Modern Indian Poetry in English

Modern Indian Poetry

in English
Revised Edition

BRUCE KING

OXFORD
liN J Vl!RSI f'i PRESS
 Preface to the Revised Edition

This book consists of the original A1od~m lnduzn

first published in 1987 and slightly updated tn 1
new chapters. Wriucn in 1999, the new chapters rC2lJ
t cr c1 nUtrk ,roxro1d 1huvrrsity PrcS!i
sn themselves, survey developments in the pre\ 0
UK nl1n f'Mlllll oth r count rll'5 Chronology h.ts also uccn brought up to date in th cd
Along with Jiscu~>sions of recent books by establ1 hcd
f'ullhsh d 111 Jndtil new anthologies, and changes tn publishing and 1he
1J X1 nJ Un1v1 a IIV I New Deihl
the main new fc.uurc.o; nre .1 long essay on Agha Shah d
xl rd UuiVrDily I' res 2001 emerged a~ a maJor poet, and two chapters on s1gnifi
1 of 11 x thor h \1' b n r.seftcd
and what they reprcscm. tvbny will regard these as du~ _._,.,....,__
chapters of the book, but there is continuity as m~
(1 t.'lker)
sud1 as Agha Shahid Ali, Meena Alexander and B b
already mentioned in the first ec.lirion but were not
for reasons of space or because rhey had no1 pubhshed
Since lt1otl~m Indian J~urry in English first appeared 1\n
Mchrotra, Eunice de Souza and Makarand Parana~
unpormnt nmhologie.s which have brought new potts t
rcv1scd dac t.anon. As I re.1d reviews of poet.s b) poets.
h:ave \Hill aw ~rJs, .md discussed with poets theu rr:,~,,.......,~"'­
work of od1c , .l paHern emerged. Fin<1lly. how~
:.ts tlus depends on suhjecrive choic~:s. There were
thouglu ex~:;clleJH, others who seemed co me l
unpuhli!lhcd .tre.ts ufsot.:i.1l or cultural experien<X
brought intu dac hook. I do nor claim chat chese
llltt·rcsting new poets in lndia. The1e arc • fe,,
•bout but evcntu tlly dccsded not to include ~
work und no pod v.'3s willing ro convin~o.e me 1' '
can wruc. bour them. In some cas·~. I h H' l't"
I IJt tv 1 aty p pas!i O'>cr eHr.tl )Oung poets who c: wo1k i~ e ~ •
I N w 114"1111 I 10 001 not )C:l pubhshed a .. olumc: of poe11y n t ''h 1
H

Preface to the First Edition

In tha anuoductlon to the English-langu:age poetry of lnd1:a since

nauonal andepcndencc I wiiJ first be c.oncerned wnh It$ ha tory, how
II canon of &~gnafiant authors, hooks and text i bc:ang formed, rhe
> 1al background of the poet,, their market and reader , and the
Bruu KJng maan aesthetics of their work. Sub cquently I will di6\.-u du: most
•gnaficanr poet: , Nissim Eze~ R. Parthasarathy, A K. IU!manujan,
Kamal Jlal.., AJIT Juss<~waiJa, Arvand Krishna Mehrotra, Jayama
Mahapatra, G S. Sharat Chandra, Gievc Patel, Arun Kolarhr, Dallp
hurc:, E 1111 c: de Souza, Sanun Rodngues, Manohar Shcuy, alecm
~ radiO , M I me Silgardo, Vtkram Sclh and others, before ofTerang
a hronology of publscauons JOUrnal and events. This ss the first
comprchcn ave: tudy of modern Indian poetry an Engl1sh and my
appro h as ha toracal cuhural, socrologsal and Jnernry
My rcacarch and 60me ofthe writing took pl"ce in India dunng 1984
on a {llJOWihtp from the: Amen n In mute off ndian !Udses. Widaout
th u 1 n month grant I could not h:.v started. I m al o happy ro
acknowledg rhat a pcraod as a Ki11olar 111 rc:.sadcncc ar the Rockcfc:llc:r
Foundauon Research Center an Dellagio, Italy, allowed me: to wnrc:
or revue 10me haptcr5an cxcremely plc:lS:lnt urmunJi11gs. A N;ationaJ
Endowment for rhc Humaniucs iummer stipend 111 I CJ85 allowed
me ro omplccc my manuscnpr Fanally, Jam indc:bt<:d to the lndulfl
poeu, an ludang wmc who are not mcnlloned an the: fnJI~,win~ pages,
thcar fm:ndt, pubfa hcrt and several Jnd IIlii • cadC:IIliC:S (~,r tllf 01 llHI I ttiU,
a~d, photoooptet, books, JOurnals and huspuality. ~lulc my "lc:hu ol
thiJ kind arc 50 1mmcruc that I dare not attempt tn lru rhc m.auy IIIHIC
here, I mwr parucularly thank Nt am Ezekiel, J::.yauta Mahap.um,
Adal Ju awalla Arvand Kn hna Mchroar:~, Ma11uh:u Slaetty nnd
Ayyappa Pantk 'r for thcar fncnchlup as wdl. 1111s bo ,k •~ dedi red
10 them
on tent

PMu I
llurodth 111111

II I !.story lltcll'uhli ldng Gil'clcs II

Ill I hr. l'n 1s, their l{t'. dc1:. .unl the M.ul er 47
rv
V l'oclll \11d
..
llli~:;ISill

VI
\II I h l'o 1 In ha I· !,:.zekiel, Ram umjun, Po~Lcl,
Dillll\\ lila, hh Ku111nr 110

129
ll7.l, ilg udc) l 7

162
I
xu hill I lm, Kum tr,

Ill \nd l' cum I 1Cha muh 41tul lu s.t,,illl t

P\1' I I

1\ It'
27

' 7
 <ON II· NTs

XVI Marum}; .Mora~s. Pecradina, Ramanujan,

P2rel SheH). Mehrorra, Daruv.-ai!J,
de Souu, Alexander 295

G N~ ~omen Poets. ShJ\~asani, P~rcl, D'Souza,

Sambf3ni, q_,harker, Dl\'d.karum, Bhatt
XV1Il N~ Poers, Styi<'S, and Feelings: Hoskote,
312

Thayll Surcndran, Nambisan, Mercham,

IUo, Padhi, Kh:ur, Pr.uad, R:unakrishnan 333
Chronology ofSJgnificmr Publicuions,
Journals and E'lenu, 1947-99 355
Chan 1: Life and Career Derads of Some Poets 38~
PART
Chan 2· Anthologies, Publishers and Awards 397
Chan 3: Imporram Amhologized Poems 399 1
Index
403
CHAI'fE I~ ONl

Introduction

Modern l ~dian ~nglish languagcpoetr} isoncofthcmany•ne'"

literature wht\. h began to emerge .u the end of rhc Second World
War after the end of cohmialism. Unltke the \.rcatt~e wnung of
Afnca and thl ( anhbcan, .~cdc_:n I.ndian poetrv in ~ ngltsh has
been neglected bv mo t '''tics, loretgn reader-; md tntcllcduals
for It has no obvious direct relationship to the culturalmov~­
mcnts whac.:·h led to n.Haon.ll independence; by 1947 the siw.uion
hnd changed and "'ith it the com:ern of tht· new rnetc; bt'C:\mc
their rclataon'ihap to and alien;)tion from the re:tlities ot thcirso~:ietv.
In p.utiwl:u, the)· f.H:ed a dul~enge from older nnuonalist inr;J.
lntuals and from n•g1nnalists who demanded a rcnailisanc..: ol the
culture of dte prl!-c.:uloniallanguages of India.
The onh· answer to those who claimed that Indiars could nut
wntc.: authenti~.: poetry in th~ English in which they h.td been edu-
cated was to write poet n as good .1s that nf Brirtsh, Americ.ln and
Irish poets, hut w writt' it about lndi.m lives and condiuons. "llw•
in Jt!;clf became the basts ol ,1 stiiJ ulntinuinl!, conflit:t .1s cuhut,tl
conservatives, n;1tionalists. nd political radtc:tl~ "'•'m~d a litl'ra
ture about traditional c.:·ulture or the poor .1ml the rural Hindu
ma1>ses, whereas the poets wc.:rc.: mor~ likdr to be wrll t'duc.ued,
mtddle das and pan of or .tware of the modern wcqcrn1zeJ
culture of the citi~.: , uni\'crsitic~ :md proiev,innal cb-.st''>. The}
often haJ been rai,ed in l.tmilie~ where En~lish was <Hll' tll the
languages spoken, attended good l~nglish-languagc sehoul.,, e.uly
l.tllen in lovt• wuh the f·.nglish l.lnguagc.:· .md ir., liu·tatmc, .1n_d
bcc.:n either hrnugln up in .1 cultured environment or bv_t11l'lr
university d.ty~ h.ul frica1J~ with .ln interest in .the ,\rt~ .tnd tde.ts.
·1he supposedly tr.lllitional~.:ulrurt.>of the I Imd1 spc.tkang ma,,c~.
or ol thcu PJr si or G<Jall Catholil' famrlie!>, w.ls 1.1th,·r arrdcv.ull
tu them or, rn ~onw c:ts~.·s, was p.ut ot the n~'>ll idiom .l~:tlll't
whtdt tltc\ wcr c t ebclling.
Man)' of the poets ll·ft lndi.l fnr mdv ~nd tr.wd abr(l.td.' or
out of d1 atasla~.:tion In this they Y.l're nu d1ffercm from pre:' lllll'i
INTRODUCTION
3
and Melanae Salgardo have appeared ..... has 11 b
b d f •- a sma ut rap1dly
an muang o yo cnucalstudaes an books and d
on the poetry aca cm1c JOurnals
Desptte connnuang attacks on the lnd 1an En g1I h poetS, t he1r
p au tn m od em I n d1an cu Iturc 1 recogmzed Th....1r poetry •os pan
I
of the prou
_1: o f mo d
b I ern1uuon wh1ch 1nclud-... ur ban1zat•on,
111dutmauzauon, mo taty, andependencc, socaal chan e, mcrea ed
1

communacataon (an the form of falms • rdev1 1on • ra d1o,.g JOurna1

and newtpapnw), nauonal and tntmlaoonaJ trampon.auon networks
mus education and the resultmg paradox that a an tndepcndcn;
naraonal culture emerge at also pan:ic1patc an the mtemauonal,
modem, u ually westernazed world. Unles ome new radical
change occurs, lndaan socaal and econum1c progrc 1 linked to
the same processes of modernization whid1, for h1stor1cal and
polattcal reason , have become wedded to the prtad of the
Engl11h language and the evolution of an r ngl. h language
culture along adc Hmdi and the rcg1onal lan~uagc Although
pre ently the language of only 5o me four per cent of the popula
taon and wnh nu rc:g1onal base, I· ngllsh 1s the bnguagc of tho c
who govern, c.:ommumcate, produce and make dc~.:mon :u the
nauonal level A the language of upward rnobahty nd modern
c n umer t te , 11 u a likely to prcad further nd a~ u (loc 1t
Will an rea angly become lnd1 mz d. a procc s .Ire dy noticeable
an maguanc and an l· ngl1sh language poCtf') m uch f ture a
the yntax, word order, lex• , 1daoms, pronunc1 uon, mwnauon
and trc pancrns Tha rcflc~.:ts a change m mentality ngh h'
no long r the language of colorual rulers, 11 r I nguagc nf
m dern lndaa 1n whu.:h word and cxprc 1on ha\C' rnowm~ed
national rather than rmportcd s•~ruficancc'i and r fdcrH.: • lludmJ;
to local realaue5, tradition and w.1ys of fcclu1g. ut:h lrulaanaza
uon ha been proccedan., for ~cvcrnl gc11cr •r•ous u11d IS prornmc•H
an the poetry of Kamala Da" and Prrmh Nand), r111J prt ·nt..
lth ugh more nuanc.:t·d, in the work ul Kck• l>.u ltw.11la, ll ,.,
mor hkely to be felt in tcmls of vn1c~: and !<itrr:s5 '" the V< r.;c of
Ezeka I and Jayanta Mahapatra, or m the k111d of rJpHIIy pre c I
aron1e found an the poetry of Ramanup!ln. I
The poet a a group tend tO b ni:argmalto tr:ul!uon I 1 me1u
·1 l • tl• 1r l•ngh h bnrru gc
1 ry not only by beang aItenateu '> ,c " 11
education but a1 o more igmfJcantly, by commg frt'"'
b uc
ommunm u th~ Parsts, jew and Chnsuan , ur 'Y mg
 MODERN INDIAN POF'T'RY IN fNCllCill
•rebell d Islam or b) la"mg abroad Many (Jf
from Handw m anlin that have already been panJy "c'itcr
me c:ome from arru ely dunng thc1r ch1ldhood sc\ eral
ruz«< or that mo.:d!n xtenh:,l The often do not h:n c local
to~ b~tt up m urban centres or stu?•cd or
1 .
wert
r ba.,e d h I n the r iormauve ycus Thc1r per
yeiJedabroa w aest 1 U lk f h
e modem ather than tradluonal. n I e many o t e
lerb and the bourgeoa ae who attempted to 1m nate the
Jlrlaslll, th
no ther authenU\: mentalny for the poet ex ept
f the tDOd m w rid and ats concerns, whach the) may
a e b 1 of whac:h the are a pan, as are an mcrcas-
aumber of Indian
Si.oce Ezdtel publ hed has first book (1952) and the
lllMtNti4l Wttld and Tho11ght began pubbshmg Engl1sh-
lll:tplge pocuy 1 h tory of publicataon, maJor works, JOurnals,
ewaa. penonaiiaes and awards has already developed. There
are perhap muty poets recogntzed to be of wonh, a number of
OtiiiF poets pmng to that ude and probablr several hundred
who ve publishtd volumes of poetry an Englash.
More RpJficant than the acbaevements of individual poets 1s
the npida w11h hi h lndaan Engh h poetry has become a
-IUSWDIJlllradltlon wath rccogmzable models, penods and
ia8ueaca. Where the earl Ezekiel and P. Lal offered rwo contrast-
modeb ance then Ramanu)an, Panhasarathy, Daruwalla,
Malupatra Kamala Da Vskram Seth and de Souza are among
tbote who have moved poetry mto new dimenstons, as Ezeksel
tmu to do Pons have a wader vanety of lndtan poem<i,
tea pnspe uve , form and subJect-matter for models. How a
nauoaal tradmon 1 bemg formed can be seen in the way Ram-
anu an poetry a an example for Panhasarathy's Rough Passage,
while Panhasarathy mfluenced Santan Rodngues's poems about
has own Goan hentage.
There are tdenuf1able penods when Indian poetry took new
direcuons, such as the focusmg on the actuallly of personal and
family life by Kamala Das and Ezektel m the early '60s or the
xpenmental poetry of Mehrotra, Kolatkar, Nandy, Ch:trc and
~apatra whtch began to appear m the later '60s and early 70
rmcwed more dct.asled, satmcal and yet compassionate focus
n communal and fam1ly hemage has become evtdent more
recent1y
INTROIHI TII.JN
Wath ca.,;h decade an Iller a In'' "" d
. "' m
I
s
Ia y .iii H II l"ht 11 d
:awarenc s (l f .. ctua I lnd1an expcncnce 1o; nouc 3 l l "
nu •ht be a m:m~.:r ot kmds of tcchn,qu a d , c While th1
narwwmg of the dlo;tnn~.:c of the pnct' .pn ex pre I fnh, n r fl
,j
ere pt1ono rorh•m
eJf as poet f rom t he actualnr~ of the com munn 11fe 1 d not
0
mean t I1'\t t hc poet 1s Ics con c1ou of b JnP 1 1
0 1 u .nee or a11cn t d
but rat Itcr t hat poctr} . TC\ ee~ls more of tl 1c en' 1r nm nt f oth '
11\eS, an d o f t I tc pc~1f1cs of da1ly life 1nclud --'
0
h
,, h 1 h • lnl; rucauon "It
ot hcrs ,V/ 1 c l 1s 1s dear m the \Cr c of 1 un 1~.: d sou:r. , s.a1 m
Pccra d ma an d Manohar Shctt} • c\ en the older p t wnt mor
dtrect Iy·1f romda conrext·thanJ>rc\ 10usly· fhc 1r1c ca cd pcrccptlf n
o f cI eta1 s an . mcmones
I . of Indian soc1al reality, fo unu-1 111 t 11
work o f Ezc k I~: • Kamala Da , and Ram:unl)an dunng the '(0
and rakcn up by Oaruw:1.lla, has nc1w been 11\tcrnat.zcd ,~nt'
rel;ent poetry being richt~ r in its sense •1 1 ln~.:auon rul ril~gc of
ubJCCt matter.
(If at firsl modern lndi.1n Engl1sh verse appeared to he mdcbrcd
to Driu h and a few Luropc:m models, n nO\\ reveal an aw rene
of mo t of world ltt~.:rature, including contemp' rary Amen an,
recent South Amcncan, and older lnd tan dc\OtJOnal \Cr c 111 the
reg1onal languages. Jn thts Indian Engli h langua~e poctf'\ 1 no
different from that of the rcgaonallanguagcs, whtch I o durmg
the coloma! pcnod followed Bmi~h examples and com cnuon of
ver c. Around the umc of nauonal mdcpcndcncc It tarred 10
reform 1t elf a a modern lncrawrc by mcorporaung the t hm
que and themes of uch maJOr twentieth centur") modcrn1\t a
T S Eliot and Ezra Pound, by dascovenng the great b dy c I
french CXpCrtmCnta) poetn from the niOCtC nth CCJilUr)
Rtmbaud and I amrcamont to the twcnucth centurv dad:u t :an I
urreali ts, while lcarmng frorn the politt~.:al poctr) of Ncruda
and others. Sc\ era! of the I· ngli!lh-languagc poet~. su~;h a Kol:ukar,
RamanuJan and Chitrc, arc also Ill\ olvcJ \\ nh d1an~c 111 the
reg1onal hter:uun s.
The poet's decisiOn lO usc I· ngllo;h l'i mnucncrd by eJuc uon,
but al o bv the .5tate of regional -langu.t~c poet rv Kamala [)as
ay that\\ hen he began wnting m I nglldtthcrt• wo~s no modern
poetry m Malayalam. Manohar Shctl) ay thin Ill 'I ulu, the bngu c
of ht fam1ly there l no (;~c.llti\'C ln datun.: I he many Par 1 P0 t
wmmg m E~gla h may be cxplamed by the fa t that Pars1 Gu,;m'lll
1
1 a daalect Without a tradition of cnou cn:auvc lite: raturc he
 MOOfRN INDIAN 1'01'1 R\ IN I N <, t.J s tt
INTRODU C flO N

' 81
lay of Enghsh language poctrv \\ 1th that m the rcgion.11
cap sub cct that need further studv .
1
., . .
liS tn Cr C.lSIIl g Openn ess .HHi imm f'
Mchrotra' early bhmat mata a I Ct •acy :sa so noticeable in
, )
7

am•UII•..., ~~ rol~ laved by Kolatkar and Churc 111 de' clopang ~ I .

the poctrv o f Sa ecm Pce radina Bcside!i 1
,,., rycr, anu omev. hat I .
ater '"
1
Bes d J p etry 10 a nc\\ d1recuon, the poet ha, c been · · JCtng tne start of a h· hi
s u llJCCtn c p1 otest poetry, sometimes w 1itt en b , •g }'
~an ua pn tran lanng from regional language . There counter culrurc of the '60s strencothened th . > Nandv, the
an d med'ae,.: a.I ~1·am1l
1
P trill act" • I · d · " c llllcrest tn su rreal
000
b RamanuJan from dass1ca d ad atst an expenmcmal verse which had 1 1 b '
and modem Kannada by Mahapatra from modern Onya.' by by Kolatkar, C hitre and others 111 Marath i ~~~~~1 YMcen ~xp~~cd
K tkar rom Maratha, by Chatre from modern and n.1ed~eval and o ther regional languages had rel:ent tradit' e 'farat .• nya
11

Marathi b Patel from Gu,arau, bv Mehrmra from Hmd1, by .. • II ms o cxpcruncnta

I t')t , avant-garde wnttn g, Indtan English lant~u b
p Lal from Saruknt.. by Nandy from Bengal.i, Urdu and other . . h d' . 0 age poetry egan
deve Iopmg m sue 1rcct10ns after 1965. Among the poets of
Imp p LaJ and Nandy have been espec.1al.ly acuve as .pro- the avant - ga rd e were ~ehro~ra, Kol at k.tr, Chitre, Mahapatr,,,
IDOitel'l and pubhshm of translation from classacal and regmnal ~and) and Deba Patna1k ; whtlc they have gone on to write other
linguae E ekael and G S. Sharat Chandra ha"e also been in- kmds of poetry. some of thctr best-known poems, su\:h .1s Mchro-
.lved watb tran lauons from lndaan languages. Just as English t~a's 'The Sale' and 'Continuities', Kola tk.tr\ 'the bo.ltlidc' ami
bu become the link' language for anter regional communication ~httre's 'The Amb_ulancc ~id e', show how l ihcr.ltin~ .tncl produc-
for ch groups as admmastrators academics and the professional t1VC was suc:h expenmentaltsm. If rl·~~nt poet~, p.mi\,;ul.uly Sil~.trdo
Eaclish translation serves as a link cultural language, makmg and Shettv, have taken a ren ew~d ltlten:st m thl· more logtcally
anilable co the maddle classes the vanous regional languages and de'reloped 7 more: tormally organ1zed Jy,,~.:, they can do Ml with,,
m clauacal tradtnon sense of having been freed fro m the necessity of bcginnin); ·' poem
The Eagli h language poets mtere5t in devotional verse is part wirh a statement which is logicall y dl"H.·Ioped to J conclusllln.
the mcreasmg range of Indian English-language poetry. Whereas Their poetry is m ore linear .md argurnent.Hi' ely \,;onstruucJ than
the gnificant poetry of the '50 and early '60s was primarily the that uf M eh rm ra and .Mahapatra, but it is st tl l more open, more
penonaJ hon I nc, often confess1onal or argumentati\ie, in the read ) to haft to the unexpec ted 1n ubjcct nuuer anti im.tge' and
mid '60s poet found new modes of express1on. While Ez ekiel to off(;r uncon ventional emotion . than the poetry wrsttcn
and RamanuJan were already familiar wath American poetry, the bcn~ een 1950 and 1965; it is more .tssociation.tl m org.tnilttton
Amen n mfluenc on lndaan poetry became more sigmfil:ant in th 1 log1callv structured.
the rmd •60 when Daruwalla, Shiv Kumar and others began tO 1 he open: asso\_;i:nional poet ry, with its ~urp~ismg ltlHuc.1~s ,
11m for a 1 formal, dtrcct per onal \'Oice and diction and to
pn mmcnce of such topics as ~u i lt, c;cxu.tl iw ..unbltlon, nu·mm.tcs
wnte about ordmary expcnencc an recogmzable locations. The of pa'i t r(•bell io ns, co nfl ic:ts, shn mes, cluldhood .111d ll)vc aH.urs.
man-alone m-a hostile world attitude, with its sense of opposition, .1nd the assertio n of :\n an icui.H <.' but fra<.:tun·d sell. w.ts P 1rt o~ the
co nfessional mode th.u stan ed in Anwril.l J urin~ tl!t• c.u I!, SO<-
h'rucasm and the tronae of ltfe, found m the poetry of Daruwall:t, . 11 was pr:a:u·c;ctI ·tntt·•·n.ll!ona
· II}· ~~1 urinv~"~ the '60s
U~ts affamue an ~mencan literature, as does Daruwalla's tru ~t an d w hac . · I hc.:rt·
had always been ,, conll·sswna · 1tnuI'· Hton tn mm Clll
1, lndtwnncttv
•. r 1
m ed peakmg votcc Although he continues to usc naditional rr::- k f k • f II I t >11' w lm ltfc , ml a
as t"..ZC ael 's pot·tr)' o ten rn a ·cs usc o ·' l s t .
proso Y and formal stanzaac shapes, the voice seems closer w the 1 D ·, hi,·hh crnouvc, self
~penence fof the cnses than an previous Indian poetry where des1rc for personal ch an~e, tlU I Kanu ·1 as ~"~ . I .
·I ' nnft'S\Itm.ll ; 'i tc: WrOl(
were was o tm a distance bctween mora1refl ecuon. and actuality. rcvclaton.• moody poems wen. : rnuc 'more ~ J
There 15 a) openly about •1 ' • n ' , Hll>ll'>.' -.aJucs an 1mpe •
\aned, olten ~,;On t ~.: u nt; cnH
poruons of~an opcnnes ' especially noticeable in the middle 1
without bemg l:om.:erned-as Ezc..:kH.-1'-" ~s-wilh ~,;on s~'tt'lll Yh·~?t 1
lope. ~arrauv: ~~:- as af assocaatton w_ere takmg over from the w11l for self-improvement. WI 1{ rc. J d'
1
as the auto >togr.lp t ~o: a
d 111 Das's
an an argument. e cxpcnence Itself mstead of an example elements m Eze~ael 's poetry usual1y appcarc t:o.taiH.:C '
\
 1 N I R o I) U < II IJ N
9
~cqucn~;c anntbcr rmtan~c o( an lndran 1 nglrsh poet seck1n
I!;

rcconulcmcnt wuh a tradrtrun ~rom wl11ch he feels alienated an~

of whh. h he r ratlonal_ly CCpll\:al. A different pproach to the
problem of rcrntegrauon rs Jussawalla'• 'Mi sang Person' in
wh1~h the *•enatcd mrddle-dass mtcllcctual i atinzed for Ia k
of \;ommitrncnt to the rcvoluti<?nary t~1rcc of history While su~h
longer scqucn\;cs uf poems, wath thc1r extended range of themes
:and subJect matter •. may ~c~rn a. world away from I· zckrcPs early
lync , rt w.l l!.zckrcl whu 1n 7h<· Unfimshcd M.m first showed
lww a unrf1ed vrsion could he put to~cthcr rn whidt divcr~e lvri~;;s
were linked hy theme, implied narrative, imagery and rccu;ring
hut developing umccrnc;,
lnJ1:U1 I· ngli'ih poetry has ~>incc independence ,1lret1dy evolved
rnto a litcr.try traditiOn wirh a hislory of major journals, such a-'~
Poetry India and Opnnon Literary Qu.ntcrly, imcrcstin~ liule
magazim:s such as d,unn )fJtt .1nd Dit.tloguc, ~..:cmrnl volumes sudt
as I· zekicl's The Unfmisbed .Man .we! !'he l~xclCt Ntlme, KJrrula
Das's fiurmnr, m Calcutta .tnd Ramunujan's Th£' ~tndcrs, which
hcgan .1 c..:111on and which, belonging to the mid '60s, are now
regarded as pan of a gulden age. h i~ a stil! vaal, l~ving, cv~lving
traduaon, as is shown by the, often prcl::llrous, e)(lsl~nu.~ ot such
JOUrnal c\S ClumdtabiMg.r, K.wl-lnclia ~md the lndum f.ttcrary
Rt vtc'll, t. ach and all of whil.h may have disappc;1r"d by the trme
you rt•ad th is, no doubt lo be repl.tccd by other _wn:h-bc.ner5 nf
contemporary puetr"}'· And there have bt.·~n cx~ttang fir~t v~lumcs
publashcJ more tcccntly, such as I·unacc de Souz.t s Fa. and
M. nohar Sheu(s A Guarded ~p.ut'. . .
Whale lndrtn I· nglish pot.'Lry .1ppc.tr~ firmly e tablrshcd, tn
\:OIHrast w the 1950'> when it lurdlv exited ~cyond tht.' sdf-
pubhsheJ \ olumc~ ol Ezekid a~J the puhlr~.Ltron ul . D~~
Mur:u· in rn~l.tnd, it still }'l.ls m.lJnr problem\. Mor~ pmtr~ ~~
bcmg. wrtttcn th,\1\ l)C f01 e nmI pu ll' 1 1 1 H: r., lt.'l.t.'l\'l'
• llt.lllus~;rtpts
b . k·
, I' 1 1
<.:Vnv d l)' fi om new I· ng l'i 1- angu.tgc 1~ , . ., 1cts lwprug toI n:n mtn
p rmt but ' f~.·" J>uhlashc.'rs
. w1'II pu ll' I .
l J)o 1 pm try.
Tlu· on. y pcommcr-I
,
caal publrshin'' hnuSL5 to do )tO arc 0 xI<, n i U111\'t'tksll ·Y rc!lo; 3nt11
ArnuiJ I h:lllt'm:trut; tbt.• 1ll Ilen <'rgut:. 1•I1at 1tit~; mat1 l't·•Is.;wo
,., .;ma
pO':i'iible
• \V 1 "!
v.' 11 c t 1JC () x1or' f st.'IICS snOW'i lt lJl
1
to mak<.: a p~t1flt.
1'
lllt'o;hcd narnt.·s
1 · authors
to make a profu t•n pol'lf)', ~etr f Oxford Univcr ity l'res!!'s
1 arc c a

and the hook~ ha\c the bt:nc.:fu " · InJ 1'a is JHi\attl ·
name and drstrr buuon . n<•t wnr k· MC.l t pocll)' Ill
~ A~ 1 OETR'\ IN £ Gll Ji

