To The Painter Swaminathan
Guardian Richard Gott Paz wrote many works in his lifetime. Charles Tomlinson was one of his translators into English. Elizabeth Bishop, Muriel Russell and Samuel Beckett were some of his fellow poets. His early poetry clearly showed his Marxist, Surrealistic and profound Hinduism/Buddhist influences. His later poetry showed his passions like modern painting and his ideas about love, eroticism and life.
Eliot Weinberger is the translator of The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz 1957-1987. Octavio paz, the Mexican Ambassador for India, was deeply immersed in India and was able not to be seen as a tourist despite the cultural differences and linguistic barriers. Many of his poems are titles that reflect his explorations into India, such as Vrindaban and Madurai. Paz’s most personal prose work, Light of India, was published in 1995. He states in the Acknowledgments that it is not a systematic research, but a more-or-less ordered collection of his reflections, impressions, or objections to India. He mentions J.Swaminathan, a close friend that he met while on his second visit to India. He describes him as a poet and painter. The poem To Jagadish Swaminathan Swaminathan (Octavio Pz) is Octavio’s dedication of Jagadish Swaminathan. Swaminathan describes India as an iconoclast. India was an overwhelming presence within his creative life and it is evident in this poem. Paz showed admirable balance when approaching ‘the enormous reality of India’. He avoided admiration and hatred and this quality sets him apart among the multitude of writers who give a biased viewpoint of India. Paz’s poetics are filled with language which sings and that challenges perception to stop doing its daily rounds. Paz’s poem, To The Painter Swaminathan uses many hues and colors to create a picture that stirs the heart and connects it with culture, philosophy and art. The poet witnesses the creative frenzy as the painter works to adjust his colors to give life to the canvas. Paz views the empty canvas as an opportunity to fulfill his vocation. The narrator recalls the moment when the matador came face to face the raging bear by looking at the canvas. While reading the poem, the Narrator describes the colors so vividly that they seem to come alive for him.
Kali, the Indian goddess of fire and creativity, is artistic and abstract. Kali, Indian Mythology’s Goddess of Beauty and Power, is also known as the Goddess of Pushing someone beyond their boundaries to enable them to grow. A balanced use of colors will unleash the artist’s genius, leaving spectators awestruck. Kali might appear timid at first and hide her wild goddess inner, just as foreigners perceive India as a poor country. But their perceptions change gradually once they see India’s rich cultural and spirituel heritage and diversity. The Aztec sacrifices for Sun God were her connotation, and Kali transforms into a black-bodied goddess.
Kali, the feminine form Kala that is time, is this image. It shows his deep understanding of Indian philosophy. His understanding of India’s vast reality enabled him and his compassionate heart to be able to live and experience India as a Desi. The poem speaks essentially of the universal presence Mother goddess. Paz Kali and the Virgin Mary in Guadalupe are the protector goddess of Mexico. The pre-Hispanic Aztec Goddess Tonantzin is also associated with the Virgin Guadalupe. He stresses the universal primordial force, which is recognized worldwide under different names. This reminds us that all human beings are the same regardless of cultural or linguistic differences.
All of these goddesses are manifestations shakthi. Paz presents a picture that focuses more on aesthetic harmony than religion, of pure purity. The poem is both a mystery as well an answer. The influence of India on Octavio Paz was evident in his poetry. These are rare instances of foreign countries influencing master artists. It is not exaggerated to say that India had an equal influence on him as Mexico.
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