Every Town a Hometown

Written by
KANIYAN PUNKUNRAN

Translated by
A.K.RAMANUJAN

PRESENTED BY
K.M.KAMALAKKANNAN
 ABOUT THE POET
 Kaniyan Punkundranar, a tamil poet, lived and wrote during the Sangam Age(300 BC-
200AD).
An astrologer by profession and a renowned poet of his age.

Kaniyan hailed from a remote village Mahibalanpatti in Tamilnadu.

He was a wise man, but never wrote in praise of kings or benefactors as was the practice then.

When he was asked why he didn’t do so, this poem was his answer
 Poem Translated by
A.K.RAMANUJAN an Indian Poet.

He was a poet, professor, scholar, playwright,& translator.

He wrote the poems in both English and Kannada.

 AK Ramanujan has achieved a lyrical translation from the Tamil original.

This is difficult to reproduce in any other language – but Prof Ramanujan has managed it.
 About the Poem
 Every Town a Home Town is one of the 400 poems in Purananuru.

"Purananuru" an anthology of 400 poems by more than 150 poets composed

between the first and third centuries in the Christian Era.
The complete essence of the philosophy of the ancient Tamil People is brought
out in a nutshell.
Main aspects of the poem are Universal brotherhood, the supremacy of destiny
over man’s life and an assertion that all men are equal.
Poem- Every Town a Home Town
Every town our home town, nor in anger from skies slashed by lightnings-

Every man a kinsman. call it bitter. we know this

Good and evil do not come Our lives, however dear, from the vision

from others. follow their own course, of men who see.

Pain and relief of pain rafts drifting So,

come of themselves. in the rapids of a great river we are not amazed by the great,

Dying is nothing new. sounding and dashing over the and we do not scorn the little.
rocks
We do not rejoice -- Kaniyan Punkunran
after a downpour
that life is sweet
Puranaanooru – 192 in Tamil

யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் கேளிர்;

தீதும் நன்றும் பிறர் தர வாரா;
நோதலும் தணிதலும் அவற்றோரன்ன;
சாதலும் புதுவது அன்றே; வாழ்தல்
இனிது என மகிழ்ந்தன்றும் இலமே; முனிவின்,
இன்னாது என்றலும் இலமே; ‘மின்னொடு
வானம் தண் துளி தலை இ, ஆனாது
கல் பொருது இரங்கும் மல்லல் பேர் யாற்று
நீர் வழிப்படூஉம் புணை போல், ஆர் உயிர்
முறை வழிப்படூஉம்’ என்பது திறவோர்
காட்சியின் தெளிந்தனம் ஆகலின், மாட்சியின்
பெரியோரை வியத்தலும் இலமே;
சிறியோரை இகழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே.
 Analysis of the poem
The first line of this particular poem is very well The great dualities that concernus all, and indeed
known amongst Tamil speakers - "Yathum Oore most religions - such as good and evil, joy and
Yavarum Kelir". sorrow, happiness and pain, victory and defeat -
are a part and parcel of the great uncertainty
The poem in itself is work of remarkable
that is life.
simplicity and existential realism.
In this sense it resonates with modern poetry,
It makes no pretense to understand the whys and
which is amazing considering that it was
wherefores of the world.
probably written 2000 years ago.
It merely makes a statement that the world is
The universality of life expounded in this poem
what it is.
really appeals to me.

 
Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
Every town our home town,

Every man a kinsman.

Explanation

There are no boundaries for human beings.

Every town that we go is our home town.

Every person we interact with is our kin ( relative).

Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
Good and evil do not come

from others.

Explanation

Good and evil in our lives occurs not because of others, they come by
themselves.

(This can also be read as Good and evil are inherent in us, and not dependent
on external factors)
Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
Pain and relief of pain

come of themselves.

Dying is nothing new.

Explanation:

Pain and its relief happen on their own.

Dying isn’t something new, it has been happening since ages.

Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
We do not rejoice

that life is sweet

nor in anger

call it bitter.

Explanation:

So we do not rejoice that life is blissful.

At the same time we aren’t bitter about life being a misery.

Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
Our lives, however dear,
follow their own course,
rafts drifting
in the rapids of a great river
sounding and dashing over the rocks
after a downpour
from skies slashed by lightnings-
we know this
from the vision
of men who see.
Explanation:
Wise men have already written down that our lives,
though precious to us, follow their predetermined
course.‘ Rain drops from lightning streaked skies fall
down and gush over the rocks noisily and flow as a
mighty river. Like a raft following the course of the
river, our precious lives too follow a predetermined
course’. Here the river is equated to fate and our lives
to rafts. So rafts follow the course of the river.. Life
happens on its own with hardly any control by the
individual.
Line by Line Explanation of the Poem
So,

we are not amazed by the great,

and we do not scorn the little.

Explanation:

So we do not wonder at those who are superior to us.

Neither do we scorn those who are inferior to us.

“We do not look at the mighty people with wonder. More importantly, we do not scorn those who
are lower than us”.
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