CHAPTER ~0

History and Publishing Circles

A un e} of the hi tory of modern Indtan poetry wtll show how

the emergence of the new poet!") depended on the poets them
ehes who, along v. ith a few ednor and promoter , had to be
their own publishers, crmcs and ponsors. Although the new
poetry v. as. often closely associated with the development of
other post-mdepend~nce arts such as drama and patnting, the
poets had to create thetr own cultural space, stan their own JOurnals
and edtt and publish each other's manuscripts. Ther was no c1 •ntt-
nuny bet'\\ een the new poetry and that written before indepen-
dence Poetry of the pre-mdepcndencc pcn1od v. a , the wrner
felt, a rna of emiments, cltche , outdated language nd conven
uon , the o stfted remam of a coloma! tradiuon bad I\ 111 need of
a new tart through grafting on a VItal body of contemporary
'erse and contact wtth contemporary ltfe and spec h Ni ~•m
Ez.ek1el appear to ha' e been the onlv poet to have been for
penod of ht youth anfluenced by an older Ind1an poet: Armando
ienez.e wa h1s fir t model, but he oon turned w a more
m d m 1diom
Th new poet:s "ho began to appear at 1ndependcn c were m
I \ e 'W th the English 12ngua •c, excited by thc1r dt co .. r) of such
late nmeteenth-century and twentteth-<:entuf} puct Hopkm.,,
Yea , EIJOt, Pound and Au den; thctr concern 10 the•r wnnng
were IOdJvJdual or c pre sion of the human ~ondJtam '"gencr.:
rather than the pea:.-ants and the now upcr eded 1 uc of pollllca
and p nd nee The nauonalist poliucal need for a u.,ablc pa t,
Hh at empha 1 on nauonaI cIas ICS, naytn ology and n:pre dcntah
1

