Our Casuarina-tree

Dutt, Toru (1856 - 1877)

1Like a huge Python, winding round and round

2The rugged trunk, indented deep with scars
3Up to its very summit near the stars,
4A creeper climbs, in whose embraces bound
5No other tree could live. But gallantly
6The giant wears the scarf, and flowers are hung
7In crimson clusters all the boughs among,
8Whereon all day are gathered bird and bee;
9And oft at nights the garden overflows
10With one sweet song that seems to have no close,
11Sung darkling from our tree, while men repose,
12When first my casement is wide open thrown
13At dawn, my eyes delighted on it rest;
14Sometimes, and most in winter -- on its crest
15A gray baboon sits statue-like alone
16Watching the sunrise; while on lower boughs
17His puny offspring leap about and play;
18And far and near kokilas hail the day;
19And to their pastures wend our sleepy cows;
20And in the shadow, on the broad tank cast
21By that hoar tree, so beautiful and vast,
22The water-lilies spring, like snow enmassed.
23But not because of its magnificence
24Dear is the Casuarina to my soul:
25Beneath it we have played; though years may roll,
26O sweet companions, loved with love intense,
27For your sakes, shall the tree be ever dear!
28Blent with your images, it shall arise
29In memory, till the hot tears blind mine eyes!
30What is that dirge-like murmur that I hear
31Like the sea breaking on a shingle-beach?
32It is the tree's lament, an eerie speech,
33That haply to the unknown land may reach.
34Unknown, yet well-known to the eye of faith!
35Ah, I have heard that wail far, far away
36In distant lands, by many a sheltered bay,
37When slumbered in his cave the water-wraith
38And the waves gently kissed the classic shore
39Of France or Italy, beneath the moon,
40When earth lay trancèd in a dreamless swoon:
41And every time the music rose -- before
42Mine inner vision rose a form sublime,
43Thy form, O Tree, as in my happy prime
44I saw thee, in my own loved native clime.
45Therefore I fain would consecrate a lay
46Unto thy honor, Tree, beloved of those
47Who now in blessed sleep, for aye, repose,
48Dearer than life to me, alas! were they!
49May'st thou be numbered when my days are done
50With deathless trees -- like those in Borrowdale,
51Under whose awful branches lingered pale
52"Fear, trembling Hope, and Death, the skeleton,
53And Time, the shadow;" and though weak the verse
54That would thy beauty fain, oh fain rehearse,
55May Love defend thee from Oblivion's curse.

Notes

1]The casuarina tree takes its name from Latin "casuarius cassowary, from fancied resemblance of the branches
to the feathers of the bird" and has branches that lack leaves and look like "gigantic horse-tails" (OED).
18]kokilas: koels (plural), "A cuckoo of the genus Eudynamis, esp. the E. honorata of India", sometimes termed
"the nightingale of Hindustân" (OED; cf. 1826 quotation).

20]broad tank: for storage of drinking water.

37]water-wraith: a dead spirit, remembered from "The Braes of Yarrow" by John Logan (1748-1788) and
William Wordsworth's "Yarrow Visited September, 1814."

46]those: Toru's brother Abju (died 1865) and sister Aru (died 1874).

50]Borrowdale: the Borrowdale valley and lake, near Keswick, Cumbria, in the Lake district, of which
Wordsworth writes in "Yew-trees," the poem that suggested this theme to Toru

