Introduction:
Something affecting the senses aesthetically rather than sensually is called sensuous. When a piece of literature thrills our senses merely by reading, it is regarded as full of sensuousness. Among our all the five senses of perception, the sense of sight is the most active, naturally all the word pictures are found rich in it. But Toru Dutt is one of those great artists whose compositions have power to thrill all the five senses.
 |
| Toru Dutt’s Savitri: Element of Sensuousness in the Poem |
Sensuous Word Pictures:
Toru Dutt draws lively word pictures of sensuous nature in Savitri. The poem opens with a lively description of Savitri. Brave hard hearted soldiers used to smile on seeing her as mountains smile to see the spring. In short their response was joyful. She inspired freshness like a lotus in moon light during extremely hot season. She always looked happy and walked lightly. Unknown people meeting by chance used to turn back to look at her for a long time and wished for her joy.
“Stern warriors, when they saw her, smiled,
As mountains smile to see the spring.
Fair as a lotus when the moon
Kisses its opening petals red,
After sweet showers in sultry June!”
Here, Toru refers to mountains and spring. With sense of sight, here the sense of smell too is engaged for spring brings sweet smelling flowers. Moon refers to cool moon light and it engages the sense of touch. Sweet showers and sultry June refer to water and heat. Water is wet. In this way sense of touch becomes active on reading it. While talking about Savitri’s free life, Toru observes:
“With young companions of her age,
She roamed the woods for fruit or flower.”
Here, woods suggest darkness and coolness, fruit and flower suggest colour, smell and taste. In this way three senses are employed in only five words. It shows Toru's sensuousness.
“Or loitered in some hermitage,
For to the Munis gray and old
Her presence was as sunshine glad,
They taught her wonders manifold
And gave her of the best they had.”
All word pictures employ the sense of sight. Hermitage involves greenery and huts. Munis are gray and old. But Toru here feels that she has not employed the sense of hearing as yet. To remove that imperfection she refers to teaching of Savitri by these Munis. No doubt, teaching involves speaking and it engages tongue and ears that are the organs to produce and hear the sound. In this way Toru employs all the five senses.
Natural Sensuousness:
It is a remarkable quality in Toru's poetry that sensuousness is natural. It does not appear that she is including these references artificially only to make the composition sensuous. If a girl visits a garden it is natural to see fruits and flowers. The following example supports the idea and brings to light another aspect of Toru's sensuousness.
“Months passed, and lo, one summer morn
As to the hermitage she went
Through smiling fields of waving corn,
She saw some youths on sport intent.”
Here, summer employs the sense of touch and hermitage employs the sense of sight. The infusion of personification in sensuousness enables her to talk about “smiling fields of waving corn”. It is the way in which Toru's sensuousness remains natural yet becomes extraordinary in effect.
Animation of Sensuousness:
Milton was the first poet to use the term sensuousness and he excelled in this art so well that his word pictures are not static but animated and seem to present a picture in action. After Milton, Keats excelled in it. It is Toru's remarkable poetic talent that she too draws animated word pictures that present not a moment but motion. For example, Toru writes about Savitri's attraction to Satyavan.
“……………….that the eye
Was loath to quit that sun - browned face;
She looked and looked, then gave a sigh
And slackened suddenly her pace.”
The following lines account for Satyavan's death.
“He tries to look around, in vain,
A mist before his vision hangs;
The trees whirl dizzily around
In a fantastic fashion wild;
His throat and chest seem iron - bound,
He staggers, like a sleepy child.”
Toru tells how suddenly the noise of cutting branches stopped. Satyavan's axe fell down. The cause was known to Savitri. He was too sick to stop the work. He suffered from a severe headache as if he was stung by a cobra. He tries to look around but there was a mist before his vision because the sense of sight was lost. His consciousness was lost. There was congestion in his chest. His strength failed and he fell down.
Sensuous Description of Nature:
Toru becomes highly sensuous while describing nature. For example when Satyavan and Savitri visit the forest at night, Toru observes that woods look lovely in the morning and in the sultry noon too they look lovely. But they look the best in moon light. Now they look more colourful for silvery shade with blue reflection makes it charming.
“Lo! By that hill which palm trees crown,
Down the deep glade with perfume rife
From buds that to the dews expand,
The husband and the faithful wife
Pass to dense jungle, hand in hand."
Satyavan and Savitri were attracted by trees in perfumed darkness. The husband and the faithful wife walked the dark forest together. Thus, Toru Dutt's poetry is highly sensuous.