u n of typ•cal character , no Ionger ecmcd rclt:vant f In tea • t c

1 d
bout 11 c tnt 1c ~tty n
un er p t were more: I1keJ) to wnte a
11 ctr cmpha 1 "'a more
e r p r nal de Jr and d • content . 1
th a then • ethJ I or mterp r onal than on
m nd m r.h J The new poetry wa P3
::t:he
I
;~:~~~~
 Ill 101110 I
I II I 1I I T 0 It Y A N I I I' U 8 I I II I N t t 1 1\ c 1 1 s
13
and he cl11 I I be St udcnt \f.!or/rJ It 1 tl IC 1ate 1940s he
II r I11111 A lk :tJ, w I10 wa til play u~..h a me1
Jcv lopm m o( the nrc II\ ln<lta Alk ttl att~r rdmcn~\ role sn the
'"nt r w lu dramn group and <~ver th• tc, nne cctual ,:md
lh,ml ay puct~ were part of a •rei wad 1 ch ycdar' many of the
arc •merest 10 the
, JrtcHI art , c p 1a II y t h c theatre When Alka1 0 d 1 d
dt Jlll3 Ill I ondon, he • dvi cd l"?cktcl al '' I CH•1l al beet dec tOd tu y
roa to c t11.:atc
0
IHill If an ~.;Ontcmpclrary culture A I z ·kscl Otlld not alford to
trnvd Alkazt gave hun a one way hoattt kt.1 to 1 ngl. nd In l·ngl:tnd
I Lekt I met Kc hav Malak . (b. I9l8) • who wa t1 1c f'•r 1 1ttcrary
d nor o f 1IH N cw IJc II 11 poln.•t.al Jf'IUrt\ I 1J,,11 ght, started '"
1948, and wh' w t gmng to the m.lllgur almt.'ctmg of &he C'rmgrc~s
lor Culturnl l·rccdom. M.1lak wnt; .t th 1t tunc al~o a Jcmoa.1tac
Ol.l:lll'lt, a fc,llt'JWt r ol M. N. Roy's H.adi~.: 1l I 1 muq uc Mmc
nH nt Alter I• zt•ku~llwgan J~ubli'lhmg in lhiush lttcr.u v Jl..lllrrt:tl
nr
he was lmJil~lll ,,., the .lltt'llllllll M.wdy, who .tsl,L·d him LO SCilt t
poems to th~.: 111145/Y•Ift d Wlec/.:ly. lie ,\hit) puhli hcd 111 J'bu11ght.
When he ICIUIIIl'd lo Bomb 'Y in IIJS2 M.md , hirl'd him 1s .111
'""'st.u\1 'dittll; .unnng his dutil's "lS lo advts~ tho~(· whn
<>Hhnultcd pc t'lll tn the Jl!ustt.ucd \'1/c~~·J..·I) how tlwu wu1k ~.ould
be unproved Among the e.ulv CLJilll ilnHOI s wlul shu\\ t•d thear
work 10 h•cka:l wa.:tc D 'Ill Mor,ll'S (h 193X) ami Kcrs~)' Katr.1k
(b I 'J%). lie al tJ nu~t K:un. I D.ts (b. I1)'\c,) wlu1 had hecn
puhll hang m PIN Sllh.;l' I'H8.
Mot acs' fadacr ".ts a Wlll-known t•diwr ,ttld JPUrnah 1 liHI
Dom Montes h:td 111 has teem publi:ihnl a siHlrl stot \ 111 the
ll/11 u.rtc;d \\, ckly. I: zckid ~ah 1 cd hun nor w ht: wal11111; to
ll.~o:Cpt the c:t )'. ~..:col.tdl·:-; ,1\',ul. hlt• 111 Ind1anlatcr r l an leo; hut h)
nmpl'lC b'·uusl Bnush t nd.uJ,, Knu.1l , "hu "a ~~~ lCtot m
Alka;r.r' dt:llll:l gtoup, bcg.u1 Wrttllt~ ltJill,Ullll: Vl'r~l' .H 'Sdwnl,
but alter Ius rntl'll'sts llllllt.'d w mmktn poctt\ he.: h~d. ltL· •~·
mcrnhll'>, no tHll' tu discuss 1t \\ ith tH tl~t· llllH l'Xlt:pl l•z~.:kl.cl.
llck•cl .,, l'IIl thwugh his ptll'II\S L.udulh, an.tktug hu.u Jmtd
cal:h word. M:tn > ol 1he poi.'Jll\ in till' Iit~~ bo11ks IH' publt,bul ·'"'
an 1'7lku:l's Sl)'k and 3Jl\'l'.ll '\tllll'U .11-1 p.Ultll,t da.tlo~lll'•tbt•ut
how to hH Th, mru.ll ~llHlp ol IIHidCII\ l·nglish l.111~ 11 ·'gl' pt~t·t~
tl •1•11lll'l l't'llCI rltHHl
Il ad f1.: \\ C 0 llt l L I 'i \\ II Il tn 1.I ll 0 :i lll' JHll I fI ll J1l. llI j )t1tll
' t'l
htH'J'l' ,lll\1
l
ol 11111 aunalasl , man t>l "' Iwm It.H l 1c ttt rrtu1 and lat,•tar' .
mag.t
were tarung tht·tr o\\ n IHlrt I" l I pn It ll 1.,,1 th a l:umllls
• .
fHl\'l' 1ast
l
lint' K:urak 1en\l'mlcrs Ic,,, 1111; Iu-s podliS 1
who n:turncd them l\) him month I. tea "1tht1utl:t lllllll'lll.
Ill !'i 1 U R 'I 1\ N fl I'll D I ISH I N G c IRC I S
IS
to pre\ ious Indian poetry; it was a ubst.tntlal vol , h ·
· f 1 · · umc, OW111g a
\Jnt:tyo te~.: llllqucc;rang~nglaornfrccversctotrtdtt
. '" '
wna 1prosody
and had a dt~ll.nct _Pcr.wna and point of\ icv.. h nught be cons 1 ~
dercd th_c bc.gmnmg of th<:' C:tnon ot nwdl'rn lnd iun I· n li h
poetry. It lnd1an pucts o~tcn a\\ poctl') as the hobb, of an m~tcur
who wrote OCCaSIOnal piC\;es In pan: lime, fzekicJ \'icv. c.•J po~.:LrV
a· a '1\ av of life; a poem was pa1 t of an CV<)Ivang bnd) of work, a~
c~:press10n of a hfc as a poet. Soon after IllS return to Ind 1a he pn-
\ arc I\ publtshed Sn:ty Poem' ( 1953); as there w.1s then no poetry
pubJj hmg !Jouse and n(l mean of d1 trtbuuon he left ~o::OplC f r
sale at the trand Bookshop an Bombay
A round 195 ~ F zckiel joined PEN .lnd became a sisrant cdnor
of their io.un~al, P~:V• .v. htch had been publi hing smce 19H,
after Soph1a Wad1a s rcuremcm he became cd1tor. Over the vears
the poet appeared in PEN, as did re' icws and orne an.clcs on the1r
work E.zck1d also founded Quest (1955), a general intellectual
rc' 1e" associated with liber<tl democratic politics, span ored b)
the Congress for Cultural Frc,•dom. Ezekiel w,1., It~ fir t ednor
umilmid 1957 and remamed a literan advisor O\ er the vears unul
It cca cd publicauon '" uh the f. rnerg~:nC) .and "as super eded by
eu Quest. As a general intellectual rev1cw con~crnc(l '' nh the
problems of modern lnd1a, omewhat on the model of EPICotmtcr
m England, Quest helped make moJcm lndi.tn poetn pan of
contemporary lnd1an culture. Among its earl} conmbutors "ere
Morae , Lal, Adil JussawalJa (b. 1940), KamJia D.1s, KaLrak.
R. Partha arath) (b. 1934), A. K R manuJan (b 1929) Dll1p
Chitre (b. 1938) and Arun Kolatkar (b. 1912), tlu latter publt hcd
a poem an the fir t i sue. A b1lingual poet" ho expcnmcmcd "tth
tran laung h1 "'ork between the t" o langua e~. Kolatk r-.a
painter and b) profcs,;ion a graph1c des1gncr \\as part of Bomba\
1arathl bohem1a rather than Engh h- pcotkang um~cr It} or
profe sional cm.. lcs. He rhought lor many } c rs that ht: "a
the onh Engh h-language poet m India. as Anmd Mehrotra
(b. 194 7) and fnend "'c.: r~.: later to do Jn Allahah 1d. D1l1p Clmre
met Kolatkar in 1954 through theM rath1 poetn cene Jn whl h
Kolatkar "a n leadc.:r of the a\ nt garde poets, lhe) hdpcd co- du
Sl abd , a tcncalled M:mnhi literar) journal \\ lu h appeJrcd
lrrcgularl) b rn ccn 1955 and 1960 Outre became a regular oonm
butor 10 Qu st nd later one of the ednors of Neu Quest Anoth
p et who appc.ar d m Qu st '\\a GJC\ c Pat I b 1940 , a medaa
l
flltTOaY AND PUBLISHING ClllCLES
17
lipifiet that modern andaan poetry an English was altead falhn
ifD cwo groups, those assocaated wath Ezekael Y _.J g
.._L- d ho · d , centrcu an
.,.....-y, an t se assocaa~e wath Lal, centred an Calcutta and
roaleaerextmt Delh1. Durmg . the 19SOs and early '60s, howevrr,
~~~'~'~Ups were not obv1ous; a mutualanter•st an
.-- d th " promotJng the
~try an emselves kept the wnters together
11M departure of Mandy from the Illustrated We;kly left the
••·•ng number of poets needang a place to publish. Several fch
1iad manusmpu ready, but none of the commercaal pub-
Jiilllln were Interested. ~zekiel privately prmted has The Thrrd in
tJI9 Uld K.eshav Malak, who had returned from his travels,
........, out hts ftrst book as a Surge publication. To meet the
lfOWIDI needs of the poets the Wmers Workshop, which had
illned m 1958, began m 1959 to publish volumes of poetry. The
foundan~ membe!" of the Writers Workshop in Calcutta
**a small circle of fraends-P. Lal, Anata Desai, Lal's former
mtclent Deb Kumar Das, David McCutchaon, Kewhan Sio, jai
R:itlll and Davtd Crane--Indians and foreigners living in Calcutta.
Tlwte wu a weekly meeting at Lal's house on Sunday.
11w first Writers Workshop volume of verse was The Lamp t5
Lile (1959) by Roben Perlongo, an American then living in
Cllcutta. It was followed in 1960 by Lal's The Parrot's Death and
OtHr Ponns, Ezekiel's The Unfimshed Man, R. de I . Funado'~
Th Okt~ntlns, Deb Kumar Das's (b. 1939) The N1ght Befort Us
and Pndip Sen's And Then the Sun.
A *»mewhat defensive angroupness as perhaps shown b-. the pre-
me
faa 111M poets wrote for each other. Lal introduced the volurn~
of zeluel, Funado, Sen and Deb Kumar Das; K. R Rao wrote a
preface to Lal's book. The World u Spltt (1961) by N. K. Sethi
(b 1936), an Indian teaching m New York, had a preface by t~e
Amencan poet William Carlos Williams. Entrance (1961) by La.la
Ray (an Amertcan married to an Indian) was prefa\:ed by Davad
McCutchton, an Englishman teachang in Calcu.tta. In 1962 the
aenes expanded to include Adsl Jussawalla's Lands End, Laurence
Bandeman"s Grt~ffitJ, Ira De•s (b. 1932) The Hunt. Lal's second
book, LOfle's The F1rst and Monaka Varma's DragonJl•es Drdw
Fl.~ Prefaces were wratten by Ezekiel to Vanna's poems, Pra 1P
Sen to Ira De's and Lal to Bandeman•s.
In 1960 the Wnters Workshop also staned Murellan~, a ba-
monchly JOurnal devoted to creattve wrumg Early contributors
an haded Ezekiel, Anata Dcsa1, R. de L. Funado, Davad McCue
 ..., I) I A N J l) E T R\ I N I N C I J S If
MODERN I •• J(iSTOR\ ANI\ i'UBLI HING CIRCI F.S
1 19
M00 kcnl!e Maltk and C. R. Mand); in
ht .n Lila Ra} • Romen h h) p'ubJ 1 hrd a poem The eighth Indta. He read Jussav.alla's prcv 1ousl ll
R p rt asaral l. I . I d suggested he end them to thl' Wntcrs Wy unkpul' •shed poems and
rh ~' cnth I sue Garland for Shav. n Mand)•' w liC l me u ed . or s lOp for p 11l r. .
J and's EwI ( I ~62 ) mtrodu~.:cd a , cry p
1ssue 1961 IS A
r E k I Ruth p 13 " er Jh.lbval.l, R. de L
e a sand poems by zc 'ngar Lal Oesat, Parth.1sarathy
Furt do. K. R. SnmC,aha dye and' 1 R' Stanle). To the tent}~
I 1
.
•

~o
tamed aucntton. Jussaw.tlla wa s onlv •wcm
romts1n1• } oun''
ume w ten tnerc were sttll few volume t I d' n
l •~at1un.
t:> poet .1t"
n a.m \:Cr e w h
already spoke th<•languagc of rnodcrn alien~/w~ at~11e tame but
on su -
V rma G S harat an ra
.a • • 2 J a\\ aHa conmbuted a poem. . . were hi~ own. Ezekiel \.:ailed 1 ancl's Fndthe lJonbm rkythbm~ •hat
• uc m 196 Ius'60 Lal s Wraters \X ork hop "'~s a pub~Jshmg .
lashed by a new In d tan poet Sllh:e Moraes'
le~t oo to e pub
1R -
Bv the car> group of 51 gnif1cant v. raters. Ot those ·
l acceptan~c by the Sahitya Akegmnmg
1960 a Isu saw tlc 1, · f E
crntr c for an mcreasmg
ed ts J>arrhasarathv.Ju~sawaII a .m J G . S. . II
as a nauona angu.1ge
d
anI' the appc;lran~e
H cml o ng 1Ish
ot crc,•at avcwrmngan
·· d
now constder maJOr poe ' 0 I , aJ h h r. .. ·
t Chandra (b. 1938 had appeared on the sc:?~· t _u:rs,. t oug aruc Ies on I n d 1un 1~ ng 1sh wntm,~ in fudiz• 1 ~ ~·
1 cuucd
h av Ma Iak after 1972. A fewn a~.:adcm 1 c' 'JOU' er,uurc
1
Shan f fj ce were thouglu of suftanent mtercst to be
no• 0 1e s stgnt acan •
__ .... d
h' d ,v ·
b K R s l}·engar m ts 1r1 ltnl " r1tmg m
bv Kes
• .1 I. rna 1s n f 1.:~~ ng1·15 h
da USKU a mo ern ' . . Tl studaes star.tcu w ll~.;h gave s_up~urt to the nev. poetry throu •h
En luh (Furtado, Pr.tdip Sen and Deb Kumar Das). lere were a arttcles,, revaews
I f and the. puhltcauon of a few pocn1), Tl •e L 1tcrary g
nu~ber of foretgn 'asators ro the Workshop, and Mzscellany pub- Half-} ear y, oundcd tn 1960 bv H . H . Anm. h Gowd... b-
1ts hcd poems o f •
... few , 1nduding the New Zealander James Baxter · cary
1.as hed 111 I ·tssuc.s poems ll)' Fzckiel, G. S. Sh.uJt Chandn .. , pu (,\
and the Enghsh poet 0. J. Enright. . , . frequent contrtbutor), F. R. Stanley, K. R. Rao, juss.1walla and
The two most agntfi\.:ant early volumes theW nters ~ or~~hop Panhasara[hy, and favomabl) rcv1ewcd Ezekiel's The Unfi11uhe I
pubhshed, md "htch ha\ e a place m the. canon of sagnafJcant Ma~ and Juss.t walla'~ Lmzd's _l mi. Gowda" as very aware uf the
books of poetry, v. ere Ezekiel's The Unfimshed \fan and Jus.sa- Wr:u~rs Workshop .tnd wrote 111 support of the new poetry. Ezekacl
walla's Land's End The Unfimshed Man (1960) was the farst proqdcd f urthcr support when he becumt liter.H')' anJ rc..:te\>w s
volume of poetn produced in India of consiste~tly high quality editor t)t .1 new gcncr.ll magazine, 1m punt (I 'l61 ). started bv
and" ith an overall unny of purpose. The attennon to craft, con- A. D. Gorwala, also owner of the andcpcndcnc polatical Journ.ll
astenq of Sf) le and perfeding of an intellectualized ironic tone Opmwn.
whale treating a record of a persona] cnsts in a distanced, rcflec- In 1962 the Amencan poets Allen Ginsberg and Peter OrJo,sky
me manner, brought together characteristics of Ezekiel's earlier ~isited India. After meeting Mal. v Roy Choudhury and the Ucngali
three volumes. Whtle being varied in subject matter and setting, 'Hungrvalist' poets in Calcutta, whom the) puhlici;.rl J in Amet 1~an
ha poems deft!) Implied a location, a personal story about the literary journals, Ginsberg and Orlonky 1110\ ell bndlv tu
dt tllu tonments of marriage, a love affaar, moral choices, and a Bombay where thev read their p• 1ctry on the tcrr:H:c of AlkJzi'
conclu ton about the relauonship of the poet-artist to India. 11 flat; they accused the Bomh;n poets of still writing old-la luoncd
mcluded :;uch poems that ha~e been subsequently anthologized Briti h 'erse and of not havmg found their O\ n \Otce. The !t.tmc
as Emerpnse, 'Marnage' and 'jamini Roy.' These are the earliest year Pengum \1odem Poetry 2 published Dom 1oraes, ,1l?ng
poems that are sull widely anthologized. The importance of the with the British poet l(jngslcy Ami~, anJ Pct,r Poncr, a.n Australt 11
vo.lu!'"e was soon recognized in Davtd McCutchion's 'Examen de The next year Margaret O'Donnell's 1ln Antlmlt~g)' u/ C(Jmmon-
Madt' (MlScellan), 29, 1960) and later m Subhas C. Saha':> explica- wealth Verse (1963), published in London, included I:a.'i, Lal, l lc~cl
tiOn of 'Emerpn e' (MISctilany, 40, 1970). Eunice de Souza's and od1ers it was the first of several British and Amcm. an anthologK"'
excellent notes were added to the second edition of The Urrfimshed tn which the new poets would appear. At home Gorw~a·~ Opmwn.

Man (1~69), which was meant for use by university students. with Kersey Katrak as I[S poeuy ad\lsor, mncd publ! lung lnc!Jan
Ezekiel, who recommended poets to Lal knew Jussawalla's English poetry. Jn 1964 The:. Ccmury, .1 New Delha ~ublacauon
famtly and met Adil Jussawalla durmg one ~f his return trips to whtch had st.lrted two year earlier, .tlso bcg.111 pub II htng pcJctrY.
 sr(')IU ANI• PUIILISHO~G c IRCl.E.
I>IAN POETR~ IN I N\,l.ISU I .. l 21
MOIH Rill IN
20 rains. It seemed to C(.lllapse the thstance bet d
b 19,. 2) tht> ltterary editor, had brought rCf h · d" . ween poet n
etn the ac'>t cllc 1st iln~.;mg at which 1 al an 1 E k ~.J
Laurence Bantle~an Lx,k ".~h the Writers \'Vorkshop, Gmffir, PO '
.... d wh 1ch was common
u ze 1e1 ann~."
to manv Bnush and Amcrtc.u1 poets dunng ·
out several promtSmg d \" ,.,,·5 Fall-out (1964). WJth Bartho- .... h
the f1r.,t halt ol l 1s century. Inste.ld, Das sccmetl to have her own
Workshop l.lrdc in N('w D e ll u' f rm11
M 'c f \l 0 n ''om..
J%2) an d an , er ion of the contempoa ary cnnfessional mode pracuscd smce
lomew he caned h ruers ctall mtere ted m eA-perimcntal writ-
the J;ue 1950s by such Ame~1can poctc; as Robert Lowell and
1964 to 1967 whJc whas esp ga,cn a poetl'}' award bv the Asian Syh 1a Plath. In her~ erse a H~ndu woman• longing for Kn hna
K mala Das, " o "a
mg. a bhshed re ularh tn 7he Century. was prc.scnt along wtth the gualt at fleshly desires she had learned
PEN, Mantla, pu g nods of modern Indian verse began '" her Cathohc schools: Her second book, The Descendants
One of thhe mhost ebxi~Jtltnlognp:f Dom Moracs's ]olm 1\ obody and (1967), showed tendencacs to~ards depressiOn, sclf-consc•ous-
tn
1965 Wit t e pu ICa
D A K Ramanu1an, N1ssam • • Ezc k' I c·
·ae, 1Jcve
books bv Kama1a as, . f man\ mtcrestmg . but un f ortunate Iy ne!>S and flamboyance as despa1r .1\tcrnated with 'lelf assertion.
Patel and t he appearan Ce O d. Tl . , I• A parallel breakthrough can be seen in Tbe Ex tel Namc(l965),
. d I' oumals such as Poetry In Ill. us was t lc
shon- IIVC nerary J .. older generauon • h' I h d d . Ezekiel's hft~l boo~, .md the last \'Oiumc of verse he was to publish
w ac 1 a starte m wuh the \'X'nters \X orkshop. Many of the poems were in a new
fjJnt fJ owenng 0 f th ... h r· . f
Mand s Illustrated Wukly and Quest' and t e lrst as~ en tOn? a manner. 'N•ght of the Scm pion' spoke of his tamily lile and the
y tto wh 1ch added an often zany expenmcm.1hsm conllicts bt:tw~o:en what a modern Indian bclic\cd .md fdt.
younger genera 11 . · 1·
to modern n JI d an V"rse
.. •
making it more
•
anternauona
• •
m contrast
1 Moreover it was unrhymed and writtell fnr the sp<'akmg \Ou.:e, tl)
to the formal, logical English poeul tradJUOn that was t 1c be rcau aloud. The 'In India' poems were :Wiles of llLi\1 soci.ll
departure pomt of the ftrst generauon of modern poets .. manners .md beha,·iour. \Vhile Ezekiel bad in his carlv books
Although Kamala Das had been pubhshing since she was tou~een, u-.c I free verse as well as traditional prosody, m The Er11 t 1\amc
Summer m Calcutta (1965) her first book, was self-published ther c i a gre,lter fluidity of cadence, a closer approximatiOn of the
wtth a forev.ord by Sophia Wadia, editor of Indian PEN and a speakang \OlCC than jn the past. The poem'> cxpres cd Indian life
fnend of Kamala\ mother, her elf a famous Malayalam poet. The wtthout self-conscious or artifit:iallndianncss. Although Fzck1el
f1fty poems in Summer m Calcutta, mcluding such now famous had always been an urban poet-in contrast to the lnd1an bnd
pte e as 'The Dance ofthe Eunuchs', 'The Freaks', 'Words', 'M) scape painung of the pre-independcnle poets-Bombay ha?
Grandmother's House•, 'An Apology to Goutama' and 'Forest been cl svmbohc cay of modern dissatisfaction whereas nO\\' at
Fue , caught the attentiOn of many for their frank confe.s~ion of had become a place where there were actu.tl.cvcnt.s~ people, d.mg~.:rs
the dt ~ausfacuons of an arranged marriage and the intensity of and pleasures. The Exact Name wa~ re\'lewed m 7 he Literary
exual de ire. The tradition of Indian love poetry seemed re- Cruer1on, Vll. 3 (Winter 1966) and m the lmlwn /'~N(May 1%6).
m\ agorated bv a contemporary 'oice far from the sentimentality A. K. Ramanuian's The Strider.' (I Y66) \\ ds hrst. sulllllltt~d to
whach had been inherited from English Villorian ver~e and which Oxff..lrd Umversit}' Press in Indict which, not havm~ pub!tsheJ
was still characterasuc of Lal and many of the Writers Workshop ~ny local poetry ~ent the manuscript tO Engl.wd wh~.:re It "'~ 5
poets. a~.:~..:cpted b,, Oxf, 1rd .md rc~OtnlTIL'Illled to ItS members by t c
Rather than _finding salvatton in art, Kamala Das's poeuy 11oetry Book · Soctetv. . RamanuJ.lll· •s poum , 11.1J ·1 hwhly• t?
.tlcom-
spoke of fanta.s•es, many lovers and the continuing dis.tppnint- . 1
pIIS 1e d 1 d. ·
u rH cr.s ta tc prcctscncss .uu c 1 'C<Jnomy . ol st,\tement,
mems of love. More nnponam than its themes was the use ot an , · '· h L , lormalllY of strll ture
':i)'mbol and n.Jrrauve. \V'n out ,111 on' tnus • f ·I · •
lndtan English~ 1thout the concern for correctness and precision J J h d a 'HH'C 0 lCC lllllfUt:
t hcv cemcd pedecdy forme ~llll s owe •· r;o h ·
v. htch chara tenzed ?"ost earlier modem verse. Instead it appean:d . d' E •I" 1 try It was a tee n&-
beyond that of any prcv1ous In •an ~ng 15 1 P0 f~: ld. K d, and
unpremcdatated, a dtrcct expression of fcehngs as it shifted errati- . df I. dv o o er anna "
que RamanuJan had learne rom us .stu , bl led Indian
caUy thr~ugh unpredictable emotions, creaung its own form Tam1l verse and the modern Kannada poets w 11 Clll °
through Jts cadences and repeuuons of phrases, symbols and
\ '1~ ~~~
 ••(J0"'
,.. .. ..,
<·'"' ,..,. I'Ol':TR\ I N UNl.l ISp~
!NI)I"'"" "r•U"liSI'IN"
t-ttSTOR'\ ANv u • " CIR Cl US 23
22 modds anto ne" form c •
He shov.
• h"
cdh th.tt
. lndJ iun bhat, a_n d A'-LJra1l am B..... nJamm
· · o { ['\ t •
• pnmstonc College, !itartcd a
and European b od m and" ork from" tt tnt ~•r own lfC· ntagozmc called B_o!nbd)' Duck ( 1964 ). An early tssuc was han ned
~t ~.:ould b< n
,..--- th em e 0 f 1....
prectSIOn ,."gu~uc
""I)
and mtagc and the l:Onci c bv coIIegc aut}10£1 t ICs• because 0 f an arttc · 1e quoting Henry M"•ller.
........
·- • uadtaons
hI te h h
t t etr u nprcd "ctable
1 changes m diredion • b
Pradhan .1nd BcnJamm. egan Dwnysrus (1965), whicl1 tncludcJ
1
n ot ea htdsneb' " a omewha•' O'"t "' ' unre' erberant,
d r
sometimes work by Kolat k ar, Ch nrc an d the eduors. The combined second
V~tre mat~.- d , 01ce that sugge re a comp tcatcd and third number was confiscated by the police as obscene
of
pets
-::J o o:~.u~l~~~~7.;d~nre than \\'aS ~atd Ef~ki~l d-d Partha·
d Ramanu an as the best o c n tan poets
because of a prose fantasy by the ednors called 'The Ritual-The
'fnal'. Panhasara~hy was also involved with /Hunt (1967-8),
1
sarath\ oon r h ch que" a hss use of hts southern Indian whach lasted two Issues.
A mp rt.ant
Brahman te net, ~,;ontrasnng his liteh in America
r t 2 a :;ourc d } (where One n f t h e unexpected p Iaces t 11c new poetry took root wa<> in
1
he had t ken up re dcn~.;e farst a a researc. Tru ~~t, \;en as a Allahabad where, ~fter receiving ~rom an u.nclc m Amenca copies
3

t er at the Una,er •n of Chtcago wtth hts anu u~r· nn.gang
2 ntemporan altenauon set Ill speca •c llua
f Co
tJ n Th J , aded hcntage, Ind1an and \X estern_, 0 f I 11 d"l.ln poet!.
to create amage < you. a m.lgazine of tbe m·ts, in imiration l>f the American publica-
1
had not before bn!n handled o subtl) and wnhout self-cons-
ciOusnes . l' [>
Anorher sagmfl~..ant , olume "as G1eve Pate ~; oems ~ 966),
the first and onl} book tssued b) Ezektel as part ot a proJected
enes meant offer an ahernau\e w the Writers ·workshop. A
10
prec• e, cconom 1 al, unmetaphoric poet, Patel often shows. a
mmd reflecung upon actual nuauons he has observed or m
"hu.:h he has paruc•pated. A mcdtcal doctor. he is conscious of
both the bod)' "'eakness and tt~ res1lience. His ver:.es are dense
nd b aque an texture and meamng, and seem purposely to avoid
p uc grac and enument . Even such a poem as 'On Killing a
free, \\hach could be anterprctecl as about human hfe, pro\ ides
no analogae or metaphon word<> to suggest that 1t IS about any-
than more than" hat It ays. Patel's compressed manner, distrust
of enuments, ph) teal awareness and the wav he v. rites from
pers nal exp nenc , w htJc guardmg h1mself ;ga.inst emononal
lnvoh ement, wa al o new to Indian poetry.
After E:zekicl becam~.: Professor of Engl1sh at MtthJbhai College,
Bomba) (19&1_ • Panhasarathy, who had appeared in Qzu stand
wa then teachmg at another Bombay college, joined the depart-
ment. E?eklel Introduced Jussawalla LO Panhasarathy, and
through the latterjussa\\'alla came to know S. V. J> rau·•h an. Ju:lsa-
of conte~po~ary IHcrary _magazmes, Anut and Aluk Rai, along
wJth their newhbour Arvmd Mchrotra, started stencilling d11mn
0
·uon h4ck }'ott: ,t magaziHe o[tht.! arts. They .1lso began \.:Xch:mg-
( 1ng wpies of dtumz you for foreign magazmes and ,-.,piJly became
a temporary outpost ot the American and European avant-g:.udc.
Th 1s v. as not the first introduction of Indian poets to the con-
temporary avant-garde as publications were available in the
urban centres after independence, before exchange controls made
it more difftcult. 4lnd several ol the e.arly Writers Workshop poets
were ccrtainlv familiar with avant-ga•de literature, as were poets
10 such regional languages as Mar at hi and Oriy.t. But tlamn you
began at a time when the new internation.ll counu.•t-culture. was
begmning to be received sympathetically among young lndaan ·
Arvind Mehrotra had unusual energy as a promoter, whale soon
showing talent as an excellent poet who, .the~ 1970, appca~ed
regularly in leading Amencan liter.1ry magaz1nes, once bcang
ancluded among th\! San Francisco poets.
After Jomg a BA in English at the ,UniHISity of. Allalubad,
where he ftrst published poem~ in the um">er lty rn tg.mne, Mehro-
tra w~nt w Bombay to study for an MA. He soon rnct Kolatkar,
Chttne, Patd, Ezekiel, P.uth.lsnrathy and Jus a\\:~lla. whn had
braefly returned ro 1ndia from F ngland. 1\csidcs ed•.un~ damu you
(1965 H) whit:h first prinred KolatkM's 'the bo.ttndc' Mchro~ra
began t w" ' othet stenct. 11 cd Journa
· 1s, t'Z"'·
.....1 , ,·..,1gr•U tn1lWl.Zmc:
., ": ~
0

walla was at the poetrv readmg during wh1ch the Beats read thetr (1967 71) and (t1k1r ( 1968), which published Clutrc s tr.msi.Hwn
workdbebfore F7ektel and Parthasarathy. In the mood of rebellion of Tuk.1ram in ·its only tssuc. lIe published a nunibL'r uf p.Ull~hkt
~urre
B b Y the 'tSit of G 10 b erg an d 0 r 1ovsky to Calcutta an d o f 1n d"'' .adu.\1 poets, .anc1ud"tng 1liS
· own ( om 1 .."tC poems '.15 l oems 11
1 1 6
om a}' Panhasarathy, along with Pradhan, who taught at Mithl /tom the Good Surrealist and bb,rr.mnut-'1: 11 pmyc ( )(, )· lC
Ill TOR"' ANU r'UlH ISUlNG CIRCLES
2S
appeared 1n Tomado. 11\e . 'lndtan Rena tS'>an e , num b cr o f
Sam e k sa (M ad ra • 1967)
~.
mcludcd Clutrc an d Ko 1att.ar • tr ns
l ated b· ) Ch ttre f rom ~~1arath 1 ' .md poems by 1, art h a arat h y Th e
Amencan JOUrnal hzt7cpzd publtsh d m pnng 1968 ·ectal
Indtan
'Th tssue "luch mcluded Mchrotra' blJaratmat_a, Chp atrc'
e larst Ftve Breakfasts' • an umuled poem of Kolatkar 'al ng
v. tth poem by Pnu h N andy, Kamala Das and e.. era) t s "'ell
known poets who had been published hv Mchrotr 1chr0lra,
Chttre, Patel, Kolatkar and Jussa\\ aJia a) o appeared m the
Bomba) annual Pusbp mJail, ~hach tan d m 1965 and whtch for
c1 tame had Clmre as poet(") edaor.
The tx 1ssues of Poetry lndta (1966-7), edncd b Ezekiel, \\ere
one of the htgh moments of modem lndaan poetry and a lmk an
th hne of senous places of publtcation th:u tartcd wnh Mand)'
Illustrated\~ eckly Beside' Partha .'lrath) (\\ ho "'a a\\ arded the
Ulka Annual Poetry P:rz.e for the besr poem m l· nghsh h\ a oung
Indtan poet pubbhcd m Poetry !ndut), Patel, Gauri Pant (b. 1920),
K ki Daruwalla (b. 1937), H. 0. ~azareth (b 1944). K. 0 Katrak.
Kamala Das, AnmJ Mehrotra, Saleem Peeradma (b. 1944) and
Adtl Ju J\\ alia, Ezek.ie1 publi hed tranSlation from lndaan l.mgud:!CS
