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misspalah's review
4.0
“My mind free of despair,
My heart free of taint,
My intellect free of stress,
Swells my spirit in triumph,
As buildings shoot in the sky,
As bright lit lights glitter in the skyline.
A crown colony now a nation,
Fills my being with exaltation.
- LV by Rosaly Putucheary
.
Have you watched ‘an ode to my father’ or ‘Bharat’? If i could sum up what its like reading this book, its like watching those 2 movies. We seen the birth of nation (Singapore) through the poet’s perspective. She addressed us readers in it, knowing that we will understand what she wrote in these poems. We started with 1942, the fall of Singapore when the Japanese Army captured the british colony and renamed it to Syonan-To as stated in the VII - “Lies were told. Everyone stood Aghast as the flag of the rising sun mounted the flag pole, in the year nineteen forty two, the year of galloping horse”. In XI, The poet depicted how they hide from Japanese soldiers - “Hiding in the shadows of rubber trees, from the zooming bombers, my granny on my back, my mother , her wings over her brood held us tight in a knot of concern” . Then we followed the disaster of Burma Railway Line brought upon 300,000 Southeast Asian labourer which some of them were colonial indian soldiers. She pointed out that they were lured Subas Chandra Bose’s speech in XIII poem, it went like this “The gullibility of fantasy, the vulnerability of idealists, captured in the anthem bandee matram, surfaced on the still burning hill”. Afterwards, the talk of forming a country became more bolder - the possibility of removing the claw of colonialism. But she was worried about ‘Communalism’ - is unity even possible at that time? She voiced this in XX poem “the flame of communalism has to be doused, re-lighted in the crucible pf nationhood”. In XXIX, “Nineteen fifty seven, the hinterland gained Merdeka ; the crown colony still fettered, bowed in shame. The claws of colonialism dug deep”. The lined denoted the year of 1957 which Malaysia got its own independence while the crown colony still belonged to the colonizer. In the year 1961, Singapore was granted self government and subsequently, Singapore decided to join federation of Malaysia in 1963. Ultimately, the merger did not work and clashes between Singapore government and central government is more apparently severe. Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965, leaving it as newly independent state at that time. The poet penned this in LII “from afar i heard the eruption, the pending rupture of the umbilical cord, the threat to rip up the union. I saw the tears, felt the pain, tremors, the strain of the birth of a new nation, independent and free.” The poet has high hope for a new country. She took credit for what she has done especially in spreading and adding on ideas, elevating the voices of people and at the same time keeping the government in check. It can be seen written in LI - “Did i build Singapore? Is that the question? Of course Not. No one man does, i only planted a few of many seeds, nurture them with vigilance”. You might ask what is the role of the poet in all of these poems? The poet channelled her brother (James Joseph Puthucheary) in these poems. Taking an inspiration of her own brother that played major role in gaining independence from British for Singapore, the poet wanted us to understand what its like to fight for their own belief. He was a political activist and not afraid to voice out his opinion. He has been detained in a student riot (1956) and arrested in operation coldstore (1963). He then were banned from entering Singapore until the ban was lifted in 1990. Overall, a short but engaging book. It is emotive and conveyed the message very well especially in fighting for what you believe in.
My heart free of taint,
My intellect free of stress,
Swells my spirit in triumph,
As buildings shoot in the sky,
As bright lit lights glitter in the skyline.
A crown colony now a nation,
Fills my being with exaltation.
- LV by Rosaly Putucheary
.
Have you watched ‘an ode to my father’ or ‘Bharat’? If i could sum up what its like reading this book, its like watching those 2 movies. We seen the birth of nation (Singapore) through the poet’s perspective. She addressed us readers in it, knowing that we will understand what she wrote in these poems. We started with 1942, the fall of Singapore when the Japanese Army captured the british colony and renamed it to Syonan-To as stated in the VII - “Lies were told. Everyone stood Aghast as the flag of the rising sun mounted the flag pole, in the year nineteen forty two, the year of galloping horse”. In XI, The poet depicted how they hide from Japanese soldiers - “Hiding in the shadows of rubber trees, from the zooming bombers, my granny on my back, my mother , her wings over her brood held us tight in a knot of concern” . Then we followed the disaster of Burma Railway Line brought upon 300,000 Southeast Asian labourer which some of them were colonial indian soldiers. She pointed out that they were lured Subas Chandra Bose’s speech in XIII poem, it went like this “The gullibility of fantasy, the vulnerability of idealists, captured in the anthem bandee matram, surfaced on the still burning hill”. Afterwards, the talk of forming a country became more bolder - the possibility of removing the claw of colonialism. But she was worried about ‘Communalism’ - is unity even possible at that time? She voiced this in XX poem “the flame of communalism has to be doused, re-lighted in the crucible pf nationhood”. In XXIX, “Nineteen fifty seven, the hinterland gained Merdeka ; the crown colony still fettered, bowed in shame. The claws of colonialism dug deep”. The lined denoted the year of 1957 which Malaysia got its own independence while the crown colony still belonged to the colonizer. In the year 1961, Singapore was granted self government and subsequently, Singapore decided to join federation of Malaysia in 1963. Ultimately, the merger did not work and clashes between Singapore government and central government is more apparently severe. Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965, leaving it as newly independent state at that time. The poet penned this in LII “from afar i heard the eruption, the pending rupture of the umbilical cord, the threat to rip up the union. I saw the tears, felt the pain, tremors, the strain of the birth of a new nation, independent and free.” The poet has high hope for a new country. She took credit for what she has done especially in spreading and adding on ideas, elevating the voices of people and at the same time keeping the government in check. It can be seen written in LI - “Did i build Singapore? Is that the question? Of course Not. No one man does, i only planted a few of many seeds, nurture them with vigilance”. You might ask what is the role of the poet in all of these poems? The poet channelled her brother (James Joseph Puthucheary) in these poems. Taking an inspiration of her own brother that played major role in gaining independence from British for Singapore, the poet wanted us to understand what its like to fight for their own belief. He was a political activist and not afraid to voice out his opinion. He has been detained in a student riot (1956) and arrested in operation coldstore (1963). He then were banned from entering Singapore until the ban was lifted in 1990. Overall, a short but engaging book. It is emotive and conveyed the message very well especially in fighting for what you believe in.
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