Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat was originally written in Tamil by Perumal Murugan and translated by N. Kalyan Raman. The book follows the concept of anthropomorphism, which means attributing human characteristics or behaviour to animals.
Storyline
“Once, in a village, there was a goat. No one knew where she was born. The birth of an ordinary life never leaves a trace, does it?”
PERUMAL MURUGAN
An old farmer is sitting by the hillock at sunset when a mysterious stranger comes with a baby goat. He is looking for a buyer for the day-old baby goat. He ends up giving it to the old farmer for free. The baby goat is the tiniest you would have ever seen and the old man looks at it in amazement.
The old man takes it home to his wife and thus begins the journey of raising the kid to adulthood. The wife lovingly names her Poonachi. She grows very attached to Poonachi just like her own child. Poonachi is malnourished at birth, but the lady nurtures her to good health.
The narrative takes you through a range of human emotions through the tiny black goat. It has been told through the views of the old man, his wife and Poonachi and all sides have been beautifully captured. Through the journey of Poonachi, the author reflects on our own response to love, desire, greed, life and death.
Anthropomorphism
The author has anthropomorphized the black goat to the women in Indian society or at times, women in general. Her struggles and dreams, and as she grows old, she is burdened with the responsibilities of her family and expectations from the people of the society and how she sacrifices everything to fulfil them.
The book represents rural India as it shows how the farmer goes through an inevitable cycle of debt, hunger crisis, and survival.
Survival challenges and our fears make us selfish and that has been portrayed well through the old man and his wife. Although, the lady is very compassionate and kind who treats Poonachi like her own daughter, but at times, she cursed her for even being born.
Closing thoughts!
The book is a very quick read that delves deep into human emotions. It is a political satire that explores how the government operates at the grass-root level. The writing is so effortless that you can finish it off in a single sitting.
It is a heartbreaking to see how animals are treated, so please be kind to them.
Poonachi is an important book and I would recommend everyone to read it once.
For more such book reviews, head to our website!
“𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
Amazing! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Wonderful choice of colors!
This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!
Hello. splendid job. I did not imagine this. This is a remarkable story. Thanks!
This is really attention-grabbing, You’re an excessively skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking extra of your fantastic post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find most of your post’s to be exactly I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content for you personally? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on many of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome website!
The post is extremely informative and well-written. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot from it.