Analyse of Still Another view of Grace by A K Ramanujan

    The poem opus was a frank and bold statement made by the poet about his burning physical desire and passion. A heated longing to be with one of the opposite sex as the desire kept igniting his feelings he held that to personified desire by her hair and warned her not to follow and believe the sense of morality as promised by any gentleman blindly.

    He speaks of the traditional marriage that took place in India. In which any the man whom he calls an animal here was chosen to be the husband of a woman. Such a man produce legitimate children as the marriage had been socially approved in the form of rituals and celebrations even if a lady had to break her commitment and leave her lover it was to sin to marry some other person chosen by her parents and follow the tradition.

    Now, the point here is that charmed by the beauty of a lady in his imagination he is no more to think of other considerations that go into the bonding of a relationship he reveals his traditional identity of having been born in his brahmana family who chanted long mantras that often frighten one to follow the traditional way of life bound by the traditional, religious mantras that promise to keep the family and generations safe. The poet wanders at the sight of those who roam the streets at night to gratify their hunger for sex and escape the eyes of the police constables who are moving around and doing their duty.

The poet speaks of his imagination of having seen a very charming and beautiful lady standing on a dusty road. It was a night in April with light all along when he saw her standing. and looking at him. Quite interestingly the poet admits to having lost control of himself and seeing such a beautiful beautiful lady looking at him. He forgot all he had been instructed to follow according to the family's tradition. In his imagination as the lady's lovely silky hair ran over his hands. He was immediately shaken and reminded of his roots that demanded following the traditional norms he had been nurtured with. He brushes aside the thoughts that came to his mind; he rolls back to his cultural roots and originality which he considered graceful.

AK. Ramanujan expressed his feelings very freely and boldly in this poem. He has stated all barriers that hamper human bondage. He does not even spare his traditional rules when the speaker of Indian marriage, the first form of human, bondage upon men and women through marriage. The poet expresses what he feels when a charmingly beautiful woman, dances on the canvas of his imagination. As poetry requires discovering one's true self, A.K. Ramanujan explores his mind remarkably well, composes what happens to him, and adds color to it through his imaginative poetic power.