Poetry is not, by any stretch of imagination, the most popular form of literature.
Still, there are some poems that capture the imagination of the public, they reach out to even those who are not into poetry. Sugathakumari’s Krishna Neeyenne Ariyilla is one such poem.
It was first published in 1977 in her anthology, ‘Ambalamani’. It did not take the poem long to bowl the reader over.
But, some three decades later, it achieved astonishing popularity when playback singer G. Venugopal’s expressive rendition of the poem, set brilliantly to music by Jaison J. Nair, was released.
Many modes of expression
Lovers of music listened to it on the loop, serious readers went back to the nearly forgotten lines, composers came up with different tunes, and dancers choreographed it for their shows.
Krishna Neeyenne Ariyilla deserves all the attention it has received. The poem, about an unknown admirer of Lord Krishna, vividly paints an unforgettable picture of a gopika who loves Krishna from afar. She has not looked at him with eyes lined with kohl of love; she has not danced with him; she has not requested him to return the clothes he had taken away while she was bathing in Kalindi river; her clever friend has not told him of her love for him.
And yet, on the day he leaves Ambadi for Mathura, his chariot stops in front of her hut. He smiles at her. ‘Krishna, do you know me?’ she asks him, incredulously.
Not many poems since Robert Browning’s TheLast Ride Together have portrayed unrequited love as poignantly as Krishna Neeyenne Ariyilla. Venugopal is justifiably proud that he could play a role in taking it to the masses.
“I remember her making several suggestions after she listened to the song’s track,” he told The Hindu. “Like ONV Kurup, she was very difficult to please, but she was happy with the way Krishna Neeyenne Ariyilla came out in the album, Kavyageethikal (Vol. II) . It even went on to become as popular as some of my film songs,” he says.