Toru Dutt, it is generally accepted, is the first major voice 1n Indian English Poetry and
her poem "Our Casuarina Tree" found in many anthologies is often signaled out as the
first major Indian English poem. 2 "Our Casuarina Tree" is basically a descriptive poem
in which an actual tree is described in terms of beautiful images drawn around it. It is
modelled on Keats's "Ode to Autumn". The only difference is that the eleven line stanza
has different rhyme pattern abb cddc eee. The recurring echo established by the rhyme
scheme sets the line apart as a complete rhythmical unit comparable to musical phrase. It
further supplies the organisational pattern of the stanzas. The poem "Our Casuarina Tree"
is an assertion of Indian nationalism. Toru Dutt was fond of writing on Indian themes
even while she lived in England. The tree that is described in the poem is associated with
Toru's childhood in India. She remembers the Indian tree even when she is in Italy or
France. All the five stanzas of the poem are written with fine rhythm and cadence. The
stanza of the poem is based on the logic of an image growing out of an image. Thus the
first stanza opens with a simile of a 'huge python' linked to a 'creeper'. The comparison
between these two apparently dissimilar objects is based on the shared attribute expressed
in the phrase 'winding round and round'. The poet then builds into this simile a number of
other figures of sense to convey the sense of 'hugeness' of the tree. Hence the creeper
winds round the rugged trunk indented with deep scars. The poetical fancy in 'upto its
summit near the stars' gives an idea of the tree's height. The vicarious reference in whose
embraces bound I No other tree could live' reveals the tree's vitality. Fresh images are
evoked by the appearance of the word 'embrace'. This word involves the attribution of the
behaviour of a person in love, to the winding of the creeper round the tree. Here we begin
to have a poetical sense to the 'grace' of the tree and begin to see the tree in all its charm.
The images that come up in the next six lines of the stanza further develop the idea. Thus
a metaphor compares the tree to a 'gallant giant' and the creeper to a 'scarf' thereby
stressing the ornamental value of the creeper round the tree. The 'crimson flowers' of the
creeper, as well as the 'bird and bee' images further heighten the effect produced by the
figures. From day scenes we move to the night scenes. By the use of the figure
exaggeration the poet transcends the limit of the ordinary world and reaches out the world
of magic. Hence the image of a song floating in the garden, night after night ('that seems
to have no close', as if sung from the tree in the dark ('sung darkling') creates an etherial
beauty around the tree, This exercise of the poet in building image upon 1mage carries a
unique charm that can be felt by a sensitive reader. For instance, knowing fully that the
creeper does not climb the summit near the stars, nor the tree can sing, the poet employs
such poetic expressions which conjures up the image and enables us to accept them
without challenge. Ultimately we become convinced with the beauty and grandeur of the
tree, which otherwise will have remained uncomprehended without the expressions
employed by the poet. In the second stanza the poet employs the figure the condensed
expression. The quintessence of condensed expression is nothing but a suggested or
implied companson between the main subject described and the incidental ones
mentioned along side it. Hence, we encounter in this stanza beautifully balanced images
which evoke a naturally agreeable landscape replete with accurate botanical details. The
central figure, i.e., the tree is invoked and then the poet proceeds to weave images of the
winter season around it. Hence she sees a 'gray baboon' sitting 'statue like on its bough'
'watching the sunrise' while on its lower branch its 'puny' off-springs 'leap about and
play'. What is to be noticed here is the use of simile in 'statue' like. By likening the
posture of the baboon to a statue, the poet highlights the 'winter' season when things are
generally still and quiet. Again the grim 'statue' image works against the active 'leap
