004, but book and author are both still subjects of widespread discussion. It is a rainy dawn and it is typical of indian buses to.
His father was balkrushna tatya kolatkar, who was an officer in the education department in kolhapur. Arun kolatkar s jejuri article in the journal of commonwealth literature 472. Institute of arts and social sciences, nagpur arun kolatkar, a visual artist and designer by profession, is one of the significant indian english poets. Perspective modern view on faith, realism and scepticism. Arun balkrishna kolatkar 19322004 was an indian poet who wrote in both marathi and english. Arun kolatkar, a social, simple, truthful and skeptic poet of indian english. A close reading to his famous poetic collection jejuri shows that he has done the same thing what t. Amit chaudhuri on the poetry of arun kolatkar books. Jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkar s native state of maharashtra, and jejuri the poem is the record of a visit to the town a place that is as crassly commercial as it is holy, as modern and ruinous as it is ancient and enduring. Kolatkar tries to exploit the age old theme of a religious pilgrimage through his poetic persona, monahar, who is a. Kolatkar was one of the postindependence bilingual poets who combined their mother tongues with international styles to create new poetic traditions. Arun kolatkar s epic poem, jejuri, celebrates life in an indian city from its streets to its shrines. Hailing from the literary scene of bombay of the 1970s, arun kolatkar is a poet of the urban intelligentsia. Jejuri is about a religious place with the same name jejuri in maharashtra.
With the publication of collected poems in english, kolatkars moment has perhaps come. Childhood and education arun kolatkar was born on 1 st november 1932, in kolhapur, maharashtra in india. Jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkars native state of maharashtra, and jejuri the poem is the record of a visit to the town a place that is as crassly commercial as it is holy, as modern and ruinous as it is ancient and enduring. Arun kolatkar works through contrasts that are stark and powerful, yet subdued, which make his images blend into the background without dissolving altogether. Arun kolatkars epic poem, jejuri, celebrates life in an indian city from its streets to its shrines. He popped a stone in his mouth and spat out gods arun kolatka hills hills demons sand blasted shoulders bladed with shale demons hills cactus thrust up through ribs of rock hills demons kneequartz lime stone loins demons hills cactus fang in sky meat hills demons.
The bus by arun kolatkar famous poems, famous poets. Arun kolatkar chaitanya 1 sweet as grapes are the stone of jejuri said chaitanya. Perspective modern view on faith, realism and scepticism vilas k. Chapter iii nature of poems in english jejuri overall. Death of a poet from intro to boatride and other poems, 2008 arun kolatkar, who is widely regarded as one of the great indian poets of the last century, was born in kolhapur, maharashtra in 1931. Jejuri is a site of pilgramage in author arun kolatkar s.