Revisiting Ramanan

On the 114th birth anniversary of legendary poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, TNIE delves into his masterpiece which continues to captivate Malayali readers.
Revisiting Ramanan
Updated on
6 min read

KOCHI: Kanana chchayayil aadu meykkan,Njanum varatteyo ninte koode...

There is no Malayali who hasn’t hummed these timeless lines from Changampuzha’s timeless classic Ramanan, even those who haven’t read the sensational work of poetry to the last line.

Ramanan was a revelation in Malayalam literature - an anthem of jilted lovers struggling to overcome their lost love. Penned by Changampuzha Krishna Pillai in remembrance of his dear friend and poet Edappally Raghavan Pillai, this pastoral elegy is one of a kind in our literary world.

In this 114th birth anniversary of the great poet, TNIE looks at how the former’s masterpiece was born from an incredible and profoundly tragic commemoration of friendship and love. 

Written in 1936, this play in verse stars two shepherds - the titular character Ramanan (representing Edappally Raghavan Pillai) and his friend Madanan (a stand-in for the poet himself) - and Chandrika, the upper-caste lady-love.

The plaintive poem, in which Ramanan takes his own life after losing Chandrika to another man, mirrors reality where Edappally, heartbroken at the marriage of his lover, hanged himself on her wedding day. It is said that he dressed himself like a groom, in all-white and put a jasmine garland around his neck before succumbing to death. 

Devastated at the passing of his fellow poet, Changampuzha put his love and grief into this work, which was recognised as one of the greatest Malayalam literary pieces of the century. With Changampuzha, Keralites mourned the loss of Edappally, who was well-recognised for his contributions to Malayalam literature, before he passed away at 27 in 1936.

Ramanan has since sold more than a lakh copies and was prescribed as a textbook by the University of Kerala, shortly after its celebrated release. Changampuzha, then a university student, is rumoured to have been taught his own work in his classroom! His passionate verses, seeped in love and despair, are still echoed in classrooms across the state.

Changampuzha always favoured the language of the masses, a deviation from the literary nature of the poetry of those days, one of the main reasons his words could penetrate the hearts of a collective society. No stranger to romantic exploits himself, he primarily focused on the common man, his woes, needs and desires. His poem ‘Vazhakkula’ is noted for its themes of caste struggle. The widespread virus in Malayali society has been touched upon in Ramanan as well.

Lalitha Changampuzha, the youngest daughter of the late poet, recalls how a real-life instance of a landlord demanding a plantain bunch from a Pulaya family, who longingly nurtured it with love, inspired Vazhakkula - another poem that travelled across the borders of the literary world.

When asked about her favourite from her father’s repertoire, Lalitha cites Ramanan as the most impactful. “There is none who doesn’t hum his poems. I remember hearing verses of Ramanan from many common men, including a waiter at a restaurant and an oarsman,” she smiles. She fondly recalls a recent event where a seven-year-old child flawlessly recited the fan-favourite lines that all Malayalis can chant by heart. 

Often dubbed as the ‘twin poets of Edappally’, Krishna Pillai and Raghavan Pillai were initially not the best of friends, despite being schoolmates. They did not form a friendship until adulthood, with their shared passion for poetry, observes eminent writer and literary critic M K Sanoo.

In a conversation with TNIE, Sanoo Mash reminisces about his first correspondence with the poet. He was just a Bachelor’s student back then. “Having read one of Changampuzha’s poems, I sent him a letter analysing it and expressing my heartfelt appreciation of it,” he says. Soon came the impressed poet’s reply, explaining how he usually ignores the letters of even the well-known critics but found a sincere reader in the young Sanoo. 

Speaking about the everlasting popularity of the work, Sanoo Mash says, “We all carry a sense of romantic love in our hearts, perhaps that’s why Ramanan has resonated with so many, despite all these years.” 

He quotes Tennyson’s famous verse from his work ‘In Memoriam’, ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all, a fitting reference to yet another elegy written in remembrance of his friend and poet, Arthur Henry Hallam. 

The 97-year-old writer, who also authored a biography titled Changampuzha Krishna Pillai: Nakshatrangalude Snehabhajanam,  recollected many of the verses by the late poet with ease. He asserts, “Changampuzha is one of the few poets in Malayalam who achieved fame from his early writing period.

Most literary critics of the time rebuked and satirised him, attacking the melancholic tone and fixation with death in his poetry,” he says, adding that artistic jealousy might be a possible reason for the biting criticism the poet received in his early days. Seldom can one write in such an influential manner, with this lasting impact on our hearts, even after decades.  

For Dr Vishnu Raj P, assistant professor of Malayalam and Head of the Department of Additional Languages at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Ramanan transcends romantic love. “Changampuzha wrote in a simple yet romanticised Malayalam,” he says, adding that as someone who observes the changing tides of Malayalam poetry, he feels that every poet should go through the works of Changampuzha and absorb his effortless vocabulary.

“Ramanan also touches upon the bond between man and nature,” he says. He recites the line he considers most impactful in the poem: Enkilum Chandrike nammal kaanum sankalppalokamalleeulakam, which marks the tension between reality and fantasy.

It’s not just Vishnu, over the years, there have been various readings on Ramanan. More than the tragic love that rises from the pages, the poem offers different perspectives for each reader. According to poet and art critic, Sudheesh Kottembram, the accessibility, readability and relatability of this work are what makes it still very relevant. “It encapsulates the daily life of the common man through a carefully crafted narrative, and thus, resonates with the Malayali psyche,” he says.

“Changampuzha’s works provided a space for everyone — a literary reader can find depth in the same work that a common man can wholeheartedly enjoy,” he adds. This poignant tale of unrequited love and profound friendship, he implies, welcomed the public to the world of poetry, which was mostly consumed by the intellectuals.

For many young poets of Kerala, Changampuzha and his words are something that has been passed on from their elders. For poet Aleena, this was her grandmother. She retraces her memories of a grandmother, a theatre actress with little school education, singing the verses of Ramanan to her as a child. “And works like Ramanan were presented as early examples of quintessential poetic beauty to my generation,” she says.

The epochal poem, which culminated in Ramanan’s suicide, immortalised the pain of lost love and the grief of a cherished friend. Like his contemporary, Changampuzha too left a great impact on the literary scene of Kerala in the short period he was active. Many lamented that his premature death in 1948, at the age of 36 from tuberculosis, was an undeniable loss to Malayalam literature and the numerous poets he inspired through his prolific works.

To the screen

Written, directed and produced by D M Pottekkat, the 1967 Malayalam movie Ramanan was an adaptation of the eponymous work. Starring Prem Nazir in the titular role, with Sheela as Chandrika and Madhu as Madanan, the film was released almost 20 years after the demise of Changampuzha. Though the film failed to make an impression at the box office, the songs - Changampuzha’s lyrics, including the evergreen hits Kananachchayayil and Malaranikkattil, are still etched in the memories of many Malayalis.

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