about and play', image, to create a paradox or contrast. The same effect is again achieved
through the image of the hailing kokilas and the 'sleepy cows'. The simile of white lilies
looking like 'snow enmassed' 'in the shadow' cast on the 'tank' by the 'hoar tree' is replete
with condensed expression. Also to be noticed here is the colour effect achieved. The
outstanding colour is 'gray' which co- exists with the image of the winter season when
things appear gray with frost. The word 'hoar' which means 'white or gray with age or
frost', as also the beautiful winter lilies looking like 'snow enmassed' highlight this colour.
The transition from the second stanza to the third stanza is achieved through the word
'magnificence'. We also notice the change of scene, from the external world to the
internal world. Images rush out of mood. Hence the image of 'sweet companions' are
evoked from the poet. The metaphor in 'loved with loveliness' emphasises the intensity of
the relationship. The poet's fancy is at work once again. Hence the tree in sympathy with
the poet, whose eyes are blinded by 'hot tears' in memory of the lost companions, sounds
a 'dirge-like murmur'. From this simile a series of comparisons are drawn up. Hence the
'dirge like murmur' becomes the sound of 'sea breaking on a shingle beach' and then a
'lament' and finally 'an eerie' speech. The peculiar effect of these comparisons lies in the
apparently unrelated way with which images are brought together. The sudden
appearance of the word 'haply' in the concluding line of the stanza works against the
'lament' of the previous line to create paradox or contrast. The apparent contrast of the
last line of the third stanza is carried over to the fourth stanza by holding 'unknown'
against 'well - known' : the contrast is again retained in the images that follow. Hence the
'breaking' sea of the previous stanza now lay in 'sheltered bay'. Its waves did not 'break'
but 'rose' in 'wraith' and 'gently kissed' 'the classic shore' and not 'shingle - beach'. We
have one of the finest examples of the figure of exaggeration in the lines 'beneath the
moon I when the earth lay tranced in a dreamless soon.' A heightened trance-like feeling
similar to a time when the poet was so intensely absorbed in her emotions, that she was as
if sealed off from the ordinary world, is being recalled in these lines. It is in such 'tranced'
moments that one begins to have transcendental views. Here the tree acquires 'soul'
dimensions and is merged with that of the poet 'Mine 1nner vision rose a form sublime', I
'Thy form, 0 Tree---'. In the presence of the sublime vision the poet's language is not
fragmented and the images do not run after the other. The poet's use of the stately clause
is to be noticed here. The small 't' in 'tree' becomes capital 'T' and is then addressed as
'Thy' and 'Thee'. Metaphorically the tree becomes man through the bond of shared origin
and fate. The stanza 1s remarkable in the sense every word used here is indicative of the
adoration with which the tree is viewed. This adoration is continued in the last stanza
where in a moment of extreme admiration the poet carves a prayer for the tree "Therefore
I fain would consecrate a lay Unto thy honour, Tree---". Once the plane of mystical level
is achieved, abstractions follow abstractions as no concrete form exists for the tree. The
stanza hence resolves metaphorically into the language of address (Thou, They) into the
language of supplication ('May love defend thee') and the language of collocation ('Pale
Fear, trembling Hope, Death, the skeleton', 'Time the Shadow---'). "Our Casuarina Tree"
is one of the miscellaneous poems from the collection Ancient Ballads and Legends of
Hindustan. As the most representative poem of Toru Dutt it shows that, Toru Dutt as a
poet, has a remarkable maturity that deceives her tender age. Her poems are wrought with
fine artistry in resonance with the poetic conception. The different layers of her poems
work in remarkable harmony with the poet's vision. The sound becomes a definite part of
the sense through a sustained use of imagery. Her poems thus give the impression of
perfection.

