Similarities between Kolatkar and Parthasarathy:
There are certain obvious similarities between Kolatkar and Parthasarathy. Each of them has written a long work divided into a number of sections. Parthasarathy's “Rough Passage” consists of three parts, each sub divided into short poems, and all the parts taken together containing thirty nine poems. Kolatkar's “Jejuri” consists of thirty - one sections, each section being a poem in itself and having a separate title.
Then, the sequence of poems written by each of these two poets has a quest as its theme. “Rough Passage” describes a quest by Parthasarathy for his own identity and an effort by him to explore his roots in the ancient culture of his native region (namely Tamil Nadu). “Jejuri” is Kolatkar's quest for spiritual truth and an examination and investigation of past legends and myths. In fact, “Jejuri”, may also be described as a serious attempt by Kolatkar to review his ancient heritage. According to a critic, “Jejuri” could have been a far more substantial achievement than it actually is if Kolatkar's vision had been less fragmentary and if he had not remained content with scratching the surface of the problem.
Themes in Parthasarathy’s Poetry:
Speaking about “Rough Passage”, Parthasarathy himself tells us that here he has dwelt upon the question of language and identity, and upon the inner conflict that arises from being brought up in two cultures. The first part of “Rough Passage” is entitled “Exile”. In this part, the culture of Europe is contrasted with that of India; and the consequences of British rule for an Indian man, especially his loss of identity as an Indian, are examined. An Indian's loss of his own native culture and the need for him to re - discover his roots is emphasized. The second part, which has the title of “Trial”, celebrates love as a reality here and now. Love alone holds forth the promise of “belonging” so that the turmoil caused by one's loss of one's culture and identity may be eased. The third and final part of “Rough Passage” has the title of “Homecoming”. This part explores the phenomenon of returning to one's home and to one's native culture. This part is a sort of preliminary to holding a dialogue by the poet with his Tamil past. According to one of the critics, “Rough Passage” is autobiographical poetry written by Parthasarathy about his traumatic experience of exile (from India to England), and the even more traumatic experience of home - coming, the experience of love, and the experience of sex. There are some themes in the background, such as the damage done by imperialism and the degraded quality of modern Indian life. But it is Parthasarathy's personal and persistent unhappiness which finds an emphatic expression throughout his account of the rough journey of life. Parthasarathy's poetry is primarily a poetry of feeling, of feeling expressed concretely and concisely.
The Differences between the Tones of “Rough Passage” and “Jejuri”:
The difference between Kolatkar and Parthasarathy, so far as their themes are concerned, is clear from the above analysis of “Rough Passage”. The themes are similar no doubt but the emphasis in Parthasarathy's case is upon the poet's own predicament and distress, while the emphasis in Kolatkar's case is upon the absurdity of the beliefs which a pilgrim to Jejuri holds. Besides, there is a difference between the two poets so far as their treatment of their themes is concerned. Parthasarathy's genius is essentially lyrical. Each poem by him in “Rough Passage” is a lyric: it is short; it is intensely emotional; it is deeply personal; and it does have a pleasing rhythm. Kolatkar is chiefly and primarily a satirist or a mocker. His poems in “Jejuri” do have a lyrical quality. The Butterfly is, for instance, a pure lyric, though it does not express any personal emotion and it does not have the intensity of Parthasarathy's poems.
The Great Value of the Poems of “Jejuri”:
As a critic points out, many of Kolatkar's shorter poems present a dark, surrealistic vision in which his persona's “lion has bared its teeth”; the cat “knows dreaming as an administrative problem”; and a hag “devours oranges in self - defence.” In “Jejuri”, this technique yields better results. Here the protagonist's impressions of the famous temple at Jejuri are juxtaposed with those at the railway station at the end. The surrealistic similarities startlingly disclose how at both the places the protagonist comes across the same blind faith which people have in tradition, the same exclusiveness, and the same dilapidation and general deadness. In other words, there is hardly any difference between the outlook in the temple and the outlook at the railway station, even though the temple represents spirituality and the railway station represents machinery and a mechanical civilization. The last but one poem in this sequence offers an experience which provides a sharp contrast to the atmosphere in the temple and at the railway station. Here we read:
A dozen cocks and hens in a field of jawar
in a kind of a harvest dance
This is obviously a vision of primeval vigour and the joy of life missing both from the temple (that is, the religious tradition) and the railway station (that is, a civilization based on machinery).
