The Objective Four Hundred

I have noticed that an artwork can appeal to me in two possible ways. It could take my breath away by its sheer granduer or it could be the subtlety of the message that is appealing; i.e it allows the onlooker to relate in more than one way. When presented with this freedom, things become a lot more interesting to the observer because in a sense, he participates in creating that artwork. If we do have to classify one as subjective and the other as objective, then an artwork focussing on subtlety has to be of the subjective kind. This post is about an instance where I have taken this freedom though it wasn't probably meant to be given.

I was going through the english translation of the Tamil anthology "Pura-naa-nooru", titled "The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom" by Hank Heifetz. To quote the Wikipedia, the Purananooru is a collection of 400 poems that deal with the Puram (புறம்)(external or objective) concepts of life such as war, politics, wealth, as well as aspects of every-day living. Antithetically, the "Aka-naa-nooru" is a collection of 400 poems that deal with the Akam(அகம்) - Subjective, dealing with matters of the heart and human emotions.

In the preface to his book Hank Heifetz quotes the 375th poem of the Purananooru:

"May you live long in this world as a refuge for poets! Without doubt if you were not in this world, it would be empty, and poets would not endure"

Here the original poet is most probably praising a generous patron, a King or a wealthy merchant who has rewarded him. However, since the target of this adulation isn't explicitly mentioned, I can take the liberty of assuming that the "you" in the poem refers not to a specific patron, but to the very idea of an admiring audience, that fulfills the purpose of his poem by experiencing it. Taken that way, it is an expression of gratitude from the creator of beauty, for eyes existing to behold the beauty. Without minds that relish the poem, the poet has no refuge, his world is empty.

So by being a little subjective, I've ended up making the Objective Four Hundred pay a tribute to the onlooker, the source of all subjectivity.