In ending this block of lessons on contemporary Tamil poetry, you have a series of poets like மஹாகவி, மீரா and தமிழன்பன், who introduced limericks to the Tamils. Limerick as a poetic form is introduced in the first unit as short five-line poems in Tamil. மஹாகவி is a Srilankan Tamil poet born in அளவெட்டி on 9.1.1927. From his fifteenth year he composed poems under different pen names. He served the Srilankan Government in different capacities. His works numbering nine are published and they contain his poems and drama. He is a pioneer in modern Tamil poems of Jaffna. His five-line poems followed the rhyme scheme adopted in limericks in English. His sharp penetration into the truth can be seen in his poems. His criticism of education, bribery and gullibility of women form his poetic contents.

    மீரா is another social reformer like Bharathi. Simple in style, strong in ideas, ripe in traditonal poetic scholarship, novelty and nicety in the use of Tamil words without wounding anyone, மீரா is indeed very special among modern Tamil poets. மீ.ராஜேந்திரன் was born in Ramanathapuram on 10.10.1938, spent his childhood in Myanmar, educated in Thiagarajar College, Madurai and was employed in Sivaganga Raja’s College.

    His involvement in the self-respect movement initiated by பெரியார், attachment to Tamil through the speeches and writings of அண்ணா and embedded in the communist philosophy of Karl Marx made him unique in the Tamil poetic world. His குக்கூ is a novel variant of Japanese ஹைக்கூ. His ஊசிகள் an anthology of short poems in புதுக்கவிதை, is a critique of political and social life. Selfish politics, pseudo-affinity to language and the love of caste, religion and relationships are criticised by him with satire. The concrete poetry popularized in English by E.E.Cummings and John Updike is reflected in மீராவின் குறும்பாக்கள் like குக்கூ.

    தமிழன்பன் born at சென்னிமலை in Erode District as ந.ஜெகதீசன் adopted the pen names of விடிவெள்ளி and தமிழன்பன். His creative contribution as a different poetic form can be enjoyed in his combination of limerick and Haikoo as ‘லிமரைக்கூ’. He is a social thinker; and has published more than fifteen poetry-collections. Attacks on false godmen, focusing on name, fame and money only and on the distinction between principle and qualities form the contents of several of his ‘புதுக்கவிதை’. ”அழுகை அலைகளில்” and “மழலைக்கா இறுதி யாத்திரை” are typical word usage projecting his poetic value.

    From this lesson you will be acquainted with the new contributions to Tamil poetic forms and also the concepts and functions.