English literature - Poets and poetry:
Jean Arasanayagam is a popular Sri Lankan
poet, with a large number of poems to her credit.
Arasanayagam won the National award for Literature in 1984. She is a
burger lady married to a tamil gentleman. Being subjected to racial
violence in 1983 she had the most tragic and bitter experience in
refugee camps. The period she stayed in refugee camps influenced her to
a great extent innovating her to write poetry, rather biased but keeping
alive the literary value of her poems.
"THE RUINED GOPURAM" her
famous poem is a description of a Hindu Temple destroyed during
disturbance of the PEACE by a crowd.
has described the Hindu Temple ruined to pieces crating the most
appropriate image of the temple and making her own comment on the people
who underwent acute torture and suffering; yet, saving their faith in
their God authentically.
The poet's descriptions are exclusively her own technique, vivid,
picturesque and appealing, touching, arousing the reader's feelings,
anxiety and sympathy. Jean's opening line is exceptional.
In her popular poem Ruined Gopuram
the scene of the once beautiful landscape "white sands and palmyra fonds",
"freakishly black" highlighting the unusual atmosphere prevailing.
"All evening the pyres burn". The enemy had riotously ruined not only
the Hindu Temple but the lives of a large number of people keeping the
pyres burn. The poet's wording is superb.
"Beside the broken walls"
The word BROKEN signifying the pathetic situation of the whole procedure
- The temple ruined and scattered resulting in sad and deep mental
unrest. The brightness of the whole place is blurred, confused and
devastated. IMAGERY created by the poet
".... the turquoise seats bright with morning sun dimmed and Went
black" Suggesting the sudden change of the scene from brightness to
darkness. Darkness prevailing not only in Gopuram but to the people
there in "The goddess guardian of the fresh waterspring is silent" the
faith of the people in their God cannot be ruined.
"The Brahmin chants his pooja to the Gods camphor and incense stream
out of the stone door into the evening light".
Jean's superb symbolism and wording add meaning and glamour to the
poem. "The SILENT BELL IS CRACKED" failing to announce its symbolic
presence at a temple. Jean Arasanayagam's diction style is superb yet
simple inclining to arouse the reader's emotions.
Her use of imagery - verbal images, auditory and visual images are
effectively created to bring out meaning and feeling inviting the reader
share the poet's experience of facing mayhem.
Jean's poem "IN THE MONTH OF JULY
is also close to 'RUINED GOPURAM' in expression description of a man
trying to escape his pursuers and how he got himself subjected to bitter
attack by mob, ending in death.
Jean Arasanayagam's poems seem to
inculcate in the hearts of the people kindness, sympathy and
understanding erasing the evil effects of hatred especially racial
Jean Arasanayagam's elegant wording, symbolism, imagery,
presentation, freshness of vision her sensitivity maintain her place as