A “Kaigal” on manual scavenging

In 2015, I had an opportunity to meet Bezwada Wilson for the first time. Since then, I have met him many times and have even conducted an in-depth interview with him, which will be published as a book soon. It is only after meeting him that I was able to understand the life of manual scavengers. We may think that the days of manual scavenging are in the past, but that is not true. Wilson, as a person involved in this cause, provided us statistics of where and how many people are still involved in this practice. It was shocking to me, and I have been thinking about these people since then.

Later, when I met TM Krishna, he suggested that I write a song about manual scavengers. While I had many ideas, it was difficult for me to express those in words. I pondered over it for over a year, wondering what should make the central theme of the song. I wanted the song to talk about the lives of the manual scavengers and raise many questions. These people were scavenging with their hands. So, I wanted to make their hands central to the song. It has has been performed many times by TM Krishna and is well known today.

— Perumal Murugan

Pallavi

Should fetid faeces (shit) be picked by hands?
Should fetid faeces be picked by human hands?
What eternal suffering! Do we care?
Is this civil? Is this fair?
This society, is this civil? Is this fair?
Are we even human beings?

Anupallavi

These are hands that are meant to plough
To eat the food, that they produce and grow
By hugging, mercy, they will show
Hands are gifts from God, we pray and bow

Charanam

To lose one’s life in putrid cesspools
To live in sewers, cleaning stools
To pick up all the refuse and litter
To clean everything and make it better
Do we need a human hand?
Why would that be the right stand?


Also ReadPerumal Murugan’s “Koel Song”


Would we not be spat at?
Spat at by the entire world.
Spat at, spat at, spat at, spat at
Spat at by the graceful world

The Koel Song

This is “The Koel Song”. Various poets have sung on the koel. “The Koel Song” of Bharathiyar is one of his three major works. We all love to hear the sound of the koel. It is something familiar to us. There are not many of us, who would have actually seen the koel, because it tends to stay out of sight and is generally a shy bird. It is its nature that it would move to denser foliage and hide itself if it gets an inkling that it is being observed. But our poets have observed even such a shy bird quite carefully and have described it. In Sangam poetry, Poet Avvaiyar uses the beak of a koel to describe the jasmine bud. The male koel has a completely black body but its beak is white. This is what Avvaiyar noted and used in her poem. Here is my “koel song”.

— Perumal Murugan

Pallavi

Yonder coos a Koel
In a sweet voice again and again
Yonder coos a Koel
My soul goes searching there
It beseeches, and it implores
My soul goes searching there

Anupallavi

Is it the rhapsody of nature?
Proffering itself thus
Is this its way to enchant?

Charanam

Tucked away in the foliage of
Tall, high trees, hiding
A bewitching tune that
Fills the airwaves like
It is the Ambrosia,
It is the Panacea
Is it the voice of a Koel, or
Is it the voice of the All Knowing?
One wonders in awe
And with great grace