Under Another Sky -R.Parthasarathy
The narrator in the poem says that it is a tired sea which calls the visitor between Fort St. George
and San Thomas. Here at this stretch of the sea between Fort St. Georg and Santhome once upon a
time, during the British rule over India ships choked the Madras harbour with spices, cinnamon and
cloves. Away from the seashore and in the inland of Madras an old civilization, the civilization of the
Tamils hissed in the alleys and wells. Tamil civilization has been flourishing in the different parts of
Madras including Tiruallikeni (Triplicane) and Tirumayilai (Mylapore) where Thiruvaluvar lived in the
second century A.D. The sun who is a measure of time and a witness of all events has done his worst
to the country. The Tamil language has been skimmed from time to time and has become worn out
to a shadow. The use of the language has changed from time to time and names of persons, places
and phenomena have also changed as if the names have been skimmed. Words in the language
(Tamil) have been so handled that they have lost their original substance and have become shadows.
The eyes of the narrator (the protagonist) ache because he has eaten too much of the ripe fruits that
he had received from the many temples of Madras which is noted for Tamil writers and for temples.
The bridges which stand on the swiftly flowing rivers seen to comb the unruly rivers with their
columns or pillars. The hour-glass of the Tamilians is replaced by the exact chronometer or clock
which is a product of Europe. Times have changed, Inventions have been improved and the way of
life of people has also changed, Ancient relics and landmarks are replaced by new and foreign
products. The old goddess has become a cardboard-and-paper address, Packing in business and
paper advertisements have come to rule in the ancient city of Madras. The Mount Road is the royal
highway and it symbolises modern Madras life. There is no fighting spirit felt in the old beast namely
the old city Madras..
Time has plucked the tenth of the old beast Madras. Since the building of fort St. George, the English
gained control over Madras. Francis Day has seen to it that the fighting spirit of Madras was tamed.
(In 1639, Francis Day, Chief factor of the East India company's station at Armazon, obtained from the
Raja of
Chandragiri, a descendant of the old rajas of Vijayanagar the grant of a strip of land on the coast of
coromandel, about six miles long by one mile broad. The following year work was begun on Fort
George, which was finished in 1653. This was the White Town. Outside the walls was the Black
Town. The whole was at first called Sri Ranga Raja Pattanam. British rule in India began in Madras.
The Portuguese arrived before the English in San Thome in south Madras. The apostle, St. Thomas
was martyred and buried in the cathedral at Santhome, Valluvar, the Tamil poet and author of the
Kural lived in Mylapore near Santhome, in the second century A.D.
The protagonist asks himself why he has travelled a thousad miles to come to Madras. The sky is not
different here. The atmosphere here is the same as that which prevails in other places. The
protagonist wants to know the meaning and purpose of his quest. Beggars are the same every
where. Poverty is everywhere. The clubs are there in Madras and other cities complete with bar and
golf links of the rich and pleasure loving. The impact of the civilization and culture of the West on
India is still talked about even though the wogs (the coloured foreigners) the Indians have taken over
the rule from the English.
The narrator in the poem says that it is a tired sea which calls the visitor between Fort St. George
and San Thomas. Here at this stretch of the sea between Fort St. Georg and Santhome once upon a
time, during the British rule over India ships choked the Madras harbour with spices, cinnamon and
cloves. Away from the seashore and in the inland of Madras an old civilization, the civilization of the
Tamils hissed in the alleys and wells. Tamil civilization has been flourishing in the different parts of
Madras including Tiruallikeni (Triplicane) and Tirumayilai (Mylapore) where Thiruvaluvar lived in the
second century A.D. The sun who is a measure of time and a witness of all events has done his worst
to the country. The Tamil language has been skimmed from time to time and has become worn out
to a shadow. The use of the language has changed from time to time and names of persons, places
and phenomena have also changed as if the names have been skimmed. Words in the language
(Tamil) have been so handled that they have lost their original substance and have become shadows.
The eyes of the narrator (the protagonist) ache because he has eaten too much of the ripe fruits that
he had received from the many temples of Madras which is noted for Tamil writers and for temples.
The bridges which stand on the swiftly flowing rivers seen to comb the unruly rivers with their
columns or pillars. The hour-glass of the Tamilians is replaced by the exact chronometer or clock
which is a product of Europe. Times have changed, Inventions have been improved and the way of
life of people has also changed, Ancient relics and landmarks are replaced by new and foreign
products. The old goddess has become a cardboard-and-paper address, Packing in business and
paper advertisements have come to rule in the ancient city of Madras. The Mount Road is the royal
highway and it symbolises modern Madras life. There is no fighting spirit felt in the old beast namely
the old city Madras..
Time has plucked the tenth of the old beast Madras. Since the building of fort St. George, the English
gained control over Madras. Francis Day has seen to it that the fighting spirit of Madras was tamed.
(In 1639, Francis Day, Chief factor of the East India company's station at Armazon, obtained from the
Raja of
Chandragiri, a descendant of the old rajas of Vijayanagar the grant of a strip of land on the coast of
coromandel, about six miles long by one mile broad. The following year work was begun on Fort
George, which was finished in 1653. This was the White Town. Outside the walls was the Black
Town. The whole was at first called Sri Ranga Raja Pattanam. British rule in India began in Madras.
The Portuguese arrived before the English in San Thome in south Madras. The apostle, St. Thomas
was martyred and buried in the cathedral at Santhome, Valluvar, the Tamil poet and author of the
Kural lived in Mylapore near Santhome, in the second century A.D.
The protagonist asks himself why he has travelled a thousad miles to come to Madras. The sky is not
different here. The atmosphere here is the same as that which prevails in other places. The
protagonist wants to know the meaning and purpose of his quest. Beggars are the same every
where. Poverty is everywhere. The clubs are there in Madras and other cities complete with bar and
golf links of the rich and pleasure loving. The impact of the civilization and culture of the West on
India is still talked about even though the wogs (the coloured foreigners) the Indians have taken over
the rule from the English.
