Homecoming 1 is taken from the collection of poetry titled Rough Passage by R Parthasarathy. The collection consists of three sections, namely Exile, Trial and Homecoming. In the first section, Parthasarathy portrays the condition of postcolonial subjects who gets disconnected from their homeland, runs after 'English gods' and leaves the country to live in the land of the colonizer. In Trial, they get disenchanted with the colonizer and searches for cultural roots and prepares to return. Homecoming narrates the return of the first generation of migrants from the former colonies and their disillusionment with the homecoming.
The speaker of the poem Homecoming1 represents the first generation of Indians who have left for European powers as they were enchanted by the power and glory of the colonizer. The speaker confesses that his/her tongue is in English chains, and returns to the homeland. The realities of the life in the west have created a longing for the home s/he left behind. He feels estranged from the culture/language of home and struggles to identify with the culture of the home. The glory of native culture is represented by Tirukural, a Tamil classic text by Tiruvalluvar, and the speaker fails to use language to build relation with home.
In the last stanza, the poet laments on the fall of Tamil culture out of grace by the process of colonization. He is disillusioned to see that the great Tamil language and cultural traditions have been appropriated by the film industry. As a modernist, he looks down at mass cultural products like cinema and feels he has no home to return.
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