'Rice' A review by Parvathy Prasad

  The poem 'Rice' is written by one of the much celebrated poets in Malayalam, Chemmanam Chacko, the master satirist. The poem speaks about a big social issue.The poem satirically states that the shortage of food grains in our state is due to the idiotic shifting from paddy cultivation to the more profitable cash crops like rubber. the poem deals with the plight of the farmers who are forced by circumstances to shift from the planting of food crops to cash crops. Less effort and more profit has become a motto for many farmers.

    The poem 'Rice' sounds the moaning of many paddy fields. The poet satirically states that today people are proud to give up farming and to have ration wheat. There is irony in giving up farming and crying for more ration. From the state of producers they have fallen to mere consumers.

  The poem starts with a nostalgic feeling of the poet while he was returning to Kerala, after earning a doctoral degree from North India on making toys with husk.The poet dreams about his village and the greeting he would get on return. In contrast to his dream everything in his homeland changed. His father without any sentiment and with a little pride said that they had stopped paddy cultivation as it was non profitable.  all these represent the change in people's attitude towards all our traditions. The poem ends with the crowning satire when the chief minister flies over cash crops towards Delhi. He was going to demand more rice. The poet satirically asks the minister to demand some husk too from the centre.

  The poet reflects on a burning social issue. all the resources are infront of us, but we don't utilise them. we forget all our value systems and run after profit and cash. the poem is very relevant as it satirises the idiotic vision of the people to give up the farming of food crops. the question is what do we eat? Can we eat cash or cash crops? 

Review by Parvathy Prasad