Wind
by Subramanyam Bharti
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The poem ‘Wind’
is composed by Dr. Subramania Bharati who is a Tamil poet and better known for
his revolutionary poems with patriotic themes. The poem is translated into
English by A. K. Ramanujam who is a Kannada and English poet.
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The entire poem
is an extended metaphor for life as the wind stands for hardships and
challenges in life.
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The poem is
composed as a monologue or direct talk of the poet to the wind.
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Towards the end the
poet brings out the central idea of the poem strong people are not affected by
adversities but the weak are. The poet
conveys that we should not be scared of fire rather make it their friend.
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The poem is set
in backdrop of pre independence era. It is composed to arouse patriotic
emotions in the freedom fighters of India during freedom struggle.
Summary
/ Synopsis
·
The poem opens
with a scene of destruction caused by wind. The poet asks the wind not to break
the shutters of the windows, scatter the papers and throw down the books from
the shelf. He asks the wind to blow softly and not to create destruction.
·
The wind brings
rain and again. It crumbles weak houses, breaks the weak doors, uproots the
weak trees and scares weak hearts. This way it makes fun of weak people and fragile
things. the important thing to learn is that it is the friend of strong people..
·
The poet says
that it is up to the wind god whether it brings destruction or shows mercy on
humanity. The poet suggests the reader that to make friends with the wind we
need to build strong homes with firm doors. He also suggests people be strong,
both physically and mentally to combat and resist the ill effects of the wind.
The last four lines of the poem tell us about the nature of the wind.
·
It blows out the
fires which don’t have force, but the strong fires turn stronger by the wind.
It means that the wind is supportive of those who are already strong and
powerful but crushes the weak people, fragile things and infirm mind.
·
A very
significant message is hidden in these four lines that strong people are not
affected by adversities but the weak are. So, it is good to be a friend of the
wind, which is a symbol of hardships and obstacles, because only then we will
be able to face tough times.
Theme
The theme is
reflected in the central idea of the poem that stamina to face the hardships
and challenges builds a tough character and strong personality brings
revolutionary changes in his life and society.
A very significant
message is conveyed through the poem that strong people are not affected by
adversities and hardships whereas the weak minds get scared of strong winds of
adversities. It is advisable to be a friend of wind, which is a symbol of
hardships and obstacles, because only then we will be able to face tough times.
The poet conveys that we should not be scared of fire rather make it
their friend.
Background
The poem is set in
backdrop of Pre Independence Era. It was composed to arouse patriotic emotions
in the freedom fighters of India during freedom struggle. The poet tried to
inspire them to let the fire of patriotism burn in their hearts and let it not
be extinguished by the brutality of the British.
Poetic Devices
Wind, come softly – Personification
He won’t do what you tell him – Personification
His friendship is good – Personification
The wind blows
out weak fires – Symbolism
He makes strong fires roar – Symbolism
Don’t break
the shutters of the windows
Don’t scatter the papers -- Anaphora
Don’t throw
down the books
crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling
rafters – Repetition
crumbling
wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling
lives – Repetition
look what you did – you threw
them all down – Repetition
wind will be friends with us – Assonance
wind god winnows –
Assonance
His friendship is good –
Assonance
The wind blows out weak out
weak fires – Alliteration
Wind
god winnows – Alliteration
Questions – Answers
Q1, What do the last four
lines of the poem convey?
Ans. A very significant
message is hidden in the last four lines that strong people are not affected by
adversities but the weak are. Through the last four lines, the poet inspires us
to be strong, firm and determined so that we may face all the hardships or
obstacles in the life to come. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish
the weak fires but intensifies the stronger ones. In the same way, people who
do not fight against the challenges coming in their lives, they have to face
the failure. On the other hand, those who stay determined and make sincere
efforts to meet their goals, come out to be successful.
Q2. What does the poet
mean when he says, “the wind god winnows”?
Ans. Winnowing is a
process which is performed by the farmers to separate husk from the grains. The
poet says that the wind god winnows the crumbling houses, weak doors, rafters
and trees, frail bodies and infirm hearts from stronger ones. In the harsh
winds weak things are blown away just like husk or hay but the strong things
like grains stay there. This way wind separates weak people and things from the
stronger ones.
Q3. What should we do
to make friends with the wind?
Ans. We need to make
ourselves stronger if we wish to be friend of wind. We must build strong homes
with firm doors. We should also practise to make our bodies and hearts stronger
not complain about harsh wind of difficulties in life. On the contrary we
should thank God for giving difficulties and challenges that help us grow and
make us learn how to face them.
RTC 1
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
a. How does a violent wind disturb and damage
things?
b. What request does the poet make to the wind?
c. Which poetic device has been used in these lines?
d. What effect does this device create?
RTC II
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
a. Whom does the poet address as ‘you’?
b. What does ‘them’ refer to?
c. How have the pages of the books been torn?
d. How does the wind bring rain?
e. How does the wind deal with the weaklings?
RTC III
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
a. Why are the houses, doors, rafters, etc.
crumbling?
b. Explain the expression, “crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts”.
c. Why has the wind been called ‘god’?
d. What does the wind god do?
Answers:
RTC 1
Ans a. Strong winds uproot trees, breaks the windows and houses, dashes the rafters and throws away the things that come in its way.
Ans b. The poet requests the wind to blow softly and not to break the doors and throw his books and other things.
Ans c. Personification and apostrophe
Ans d. Use of personification presents wind as a living one with whom the poet can converse and who is presented as a god.
RTC 2
Ans a. Wind is addressed as ‘You’.
Ans b. ‘Them’ refers to poet’s books.
Ans c. The harsh winds have torn the pages of the books.
Ans d. Strong winds make the clouds float vigorously in the sky and make them pour down. After heavy and strong winds there comes rain.
Ans e. The wind breaks weak things, uproots weak trees and makes the weak hearts tremble and feel scared.
RTC 3
Ans a. The weak houses, doors, rafters are crumbling as they can’t resist strong winds.
Ans b . The crumbling lives are the people who suffer and break down due to the devastations caused by stormy wind and crumbling hearts refer to the people with frail heart and infirm minds who get crushed in the adversities.
Ans c. Wind has been called ‘god’ as wind tests human beings and gives us opportunities helps us become stronger.
Ans d. Wind god separates the weak people from the stronger ones by giving adversities.
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