The Voter

The voter is a short story written by Chinua Achebe where he highlights the ++entire election scenario and how a person, considered to be knowledgeable tries to go against the existing norms.

Roof (Rufus Okeke) is an educated person who returns to his village in order to help the illiterate people in his own way.  It was at the time of the elections that he involved himself completely both to meet his selfish needs and a bit of social concern. Roof was the perfect adviser for Marcus during the elections as he required a person of Roof's nature to act as the Campaign manager.  His trust in Roof had started bearing fruit when Roof tells him that people were unhappy with the way in which they were treated soon after the elections and the coming elections they may not cast their vote free of cost.  So Marcus had drawn five months worth of salary in advance so that he could meet the expenditures.

Roof had other campaign boys who did their job well.  Marcus had bought a huge house for himself and named it 'Umuofia mansion' as though he was dedicating it to the village people.  On that day, all the village folk was invited for an ozo meal anticipating that their hesitation would come down.  But the people, after having the sumptuous meal, doubted the attitude of Marcus

The hectic day right before the voting day was when Roof met five elders from the village and gave them 4 shillings each hoping that it would make them canvass for Marcus.

On that same night, another incident took place which literally shook Marcus. A few of the POP campaign boys entered Roof's house and tempted him with a Pound note which Roof could not easily turn down.  he was confronted with a huge dilemma when they asked them to swear by the local deity "Iyi". He was left with no other alternative but to obey.

On the day of the election, Roof watched the reaction of Marcus quite often because he did not want Marcus to suspect him. Everything went as per plan.  But when Roof was asked to cast his vote, he did not know what to do. All of a sudden, a grand idea struck him.  Without a second thought, he tore the ballot paper into two halves and put the first half into Maduka's box and verbally proclaimed that he has first voted for POP.

When You Are Old

The poem 'When you are old' highlights how a poet tries to express his love and concern in the form of a poem, and even though this collection of poems is presented to her very early, she should try to catch hold of it only when she is old and then read the same and think about her past

The few conditions the poet imposes are:

The poems must be read when she is old, her hair gone gray and she should be full of sleep, which means that she should be able to prevent herself from going into deep heavenly sleep(death).  She has to take that book, read it very slowly as she is old and has to often recollect past events.  She will immediately think about the way she had many admirers and how all of them followed her like shadow.

There were many men who were attracted towards her grace and physical appearance, and she could not distinguish between the true ones and the flatterers.  But far away from all of those was a man who loved her soul and not her external appearance and he equates it to a very divine concept and that is why he mentions the word 'pilgrim'. Added to all this, he was in love with 'the changing phases of her face' as and when she was growing old and her age appeared to be a burden to her.

The old woman sits near the hearth and murmurs to herself in a sad tone thinking about the past and she equates it to a sense of impossibility as that love has reached such a place from which it may not return and on the other hand it might be a bit difficult for her to reach that place too.  In the last couple of lines, love is personified for actual, as well as philosophical reasons.

A Sunny Morning

Character Sketches

Dona Laura: The characterisation of Dona Laura, a perfect representative of the elder generation which is an exception. She is described to be perfect in mannerism and handsome by nature, which is quite a rare one but has been deliberately done.  The initial meeting with Gonzalo is not very appealing but the moment she realizes that he is the same person who was known to her long ago, there is a complete shift in her approach.

Laura appears to be quite strict and outspoken and she doesn't care to respect the feelings of people nearby.  The only particular instance where she fails to gain the sympathy of the readers is during the narration of her death.  She doesn't make it look classic and it is here that Gonzalo overrules her.

Laura has always been a keen observer of both people and nature around her(birds) and when it comes to human nature, she has always ridiculed Petra to such an extent that Petra has learned to overcome the humiliation and turn it into honor(bouquet)

Laura, the moment she has realized that the person sitting next to her is Gonzalo, her attitude undergoes a change, which is not observed by Gonzalo.  Earlier when Gonzalo, in spite of everything offers her the snuff, she immediately asks him if it is of good quality.  Even after it is completely confirmed that the person is Gonzalo, she still drops the flowers towards the end for reconfirmation.  This clearly indicates her perfection.

Gonzalo: Gonzalo is the character described which is a combination of all different kinds of odds brought together.  The initial description tries to provide the picture of an irritating old man(cross and funny). He is irritated each moment as he is unable to fulfill his desires, be it as simple as trying to be seated on his regular bench.  On the other hand, he appears to exhibit the so-called 'gentlemanly' traits because he has always spoken in a kind and considerate way with Laura.

