"I said to the almond tree, ‘Sister, speak to me of God.’ And the almond tree blossomed."
— Nikos Kazantzakis (Report to Greco)
There are moments when nature stops being a silent backdrop and instead, begins to speak. Sometimes in whispers, sometimes in cries, and sometimes through the words of a poet, a writer, a filmmaker, or a song. This blog reflects upon a handful of such works — primarily from Indian and English traditions — where the environment is not just seen or felt, but deeply lived.
Nature in English Literature: A Companion to the Soul
English literature has long embraced nature as a companion, a spiritual mirror, and even a moral teacher. From the sonnets of Shakespeare to the brooding landscapes in the novels of Thomas Hardy, nature often stands shoulder to shoulder with human emotion. The Romantic poets like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats looked upon nature as a living presence — sacred, transformative, and almost divine.
In Wordsworth’s poetry, for instance, nature becomes a healing force — "a nurse" and "guardian" that shapes the mind and emotions of the growing child. Coleridge, meanwhile, explores the sublime terror and beauty of the natural world, often blurring the boundary between reality and imagination.
For Keats, a nightingale’s song or an autumn evening could hold entire universes of meaning. These writers treated nature not merely as a physical setting but as an inseparable part of human existence and creativity.
Malayalam Voices: A Homegrown Ecology of Words
In Malayalam literature, the intimacy with the land is tangible and textured. Nature breathes in every syllable — not as decoration, but as blood and breath.
Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon’s poems, often called Kaachikurukkiya Kavithakal (poems threshed and winnowed like grain), portray the earth with a raw and tender honesty. In his hands, nature is no abstract concept but the very soul of Kerala’s agrarian life.
K. Ayyappa Panicker’s urgent and emotional “Kaadevide Makkale…?” (Children, Where Have Our Forests Gone?) is a loud cry over vanishing woods — a literary requiem that still echoes.
Sugathakumari, too, used her words to protect the green. Her activism and poetry blended seamlessly, and her famous poem "Marathinu Stuthi" (Ode to a Tree) is both a tribute and a call for conservation.
Kamala Das (Madhavikutty) brought nature into the very flesh of her poetry. Her landscape wasn’t always idyllic — it was personal, sensual, and sometimes unsettling. In her prose too, the sea, the trees, and the monsoon were deeply woven into the fabric of womanhood and longing.
Sara Joseph’s Aathi (Gift in Green), especially the chapter “Hagar: A Story of a Woman and Water,” shows a world where nature and women share the same fate — both flowing, both vulnerable, both resilient.
M. T. Vasudevan Nair and the Forest Within
In his short story Aaranyakam (meaning “about the woods”), M. T. Vasudevan Nair leads us into a forest that is both literal and metaphorical. It speaks of spaces untouched, desires unspoken, and emotions that grow wild like creepers in the dark. The story asks not just what the forest is — but what it protects, conceals, and reveals.
His stories often show man’s fragile connection with the land — how easily it frays, and how dearly it is missed.
The Epics: Forests as Living Chapters
In the Indian epics, nature is not just a setting but a living character. In the Ramayana, the Aranyakanda (Book of the Forest) explores Rama’s exile and his transformation amidst the wild. Sita’s time in the Ashoka forest, especially during her captivity, becomes a silent conversation between a woman and the trees that seem to listen better than men.
In the Mahabharata, the tales of Nala and Damayanti, and Dushyanta and Shakuntala, unfold amidst forests, rivers, and skies. The forest is both a refuge and a trial — a place where destinies are shaped and love is tested.
Cinema’s Green Frame: Malayalam Films that Echo the Earth
Malayalam cinema has often embraced environmental themes with quiet power.
Sajimon Prabhakar's Malayankunju, set against the backdrop of a landslide, speaks not just of survival, but of how the earth too can rage and cry.
Blessey's Aadujeevitham on the other hand brings to the fore desert as an inevitable character and connects different aspects of Najeeb's life to that of it.
2018: Everyone is a Hero captures the Kerala floods with heart-wrenching realism — not just as a disaster movie, but as a collective memory of trauma and resilience.
Salim Ahmed's Adaminte Makan Abu shows the slow, simple rhythms of a man in love with his land — a rare and delicate portrayal of harmony.
Jayaraj's Ottaal, based on Chekhov’s “Vanka,” places a child amidst the backwaters and birds, and in doing so, reminds us how fast we are losing both innocence and environment.
Songs of the Soil: When Music Becomes a Lament
Michael Jackson’s Earth Song asks, “What about sunrise? What about rain?” — questions that resonate far beyond the pop stage. His voice is not just singing — it is accusing, aching, and demanding answers for the wounds we’ve inflicted upon the planet.
In this song, the earth is not passive. It is bleeding. And we are asked to witness.
The Covenant of Water: Diaspora and the Sacred River
In Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water, nature is central not just as a setting but as ancestry. Water connects generations — carrying memories, secrets, and salvation. The novel, though diasporic in its reach, remains rooted in Kerala’s lush geography, where every stream seems to carry a heartbeat.
Conclusion: Listening When the Earth Speaks
Through these selected works — drawn from English literature, Malayalam voices, Indian epics, cinema, and song — we see how deeply human lives are intertwined with the environment. Sometimes we romanticize it, sometimes destroy it, and sometimes, just sometimes, we pause to listen.
And when we do listen — really listen — the earth speaks.
Reference:
Kazantzakis, Nikos. Report to Greco. Faber & Faber, 1965.
Menon, Vailoppilli Sreedhara. “Kashi Kurukke Kavitha.” Vailoppilli Kavithakal, DC Books, 2005.
Nair, P. Kunhiraman. Thrikarthika. DC Books, 2002.
Nair, M. T. Vasudevan. “Aaranyakam.” Theerthadanam, DC Books, 2000.
Kurup, O. N. V. Bhoomikkoru Charamageetham. DC Books, 1998.
Das, Kamala. My Story. Sterling Publishers, 1976.
Sugathakumari. Rathrimazha. DC Books, 1995.
Joseph, Sara. Aalahayude Penmakkal. Current Books, 1999.
Ramayana. Translated by R. K. Narayan, Penguin Classics, 2006.
Mahabharata. Translated by C. Rajagopalachari, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2010.
2018: Everyone is a Hero. Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, performances by Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, etc., Kavya Film Company, 2023.
Aadujeevitham. Directed by Blessy, performances by Prithviraj Sukumaran, Visual Romance Productions, 2024.
Malayan Kunju. Directed by Sajimon Prabhakar, performances by Fahadh Faasil, Fahadh Faasil and Friends, 2022.
Jackson, Michael. “Earth Song.” HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, Epic Records, 1995.