b\ Kolatk r, RamanuJan, Vina\' Jha, Patel, Chttre. La.l, SuJH. nd
Meenak ht MukherJee), along -w tth re\ te'-' sand ana~les on English
and Jnda n-Iangua e poetrv. The quality'' as extremely htgh and
a man o the arucles, revu~\\ s and translauon con~emed
mod m poetry Lhe magaune prm 1ded during tt hort hfe .tn
mfunnt:d ~omparauve \ aev. of\\ hat had been happcmng m Indian
p try dunng retc.:nt de~.:ade It attempt to tre t nticall poctl")
m the man) Jndtan language along "tth I ngltsh "as notable;
v. hile later tmit:ttcd h\ other JOurnal Poetry• !nd.a has rcmaaned
an tts scnoume sand judgement unique. Re\!tCWS were ofhagh
st.mdard. The farc;t i sue \\as peda~,;ular, "uh tran I uons of
Vcdtc h) mno; b) L.1!, of Tukaram and M:udheker from ~1aratht
bv Kolatkar and Chttre, of Tam1l lo\ e h n s b) R lmamiJan, of
Amnta Pntam from Puniabi b the New Zcal:md poet Chotrl~:~
Brasch, along\\ 1th 1 nghsll-l:~nguage poCtl) b) P.uel and Panlla
aratlt) There\\ ere also poems b) ThomJs Blackburn, Howard
Sergeant and Ro) }~ullcr from England. I or t" o) cars lncl1a h:lll a
poetry rnaga11ne of the lughe t mremational standard . AI o
important were the affmates that were found between modern
vcr sc m the many I ndtan language ; the Engli h ). nguagc poel

~
ttl 'l("'R'I f\NP 1'Uilii'>II1N(, CIRCll
27
f E:rcktcl, Pnrtha ;~rat h). K.unala lhs • Jm aw II a ar 1d 01 1
0,,~t l COl'f
ommmm ctt It JJ f'm~ts ( 196';) "as foll
O
} d\ lcr
-r J , ( 1')t-7) tn\ e 1y Commo,1
1l I P . f I 0 I Utllf) v , e \ OICCS o{•J (
• JL nmmonu ill1
( 1968) anJ Ill 1970•· 'crrg.mwn l'oc•tt CJ f>o ~n 'rom 1 d l' a
k I d0 b .. .J J' tl Ia ,am.muJa.n
p,ut hasar.tt I1 •, 1 z.c tC an c Kumar Da ) · D :usy A 1ucn' 1 '
Ameracan allll10l ogy o f Poems ]rom lndUJ was publ h--1lee\ t IlC arne
ear ( 1969) as t I1C pee aal 8 oo k·s Abroad issue on lnd tan 1tteratur .
Y
1 he cxpcrnnc n tau on oft he sec nd h' If of tltc 'll 0 ' wa t ken up
b-. Prmsh Nandy (b. 1 1947),·J.n C.'l\tlernelv 1,rohfic ,vn•··r • up ro mmcr
.... an·l
wuh an eye ror mscO\ cnng . . . others but "ho c O\\ n talent u{fcr;
fronl l I.tc k o f. M.: l{ cnttcl-.~11. Gnod irn. ge O\:Cllr 111 the ul)
poems 111 the tm~tst lll .1 bcwah.~ctmg outpour mg of, erln gc, ultc·n
wath n0 ths~.;crntblc. ~,;ot~t~nt. l· xa~,;tl) \\hat N. nd) had 1n mull\ an
wriung c;uch \ crsc 1s d11ftcu h tn ._,\ 1 but lw .tppl' u s to In~ c 1mi
tated tltt' l)bs-:urity, obliqucnc~~ .md t:l.l\1cal JUXt.lfH>!;llinn •>I
avant gat de pncll y withO\It ha' inh a dc.u· n··'"""' lor su(\t l'"-Pl'''
mentation. But it N.1nJ\''' cMI) pm·tq tlll\\ ,tppcal s supctltcl.llh
modert'IIStiC, it w,\!\ wtd<:ly publi~hcd hy nb \,;ut t.: fowgn 1m" n,,\s
and the :.n .mt-gardc Ri' cr Run Pre s ol Nc\\ '\or\ Nand) \\ ,\s
tncndh with ht fellr>" Cakuuan P. 1 .tl "hu cncou1 :~ged lm
arl) work. The \Vritcrs Wot kslmp pruned lm larst Htlumt, Of
Gotls mrd Olives ( 1967), with its Mnhtcrr.wc.u\ cdngm s md
amagcf), and n Ertbcr rdc of Anogancr ( 1%!\), '' h1lc 1 uhly',
own Dtaloguc Publac.uions baou~ht out/lfmu/l 011"' 7um H)
Neblmk \~ reatb (1968); w itlun the! 1\{'Xl fc\\ \cats N.u\d \ ~<.·ro;c•,
along with thl: l:Ountcr cuhme, moved iuto tt pnl111c ll. an~.t pctl1ap
best phase, .1 ccn 111 his t\\ o wt•ll kno" n poem 'Nc 1r De h~
pnya P.u k tht:)' found him .nl.1st' Jnd ' 1kutta tl •ou mu t cxtlc
me' N.tnd tricd w bring to Fngli h-l.111gutgc p11ct1 till' so~:a.tl
and politi~,;al mvnh c:mcnt whid1 \\',\S ~.;h.tr.\~,;tcn~tt~.; ol ~lllllt: ,,t the
· 1 \' 11 • 1 N \II 1 ' ~'Ill\\ 111'' ~.;ck·
rcgtona -l.mgu.tge HcratUJt'S • .JI?~.;.lU"c o · t
bnt~ t.llus his bollks h.ul t.u tl'd to be dt~lt tbliLCtl "'d then
o n

publtshcd by At nnld-1.-h·im•munn. . f l't' 1 1 ,.,,,cst tn l lll}'ll l "

Nnndy next nwv<.•d t.lptt11 y nlln P0 1 1\,; : 1 · 1 1,
. '. . ,. I I I I l'i :-.\\I IIIII~. \\Ill l \C
son" I •r tl s. I he r.lpH ttv o 1I H:.' JJIl ''lllhl
· 0 0 sJ1f tt /)ou • . "J,
lftnlL'tl. LaO('
0
obs~.;UIC c I~CIIIlH.'lll.l1-pt..llttu.:.l JH/•R ' I l r the \/ HlllgJt I · 1 n.l v v Lr
(197-1) anJH:.
r
nm'o only .
a )'t':ll 'll' orel , , (~IV7'i) '' I111..:
l I 11 01
· IliSICl, 11
and the: pt)J' son"l" lvncs nf I •onc'Hlltg II.Jtrtrl l 'I. 1,,, I ~.,;Oil
' 1n 1,lll l 1m.u 1t:
ted to ha\ c sold 20 •000 coJ''"'s A'i I I "t.' ns )l ~
·cl h :\\ 111 ~ prt•tcn lllllli of
•
mto a hlm. lu• m. n\ , Nand) t.ll swppll
 ttl !Ct 0 R Y A t-Ill I' II Ill I S Ill N t J ( 1 I(( I I S
'J.~J
ll
nJ Appnrrttcm Ill Af'rtl, Shiv K 11111..-·1-• "llr,uat
A J
~·1
1
, ~ cmc, Mamt a
11
Kaha's I nlmtc to l'nf'a, j:ty.uHn Mal
1
by 1 <" nnd St'll'l'tWlnt•l "'ul Otbt•; \~!), lra s lu}t rhe Sky Tcm
R:mumuJan's r ond volume• Rdatt."" '"" S, c:an<
ml~ 1"'11ePPLC:trt'ti alo ng wilh
011 lo \f
cthtlon o f ( ,,S, Sh,,rat Ch. ndr ,1's Aprrlr N11 ' /' ' agazmr
!'
uut n th.lt g• cctcd P. l .1l's mn !HYC 1 1 1 " JtH1I R tt ( · Desp•tc the
~ ut em "{1um Poet
I 11gI IS IJ A"A"t IJu I ogy tmd n CHdo (1%9) lackan 'J .'"
and dtsutmm non , the Willers Wnrksln' . gdselcctwny
'I t f I p ' omtnut• to be the
malll plH) IS lCI o t tc lndtan 1 nglish poets.

) K N Dnruw.1lla
d h. 1937) h. d oubl,
1
'sl1ecl ·11\ ("'l
< IICst ( 19£,4)
/CJttJ'") In '''• .Dz
, rloguc.
. man)' . Anlc. rt~:an
• n\'[;"
" ·• tncs, anu"' w.ts one'
7
ot llC
I •P''Cl rq;ul.lrl
0 l } 1 (_ .ts:.oct.Hnl \\ tth O nmwn
r
in 1llt· Iat e '60 s.m~l
~ar 1'I 7 s .11r C1 >u_ on (I 970) .md lppamum m \prrl ( 1Q7l ), ,15
l c.-ku:ol s;ud Ill hts re\'Jl'\~'' • rC\'l'.llcll .\ tn .l tnr po('t " itb un unu slu l-
1 hru.tlt l'<lll!;l', ol tc~o.l~mquc .mtl.1 ~ ubst .mt i,tl boJ v ol ,, Mk, lli-;
puetry ts huth tmnu·,h.Hely lndi.m in rcf~.· rclh:t• and univets,11in its
~.;l\n~.;t:rn ' ' ith lo' c, ~.kuh, dnmin.u ion, selt -t.:liiHrnl, sd t- hctrly.\l
md the 011UJ"ll0l l' t hm ll'Stth r, om oci,,l ,\nd P''lttic.11 ,\ \.':Wmmo·
rl:mon . 1hc! C ts "fu·n ~ kni fc-<'d g~.·to D.u u\\,,11,,\ tone l.lnd .m
Jllt;l \, s.ni11 p e 1s p~.·di' <' tll n ki nd th.tt hnd ll l)t been heatd befure
m modern lnd1an P' etn. His nl.lst ~n ,,, both u~dtti~;h1.t.l prosody
:md 1 r ' ( rsc, ~.;I c l ti\Hl o l n " s t nn7 .uc ll,Olh wd mt t ure ot
\:( nu ol1 rl narr:ttl\ c \\at h loo~ch ·''~ lc.'l.ll d ,., em . ho" cd a
\ lendmh of th mctho . .ts of ~.;nntempornn J\mcncan ''eoe "1th
th l:ut: nmctccnth ccntun and ca1h '" ·nti<'th cen tun• tr.lJi-
tl~lll (lt Bu1\\ nm~. llopk1 n . l·ro~t .md l a" rcn c. If ~1ehrotra,
M.1hap lll a, N. nd , Kol.nk r and 'lum· 'ugge-aed th.ll the
dn d (urnul, logi~..alh cu g<ull cd poett"\ " b bemg rcplil~ed b}
nwr c penmt'nt.tl , radh. al method~. D:u u'' all a ~ho" cd "'•' s m
\\ t tdl trJOitlOn.ll kmd<i l,f p~ etr ...:ould he nl.lde ~llntcmporan '.n
uh1c t matter nd ~" le I h' l iln~u.tl;t: .u1d d1cuon ate paru-
luharh , ·~mou m ltmm~.: rli.tte. \\ lul( the p ('Ill that npp~.ared
m tht: ( uh \olunte' !lr ll· tmpu:: siH: than' ight'-'t the Jackals',
' H "k' nnd othct, Ill the r 1"1118 o{ Rtt P .llld Kcepfr oj hthdr
· 1 "' , 1Pntfic:ull f'l'd •'
1)thI \tlhtm~.:s,the\ ' ctca 1~1\ll.lt.'l.ll~'' f t l•e \-" 1
" lmh.ln lf
et, ol 1 c anu. 1 a
1\1 1\ ed • \\ nh a shu p -'" . :u en 1 o 1 nc(i , aluc I lcre ".t
l p11.ll , IC\\ d O~o'l t an t l pr l\. \II m lndt.lll h C tnUO\liC1\
m l m "h appcJt d to nO", nort k l
d tt1 n ph\ stCJl es:t tence.
but ho JC'~.ted bt:~l• m and P l t' \.l" uet d t•ph' 1cal
J m ) f'nt 11\C' "
ln u nfn nt~U m "at elt 1 trtt'r ;\
h d
'
.. p JA H p f T Jl Y I N t N <.> I 1 ll
ttl ORY AND J>UBt.ISHING CIRCL~S ll
unt a Ezekiel and those a sociated wnh him ind d E ·
de Souza and Saleem Peeradina, began to app, ly r:o mg. umce
__. th h d L__ rc rrgorou
onue2l standaws an a occn common in the e:arly '60 . A gmwin
dafferencc m per p~ctJ,•e between those sull defendmg the , al~
dtt of wraung I ndaan poetrv 111 l:.nglish and those "'ho felt the
1 ut had been uperseded by the need to make crnacal d1 nma
nauons between the good ami the bad account for the oomro
., r y that erupted over P. Lal's Modem bzduw Poetry m Englulr
An Anthology and a Credo. Lal' massive coltccuon of over a
hundred poetS was meant to show how wade pread lhe new .,.. nung
had become. The lack of !>electi\enest>, unfortunate\) reflected 10
some of I al's introductory comments on the poets, brought a
final break between those insiHing on mat c ngurous tanrlards
and La!' open-door poli~y. Lal tclt that it was tmportalll to
encourage the writing anJ publication of poetrv if HooJ poet
wen: to be founLl; hili LritiLs felt that a mass of bad poetry would
pollute tand.mls, making it unlikely th.u ~ood poct1y would be
w rtttcn 01 apprct:J.ned .
In the Januar)' 1972 i'isliC of Quest (74), Jc,l>ted to Conttmpo-
rary Poetry m Engl~>h: Au A.nrs.smt'Tlt a11d $dcctton, cdite~ by
Salet:m Pecradina (b. 1944) and co-publtshetl a" a hook b} ~1ncnull.m,
1 al's antholot;) was criticazcd ,tnd 1 igoruu tandanl applied lO
th poet 'I PecraJina had dtOSl'll. This was ~lae f~, t scr&<lU atH'IllJH
at d 1stmgua hang who were the bcner lndt.tn I· n •la.,h poet~. thctr
haroa tcrastl sand f. ults. So that the anthnlot;) ould be usetll>y
rudcnt<> n mcludcd hort aitical eso;a • mtroducang the pod
Th dc~uon 1c.. ca1 how a group uf igntfaLotnt pod had dc\e
top d uound I zek1cl (" ho Ill 1972 \\as appointed Rc.aJcr at the
Una-. r u) of Bomba) ) or had been rt:I.Og017Cd h hinl on .1ftcr
th u far t app~.= ranee in print. Most had bn n publlshetlm Poe~ry
lt1dr Gaun l>cshpandc and t\\amta Kaha (b 1940) were an~.;~
drd b •-;tde I• Z.\:kJd, Ramnnui:m, Kolatkar, [>:utha ar:uhy. ~, tnt '
Mehrmr;\ l)aru\\ alia, Ju sa\,. all , Patt•l, Kamala Da
311
'
1 cckrt
• · d · I n to l11s \Vtll I
dana Whtlc I al i al P 10 luJe , the ant roc uClLl n h
• uc~ de Sol 11 ,1 crlltliZitlg l c
L
n g.:au\c: nml there 1s an c •1)' b \ \II d 111 V K ( kak' fhe
1 ck of cl ~.:• ,, u v •n La I' .mt h ,Jog) • 11 'r Jlll • .,
I p ( 1970) cernt m.t 11111 '
c; lei " rrc .HH"\ of Indo A11g um ocrry
i
. ' . umllickn'
d -• b N d , oetl"\ 'umn•c•csung' '
ucu m ucs n e ·'" } P ., 1 al and other n ma.t
and wuhuut menuonang name'i, cnuc•deed Xa' 1er's College,
1 d wnh ham Peer;~dtna lumself had MU
1
•1 ~ t ho\\cd ha~ p<>cm
8 )mba and done an iA at the Una,er ttY c
41 0 A IJ I' I I I H I t l 1 1• ( 1 1

l ,1, uti' po ''

 HISTORY AND l'l HLISHING CIRCLE
35
# wtth vanous Bombay httlc magazine.-; during th d d
•6()5, and who were ill\ olvcd with the Penguin N::::~, an late
JruJJA, Around 1973-4 the)' talked ahout form· " t '."hg_Jn
. bl' h . mg a pu1l 1Is mg
co-o"'"rauvc to pu ts manuscnpts. For Mchrot J ll
r- d K I k h f . ra, u sawa a
Patd an o at ar, t e our ednors, and others h . '
volved ·m th e d'tscussaons, · h
t ere were ohvious ad
w o were m-
vantage~ m
.
bnnvmg out t h etr b ook s wgether with a collect v
., I f . 1 e tmpnnt,
responstbthty, sty e o presenUtton and puhlicny for the ·
. d' 'd a1 b k •rt... fi scncs
rather th an 1n .•v• u oo s. • ne trst four books had good revtews
and Kolatkar s ]eJUYr was awarded r_he Commonwealth Poetry
Prize for the. b~st book of ver~e pub lashed that year in any of the
fonner domtmons and colomes. h ha been twice repuhlished
and translated into Germa11. The volumes also showed how far
the four poets and Engli h-language poetry had progressed
dunng the decades ince the outburst of publications m the mtd
'60s In Nme Enclosures it was possible to see that Mehrntra \\a
a careful craftsmaf\ who slow!} revised his matenal. R2ther than
the mfant temble experimenter of the early ver e, Mehrotra i :a
sophisticated, witty poet who while building upon radical
nouons of construction has fonnetl a poetic from local material,
parody and the consctous manipulation of chance. The re ult is
that h1s work combines clev~r soc1al satire with surpnsin& con-
trol over experimental technique. Ju~sawalla'<i Mmmg Person ts
more politically and sociallr aware than hts 1962 boo~, while
Patel's How Do }'ou Wrthsttmd, Body shows tltc author' ancrea -
ing complexity of outlook and style.
}tJun, the first book Kolatkar publi hed in f.nglish, made us~
of the flat, styleless manner he had been trying o_u_t m Maratha
after his lnltlal penod of surreali tic experimental wrnmg. Wherea
nfnlously good Indian Engli h poets attempted w plck ~s much
as poss1ble into a line, aiming for texture, caden~c. tmage, Kol:nkar
npressed a new kmd of poeuc per anality, takmg odd angles of
Vllaon, leavmg space, p Iaytng, moe kmg, . tre2w· 11•ro off h11nd what
Olhen regarded as acred. The often purposefully prosaiC, co,1
Ioquaal characterJSttCS. Ieave tmerpretauon of the speaker
, of the unpocuc. 11lC
arutude open and appear to rnake a poetr) l 1 t
poetry consaru of observmg prec1 e deUJls aud cas-ua puzz emenf
.
about thear slgntf&cance rath er t han expos• ul::>n or cxpressaon . 1oIC..
JCJUrt,
Ct hiS VISit tO
emouon. By wnung a book on one su bJe • • h .any
abo put together what was e scnuall) a long poem, wtt m
 MODI!AN INDIAN ro T"Y IN F::N G arsu
1 tf
Bqond t~ appearana of the 0 ford and Clearmg House
senes 1976 was a vtnrage year rn other ways J:ayanta Mahapatra
published two books of poems, A Fathers HoHs~ with Unned
\Yrirersand.A R11111o/R1teswath the Unaversttv ofGcorg1a Pres!\,
Unntd Wnters was a Calcutta pubt.shmg venture, wh1ch also
brought out Meena Alexander (b 1951) I Root My Namt• ( 1977)
lftd Prin h Nandv s /11 Se~t Arurchy (1976) among 1ts book• of
poetry from vanous lndaan languages. Its editor was Pranab
Bud opadhyay, 1 Bengali customs official wa~h a strong mterest
lhe ans. He edned the Journal Etc and as a b1lmgual poet and a
Bengali film darKtor and actor (NaranJan Mohantv, an associate
0 Band opadhyay, was also pan of this Calcutta circle. He star-
ted /'on1y (1975), whacb he now edits from Berhampur.) A Ram
~ , which had the prestige of being published by an American
uruversaty press, showed that Mahapatra's technique and range
bad matured; he had moved beyond the awkward angularities
..d sornetunes conmvcd amagrs of his earlier experimental writing
and now pohshed has verse to a new consistency of texture and
mood. The volume was unified by recurnng images and themes
as Mahapatra's antrospecme preoccupation were treated from
vaned angles The effect was of a dastinctive pt>rsonality and a
body of work rather than a wnter of individuallyncal moments.
He Introduced to lnd1an English poetry the new kind of verse
that had been wntten in America dunng the previous decade,
where vanous unexplamed, often contradictory feelings were
held together-although spaces were left between-by being
pans ?f an antrospectave mood brought about from heighten ed
attennveness. The unexplained assocaatjons appeared to come
from h1dden. recesses of ~he mmd, making articulate fcclmgs
-which were dafficult to defme. Although many indiv1dual poems
often seem no more than mood pieces, the volume added up to
SOmethang more, a puz.z.ling mmd creaung itself through conti-
nual meditation Realltv seems to dissolve and be replaced by a
reality of conscaousness. Such poetry opened new areas to the
amagmataon, although n showed similarity, as Daruwalla larer
noted, to eighteenth-century ruminauons on some prospecti\ e.
w,Sankuhn Rodngues's Cb 1948) I Exut, pubhshed by the Wnters
wor · · fiarst volume by one of Ezekiel's
ud s op • was a promasmg
: ~lS Rodngues was also one of the founders of the ne\\'
om ay JOUmaJ Kr~va (1976)-which two years later became
s
UTOitV AN 0 I'U II I I S Ill NG C l R C I. I
39
vllf!l JnduJ ~md on(; of the ~..:o-ctl unrs of Ne
"' I d f rom pnctr v read ings and wgmun, 1
t 1ons J<av• cvo \e 1 h puhl1ca -
ot 1er appentugs
In the '70s, w I1c n a m·w nrcIt' ot poe ts tnrl~t l \i t f
, ' ~ J rHHn a ·tcr 1948
began to appear m Bombay at St Xav1cr's • K · c ·an d S'd·'h '
1 u arth
colleges. Most went on to start, •f not finish MAs· f 1 h
lrl ~n g I S at
St Xav1er' s C o II cge or rhc 'd .
.
•
'
Umversllv of Kombay
• 1 h
t ey
tudaed w1th Ezc ki e1 Best cs bemg encouraged bw 1ere I· k I
) I . y 7.e IC •
juss~waII a an d I ate ' s'~me were mfluenceJ by thctr teachers,
Eumce de S~uza and R. I anhasarathr. This is a sign that moJ crn
Ind1an Enghsh poetry ha~ alrca~~ go~c through three genera-
tions a~d had ~ccomc ~el±-~ u stammg, m the sense of poets cn-
couragmg am1 mfluen~mg ca\.:h other, in contrast to the vears
immediately after mdcpendcnce when there were 110 usablc.local
models and ~u older community of p.oets to encourage rhe young.
The rnam wnters to appear among th1s new generation of Bombay
poets are .Melante ~ilg.trd<? (b. 1956 ), Manohar Shetty (b. 1953)
and Rodngues, whde ~h1ren Bhagat (b. 1957) •. Darius Cooper
(b 1949) and Aro op M1 tra (b. 1955) show prom1se. Two ~lightly
older wmers who have published with them are Saleem Peera-
dma and Euni ce de Souza. Their main pub lication channels to
date arc Ka7.•z- l n tli'a and the N ewground publishing co-opera-
uve. Th e1e have, however, been offshoots, such <ls the Hack
Writers Cooperative, wh ich published 45 RP ~f. :1 volume oi
poems by Raji v Rao (b. 1950) and Rafiq ue Baghdadi (b. 1947),
and Aroop Mitra' s own \ViiJho rse Press, through which he
published his first book of poems.
Santan Rodrigues first pu bl ished poetry in the K. C. College
Annual, Bombay, in 1970. While at K. C. he knew Saleem J>eera-
dma and was a friend of Rajiv Rao and Rafiquc Baghdadi ~1r" Parth:t
sarathy v.•as o.nc of his teachers. A h erR. Panhasar.lthv gave a t.1lk
on modern poets to his wife' stu dent~. Rodrigue~ met hi.m , read
h1s poems and through him met other poet ~. He met Adtl J u~~a­
walla through one of his teachers. (n 1972 he ~ent lm poem~ to
Nassim Ezekiel who forwarded them ro Quest and lliustrarecl
Wulely, where they were published. .
Stanm~ in 1973 there were po~tr}' readings at the vam liS
Bombay colleges in which Rodrigues and Aroop M1tr.l, who wa~
a student at K.C. College, participated. There were. also .mnual
poetry contests for the students, judged by -;uch esrabl1~hed wnter~
as Ezek1d and Jussawalla. Darius Cooper, RaJiv Rao .md Baghdad•
 sTORY J\1110 J>tJJll ISIIIN, ClRl l 1,
MO ldt NUIJ\N I OETRY IN I NGLI II til 41
by Wntcrs Workshop, no l:Oplcs became I 1 I .111
book h<lp As the\ t)ung poets tclt the ne <~C:" 0c Bc,mbay 't
d1 cus cd forming thc•r own co opc~at or·' '~ I pubhshcr,
th _J
Cleanng l ~ousc
r t Ilc 011gmaI ten poets imo\vcd 1
I c on t lC model of
in rhc
vtn left after dl grccmcnts and Nev. ground r prOJeCt,
Rodngue , Mdamc Silgardo and R.aul d 'Gama ~a :-.r~"le~ b
althou h not • ne of tho e 1m oh cd in the public pootc. q;d;udo,
i . , h l e ry rca mg
91 a rue cnt at t k.w1cr . c >egan '' rattng S oem around
19 s• howcd bhct wor l to de Souza'" ho encouraged l
lCr to cnnu
nut 10 "ntc .1 out 1rr per. onal pc•acncc, and em some poems
t Rodngueo; fot Ka I .1 he first hook cv. ground pubh hcd,
'hrt Poets (1978), c~n)ot'\trd of clcctt ns from the poem f the
tduors Ncwg~o~nd ~next -..:olumc "-CIC d<.• ou 1 a's fl':.: (1979),
S leem Pc radsnu s l n· r Offen,p (I 'JSO) :md ~1 m0 har Shcn, 's \
NArd d Sp.tcc ( l l)81 ). Althnu~h d~..: ou:u .tml Pcct .ul~na had
betn wrmng 'er se and lud bct":n patt of the litcran ~ct·nc lot
me tunt>, the "~.:rc th~.:ir fu· t 'olumc~ of poctt'. The volumes
b de Soun and Shctt\ "~o.·n.· p<lt11llll:trh Iugh I · prnt ed m rt:\ tC\\ s
b t:abhshcd poetS. hl'tt did. lth.hclor nf Comnwr\~o: d gtcc
1 the Um\ ersan of Bomba and stant:rl an ~t \in l· ngh h, ''here
h one of I lek1cl' sludcnt , bdon: hecomtng a Journal! t
nd bt r 1" rncr of manuals for cortlputcr 01 gamz :Hton •t h :td
rk d v. u h Sdganio on 1\C''\ not ( 19 '2), a gcnaal m g..tzmc
w r h ..tt' n u ume mcludcd Bhagat .md Ju 3\\ all1 among 1t
t but{ r , 1 \ II a pnnnng m• Je, on th ~ ctn of Pcl·r.ldllla,
D.uu alb, d'G.mu Ro e and 1lhapatn.
wground bo k 1r u uall pubh ht• J m 1000 "op1eo; md
p t ar a k d to pa\ p:art ot the cxp<.·n c nf the Jrlllllll~, a
book nnt.,t CO\ cr their co t bc·lote :.nt:"- m mu u•1 t c:tn be
ad red Ahlaough the nt;mal thre 'olumcs ~ttlld' ut r:JJtdh
r ult of po tn readmg b' the. uthn1 , Sltcm ~ (, (d
h:t J, nc le s "ell, d ·~pttc c d~llenr tt'' tC" 1 r h~hh
~u ~he" all not dl) publit rcadtng .
he-n poet ;u- not tntcac ted tn •ndt~al mndcrm tt~d\nt
u th \ ~ecm more mll rc ted in d{ p1cting and£'\ nlultlll~ the •r
&rml b.1\ kHu>uud, per onnlllf ·,rei. non:," uh others Jn~IJ,~;.O
1
undm :o~ ~ here the p et of the late 60 and r.1r
• n ant re t d an op n tru rurc • l o;tr.t~.:t pm~; n • t:(
1
111
rano , rmmed1a , of ffcd and e plouu< n of dhh
:o.uru....... 1 t pcrtOl I J 1 ,m t
n' tt n , the nc" po t rc
 MODERN INDIAN POETRl IN ENGI ISH ttUTORY ANO PUll I I Sill NG Clll< t I!:S
-n
~ as shown by Shetty and Silgardo, consctouslv re-explore hope to become beucr known. lndet·tl the
me Bnush poenc traditiOn With its e:xpllctt statement, logi~.:al 'onn a network of often third trinet 311 d ~fn;l 11 cr poet• Yjournal
l' I tt younger w ·
argument, closed fonn, and use of the external world as syrnbolic of whom appear not lo 1avc le.trncd the I . ntcrs, m tny
of umer feelings. While the Arnencan and mternational moder- dian English poets and who COntinue tll cssons or the modena
In c vague my 1 1
mst influences of the '70s have passed, de Souza and Silgardo arc· Common before mdcpendcncc, or who tl • k lea verse
· 1 1n poetry c · f
an tune wath the femmast movement m contemporary poetry, in sunple thoughts an J senurncnts-too often • ·• .ons•sts o
A few o f t hc minor tmt·ts c.xprcsscu m na v
1nf}ate d Ianguage.
theu directness of speech, self-revelation, and non-nostalg 1c 1
• c 01
. h . r rcvca 1 nn lnsl'curc
memories of farnaly life. ~Po f Eng IIS , 10 contrast to the fndtanization of I· •I
Smce the mid 1970s there have been an mcreasing number of the better poets. ng tsh by
poeuy and other literary JOUrnals wh1ch pnnt or review volumes 1 he growing stature of Mahapatra is shown h R l
. 1 b . Y e atumslup
of poeuy. Thtsc include The Book Rro1ew, The lndzarz Book !980), t hc f trst vo. umc . ) an Engl1sh lanrtuar•c
o t>
pt>ctt ·
OrCtCIVC~
Cbroraid~ Common ealth Quarterly, Poetry, Spark, Art and Sahatva A k adem1 pnzc. In Relation_ship Mahapatra attempted to
P«try Tod&y, Lync, Cygmts, Ekestasu, Orbit and many journals go beyond
• ·
the fragmentary perceptions and rccurrt'nrr ob
tl SCSSIUnS
which have exiSted bnefly or which have pro\ aded places for of h1s earlter 'er~r to create a tw~lvc-part epic dream voyage
publu::ation or comment. A few, such as Skylark (1970-), have through the .emouonal . sources . of . ovuilty feclmvs
. h1s tt
of est t.lngc
had a long extsrencc for magazmes specializing in poetry. Such f h
ment rom IS CJWtronment.lt IS Similar to /ejun and Rough Passa e
oumals prov1de places for the increasmg number of young or m bemg a long poem havmg U!. its theme the rclttt1on1.htp nf 1 ~c
les er known poets to publish Of the established wnters onh writer to his past and Indian culture.
Ezekiel and Mahapatra often contribute to them. More impor- In the hrst four years of the 1980s, hestdcs the four new hooks
tam places of pubhcanon With h1gher standards mclude the published by Clearing Hou c of 1 ocms by Chitrc, Mehrmra, Na7a
bon-lived Tenor (1979-80), Mahapatra's excellent Chandra- rcth and Mahapatra, OxfnrJ Uni\ crsi v Press brouAht out four
bb.ga 1979 , NNP Quest (1977-), The Jndum lzter:ary Revie--L£, more book by Indian poets Thest: in\; udc P.uk1cl's latter Day
wh1ch was founded bv Suresh Kohli (1978-9, restarted in 1985) Palms (1982) which receJved a Sah1tya \ltadcm1 prize. Bc~illcs
and which was asSOCiated ~ ith the lnduzn L1terary Revzew ediuons three poems in Indian English, the 'Nud • '.md the 'I aucr Day
of ver~ and &.:nticaJ books. Except for the high quality Cbandra- Psalms' sequences, the volume mcluclcd sdcdion~ from the out ol
bhaga and The lndtan Lturary Rev1eu estabhshcd poets, where pnnt The Unfimslu•d Man and TJu Ex,Jct Name Oaruwalla
passable prefer to publish in newspapers or an general magazmes, published \t1mter Poems ( 1980) and Tht· Ket·pet rl{the De~ul
such as Drbona~r and the Illustrated Weekly, which pay thetr 1982) which ha some of his best work, pre' tously not available
contnbutors UtsJde magazines and anthologies, incluJing 'Hawk aod thr.:
An ther •gn of the growmg interest in lndian English poetry, roup enmled 'In the Shadow of the (mambara'. It recetveJ the
and the mcreasmg number of wmers, 1s the appearan~;;e of ne\\ 1984 Sahirya Akadcmt prize. While G. S. Shar.u Chandn'~ Helrlo ml
antbolog es 'Whde Pntt h Nandy's Str:angerume· An Antholog) 19 2 drew heavaly on pre~ iously published\ olume"S, tt howe(l
f lndta.n Perry m Engluh (1977, K N Daruw·alla~s 1ua why everal critics felt he hJJ be n wrongly nq;lc~tcd by Partha
De de lndum Potrry 1980) and A. N. Dw1'"edi' Jndra,1 aralhy' 1976 anthology. Ahhough he had ltved aluoad for
Po~rry m Engluh 1980 have been brought out bv commer- many year he had conunued to write about Jndw as well a!l ht
~al pubh her many of the other amholog1es, uch as /ndran Mt- of xile. Mzddle Earth (J 984) made widely a\'ailable sclecuons
:nse m E gli.sb A Con empora'> Antholog> 1977 , ~ eu, Dzmen- from Mehrotra' earlier Nine l:ndomres anJ Dtst.mce m Statutt
11 " ' l11do-Engl1sh Poetry (1980 19 Poets An Anrholog) M~s along wuh some new and prevsously uncollected poems
.:81 .and Modnn Trend m Indo-Anglian Poetry (1982 are In Lzfe S•gn (1983) Mahapana is more dJrcct, less guarded, fthahn
v weighted towards new or mmor authors who pre umabl} n pre tou volumes. Among ot her amport~ll t books o t c

--------------------~--------------~-----------------------------~---
 fA Ol RY I IH I Ill
WOO R
4

n rour mau pubh hmg u r

.1n earl) bt n 111 r lauon to
nd I I (C.Ucult:t), wnh M ha
 MOOFIIlN INDIAN 1• 0£'1 R"' IN I NGI I S t j
developed. thtar mam locall,;hannels have been Gta)' Book .lnd
