Text
Self-Portrait
I resemble everyone
but myself, and sometimes see
in shop-windows,
despite the well-known laws
of optics,
the portrait of a stranger,
date unknown,
often signed in a corner
by my father.
About the Author
A.K. Ramanujan was a
distinguished Indian poet, writer, translator, and philologist, born in Mysore
in 1929. Raised in a multicultural Tamil Brahmin family where Tamil, Kannada,
and English were spoken, he pursued an academic path, earning his MA in English
from the University of Mysore. After teaching in South India, his interest in
linguistics deepened, leading him to obtain a diploma from Deccan College in
1958 and subsequently a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Indiana University on a
Fulbright fellowship. This academic journey culminated in his 1962 appointment
at the University of Chicago, which became his professional home until his
death in 1993.
At the University of
Chicago, Ramanujan became closely associated with the Department of South Asian
Languages and Civilizations. His long-term residence in the United States
profoundly shaped his writing, which often explored the "contrast between the
East and the West" and the "anxiety of an exile" searching for
native roots. His significant contributions as a translator and interpreter of
Indian epics and devotional poetry earned him international acclaim. He was
recognized with the Padmashri by the Indian government in 1976 and received the
prestigious MacArthur "genius award" in 1983 for his groundbreaking
work.
Ramanujan's literary output was diverse, including notable poetry collections like The Striders (1966) and Second Sight (1986), as well as significant works in Kannada. He became internationally renowned for his masterful translations from Tamil and Kannada, such as The Interior Landscape (1967) and Speaking of Siva (1993), and later focused on folklore with Folktales from India (1994). His poetry is known for its "psychological realism" and is largely autobiographical, drawing "substance" from his Hindu heritage and Indian folklore. His style is distinguished by "masterly craftsmanship," utilizing "precise, concrete, vivid" imagery and a "terseness of diction" that solidified his place as one of India's most significant poets.
Critical Appreciation
The speaker opens with a
stark paradox: "I resemble everyone / but myself." This line
immediately establishes a sense of dislocation. The speaker feels he is not a
defined individual. Instead, he is just a collection of resemblances, alienated
from his own core identity. This feeling is crystallized in the poem's central
image: his reflection in "shop-windows."
This image clearly captures
the "anxiety of an exile." The speaker lived between India and
America, and in this reflection, he finds "the portrait of a
stranger." The reflection should be an objective confirmation of the self,
based on "the well-known laws of optics." However, this scientific
law fails him. It presents an alien figure, highlighting his profound
displacement. He is a stranger to himself. His "native roots" are
distant, making his current self unrecognizable.
The poem's concluding lines brilliantly connect this personal anxiety to family and heritage. The lines read: "date unknown, / often signed in a corner / by my father." The "stranger" in the glass is not random; it is a portrait created by his father. This suggests his identity is not self-made but inherited. He is defined by his lineage and "Hindu heritage" rather than his own self. The father's signature implies a predetermined identity. This ancestral legacy overshadows his individuality. This idea connects directly to his biography, which notes his poetry "reminiscences his family."
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