Introduction of the Poem:
Toru Dutt has blended the autobiographical element, the poignant note of pathos, the elegiac note and the deep - sensuous description of nature in the poem, ‘Our Casuarina Tree’. It is a poem about the great Casuarina tree which grows in front of Toru's house. Through the poetic expression of the tree, she not only attempts to recapture the pleasurable moments, playful and carefree years of her childhood days spent near and around the tree. She watches the tree from her window and feels delighted at its sight. She describes the other creepers, climbers and other small plants, growing and sheltering under it.
The tree is inextricably linked with her dearest personal memories. For her it becomes the tree of life. She admires it not for her natural beauty but also for the charm for its association with ‘sweet companions’.
Here, in the poem, emotions are expressed in a very soft manner. Thus, descriptive in nature and lyrical in form, it talks of the period when Toru was associated to the tree in many ways.
Summary of the Poem:
In this masterpiece, the poetess begins with the vivid description of the Casuarina tree. She expresses her deep - felt desires for the tree - a representative of her homeland. The description reveals her passion for and the lasting impression of the tree, left on her mind.
The Casuarina tree stood erect with its towering height like a giant in the garden of her house. Its top appeared to reach the stars in the sky. A creeper, winding round its rugged trunks, tightening its grip on the tree while climbing upto its top, seemed to be like a huge python. No other tree would have survived the stifling embrace of the creeper but the giant tree bore the creeper entwined around its trunk and branches like a scarf. The tree was the haunt of birds and bees. Often at night, when men used to sleep, the garden echoed with the never ending song of the bird from the dark branches of the tree. When, early in the morning, the poetess opened her window, the sight of the Casuarina tree delighted her eyes. Sometimes, in winters, she saw a gray baboon often sitting motionless on the crest of the tree like a statue, watching the sunrise. The little young ones of the baboon jumped playfully on lower branches. The Kokilas welcomed the day with their melodious songs, heard from far and wide and the cattle lazily moved towards the grazing fields. The water lilies bloomed in a large number in the large water tank under the shadow of the tree.
The tree is too precious to be forgotten for the poetess because of its grandeur as well as due to its association to her for all the years, i.e., since her childhood to now. Time passed but her memories were still there - when she used to play there with her brother Abju and sister Aru under the tree. Though they were no more with her, that tree would always rise in her memory blended with their images, filling her eyes with hot tears. While standing in the distant lands of Italy and France, she seemed to hear the song of grief emerging from the Casuarina tree. She had the firm faith that the tree wailed for the departed souls.
It was a common experience to her; she had heard that sad sound of the tree far away from her native land. When the whole earth lay quiet as if it were in a trance, she could hear the lamenting sighs of the tree. She hoped that those sighs would reach the unknown land where her brother and sister lie in deep eternal sleep.
The poetess, wished to dedicate the poem in the honour of the Casuarina tree because it was much loved by those whom she loved more than her own life. She wished that her poem might immortalize the tree. Even when, she would be no more in the world, the tree would feature among the other trees of its class and survive the mortality of the poetess. She humbly admitted that her verses were weak to immortalize the memory of the tree, but the beauty and fame of the tree should be protected by her true and intense love for it.
Critical Appreciation of the Poem:
‘Our Casuarina Tree’ is the finest specimen of Toru Dutt's poetic craftsmanship. It is written in a simple and yet unusual rhyming patterns that show the poet's mastery of lyricism. The poem is not merely a poetic evocation of a tree but is an attempt by the poet to recapture her past and immortalize them by referring to the Casuarina Tree.
The poem combines the description of beauty regarding the tree and its surroundings, the thoughts and memories of the poet's own life which are an important part of her life. Toru Dutt has used Nature as a background for expressing human emotions. In this poem, Nature becomes a perfect vehicle for revealing her deepest thoughts and emotions. The tree is presented both as a symbol as well as an object of nature and both time and eternity are projected in it by her.
The tree seems to symbolize the reality, the power and the undying quality of her memories. As described in the first two stanzas, it reveals the poet's sharp power of observation, fondness up with for colour effects and the sensuousness. The tree is linked the memories of her beloved ones in the third stanza. She believes in the divinity of nature and thus she hears the tree's lamentation far away in distant lands. The tree always remains in her mind. In the last stanza, she confers immortality on the tree by saying “mayest though be numbered … like those in Borrowdale”. She wishes to immortalise the tree. As per her aspiration, it should be counted among those trees which have been made immortal in literature like the yew trees in Borrowdale in the verses of Wordsworth.
These descriptions show her firm and undying love for her native place, though she has been away from the same for so long. The poem is a masterpiece that blends autobiographical elements, poignant notes of pathos, elegiac note, minute observation and sensuous description of nature. This blend achieves a delicacy which is reminiscent of Keats’ work. Personification and apostrophe are also skilfully blended to bring out the poignancy of her thoughts and memories. The tree is not a living symbol but an eternal symbol of the poet's love, concern and undying faith, never lost by her.
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