Please give an appreciation for the poem rice by chemmanam Chacko
The poem Rice deals with the plight of the farmers who have been forced to grow cash crops instead of food crops for the reason of profit. The poem is written by the famous Malayali poet Chemmanam Chacko and translated in English by Prof. K. Ayyappa Paniker.
The poem mourns the loss of fields to commercial plantations. The poet presents the nostalgic feelings of the narrator who returns to his home in Kerala after having lived in North India during his doctorate. The narrator imagines his beautiful house surrounded by paddy fields, and longs to eat rice during his meal. But he is shocked to see tall rubber trees instead of rich paddy fields.
His father says that they have stopped paddy cultivation as it is not profitable any more. The narrator sarcastically concludes the poem commenting on the Chief Minister who flies high above the cash crops to the Centre to demand for allotment of more rice.