ChanJrabhag•, along wath a number of le ser-known JOurnal
such 1 Vortex and Poetry.
While uch poeu as Kamala Das, Keka Daruw all a, Jayanta
Mahapatra, Sh1v Kumar and N1s •sm Ezek1el
f
h:ad by the late J980s
b S h
~en re o nazed a nauonallr s1gm acant "~V a tt) a cal emi
A i
___ .J
awuusan
~
1 no•• have an cstablashed place m Indaan culture, others
.., attracr auenuon Asho k Ma Iu11an
nu to I ' d!'look,
. ' s t11r
'""' ~
was publashed by Ox ford U naversaty
· J) rcss, as
are 6
Go•rt Vzgnetu
Ll'-
was Imtiaz Dharkar's Purdah. B1bhu Padha (b. 19c; I) has publ1 hed
his first volume of v r e, Gomg to rhe Temple (t _988). Some remark-
ably gooJ poetry is bcmg wnuen by lndmns hvmgabroad. A. K.
Ramanu 1an, whose Second S1gbt (1986). has been published b)
Oxford Unl\ersity Press, Agha Shah1d Ala (b. 1949), whose rccem
publa auon!i are The H.tlf-lnch Hzmalayas ( 1987) and A Walk
Through the ) ellow Pages ( 1987), Mecna Alexander (b. 1951 ),
G S Sharat Chandra, Deba Patnaik (b. 1936) and Vikrarn Seth
(b. J952) unul has recent return to India, mtght collectavely be
regarded as an O\erseas colony of Indian literature, evolving in its
own way an re ponse to American condinons. Seth lu rapidly
nsen to promanem:e wJth \-fappmgs (1982). The Numb!" Adminis-
traror' Garden ( 1985) and Tht Golden Gate ( 1986), the latter a
WJtty novel in verse. SuJata Shan (b. 1956), who lives in GeJm,lO)',
has published Brmuzcm ( 1988) in I· ngland. That manv of the new
poets were born after 1947 means that Indian J• nglish poetry 15
likdv to dc\ic10p m unexpected ways, as can be seen from Seth's
tongue m-chcck sense of humour and his use of tradational poetics
as a defence agam tv. hat he ces as the self-destrucuve imrospcc
t10n of romamic1sm and modernism.
Funher C\ idence rhat lnd1an English poctl') has a recognized
and expandmg role m contemporary Indian culture mdudcs: the
Padma Shn AwaTd h\ the President of lndia to I· zckiel for hi:.
contnbuuvn to literature in l·ngli~h, the establishment ol Kav)a
Bharatr A Revle'w of lmi~au Poetry (Madurai, 1988); thl' foundin~
of Pruas Press m Bombay, which has already published second
volumes of poetry byE un~ee de Sou1.a and Manohar Shl·tty~ thl'
appearance of a maJ~n new anthology of b1dzan Lt1ghsh Put.: try smc'
1950~ rdated by Valas Sarang; and the unexpe~,.;tcd .md power
ful return tO the Indian poetry scene b\i Dom Moracs w1th his
Collected Poem5 1957 1987
cHArTER TH R I· E
the Poet's, their Readers and
the Market
1. SOCIAL BACKGROUND ANI) CAREhRS
Who are the Indian Fnglish poets? The percentage of poets from
Hindu family backgrounds (Shctty. Kamala Das, Rayaprol,
Bibhu Padht, Shiv Kumar, Honnalgerc, Mchrotra, P. Lal, Seth,
Kolatkar) ts abollt equal to that ot all the: other communal groups
combined. Ramanujan and Parthasarathy were raised in Hindu
Sriva1snava families . Several come from either rci ormist or modcm-
azmg Hindu group~. Sharat Chandra's family is l in1;.ty.u. Chitre's
family <ltC agnostics of Hindu descent, while Malik 's p.uents .tre
Arya SanlaJist. Only two cstahlisht><f poets arc from fsl.tmic families-
Agha Sh.thid Ali .md Pcerndina. An unusu.tlly large pt.•rccntagl'
are of the Parsi Zoroastri.m cnmmunity-Katr.tk, Oaruwalla,
Patel,Jussawall.t, Coopcr.HH.i Jimmy Avissa. Rom.m Catho~ic:» of
Goan dcslcnt include M o t'.lCS, de Sou:t.l, Silg.1rdo, Rodn~ucs,
Nazareth, .md R.wl d 'G<trna Rose. ~teen a Alt!xam.ier's parent
2re from the ancit·ut Svrian Christian community; the f.uuilics of
Mahap;atra and Patn:tik were Christi.ln converts in re~~tll gu en
tions. Randhir Kh.trc comes from .1 Christi.tn f.unily o~ huropl'.m
and Indian StO-.:k. Ezekid 's parents \HrC jc\\'> . Oi thml frorn
non Hmdu backgrounds, Parsis ;tnd (Jo.m Rorn.tn ~.alwho .uc
htghly prominent. It .1 repr c~ent.l.tl\ c group of thu ty tO forl)
poets is listed in t)rdcr of biath or ,Kent ding tn when they hef"n
publishing there is no dear pattern ot .1 changing onmlun.t 01
soCla1 ongan. · ·r·tcnnt Lh ·1t the ) 11ungcr
• ·' It may, howt'\'cr, bc s•gnt ·
writers born sancc
· · 1 : It t.llll I l.mu~
1944 wclud c on .,, two P0 c.·rs
farruhes. While halt the Indian l·nglish pm't" lome lrolll co,m-
mu natles
· . to the Hmdu
margmal . · · amoa 1,. dw.,c ol nn w ·
maJonry, l_'l •
dox H'andu descent Shetty .md Shav . . K um.1r ,lppc.:., u rebds .t~.un-;t
(Yill\
MODF RN
 _~. M 0 1>1 R N IN f) I 1\ N I'<) I rl{ \ IN 1 N ( l tH
I' O fi 1 S, I I I C I R R I A 01 R S AN 0 1 II 1 M A
RK I I )~
" I It
~ air., did not\\ .ur .mt further rqmnung, th~ set ics 1s expand Ill ot hc
r uni .. crs•tics, it offers one Indian and one C
1.1 I~ l \ ommonwcaltl1
\ r ra ;alt 111 the Common\\ calth \..ountr1cs \\ l11.:rc I· zck 1cl ue rat ure cou rsc. 1c art · · 1asa1 at 1v and 1 aruwall
d . a aml1o1ogac
0 Iare u cJ at most t~~IVCl'St\;cs an l~zcktcl, Kamala Dac;, Ramanu-
lnJ 1an p etr J mdud don n J ngl1sh 'llabus ma) not he Jarg r
but he' r t ad' ~nd hciJ to keep the ~cr1e ah' c Jafl Kolat kar am1f Baru:a a app~r to ,b.c the mo t srudtcd author
Dl mbuuon ha b en m JOr problem for lndi.m poets and 1bc Un•vcrstl)' o olm ay .st.lrt~. teal.c ung lndaan ltteraturem i97S
JOUrnAl OxtorJ ha" go d dHanbuuon and I al ha!ii oUJit up ht and has one opuona papca Ill no tan tterature at the MA level, us1n
o•n ~hann Is. Clcmng House and Nt:\\ ground depend on ma~ 10
Ia publ 1cm through fncnd 111 Bomba) JOUrnalism and pub)
D ~,..,walla's anthology,
.u...
sarathy's l.>OO
k Tl U .
and one at the BA level u 1 , n h g
f • ng ~-arr a
1e navcrsny o Poona began tcachmg lndtan
rc dm~ b' the poct Nand 1s good at ac.hertj~ing himself. Ave~ literature 111 1978 and now hao;; .a . total of s1x cmester courses an
tcw poet , u h a Kharc, 1-Ht\C produced dtcJr own books and don Jndtan an d Commonwea It l1 ~·nung at the MAt vel.
well He sold 3000 cop1cs of h1 second book through the m:ul and Onlv a taf~h tn a_ quarter oi 1ndian universttics offer courses in
lnd 1an Engbsh wrmng; novel~ ar~ set texts far more often than
at publtc rc;admgs.
poetry. ~.more detailcd.cxamination.ol the sctt('xts would reveal
Although Indtan "titers compl.un that there is no re.llicrslHp for surpnstng ~.:onservansm; Aurnlnndo, Toru Dutt, Samjini
poetn an ~ngli h the ales CL'mpan· f••,. urably with poetry publi'ih 3
Natdu ,1nd even Tagore are often the main po~..:t.~ studied. My
ed m the rcglle~nallunguagcs and al~"' with poc.:trv in other I ng· impression is that the mor<' vigorous, proJu~;tivc, bctter-qu. li-
It h pcakmg countnt:s. 11H: rl!ndct .. hip for modern verst in most lted de pat tmesns teach Indian .wJ Commonwt:alth literature.
Jndaan ]anguagcs as siHl\\ n b' iou1 n.tl and b~)ok sales appear Se,eral professors of English told me that th<:)' would like to
Its th n m I ngl1 h. It 1 u cful to conualil the 7li0 to 1000 optc muodu\:.t: the tea~.:hing of lndi:m litctaturc m their department
sold by lc;u ing Hou c and Nc'' ground with the 300 l opu.• but they lacked trained staff. A course may depend on one lectu-
\\ ht h far L book of poems nught dlunhc United States orthe rer and wtll not be given when that leClUJ cr is on leave. This iruation
1000 to 2000 copu~ of an c tablt hed poet. In New Z~a~and Will change as more dissertations arc written on Indian lnerature.
"ha h 1 thou~ht to ha' can unusual number of scnous book pur' Whtle it is pleasing to ee that a growing number of hnghsh
cha er and reader of poeu , a\Crage printmgs arc 300 to 1000 departments teac.:h modet n lndian poetry, unul more gi' ecour~cs
f r 'olumc of' r c. B} v. o~ld standards the sale of poetry book at both the BA and the MA le' cis a profitable m.1rkct for Indaa!1
an lnd1a • good. Ti1c maan d1fferencc from other countries i that F. ngli b poetry is unlikely to de\ elop. Such·'. umverstty markcltS
no one ltkch to achie' c 'ery large ales and there arc no well ne dcd af Indian poeti] is to be self- ~stamtng md no longer
paymg hterary JOurnab; o far there are at bc.:st small fees for dependent un :1 few enterpnsing publtsher ami syrnp,uheuc
r palubl11.:auon m and10logics and textbooks. The umvcrsuy market
IS o tlll mall for poets JOUrnals.
/OU)'tlflfS
Uu ... rnt) Cours
, . bl tS helmpcwuy,
l- I'ltcr.n), :.u;,l\t:t
. I, lll.L, intcllrLtual.utd
1octrytspu. . Wl 'l ~ 1.
Unt\er
A U courses
dh U} . in Ind tan 1· ng I'I 11 wr ·aung
· app.mmtly bl~gan nt
commer~.:t.tl ~cncral ma~azmcs
·c 11 lttwn of laHlall

n ra m-.:ct It\ a.s part of the MA curriculum when K R Sri111 · . ·11 '-' ·w e 'II~;IIbt· (uum •
1alH)lll t 1lt:.
\.l.Q 1\Cngar ~as Pmfes.,or and H i f h . . 1ltcrary anll cultural magazm~!)
. . 'art\,'S,. It11WI Is With:~ . . •
lt.:w cxccp
mc.-m ~fEn hsh B , . ca&.:. o t e Post-graduate Depart· 1 .~. t
C 0 N g hJ 1955 the Umversny of Mysore, under Profe;~or
ame as that of many foretgn lttcr.lt) JOl na ·
Lion 500 is a usual print run Hgu• es I hav~.: f01 older ::lllC r(c~;.n
, , . d 1 \~est (500 copies
opened ~e;_~ ai·~•l], of~ercd an MA paper. Since 1958, when al firSt 10urnals that print poetry inclu ~ f.mt amsold) anll [)utluguc
tn•• poetn. ng asn m H)'derabad has been teach
m '-A'Otr.u nstttut.e ot E 1· ' ·
pnntcd), M1scellml)' (500 copac pnntcd, 200 ' · as docs
c -J m us courses Karn
teachmg Ind a ·. · ata k U mvers1ty
· (Dharwad) b eg:u, (500 to 1000). Gra)' Book printed 300 ~ 0 50
~0 \;OP'f
10 1
'l~tc '60s
1970 two M~ n wrnm.g tn 1964. Osmanaa Umvcrslty offered Ill Chandrabhaga. The obscure stencJllc.:d I mnac l e
courses 111 lndtan hterature; since 1976, like SC\ c.:rnl
 pliJS, JJ\IIH RJAI)ltl':i ANU Till r,.
111 1A~Kl 1 57
c 11ght r
111 11
1111 up I\• 3000 rupee ' or • supp\lscdlv the
1' 1 J
unccn\\l)Ju. tOp
)l • 11 r

Ill Rl 01 K.S
,u 111111 g th. t pth:b H:ad poet~ the career of t ho e tn luded
10
n ul' IJJ gc :uH lll) l og\ 11H~ Ill b e an lfldl auon 0 f h d r h1
,- 1I II t c rc.t
,f (nd• 1n I ng •~ 1 poctl'. tc \.:Ontnbutt r ar\.: nl ost 1YIll cducaP
n•. ,pccaall ' I ng I1 l1 tl.: l~.Ih' mg, tn the other "'n • tn \ii\fJOU
011 , of \.:onunum ....uwns ( rauto cnpt \\ rittnl't:~' JOun1a1
1 m,ad\\:f-
u JOI'
P
), "1t 1 1 a 1 epr c emauon o f :tdmm• unon; •
artd b u n..: smen
h rl 1 c' ·~en\;;c, hm' "' er, that the normal rcadt·r.,h 1p tor lndm~
tn 1 nctthc• lWCt" nor I nghsh tc.1chers.
Clearing House has a list of 1ts
o • f firsr 350 subscribers and t he
It Ull' .ttctfllltll'flllI d11....1t1on~... therokofth cmmed 1aanJof
,the• .u tt~ts ,\~ th~ readers ot poetrv. Approxmutt:h one-fifth uf
the: Jnm:tl ~ub . . ~..r tbers '' t•re other wnte1 s. \"\ 1th educator and
nnu :u was tormmg tbe second and thard large.: t groups. A
1rt detallt.:d brc1kdo" n of the ubscnber ho" the then, and
l bh ~onttntnnt;. 1.1 k of ~up port of the poets b) the Engh h
d c tJbh lml('nt • t un1' e1 ,ine~. Although one o the four
eduo of Clearmg Hou e i a um\'erSlt} Reader an English,
~nd \\ h1lc one of the other editors lectures part ume m English
rud1e • there "ere only fi, e English teacher among the ident.i-
able ub nber:~ for the first four Clearing House pubhcauons,
onh m• lndun ltbral} planJ an ord r Ten educators in
' ld , uch a unn cr it\ profc: or o Educauon, BuJiog'
Gcmun. and me chool teacher "t re ub cnbcr' F1fteen
mHlll sub ·nbers "ere patnter . arn t , falm-m.akers and
r 1" he ub' nbt:r ''ere 1ournahst . film ..:nuo Jfld
pic ell\ t' m the publishing busme . There" ere fi, c mcdJ~.:al
n I ps' chtatn t , s1 bu-.me men and admuu trat r
l c.: Hnt\ odd,ub ~...nber Icantdrnuh.t"O"t:rcum,er-
t d nt • It c m th t the readt:rslup of lnd1an Fn ·h h
'"'-ln 1 t o 1ho e an' oh ed m the n and th m J, nd
th b u d culrural mtere t amon th p fe nal .md
I al ng "nh th e m ' 1n ,u d edu c<1ttl1 h
e F v. a pl'of n lh 1 ' ed th E
t tal the n n J Cle nn H u
n a
d the\..r au\ nd p rf
 I N I 1 R A
M Ill R
Toward .. a Can 11
 2 MOlHRN I DIAN POETR) IN
6 <it A. NO
as a d1rt"Ct replv to P. Lal' mas J\e Afoden1 Indr..m p
Effglish. By contra t Peeradma's seJed&on 1 meant to eoet')
cntical tandards. Each elccuon of a poet 1 pt efaced b tab)
mtroducnon, often of a udgcmental nature, an"' b&ch th' ash
worthv ts u ualh balanced. at umes over-balanced .....
.. ehpra.
l c
etsm The an tho log) 1 the start of a canon a 1t 1 meam n
sundards of euluanon to lhe tud of l ndtan Engh h poeto l)
pcxts represented are JUmanujan. Ezektel. Mehrotra, Ju:lv.
Katrak Kolatk r. Patel, Parmasarath\. Daruv. alia and p
Kamala Das shares a secnon of women writer \\'lth M:ra
and Gaun D hpande Althou0 h P. Lal i represented the t.1 d
non to h1 "ork i highh cnucal and there i al o a , el) ~~f,
rable revte\\ of LaPs antholof'\ and Gokak's Golden T:
Jd A l e; reus t
o- ng um Pottry. Lal "as a pmblem; as one ot the on
arde of modem .Ind&an English-language poers, and as the t-
hsher of man) of the" ~ters, he~ as regarde-d as omeone "'h:h
g~ne tra Peeradm s sele non appears influenced b, E k
~ o as m luded among the cnti along ·w•th Peeradina and de e
1be Peeradma antholog} proposed a list of the oet to
;:m de;'" hj; nm< "hen the numb r of writers h~d in ere
ludo~ de smba orcle of the earh 1950s. The status of Ramanu
R".a '
of poetn. Ramanu an Ez kb) t he pu blicanon
een confirmed · o f hts rn o >OO
n the chOJce ot
alp "'&th odd
m 11 P, etry 9 [>0
~~br. ~:m~ar;::u-aHth'
m owar
hadd appea
rg t
re utanon v. as also
1 ~rry J rom Indta ( 1970). Kamala D
]\& av. aHa's b the ~ ~ tabh hed. a had been Patel'
although recent lta&dr b&r t ook . Daruv. alia's first n' o book
'
e-t e\\s b) Ezekiel een '' Jde}
nifi 1 pratse
. d , recenmg fa,our.lb
th tg
ra ~, P~radina and K k team nc\\ names\\ ere .Mehrotra. Part
m the Little magazme 0 1at ar. The latter two had been a u
out v.ere not v. tdeh k \.ene both in India and the United tat
P
oets , except to reade
1 no\\fn 1n h lnd'sa outs1'de the circle of Bomb
f
sarath> had pubhshed ~ ~ e shon~li, ed Poetry Ind1 • Panh
£ nouceable that b •de 1 d) m Enghsh and in Indian 1ournal I
oun~ no place for Dom ~ unfa, ourable "1ew of Lal the ed1t
1

r~rh ed a a Bnu h wnter orae , who, presumably, ~a n

1 e dur ng th ·
fi nt anth l e n t fev. ea h
Pr t h d •es, one edned b Gt ere"' ere three other fl
an \ th ' appear } aun Dcshpande and t\\ o
not to ha, e had mu~h mfluen
MOllH I 111.1\
 IIIJI R I'll I N U I A N I 0 I I 10 I N 1 N ol I

II
 NON
M I 1\t 71
 f'ffR l \F

Poetics and Criticism

 U aN INDIAN POET a Y IN INcH.t
d lon1al culture, was also becoi!Uo.a
74 O.gr tn ThoHght (28 June 195l)
~..... w-.:tme pl'lllet but now seem totally lllapPro.
•••~ .,.--. urbln attitudes and modem~
hows no awareness of poetac technique, except for
pii:Cti'IJJI voweb and ats descraption of the poems 11
••~ ...., ....,.• his revaew bears tesnmony to has own venaon
d.P AND CRITICISM
75
mean1ng matter an poetry?' More tmbarra ang was 'F. R
a:....A~Rr•~U:JU:i budsong" and 'the heaven-knows what of my
Eunace de Souza, revaewing the anthology m Pcera
·;~~PJttmi•OT•~ry lnduzn Poetry an Engluh, ~:alled the mtro
Incompetent, ancoherent, and pretenuou • and after
on Stanley's 'b1rdsong' added '(tweet, tweet))'. De
r.a;.-- 'There ts a need for a representauve anthology, but
selection docs not fi11 thts gap and, wor e sul\,
the sagntficant work included ' Elizabeth Reuben 'i
lilbiltiClln to Lal's poetry tn Peeradina's anthology begms by
th t with 'absolute unconcern he fills his poems wuh
a and 'bathos'. The poems 'lack con\;retencss m their
t~;Jiia.y.• 'The roses birds, and bees are like mere counters; nmhmg
ake the'm real, or to convey their fasctnation .... It all
tom
to something both over-nc '1 1 an d"dfi •
111 e m1te.

M't:OIIIW1DC aesthettclSm-even echoing Pater-and ha pre- the vacws of Daruwalla, de Souz~ and Reuben are part .of
M.I..,.JI'O.I poetry whtch u metaphorac, melod10us, moral (see his developed in India by Ezekael, I do not neces~anly
11t Colkcttd Poems of P La/, 1977, p. 9) and umro· were directly mfluenced. I sug~est that the mo~al enous-
dern mtellectual conscJousncs ' tcchm\;al compe-
• mt h"~h standards and precmon of language thcv
readm wall feel Daruwalla's 'Introduction' to Two
r,J.., Poetry IS more accurate where It IS daamed that ~o;~;~mt~~~ced into Indtan criucal thought by l· zcktt:l and
A agt anaugurated a new era of Ind1an poetry by
nunc of the demands of the present-day world, bringmg Into ~..a. h1m spread to and de\l eloped by others. f d. I
~· )' • f1 ce can been cc.:n m the kind o a \tee 1e
pia a modem en abality confronnng the confusion, bewalder Part of Ezekie ·~ ilie ~;~Os when he wa a ub editor on the ll/u -
man and di •llus•on of the tame, wh1le using a modem adaom others early 1 dD Morae that the danger to ,l p\.lCl an
w thout the u h11sms and Janglmg rhyme schemes of the earlier trWtffl Weekly. He w.ame . om utauon could be gained~ he read
poets Wh1le Daruwalla' descraptaon of Ezekiel reflects h1s own India was the ease wnh whu.::h a rep d. La! has commented on
.,_,_, · ts querymg every wor • • · •L(
work, t hows how far off the mark Lal was. The very tnle, A NIV1U\ s manuscnp . , . f Quest rcwrncd a poem r c.:
T~ to Ch;cngt belle Lal's maddle-brow, genteel hedonism As lhe arne when Ezekael, then edato~ o rk 'chided obv• lll'i poet 1-
Daruwalla ays, the tade poem shows a 'life of loose untied ends' mlted me for usmg an exclamauon ma ' l' c.:rv"tion at the:
~ and sentimental relterauon. . ' ' A p
h fCl: I sc tl
, ('A h'w Words'.
I ••

Where Lal had seen a flatting hum.mmgbird (a phrase perhap!t better

applied to has own kmd of d~ light, romantic lyric poetry), Daru ....___ d '
wu~ , he suggeste ' wou s r ld t engthen t c pot•m
Dcdi~.nion to bt'lllg a poet
walla speaks of Ez.ektel's reahsm, 'wrmkles, wans and all'. Lal s preface to The Unfimshed Man). d j the usl'l1f
15100 11
It ll unfonunate that Lal's anthology of 132 poets appeared when lftd the art of poetry, internauonal standar s, prct;l t)' :md tb c need
u did A decade earher, before the appearance of books by Kamala word reJection o f poeuctsm . and senumentamon~ I ,
the quaI1t1es
.
mtu
~ RamanuJan and Ez.ekael's EX«t N11TM, it would have heal
W • t then of course, at would have been 1111possable, as the
for logtc c~herence and moral mtelhgence are 3 •ur local world of
whith E;ektel required from the fonner 1Yamatc:
1,:,";',:orkshop and MuaU.,y had only begun publishing 111 lnclian poetry. bl" h d book Unde1
lomw • ~~ longer the tune, however, to praJR R. L. Bartho-
0 f first
IL 11
JO.Z.Ck1e1' revu!w o Daruwa a
•5 kL dIS15c.:repnntcd' 111 pcc
pu
auUlCilbc vo1ce of feelmg•, P. K. Saha for 'the civilized Orion {1970) appeared m the T1mes Wet 'Y ~ the 'rcmarkahl)
~of an etcer beaver' or to defend Dom Moraa by sayutl llelina· anthology. It begms by conuastmg
 M 0 0 1- R N J N f) I A N P 0 t: T R \ I N l N C lt Sti C /I.NIJ ( RITI( ISM
76 ot.T I 77
sub tanual bulk' of Lmde Onon to the slimne s of most lndi:u-. rad.na. 101 t:xarnplc, unroduces h 1s antholo b
volum of poetry m Englt h and ~laJms as a first collcctJOn it com. p ,, ho 1ndtscrimmJtely pmmote Indran g} > CntiCil':tng
I ' E k I . d poet ' encoura"lnt•
pares favo urabll v.lth the fu~ t books oif Dom
h ll
Mor .u~s and A 1,.
· ·•.s ' 1.:\ Hlen~.:e
· · "'·
. By l;Ontra<>L ze re as p• ;usc tor h1s c f
tr.t5I1 • f I , 1. 1 d .
h o o
ra tsman •p :mJ
RamanuJan The sigmficancc of the s1ze (? t e co ectton rarth :t arath) or 11
E k I'
po 1s 1 an prcc1ston anJ c.xact ·
k tmagcs. ecra-
r' ·
not onlv of mature pocuc t.tlem but of lneral). sramma, tmellcctual dIn l ~,.rJtiUZCc;
l 1ng
ze IC t"C~o:o..:nt WOI .lS )a~king COntent d
. t) Ie. Mc·hrmr,t 1 ~nucrzt:d . . for
.
esplle. :\
strength and soc1al av. arcnr~s.' After companng D.1ruw.1l~a to his ne" f•·eu to" ·
·1111 llll~.H apunl\
onternporanes (Mehtotra and Pecradma resem?le hun 111 'thetr ., ,uaN'
of 1.u •o • 1::'
1 wrthout •
com em; 1);1ruwalla 's scnsi'J' 1· . •
L 1 •1\: tS acme 1y
1
sharp JXr~,;epnon of en\ tronment and forthnght t.ncm~.:nt' , ,."arc ot : nd ~..ommmeu tu pr escnt-day \ouo-puliuc.·ll ~o.ultural
Ez ktel prll his depth of fechng, cconom) of language and -lin': l•tctaturc mll'il .-.how an 1warencs<; of the pllv 1 d
.... f d' ~ b . '>•ca an
rus
ongm21m: f mSight', Jl'On), In 'bitter, sc:omful, satin~ tone' and human l.md ~ape o 1n. I 1.1I anuI e,.. mvoh cd in the local life w h 1
. Vt I c
en rg "" argument m 'c: riC \\ luch 1 the end-product of a rigorou Ptoerad 111 a's 'on cern . ' oca 1c.1 1t1c rsf reflected in h1s O\\ 11 'erse~
, . wJt
p oc 5 m wluch ~ttJtudes ha' c been explored and chorccs made.' pcc1alh 'H.md a ! tt ts an extcn'ilun o E7.ck1cl's prai c for poet
Daruw2 1la's amtude mwards India IS 'un entimem.1l'. Ezekiel a\\ ( ol th,u em Jromncnt. He .1lso h.u·c:~ Ezekiel's 011 ern wnh
further comments on Daruwalla's descriptive l>kill, ~rcatmn of the need to discriminate and to judge who h.1s or has not worked
characters and sltuauons, usc of pc.>cuc dialogue and the dr.1matir drligtntly for pr e(i::.inn .1nd exactness.
as well as the 'blend of faeedom and d1sciplinc, metncal rhythms Not a w'tem.1ti( or origirul critic, Ezekiel has a Jistim:• 1,e
and the\\ ord order of prose, compact and harsh allitcrnti' c: phrnsmg.' , ew of poctr ·. Although the ~Oil(Cpts and C!\ en ph• lSes stnmd
Titrou hout there\ ie\\ he contra ts Daruwalla's \'Crsc wath that mtlar to" hat bas often been said, tl1~.: emphasis .md •mplication':i
of poet.l ter • \\hose l:raft man l11p IS limucd to 'the ample Jd up tO personal posiuon. In his talk on 'ldcas and :\lodcrn
expre aon of emot1on w1th a prmkhng of 1magery.' Po n\' (lmlum \~ rzters m Confe~ence, ed. N. Fzekicl, PEN All-
Th1 1 a remarkable re' 1ew, remarkable for its qual it}, pcrccpll\- lndr ~ Centre, Bomba\ 1 1964, pp. 45-84) Ezekiel ugue that
en and com:JdJOn that the first book of a previously ob ure puct modern poetrv is not used Lo do wllJt prose cJn do; th~ pn)p.tgl-
1s .among the best a~hie' ements of Indian E ngli b poctr} to that t n ,f tdea 1s not the 1oh of vf•t.,c:. Modern pol:ts try 'tl.) fmd a
umc lr ~ also remarkable how tlte initial, some\\ hat 'ill I l:mguagc which ''ill mate h the actU.ll speech hJbits, rhytlum, .mJ
pnsm c bscr. auon of the 'bulk' of the' olume cvoh cs int 1 evidence t p1cal awtudes' of the t '" cmicth ccmur}'. W'hilc us1ng fonm
of the.: "':J} Dnruwalla achic' cmcnt ;urpasses that of lllCl!tl of lu~ fr m the past the) have used them in new w.l)'S, ,n01ding 'con-
c ntemp r.me · Key con~epts re maturn\ stamma intellectual n 1011 I fonn used in comcntional wa '; thl'\' h.ne 'rc,c:ltcd
~ ngth, ial a\\ a~cnc , perception of e~~ ironmcn,t forthnght t ndard Images andphrases! tht> who I~ wnc of rhe .tgc pr~ccding
dtatem nt, conom) of language, irony, wne, blend of f;eedom anJ 11 1r • Th~ c'!iSa) t:Ontmucs with a (.h cus~i\lll (11. ho\\ modern
1
phn • w rd order 'r flccuon on cxpenence' and the' anet ol P u~t hav~ needed to construl.:t :1 ftam~.:W(lrk of adcas duough
cr uon Th e are ex pan 10ns o f 1 1e k1cI'scarher' 1equ1rem nt t I1 t h•ch to umfy and express their sen ibiltty; 1t i~ nl'~l'.Sll·1 r} to fmd
n poet he comm.ttcd to bemg a pot:t 1 that the craft of poctlj be alanguag~, lorm and ut it udcs \\ hidt t: :xpn·.,~ ulntCI1lfR•r·11 Y lrft•.
mastered at the h1gh est tan dard1 am1 that poetry hnuld 1>C t hc ~A. ltl.:t\Jrt: ' 11 'Poetry as Knowledge' publi~hed 111 <Juc$!
resu Ito f moral mt.ellectuaI and soc1a. I .mtelltgence
. expressccI 111 nf" 6 Ma) 1972, pp. 45 8) is signifJ~ant fnrth~ trnsion bowecn tl~c
~:} s Wt~ cc~lr~my and pr ciston. Much of what E zek1cl ap 'nccmr:mon and con JCtt.:nC'!iS of pure pl etl) and l·lt:ka(;~.s
_;uv. a V.J e ~a•d by others about his ov. n , er c The concern ltd that poctn contribute •to m.m 's knowlcJgl· ,(.hun c
Wlul 1..tn S of langu
em 1ronmem fo ge, ecunom>, craftsman hap, •p rcepuon o
r ~'htlc a po 111 must' trl\c to fuse 1hought and c.:ml)uon w mu~;<·
thaa h.1\ mora I anuph1lo f - • ,. •
unpu~.-auons • a•1
J whtch there
pan
0
f ' rthnghmcss, IIHclltgcnce and the evaluatavc com r ~ rn ;akc poetr~ a 'precasc J'hacal and cx.tct • f orm O 1 \;t)ur c' a poenJ
f".l's )
v. ho {," { etS \\ •II be <:haracten tic of many v. ntcl and crJU'- Ia k . · knov. 1('l1t;c.
'c ecn associated wnh 1 zckicl. wc,gha WllJOtat truth, m£•anmg ami, espcc•~lly,
,.,.,n llttlt •~M
79
 I I "t I
tfl ~ ANU RITI I M 81
ld t kc Although a poem 1 an ob 1cct mad 0f
b) d It canon to word arrt\c at a truth. u ~up word 1 th
lat d to the problem of bemg a human' bn r tardmg 0 poetry
uon.tlly and intellectually. 'RamanuJan' re mg, growmg up
no lr}· of the past of htc; familv, and of ht p: r'oln through
lation ot t 1c past ·~ a po st e model for how t ou cone, own
r- I •. bl n co urn cU
a .t
Hts po m arc prod uct o f a p\:ctftc culture whtch h
ran ht d tnto'J.lthe tcm1s S ofk anotherCo culture. (The c \tcw~arc.unher
. , e ha
1 pcd ~~ -.ow It tn ·cs a ntemporary· The Poctl) of A K
R manu an, 7h(' lttera1J Crrtcrron, \Ol. 12, nos. 2 & 3 1976
1
A n th..:re 1 the cla1md that a poem . 1s ·an ob,·cct , a ate ' o)f.
1
tm gc~, d1Liugh rc I?tc, to everyday realtt), and to the problem of
'b g 1 human bemg . But the cmpha~is i<> different rrom thal 10
10
E c:k1cl. 11w pt)Cm seems more an ol'!Jcct in 1t df t\ 1an a kmd uf
tr:an m1s ~on oi knowlcdgc_to others.(A-. English IS n11 t ,1 rcginn:tl
anguag~ 111 lndta and therefore .1s used by the Indi m pot.:t w11l not
.h \C the s lQal and cultur.1l nuancl's it would Ill I•ngland anc(
Am nca, thcr c IS a need to forge an unobtrusive 'otc~.:, to m~
In tJgc I) artlficc)W·!.ile this may account tor ParthaSJiltll\ fs
rate.: acceptance than E zcktel of a pnc m a obJeCt and a
t u lUI of im.1gc , 1t 1s also rcl.ncd w this attempt to rool hun-
If tn a1 an11l tt ~diuon. Thi"'i t.lkcs the fotm of a kind of rl!\er c
tr n l:tuon, m which an l nglish poem is \\ rittcn a d it were
T nul Partha~arathv dauns th n since 1971 hi~ po~.:m" a1 c d c,,c 111
