VOICE OF THE GROVE: SUGATHAKUMARI’S POETRY AS ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE

Abstract

This article argues that Sugathakumari’s poetry functions as a form of environmental praxis. Through close readings of key poems — notably Marathinu Stuth (Ode to a Tree), Rathrimazha (Night Rain), and Ambalamani— and situating these texts within the history of the Save Silent Valley movement and the poet’s institutional activism (Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi; Abhaya), the paper demonstrates how lyric language produced moral imagination, public testimony, and mobilising discourse in Kerala’s environmental politics. Combining close reading with contextual archival and secondary sources, the article shows how Sugathakumari’s verse migrated from page to protest and how her embodied ethics of care linked human vulnerability with ecological stewardship.