Gonzalo has gained the attention of all readers in the narration of his glorious death.  The reader's ability to comprehend the character changes completely but Gonzalo is not that sharp to know who the person next to him is. But the moment he gets the doubt, his approach towards Laura changes.

Towards the end, he voluntarily tells Laura that if the next day had a pleasant weather, he would surely come to the park, and also get some bread crumbs as he wanted to get over the guilt of trying to shoo the birds away.

Water

Water, a poem by Challapalli Swaroopa Rani highlights the gender discrimination that existed from times immemorial.  She tries to explain it with many comparisons and the first one is: The water is aware of the ground's incline and it knows how people have struggled through generations and this is compared to the dampness that always exists near the well as that part never dries.  In the same way, this discrimination is never going to end.

Water is a witness to the difference of race between the Samaria women and Jesus the Jew.  It is believed that the Samaria women are supposed to be the ones who are treated very badly as they belonged to the lowest caste and it is believed that Jesus who was offered water from such a lady was gracious enough to accept it.  Water is aware of the difference that exists between the cobbler and the weaver.  It means even the sub-caste difference is very clearly highlighted.

Panchama is supposed to be the 5th set in the varna category and these were considered to be lower than the Shudras and were never provided an opportunity to draw water from the well and they were forced to wait near the well with an empty pot till a considerate Shudra comes there and draws water from the well.

Water again is a witness to the humiliation that the wada girl had to face always when water was drawn and while pouring it into her container, a part of it would spill and wet her clothes and this intentional act was the highest because they would hardly get water, added to it, humiliation was of the highest degree.

A lady called Karmachedu Suvarthamma as the one who raised her voice and supported a Dalit boy who was being beaten by a group of youth.  She who had come to collect water from the tank raises her pot to stop the boy from being attacked for the reason that he requested the youth to not pollute the water by cleaning their cattle in the tank.

The poet recollects how her wada people would wait thirsty for a glass of water.
The poetess describes that water to them is not simply H2O but a mighty movement and she compares that to a struggle at the Chadar tank, the Mahad struggle:  It is believed that all the Dalit men and women one day went to Chadar tank and dipped their hands into the waters only to proclaim to the village people that they were opposing the norms.  For people like the poetess, a single drop of water makes them recollect tears shed over generations.  There were many battles fought for a single drop of water and in this process many people lost their lives and yet, they couldn't get a small puddle of water.

The poetess at her own community appeared to be a cursed one because there were occasions when the community doesn't have an opportunity to take a bath every day, on the other hand, the entire village could luxuriously bathe twice a day.  This clearly narrates the pathetic state in which the Panchamas were and that is the main reason for their living.

Whenever the poetess gets an opportunity to recollect her childhood, she is able to remember the pain that she and her friends experienced when they had to carry heavy pots and their necks would start aching very badly. They had to walk miles to reach a canal and almost had to steal water from there.

In a village called Malapalle, there was not a pot of water and all the houses of the people were mercilessly put on fire.

Water may appear to be a simple thing but its greatest quality is that it can give life as well as take it away.  There are occasions when the water could not satisfy a thirsty person but it would transform into a tsunami wave that nearly swallowed many villagers.

Water has the ability to turn villages into dry deserts or drown them in floods as people are just like helpless play objects in its cruel hands.

Water has been the cause of fights between states, between villages and in this process, many people have been seriously wounded and some have even lost their lives. Whatever be the nature of water, off late, it has been transformed to sit innocently in a Bisleri bottle. It means, if human beings have the ability to purchase water, they can truly do so now.  Earlier, many women like the poetess had to struggle to get even a small pot of water but now it has been transformed into a multinational market commodity. It has created a great revolution and in doing so, no human being is discriminated.  It is believed that water is present everywhere and it can take the whole world in its strive.

Where There is a Wheel

Where There is a Will by P.Sainath highlights how there is a huge revolution that very easily happens in Pudukkottai, a small District in Tamil Nadu.  

It is a very rare & unique opportunity when women, especially not very literate become the cause of change.