Our Casuarina Tree – Toru Dutt

Tree; Symbol:-
The tree symbolizes the pot’s feeling. Her childhood is associated with a Casuarina tree,
which was standing in her garden. She grows up and goes away but tree remains in her memory.
The poem is a ‘meeting point for the past and the present for time and eternity. This is the theme
symbolically presented in another words. It is an admirable blend of local touches and literary
reminiscences or objective description of the actual tree and the charm of association with Toru’s
Childhood.

The Tree:-
The poem is addressed to the tree. It is praised and remembered almost like a hymn. The
poem opens with an account of the giant tree. Casuarina is a commonly found tree in Bengal. It
grows crimson flowers. The Casuarina tree of Toru is very big and great creeper’s embrace but
this tree is bold enough to stand. Crimson flowers are hung. The tree remains very busy during
the day. Day and night it is a centre of busy life. Birds and bees are gathered. At night sweet
songs of darkening could be heard. His puny also leaps about. Kokilas hail the day. Cows would
pass from the shadow of the tree. In the early sunlight the shadow enmasses (covers) beautiful
water lilies. They turn as if snow has covered them.

The tree and dear memories:-

Because it is splendid, the poet doesn’t love the tree but because her childhood memories
are associated. Years may pass but when they were young and played under this tree has
remained still. It is sweeter because her companions also played under it. Remembering those
days, she becomes sad, even cheeks turn wet because of tears. The tree seems to be weeping as
well. As if it is shading trees and wailing. It becomes spirited (unnatural). It turns horrible. The
un-nerving and unusual feeling of the poet suggests some things supernatural. It is an effort of
the poet perhaps that through the tree she wants to find sympathy. She imagines pain and pity
may reach to unknown land. Toru had lost her brother and sister very early so their memories are
referred here. Look how beautiful she puts these feelings : -
“O sweet companions, loved with love intense,
For your sakes shall the tree be ever dear!”
“The unknown land’ refers her going abroad even when she was traveling in France or
Italy, it had always sent thought winging its way homeward, and bringing recollections of the
tree which was so dearly loved in childhood.

