So Many Alphabets are Seen

M R Renukumar is a Malayalam poet, short story writer, biographer, essayist, translator and painter. Poetry is a medium for him to recapture the life and dreams of people, historically oppressed by the caste system and slavery, presently called Dalits, who were excluded, underestimated, otherised, and demoralised by the mainstream literature based on hegemonic aesthetics and sensibility. Renukumar writes poetry for socio-political rather than personal reasons. He is trying to problematise the so-called syllabi of Malayalam literature by using different vocabulary, images, experiences, and shared descent. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry in 2019.

So Many Alphabets are Seen by Renukumar, translated by Ajay S Sekhar, is a subtle yet powerful poem rooted in the everyday life of a rural, working-class household. The poem foregrounds ordinary domestic scenes to reveal deeper emotional, ethical, and social meanings. Through simple images and quiet observations, the poem reflects on labour, care, transformation, and the unspoken forms of learning that shape human lives.

Summary

At the opening, the poet draws attention to the “crisscross marks of the broom” made from coconut leaf-bristles, which pattern the front yard. These marks function both as physical traces of labour and as symbolic signs of order imposed upon a previously untidy space. The imagery situates the reader firmly within a vernacular, localised environment, where natural materials and manual labour define domestic routines.

The poem then expands its visual field to include the Ilanji tree, standing at the margin of the yard, personified through “bursting laughter and fragrance.” This image introduces a gentle harmony between human effort and nature, suggesting that cleanliness and care are not acts of erasure but of coexistence. The presence of freshly bathed children waiting on the verandah reinforces this sense of renewal and anticipation, hinting at an emotional transformation alongside the physical one.

The kitchen, another traditionally feminised space, becomes a site of dignity and aesthetic value. Clean vessels and coconut-shell spatulas bask in the evening light, transforming objects of daily labour into elements of quiet beauty. The poet explicitly notes that “such small changes are seen / everywhere you see,” underscoring the cumulative power of minor acts of care that collectively reshape the household.

The emotional centre of the poem emerges when the labourer returns home with paddy received as wages, carried in a waist pouch. The house he left behind has been “changed completely,” and the children, too, appear transformed. The poem then shifts into a series of rhetorical questions, asking who cleaned the house and who turned “little dirty ones / with running nose” into “smiling flowers with fragrance.” These questions implicitly acknowledge the invisible, unpaid labour—most likely performed by women—that sustains the household, yet remains unrecognised.

The poem concludes with a striking metaphor: “Yes, so many alphabets / are seen / in their eyes.” The children’s eyes become sites of meaning, knowledge, and future possibility. Literacy here is not limited to formal education but encompasses emotional intelligence, dignity, and the silent lessons learned through care and labour.

Representation of Everyday Life and Domestic Space

The poem is firmly anchored in the domestic sphere—front yard, verandah, kitchen, and hut. These spaces are not romanticised but presented with realism and attentiveness. The front yard, marked by broom strokes, and the kitchen, filled with clean vessels, reflect a lived-in world shaped by routine and necessity. Domestic space becomes a site of meaning rather than a mere backdrop, allowing the poem to explore how daily life carries emotional and symbolic weight.

Imagery of Cleanliness, Order, and Transformation

Cleanliness recurs as a central motif throughout the poem. The crisscross marks of the broom, freshly washed children, and polished kitchen utensils all signify acts of care and renewal. These images indicate not just physical tidiness but moral and emotional order. The poem suggests that small acts of cleaning and arranging are transformative, reshaping both space and human relationships.

Nature and the Vernacular Landscape

The Ilanji tree standing at the margin of the yard introduces a natural presence that complements human labour. Described as filled with “bursting laughter and fragrance,” the tree is personified, suggesting harmony between nature and domestic life. The use of indigenous elements such as coconut-leaf brooms and coconut-shell spatulas grounds the poem in a specific cultural and ecological context, reinforcing its vernacular authenticity.

Children, Care, and Emotional Renewal

The children in the poem undergo a visible transformation. Initially described as dirty and neglected, they appear clean, smiling, and fragrant by the time the labourer returns home. Their waiting on the verandah conveys anticipation and emotional openness. Through them, the poem highlights how care and attention nurture not only physical well-being but also emotional growth and self-worth.

Labour, Poverty, and Dignity

The returning worker carries paddy as wages, a detail that underscores subsistence-level labour and economic hardship. Yet the poem avoids portraying poverty as a form of degradation. Instead, dignity emerges through responsibility, familial bonds, and shared labour. The transformation of the home in the worker’s absence demonstrates how dignity is sustained through collective effort rather than material abundance.

Invisible Domestic Labour and Gendered Work

The rhetorical questions—“Who cleaned and kept / the littered house like this?”—draw attention to invisible domestic labour, most often performed by women. This labour remains unnamed and unacknowledged, yet it sustains the household. Without explicit critique, the poem subtly exposes the gendered nature of care work and its systematic invisibility within social and economic structures.

Symbolism of “Alphabets” and the Idea of Learning

The poem’s concluding metaphor—“so many alphabets are seen / in their eyes”—is deeply symbolic. Alphabets signify knowledge, literacy, and the possibility of articulation. By locating them in the children’s eyes, the poet suggests that learning begins in lived experience, observation, and emotional security. Education here is broader than institutional schooling; it is ethical, affective, and relational.

Language, Simplicity, and the Role of Translation

The poem’s language is marked by simplicity and restraint. Ajay S Sekhar’s translation preserves this tonal economy, avoiding embellishment and allowing meaning to emerge through images. The accessible diction mirrors the lives depicted, reinforcing the poem’s ethical commitment to ordinary experience. The translation succeeds in retaining the cultural texture without exoticising it.

Structural Movement and Poetic Technique

Structurally, the poem progresses from static description to reflective questioning and finally to symbolic resolution. This movement mirrors the labourer’s journey from absence to return. The use of short lines and pauses slows the reading process, encouraging contemplation. The rhetorical questions function as moral prompts, drawing the reader into an act of recognition.

Ethical and Humanistic Vision of the Poem

At its core, the poem articulates a quiet humanism. It affirms the value of care, attention, and shared responsibility in sustaining life under conditions of economic constraint. By focusing on small gestures rather than dramatic events, the poem asserts that ethical meaning is embedded in everyday practices.

So Many Alphabets are Seen stands as a poignant example of contemporary poetry that dignifies marginalised lives without sentimentality. It transforms the domestic sphere into a site of learning, resistance, and hope. Through its understated style and symbolic depth, the poem invites readers to recognise the unseen labours and silent educations that shape human dignity. It remains a compelling text for discussions of labour, care, childhood, and the ethics of everyday life.