Irony, All - Pervasive in the Poems in “Jejuri”:
Irony is one of the most conspicuous features of Kolatkar's poetry. His treatment of the theme in the poems of “Jejuri” is ironical from beginning to end. He does not attack the superstitions of the people directly. He exposes the absurdity of superstitious beliefs by the use of irony. Almost every poem in “Jejuri” illustrates Kolatkar's use of irony which comes to him naturally.
Irony in The Bus, The Priest, and The Priest's Son:
The very first poem of “Jejuri” shows how Kolatkar makes use of the weapon of irony in expressing ideas and depicting situations. Although the bus carries devout pilgrims (with the exception only of the protagonist who is given the name of Manohar), Kolatkar describes the journey of the bus in a mocking tone. For instance, he tells the reader that, if he were sitting in the bus, he would see his own divided face in a pair of glasses on an old man's nose, and that this divided face is all the countryside he would get to see. The second poem is entitled The Priest; and this poem shows the use that Kolatkar makes of irony in portraying a person. The priest is ironically portrayed as a worldly kind of man who is more interested in his income (from the offerings to be made by the pilgrims) than in any kind of pious living or in any kind of social or religious service. As the bus has been delayed somewhat, the priest has begun to feel anxious and has started reciting a mantra which actually works, with the result that the bus is no longer just a thought in his head but has become a reality. The thought has now taken the shape of a “dot” in the distance. The dot is, of course, the bus. The poem entitled The Priest's Son is also written in an ironical vein. The five hills, to which the priest's son has pointed out, are supposed to be the embodiments of the five demons who had been killed by Khandoba. But, when asked whether the boy really believes that story, the boy does not reply and merely looks uncomfortable. He shrugs and, looking away, draws the protagonist's attention to a butterfly in the grass, thus trying to make the protagonist forget the question which he has asked. The irony here arises from the contrast between the protagonist's expectation of an answer and the attitude which the priest's son actually adopts. The boy is clever enough to evade the inconvenient question.
Irony in A Scratch and in Chaitanya:
The irony in A Scratch is even more striking. Here we are told that at Jejuri there is no crop other than god, that god is harvested here around the year and around the clock, even out of the bad earth and out of the hard rock. This is an ironical way of denying the existence of any god and doubting the authenticity of any belief in the stories which have accumulated around the name of Khandoba. The irony continues when we are told that a particular rock is Khandoba's wife who had been killed and turned to stone because of Khandoba's wrath. Even the scar left by the sword, which Khandoba had used to murder his wife, is visible on the rock. Then, comes the climax of irony in this poem:
“scratch a rock
and a legend springs.”
The very short poem entitled Chaitanya tells us ironically that the stones of Jejuri are sweet like grapes and that, after having popped a stone into his mouth, Chaitanya spat out gods. The idea here is that there is an abundance of gods at Jejuri. The implication, of course, is that the belief in gods is absurd.
Irony in A Low Temple:
The poem entitled A Low Temple also has its share of irony. The idol of a goddess in the temple is supposed to have eight arms. That is what the priest has told the protagonist. Actually, however, the idol has eighteen arms; and the protagonist has counted the number . The protagonist naturally draws the priest's attention to the fact that the idol of the goddess has eighteen arms. But the priest still says that she has eight arms. Here is a conflict between fact and belief. In the first place the protagonist does not believe in gods and goddesses; and, secondly, he is being asked to believe that an idol of a goddess has eight arms when it actually possesses eighteen arms. The disparity could not have been more glaring, and the irony could, therefore, not have been more striking.
Irony in Heart of Ruin:
There is a poem entitled Heart of Ruin. This poem is steeped in irony. The roof of a temple dedicated to Maruti has collapsed. The temple is no longer visited by pilgrims because it is in ruins. A mongrel bitch has found the premises to be very suitable for giving birth to her puppies. The puppies, after coming into this world, feel quite comfortable here. If any puppy creates a noise, a beetle residing in the dung feels terror - stricken and runs to take shelter near the broken charity - box which had never got the chance to rescue itself from under the crushing weight of the beam which fell down from the roof. Here we have irony in almost every two lines; and there is irony even behind the phrases “a mongrel bitch” and “the pariah puppies”. The closing two lines are, of course, ironical too. This temple is no more a place of worship but it is still nothing less than the house of a god. In other words, it is no longer a place where people would come to offer worship; and yet the particular god has not abandoned this place. Here Kolatkar is ridiculing the very idea of people going to temple to offer prayers and worship. God is present everywhere; and one can worship a god or any number of gods at home or in the privacy of one's bedroom, or anywhere at all.
Irony in The Blue Horse:
In the poem entitled The Blue Horse we again have irony which arises from a contradiction between what is supposed to be the case and what actually is the case. The picture on the wall shows a white horse though Khandoba's horse was blue. When the protagonist points out this contradiction, the priest says that , to him, the picture of the horse on the wall looks blue ; and he then artificially imparts a blue tinge to the belly of the horse in the picture . And in the same poem, Kolatkar ironically describes the singer and her accompanists as “God’s own children / making music.”
Irony in Yeshwant Rao:
Yeshwant Rao is perhaps the most amusing poem because of its irony. This poem too is steeped in irony, and it is a downright assault on all the gods, irony being the chief weapon of attack. In this poem we are told that there are gods who seek you for your gold, gods who seek you for your soul, gods who enable you to walk on a bed of burning coal, and so on. If you are short of a limb, Yeshwant Rao will give you one ; and so the poem goes on in the same vein.
Irony in the Last Poem of the Sequence:
Perhaps the climax of irony in the whole sequence comes with the final poem which is entitled The Railway Station. At this railway station the indicator does not work; the clock does not function; the dog dwelling there has a mangy body; the man at the tea - stall throws dish - water in your face in reply to your question; the booking - clerk gives you only a ticket but tells you nothing about the arrival of the train; and the station master is a two - headed man who does not believe in any time - table published after the one which was published in the year when the railway track was laid.