In Pudukkottai women started learning bicycling as a means of freedom.  This carried out to be chain reaction when women felt that trying to make people around them also enjoy independence was the reason why women were taught cycling free of cost and voluntarily.   Women who had learned cycling and had the ability to train the others were called master trainers and they would try to train the others.  Fortunately, all those women who joined the literate movement were diverted towards the new cyclist movement thereby, twin advantages were in their favor.  Women who joined the neo-cyclist movement were drawn towards the neo-literate movement which meant that people, especially women were able to gain a lot of freedom and also oppose the male domination.  

There were occasions when women used cycles for multitasking, i.e, especially so when women tried to purchase gents cycle and they used the front carrier to seat children, first their produce on the carrier and hang pots of water behind.  Doing so, they were able to:

1. Reduce their dependency on public transport.
2. Sell more goods
3. Take care of their children
4. Save time and money for their comfort.

Initially, when this movement started, there were many men who opposed it, it was then that the Arivoli Iyakkam movement (light of knowledge) began and many volunteers of this movement would attack men and warn them when they made nasty remarks.  Added to this, the movement had one volunteer called Muthu Bhaskaran who had written an anthem song that was sung by these and this further united their struggle.

DC Sheela Rani Chunkath moved the banks to provide loans for all those women who wanted to purchase bicycles.  This further strengthened the women and instilled a lot of confidence in them.  One of them tries to describe the journey on her bicycle equivalent to a plane journey because they were never exposed to any technological development.

The narrator P.Sainath who returns to Pudukkottai after some time realizes how that revolution and the same attitude still existed in Pudukkottai and the same description is seen in the postscript written by him.

I Believe Books Will Never Disappear

This is basically in the form of an interview where two men of literature get an opportunity to discuss various issues related to life and literature.  Borges is a short story writer, an essayist, a poet and a translator.  His famous works include varied concepts like dreams, libraries, mirrors, philosophy, religion, and God.  As Alifano the person who interviewed Borges knew well the areas of his interest.  He asked questions pertaining to the same.  Alifano wanted to know the first great literary work that Borges had studied. As an answer to it, Borges explains his father’s library as he felt that the collection of books was so huge that he could gain a comprehensive knowledge of various subjects.

Borges appears to be very emotional when he describes his mother.  He recollects how she had been so huffed, on the other hand, he could not reciprocate that affection and a sense of guilt buried in him explodes during this conversation.  As a general observation, he tells that all children are bound to take their mother for granted and will realize her importance when she is no more with them.  When asked about blindness, he modestly admits that initially, it was quite difficult for him because he had reached a completely unknown world and many-a-times he had to suffer embarrassment and humiliation

The entire episode is viewed in a philosophical way when he tells people that all such negative aspects are given as raw material and only a few of them can transmit them and convert their miserable condition into an accomplishment.  He further feels that he has to enjoy that period of strive and should also pretend that he is not blind and that is the main reason he bought books and filled his library with them.

Trying to interpret a dream in a way Borges did or does is quite unique because, at the age of 83, a blind man is ready to take up a challenge of trying to write a book on the history of books is not every man’s outlook.Trying to explain the nature of a book or piece of literature, he explains the same keeping the reader in mind.  When a poet has created something and he fails to make the reader understand, then the entire process of creation is a futile attempt.  Poetry is a magical, mysterious and unexplainable event but it is not something that cannot be comprehended without m the involvement of the reader.  

Quoting Emily Dickinson, “This quiet dust was gentlemen and ladies”, he explains how the inclusion of two words gentlemen and ladies in the place of men and women creates magic and enhances the poetic quality.  Further, he speaks about metaphors and why they are very important and an integral part of literature.

Borges is very confident that never ever in the future, books could/would be replaced by something else and the reason he quotes should be agreeable to everyone.  He argues in a scientific way and feels that the other inventions of man are just an extension of the physical body.  The telephone, an extension of our voice, telescope and microscope extensions of sight, sword and plough the extension of our hands, but it is only the book which is the extension of imagination and memory both abstract concepts which are not dependent on any external object.

Literature is a controlled dream and books are supposed to be the memories of all centuries, therefore irreplaceable and that is the main reason if books disappear, history would disappear.  Indirectly he gives a hint that man will also disappear.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Forest

Vandana Shiva tries to highlight the cause of protection of nature as she felt that it was really necessary for the coming generation which would suffer very badly.

In the Himalayas, there were many women who realized how important it was to preserve nature joined together for the great movement called the chipko movement.  Women would go and hug the trees and would never allow people to cut them.  This developed as a great social movement.

