Unlike some of us, Radhakrishnan Parthiban has been handling lockdown stress comfortably. “Lockdown doesn’t mean you are locked up, as in jailed,” says the filmmaker, adding, “Besides I’m not a party person. I have always been the one to head home after shooting, so I’m used to this type of life. The only thing I miss is not being able to go to the gym.”
As someone known to not arrest his creative juices whatever the situation, Parthiban has been keeping himself busy.
He has penned 144 Kavithaigal, a collection of short poems and couplets in Tamil that is witty, thought-provoking and racy in its composition; the subject who serves as the inspiration behind most of the lines — woman.
Sample this: “I counted 144,32,43,538 granules in a kilogram of rava. In this solitary confinement, I counted the number of times I thought about you: infinity to the power of infinity. Post script: This is the math of love!” (loosely translated from Tamil).
The cover of Parthiban’s new book of poems ‘144 Kavithaigal’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
What gave him the idea? “Someone once randomly asked me to write about belief in God. I told him, ‘Isn’t God itself a belief?’ So, I have this habit of inverting people’s questions on its head to answer their queries. During lockdown, when a friend asked me to write something about the imposition of Section 144, I wondered if I could write 144 poems,” says Parthiban.
But the book has only 45 poems. In fact, poem #44 is followed by entry #144. This poem has only one word. “Aval” (her); he explains the reason with a long post-script.
“Instead of poem number 45, I wrote poem number 144. To prevent people from asking me why I swallowed the other 100 poems is why I reason that ‘Aval 100 kavithaikku samam’ (she is the living embodiment of a hundred poems). I started thinking in these terms, and worked backwards to write the other poems,” he adds.
The actor-director, last seen in the critically-acclaimed Oththa Seruppu, explains that he wanted to write something that will bring cheer. “Most people are writing sad things. They are worried that their freedom is lost. Some even say ‘Ennada Tasmac eh illa, ini pass mark vaangi enna prayojanam’ (there is no Tasmac, what is the use of getting pass mark.),” he laughs, and adds: “I wanted to write something youthful, similar to my earlier book Kirukalgal.”
Parthiban intends to upload this book for users to download on Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform in a few days. “I have also finished printing a hard copy because I’m very much old school in that I prefer to write using a pen and paper or read a book with actual pages. I’m not very old when it comes to my writing,” he smiles.
The proceeds from the sales of the book and e-book, he adds, will be channelled to his charitable trust and will be used to provide COVID-19 relief to affected families.