BY S U B R A M A N I A B H A R A T I

TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL BY A.K. RAMANUJAN

The poem, Wind, was originally written in Tamil by Subramania
Bharati and later translated into English by A.K. Ramanujan.

Chinnaswami Subramania Bharathi also

known as Bharathiyar (11 December 1882
– 11 September 1921), was a Tamil writer,
poet, journalist, Indian Independence
activist , a social reformer and a polyglot.
Popularly known as "Mahakavi
Bharathi” , he was a pioneer of modern
Tamil poetry and is considered one of the
greatest Tamil literary figures of all time.
His numerous works included fiery songs
kindling patriotism during the Indian
Independence movement.

SUBRAMANIA BHARATI
COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
ISSUED ON
1 1 SEPTEMBER 1960
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Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan
(16 March 1929 – 13 July 1993) popularly
known as A. K. Ramanujan, was an
Indian poet, scholar, professor,
philologist, folklorist, translator and
playwright. His academic research
ranged across five languages: English,
Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit.
He is well known for his translation of
classical and modern poetry. He was
awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award
posthumously in 1999 for his collection of
poems, The Collected Poems.

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❖ Wind, one of the five elements of nature, has been
personified in the poem that describes the power of
wind on nature and human life. It focuses on the
violent aspect of wind that causes destruction. The
fierce wind is also seen by the poet as a symbol of
adversities in life. He says that while the weak people
break down having failed to cope with difficult times,
the stronger ones endure and emerge victorious. The
poem gives an important message that we should be
mentally tough and physically strong in order to
survive the hardships of life.

❖ The poem, Wind, is an example of modern poetry

written in free verse.

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The poem, Wind, depicts the enormous power of wind in the
world and how it has the potential of being both a destroyer
and a creator. The weak and fragile cannot withstand its
fury, while the strong can use it to their advantage. The
same is true of the adversities of life- those who are weak
easily break down and those who are strong take them in
their stride and come out stronger. Therefore our attitude
to life and its trials and tribulations determines our
response to them.
The poem inspires us to face the challenges and hardships
with courage, grit and determination.

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Lines 1 to 7:

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.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.

The poem opens with a plea to the wind to blow gently without
causing any damage. Being aware of the power of the wind, the
poet urges him (the wind is personified in the poem) not to break
the shutters of the windows, scatter the papers and throw down
the books on the shelf. However the wind pays no heed to the poet
and applies his force creating a mess in the room. Quite
disappointed, the poet accuses the wind of throwing all the books
down and tearing the pages and also for bringing showers of rain
along with him while approaching the poet’s house.

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Lines 8 to 12:

You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.

The poet says that the wind makes a mockery of the weaklings. He is
mischievous and plays with those who are too weak, meek and mild to
combat his power. The wind causes damage to both property and life.
It tears down frail houses, crumbling doors and rafters, and any
structure which cannot endure the strong gusts of wind. It also takes a
toll on human body and mind. The wind crushes everything that is
weak. Just as the harvesters winnow the chaff from the grain, the
wind god separates the weak people from the strong ones and destroys
them.
Here wind symbolises the adversities and challenges one faces in life.
The poet uses the word ‘crumbling’ repeatedly in these lines to suggest
that a weak and fragile person breaks down in the face of hardship.
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Lines 13 to 18:

He won’t do what you tell him.

So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.

The poet tells his readers that the wind does not listen to anybody and
therefore, we cannot escape the ill effects of the wind by only pleading
with him. He feels it is wise to make friends with the wind, that is, the
adversities in our lives. We must be prepared well in advance to face
and tackle all problems. We must build strong homes with firm doors
to stop the wind from easily entering and invading our spaces. We
should also make ourselves strong, both physically and mentally We
must train our bodies and our hearts to resist the ill effects of the
wind. Only then shall we no longer consider the wind an enemy.
Instead the wind will invite us to become his friend, and we shall be
able to fearlessly accept his invitation.
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Lines 19 to 22:

The wind blows out weak fires.

He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.

The poet explains that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires
while it intensifies the strong ones. Similarly adversities deter the
faint hearted but make them stronger who have unfaltering will.
Thus befriending the wind or the hardships of life makes it easier
for us to face them. We learn to accept challenges and overcome
them with courage, grit and determination.
Having compared the wind to God for his immense power and
strength, the poet wants us to praise him everyday. This will
pacify him and prevent him from causing any damage. The wind
is our good friend too and should be praised for making us strong
and enabling us to cope with difficulties.

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≈ Personification

The wind has been personified in the poem. The poet addresses the
wind as “you” thus attributing human characteristics to an
abstract element of nature.

≈ Anaphora

This refers to the repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning

of two consecutive clauses/sentences.
Lines 2,3 and 4 begin with “Don’t”.
Lines 6,7 and 8 begin with “You”.

≈ Repetition

The word “crumbling” is repeated in the poem to lay emphasis on

the fact that the wind crushes everything that is weak.

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≈ Alliteration

This refers to the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the

beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Few examples from the poem-
• wind god winnows (repetition of w sound)
• won’t do what (repetition of w sound)
• fires roar and flourish (repetition of f sound)

≈ Metaphor

A metaphor is an implied comparison in contrast to the explicit

comparison of the simile. The poet uses metaphor
in "the wind god winnows and crushes them all”
where he compares the wind god with a farmer
or harvester who winnows the chaff from the
grain. Similarly the wind god separates the
weak people from the strong ones and destroys
them.
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≈ Imagery

The poem is replete with word pictures like the destructive

activities of the wind, the wind bringing rain along with it and the
wind god winnowing and crushing the weaklings, all of which
appeal to the senses.

≈ Symbolism

The wind is a symbol for the adversities in our life.

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One must develop physical strength and mental toughness in
order to survive the hardships of life. A feeble person will
break down unable to cope with the stress and strain just
like any weak structure that crumbles down in severe
windstorms.

The poem inspires us to be fearless and face challenges and

hardships with courage, grit and determination.

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❖ There is no dearth of people who have touched the pinnacle of
success overcoming immense challenges in life.
Masudur Evelyn Glennie, Mariyappan
Rahman Baidya, world’s premier Thangavelu
the first solo represented
physically percussionist, India at the
challenged who feels 2016 Summer
Asian swimmer music but Paralympics
to cross the cannot hear it games and won
English Channel due to hearing the gold medal
in 1997. impairment. in the finals.

“Oh, deep in my heart I do believe

We shall overcome, some day”

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