The ocean doesn't feed us everyday.
But, we never curse the sea.
The sea may be filled with salt.
But to get it, you need to work hard.
Understand?
What is stopping you?
Why do you falter?
Don’t you have faith in your heart?
Are you scared they will defeat you?
Hey, why do you want to box again?
Do you want to do this for the coach who disowned you?
Is it for you mother, who has asked this of you?
Is it for your wife who dreams of a better life?
Is this for Vembuli who lays in wait to defeat you?
Is it for those who prevent you from winning?
Is this for the people who are counting on your victory?
Or are you doing this for yourself?
You dont end up with a big catch always.
Waiting is the key!
Winning one game isn’t what you call victory.
It lies in keeping up the fight!
~ Excerpt from Sarpatta Parambarai of Pa Ranjith
You feel that I am a broken mirror
Yes!
I am a shattered glass
I collected each piece…
recreating myself.
May be to people who see me,
I could be a bold person,
or an angry, arrogant woman.
I am that.
I need that.
Because…
As a young girl,
once when i was heading
to my school through the fields,
I had to step down, shattered,
into the slush for every upper caste man.
The street that belonged to everyone…
turned hostile each time I walked past.
That one time
when I picked tamarind fruits…
a voice threatened me.
I ran for my life and was shattered.
When I was abused for
bathing in the well using caste slurs…
I ran naked, shattered.
When the teacher asked me
what meat I eat…
I said “beef” courageously.
“Shut up, you fool”, the teacher said.
When I was in class ten,
my dad played the drums.
My classmates insulted me.
I hid inside the house, shattered.
When I availed the college scholarship…
Many envied my scholarship and insulted me.
When my friends
shared their food with each other…
leaving me out because I had beef,
I was shattered
When I trusted Iniyan
with all my heart…
He insulted me
with my caste identity.
Witnessing this caste.
That shadows me…
I grew tired.
I shattered a little each time.
I recreated myself.
I desperately want to show
that I am a stronger and braver person.
With all the arrogance and clarity.
Absolutely perfect!
Because, I am just not me.
This is my social identity.
This is me. This is who I am.
~ Excerpt from Natchathiram Nagargiradhu of Pa Ranjith
My dear people.
If I told you the story of our murders…
Like the bright lightning over the hill
Your lamps would burn for hours
If I told you the story of our deaths
Nights would run into days
Your lamps would lose oil
Woman;s rage would kill
So you make me God
Oh, my dear people!
We sacrifice our sons and daughters
To your deceitful spite
You chop my head off!
Do you not hear
My screams of agony?
Have you shut your ears?
The brave man that I loved
He will bloom as a flower
He will fill this world with his perfume
Nights would run into days
Your lamps would lose oil
Paapathi and Eenamuthu’s love
Engraved you so…
Stopped us on a forest path
You chopped us to pieces
You discrminators of love!
You slaves of pride and arrogance!
You try to kill the sun
Would your will be done?
The darkness would engulf
You would never see light
You try to kill the sun
Would your will be done?
A million raindrops
Make the rivers and the ocean
A woman births this earth
She is the soul of this existence
Love is the only thing
That will be ever present
My people
Oh, my people!
Hear my story!
~ Excerpt from Natchathiram Nagargiradhu of Pa Ranjith
I like him a lot
What I wish for… was his wish too.
His gestures weren’t big.
My laugh… my beauty…
He made me feel like I owned it all.
The shining sun… isn’t for another.
Like the earth needs the sun.
I needed him.
And I took him.
The society and all the rules it has laid…
I rebelled against it all.
I chose him despite it.
Love.
Like a star that moves…
Filled me with its magic.
Whatever you say…
I will never leave him.
With the fluttering butterflies,
I live. I will live with him.
~ Excerpt from Natchathiram Nagargiradhu of Pa Ranjith
i might have been singing the same song
but i will sing it as long as I live
i shall rip out my gut
transform it into a lute
and make its strings echo in every street
ears that can hear the truth
i will keep seeking
~ excerpt from maamannan (2023)