OUR CASURINA TREE

                                   

The poem OUR CASUARINA TREE has been hailed by E.G.Thomas as"surely
the most remarkable poem ever written in  English by a foreigner." The
poetess laments over the loss of her siblings as their relationship is
elaborated upon, through their association with the old Casuarina tree
in the yard. The tree in turn at once symbolizes ones roots and
emblematizes the motherland. The determiner 'our' emphasizes the same.
The poetess exemplifies this connection in three stages.
The first part objectively describes the tree as a giant festooned
with the crimson flowers of a giant creeper that wraps around the
tree. The tree stands tall as it has survived the oppressive embraces
of the creeper. The creeper at once stands for the ravages of time,and
chain of events whose onslaught the Tree has overpowered.It may also
stand for cultural invasion.The tree has accepted the creeper(other
cultures) and at the same time has maintained its identity .The garden
echoes the songs of the birds and bees it gives abode to. While men
repose, (rest, ie in sleep)it is the rich natural diversity that sets
it apart from a humdrum existence. The trunk is 'rugged' and 'indented
with scars'. Nevertheless ,the base is strong,and the tree though
weathered stands tall.
As the poet opens her windows to witness sunrise at dawn, the tree is
the first to witness the same, with a statuesque baboon resting on the
crest, and the puny offsprings playing at the base. The tree at once
renders itself into the silent witness of history, and generations to
emerge from the base. The shadow of the tree falls against the
water-lilies in the tank making them look 'snow enmeshed'. The
reflection of the tree therefore endows others with splendor. The
koklilas and the grazing cattle represent moving life. Nevertheless,
it is the static nature of the all-encompassing tree that renders
these life forms dynamic.
The first two stanzas scrutinize the tree objectively. The following
two subjectively analyses its relation with the poetess' own state of
being. It connects the immortal tree to the mortal siblings, and
thereby renders them immortality.
First Paragraph: The author describes the tree that survived the
parasitic presence of a creeper that wound round and round about its
huge trunk, a trunk that was rugged with scars showing the reader that
the tree had withstood several storms. It had its share of hard times
but was still standing strong and supported not only itself but also
others of the ecosystem without expecting anything from them. The poet
gazes with awe at this tree exclaiming that no other tree could
survive such an onslaught over the years and still be so strong and
stable. It was the center of the ecosystem, impartially housing and
protecting all birds, which sang with unbridled joy on its boughs. At
all times of the day the tree was the center of all activity because
of the bees that would be perpetually be found buzzing there.
Second Paragraph:In this stanza, the poet describe the tree majesty by
looking out from her casement.She writes about the baboon who is
sitting alone on a higher bough and its off springs are playing on the
lower boughs. The kokilas are welcoming the day and the cows are
moving towards their pasture lazily.The white lilies looks like a mass
of snow in the pond under the shadow of the giant tree.
 Stanza 3;The tree, as magnificent as it is, is not dear for its
grandeur. It is dear for the nostalgic memories it brings back to the
poetess. In this regard, the tree bridges the gap between the past and
the present. It also overcomes time and space. Reminiscent of Arnold's
"Dover Beach", the sea breaking on the shingle beach produces a
rattling sound that sounds dirge-like. The dirge-like murmur is
symbolic of a universal wail, the still sad music of humanity. It is
unknown, yet it is universal. Of France or Italy, as the waves
reverberated with music, the poetess' vision of the tree fore grounded
the scenario.It can also take to mean that even when the poet was
abroad, her thoughts often went back to her native land and brought
back sweet memories.
Stanza 3 connects the previous ones in that she dedicates this
poem(Consecrate a lay- lay is an archaic word for song) for those who
now rest in eternal sleep(reference to her siblings who died young)
who were more dear to her than life itself and whose loss is not not
made bearable with the passage of time)Through  the poem she wishes to
immortalize the tree (the reference to Borrowdale—in Lake district
where Wordsworth spent many a happy hour and where his poem”Yew Tree”
was composed)
The first two stanzas scrutinize the tree objectively. The following
two subjectively analyses its relation with the poetess' own state of
being. It connects the immortal tree to the mortal siblings, and
thereby renders them immortal. For, their memories are deeply
entangled with the existence of the tree. The poem celebrates a Tree
that commemorates the departed souls. Thereby, the poetess bridges
mortality and immortality, the human and vegetative world, and time
and space. The Casuarina tree becomes to her an emblem of immortal
bliss. Padmini Sen Gupta asserts that the poet has proved its own last
line: "May love defend thee from oblivious curse." In the words of
K.R.S. Iyengar "the last stanza wills as it were the immortality of
the tree."