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    Jejuri: Arun Kolatkar

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    Nirmalendu Kumar
    This document provides biographical information about the Indian poet Arun Kolatkar and analyzes his poetry collection "Jejuri". Some key points: - Kolatkar was a pioneering modern Indian poet who wrote in both Marathi and English. "Jejuri" depicts his visit to the temple town of Jejuri in Maharashtra. - Through 31 short poems, Kolatkar captures his encounter with the town's ancient religious traditions from sunrise to sunset. Main themes include faith/skepticism, alienation, and man's identity. - Poems like "A Scratch" and "The Door" depict the thin line between god and stone at Jejuri, suggesting the decay

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    Jejuri: Arun Kolatkar

    Uploaded by

    Nirmalendu Kumar
    289 views17 pages
    This document provides biographical information about the Indian poet Arun Kolatkar and analyzes his poetry collection "Jejuri". Some key points: - Kolatkar was a pioneering modern Indian poet who wrote in both Marathi and English. "Jejuri" depicts his visit to the temple town of Jejuri in Maharashtra. - Through 31 short poems, Kolatkar captures his encounter with the town's ancient religious traditions from sunrise to sunset. Main themes include faith/skepticism, alienation, and man's identity. - Poems like "A Scratch" and "The Door" depict the thin line between god and stone at Jejuri, suggesting the decay

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    JEJURIPPT

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    This document provides biographical information about the Indian poet Arun Kolatkar and analyzes his poetry collection "Jejuri". Some key points: - Kolatkar was a pioneering modern Indian poet who wrote in both Marathi and English. "Jejuri" depicts his visit to the temple town of Jejuri in Maharashtra. - Through 31 short poems, Kolatkar captures his encounter with the town's ancient religious traditions from sunrise to sunset. Main themes include faith/skepticism, alienation, and man's identity. - Poems like "A Scratch" and "The Door" depict the thin line between god and stone at Jejuri, suggesting the decay

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    289 views17 pages

    Jejuri: Arun Kolatkar

    Uploaded by

    Nirmalendu Kumar
    This document provides biographical information about the Indian poet Arun Kolatkar and analyzes his poetry collection "Jejuri". Some key points: - Kolatkar was a pioneering modern Indian poet who wrote in both Marathi and English. "Jejuri" depicts his visit to the temple town of Jejuri in Maharashtra. - Through 31 short poems, Kolatkar captures his encounter with the town's ancient religious traditions from sunrise to sunset. Main themes include faith/skepticism, alienation, and man's identity. - Poems like "A Scratch" and "The Door" depict the thin line between god and stone at Jejuri, suggesting the decay

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    JEJURI

    BY
    ARUN KOLATKAR

    ENGL3016
    ARUN KOLATKAR (1932 – 2004)
     Arun Kolatkar was born on 1 November
    1932 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra
     He was educated in Kolhapur, Pune and
    Mumbai
     Had Diploma in Painting from J. J. School
    Mumbai in 1857
     A graphic designer by profession
     He was a bilingual poet – wrote in Marathi
    and English
     He is one of the pioneers of modern poetry
    in India
     A winner of Commonwealth Poetry Prize
    1977
     He translated the Marathi poets, especially
    Tukaram, into English
     He won a Sahitya Akademi Award for his
    poetry collection Bhijki Vahi (Wet Notebook)
    in 2005
    JEJURI
     Jejuri, is a collection 31 poems which appeared
    originally in English in 1976
     Jejuri is a temple town in Western Maharashtra
    known for Lord Khandoba
     Through this collection Kolatkar presents an
    encounter between modern consciousness and
    ancient religious tradition.
     Things that he observed in his journey to this
    religious place are penned down in the form of
    short poems
    TEMPLE OF LORD KHANDOBA
    BACKGROUND OF JEJURI POEMS
     Jejuri is a village situated about 48 km
    from Pune in Maharashtra
     Jejuri has a holy shrine of Lord
    Khandoba, a form of Shiva, worshipped
    by Shepherd Community in Maharashtra
     Lord Khandoba is the God of sword
    fighting.
     He is a warrior, riding a horse with a
    sword as his weapon.
     Thousands of pilgrims visit Jejuri
    throughout the year.
     Khandoba is believed to bestow wealth,
    health and children on his devotees.
    Lord Khandoba  Suitable offerings are made at the
    shrine at Khandoba
    MAIN THEMES IN JEJURI

     Faith and scepticism


     Alienation and perception

     Time – from sun rise to sun set

     The existence of life and various other forms of


    it.
     Commercialization of religion.

     Man's quest for his identity in this vast


    universe.
    ‘A SCRATCH’
    What is god
    and what is stone
    the dividing line
    if it exits
    is very thin
    at Jejuri
    and every other stone
    is god or his cousin
    there is no crop
    other than god
    and god is harvested here
    around the year
    and round the clock
    out of the bad earth
    and the hard rock
    that giant hunk of rock
    the size of a bedroom
    is Khandoba's wife turned to stone
    the crack that runs right across
    is the scar from his broadsword
    he struck her down with
    once in a fit of rage

    scratch a rock
    and a legend springs
    IMPORTANT POINTS

     The sanctity of temple of god Khandoba is such


    that a legend can be discovered merely by
    scratching a stone at Jejuri
     Every stone is sacred at Jejuri

     Difficult to distinguish God from stone

     Myth creation – The stone with a scar has a


    myth behind that Khandoba turning his wife to
    stone
    ‘THE DOOR’
    A prophet half brought down.
    from the cross
    a dangling martyr.

    since one hinge broke


    the heavy medieval door
    flanges on one hinge alone.

    one corner drags in dust on the road.


    the other knocks
    against the high threshold.
    like a memory that nly gets sharper.
    with the passage of time,
    the grain stands out on the wood.

    as graphic in detail
    as a flayed man of muscles who could not find
    his way back into the anatomy book.

    as is leaning against
    any old doorway to sober up
    like the local drunk
    hell with the hinge and damn the jab
    the door would have walked out
    long long ago

    if it weren’t for
    that pairs of shorts
    left to dry upon its shoulders.
    IMPORTANT POINTS
     The poem is written in three line stanzas
     It is a descriptive poem of detailing every object
    that the narrator of the poem sets his eyes upon.
     The object is seen on two levels: mundane and the
    sacred
     Thus the dilapidated condition of the door
    suggests the decay of religion and religious
    practices.
     It is significant that the door should make the
    narrator think of Christ and crucifixion.
     Something that was at the centre of belief in the
    medieval age is now just a broken down, decaying
    pathetic object.
     The door has been a witness to various traditions.

     The poem evokes unalterable decay, decadence of


    the place.
     With the passage of time objects become
    meaningless and the value of their existence also
    deteriorate
    FURTHER READING

     'Between Jejuri and the Railway Station‘


     'The Butterfly'
    THANK YOU

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