The title of R. Parthasarathy's poem “River, Once” is highly suggestive. It indicates that it was a river once and it is no longer a river due to man’s indifference to the beauty of nature. The poet expresses his sense of shock at the degradation of the river Vaigai, which flows through the city of Madurai. Using the device of contrast effectively, the poet shows how the river that was once the cradle of a glorious culture has now become a sewer. The river is personified as a mother. The mother river feels for her lost glory and speaks about her present pitiable condition. The Vaigai was a fast flowing perennial river once and a glorious civilisation flourished on its banks. Now it has become a play-field for boys and the mischievous boys “tickle the ribs” with paper boats. The word “ribs” has been used metaphorically for the banks of the rivers. Buffaloes have turned the river into a pond and are wallowing in it. Once there were flower gardens on the banks of the river and now one finds only thorny bushes and shrubs.
“There is eaglewood in my hair / and state flowers. Now a lot of eaglewood floats on the water and state flowers that are thrown into it can also be sun. Once she was the refuge of emperors and poets. The poets of the past came to her for inspiration. She inspired them to write great poetry. Here the poet makes a reference to the three great Tamil Academies that flourished at Madurai in the ancient past and to the great contribution made by the sangam poets to the richness of the ancient Tamil Poetry. In the past, birds like Kingfishers and egrets were regular visitors and as a mother the river fed them. Now they have flown away as she is unable to feed them. The poet presents an altogether different scene of the river today in a humorous and ironic vein. Every evening “When bells roll in the forehead of temples”, a man comes to the river for defacating in it unmindful of the divine call of the temple bell. The poet presents this ugly scene to highlight man’s indifference to the beauty of nature. Once people congregated on the banks of the river Vaigai for noble purposes but ironically now they do so for different and unholy purposes. Now the river Vaigai has become a receptacle of refuse..
“River, Once” is indeed a powerful poem deeply felt and powerfully expressed. The river is a symbol of the flow of life but in its present contaminated state it is only a symbol what human life has become. Anguished over decay of the river the poet seems to convey the idea that nature has made everything beautiful but man has rendered it ugly because he has lost the sense of wonder and beauty. The poet has succeeded in presenting this idea tellingly through contrastive pen-pictures.