Sugatha Kumari: A nightingale and her lord

KOCHI: We had three illustrious sisters in Thiruvananthapuram, who are now no more, but all of them live on because of their inherent greatness. The eldest was Prof Hridaya Kumari who was adored by all her students because of her proficiency in literature. Her old students speak with admiration about the dignity of her classes and her love for students. She had a world of admirers.

Prof Sujatha Devi, the youngest of the sisters, was also a professor of English. She passed away suddenly two years ago. Their mother, Prof Karthyayani Amma, who taught Sanskrit in many government colleges, studied at the Presidency College in Madras about 90 years ago. She was the first woman from Aranmula to get a degree from Madras University.

Her home was very close to the famous Parthasarathy Temple. She would take her children to the Temple every day and ensure her daughters grew up as devoted beings. In fact, Lord Krishna became their beloved God. It was believed the lord would protect the family during hard times. The devotion to Lord Krishna spans many generations in the family. This faith was ingrained in all the three sisters specially in the second, Sugatha Kumari. 

Sugatha’s poem, “Krishna my beloved, thou does not know me, your humble and at the same time your ardent devotee, you are my Lord the beloved”. Most of her poems are saturated with devotion, with almost an anguish. Sugatha herself acknowledges it at the end of her poems. She was a poetess well-known for her poems in praise of Lord Krishna. At one instance, perhaps in a despondent mood, she wrote “Krishna, my beloved, thou do not know me.” Although she laments that the Lord doesn’t know her, the fact is that he is always with her and cherishes her love for him. 

She described his complexion as beautiful as ‘Kayampu’. Once she felt sad that she has never in fact seen the flower, and prayed to the Lord to show it to her. Yes, it happened right in front of her home, in the courtyard. Sugatha related this incident to one of the visiting Swamijis with delight. She told the Swami that in many of her poems, she has pictured Krishna so beautifully. She narrated that one day the gardener informed her that he wanted to clean up the courtyard.

She came out of her room and gave her consent to do so. But on a second look she saw a plant amidst the weeds which was in bloom. She directed the gardener not to pluck the plant. So the gardener cleared up the courtyard leaving that plant with the flower. She would look at the flower and enjoy its beauty for many days after that. One day, one of her friends, an officer in the botanical garden, came to visit Sugatha. He happened to notice this flower and was pleasantly surprised. He asked Sugatha where she had managed to get the plant’s sapling. She told him that the plant and it was found amid the weeds. 

The friend exclaimed it was fortuitous of her to forbade the gardener from uprooting the plant because it was a rare and precious flower. Sugatha replied saying she had never seen it before and does not know its name. Then the visitor explained that it was the real Kayampu flower, the beauty of which is compared to the complexion of Lord Krishna. Sugatha was thrilled to hear this and overwhelmed with tears of joy. Her lord had blessed her with the sight of the flower. How gracious he is! So, the fact remains that he always remembered her, he was with her, and we can firmly believe that he was with her even at the last moment of her life.The author is part of the Ramakrishna Mission in Kerala. (Views expressed are his own)

Verses of yearning
Most of Sugatha Kumari’s poems are saturated with devotion, with almost an anguish for Lord Krishna. Sugatha herself acknowledges it at the end of her poems