His poem "Ente Gurunathan", an eloquent
testimonial of a Gandhi disciple's trust in the teacher, pointed at the
direction his future poetry was to take.
Vallathol
Among the Great Trio of modern poets, Asan's style was roughly hewn, Ullur's was pedantic, but it was Vallathol who wrote as the consummate lyrical stylist. A poet who transformed himself from a traditional classicist poet to a popular romantic bard, Vallathol also outlived the other two members of the Great Trio to become one of the most recognized poets of modern India. Published in 1910, Vallathol's first major work, Badhira Vilapam, (A Deaf Man's Lament) dealt with the poet's loss of hearing, his sense of deprivation of the world. The poet seeks to transcend the world of frightening silence in the same manner Milton resigned himself to the reality of darkness in his sonnet, "On His Blindness."
In 1916, when the first of his eight-volume masterpiece Sahitya Manjari (A Bouquet of Literature), appeared, he was immediately recognized as a significant voice, particularly because of his use of both the Sanskrit and Dravidian meters in his lyrical poetry. Even though his earlier poetry, like much of the poetry of Asan and Ullur, was rooted primarily in the Sanskrit tradition and in religious themes, Vallathol changed with the times, becoming an integral part of nationalist consciousness sweeping the land. He sought to reach beyond the regionalism of the Kerala tradition and the orthodoxy of the Sanskrit heritage.
It was the Gandhian Movement that transformed him into a modernist with broader nationalist aspirations. His poem "Ente Gurunathan", an eloquent testimonial of a Gandhi disciple's trust in the teacher, pointed at the direction his future poetry was to take. His celebrated works such as Bandanasthanaya Anirudhan, Virasrinkala, Divaswapnam, Achanum Makalum, Magdalana Mariam reiterated the poet's commitment to larger human issues. His khanda kavya on the life of Mary Magdalene continues to be popular; it also paved way for a new tradition of Christian symbolism in Malayalam. A literary tradition attempting to disengage itself from the mythical mode found an easier transition in the figures of the Gospel and in Gandhi and Buddha.
Though Vallathol did not have the benefit of English education that Asan and Ullur had, he did try to imbibe Western traditions. Through his efforts to bring Kathakali out of feudal control, Vallathol also modernized a theater that had dominated the literary scene for at least four centuries.
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Last Updated: December 11, 1998