Parody poem or vidamban kavya is one of the popular and interesting types of poetry in Marathi literature. Acharya Atre, the well-known journalist, speaker, writer and poet showed his own special creativity in writing parody poems. He wrote many such poems that were based on Marathi poems written by great MARATHI POETS. He used the pen name Keshav Kumar for writing them. These parodies have their own poetic value. These Vidamban songs became so popular amongst Marathi readers that they are considered as valuable as the original creations. A collection of parody poems written by Acharya Atre is found in a book named “ZENDUCHEE FULE”.
A parody songs or poems are a humorous and somewhat sarcastic nature in which the intention is to amuse by providing good food for thought. The meter or chhand is used for drawing out humour. Although, parodies are more for the brain than heart, they never lose their poetic rhythm, which is important in evoking emotions.
Making fun of a situation or person is basically the idea behind writing a parody. When humour meets poetry, the creation that comes out of it is loaded with imaginativeness and which compels you to think in a kind of funny way; such kind of poetry is filled with twists and turns. One thing that needs to be understood is that humour associated with parodies can be classy without being cheesy situation comedy. Parodies thus, can be written in good taste. However, one has to accept that manifestation of humour in poetic form can appear awkwardly funny no matter how beautiful and grandiose the underlying thoughts that the poet has to offer. The audience can certainly appreciate parodies of the humour is dealt with and presented in an easy-going way.
There are chances of parody turning ugly when exaggeration, sarcasm and cheesy humour are put together in the form of verse. In such cases, the audience may find it difficult to digest or accept the thought in the poem. Parody is an important form of humour-filled poetry. Great writers can make use of verse as well as prose to create great pieces of parodies. P.L. Deshpande was one of the few great writers who could write great parody in prose. It is generally observed, that one can write a parody well in verse form than prose.
To make fun or to mock is at the heart of writing parodies. One important thing to note is that your audience can understand parody if they are aware of the original i.e. the creation/poem on which the parody is based. Since parody requires something as a base to build on, popular poems are generally picked for the purpose. It doesn’t mean you have to restrict yourselves to writing parodies on popular poems/songs. The poet enjoys the freedom and liberty to pick even those verses that are not popular.
When a parody is made, the rhythm, certain phrases and peculiarities of the original creation are generally copied and reused. Thus, the audience of a parody needs to be knowledgeable; which helps him/her understand the similarities between the original and the parody.
One important thing to remember is that parody doesn’t demean or devalue to the original creation on which it is based. In fact, it is observed that the audience appreciate those parodies which do not disrespect the original one in any way!