Humanization of the Tree:-

As we saw above, the tree assumes a human form. It feels and speaks. It has pain and
pleasure. In absence of Toru’s companion also becomes awful and ghostly. Often she remembers
this tree even when the tree is absent. The tree evokes feelings in her in moonlight. It would be
like a dream. Her inner eyes find its picture. It is the visualization of the tee. The tree becomes
sublime form. It would be same as she had seen in her childhood days and
-Mine inner vision rose a form sublime,
Thy form, O Tree as in my happy prime
I saw thee, in my own loved native clime.”
Thus tree does not remain an object but a living friend.

Wish of immortalizing the tree:-

The place where the tree stands, she wishes she would declare it holy place. It was loved
by many who have now sleepy in the graves. They had also played here. Because of them, too
the tree is dearer than life. That’s why the tree should live or remain forever. She wishes
‘deathless’ to it. “Fear, trembling hope, and death and the skeleton and time of shadow” may
linger under its shadow but it shouldn’t see death. Her verse may not be able to sing well its
praises yet the happiness should come. There is curse of death (Oblivion) but love (poet’s) would
defend it.
“The last stanza of the poem, with its right romantic fervor, unfolds a desire of the poetess
for the immortality or verse, and ends with the delightful line :May love defend thee from
oblivion’s curse.”

Rich Imagery:-
The poem is very rich for its imagery. The image of the tree creates tenderness and pathos.
It evokes these feelings. The tree almost becomes a loveable, kind human form. The first stanza
describes it gigantic for and brings before use its value. The birds, cows, baboons and bees
continuously haunt this tree. Children played beneath it. This all give a visual image of the tree.
Even in the distant land this form rises in the vision. Images of her:. “Playing with brother and
sister also come. They create sad feelings. Tragic beauty takes place. Loneliness and dirge mixed
together make an unnerving nerving effect.
Description, metaphor and similes shape rich texture of the poem.

Metaphor:-
The tree and related images have becomes sweet because of metaphors. e.g. “the giant
wears the scarf” the giant relates to the tree. Song is sweet. Eyes are a casement, and are
delighted as well. The garden overflows with one sweet song. For her parted brother and sister
she used ‘sweet companions’. Other metaphors: ‘a sheltered boy’, ‘classic shore’, blessed sleep’,
‘deathless tree’, ‘trembling Hope’, ‘weak verse’ assimilate in the structure. They show the poet’s
genius and creativity.

Similes:-
Very opening line suggests a simile. A creeper is “like a huge python”. She is hearing a
sad song which is ‘dirge-like murmur’. She visualizes the form of tree ‘as in my happy prime I
saw thee’. Her wish to immortalize the tree is also “like those in Borrow dale”. The similes are
few but capable enough to show her poetic art.

Phrases and clause:-

The poem has a fine description. There is deep feeling which flows swiftly. Naturally there
are many phrases and clauses which strengthen the argument. e.g.
“Like a huge python, winding round and round,
The rugged trunk, indented deep with scars
Up to its very summit hear the stars.
In just three limes how many phrases! The stanza is carried on and there a clause joined
with it.
“… in whose embrace bound
No other tree could live.”
Other some clauses are: “While on lower bough/his puny…”, “though years may roll…” ,
“till the hot tears blind”, “when earth lay tranced…” etc/
These phrases and clauses are joined by many ways. Conjunction, commas, dash,
semicolons has been used and because of this long description take place. Notice the following
lines with underlined words.
“And far and near Kokilas hail the day;
And to their pastures wend our sleepy cows,
And in the shadow, on the broad tank cast;
By that hoar tree, so beautiful and vast.”
To change the ideas or mood punctuations have been used. They have served well.

Archaic words:-
The tree is romanticized. Old language would better suit. Toru knew this and that’s why
she used archaic words. Mostly they are related to pronouns. The last stanza is particularly seen
such works are: ‘thy’, ‘mayst’, ‘linger’, ‘fear’, ‘death’, ‘trembling hope’, ‘skeleton’, ‘time’,
oblivion’, ‘sleep’, blessed’, ‘repose’, ‘deathless’, ,awful’ etc.
Rhyme and Rhythm:-
The poem is divided into five stanzas each made of 11 lines. The rhyme scheme is : abba
cdcd eee. This is a new scheme. It seems she has experimented, even thought it is so, it is
worthy. The sound system creates a very line rhythm through consonance and assonance. Look
this following phrase how sweet they are: “winding round and round” , “bird and bee”, “with one
sweet song”, “wide open thrown open”, “my eyes delighted”, “tree be ever dear”, “unknown yet
well known”.
Inner rhyming word, ending rhyme, eye-rhyme, pair word etc. really make the poem
musical.

