English Notes Latest Questions

What are the themes in the poem ‘Obituary’ by AK Ramanujan.

What are the themes in the poem ‘Obituary’ by AK Ramanujan.

1 Answer

  1. A.K. Ramanujan was born in India and later on went to USA and married a Syrian Christian girl. Hence after coming back to home, he started to see the society with a different perspective. He calls his father greedy and emotionless though he made other believe that he has special powers (as he was a Brahmin).

    The poet also seems to be disappointed with the patriarchal nature of the society because after the death of his father, the burden of family was laid on him. He had to feed an old mother, an unmarried sister and a young child.

    After the funeral, the body is cremated. The poet believes that it pollutes the air. The priest suggests to throw remains in the water which again disappoints the poet because it pollutes the water bodies.

    And finally he does not like the practice of celebrating the death anniversary of his father for the peace of soul. He considers it as a waste of money and time.

    Read summary of this poem

You must login to add an answer.