Yatra - A literary experience

Posted by Bobby

Journeys are part of human life. In fact many religions and mythologies consider life itself as a journey. None us remember our first journey, the journey from mother’s womb to earth. Neither will we remember our last journey. But there will be many and many unforgettable journeys in ones memory. It may the journey to school holding the little sisters hands or brothers or it may be the journeys to in laws house during the summer vacation or may be the journeys one undertake in search of a job or as part of the job.

Malayalam literature is also blessed with a number of unforgettable journeys. We have a novel "Govardhante Yathrakal" by Shri. Anand. "Govardhante Yathrakal" is the journeys undertook by Govardhan, who is innocent and everybody knows and agrees that he is innocent but is punished to death. Not only that the court has its own logic to justify his punishment. Govardhan continues his journeys asking questions about justice, low and order, crime, punishment etc. to his contemporaries, to the great personalities of the past and to the people who will come to live in this earth in future.

Malayalam’s most loved writer Shri. M T Vasudevan Nair concludes the novel "Asurawith" with the journey Govindankutty undertakes. He in facts starts the journey just to return to starting point again.

"Priyapettavare thirichu varan vendi yathra arabhikukayanu"

While in "Manju", M T discusses the other side of journey, the waiting or longing for some one to arrive. In Manju, Vimala is waiting from seasons to seasons for the arrival of her beloved. Even when the last season tells farewell, she and her friend the boatman in the lake is not ready to give up hope. Let us also hope with the boatman that one day, may be the next season or the season next to it, her beloved will arrive.

"Varum Memsab, Varathirikilla"

For Poet A Ayyappan, Journeys are not just journeys but history itself. He once wrote:

Sila ligithangalam pura vasthukalam

Pusthakangalum alla charitram

Charitram yatrayanu

Shri. Balachandran Chullikad’s Poem "yatra mozhi" is another poems dealing with journey.

But the most artistic expressions of journey are scripted by Shri. O V Vijay in his legend making novel "Khasakinte Ithihasam". Ravi, who unable to face his father and ran away from his sins, was again and again in sins even in his last abhayam Khasak. When he deiced to leave Khasak, Vijayan wrote:

Sayanna yathrakalude Acha, Vida tharika. Mantharathinte Elakal cheerthu thunniya punar janiyude e koodum vedinju njan veendum yatra yakunnu.

Regards

Boby
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Response from Kalyan Kumar:

That’s truly a remarkable write up Boby. Nicely touched some of the magnificent works in our language. There is a book titled Yathra written by Guru Nithya Chaithanya Yathi. It’s basically a biography. Yathi talks about his childhood and younger days journeys in it. There is portion in that book where he describes one of his visits to a friend’s house where his mother cooks fish for dinner. Yathi, being a vegetarian find it’s difficult to take the food, but at the same time does not want to displease his friend’s mother. Finally, he takes the dinner.

In Govanrdhantey Yathrakal, Anand is talking about ‘Natotis’. And there he makes a statement. Natoti’s translate time into space( Natotikal kalathey sthalathilottu tharjamma cheyyunnavaranu)

Probably, the most enchanting description of a journey is the journey of Ravi in Khasak. And Vijayan said it in his lyrical prose:

“Sayanna yathrakalude Acha, Vida tharika. Mantharathinte Elakal cheerthu thunniya punar janiyude e koodum vedinju njan veendum yatra yakunnu”