Equation (poem)
Encyclopedia
"Equation" is one of the most original and intriguing poems of Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan, the Indian writer and poet, and it won Kendriya Sahitya Akademi
's Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Award for Poetry in 2007. The poem received critical acclaim following its publication in the journal Indian Literature
in December 2007. The theme of the poem is poetic justice
or the law of retribution, by which an exploiter or oppressor ultimately is paid back in the same coin. The setting of the poem is the drought affected district of Kalahandi
in Orissa
, India.
in 2001. It was originally titled Hisaaba, and was subsequently translated by the poet himself into English. The translated poem was submitted by the poet to the Sahitya Akademi as his entry for the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Literary Competition 1957-2002. In the words of the poet, the single event that prompted him to write the poem was "a news-item published in the daily Samaja in 1992 which described the story of a poor tribal woman who was compelled to sell off her six-months old child for a paltry sum of forty rupees in the face of starvation..."
s, which is typical of Dr Pradhan's poetry. The poem is in three parts (From Blood to Tears, From Tears to Blood, and Tears in Blood). The first part describes scenes of poverty, starvation and sexual-economic exploitation of poor illiterate people in Kalahandi
symbolically through the story of a woman who sold her only child for forty rupees, and that of a man whose wife went to a far-off place to work, never to return. The second part describes the turning of fortunes for Kalahandi. With the advent of international NGOs, government subsidy and media coverage, Kalahandi now learns how to convert its tears to blood, and sell the blood for money (chops off flesh from its own thighs...). The third part shows how Kalahandi is now ready to take revenge. The exploiter has now to pay the price. He now finds that the blood he sucked is actually full of tears (retaliation in the form of misery and virus). The poem has many hidden layers of meaning, which offer food for thought to the discerning reader.
are peerless in their genre in modern Oriya Literature
. However the critic Ramakrishna Mohanty opines that the poem suffers from many structural defects, notably the sudden loss of meter, tempo
and focus in the last stanza after the rather brilliant opening in the first two stanzas.
Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
's Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Award for Poetry in 2007. The poem received critical acclaim following its publication in the journal Indian Literature
Indian Literature (journal)
Indian Literature is an English-language literary journal published bi-monthly by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. the editor was A. J. Thomas, and Gopi Chand Narang, Sunil Gangopadhyaya and Agrahara Krishna Murthy, inspired by K...
in December 2007. The theme of the poem is poetic justice
Poetic justice
Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.- Origin of the term :...
or the law of retribution, by which an exploiter or oppressor ultimately is paid back in the same coin. The setting of the poem is the drought affected district of Kalahandi
Kalahandi
Kalahandi, , is a district of Orissa in India. The region had a glorious past and great civilization in ancient time. Archaeological evidence of stone age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilized, cultured and urban human...
in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India.
Origin of the poem
The poem was first written by Dr Pradhan in his mother tongue OriyaOriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
in 2001. It was originally titled Hisaaba, and was subsequently translated by the poet himself into English. The translated poem was submitted by the poet to the Sahitya Akademi as his entry for the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Literary Competition 1957-2002. In the words of the poet, the single event that prompted him to write the poem was "a news-item published in the daily Samaja in 1992 which described the story of a poor tribal woman who was compelled to sell off her six-months old child for a paltry sum of forty rupees in the face of starvation..."
Allusions and symbolism
The poem is written in the story-building or narrative style with stark allusionAllusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s, which is typical of Dr Pradhan's poetry. The poem is in three parts (From Blood to Tears, From Tears to Blood, and Tears in Blood). The first part describes scenes of poverty, starvation and sexual-economic exploitation of poor illiterate people in Kalahandi
Kalahandi
Kalahandi, , is a district of Orissa in India. The region had a glorious past and great civilization in ancient time. Archaeological evidence of stone age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilized, cultured and urban human...
symbolically through the story of a woman who sold her only child for forty rupees, and that of a man whose wife went to a far-off place to work, never to return. The second part describes the turning of fortunes for Kalahandi. With the advent of international NGOs, government subsidy and media coverage, Kalahandi now learns how to convert its tears to blood, and sell the blood for money (chops off flesh from its own thighs...). The third part shows how Kalahandi is now ready to take revenge. The exploiter has now to pay the price. He now finds that the blood he sucked is actually full of tears (retaliation in the form of misery and virus). The poem has many hidden layers of meaning, which offer food for thought to the discerning reader.
Comments and criticism
The renowned Oriya short story writer Bhupen Mahapatra has commented that Equation along with the poet's other poem KalahandiKalahandi (poem)
"Kalahandi" is perhaps the best known poem of Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan, the Indian writer and poet, and 2007 it won Kendriya Sahitya Akademi's Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Award for Poetry in 2007...
are peerless in their genre in modern Oriya Literature
Oriya literature
Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...
. However the critic Ramakrishna Mohanty opines that the poem suffers from many structural defects, notably the sudden loss of meter, tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and focus in the last stanza after the rather brilliant opening in the first two stanzas.
See also
- Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan
- Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
- Indian LiteratureIndian Literature (journal)Indian Literature is an English-language literary journal published bi-monthly by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. the editor was A. J. Thomas, and Gopi Chand Narang, Sunil Gangopadhyaya and Agrahara Krishna Murthy, inspired by K...
- Indian PoetryIndian poetryIndian poetry, and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Oriya, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Urdu. Poetry in foreign languages such as Persian and English also have a...
- KalahandiKalahandi (poem)"Kalahandi" is perhaps the best known poem of Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan, the Indian writer and poet, and 2007 it won Kendriya Sahitya Akademi's Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Award for Poetry in 2007...