Services Rendered by the Two Poets to Their Fellow Countrymen:
Kolatkar is, on the whole, sceptical and ironic in the poems of “Jejuri” though there are one or two moments of human sympathy as in the poems depicting an old beggar woman and a teenage wife. It cannot be denied that Kolatkar has done a service to his fellow countrymen by trying to demolish old, worn - out religious beliefs. Parthasarathy too has done a service to his fellow countrymen by trying to make them realize the need of not forgetting their native culture and not becoming so westernized as to lose their identity as Indians.
Parthasarathy's Higher Ranking in Craftsmanship:
Parthasarathy ranks higher than Kolatkar in respect of craftsmanship. For instance, the whole of “Rough Passage” is written in a three - line, free verse stanza - form that Parthasarathy has himself developed and which he handles with great skill. The management of line - length, and of pauses and run - on lines; the deft placement of short, one - line sentences; and the sophistication of syntax are all admirable. Then there is constant play of metaphor. Metaphor is indeed the hall - mark of Parthasarathy's poetry. The metaphors do not pretend to profundity. For instance, the line “A storm of churches breaks about my eyes” (in the poem entitled Ghosts) is only another, but refreshing, way of saying that one sees a lot of churches in Goa. No large statement about Christianity in Goa or about Portuguese imperialism is intended by the poet here.
Kolatkar's Lucidity, Precision, and Detachment:
Arun Kolatkar's poetry does not abound in metaphors, though it certainly has its merits so far as diction and syntax are concerned. Kolatkar's chief merit is lucidity, as has already been pointed out. Kolatkar has written “Jejuri” with the same naturalistic precision and detachment which he showed in the boatride; and yet “Jejuri” constantly verges on the surreal. The strength of this work lies in its tantalizing interplay between the physical and the metaphysical. However the metaphysical comedy is sometimes overdone. The animation of objects approximates to a Walt Disney effect. The story of Ajamil and the Tigers is a strange compound of the Biblical lion and - lamb theme and Lewis Carroll. In any case, the tensions between god and stone, priest and station master have not been explored with much rigour or anguish.
The Sensuousness in Parthasarathy's Poetry, and the Use of Irony by Kolatkar:
Parthasarathy is, among other things, a poet of sex, love, and passion. The poems in the second part of “Rough Passage” clearly show that. A few lines from those poems would illustrate the sensuous and passionate quality of his love - poetry:
(1) My hands fill up, slowly,
with your breasts.
Curve to the pressure of spheroids (“Trial”)
(2) The touch
of your breasts is ripe
in my arms. They obliterate my eyes
with their tight parabolas of gold . (“Trial”)
Kolatkar is a poet specializing in the use of irony. In this connection, we have only to refer to a poem like Yeshwant Rao. Here Kolatkar carries his capacity for mockery to its height. Here he says that there are gods who seek you for your gold, gods who seek you for your soul, gods who can give you the power to walk on a bed of burning coal, gods who can make your barren wife pregnant, gods who can stab your enemy, gods who can tell you how to double your money and how to triple your land; and so on. While Kolatkar has written nothing like the lines which we have quoted above, Parthasarathy has written nothing like Yeshwant Rao. As already pointed out, the two men are cast in different moulds even though there are points of contact between them so far as their desire to explore the past beliefs and the past cultures is concerned. We can dispense with neither of them, though some anthologists can.