t I • content and 1rony to T.1mil ver c.
'X h n: 1 an I zcku~l poem is 1 rwgoti.mon \\ ith the modcr n
\\ r\d Pa11has:u.1th) 's conu:rn \\ ith tit~.: present is in it~ tcl.ttaomhtp
1
tc the pa t. T. S. l•l1ot oubht in tt adiuon :tn ,mswcr co the ft_agmen
ut m uf modct n ltbcr.ll individu.1ltsm; P u th.to;.tntth) ,ed Ill tradl-
t n a lllC:lllS Ol 0\ Cl"(l...lll1illg the el!CCt~ .1 \\'l''iLCI 11 ~o:dlllJ{I(lll wht..:h
ur
1 ruptcd hts toots in a tr::tdition. ·1 hio.; j, .1 soplustH.: ltcd, llll.'111ced,
•mplcx version ni regtonal llnuon.1lism 111 wbtch thr.: tmhvHh,t:tl
lt mpts to ftnd hts 01 her tdcntil)' in terlll" of .1 ~p..:Lillc ~.: .ulturc. 1 hl'
unpltctttes of natiorulist Jcmtnds fw loll, Jnd laistrlltl...ll th~.:tnl'"
' been repla~.:cd h\ an :11 gumcnt wbid1 to; H'logtltinJ,Iy an uuc ol
h m tn trcams of mod~.:rnist poctil thcnn 1
Tht he rctJ al as~umpuons of 1 zckid nu: harcd b'
111 111
v ol
odl~-: 1 1 H t
r lnd1an (;ritai"S and p l • l1u:rc at c, ho" e' t'l • mhlln
t wl d 11 11 I'UJI'l' me ..bnrr \
o not wnt~.: m pre~.: a t: c~.:ononuca ~ ·co ' k f
aned unag • dev lop thctr p'ocm'i I:m ~nalh or pc.l runll
1'

Id d f 1' lvcllllnt \vtl'

------------~~~-----------------=~R~:C:\::cl:o~p:e:d~frum mJture re lo><uon am • : : _ _ _
 1\ND < IU I I C ISM
Of J( 83
un 1, tcJJa t, the) , howe' · er, rccogmzed that such poet h ad
Jfl
ov. n
tra 1uon m carlter
f revolutionary and a\ ant gardc wmer ry
1
" carl) statement o Ithts aesthcuc 1 lutrc's lnt ro ducuon
nn •
. to
htS A' ltl] ().'
olo~''l' oj Marat n Poct7)' ( l'J67) Starttng
d . · · l h •
wn 1 t end;
roo tClIn C' ol the mo cr n mllld,
and the di intePratt
o o n o f t ra •,_
.uona1'- ult•JfC, chnrc asSCI ts tn.n at pt cscnt poetry 'l,cg . I1cr
,; .. . ( I . ms ctt
w1th
a wtal dcmnl o , M mota value.: nt 111 the sp 1rit of untl h
.. me 1111;
moral ~.:onuu1tmcnt.. 'S tll:tSm, amu c11>: and cnes for order are
• onh kands of pocuc exptc ston. Chatre pra1ses the Marath
h
•po 1 Nt:trdiH.:kc• fot ,.us
l'- . l • 1 )•
o >"cur!tY: t te obscur~t)' a~ 1 smg out o1 a
I

pcctfic comrnunscanoo- tcchmqu e based on 1us pn\ate poetics':

lt 1 the dclt:mt obscunt~ ot.nll dern poetry in the fa e of hackneyed
t hmquc of communtl:J.tton; H> understand the poL>trv we mu~t
grasp the ~ram mar o~ tht·.po~t·~ i~Jj, idual cunsciousnesS,:~Lmlhekt•r
u ed mu 1"':11 orgamzatton of tmagcr}' and ~,;Ountet potnt. ChitH'
ff r h1 O\\ n aesthetic of the ,\\ ant-~ardc. He daims that ' .mv-
hm creal a' c l,;hallengcs, nulllfic all previous mould of cons~.; IOU -
n • New 1 ec h rhvthms, new s) max or vocabulary or tmagerv,
r ult from • 'r-c,olutionaT) structural upheaval deep "uhm the
eallH poet's per onality'. Such changes sho\\ a change m soctCt}
ttself durmg a generation.~\ ma1or poet breaks away from pre' ious
nod of on cmusness and thus will ,,twav~ be ob cure to mn t
eaders H or she will, likt• Mardhckcr or Knl.1tk.1r m M.lr.nhi, 'hie
ptm the nt:\\' • nd cra~h 'mto the unkn lWn', anmlul.uing in the
proce the habttu, I poetics of pa t generations. Chtrrr con lud_cs
• mtrodu uon b, claimmg th. t all kmds of Kno\\ lcc.~ge .md c.x
.pen n c arc no\\ part of wh. t go ·s uno poetry. AU en. Gtmberg aml
l R 1Jones arc publi hed in M ratlu. Indians n::ad Pablo Ncruda,
R..tlke, Rm1baud, Kafka. 'a fantastic conglomerauon of clashtng
re me .. 'iston ... a li"ng confusion~
Some of the kc, com.;ept here, 1e: new ftmnal strudurcs; nt"
. f
l'te h patterns rcflccung a Ill 1. 111 conM.;Jou~ne s \\
hach de trO\ sf
rht old, a hift m con ciou nc s c. u cd b'' the conglonll'r-auon 1°
- 1 fl
Itunu _ .J 11C3tllllSinCttlC
m u n e and new and mcrea oo commur
1 __J d' · 1 lttte and
nu World War "hich ha shockc:u tra mona s 1 I
hale makmg hfe ab urd created ne" kmd of mcanmgfu ndeth. n
'ousne an ere
er
btv. d reat poetry c pre.: es nC"- con ct • t1
d . herclore tere as a
en " n w conscsousne an re cnt de :a e 'th 1 of the
«d tl
r a ne\\ poetry wh1ch \\ tll ea 1cr c:xp
res t e an arc 1)
h ld other
. t of\\ at" ou
r ampo e order on It bv somt= al tgnmcn
R I I tc ISM
. ll Y I A D CRITICISM 9

In lndta the" nt r ha an 'an~mshed n d to de me 3 1

uoml flow of urn L\lthou h th w rld m t '
hrough the v1 aonal') an unet' ther 1 no real hd l
t;;iiiiOC~rntout of such darkne , 'the ge ture of ra tmol\ a~
waaung, emptymg out of the elf, wamng, w<nl:htnlil_

~.·~ ~ther d1fferent km~ ?f cnticasm from that

.._"",.. ecn before 10
hhough perhaps anucapatcd by Chttre's Imroducuon
,daof the poem as the cry talltzation of im a.ge of maturel)
d red expenencc, t~c focu~ has shtfted to the mmd' awarene
lied feelings ansmg dunng n'loment of Silence, pen:eption
h~gs whacli are seldon~ anicul~tcd and v. hich are normal!)
r ed for the: akc of da1ly ur\ 1\.\l~lnstead of the "'rillcd df,
tt'i re ponstblltty, the existence of the: self is at lea t temporan.!y
toned. Wlltle only ilic realaty of the external world extsts, e'en
rtaln) 1 ~ m doubt; a poem i :1 constn•ction nude by allowil}g-
ubvcr J\CTee mg to arise; they may not b~ resolved" nhin a_
poem)fortllc crit1c the poem itsclfbecomc le.ss nnport.uu than the
uon, the desire, the vjsion, the 'cosmogonv', the kinds ot
bol and ~onsciomncss exhtbitcd throughout .m autlmr'li "ork.
Su h a cntil:ism bc.:l:ame necessary when Mahap:ur.t in panicular.
tal o uch other Indian pnets .1s Alexander, began writing,\ tl('\\.
lmg, obs urc kind of poetry, filled with pri\,lte ymb,~l-., LO~l­
ed wnh other kinds ol feelings th.m those u~u.lll}' trlt 111 SIK'I,tl
Natlons. In th1s poetry l.mdscapc often fiburcs prominently .1s th~
poet 1 concerned with the problcm.uil' or lra~ik· n,llun: t)l tin.• .,t•ll
and at relauonshap to external r'cality.
I have sug~estcd that nc:w poetry .u firsl i~ pr~)J~llltl'd b\' the: pm·~-.
rhem lves as art• tht· spcciti\,; ,,,lul's hy wh1ch 11 1~ Jllllgcd. In lr.tdJa
Euki l' concern with a.1h manship, intdlcdu.tlued llhwn.HHIII'._
I e, mornf realism and ln£1.'gr.uiun ol pc:r-.on.lllt)' tHt'ltt:d .tb(·
amateun m, late romantil:i'>m, aesthetilism, natil)n.llist ~ubJ~'l.t
attn--ana-vague Splritualasm which Wl'rl' (hai',\Cil'll'>tiC' uf (mfl:lll
~t ~etry before and .u mdcpl·ndcm:t.'.; The t.md aHI" nf
p tklel createo the maio en tical di-.courst• whtch oLhcrs, IHll.lhlv
ait1i rath , developed in ll:'-onl.uH.l' wtth du:tr 0 '\ 11 "''-'rJi.
arailiy has put more: emphasis t)ll the pul it) ur 1111 '1.t;l',
Je.n of tone and as ocJ.ttion, tlt~ m·c.:d to h,~all.: "rtng
•lradinon, and themes reilcding the probkrns nl blluhura 'j111 '
lrut to the l:nllcJsm of Ezck1d, lJJI'll\\ .1lla and P:ut la
•-
-" the comments on poetT) by t 1a• l' p~rum · ·mal wr tt<:r~
 ·-.&-- and H is Influence

roup of poets attempting to create a modern En~hsh poetry

1 Nissim Ezekiel soon emerged as the leader who advtsed
set standards and created places of publu;atlon. His mam
is not, however, as a promoter of poetrv; tt ts 10 hts w1ll
poet, his continuin~ involvement tn the pot: try scene and the
which the developmg body of h1 work express~s his pt: rsu
for a satisfactory way of li' mg mthe modem world Whereas
Indian English verse was a hobby, something done tn
moments, Ezekiel made it central to hts life. Others wrote
he wrote poetry. The difference is refle\:u:d in hts cr.tfl.,
and purposefulness; ths 1 as mu~h a matter of wtll as ot
Ezekiel brought a sens(! of dis\:tplinc, elf ~.:ritict!lm .tnd
to lnd1an Englisn poet'! He was the fu t lndtan po"'' w
h a professtonal attitu~c.
very e:uly what he wanted; ht: want~d prc~t'iton nf
and Imager and what I would des\:nbe :l'i mor.ll purpo\.',
was structurally em odacd m the roundmg off ot .1 pl 1c.:m _
observauon~He asmed at a contemporary m.11mcr whtch
votce modern \:Oncerns ani whach tn style and th~mt
avoad ifie <latt!d provmctalism of ~.:olonaal 'crsc When
lhroughout the English speakmg world lhan~dl 111 thl'
from formality to openness, Ezek1el's poetr} rook 1p:Hal
_ ......~.; He constantly renewed hsmself an his work .mJ kept
wuh the times. Coloma), provincial, amateur poetry •s old 1
aoned; an must reflect the present and be part of its dn) am

"-'--_..___lbe~-- Cll)', sexuali~

the problems Qf marnaJC, the need w
:=;~~~~~LJIJ~ ~ an~on unon& the varao.us
1

;;:~.!!!~~~~~-.."""'Ezlw~car.t,..aad WO"""'"'cbc~·
 I~ t\cCilll:d \\ llh P'·" ~·,
I It( 1 ~p 1 1lt1'm
)llund \hun

'''"'·'~""
\'\ uh ..n:act faults, om:c.th:d "'' mor

1,, 1 huuts nud d.\~

lln• ''''~"'h ~ lllll:
\ ll uttll P' \IM~
\ btt l)f 1\lld
\ ,, \1111\1\ \lll)

(Jt lp<' ''' ltf,'

\ncl ll\<.'l.'l'lu'l~
fno; 1ght ,lhulllnlli\ll\
St: 1d Ltult lHll.t•:tkd no mm c.

, lth 1 cllls ~.on"·can ~-onduc:t. Jll lgement. bch,,,,our or

, , 111 n :m \{nc:tn ~1. k', 'p1 sal n of mmd or hrart
llf\ th qual.buum of :tn'. u h equahbnum bet\\ een ~od\
ul he 11 t Jnd mmd 1 th • dc.,tred tate tn c'1ntra t to 11te
It Itt n 1 ', l po m "lu~.h l cgins 'l am rrupted b'. the
J 3 d\.:on had• 'an£ ted I 'mruptthC\Hlrld'.' nmcctmga
t' b
1
n \\ord. look ... g ture,, C\Cr)thing bctrn
u qmet mmd. th · mpnn . . "uhm' 'R bt>rt' bep.ms '11\c "a\
i at R l rt ..a,d':

on~,
n route :l
 Ol)lf I UlAN I'OI'JI'Y IN I ,.,.,uiU JNIJUINCI
94
J>;lfl
r. -.,.v watlun the dcptla
111
1°
And {Jllth~
, '>nun. cc, o f our<-' a1 l y l)f:lllg

pocl11" tend tow. rd rhyme, regular rhythm and

'; ar~~uncnt.l\100 thwugh metaphor and 1m g ry fhought~
arc b~.:ucr phrac;cd to fit the lm , wl11ch'" turn expand
I \'~ nt..1Xparavra
('ol • ,., 1,h . In' A Poem of I >cdu;atlon' the l tclc 1a tes
i)f cac;nnal change :t!> an cxprclj •on of the orgamc 1r;
ndend wllh'
1 magcry o f fl ()Wing
. nvcr~. mto • u-;tamcd logtal
po ntnll: .
Jlu.:rc 1., :1 landscape cer Lamly, the sea
Amnnb 1ts baond re;-alltlcs, attr::n;ts
HccauM: it is a symbol of thl! free
Dcrno 11 ia~ lifl· widain,
I r mlly Slll)gcstl!d by the sur! ace f:lcts ...
Both p•)Ctry ,111~ liv~ng illusu;nc: . .
J•ad 1sc ,son bnn~s 1t own pccuhnr fru11s,
A 1imc '''act,,, time to contcmpl.nc.

nl I')Cll y cxp1 cSSl: l complex modern mind .Ht.cmpting ~0

t<t;Jalc :uul otdCJ experience through .1n approprl.lle style 111
wh1ch unn~cr)' .tnd ~llusi(Jn 1rc J?ilrt ol th~ught.
By the ••me ot The /'l}lrd (pn,·atcly pnntcd, B~'n.th.w, 1959),
It k1 I h:1d developed~ pcrc;onnl if -,till somewhat lt~tlltnlr~anncr,
now h,tscd on bal:m\;ed rhvthms .uul rhvme wlulc pbymg '.H~
d1dn:s 1dioms and savings. bcspiw the IH«Jdcrn U!SC ~)t ~,.;olloqu~J
r • I
PI Id and ends o tl ady-m:u c "Pl'l'C 1,
I l I:·zc k"&c·I' s .ts n1>l •:.\ modermsl •
. I I 1 1· · . 1 · · But tl1t·n 111 t 11c
poetry l:Uil~,.;crm:d wllh cu turn .ml po rtH.;a '-' Jlil'i. " .•
I'JSQ-; th~: modt: 1·nio;t u adition w.1s .11 ,tlnw ebb .md n~any puct1~ w~:ltl:
rt l•.scntn~ tl.c values ot t IH: Wl'II -matl c "'onvl·r·sauon1l · · t)ot·m. n
. I' . t· I
I 'ICktc s ~.;Hil the pt•t'Mm.-d 1s ( ast.uH.:l'l .ts t11C rnm .
t • d obsl·rvt::.. ~t·nt.'l a-
., . 1,
l11 Cli, allstt,H\s .uul .Jlld~cs; .tJHl' II crtu.l I contro . I 's rdledC'l1 Ill l 1c
rcgular11y t)t rhv111t- .md llll'tn·.
,, • . ,. 1 t1 . e 11 1~t•r bl ,0 ks •
I "t l'lmd 1s ~t)•listit: dly more unttlt'l 1t 1·' 11 tt • k . .
I7 k I . , 11 v w ma c pot: ms
-C 1e appears to h.wc lc:tnll'd I rom 't t•,ats (')' • h f 1n
al 'Ollt 1ltc ell while sumdirw ,\l :t dast.lllt· 1 1 m'<' ,., Jt .H 0Juc
t•; t ll' .'
•
t
0
1b rvc1 rntcllu.:ttt.lll)' dis~.<US~tngpersun.l
• 1CillO tn)ns• h
'"' ~,.on
,L "uch
ab
111 . 1" ptll'liC t rougo
l tr.a liOn • Yet the: gcncral&UC~ are nH\\ c , ll 1" ermined
quiet a. 1 1 'l 1 •' nd co " • l 1t t·
• ~llut HC( mctOf'lwr :1 u:an at P • •
1 ss l"lf
tnt II • I . . 1 , , t The p .unne · \.!
e\.:t • w lll:h both umm.mzc am suggcs ·
s,
 IODERN INDJ POEJR~ I
lfll o\I'ID U1S IN LUI:.NC.E
96 I Jl L 9
-.n le h ,. 1he Jd' Jtlll~e o unobtru'l\ ch rc\l~al 12111 g \\ h:n pcJk of .a ume of m omplctene d
becom c ~,.h~.:~ In h• p em I zektd e tabhshe 10 J pe h
1 0
1pu gaton condudm w1th th l lhJitn r r ~ m
m 1 rc" .,Jl m, Jhhou:.;h at the umc of pubiJcauon of n "1'1.
0
en poern arc a scqucn\.C con crnm tL,. d P
h ".ts nh than' IJH ' r old In 'DI\ t!>JOn • he look b<J k II' "f h n.. I nt nt
dh cttlc.:d h e; t ~ are related mor b t h b
r h met an
ht mamJge. H.' tJr t p0\:01 contra t"' t e tit\! m n" th h 1 drc m
\\ 1th ~old. dctcm1mcd mtelb. t 1\\ orld. Imagen tram nature 1 u ~ 10 mb 1
1
I ".udtcd the hean at pia\, ~t'nc , f ~cdom and depth of \1 ton not f und amo
And heard It ~rnr f blc ednes .:u:t ns of the clt . In Urban' the ub 1ect n , r
Cpon a nupual d ' e ne'er fcch the 'shadU\\ s of the naght , \\ elcome n th r
I "amed 11 of J changmg time r :un. 1-:JIS lands ~pe ha no de~nh nr h aght' But m te d
11 1
It \\ould not mg that wa\. J\ g the un. h1s mmd turn to kmdred !amour c1 c t
10
J Eso;cnualh a poem about bad fallh The nHr ,,. hh.:h h
The problem and d1 appomtmcnrs of m.1n iagc " 111 bee a ms he to' cs') and la~.:"k of wtll, tt tone 1 admonn n \"\ htle
maJOl theme, .1long ide ne" temptations of the fle h 3°~ e bstractne of in:a.1gen uggeqs the subJect' lack of depth ot
a\\arcnc of repa:~ ed, deep. "ild emotinm '~1 1dmnn ~epuon, th~ image-. su~ge t more than IS s:ud l he mmd'
·u d , I d . . . . ns
~na ne' contra t ttc e tn: to ma'h n up and tart at;:un' \ 1 r ft~,. i~ a generalized image but perlecth lmk the urb:m th me
th recogniuon that to go l\\ a "auld probabh chanoe noth h rhc.: m.:m' distractions, "hile 'kmdrnl clamour' I h mtro-
'the futme ~tuff ol dreams repeating "hat has alwa, s b tn
'\X hat Frightens 1c' bcgms: ·~tv)ielf examined fnghten me e~
thc fam1l a... one cause of the problem.
\X h1l ·Enterpme' concludes 'Home 1 "here" e h l\ e to gather
~peak of the ~antra t 'Between the ::.elf-protect" e elf' m , n 'A 1oming \\ alk' the 'He' ha 'd~camt ot bem to t
'And the elf naked A the poems speak of the dtsJllus1onm n ;t htll too high for htm'. He ees the Cll\ nd ats mtllt n
of marnage and the temptanons of nc" lo,·cs th~: r mo' e to\\ a r .1tonal lane ' He asks "hether he 1s ' mung the men ot
the confcs 1onal r v.' who delude tbem eh e that the\ are free He knO\\ that
n, lhe I te 1950 Ezekael' \ trse r~' eal a moral mtelltgl'n thmg "ttl change, 'his'' illts hke the mornmg de''': he bdongs
c~£!~ db, the cxpenence of marna e; "bile he IS ~.riucal of the em, 'an acti\ e fool.' In contra t to the di cont\: nts of urban
ecepnon nd lack of control O\ er emotton di tllu 10n e, the l:ene of· LO\ e on net' mo' e to the lull from "ht h the
reco ·m1ed as 0 n1et h"mg t hat "as pre' 1oush kno" ' n about an r de ccml to look 'inquinngl) at road and k'' "h1lc thmk-
t hat \\a expected De pne t 111 1 1e trla d hoped )o\"~: m
. marn• n of ~exual plea urc ('to di\:'). The rcdc mmg po Jbthttc of
"ou ld b nn~"b the unn of eIf I11.: w.uued. A desire w nee I ve retaken up b 'Commnment' u• whll:h the d ngc:r> of P· ~~non
0 ppn ed b) a\\ arc11e'i t 11at out t d e marnage · h~: "auld mil are upenor to the ln t men
h 1m e It, carl) lflll th.
fant · ° c .same mner bngguge of unsati f~t:d !u 1
,· asses, 11opc anti d1 ::.al1Sf ldJOns 1.zekie)'s re!lcttJ\ l' tntC11 1 Who \\anted on!)' q uict h' t.'~
encc rtmam~
ol a w I' 10 com ro'1 ass~ssmg •
conflicting 'e;-clings in ear. And hul~d to \.I.>Unt the grm' Ill{; cc t
• av to "c "had1 1"II b . . 01 cu h) JOb or unloved '' ), e .
renewal Th 1 '' c '" Jsc, umf1ed anJ lu ing emou(lna
1"em' d1 un~utshl"s bet\\ c: n "h.n 1
1111
Chang ~nd ~~:~stanceftra\clled lrom tht' ce1taimic of A Tm tunlh felt and \
orchng to tdea of v. hat hould be felt.11lc ''oman, naked. n ' ~.
1
\1ml (\'( mers \X ~ 1~ Dedlcauon' m ~u:/1 Poems to Tht Unfin
A t or op, Calcutta, 1960 io; stnking t lk of tri\la and offers ex "' hile the "''CJI er (the 'ltc ha bt~CI. m
h. 'b ~ me a d n It ' •
an I' c n ou of ho" th\: ' flo\\ of umer 1
I "' •can ofth. poems \\ nttcn m 19SQ, pubh hcd 111 .,.1 '
L 1 fn11 J d 1
of anothn umm, as
111
f md1cat
h ~: db \ t 11c nrlc, an exph 1t · rcL< b11 1tl ~arc that the both arc ll\ mg Ill 'da dr un .. Rcflc\.uon o1 the
c 0 ~ angc Instead of w holene s and eqU 1P01 ted nund' The nc t poem area uco Jl tra c the progn.: of
 tOIH KN INUI N 1'01 1 H' IN 1 O H 1 S INI I IJU.NCI 99
98 N•.r 1\1 "'It L lo N
,zt:" IY&O ,tnd 'Ill11·1 osop hy ' .rc1cno; rIw kmd
)9(l4. · vf ·ll'ltd-
1an rtg< fr( 111 the par tdi'lt.tl complnu·nL' ut Jo, cr:; who n surnt bttwCl'1' I ·s which destroys the re.11tty o! cxpcncncc:
til , " 111 11 'H 1 b~.: -.c p.11 atl."l.i I• therr .fall ft ~m rac:c. A kc, pas'i:tge I ana vsl
th~ fourth st m J \\alb th pum on ~.arm~ : ltd"" 'lvvrl J,1l~;··anncH be cxpl.,incd, do not explain.
I :IO\\ t:\t'l 111:111\ tllll(S "l \.llllC rllC Ill und:uw l.tnguagr of the senses sings
c ommon t I·ungs
pan.'" c:atm to~cth •r The Jill ' intcrpt ctatlon~.
It' n\\ I , by virtue o f t h ctr commonness,
Tlunb OH r and OH t .1g~m.
1 hen uddcnh the marl ol (. ain.
Be.:orm, .
1 IH'l k c J ness
ument .lg.tmst t1C
RadH:rthm 1 sen c.: ('If muma ' m~ ~IIlii\, th~.: sexual a~..L has rt: ulted r • 1 t dies of cold to r·1mI t he trut h .lt b rmgs.
\ n .trg
),1 \ .....

111 cplrattnrs and mt nown) 1 Itt pcnulum:nt: po~tll in Tl L. . r lloWi.'d bv 'Ni_ght of the Scorpion\ in whidl Ezekiel
vfli\ISII ' hob ·ha' io~r of 'the pl'cls:mts', his father. his mother and a
1
L u 1 1 1 d M 1 1s 'Ca tu<h .• ftcr <'dmiumg '' .l'itmg tunco;
polm , and ·u ell kno" lcd~c .md. OilLC m{lrc l(l.mplunmg oi rec~ s l e when ~.: his mot her was p01sonc· d b y a scnrpton· ' s mng. ·
marnn e a~ a hell {'A m.nt\ d.lntnPd 111 th.n domcstr~.. game'), the hoi) mla:l lim jo; 10 tind poetry in ordinary 1C.1lity JS observed.
1
p k; tc.:ah c the neco for orne.: d~c:rst\ l' ,\CUOn: 'The pattern Here
t telt l'xpericm.l' d rat 11cr t han as t 11c ·tnce 11 ect t h'mk s ·tt
lt: •
0
'"II re; matn. unk \ ()u brt·.tk It "1th 1 sudden Jerk·. 'lamin 1 "" '\ n,
h lllld be. While ' the pe.t s.an.ts p~ay ~n d spea k o t ·mca rnhat·ton.s, h'1s
Ro'' ·on lud~ the' llume b, offer mg. rh.u paintl'r .ts .111 examplt' · '"ptit: rarion.11st 1 , tnes. •every curse an0 1essmg, 1
1 omf'( n "ho found a wlution lO 'adult f.mtasics Of '>('li and ;~t ht. r, :o.o.. c ' l l -
I 111 j turc, herb .1nd hyhnd and a 10 y man_P.erforms a
J o" er ndden lrH ·. 'J:munt Ro\ ' appear!\ to rt oh e the carlter pO\\ ( t'l 1 } f l
ter a dav the noison is no onger c t .m , m .1 ma rrony, 0 • f' l •
prohl •rns b sho" mg ho" w find rt•ne\\ l"d io) in ltfl· ~ it t darmc.>d rne. Af • r . f , · · d
l1i 01 ~1 thcr, in cuntrast to the prevtous cvensn acttvtty centre
that nan f 41 em r:nhc:r than ho ulm·, and nsing. bo' e one~ scl upon her, make J typical motherly comment:
to gt' ~ '011.e to the 'people', bears frurt.
Tl L mi.sh d Man t remarkable mit cJt-,~.rutinizing p )Ch, Mv mother only said
lo~\ and polr hcd craft. The 'olume mo' C!o from generalization
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
tO\\ ard the pcr.,lJn.tl, from complamt w dcc1 10n and ideal. Vanen
and sparcJ my children.
J l:Teated b) nriou IU tapo iuon ; then: arc n:curung situations, The 'Thank GoJ' is doubly ironic as it is a commonplace ex pres·
theme and amabe The gcn\:ral rcgularit\ of trict traditional metre ron of speech in contrast to all the previous religious and super-
and rln me 1 appropnatc to the intellectual ~onccrn and logrcal ~mious acti' uy. Ezekiel's purpose is not, however, an express ron
pr( ure m king tlu· changes of tanniC hape and rh} me!'. hem ~ of scepticism but rather the exact notation of what he s~w ac; a
app ar moreuned th:m the, reall arc. The poem ho\\ the adun ~htld The aim is not to explain but to make ~eal ~)' nJm.a~g, lH~
ta,.,e ot a fonnal. r flecu\ e m.1nncr in whi'-h im:tges make th~ S3)mg 'common things·. The poem is a nev. dtrccunn, a vts1on ol
nu~taph 1 TIC p nnt wnhout ~.allmg attcnnon to tlu m eiH' and m ordinar.., reality. especiallr of Indian life, unmediattd by cold
hich all one-; and S\ mhol arc u rd '' uhout fu and then ntdlect The new purpose is seen in the poem':s srvle. unrhymed,
drOpJk-d '\\1thOUt ~<!using a sense of llli.Ornp]rnon. rJ11e rounding-off wnh lme lengths shaped by natural svntactical unit and rhythm
d each poem" nh a con lu ton prm idl· au f} mg fomtal dosur ereated b} t he cad en ec; o f t l1c ·pea k.·rng \'OLC~
· ·tn 1L•, •·,• lont•
• t-
verse
.
t v. hat are unresoh ed nuauon . There 1 tcr cness. iron\' " 11 paagraph, rather than the tanzaic structure u ed m earher
luadu\, depth and eriou ne Ezektel lw\\ cd ho" h il\ ord thr J>Ormil'X'hilc Ezekiel used free verse in many earh· poem:-. befor~
e ce e of r manllct m \\hen wririno about the ::.elf and Jt< the purpo efull)' sty lizcd hagh regularity of Tbe U11ftmshed \fa~z,
oncem v.hen makmg an ba ed on au7obJography. ~ Potrl) lnC!"ea mgly from the~id 1960s on'' ard ts dtffer~nun
The Adamt'- '1 ton de •red tn 'j:umm Roy' can be seen emerg mg Written for oral ddi' er' It is poeln of the ~poken 'ou.:e as
m 111 Tl e Ex a .tme 1965 , N em> p lems I zekiel ''rot mu h as or more than for the pnnted
· :.'1
pag~l
 IlL ,AJfD HIS INFLUENCE lOt

5 focus had shifted from the quest for imegratton to an

d h
. anbe t e ord manne 5 of ltfe The ~n~,
of che actuali ues
even worldl y pnzes came wonhy of attenuon Th k
to describe the real and tht led htm to a greater ~:~f
subJect matter: . •
poems m •tndlan ~nghsh (1967 72) are pan of hts commn-
to •staY where ~ am and treat of ordmary hfe These poems
think, often miSunderstood. as s1mply satue of the Gu,arau
English often used m Bombay As most educated
have aimed at speaking approved Bntish Englt h, there has
no anempt b>: poets .to use loc~ varieues m the way Ntge
West Ind1an wraters of senous hterature mix dialect,
or various shades of supposedly sub standard wtth stan-
ish; of the major Indian poets perhaps only Kamala Das
.,..eatc:on!;c•'o Jy uses Indianized forms of English. Ezekiel's
..... might be seen as a step towards using local speech m seri
5
IU verse. While some of the Indian English poems do make use
dae kind of humour associated with dialect verse. they are
li.ltlli11Ple satire at the expense of incompetent mastery ot a forctgn
~Ma&uage. Language reveals the speaker's mind and soctal comexti
dich&, triteness, unintended puns are among the dcvtces u cd to _
iqiy hypocrisy, pretence, limited opportumttes and wnfuston
~l'any for Miss Pushpa T. S.' is asatir~c df-revel~~oon.!lf
lie er. He is uncertain whether she IS gomg abroad m rwo
~\ does not understand why she smiles whc:n he refers t~
her uurm-afsweetness·, speaks ofher 'very high farmly' but \,;an not _
remember where they live an·d drifts off into his own mem~1r C'i of~
Yi!i' toDis family m Surat where the cooking was good. The ~tu~
tiOD 11 daneaning to Miss Pushpa who lS soaally rcqum:d to lt'iL~
ftttiidl ~hes and afterwards will be expected LO 'do llummlll&
t;tJ'IICPatnot'ts a ponrait of a confused mind whoch has wtlh·
wn anto a parody of Gandhi1sm, mistaking plautudc!) for
thoupt and action. In a modern India with Pakistan and Cht~a as
~urs the patri'lt"s only solution to national problen;,s ~ w1

driDk milk and talk of brotherly love ('Though some art! tvmg
hanay babau'). 'The Professor' also as an example lf mfnda 1
fuioD and auperftciahty. All his chaldren •are wei set~ e ban ce
elf ,
but Every family must have black sheep' (apparf"' Y d ecf~he
!
.._ of hit children do not have car ) The ana w:~ :urant
Plllll. •~»Kiutde' describes ham huangly 1rant
 MOD 1 N N ~NIl I 1\ N P 0 l I ll '!I 1N I N r l ••t I \NIJ 111 ~ INitl ) IN C !
l o, f. F J( II 103
102
tro~..uons r~-'""" ·' 11111 1ar l'mfu ,.HI', ns
• d , .., , .- •
us
: 'Do ~not "1uc 1Ctter
( )I
· 1l1lC .lW<ltcnc s t 1lat such rest\" . I l
uracll',n ,,1 st x. :1JH 1 1 f ... n s, t luut>h
ln b )f not au (1eJ t .. · · • H ' as great' , ~ ,.,.. w J\OH1 1 tC sc t sau s 1cd, unlu ~;cd "c . f ,. 'hf'l
D o nnt (lOnt · I 1· 1 f · lh net.c; s.. • I I . I .. nmcss o 1 t
lerk. ' l mm"t"" mp t: x pocn1 '' ll\. l mo\ cs lnfll f , ''' doc-'> not c:u tt' o;,u Is al 'In n and Lh:tt "clntcth 1
I"ra' tl \ ,, .."t't"'OlJI 1 nd
R ll ,mpa .o 1 h 1 a rcflcctlGn
Af of d' .liire
the h.tlf -ellu Cilted PrO.JL'"'' '
Jwlalmthr. mlfld,tosau •
f} • •
thco;pun • "
hA!kicl' mg c Isc I'"
c 1 ~nd ccon(llllll.. 1I ua tj() ll · l r l .. mgt lC poe
10 1 1 ·e~ I oc c I l 1 l'i p.!rtt~:u ar}
rtlcd n 11t tfl aL lll.:'lic w Hl cncss the wav others <I I
l Ierk ~o I 3 I . I I I1 I Ill" e lonu.: 1 f I I o as t \C)'
.trc hkeh tO see the opcmng lilt m ·" nc:w •g lt '' t h'ug 1 resentful b ~.omc l,ldct ·'' t lC c,,st o a nnl nnmg many prt'\:tclu Interests
ne s ts pan of UH.' p \ ~.-ht>log'. ~nd fot s.,kin~ nl'W p.nhs.
The poem JndJan I ngli h tan be een as pan of .m a"arcne ()unnb the (',trly .tnt! mid l\)70s hts p1wms celebrate the marti
10
that confu~ed thought an~ ~ple h, ], gans, .mJ talk of traduion\ l ul.nc .lnd thl' ol dm.u y ~ lnr th~u n1) stet>' not thctr Slmpltcitics
conmbute to the undumgmg po,crt\ of the masses .1nd then c In the · p()sll' t Pnt'll1' 1 zcktcl rctnclllbcr l1is d) mg f:tthcr
ploit.ltion 11w unwJllingnc of '11te P.unot" .md 'The Pr oft•s or' x :.lttcmpttnb w ~pc.tl tlw uul.h hl' b.td lc.1rncd 1 h{' appro u:=hcd
ackno" lcdgt• real 1t), the v. .1 thcv think m readymndl.', l:Omlnn 1 n~, death: 'I kh the brt'.lth 1)l lu lo,·c I hut i:lluld not hc.u, word'.
~lip hod 1deas, logan' and pht asc.,, m1~ht be ~OtHrastl·d \\ tth Anotht.!t ' Pn,tt't l'llt'm · cnndud\.·s ' Lilc '" 11111 .\'- ~implc.: 1 s mor-
Ezektcl's ow11 :twarctH~s. of lmlian soct.l.l re.tlny. 'The Truth .thn ·.It i~ tHit the ('tlmmonpba wbich is nl \,lhtc mllsdf~ 1 .uh~r
about dw rlonds', ' Rur.tl Suite', 'Und~t trial Pr i~ont.'r,' nnd v.1lul' conll.'\ ll'llm cnmmitml't1l, LtlllCtrn, in\'nlvl'ntciH, pa.,.,Hln.
'Po,ert\ Poem' rd1rct hi s ocial and politic.tl cnn~.:etm, \\h 1d1 lh COI\ll".l'>l, 'The Ncutr.tl' i'llil.ln1L'tltll! "ho tn.1\...1.'" 'h)\c to m.mv