Most of the critics agree that “in the organization of poem as a whole and in the finish of
individual stanza, in its mastery of phrase and rhythm, in its music of sound and ideas: “our
Casuarina Tree” is a superb piece of writing and gives us a taste of what Toru might have done
had not the race of her life been so quickly run.”

1)   What does Taru Dutt compare the Python to and why?

The “beautiful last poem” in the  Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan by Toru
Dutt, published in 1882, five years after her death, in which the “loving and observant
spirit” of this gifted Indo-Anglian poet “finds, perhaps, its highest expression”, bears a
simple but attractive title Our Casuarina Tree. A creeper that intertwines the study
Casurina tree is compared to a python winding up “to its very summit near the stars”..
The creeper may seem serpentine like the “intertwisted fibres” of Wordsworth’s Yew
Trees, it may resemble a reptile that can crush its victims to death but the Dutt’s
Casuarina tree is too strong to be so subjugated and destroyed. Instead, it displays its
might by standing firm and erect and effortlessly wearing the luxurious creeper laden
with crimson blossoms as a mere “scarf”, beautifully and brightly patterned. The gallant
Casuarina defies the parasitic creeper that clings to it.
The image might at first seem dark and foreboding, but the image ultimately
emphasizes the great strength of the tree itself. For some readers, the tree symbolizes
the ancient and venerable culture of India, while the huge encircling creeper symbolizes
the potentially deadly influence of colonialism. Most immediately, though, the creeper
itself seems to add a kind of beauty to the tree; it, after all, is called a “scarf”, a word
with fairly positive connotations.
2)   Wht is the Giant? What is it wearing? The reason of its comparing?
The “beautiful last poem” in the  Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan by Toru
Dutt, published in 1882, five years after her death, in which the “loving and observant
spirit” of this gifted Indo-Anglian poet “finds, perhaps, its highest expression”, bears a
simple but attractive title Our Casuarina Tree. The tree is metaphorical said as a giant
due to its huge size, strength and boldness. A creeper that intertwines the study
Casurina tree is compared to a python winding up “to its very summit near the stars”.
The image might at first seem dark and foreboding, but the image ultimately
emphasizes the great strength of the tree itself. For some readers, the tree symbolizes
the ancient and venerable culture of India, while the huge encircling creeper symbolizes
the potentially deadly influence of colonialism. Most immediately, though, the creeper
itself seems to add a kind of beauty to the tree; it, after all, is called a “scarf”, a word
with fairly positive connotations.
Although the creeper has left deep marks on the trunk of the tree, the tree is so strong
that it bears the tight hold of the creeper. The tree is described as being gallant, and
possibly brave, as very few trees could survive in the strangle-hold of this creeper. The
Casuarina Tree is covered with the creeper which bears red crimson flowers that appear
as though the tree is wearing a colorful scarf. The poet then goes on to describe the life
that thrives amidst every facet of the tree.
3)    What does the image of the baboon contribute to the mood of the poem?
The “beautiful last poem” in the  Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan by Toru
Dutt, published in 1882, five years after her death, in which the “loving and observant
spirit” of this gifted Indo-Anglian poet “finds, perhaps, its highest expression”, bears a
simple but attractive title Our Casuarina Tree.
In the first line of the second stanza of the poem, Dutt brings in the “I” which instantly
connects it with the “Our” of the title of her poem. As the tone as well as the approach
is more subjective in this stanza, the Casuarina tree too seems much more than a
mere tree in the poet’s garden. Every morning, when the “casement is wide open
thrown”, two “delighted eyes” of the poet rest on it. And at times, “most in winter”,
they gaze at a solitary “gray baboon”, on the “crest”, watching the glorious sunrise
while on the lower branches, in direct contrast to this silent, “statue-like” creature is its
playful “puny offspring” oblivious of Nature’s magic and the serenity of the quiet
morning.
The baboon has been man’s ancestor suggesting the primal energy of man. The image
revokes a delightful and realistic picture of life enmeshed with the beauties of Nature.
4)   Why does the memory blind her with tears?
The “beautiful last poem” in the  Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan by Toru
Dutt, published in 1882, five years after her death, in which the “loving and observant
spirit” of this gifted Indo-Anglian poet “finds, perhaps, its highest expression”, bears a
simple but attractive title Our Casuarina Tree.
In the third stanza of the poem, Dutt reveals that the beauty of the tree is no more
than an added gift. Its actual importance lies in the fact that it is a part of the Dutt’s
existence, a reminder of family ties, of the warmth shared by three siblings. Her eyes
fill as she recalls the happy past and remembers the three care-free children playing in
the garden, under its branches. And the tree loyally responds to her plaintive mood.
With the poet, we strain our ears to hear the rustling of the leaves, the “dirge-like
murmur”, somewhat like the “murmuring” that Wordsworth once heard “from
Glaramara’s inmost caves”. Her tree, their tree, mourns her loss and the “eerie
speech”, she hopes, may reach the un-traversed terrain of the dead.
The extent of Toru’s anguish, as, quite helplessly, she had to watch her brother and
sister die, may actually be felt in these lines. Yet, unlike Keats, Toru does not express
any desire to fade “far away” and “dissolve”. Their Casuarina tree does not make her
long for “easeful” death. Instead, even though its “timelessness” mocks the transience
of the human world, the tree is to her a support, a reminder of the joy she once
experienced with Abju and Aru. So, with the passion of a loving sister she remembers
her “sweet companions” and cries, “For your sakes shall the tree be ever dear!” Her
brother and sister, though dead, are never too far away from her and she does not wish
to erase them from her memory.
5)   How does Dutt connect the tree to the memory of distant land?
The “beautiful last poem” in the  Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan by Toru
Dutt, published in 1882, five years after her death, in which the “loving and observant
spirit” of this gifted Indo-Anglian poet “finds, perhaps, its highest expression”, bears a
simple but attractive title Our Casuarina Tree.
In the fourth stanza of the poem, the poet talks about the memory of distant land. The
significance of the word “unknown” that connects the third stanza with the fourth may
thus be fully realized if her personal sorrow as well as her once-diasporic existence in
the west is kept in mind. In the closing line of the third stanza, she speaks of the
“unknown” and unexplored territory that Abju and Aru had entered, never to return.
But, as the opening line of the fourth stanza claims, the unknown is “yet well-known”
as it can be reconstructed/imagined or even viewed through “the eye of faith”. It
humanizes the tree, for its lament is a human recordation of pain and regret…” and the
“tree’s lament”, which may reach the land of the dead, transcends territorial boundaries
and is heard by her in “distant lands” and even on the “classic shores” of France and
Italy. Toru’s description of both the silent Earth, “tranced in a dreamless swoon”,
bathed in the silver light of the moon and the “sheltered bay” with its gently undulating
waves is enthralling.
“Our Casuarina Tree is more than the poetic evocation of a tree; it is recapturing the past,
and immortalizing the moments of time so recaptured. The tree is both tree and symbol, and in
it implicated both time and eternity.”