Vandana Shiva recollects how in 1973 when she visited a favorite forest of hers, she had seen the water of a stream had reduced to a trickle.  It is then she decided that she would do something to preserve nature in that area.  So whenever she was free she would join the Padayatras that initiated this cause.  It was strange to find a woman actively involved in such a movement and they had the strength and courage to go against the people in authority and even question them.

In 1994 Vandana Shiva established the Navadhanya Farm which grew 630 varieties of rice, 150 of wheat and various other spices.  She not only had a seed bank but provided good training to the farmers so that they are able to reap a good harvest with their available agricultural farmlands.

Many women like Bachmi Devi actively participated in the chipko movement and this led to widespread awareness of how to conserve the forest and preserve the same for the coming generation.

The Navadhanya Farm was started in 1994 in the Doon valley located in the lower elevation Himalayan region of Uttarakhand province.  This great organization grows 630 variation of rice, 150 varieties of wheat.

In the UN General Assembly, inspired by the Constitution of Ecuador a conference was organized on how to restore harmony with nature as a part of the earth Day Celebrations.  This conference brought out a very important and ideal concept which highlighted how human beings are an important and ideal concept which highlighted how human beings are an inseparable part of nature and without their knowledge they have harmed nature and themselves too.  Cormac Cullinan highlights the concept of eco-Apartheid which is (separateness of) based on the illusion of separateness of humans from nature.  

The major cause for all these is the development of the world especially after industrial revolution,

Science and inventions have the power to conquer and suppress nature to such a great extent that there will appear a huge imbalance which perhaps cannot even be rectified.

A great philosopher and historian Carolyn Merchant has questioned the basic idea and puts forth his argument in a very acceptable way “How can people who consider the earth to be their mother, mutilate her for the gold mining.

The concept of earth university that has always taught earth democracy has been inspired by Rabindranath Tagore and his ideas - Shantiniketan in WB. Tagore believed that human beings need to return to nature and the forest for lessons in freedom. Indian civilization has always been appreciated for distinct features and all great ideas have come to men only. When they were in proximity to nature, experienced a complete peace and the same education must be spread to the people around them.

Unity in diversity is the main source of conflicts, both of nature and of culture.  Forest was not just the source of knowledge and freedom but a source of beauty and joy, art and aesthetics and harmony and perfection.

Forest teaches human beings the concept of enoughness which will make people appreciate whenever they have, be contended with it and earth to hoard anything for future use.  Added to this, the other idea is how to sustain ourselves and coexist with nature.  The only solution to all these problems is the end of consumerism and trying to experience joy which should emerge from enoughness.  To conclude, Vandana Shiva feels that it is only the forest that can resolve conflicts which are bound to be seen within and without.

Too Dear!

Too Dear is a short story by Leo Tolstoy. This highlights how a king who is not responsible or perhaps not knowledgeable is going to hand himself and his subjects into trouble.

The king who believed that the major avenue for the kingdom was from the gaming house retained them even after all the other adjoining countries (Italy and France) had abolished it. he felt that people in his own country were not rich enough to gamble so it is people from the neighboring countries who are going to come and that will in no way disturb his subjects.

One day, it so happened that a man committed murder and was arrested. as it was a unique event which had never occurred earlier, there was so set punishment for the same. So it took quite a long time for the king and his ministers to decide what had to be dome with the criminal. They requested the neighboring countries to provide executioners to kill the man. But it wasn't possible as both of them quoted a heavy price. As per the advice of the ministers, the king even called the army general and asked him if own of his own men could kill the criminal. But they replied and said that it was not possible as they were not trained to kill civilians.

One of the ministers advised the king and told him that the criminal could be given an opportunity to run away and they tried doing even that. The criminal was in the prison and the doors were kept open hoping that he would run away, but he did not. So the ministers question him and the criminal blames the king for his bad decision. The criminal had not been doing anything for the past year and this had made him lethargic so he couldn't do anything even later. As he provided food from the king's kitchen, he was comfortable that way. So when the guard was not there, he went into the king's kitchen, filled his plate with food and returned to the prison and locked himself. When the king and the ministers felt they had no other alternative they finally decided that this man would be granted an annual pension which he could come and collect once in 6 months. The criminal who was very intelligent started market gardening and sold all the produce and made a good living. Added to this, whenever he went to the king's place to collect his pension, he would go the gaming houses and stake a small amount irrespective of whether he made a profit or a loss.

