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By Subramania Bharati [translated from the Tamil by A.K. Ramanujan]
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
In the first stanza the wind breaks the shutters of the window, scatters the papers, throws down the books from the shelf, tears the pages from the books and brings showers of rain.
2. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives, crumbling hearts. The wind God winnows and crushes them all.
3. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
To make friends with the wind we have to build strong homes, strong doors, strengthen our bodies, and also strengthen our mind and heart.
4. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
The poet says that we should face the hardships of our lives courageously wind symbolises hardships in our lives. He says that the wind can only extinguish weak fires but it intensifies the strong ones. Similarly adversities in life will deter the weak hearted but it will strengthen the stronger willed and help them to progress in life. He concludes that the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face life.
5. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?
The poet speaks to the wind in anger. Yes, the strong wind is creating damage to all types of property and human life. Storms, cyclones, gales and strong winds cause havoc on land. They uproot trees, bring down houses, tear down electric posts and claim lives. They also cause damage to boats and frighten the poor sailors and fishermen out at sea. Yet, I do not agree with the poet that the wind only 'crumbles lives'. The wind is responsible for bringing rain; it cools the land and makes the climate pleasant. Today, wind energy is harnessed for several useful purposes including turning windmills, wind turbines and generating electricity.
i) You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
In the first stanza the wind breaks the shutters of the window, scatters the papers, throws down the books from the shelf, tears the pages from the books and brings showers of rain.
2. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives, crumbling hearts. The wind God winnows and crushes them all.
3. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
To make friends with the wind we have to build strong homes, strong doors, strengthen our bodies, and also strengthen our mind and heart.
4. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
The poet says that we should face the hardships of our lives courageously wind symbolises hardships in our lives. He says that the wind can only extinguish weak fires but it intensifies the strong ones. Similarly adversities in life will deter the weak hearted but it will strengthen the stronger willed and help them to progress in life. He concludes that the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face life.
5. How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?
The poet speaks to the wind in anger. Yes, the strong wind is creating damage to all types of property and human life. Storms, cyclones, gales and strong winds cause havoc on land. They uproot trees, bring down houses, tear down electric posts and claim lives. They also cause damage to boats and frighten the poor sailors and fishermen out at sea. Yet, I do not agree with the poet that the wind only 'crumbles lives'. The wind is responsible for bringing rain; it cools the land and makes the climate pleasant. Today, wind energy is harnessed for several useful purposes including turning windmills, wind turbines and generating electricity.
Poetic Devices Used In The Poem
i) You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
Here “you” refers to the wind. The wind is personified. The entire poem is a personification of wind.
ii) You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Here the wind has been compared to a clever person, the poetic device used is a metaphor.
The entire poem is a metaphor it teaches the humanity to stand against all kinds of ravages whether it is man made or artificial.
ii) You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Here the wind has been compared to a clever person, the poetic device used is a metaphor.
The entire poem is a metaphor it teaches the humanity to stand against all kinds of ravages whether it is man made or artificial.
iii) Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives, crumbling hearts —
The word crumbling is used repeatedly to explain the destruction caused by the wind. The poetic device used here is Anaphora. Anaphora is a poetic device which is used by words or group of words to give a special effect to the poem.
The word crumbling is used repeatedly to explain the destruction caused by the wind. The poetic device used here is Anaphora. Anaphora is a poetic device which is used by words or group of words to give a special effect to the poem.
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