began ~ith hi' e:ulv imohcmc:rtt in the Rnyist movt•mcm and \\'Uilll'l1 I·'" lt) tht• s.lmt' w~mun' and who .,j~ll' 111.milcstos,
union organazmg and Y.hich \\Crc later seen in tht.> f~.mndinool ,, 0 rks on ct,mmittecs .md join' politic.1l p.lttic.,: bu t ' ltm .11.h: no
ditlercn '-=c· I Th\:' common l.m~tt.\f,t' I hid 111\ .1hscn~..:~··.
0
Quest and lite editing of Frt!edom /·n·st. 'The Truth about thc
Flood 'JS a found poem, a technique of editing prose imo H'rse Out ul thl' new emphasis on st:n"e l'xpet il'IKC, at the nct,lect ol
h} minor re' 1 ions and creating lines from svntactical unil . Here morall onsist~:n~ '• ,\1 o-.c .1 lll'Cd for tiH.' rl'l igi,w:. ot pirilllal tn
the contra~t 1 between the government offici.tls who can onh soothe th<: rnind. ·' " prl'' il'uslv tr.mquillit\ wa cxptxtcd fn•m
hand out tau nc and complain that nature 'conspired agam~1 v;holl·Iw~s ol ~ons~ilnn•. ·rh e di u _,, t:t \ nl ·' med lor some G~.• l,
th~m· and the un:udcd, disa ter-strit:ken vill.tge 1s who tear thr howl'\l'l, is ohen c;.;prcss('d j,,,nic,\11 )·· The c :m: poem of the
ofhctals. When a relief party does arri\c, it consists l)f five w nHHII'rttlit\ man. ltll:ntachul t o ,\1\\' f.tith, scqmc.1l of 11tu.,1 atlll
dtlCtrim·, hut nc~?din~ \Oilll' I ind nl med1nd. tl'~,.:hnitp c 1"".1 bdid
1
dents "ho dtsmbute sOml· biscuits, take pictures .U1d qUt cd)
tu calm thc s~.·ll ,11 its di-.qu i~.:t. Tht· iwntc, !.l'-'PlJ(',tl .utltUl ~ " '-
1111
le<ne. -

The earlier. a~tcr_npt at self-intt•gration lud failed :md the rniln) \C\cd in the pPems of 'Tht• Fbotist' Pr.tyct s':
pans of E.zektcl ~ ~1fc had refused to fu~c into a unity. Sexu.tl dl' lft, U wl'll, it ynu insi-.t.
lo~e, tamtl)' pultucs, phihNlphy, poetry, the spiritual h:1d be~.:ontl' I'll du )'lH;r will.
separate and would not go hack together again. His poems irh·rc,IS· 1'11.!,\\t' trv tn 111 1h· it ~~unci~.h· wtth nt inl.!.
1

mgly reflect a numhcr of distinct Jives he led which while nfan

arallel s u· d' ' 1 1 Thl· j)l'JCl' of wisdom
P ' _omt.: mes tv~.-:rge. The con~crn with the real, the p ty"tl'J'
the . · f1orJexamp
pracuc.al
.m thesptnt 1c, contra ts with a new developing ·1ntCI~ 1 is tno hi~' h.
• 1 f 11
!:')
I f hut folly is cxpcn-.ive tt)l) ,
poems rccouad w tu: 1 o 1uwcd cxperimentati0n with LSI>; t 1ercard z Strike .1· bnn•.tin with 11H', ltud .
aop .1 os r hmg Hmany
' ove affair alon,•sidc
r:>
poems about . .en an s I' Ill not,\ m.tn
tJ
,,1 .1mnl(' 111l'·"' •
T h 1
to newt hop Y· ts poetry rapidly goes throurTh ph.1ses as he wrrtrd 1h r f I r iue fuHb ('\prt:'i
c s~;epu~al, iH..mt c nttitud~· ttH\ .trl s I tl: l '' I i ·r&H!d lllHn
l'>
d :c mqucs and kmds of poem such as dw poster, postea
~n hpassJonpocm between 1972and i975. Whatrcmaln,c<m tant Slonm llymns m Darkm·ss' (1974), P'H' Ill patl' ~t: II f
IS t c de re for · I rc:ncwal to remam . oung ar 1eart. tht the ('11 'Plt C.l 1ptOfunditil·~ 1)1 the Vll1·ll; 1t) nHl'i •wd • llJtl lll • nHn
1 conunua 1
 M )J 1 It N I N U I A N I' n l I rn IN Ill ,<\NU UIS lNilllP.NCf
1 4 t"' 105
J1l n
aked' 1n being
1 unrltvmcd,
I l du~y ilh! 'nudc • ·tn t llCtr foun
t :uHI ~ut 1 '<'liiC( tee mrqucs as ca 1cful rc ccn
hn o1111 t l;c \\'\,. th, IOl;h.tlllllg the 'ccurrtnt• alh !H~lllton anJ plau~-
1 l nt ' •I I I n • ' mns tn naked
,udt:nt'i I Ht)Ug lllUt t le pucms ''·ualld ness
.111d 1 I l 1 I r s arc sugg sted
n hunt.tll sc u.1 t.. cs1rc i\nu t 1c rc.1111} nf i•c \ 1:
b ,,u I I . d _l b ..., o 'JCl:l lctwccn
c : ...., and t 1e 1Ca ll\ pamtc • anu ctwccn poctr\ d
h t: ··•· 1 1
4
1 1 1 1 1. n n source
rues a• c furl H.:r po~.:m w nc 1 cc Cl'ratc ' b, cxpl•lrt ng, t hc nawr~
..-t..

f r aht"
->C'Iucn~c pottravs su~,;h
I \';med
l , rclatiomh 1po; hctween~ man
'fh 1
a\\ I)Jlt,\11 ,\'> UC lfC nl l 1C Ol 1Cr !> hod} .IS a 'foml' J h
lld l .I l . w Hl g•vcs
pt..~ urc' sl·n~u.t II\. " l l 1out O\ c.: or CnJn mcnt of the cxua1 a~ol
I
' ~;"I'" ' }oo;s t)l Jdenllt
'
scx1u1ll),
ohsc""'"cl 11m 11, 111•.d •"I·
. . ' I111t l . o .... t' c.1surcs,
dthght "' st)plllstll...ltl'l t:cli,·'Y·~ ~-· P.' ogn.·s. 1\ c IOl'.tli.,.ation ,)r 01 b.)dy
from n.tk~·\lnc"."s tu nu dtt · , d.IHl•nn~ Htnudcs to 'the m o1lo\c·,
t)Jl(' 1
the wn ~t:\ll.l 1tv l.".ln ( 1L'\ l'1t~p mt~) .1 \:o-.mos' ot 'the !>nul', 1ml su~h
JPP 1rcnt, .tlth~wrh often rmsh:.tdtng, ch.t~".tctcristics .1s sin nc~!> anJ
don11 nnnu:. \'Vlnlc tlw !lequ~n~,;c end., \\ uh ,, rt·tmn tn the ~~·\lin
f n.tk~dm·s'), this ti.)O is·' prodLH.:l of the 'dcsin:' of the.: 'A 1 ti~t ol
th~ nud.:', whl), sct·king .1 direct. unmctkned route w r(•;llur, ust·~
Z n pl11lo,\'>pll\
Usm J more distan~cd, c~.)nlcr 'e,.,iun ~·l the conic st,.,n,lnH ,Jc.
I c\..1 I ha n1.1d~.: a ~..omplex ..,t,ncment .1bout the n.ltllt e ol pm:tt \
d lm O\\ n t stirs nc .. of spmt. 'Nude'i', like tht: '1-h mns'.
ndudc.:s bv affarming mct.lphon~alh .1 phillN1pln l t the llnme-
dun l"•l the.: rc tl:
me .1s 1 am,'
') es, till 1s
naked 'iccn, seemg n.tkcdnc'i •
n.mu:d, tl:tv. td in druul,
" )manh and ~ u lnerablc.
But the nakednc~s nf .. nnnet 14 i~, nochcr pocuc nude,·' rc~lit '
''h1ch no m.mcr how Jer~ul~?d, fbw~?d 1.1m.l din.:cd~ p~rcc•H·d ~ull
must be 'n,uncd', ju t .ts d1t' mdinar) in The C\.tct N,mll h.ulw
b lr~:ncd tht ough ,\ LOnscious :tct ul rdle~..tion. l·uki~.·l tppc.lrs
mouonall) unable w lca\'e !'>cmu.tl experH.•ncc ungn ~kd
11111 111
· 1 • • 1 a· w thl' n•,,lll)
me Iargcr tntcllcctunl or spmtun vt.,ton. n pr, IS 11 o 111 0
[
f the a tual he keeps mtH ing t<nvnnl J ruct:trc,,ltt \ • a !oCt g
th dt\tne an the ~.:xpcrienrial. 1 111
Ht ampau nee v. uh older forms ol bdief 1!. exptt.•s \:( agaul
L D . 1 h·(ldTtst~tn\:nt
au r :1\ Psalms' '\\ luch are rep 1c \CI t c
I) lm · '
 p
MllPI ._. INUI l ' l l l II{' IN I fl(lt!l AND IllS lNftUliN<I
N\,LI
II
107

( ,, l'
.u "' n " u thl . unl1kc
I r' ld ,,n , \Ill l\) \t u kcr
c:an "• {ll 1 7 ducl'.,• 't\ l"imc to h n1•t"lc • w 1liCl l bcgtn!>
1 0 o" n n smgmg 'orce and a talk'111 g 'ur ce
\11 th,lllU\ I tuh f J lS~~J A bit 1ll land, a wonun and a child or t wu,'
, n h) Ac~t~JlllnOlIrlh: d tOt 'IIll'll'
1 needs nd cha ngmg mood
\nd paucnt 1' to b Ullt ' ' rth these·
Prncusrng a srnging :md a talking ~oacc
Is lll tht: ~reed ,1 man ol God reqUire
lludrd tom 'A Porm ror M \\ eddmg Nrght :
A hou c, .1 pu.'l:C of l.md
\ '' ( m.m, ''inc and bread,
'ontcntmcnt, kill of hand
\'\ere' rrtll~o:"' l)f tlH.' dead
T,l It' c thl' lltr .tlnne
ir umscribl'd b\' ('hoicc.
To listen to the b,me.
Pra\.tl"l' tlw smging. '''-)tee.
mam 'l"ars Ezekiel w,,, Katrak' 'hero' a \\ell .1s an mfluence
1 'f tn . ln 'A Letter to '1 ,,m· Kau·ak oomments:
ll' u "ere wnh me here' ou "ould be munenng
) our oft and final "i dom 'thing could be" or e,
~hk f'\ cr, come to rem1s: the re t
I p etn and pra\ er '
\\ h l h1 "nnn resemble Ezek1el' in lt blend of confes 1on,
aut,uDJOl!1rapll\ and pra\ er. and m u mg uch form~ a the 'erse let-
a nen I, Ka.trak i preoccupied "~t.h gomg bC'\ ond
tl .1 ' I \lOll (1f The \\ :n '. A joum 1/ oftl \\ .r t Katrak
l I cktel Tbe U11[imsl. ed M 11. It ber;m wnh .1 um~ of
on and mo' t: from cri i through cxpenment to hope
m are lmked b\ ~u h \"tl'lbol as bone. eJ, htll, oume\ •
d open door. and are con erned \\1th the p1oblem ofho\\ t
th dtc kn "led~e that. as e pr ed ~n 'An EIC1!' f r Ja ob 1
t'\ en the great
• .I n "• ..,_ Are subJect to mortaht\ Th an "' er
' .tnd · ·And fondlin casu all her I t .md mall r
} th u hts lipped oo k f~m I pst n mt bed Malabar
n m d 1th de th nd tht' mab1 n f rt an con
1
cr a oluti n t > p ntu dt 11 f n On
n uit:!hter 'th c ndudan po l f l que1 d
nn~~-~- ,md deb II n that h t fI a
l S 1 ouER"'l I NI)IAN 1'01 11n II': 1 N(;ll I) II 1'i 1N I I U l N ( 1 I 09
II ,_1 I l\l'l
oula hadden'" dw bod-.' " mb Tall found'' 1thin th~: Jl " I
hale th~ tone " 11l be {11m \ ct 111)1\1 ~;
I
I llll • "
I tcsts11CS o
f " IlJt l t I1111 k I) I a"> the pnctl\ d II\ ttl!'
ot a "tC • l. 1 I 11.. I f \1~lltl<, \l :1 <; I.. OOll .l stc d to nl l..l r("
ou land 111 bod'. as "e found
, ,
Jtt ("\.;It'\ ;ll(' tl\•t JU"'t llUS1.. 0
0 013 1 Amc 1 ican and I un•pcan pu.:tr\ Dom M uacs
Throu~h carthh )o\e, a do r to the Mo tHigh llll'-ntl I
\r kr Ill l 1I c Bntish trac11t1on. . b ut h ,., '"' 1 more cluncn:d b)
em arc n ,1 merel) clebr
n1e e P .;pmtunl I HJon1. off dome .
uc blis "n
·Jn dicnon. cIanor I I
~ue S\ nt il l ttc a con tttlr..;twns and
poe tiL
. acmg death. Kat r 11~,
and l:Oncc• n 10" .to 1n f
I " 1 1 uropC.Ul d.l-.c; t\:.ll Ymb :)lc;. I hs poctrv 1 not
urnc\ I 1
appc r w ha' c found the an "~r m 1 :mtrt\: ) oga, With it us ( 1r
'tiJn :u ..
J choir..;es, rnot ,,\ rc I ltt nli IHP'- and the acta' e .,df an
ll pl:l ~ 0111 . J • l .
mean of :nuumng .Jlurmnauon. The JO\ ot sex 1 a hort . nrds cnllment, ptty ano soua •rome M.ln\ p ems
h . . ·
c~~ to plrttual au factron. Th1s 1s the argument ol 'The Kuchen
\ It I CC'-l
' tll scnst£1\ it ot t l' poet .1~ artl'>l Ill contnst t o the
Door n:mled AI hcmr ts m Unde7"'"JJ01 ld) and of Fz,. c Jm abour cor others. i\Jthoug11 l11S . Iale! pOt:ti'V IS m tn C\\ h.H
Sermous \\ ent to Market (1971 ), a prose work on 'TI1e \X ayl '
n 111,, t , d r r
:ntltuJc he ten " tn va~.:" ' t 11t: aa t o poet!, a 1l 1t
.
u hJch Katrak co authored wa~ his w1h:. Dn "m?ns By tbr \\ 11) 1 t
1
I!; )(I m ' tnh.. tion, n r an .lt'~ t '1ct11.;
. o '))CCt
. .lrOtllHl.I ttHlTH Cil ts n f
r t I,e C)'
l I • • •

1969 , dcdacated tO Ezckael. 1 mo..,tl~ emertamment abom fall hun rMss1on. conlltstnn .
l, 0111

from the grac..-e uf ··n1e Wm ' _111e e a~e f"">cm.., l)f ~·l~it);. mo\.km 11/ 11' ' t tr\, in11 tl• u ace poetic lim.·.t~rs, the cxampl~ I zek1 t•l
\\ tl 1llltl • r"' • t
ptntua1 df 'ian facuon, ~nd 111cludc Poe~ (for. N:ssunJ, a parod\ , h:d (".lll ht! l'Cil in sub equent pllClS, cspt.:\:t.lll) l \11!iC som e
1
f 1 ek1e1 earlrer manner 1r1 such poems as Ath tL'e and Commuru d the H ,mb.n 'l:hool, 1cg.u dh: sol thctr :11 tull pl.H.t ol
( ~ II e , C,l Iussa\\.1 IIa. I) l'lL\
noct s •as PnrthasJt.H IlV, llt
~ton' \\here a poet ob ene or li"lens to s,,meonl, \\ho 1
1 ltlllll. Sllcll L ' • • ' , J
mple of how not to II\ c: ') ou must write hettcr he !>aid: A 10
d Rodn~ues ha' c a smul.n antcllccua.llr:tnl anu nwr.tl
mmor poet gone to ced.' 11 the prol,lems of }j, in_g. .
Undf ru. rid 1979 , ~ ritten jn the minure ol comical ba.nt r k1cl anflucnl;c on I ndt.lll Pl'dr)' ac; mM~ th.m :lCh au: tu
1

aur m'\ ucNn and prcachmg of the h1. e Ltttle Sermons, sho\\
I \\ntcr.,, the cdmng o l journals, the tc ,H:Iung of 'i t. tHb rds
"'hat h ppen ''hen ad cas and In} sticasm become more Jmportant J ht: ~ non oft 'PC of poem ;fuc prm sdcd .ln ex 1111plc ol .\
to a poet than hi 'crse. In tcad of the careful precis aon oft mtdlcctualh and mnrall) con~..crncd \\ ith "." n~ an tl~c
arlaer poems com1c dog, erc1 is used to express the fun of 'The J rn , orld, .md makmg poetry o ut uf the exp~·ncmt.•. In ht.,
\\ av' I tr atory Song [Jom riJe Holy Pfa,zet ( 1984) has a ~1m1br n there I'> the truth of ackn o'' lcdgin~ wh.n '" ld t md ex
blend ot pa th:hc. JOkes, parody and chat to asscn pmtual JO\ 1 n d sn u complex in , t;O!llradtction~. plca'~llll "· leal " tnd

1\. tr k nov. ann\ t a VJ!>tonarv poctrv which is pla) ful, r co · . · . 1 1 0 1 "h.u pl'ctn
l sllu 10nmcm \\It1lOUt pn: conc~' l\ C( ll c .l I
'l'l • . · 1 ,,~ ll l) of lrH 1.111
na1e th fle hand phy acal \\Orld, and has a utfacc si1nplaC1£\• 1l :l.\ lbout t 1lC. poet .:\0 J II fl' \C up c tll n I

v. hile btmg an mc.mtation. a chant 'I or God alone'.

• ·
1 1pocu 'torcllltymltsm .uwgtll '~t:s t s p c l 1.
. 1 IJ>s l·tckrcl lll(l'il
I 1 'I
\X hale lu mflucn~c on early K:urak is nln j,)U , 1-:. zekiel as al oa
model for other. often \ oungcr, JH>cts ,d,() wt nc allegone~
n It~ ~Ull tn flu em: :J
moral 'iUUauom tmohing choacc about how to li,•c and porm
m lt~,;:h the pcakcr meets or addressc om cone who 1cprc entd
m~on ect chou:cs and faa lure of w1lLThcn: are secular pr tvcr and
con£ aonal 1utohin raphtc , poem ot the urban land ~ape 30
1
the1r Goan equl\ aIents, as wc11 a poems dcscnbmg cp1 ode d1
famth· hf..: dunn~ the poet's chtldhood Poems in l·zckael'~ tra
liOn ar rgumc.:ntauvc ~ ct com ersauonal and the cenc 01 d
funcuon ) mhol Sp ch, diction, 1magcry are comp• t
 r.T'S INIHA I Ill
ratS pO
uch colonial poets had the Juh ol try 11 w 10 nt 1
CHAPTER SEVEN BUt ' hen
S . t1 I n I 1 Ol II c
th-mcs subJect mattet am .m< scapc mto what w \ .
In Brnash poetry. asapra ac. J 1loses I o a l >c ad Crow•ac;had
daal1 ~ ' K · t ( , .. . · )ilSt
I)
The Poet's India I allY a Keatsmn ode.
~,.;:::.not the place to. ~race the slow, oftct• un ucc~ .fu.l altcmpts
BZ£KIEL, JtAMANUJAN, PATEL,
mmodatc a foreign,
to a 0ompanymg att1tu
usually outd.ucd, poct 1c rtl 1nm wnh
· d cs. to an I n1 1·1an em; 1mnmcm 1 • here
DARUYALLA, SHIV KUMAR
tU ace facu minor ~ucccsscs, notably by the Gu.m JosCJ>h l:unado
~...
wert a •nerallndtan · Eng' 1·as I1 pnctry ~~ ·trH Icpcndcncc was c;u\1 set'
but mg...where lando f pocuctsms·· or set ·Ill .111 lnd1a genet alizl!d hy
tn a no . . Jl
1
th~ European imagmauon, reprc~cntc:: c. fl)' m yst~cl 'im, mvtholu~1 c
Although the proce s of decolonization of percept1on has be 1 1
r legends of ~rcat emperors, typ.•ca cl a ... o nna:. p11ctt v ,n ~h1ch
«))IUUIenteG upon in ~uch countncs as Austral1a, New Ztalan rs feel a need to .tsscrt a n.uwna 1past. 1· vcn t11c acst 1lcll~•~m
and Canada, where Europeans settled in an alaen envaronmt "[~e Lal's 'Because Her Speech is Fx~.:t•llcnt' h,ls carlict p:lrallcls
aad bad to learn to see the new land in which they l1ved and the ~a West Indian and Au~tralian pre indcpemlt•nu! poetry :
new socaeties wh1ch they bUJit, a similar process has taken placta The poignancc o.f her cycs,.hcr words!
Indian Engh h poetry as n has evolved frnm its Brmsh roots 1n Sun grappling w1th blue sktcs,
aproduaof an mdependent nation and its \:Uhure.lndia hasm Apples, birds, .
for thousands of years but the oc1ety and cuhurc which prod Apples and birds, :tpplcs and b1nls.
llldlan poetry m Engl1sh, and modern poetry in other lnd1
Many Of the early post-colonial writct used lo~.:nl dumc'} but
languag • 1 recent Sigmf1candy the pre independen~e ver . t• I . .
were too mvolveJ with the acsthcuc u.u Ilion I~J•,' •c•r poe: try tn
V K Gokak s Golden Treasury of Indo Angl~an Poetry eld have much contact with n:allt)' . Mary h ulka• s I ut a Cl111tl '"
focus on locaJ SOCiety and realmes. The few poems wh1 h T me of Famanc' is a rcworkmg of Dylan 'l'lwmas'o; m~;antati)J\'
awar' of the tnJU uces. problems and traged 1cs of Indian Jafe ha ~lebrauon wuhout his transforming vision of ·•.world ot. pw~..cs:;:
no immedw:y; the mflated rhetonc of colonial poetry romanu Indeed her meaning seems to be tl.tc Jcm31 :)1 llllllll:ts s ..,,t~:,.
and sermmentaiJzes. Ka 1prasad Ghose's ·To a Young Han 'And no not all hi-; an(;uish will fmd that held I (,uldcn, ' c a
Wadow', de pate It subject matter, could have been written ab !oak h;s than skeleton to doth.' While R. de 1 · "'' ' I ado sit'.'~~
any ad topac, any place: ' immediate, the poems s,.f
wnh the l 1 \C~I ICIII.":
I' CStlOliC
11 t t lt'll 11 1 tl

Ah fa1r one' lone a desert flower, and facale word play. 'lluffalncs'lwu>mc:
Whose bloom and beauty arc in vain; Muddy water
How dark was that too fatal hour Corru~ated
Whach brought thee lasung grief and pain! With drcles
What 1 the world to thee forlorn I Concentrl\;.
Thme very path as desolate; A thousand O's. ,
From all enJoyments rudely torn, I ~lndannpoclr)
How drear and comfortlc s thy fate! Achange was, however, takang piaL:~ m ~~~~ i·;st 111 , 10 a slult of
In the 1950s and 1960s fo(;uscd on n:alny . 1 dc~of n aware
Many of the older poem on Indian subJeCt matter an Gokak . If
l»nnpecuve was to the poet t1111lSC ; t l11 s n1so anc u
d . ·•n w rene ~
antholog)' iuffer from lack of relauonship to an env•ro~ nns of other , specafac snuations, an d (In 1
t ll' C gcs.. •1

Thesr languag 'attitude and perception are diSWlt, vague, unf

 2 MOD I RN I NOIAN POETR'\
r's 1 N U lA I
11 IN £No
~f I' 0
I'
113
of an ofttn urban cn,uonment. \\/hcther thetr mode . L 11 fuu /JC'(/ IMaP~ II•7Cluel
b' w s sull writmc•b 111 .,,1Hl sccmcJ
. f s· . R Was 1111 In "f'Lt
I fJ
need mannct, ·nat t 1c u )CCI mallet was clcarlv
n
al
acv (tn the Amencan manner o rum a avaprol) th lllt'lj
gnphicaJ nosulg~a and 1rom ot Dom Moracs or the ~oreed~:tob
ut1 ta I l' · f · f person
.a to do \~ ith t 1c \ 1ss 1Us a~.uons o m;u nage 110 tl d '
antellectuala7 d moral ref1ccuons t.lnced,
1 ofl:.zck1el, the poets wcrcer
J' 10
t ton
, t apprnachmg middle age, while the po m d~ t')o,au
, II 1
..
..w upon
mg theJr space (wIucI1 \\a no H)nger a generahzed 51 ea BombaY for their a q;onca amagel>:
Jnd a) trom themsehe and thc1r e:"periencc. ' ereot) Barban\,; cit) sick wtth slum~,
1
The dm~ctn of R:n 1prol' •Mamcd LO\•c' was seldom h l)cpm cd of easons, blcs~cd wtth rams,
before m Jndtan po U) : It hawkers, beggars, trnn -lnngcd,
J>roce tons led bv frantic drums,
ben c\enmg A milhon purgatorial lao~ ,
J am met at the gat~ b' m}' "1fe And duld-likc m.\o;;scs, manv-tnn).;ucd,
Her h:ur m dt order and J1cr dress a mess
Wh''"..: wages a• c m word and crumbs
tro n the k1rc:hen. ('A Mot nm~ Walk')
Although Morae 's d1ction and m:my of the preoccupations of U pit the ahsu .\Ct m.mnt't . of 1he Un(iwshd Mtm, thct c ,., a
poems tn A B gmnmg (1957) "ere a superior' crsion oi the k ; m ng l:Onl e~ ion.,\ element 111 ·mch poems 1s ·c.. sc Swd~' ('1lis
romantic aesthcuctsrn repn.:s~ntcd b' Lal's 'er.,e, in Poems {~9bC marra g<.. 'u" the wor<;t mt~nl,c of .til'). In 'j.11nin1 H.~'' ' tllat uu<;t's
the focus, tf not ah\ ays the kind of diction, wa much more per p ungs ate usrJ .ls an rx~mple ol ho\\ ,, It~ sh perc~: puon of loLaI
10
sonal: aim lJ.n lead to per onal rene'' al while pro\ldtng soctCt) "ith
gc of 1tsclf
I ha' e gro\\ n up I think, to live alone, kthaough to poetry. bout C\ Cl')'d :w lndt n hi..:\\ 111tcn in a
ro k ep m) old illu ions, someumes dream loqu1al-.,ecmin3 'ou:c occurred 111 the H luml''i publl~;hHI
Glumh that I .un unlO\ ed and forlorn, upm, r zekacl. GicH Patel md Kamala DJs m tlw nlld
Run av. a\ from trangers, oftcn seem v; rmc an a colloqUial and open manner about hc1 ell, her
Unr alto m} eJf m the pulp) wannth of a sunbeam her lo\(!, h r n 1rriage, her p.randmothcr. and the.: ~o:ltle~ an
~ha\ gro\\: n up hand on the primal bone, ' h I c.: Jt,cd. I1u:t a an intinucy wtth the ro1.h:r, a spunt:l.
1akm ' the poem, taking the word from the Stream, \:Cptancc of I L ltfc and its happc.:ntng' 111 l \\ J.V ntH cc·n
Ft hun the and for pcech, figlumg the (jtone. rc m lndi:lll \c.:r
Whdt 1 1 ull u eel a generalized mode and a somcume rc
Our hou c ~..;t I e-. in dust 111thc
mil e, IT' "' I dt u n, IH po try expres~cd , l reality
. ol. cmou Foocmnb"• \\ hcn the buftalocs trantp
m g n ra1tzauon w rc fonncd from a cIu'.>e obscr"\ auon
It . ol .Ju1e Up the road, the'' c.:ary hcrdslllCll
~mgtng uft PnnJ tbt songs, and
11le upshot
Sl of th ctr mccungs
· . Jcspatr
was a quaet . (m Isftom f rcc municival s~.:honl
TI { ~ neler pokcbermind.liclookcdbc)'nndhcrc) Pau e hyl) at out b' tc and ~mile. ,
(' rlu: Snob«> )
le ~h •~g tght of e-oemn~ gathered round h~ 1 hau
e •cd to be wnh htm. He had his sto~.;k of lie
I d n't know pohucs bul I know the nnmc
The mom
H m, b.mal beautv filled hnn with despatr 1
Of\ thl fe tn pov. r, and '"'"n rcpc:tt
f
th1m1be kc•tlltllllb Y. tt h
If h h ~~ 3 ' t tllu 10n moulder in her e} c~ I-':l 1 the"' eck, 01 name.: o mont I •
e LJ u make :1 tgn, for in tance tOUl h her hatr el na I am lndi n,, c'] bw"' n, born 111
,- cr tendcm w uld get a chance echp mg I'tt'
 M 0 IH I l'<f I U IAN t• 0 I 1 R \" I "l
114
1 c., pO 1
Uoll)IA I 1\5
kchr n~uagcs, ~ rae an . ,cn .,001 eone says: we ~~m't
11
cnJO)' at, somehow, don t you thmk?
('An I nt~oduct1on' "(he atmosphere corrupt,
• luft h ,m the lc.: cnd~n ::md ~ Jlllmcntalrzcd lnd 1 and look at our wooden wives. ...
Ip ' If d p ndtn p s tO 3 more \UCiaJ -'•J ) COnSCJnus, COnta" of I~A,k hrm out to get some aar.
('In India')
, \, 1 J11 ed, pc onal lndra an be 41ccn rn the title of hern
book \,,,, rm ( t!mWI (J9b5), and 111 the mlcs of such p
J1 e [)am. of the I unudts', 'M) Grandmother's 1-fou e' .~,enu 11
In R rnanupn 's The Striders (1966) and Relarrons (1971)
to
1
th ( ll".r •I TI1c ( luld an theI I ., tor) ',, 'The
. Sea Shore' I
'·r Oar ) ccrncd to grow out of lndaan cxpcnence and sensibt\ity
Broth r, Pumtthrnent m f\1m ergarten , I an:wdl to Bombav r ltra!Itt memories of famaly, local places, images, bclicts and
A J lot N ) n rn M lahar · \\ll "hilc havang a modern stance Wlt 'h'rts S\.:Cpticism ironies
\1 l () r)
In me of the pol.'tm m The I xact Ntm7c l·zckrcl made a srnul I.1 J sense of livtng from mom~nt to moment .rna changing I
world
br akthrou~h to the u e of a spcakmg voacc, a less formal d "'lm;h oiJcr v.Jlues and am tudes often arc seen as unrealistic.
Ju:.uon and the 11:;111fr~ant u...,,. of Indian life and dct. als. Mcm~:; ~ hilc Ramanui:m ~an evoke the warmth of lrndition.tl Indian
arc not ..cnumcnt ltzcd: 1 mtly lite and the closeness of long remembered relationships,
I rcml'mhcr the mght mv mother ~on: of\Cil he shows conflict, ~rgumcnts, surprises; he 1\so
wa'> fitting b)' a \Cor pron. Ten hours
ho\\s th~t the supposed glury of the Tamtl cultural hcritag\: is a
of trJd\ nun had driven lum fr tion which agnores tl~c reality ol th~ past. .. .
Ramanujan 's rncmoncs are loca~ed m the spccrf1~ so~ret) ot the
todJ\\ I beneath a sack of 1 i\.:c.
Tarnal Brahmim 111c poems avoad "ague generalrzauons about
Parting nh hi~. pm-.un fla h Jndra and at c set lll particular si tmnions or scenes or OC\ clop from
of drabollc tad in the d. rk room- rencl:tiOll on spc\.:ific tOpiCS . Nor is there a. fixed attitude or
ht: n ked the rarn agnin. tancc which the poems set out to comrnumcate; rathc~ th.cy
l h~.: pea ant ~.;arne l1ke swaun of flies ~hange direction and seem unpredictable a.s th~y develop. ·~th
nd bu:ncd the Name of God a hundred times tht t'nding often different from the values amplted at the Il'egrn-
top rah sc the I \alOne.
('Ntght of the Scorpion') mng of a poem.
the d.1y rn)' great-aunt dicll
Tht Jiffacncc bet\\ ecn this and cMiicr Indian poetry IS the
l wa., thcte by nne of tho')C
ate pt.ln(C that lndra is a worthwhile ·mbjcl;t for plll.:tr)' wuhou'
ch.1nccs childr.:n never mi~s,
h \lllg to be annated \0 the sublime b' an artificial diction. nube
looking l<>r a gn·cn ball
CntJmcnts or arsthcti..:Jzing ns ~.:cnc-. ·1 he j 1 oni~, ~a tit il, umelf
1 never lost ...
~.;on cmu!~h• pcrsun I nrc not ju~t new notes; they all' parts of a
drtfercnt kmd ol on~:; than previously·
the)' duln't lmuw sht' wore
The lllt'n arc quite at hon 1c her napkins on
amon~ the forctgn st •lcs tO the great disgust
(\\hat Iun the fltrting is!), of the orthodox \vidows
I nw elf, d cotou 1\', who wa l'h::d her body
pre 3 dugh or two in sly innocence. at the end
1he P311 " i!J grclt ucce s. '
 1 VIA I
119
d lop om of the temton that re ult 'Ill. h tn t d ea
u con ntct V.'1 th t he rea1 m of ~ptttence P.atel'
mpre ed tyle reOecrs the truggle 0 an mte ll1 ence
mpa aon • o f ten u eIe when te ted by the "orld
d Illustrated \teekl), 1 September 1974 'It'
"ld more
....'"'L..
W- tod ) to teach our ch 1 ren urvtval rather than an
e
poem in /-low Do You WuhstAnd, Bod) (1976) are oft
m recompressed, oblique, elliptical and umllu toned th:
the earher~ olume. Patel appears to be atmmg at a thickly
rrd. economical, rough, 'igorous, colloq uta! style w h1ch
am p e a nund thinking ~rough i~s emotions ~nd conflict!!
ard ome log• cal resolutton. The mle poem IS, hke "To Kill A
Tr«, a celcbratton of rhe physical v. ill to life continuing despite
pams suffered in living. Again the perspective is that of a ooctor,
that the body is 'Dumb, discoloured I Battered patches',
ch the medical man with his instruments and needles inJures
xpo d., e performing a lcind of love. The will co life, power, self-asser-
n 1s affirmed in 'lbe Arrogant Meditation'; whereas contempla-
n of nature in poetry or spirirua.l study usually lead to humility,
Pad how the naturalness of aggression by the phy ical world
" 1 rces I Pu h their way upward' and even 'Grovelling under-
r und Tuber acquire volume'. The sexual analogy is obvious.
Th re tS no reality beyond the physical. 'To Make a Contract'
k those who 'pick upon I A tree or a rock• as an image of
God. Better tO choose
A thing in the lowest ::.calc
Of credibility ... dirt, or faeces,
And run to it for sanduary.
Patel's cepti(;ilim of ideas and ideals is reflected in. so~:i.1l :Hti-
lUdc ·'The Ambiguou~ Fate of Gicvc Patel, He Being Nelthef
Mu ltm Nor Hindu in India' ironically 1ders to tl.le h.orr.o;s~ 0 •
ommunal riot in~, 1To be no part of thi~ haw i:; dcpnvauon · ht
1
MuhJtude Comes to a Man' mocks the way the ma!ls~s acc.umu -
l.ttc power by giving it to the powerful. The purpose of thel/r rrcs-
pect IS to create their own power. T hey exc l1 ange 'power : 1 ·or
wer' Taken as a whole Patel's poems sugge:.t c;umcoru~." tthl:
stn Ita
r vny tO OCial • • • '. d
IOJUSUCC an SU cnng
ff · who to sut ·ave a
ound at-necessary to harden himself
 MOIH RN I NIH AN tf ,0 T'S IN U I A l
121
I 0 -es anJ lagoon poetry written an the past b h
_..lrn t... d b , • t.lut t c b a 1
~· .
tern )nella, Kumar c en cs Kovalam Beach' r.:. t.lc
Of~~
~u.- .....1
..., \ogaes ('1hc sea fo• eplays with the hore')'dn •1 en s of
d\ h II an llC p s II\
Um 15
e representc >Y sea· e s and lobster 'cl..
• d' · \ " pmg aborttvS
f
J -.. m • Kumar s In ta 1S seen m t 1c perspective of h c
w..-·: I. l . J 1$ own tron~'
xual 1 des res w HC 1
· arc proJCLteu
.1·