Toru Dutt has left behind such a glorious legacy that even today we think of  her as a marvellous
young girl who died before her prime after blazing a trail of brilliance in early Indo-Anglian
poetry. She was the first woman writer in the history of Indo-Anglian literature. She was also
among the first to realize and affect the much needed rapprochement between the Eastern and the
Western knowledge. Toru Dutt was undeniably the finest flower of Indian Renaissance
that began with Raja Rammohun Roy- the tireless crusader for English education in India.

The poem “Our Casuarina Tree” is a beautiful symbolic poem harmonizing both matter and
manner in accurate proportion. The tree stands for a symbolic representation of Toru’s past
memory. Apparently it symbolizes the rich tradition of Indian culture and philosophy which
played an important role in shaping the poetic andaesthetic sensibility of the poets. In
Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale”, the bird symbolizes the world of art and beauty. In
Shelley’s “To a Skylark”, the bird is the symbol of freedom and liberty. Similarly, in Toru
Dutt’s “Our Casuarina Tree”, the tree connotes the nostalgic feelings and memory of Toru
Dutt. This is the tree under which she played with his brother and sister- Abju and Aru. So the
very thought of the tree transported her to her golden past days.

In the first stanza she imagined the rugged trunk of the tree to a huge python winding round and
round. The creeper has indented deep with scars up to the top of the tree. One may also sense a
similarity between the tree in the clutches of a creeper attempting to sap its strength and the three
young Dutts in the grip of a killer disease – tuberculosis. Toru says the flowers of the tree are
hung in crimson clusters. Toru tells us that her Casuarina Tree, a haven for the winged, birds and
insects, is almost visibly alive, alive with the buzz of bees and with the chirping of birds. This
song sung from the tree soothes its listeners and has a tranquilizing effect on men who relax and
rest as the bird sings.

The second stanza is replete with the pictorial and visual imagery of the tree and the
gray baboon and his offspring. In winter a gray baboon used to sit on one of the branches of the
tree watching the sunrise. On the lower branches, the offspring of thebaboon used to leap about
and pay. Gradually, as the sun rises, the “kokilas” begin to greet the day with their song and a
mesmerized Toru Dutt watches “sleepy” cows that have not yet shaken off their lethargy, on
their way to the pastures.

While in the third stanza, Dutt establishes that it is neither the stateliness of the tree nor its
external beauty that endears to her. She writes:

“But not because of its magnificence

Dear is the Casuarina to my soul:”

The beauty of the tree is no more than an added gift. Its actual importance lies in the fact that it is
a part of the Dutts’ existence, a reminder of family ties, of the warmth shared by three siblings.
The Abju-Aru-Toru bonding was indeed strong and in Sita Toru mentions, “Three happy
children…” sitting in a dark room listening to a story and then sighs because she knows that
they will never again “by their mother’s side/Gather”. Like Keats, she had to suffer a lot. She had
seen bitter struggle for life and death, untold miseries after the death of her beloved brother and
sister.

The fourth stanza is highly philosophical. The poet observes “Unknown yet well-known to the
eyes of faith”. Here the term ‘unknown’ denotes not simply the native home of the poet but also
the world of the departed soul. A man who has the eye of faith can see the unknown as well-
known. Yoga also says that when a man has an unwavering faith in the existence of the divinity
through the art of meditation and poetry, nothing remains unknown to him in the universe,
because he lives on the plain of consciousness, usually felt as vacuum of the transcendental stage
of smadhi. This is what exactly Toru Dutt feels here. Interestingly Toru’s mystical and
spiritualapproach to poetry is centered to her profound knowledge of great Sanskrit epics and
scriptures. The music which Toru refers here is not an ordinary music which we hear in our day
to day life; it is music of the soul, which once it is attained, never dies and continues to vibrate
with the highest percipience in the mind of the seeker. Toru Dutt is not like the “Skylark” of
Shelley, “the scorner of the ground” but she is the “Skylark” of Wordsworth “a pilgrim of the
sky” and does not despise the earth where cares abound.

At the end of the poem she absolutely transcends the mortal, materialistic and mundane frame of
mind and attains the power of love to overcome the negative forces of life like death and
darkness, terror and fear. In this stanza, the words and the phrases like ‘trembling hope’, ‘love’,
‘death’, ‘the skeleton’, ‘and oblivion’ are very suggestive. She means to say that a man of
unflinching love and devotion never fears the blows of death. Toru does not express any desire to
fade “far away” and “dissolve”. Their Casuarina tree does not make her long
for “easeful” death. Instead, even though its“timelessness” mocks the transience of the human
world, the tree is to her a support, a reminder of the joy she once experienced with Abju and Aru.
So, in the final stanza, Toru Dutt, aware both of Druidism and the customary tree-worship in
India, wishes to “consecrate a lay” in the Casuarina Tree’s honour.

To sum up, the poem “Our Casuarina Tree” shows a perfect blending of feelings and forms,
matter and manner. It contains what Eliot means by his phrase “unified sensibility”. It is a
combination of both the East and the West. In form, it is very near to the Romantic and the
Victorian poems. In theme it dives deep into the unfathomable ocean of the Vedanta and
the Upanishad of body and soul, life and death.