This short story truly explains how people are going to exploit then situation needs and if the king is not capable he will run into unwanted trouble.

The prisoner understood and studied the attitude of the king and the council of ministers and when it was decided that he can overpower them, he started making a few intelligent move.  Though he appeared to be stubborn, when he asked to run away, the reader is made to understand the hidden idea behind it.  When the ultimate person in authority and cannot take decisions in a judicious way, everybody is bound to suffer and his own subjects who are intelligent can take advantage just as this prisoner has done.

Heaven if you are not on Earth (2)

The poem 'Heaven if you are not on earth', originally written by Kuvempu in Kannada has been translated by C.Naganna.  The entire poem is divided into 3 stanzas and the first two lines appear to be distinct.  The poet feels that heaven cannot be anywhere else except on earth because it is believed that heaven is supposed to be on a higher field far away from earth & it is only the blessed who can reach them.  Added to it, nobody who has visited heaven has come back to report the nature of it and it remains a mystery.  That is the main reason people are advised to do good to reach heaven.  The poet feels that heaven cannot be anywhere else other than on earth.  He continues with the same idea & further feels that if we cannot be gods, then there can be no gods & the same with heavenly nymphs (Angles).  He expresses this idea with a strong belief that human beings are a combination of divine and demonly qualities & the moment the divine qualities excel, he turns to be almost to an angel.  Beautiful description of nature is presented.  A river or stream rushes fast & reaches the sea & looses its identity & the waves roll back as surf onto the shore.  The sunshine is quite tender & acceptable to nature and this sunshine is spread throughout the green garden.  When we see a combination these beautifully working in nature, them it is equated to heaven.  The poet tries to describe the joy of good harvest as experienced by the farmers and when it is night, the presence of the moon further tries to create heavenly atmosphere and this beautiful nature as experienced by the poet is converted into words and written in the form of a lyric or a poem and this creature of literature is bound to create heaven on earth and in this circumstance, the poet who creates heaven through his poetry or song.

Heaven if you are not on Earth (1)

'Heaven if you are not on Earth' is a poem in translation where Kannada’s national poet Kuvempu highlights nature and describes how human beings with their behavior might try to reach divinity.

The poet in an extraordinary way tries to proclaim that heaven is supposed to be here on earth and not somewhere far away and very lightly justifies it.

The gods according to the poet are supposed to be here on Earth and he equates it to good behavior and concern of a few people, rightly so with the heavenly nymphs too.

The poet describes nature and tries to concentrate on a few divine aspects as per his analysis.  He focuses on the concept of a river trying to negate its existence while it merges in the ocean or sea and how beautiful the entire atmosphere is when the waves reach the shore forming a surf.  On the other hand, the tender sunshine is spread on the greenery and this beautiful spectacle is equated to a heavenly experience on earth.

The poet in the last stanza tries to how the nature around us appears to be very lovely and especially so during the harvest time when the farmers rejoice as they have had a very good yield and this enjoyment comes to life on a full moon day and such a spectacle is equated to heaven.  The poet tries to imbibe and spill the essence of nature so that the readers who are unable to enjoy nature the same way as the poet does will get an opportunity to visualize nature through the poet’s description.  To conclude, the poet feels that it is the poet through a beautiful narration of nature has created heaven on this earth.

On Children

The poem 'On children' describes the expectations of parents and the way that idea has been attacked by the poet.  Once, it so happened that a woman met the poet and asked him to tell them something about children.  She only expected that it would be words of advice, not to the parents but to the children.  But the answer that she receives surprises her because he openly proclaims that their children are not their children but they are life’s longing for itself.  Though the parents give birth to them, they need not expect the children to inherit all their qualities.  The children forcibly stay with them but do not belong to them.  The parents should provide affection to their children and never impose their ideas on them.  Because the children have their own ideas and thoughts.  The poet goes one step further & proclaims that the children could be controlled only to a certain extent but not beyond.  Because children live in the house of tomorrow which the parents can’t even think of visiting.  Because they can’t even dream how that tomorrow of children could be like, because life always moves forward and never goes back.  The poet makes it clear to the parents that they are like the bows from which the children as arrows are sent to reach a particular destination.  Almighty knows where to shoot the arrow & the parents should be humble in the hands of the archer because he knows how to bend the bow or the extent to which it should be bend so that the arrow reaches its destination and the bow is also stable, which means without hurting or injuring the parents, the children will be made to reach their destination.