Why Aikyagatha, the Song of Unity, by Ulloor is More Relevant Today

                                                         

Renowned Malayalam poet Ulloor S Parameshwara Iyer (1877-1949) penned Aiykyagatha, a song of unity, way back in the 1930s when fissiparous tendencies were emerging in the society affecting the struggle for freedom from the imperial yoke.

The poem, in simple Malayalam, is easy to understand even by small children at the level of Class 3. It was and hopefully continues to be part of the school syllabus. Right from the first line of the poem, in a lyrical question and answer form, the theme is revealed.

ഇമ്മരത്തോപ്പിലെത്തൈമണിക്കാറ്റിന്റ്റെ 

മർമ്മര വാക്യത്തിന്നർത്ഥമെന്തോ?

The poet asks about the meaning of the murmuring of the breeze among the tall trees in a grove and then gives the answer in the next couplet.

എന്നയൽക്കാരനിൽനിന്നു ഞാൻ ഭിന്നനല്ലെന്നങ്ങു നിന്നിതു വന്നുരയ്പു.   

I am no different from my neighbour, the breeze that has already passed through the latter's grove reassures the poet.

മാനത്തു വട്ടത്തിൽ പ്പാറുമിപ്പക്ഷിതൻ

തേനൊലിഗ്ഗാനത്തിൻ സാരമെന്തോ?  

What is the meaning of the sweet song of this bird that circles high in the sky is the next question. The answer is 

എന്നയൽനാട്ടിൽനിന്നെൻനാടു വേറെയ-

ല്ലെന്നതു രണ്ടും കണ്ടോതിടുന്നു  

that my country is no different from the neighbouring one, the bird says after seeing both (advantage of having a bird's eye view😊).

തൻതിരമാല തന്നൊച്ചയാലീയാഴി 

സന്തതമെന്തോന്നു ഘോഷിക്കുന്നു    

What is the ocean declaring with the sound of its breaking waves?

ഭൂഖണ്ഡമൊന്നിനൊന്നന്യമല്ലെന്നതി-

താകവേ തൊട്ടറിഞ്ഞോതിടുന്നു

Caressing the shores of all continents, it finds that no land is a stranger to one another.

വ്യോമത്തിൽ നിന്നിടിദുന്ദുഭി കൊട്ടിയി

ക്കാർമുകിലെന്തോന്നു  ഗർജ്ജിക്കുന്നു?  

what do the dark clouds roar to the accompaniment of the Dundhubhi drum-like sound of the thunder? 

രണ്ടല്ല നാകവുമൂഴിയുമെന്നതു 

രണ്ടിനും മദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ നിന്നുരയ്പൂ

Heaven and earth are the same, it says standing in the middle.

മന്ദമെൻ ഹൃ,ത്തതിൻ സ്പന്ദത്താൽച്ചെയ്യുമീ-

മന്ത്രോപദേശത്തിൻ മർമ്മമെന്തോ?

What is the crux of the Mantra delivered by my softly beating heart?

അപ്പരബ്രഹ്മം താൻ ഞാനെന്നു കൂറുന്നു

രാപ്പകലെന്നോടെന്നന്തര്യാമി. 

I am that Parabrahmam (God), the one inside repeats day and night.

Thus the poem concludes.

Like an orchestra, the poem starts on a soft note, just the murmuring of leaves. Likewise, the wheeling flight of the bird, high up in the sky, is also noiseless except for the birdsong, described by the poet as a honeyed voice. The next stanza about the sound of the breaking waves lends a certain majesty to the discourse.

The noise level reaches a crescendo in the stanza about the message of the thunderclouds. Then, after uniting heaven and earth, the soft notes re-emerge while describing the softly beating heart, conveying the deep philosophical meaning of 'Aham Brahmasmi' (God is within You).

Why does this poem, penned almost 86 years ago, strike a chord with us even today? In the post-truth world, where social media is used by certain sections for spreading hatred between people, such works should lead us to a reassessment of the purpose of life and religion, to a process of healing and hope for a better future.