Summary and Analysis
The Poem Wind is the translated version of Subramania Bharati’s Tamil original poetry Kaatru. Bharati was an Independence activist, and his poetry reflects his passion for freedom and liberation. The untamable wind capable of uprooting decayed rotten objects underscores his ideals that only indomitable internal and external strength is competent enough to break the shackles of slavery.
Bharati coerces the wind to come in softly without breaking the window shutters or hurling books from the shelf. He pleads with the wind to show mercy as he is acquainted with its erratic, disruptive character. Yet, the wind behaves like an unruly child and disregards the plea, dismantling physical, material, and mental stability. It mindlessly precedes to tear pages of books and brings a heavy downpour. Witnessing the chaos caused by it, the poet’s tone turns accusatory, almost rebuking the wind for its barbarity.
The wind is an unpredictable, destructive force that enjoys wreaking havoc in human lives unconcerned. It mocks the weak buildings with decayed doors, broken rafters, and rotting wood. It mercilessly takes helpless, innocent, fragile lives with rotting bodies and cowardly hearts. Bharati accuses the wind of deliberately toying with fragile lives and objects. The wind transforms into a wild, defiant entity, resisting human commands and echoing nature’s sovereignty over men.
The poet elevates the elemental wind to the status of God and describes how it winnows grain, purifying our staple food. The same force also destroys, eliminating the world of any frail and feeble. It has no patience for weakness. Bharati advises his readers to make allies with the wind by building stable homes, closing the door firmly, practicing healthy habits to cultivate powerful bodies, and strengthening our hearts. The wind snubs the frail flicker of fire but flourishes a blaze. It extinguishes the frail but amplifies what is robust. Reinforcing his belief that weakness falters while resilience and strength endure.
Question Answers
- What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
Bharati welcomes the wind with a gentle plea to come in softly without breaking human possessions like window shutters and books. However, the wind is a defiant entity. It resists the poet’s urge and stars to hurl books from the shelf, tearing pages. The wind also brought rain with it.
2. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
Winnow is a process of separating grains from their husks.The wind, erratic and unpredictable, tears down anything rotten and decayed, just as obstacles break down cowardly, frail humans.The poet reveres the wind as a God, insinuating that it purifies the world of feeble and weak. He destroys the rot for new growth.
3. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
The poet advises us to build resilient buildings and to strengthen our bodies and hearts to counter the wind’s force.He believes that our hard work and strength will gain us the wind’s friendship because nature rewards fortitude.
4. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
The poet speaks from his observation that wind extinguishes small fires, whereas it amplifies blazes.The wind destroys the frail and flourishes the strong. We should strengthen ourselves to gain its favor and revere it. The wind represents obstacles in life. The obstacles are nothing but difficult experiences. Their purpose is to teach us. We should learn from them to become wise. It advises us not to abhor difficulty but to tackle it with strength and courage.