on nature mock' mg y an ar"
1 d
........ --'ly oppo lau on 1 d
~~ , 111 l to nutan I modesty, • 'llCL)' rc pc t
r ' -.; 'tr IliOn
........
.• ,... TaJ' an moon
. d h tg ll revca. sa pa1r
, f of shac•t•y
tth
Jogs c 1
aug ll 1 m a
d'llm behul t e re.u mmarct . A tcr nouno the ' Ia • 1
t -r . · ') h k , " urc m t 1e
rtarof the TaJ (u.s rcl.tum , e as s I low long can It With tand 1 h
nverbed,s IcthaI tr.:ct " · l1.' A 'M an go Gruve• ·ss 1m:wcd · a.s •clu t t 0ef
~ro1nbrcasts . t or
• A . L d v k I 1.
en ateswatas etnplc'hcrecaH~ial c!J'S d
1:)

1 hd ·· f ' cgcn
about a wo~an w .10 a . a VIS~on o th\: Lord' arm 11 mg m bene
'D"

dicuon. In Kum.1r s vc~s•on oi the legend as the WC)tnan lav 011 t1

hrine's threshold the high priest surveys 'the worn n's fl~n~~
the length of a cushiom~d bed'.
In Broken Columns', a sequence of t wclvc pncrn!>, the poet'
xiAIJty '" co~nteq:~ointed agamst the tead1ing of h1 parents,
hool and lnd1an wtsdom. Whtlc he chants from the Git.a 'I ecc.l
t thy desire I on obJeCts of sense' he l!i awan.: of 'a gtrl' ktn I
a d two tender legs' Throughout th\! sequence the fCtcus 1 on
repre enuti' e particulariues of Indian Hindu hfe. Although the
1r me reflect Kumar's n.::bellton, the presentation ha~ a cold,
ruthle deuchment. A teacher preaches that lndtan 'degeneracy'
t Bntt h maght' brought about colomahsm. But the teacher'
on of regeneration is undercut by the buttermilk on lu mou
he Kumar' father, suspecung him of hbadmou antcrc t tn
omen, nd him to a high priest who beckon hun mtO a c.l. rk
lwnber of the Shiva temple and bcgms cn'iually care ~m lu
ek
 MOlHRN INDIAN POJTJn
122 IN•Ntl
123
1
"J sh w«<dmg m Bomba ')and ,r:arious kinds of so.:JaJ
:J' \How aht: English Lc on Ended', •The Tnah \:b:;
Flood,~ln Indt~ ), but F. ckiel al\\ ll\ . appears to he on th:ouut
watdung. ob en1 ng. commentmg, m1personatmg, ldther
J0111tOM dir«tlv c:ng:aged m the~ penence. Panh this 1s man
teduuque and pvtl 1r reflect ht~ tcndenc t mtellc\:tu-.h
.nd ,ud~ t'.xpenen..-: "hcthcr s? 1al. mom I or e~ual But ~·rn
bt explamed 10 teml of E ekud foml.ltl\ e ears as a muon
jew 10 a Hmdu Mu lim octet\.
Bv oontrast Kumar poetn ecms •mmediilte. a 1f "ntt
nerve end, and m the heat of or wnh till' j, id mernones of co~
A am, tht J( panh a martcr ?fa kjnd of te~hniq~c. p.ml a ~t
of how Kumar channels cmouon and expcnt.,nl.;e amo poctn, and
mtght bt expl.:uned htsWrh.. ~lh Ill term ("If~ further ttlgc tn u 1
Ind 1an ltfr. for poctr), e pcc1alh :.ft(.'r Amenc.m confcs iun;t) \C'
lwf become~ model. h ts t<.>mptjng to ce Kumar as "Omcon ,
much wnhm Hmdu socJet rebelling to gd out whtle ull retam
emouonal and personal ue to H. Likl' Ramanujan he lla 111
dead lhed abroad and h1 "ork rct1eds h1 cxpenencc as
expatnate, someone with .t foot ant'\\ o culture . But" hcrea R
nu an memonr.s of lndlll arc m1xed bet\\ ecn no talgi ~ for t
warmth of the past and relief at bcmg freed from ue , de\;cpuun
ab urd•urs. Kumar s poem , for all their wit and humour, arc P;uholug\ onl kno" s, fo1 he's no It ul
saunc mpon es to an lndta of pas 1vit"', cxual rcpresstt n, po he deal ~ lth r~, ce ' d. Jppings. 1 ols
hypocn and an mer glonfiecl, crumbling pas1. He kn " s hi bit
Whl"r as E k1el In 1nd13' mdudcs cJa] snurc n the un \\ c h. "'e l,>t o f name-;
fattonnes~ of rdauon bet\\ cen the c c in lndta Kuma
for the • me
ponraulm 'lnd1an Women'• loser to an::asm : ·raucnth th ~lut.
Sit ltke cmptv pu hers plcaung hope in t•a h hr.11d th platn hao; ( tnph:tSI 1..lll · l 1
l IW pIl s l ..:;3 , l h . l:\ ll h. 1l
t~ • du• muliC
gu:1rd thetrt~nooed th1ghs' fh I
. 11 11 '
on suf\ 1' al . nd h~.·mg roug I1. o . gc s,\ ~ llllliP'"'ll'" s'
ull c\en the hado" s I1 1111 U) o f flcsh JU) ' ' llll(l1.1 l 1ll' 'l' ll'iC ~'' I'JHlllh 1'1 \IIIII'1
• 'II ,
roll up the1r contours putr ' Angnh addre..,,mg . 1n<It.\ 1' \1 11tl ll r • " h~l " I ' I ·"'
and .arc gone t "'"rd B n.ucs tu d1t.:', D.lrtl\\ II tno\ \..~.
be, ond the lu II
Thm "It hm1ld luc. d tht• l\.1fk.• b~. \l
Although he often u e u..:h form hzmg dastnm:1ng mcth r th \'\ a te I ml
as narramc, dramatl\: monologue rh •me 'tr.tditiOil I pro 0\t "h n tot her\ ou a1 c ncar t hand
proJe 1"c mbohsm (Ill wht\:h th~ ~xtcm~l rcflc t dtc: ub n 'a t pra\\ lmg d ft•at?
ll\l"} and do ure. [)aru~ a11 a•s poetr al o has an HllnlC'-dttJC\ a 'l d Jill ''> the plll cl
ul lhruwalla amght ccm to r \h. rc d d ( ghr w
a~~~rl ~~ \:Untt'a~1 the natuulne of '\i 10lcn\;c. nggrc 1 11 1 ~1 nd dct tho c '" ho a ate an '
0 1 1
< c tre "'uh rcpn~s aon, h, pocrt
t lC}t rH
and de Cit. U u:alh
 DIR
Jnflt t b tween conscJcncc and a vaew of life as pov. r
.,al r altt\ '' ctl n a conflu:t between two poeuc mod
m 1l,e other unmediatc:
' P' \\ r, pow, r da\\ nd teeth
O T UlDIA I 125
t
.a ~uf"' ed unl' ersc, a strat~ht metric Ime
1n •
n oundenng m a rut
tS
u mu t gtvc •at mu l upl e meanmg
A \\ ork of art must hit you m the gut:
1
tnke an attitude and knife a pig
.tnd tough-gu) that 1 am,l brang out lu guts
Three dtmen ions of space, one of ttme
dream , mcmorie • senses,-} our meagre tool
-and a tradition thar is portly
Can, au fa hu.m reality with the e tool ?'
1 agree. I will be stanmg
.a ausagc-factory h01~ly.
II the V~orld is simply physical existence, a plalc ot tulle,
.aOl , mcmoncs, l.!nSC), then th~re c.1n be no trilgcd} , on I
pomtment, ~cc1dcms, .tgl'ing and tat lure. 'Traged) T lk', the
1
th f the 'Ot:.tlogues', denies the pP~sibility oi o\dct '\itcws ol
a d} m the modet n world:
e
but we aH agrt."e
thilt you and 1
:u unfit ubJects for a t.raged)
our uagic wheel gets !.tuck
sn 'en rut
ourp ions ltck
ct lo~ot wnhm our guts
de Un) , ~t 1 , f te
we don't me sure up to uch "ords
at fat· were to queeze me hard
all that wc,uld n.::main of me
would be btt of turd.
1le mocking our 'hule lives' a ub) ect for traged) • the pvc•~
lud by strong!) tmpfying thM lhCrC IS tra.getly of 1 )tt ll l
1 le t d hy 1t of 1he past with its grand tn\ 1hs, legend s, hu~ l:llhJ
th r I1cme wht h cc man wn· I 1111 · · · 1 I' lCn~io n . In tc ~l
a pmtu c 111 , d
m trag d) w1ll rdlcct ou1 per onal fecltng ol , ngst .m
•cal and so~.:tal c\ ils:
I t me hold ught to the angs-t, the f~r
n' alit h:,l\ c.. m> dear
the thtng 1 pamc from
uld ne er excite :.lyre
ren drunk m the ba emcnt
h1lc chtldrcn roa t m a fifth-floor ftre
J26 MODE'IlN INDIAN POETRy IN ... pOIT"S IJIIDij\ 1 127
1M redefiruuon of uagcdy ss also the: theme of lh <:l
.. th fjrebed oftheir dreams!
Condolts' where, adoptJng an uoruc mask, DaruwalJa hc: p~ ,;d e"en as the body shrivels like a £1g
ker daim there can be no modem rragedy m an absur:J tht~ theV \Vet their hps with your name, Hu am!
acQdenu An 2w~s of the need to celebrate death lh Yforld l)aJUvnlla seldom appears a~ ease among the passivity, fatahsm
J)aruwall2' ~theft and follows from 11 s co c:n as~ ritUJ1.s of Htndu cultur~- Hts attempt to m~rge his own concern
on manones, dre21J\S and the ensc:s _The physacal andncen~ -! dy·u·~
.." 1nto a collecuve -indtan d psvche m 'The Waterfront •
, rid J h wever, nor all, .as there IS also ·conscien ~
... • .
~strikes me as unconvtncmg esptte the htgh competence of
awaren s of the need w face death Jn 'The Parst Hc~ : 1 at~
h'' verst A thtrteen~poem sequence, 'The Waterfront' bc:gms 10
aha whIt "Our htll and h~ven have no locus, the scriptue ~ e latl ~en• at observmg 1he apparen1 gro•esquenes of V•r.maSt in
all rcfercn e to the damned', he carries his hell within hres ~ ~ ~gc emptying into the river i:o o.. erlooked by those who
a 1mdar angu1 h to Protestant gUJit: 'Anxieties cong am. Th
claw at vour dreams a the~ prospect for hell'.
rcprchts water as holy:
regarc: and What plane of destiny have 1 arrived at
Whtlc Oaru" alia's poem~ gn e ex pres ion to desi where 'orpse-fires and cooking-fires
and ')Cn c , the) are grounded in conaete images ' chrc, memory
aracterund bum side by side?
Jtuauons Th e poems rccord a modern India during a ·c rf:
a Riot Tom Cny' and 'J>cstilcnce'; of'The Ep 11eptic' 'TI ~ ewlll Al ru ht Varanasi seems 'a city of the dead I brooding over a ghost-
'The People' and I cllow Indtan Poets'; of •LO\ e in Me le , ~ scapc'1 At dawn some worshippers appear like bizarre illusions who
among the Panes' and 'I.ndian Adolescence·. It as a weUe-rut 'u~ have crawled out I from the sediments of time'. 'Vignette I'
world of pohucaan~. wnters, lovers, family, fakes, the,:;: ta~ observes 'Lepers', a 'dwart', 'Beggars' and con dudes that the Ganga
trag~c, set In many places and with many events.lt is alar er ~~II wsu 'not to lighten the misery I but to show it'. But in the nrnth
often more trags<.: (although not nece sarily deeper or g ' ~~ poem. 'The Dip', Daruwalla surprisingly claims that for those
unmersed in the water 'the ship of doubt is wrecked':
supenor world than that found m the poetrv of Ezck. jK -'-
Da.s or Ramanu Ian . y et rI Or all Its . .anvoh cment
• J with Indian
1e , am.w
life 1who came to feel her fro1..en paws
Sft111f hto be wdnnen from the outside rather than like Shlv Kumar find myself in her warm, dark heart.
rom
eot t ran 1 e. Daruwall
1\ lovers h a•s poetry ccms pnvate,. , personal; people. In River Silt', the concluding poem, Oaruwalla now claims that the
e.Jpt"nen e fe~ea~~ tfiere, to be observed, rather than pan of shar~ oollecuve layers of my psyche sleep here' and that the skulls will
e mger taps
apeak to the future of the Indians:
commum~te., an of dlC seIf·15 pan of his poetry's trength as 11
Th e withholdmg
a knowan"n ante11dtgence pOised between anger and reflection a syllable-seeding
fas an anon , C.S:> towar s ""hat 15
for . · seen an d cxpenenccd.
· L
He 11as a coated against death
tion, v 1ence s!chss•~naf~ dcommttmcnt whil.·h iswolves dcdu:a like mummy-wheat.
m Musltm 10
cultu~S!' te '"r 5• and wouiJ appear to identify wath The bravura display at the conclusion of the poem does not disgutse
rc.•rou
ome o his best poems are the' Jn the ShadO" DU\Iwalla's theme of Hindu India as a land of despair, illustrate? by
tho~ Hm~u
of the lmambara'
there 15 hlghh rear.zc:ld'" T~JC Kt eper of the J)c,1d (1982) \\ htrt who come to Varanasi. His f\lOre usual attitude to the
cmouon~: ~cnpuon, charactenzauon, speech and tndiu~n
10
as represented by Varanasi is shown by the remark
~ssmg m••
of Rivers. 'begging for food. is •me old slave;rou<e ol
Before pa IOn ~udt a thi ~mdu p yche'. Wha1 comes across mosdy suongly tn 0 o;:;:~
'ou ~an
11 h only o ft cr h umlht) l ~':_-~ ~try is rather the self-control and repressed anger
I ley ave aw.ancd Moharram ~.as in 'Routine' a~.d "The Hawk'.
+~t: :a tree ;}dung for lc:.ft 1\c nnge, variel)', lhemes, anitudes and voices of )ndion English
ley lung for ham ro walk
 MODI!IlN INDIAN POETRY
lfof Itt
~ han ancrused grady m reant decades. lnst Olt
.... ipored by th poe(s tmapnatlon or reduced toad of 'IIdia
lndit has become a reahty h is ~n. ftlt, ~
1
M1111fil'1Jtl,
dlepoea raponds co It vanous dewls. events, happen~
...a-. peopla. bthaVJour and legmds Rather than p, ~
phil)' f his con ou ness 11 has becomt a focus of it aon the ~
r11t anapaaaon worlu and creates. The charge once ~:J:~ ~
andy that the Engh h W1guage poets do not have as Y~ d SILG!oRDO
aonshap ro lo al ~uhu~ as do the regional-language ose nfa.
1
fonstr accurate, although 11 is true that there has been ~ IS
polmcall commmed verse and ustamed attention t ttltofd.t
somcames found m regwonal ~ ntmg. Rather, ~he English.:Uitiq
poea havr been more c~ncemed With explonng their rtlati ~'~at
to the past, to thctr famtltt-s, to local soCiety and thear · ~
rdauonshtps wnh others. Although lndtan English unm~
emerged as a nauonal ~terature, the imaginative world of:etry hie
mU mostlv centred on themselves.and t~ei~ emonons, ra;=
on IOCiety or some larger communnv. nus 1s neither bad good,
aetlan to be des1red nor rqected; rather it is a fact about mn~: oftbc
tiplificant poets who had appeared by the early 1970s
lndaan poetry m the latrr 1970s and '80s, however, began rotab
on lOme more reprcsauauve, larger ambmons and go beyond die
mdividual sdf ro a greater concern wtth Its environment, with the
~ communal idennty and Its place wnhan the national cultu"-
w~ more poems about spectfic locales, poems about the
kunaty m wiUch on~ was raased, poems whtch consciously
~ positiOn on matters of cultural heritage or were crittcasms of
,.;;ncem wtth the self and au w~y of perceiving reality. The pocu
~ to vOid facalt natJonalasm to write of the world as they
=:,f I ~ miff
lndtanaud thear poetry by making n an expra-
ll:lout rtli ~ r as expenenced .rather than preconcetved ideas
IDOft va~:J·UC:~iry !'aturahzed itself and took in larger and
nnac of b rxpmence It expressed greater .. ariety and
Danawallasu Jrets. as represented by the writings of Kumar and
the~subsequendy both moved more into the inner world
awannea f ~ness as weU as into other kinds of observatton and
soaety m which it is created.
EIGtiT
poet's India II
.jiM""'"'
JtODIUGUE.S, DE SOUZA,
71 Newground. a Bombay co-'Operativc modelled after
19 House, pu~lished its f1rst boo~, T_hrc•e Poets,\\ h1ch re
()~rial
,_.ted work by Hs founders, Melame Salgardo, Raul d'Gama
bsc and San tan Rodrigues. A new generation had appeared on
.sc;ene. Subsequent Newgroun~ p~bli~auons were Eunice de
SouU•s Fix (1979), Saleem Peeradma s Fzrst Offeme (1980) and
»-ohar Sheny's A Guarded Space (1981 ). Each of the poets ts or
lias t.ecn resident in Bombay and each except Pecradina and Shett)
from a Goan family. While the poets have been associated with or
scudenrs of Ezekiel and build upon the kind of moral reali m he
iliiarfd in Indian English poetry, they tend to fo us more clo ch·
IOCitty.
The only one of the younger poets previou ly to publish a
.alume was San tan Rodrigues, whose first book, I Exrst ( 197&), was
ori&iaally circulated in typescript to members of Ezekiel's MA class
• tht University of Bombay. Written between 1970 and 1972 when
P.odrisua was in his early twenties, they arc poems ot someone
sponaaeously responding to friends, youthful love aftairs, sp?rt
aadotheroccurrences in one's hfe, including writing poetry, With-
out any formulated stance, attitude or position. Their lack ot in tel
leauaL social, moral, psychological or political dimensions w,ls ne"
10 senous Indian English poetry and cleared the deck~ tor ,Hhet
kiDda of subJect matter, such as the celebration of athleucs, and the
confusions and changing views of youth. There are poems, such as
'To Bed' whtch express simple delight in being oneself:
t
hurrying to bed, then strip
~ airs, manners, society yelps
awear all day. i leap
 JJ.? MODI RN INOII\N P• [l"Ry IN • IN[llA II 133
iNc:;l poE1"
an 1mmedt.1L\, \Itaim a.nd drama ,15 11 the s ~
1
<Hill r lh.'S
.. r
. contmunnv togct I1er rat 1lCr 111
• rtgtd ~ocial conforn,·t,
ll r\\Crt bunr "ttm c.: I and cxpcnt:nced. \\lith lll· ub 1hc
c~tho I
I •c . An attempt I.oy t ' le Archh1shop in 'Varca
.. "tlli 1usucc. ' ~

m " I l
dl'l n r b t\\C'Ul J <Xt me o;u lfCCt, an
d h
t c use oJ c.lct~llland
c colla
r 1ha0
2'
10 ov.- kc 1hc Inn< or s am peasants wor htp together fatls'
11 d l ·
tcnlrn an , 01 c, tht: p< ct, r.tthc.:r than berng \;OilSCIOu 0 f 194 h Archbishop .lS shot at, Ine re fuses fot many months to•
tO fll:l
,.- I1 "
, fltnm nt, .1ppc.: u" p trt n t 1r em 1ronnt<.: nt
thr After~ ~he Mass; eventually the status quo ts restored: 'the land
hr 1 part! an album of snap hot of de ouza's Goan f ptrfo were landlords I and the peasants peasants I ever after'.
Poon.1 'Here', !>mthn~ 1s '} ranc1 X. D' ouz.a I father of t~dy lord
Me1ame• 1al~o
s· J,•aroo. one ,,f the Three Poets and a fom1er student of
"'ho ha had e'en (.:htldrcn m sc" en year , complaimn J~
c
v. rues about Goan ~o~:tcty,
· L
uut her p rtrava\ is
Hmdu bum;crs got no ethic · Jhc poet dcscrib~ and dra~3l tst
J ~ouza ~.
ile d h · 1 'd ·r·
passionate .tn t ere ts a c osc t enu tcauon · w11h
· her'dead
2 orrconl • . . f 1
m 'fhc n)nfe~ aonal, comp3sstonatc, amt 1a and sO~.;tal often' l
bur 3 ) nothmg herself ahout the portrait; the satiric pers ll
comes from the JUxtapo iuon of tin f.nhc:>r's views and th/~1 CatheJ he pcr~nnal 1S :set within a cont.cxt of other . Silgardo uses
"htch sturound. hsm .• ~hil~ he ln~rn . '\X:e're O~e Big ~:
biro : t g"ry than Je Sou7.a, l'spccially tor psycholo~i~.;.l\ expression.
111orl' ama .. ,
Jarmh·' and lnd1a v. tl~ Suff~r , there.: •~ hts salent, suffc.:ring,al:: lrt 'Family Photograph .
pregnant w1fc. Thl' cltt fu'.~ ( I·athcr of the year', 'By the Gract yf Thl' room dcsu:nd 'i
God', Glxf Alw:ws Prm id~·s', 'Pillar of the Church') rontrast toth nwkward pbces. There's .
reaht\! rcpre cnted ln the v.:ite. The phr:1s~s. ~t economic all} in/ 10
, t:r.unp stampede for my bram.
1
the lmcs, thl!ll control conmuurmg to the saunc per~pc.:cti\e on the A release, and
falsity ol ''hat the J ather, Pncst .md Mother Superior say
mv four-legged mind
Other poem report on Go an marriages, 'I· ceding the Po •r a
Chrt tmali', the sexual prudery which le:tds to mi mfomutio 15 ~omping home.

about men truauon and irnpn·gnation, a Christmas pan} and a u or es of fam 1h lift.: become Silgardo\ way of under tandin~
IHt'Rl 1 • ') • II h 1
Porruguese-brcd aunt who mi takes a small Shivalingam tor her elf The pl)Cm speak directly wh1 e movmg r;tptl }' t roug 1
a htr:1y De Souza' 3tin! is seldom sarcastic; rather the satur en11 mcnt , anger, sympathy, tcn~ions, undcr~t.mdmg; bv ~eco."~~­
come from ironac juxtaposiuons and derail . In 'Marriages Are m~ the pa t there is self-dcfmition. M.my ,,f tht! poems, hke l·.n r
Made' (v. nh l~ 1ronic allusion to 'marriages are made in Hca\·en ather on the Shell', concern her dead father or are ,ltl(lres ed to hml
Cousm Elena 1s exammed tor her family history, the solvcncyofhrr confessions.
father, her hetght, health and colour before the other family dec1des lbc tbvs vou dr.mk roo much
she" 1Udo 'Jusuce" to thctr'good on of Mother Church'. TI1e feed 1CQWl'rcli from your "mel\.
mg of the poor at Chnistmas is a display of small snobberies and You never knc'\~ it h ltrt
meanness·
d · 'Don•t try turnmg
· up for more'. The society portra) t'U-•1 to sc.:c your dear eye~ go blurred .
. ~n~ly textur~d but petty in its atutudes · it is a society of ronunor
1
~ us~on~ and lt,es wasted through ib'tlora~ce and conformity. Mu
tu see your fing~rs f umblc for .1 m.\tch
th.u 1\CV('r lit thl' tbngling cig.trcne.
Outsc dreamt of de ccnding I ~urving staircases' and of childrrn
ttll the dream rotted her innards And nnw I'm writing with my lik.
but no one knew: The pri~.;l' of an in her itcd crutch.
tanarcl" weren't permitted
rn her time. I 1 , ]v hiftcd fr Olll Llll'
n u h po~tn the subll'l t m.11ter h.ts ar,;t . 1
I If 11 1s t tc pot.tt' lJf
Still dremuno~ of 1.0 'C
, and conque:its she i humiliated b}' 1hc \\'2) tnn;~ I '' L)r ld to the P""Lhulog) ol l ll' 'it • , \\ hctl'.t'
t he commumty d1
~ 1 d I . . f
' \, reams anl anxtcttc.:s. ears am .~
l ~··It rc\C 1,tuon .
smt se.s l1er as an ageing
' ·
eccentric. Relrgaon hold
 I~ M o U I K II; I N () I A N ~ n J r In IN IN 'S U.:J)IA II 135
~ r '
( I I
lw"n"' ~11.: (kr<'d 111 fttJ maiJ7cd. htghh Cl)
1
d d~ Sc uz 1 hau en1ar~cd th kmds uf lnd 1an r..:a\it'
,
1
n du ugh l llllc..xll\ c ~ OllM.:I(lUsncs
• • Sllg::tr uo
_; lltrr II u I 1 iln
..,, I 1 I zc.:ktt.:l'o; poem an J a m t Ile po tn ol Rodnguc , the
J t 10 l11g,I I \ c1t,1agcd nnagcr). Daru, ~ 1 u I L( n cotnC" from the cl-cptan~.:c of ordmar ltf .md rela
111 ,, 1ppc 11 tl llllliiC
, tn, ,, uh II'~ t:mpln.. •~ lln th npencn~..e ol the c vaJia t JS worth\ ubJed matter for po tr). Bv "riung on uch
I J II nsc and •; athletiC , the enJO' mcnt nf b m~; \ oung and a,\a, c, the ex
n 1 r.lU\ ~ org llll liiOil, \!>'"" mu c.c c .,rate._. the self's 0
dHoll h 1 nH: s\. plmlul, d ngcwu., wodd. Sh,, Kuma , urn
1 of 3 s1xtccn-year·l'lld gtrl, the rcstn tm~· convcnuon
hk 1l udn\, p1 c:nt:'> ,elf rc\ tlmg t:lllOlJOil'l tluou~ls Puct"
noran)(:ten
\: and the un\\ 1II'mgnc sof Ind1an <>tudcm~ " to accept
,tnnl'ilK 1111 tg s hut hts t mph a t8 '" on the sexua l, on "' :n~'Tr
(_,, n ..r "nnen bv Indian 1 good, Rodnguc . de Souz.a and
1t ,ctn:t\C mapped 1.ug~.:. pre\ tous I) neg Icctc d, area of lnd 1an
lm n Jt 1.1;., ml Jt., I uhm:, lnd the tone llt (lft~.:n humorous r ~ I rdo I1
Hn h \.!~ill l11l'JL: uc dcrncnt • whether inrnul, n.1ITau,~d~·:(.dj 10 thcsr poetn
J 1~'I •t:t <;uLial a" ,1rcnesc; that Saleem Pecradina thought de-;ir
l wnnl, of ..dl f)ltltu;U\cflC\~ m thl male poets. Bv c 1nt n 1
L' I I) j S I , . r:tM, th I :introduuiun to his Macmillan anthology can be found
'H11l1 n pnct'> "•1111.1 a as, t c nuza :tnt SJ!gardo-increJJm •I ahIc 111 111 Qf(ensc, the hrst . I1 con 1sts o f f ra~mt:nt of
111p li\J\ sud1 ,dJ plDhCtJon and crt::H~.: a world uf \\h<'lt
•• part o I w I111..
g I 1 151
urhan l'1fJc .~~ t he Ior;,, o.'L .1 panfora?11cisuntc} o f t hc
11
dtlu.t '>t:lf IC\d.nwn . The rt:eling of lllll11edJ.Itcd, lrePh a~s app~~r
10 j)
mollcrnJ lndi,Hl
· { i . . • ouated B b:w subLJrb ('Bam1r.1 ), a co 1ectlOn o .tttltut cs towards 1
txprc ~1011· t ,o l.Olll ~.:,ll'U,'I\tllg. I 1l~put:msc,j Llll.:wc_m1 c11 Wrll:Crb
lit 111 t)lt:JI O\\ n \\:1\ a wdl cnnstt uctcd lS those.: ,,f tl 1
001
1et ('Th~rc Is No God'), an urban mock-pastoral ('Morning
. • h: ma mot 1
Gl n '), inm1c •fU~tapo~mon • - '1 us 1-tm, H 'tn du an J C h rt'iliJJ1
ol •' . .
\\titer ; but the co mar llt:Uons . ar~ dd tcrent ' inl.'e tlw wom .... n mnp l~•ious <;crvices ('Time: The Same'), a Wt:ddm~; procession
a ps\ ~ I10 jog' o f \;vntra d11..t11ms, humi.liali\ms and dd~at 1ather
th.m r.df-as CI1W1Jl and trnunph. 1 hcu· assc.:1 tinn j., of the self 10 r~\1: rriagc p,1em'), m?vjc-going ('The Real. ~hing') an.d snippets
1 101 mArriage ad\ erus\!mcnts and other triVIa found m popular
ml more 1 charactcmtrc 1 female •~olc!i m rdationshii' to f:tthcr , motl1er, mag:mncs and newspaper ('The C?nly Man'). \'V'hile such poems
s ' r~.-")tn~uon , 0\c;, maiTJage, undtrdog-;, the puor and defeat
J! •uu l " 'TI1c I anh "om1 ' Ston ' ·• a metap1wr for fcnunme rna), at a casual glance, appear hkc some of the un tmct~red
"~un 1' ~1 through s If humrliauon: xpcrunental verse published in the hue 1960s, th~y are 01g:tm.zed
to progres'i through various stages towards a f1rm conclu~1on.
I lost thJ'I l.tst bu nf ,hmc The ~:on truction is, however, less by way of argument, log11:. or
'iL:rapmg al1 n~ the ,, :1) . narrati\e than by large areas of related fragment thro.ugh wh1ch
111(• cro\' pl~..kt-d, the pot:m moves. Such a techniqu~ seems appropnate to th~
the ant bu,
tmmense ,unount of information, mi mfon11atinn, sentiments,
md the ~ravd -;nccrcd unJerhdl, . contrJdictory au irudcs, advertisements, slogans a~d other
1mllar dtaJ"dt.:.teristics of th~ ~.:onfusiun ol mo,lct n lnd1an urban
h doe') not 111:\lll'J hfc 1~1 which people of various religions live side by side, atte~d
ll th.tt's )'UUI font m l'r me. mt~vu:s, t ead magazin4!s with cover birls, n:ad newspapers w~th
. olth~.: ulll f(''
I ' Iam1'I ' lIh.:rc 1s 1 llll'l''lllo qutzzcs, listen to politicians on the radio .ulU an.· han~bJnlc~ \~lth
· lnSJ!g.mlo';;J'HJClll!-.t)1
} 1 11
ma1" It1l l lt' so~ lal I I . . . ~ :") mor(' Impressions than can be , educed into ,1 cons1sten~ ~~sson.
i-.1
the .. .. l · lfi.OO~,:Ctns, hkc tho-.~.· old\? Sou/,'1, 1~,,Je.: tn
1.. 11 "tom lc.'t\\ t.:c:n I Spalla! organization and juxtaposition .m: means of gtvrng an
ltr~t:·If m d IH:!r lmndy .md the (,11an < 11 I10I1
1
l:Ornmun • . o~cr-all structure to such an otherwise incoherent, unhomogc-
and hat" It). 11 It: ps) dwlogtcal em ph to,;i<:. j~; ratht!r till umOJcl, loa~
\.Ompcl('11i.:~ :\ll 1 1d · d neous m11o:ture. It also allows Lhe bringing into poetr)' of asre.cts
undc.:r•t t.:, O l m:t a JUStllRnt, WOUJ1(h, ICJt~.IIOil an
) b[ modern reality which because of their fragmentary 0 ~ mvtal,
~; f ' an mh'
hi ch to b
' t t • n lh c:· mnl'r "ot ld c ,f f 1m ~"v i-;olauon the sour
'-C.: (.J pocuc m plran
J
1ounu m u~.:h )
J • 1•
on tH quesuonmg sclfh, Hld-themci\ morl
• t 0
representative, narure would be od1envisc neglc~t~d tn more
ed, formalized, internally consistent kmds of wnung.
pt t:t\ ~'i Cllltrl' and MJhapalr•'
 M )Ill II I Ul \N I'Ctl TR\ I
I\(: l 0 1: 'f'S I N D 1 A II \37
n • 10 r ftr to ht' IIlli odun1on to ( rtt" r
J1 ot:t 1nw creek water
't '~ 1I... an H\ ,,, CIH.'\s 1llt 11
1
1 Ul r / /
I1 I'' t , m ln '
11
tO thC St:ll·
1 td hum n I nd c:tpt: th.11 •s lnd1;'1' .11ld lll\oh oft
'.,, d I I t. t.:tn~nr wr's metaphor of Bandra as a whonsh woman uniftes
11c c.' on IL1lt lndJan poet~ h 11te o~rra
1, 1 11 h h " , :. poem, 1mL ·mtrotl uccs a o ft, 1omanuc c\ichc to the
1 1I ffr(l 1 \\ J1hn,n ltd cofAmt:rJc:Ul"lltlllg,nndpan,c\JJ B.t11Jn f·''h ' place. By ·mtcrposmg · <sueh obvaouslv external control
1 ( ulm \'\all rams nd \'\/allacc Stc\e I ·cd urbanc;cape, tmme{l'tclC) ts Iesscncd. and turned mto
-1 I) 0 t \:
tc;~~'
•
c I, ~ 1 n PUt 1f d1t pl~.:c \\h~r~: the pn.ct IJ\ec,~ ~
01
1
on the 'anPeel adma . ' s ot lter poems are c\o er 111 t he rcalny
. of the
nd 1 c, l" nndc fron\ local matenals and t1a\ a ,umcnt.erlcnce w1t • o f tnv1a
· 11 •1ts ·tmmcnsc vanety · · I sttmuh
• · wh 1ch
unn 1 and I I rdt' an urb.tn c>"P Jen1 life both cxcnmg and fatiguing and which is nnr-
13 n lrJ \\ h h h hct n rcpu h~t-.hcd m /u st Offe'Ht ,, Hh J fc m:tKt'l mko for 1 1-antc•d and ignored as somchnw natu~c~l tn citv \iving
mall) t.t en ~
y
•
n mnr {han hom Pcer.1d111.1 ., antholog}, u-.;c'i till n t'ta
ph r ,f thl: Bomha) ..uburb a~ a whon,h \~om, n to sun l'\ m h tl~.l~ • , Glory·' is .1n ironic urh;tn mo~.:k-p.,-.lOI,ll, a tradational
~,~.mung ~ "l"
t<" ~mJ d 1iuKtc;n"'UL lcaturc.:o,, ~1c _nuxtUIC' ?f ~.:ultun:~ nd ..• of I)\)Ctry u~cd by Sw1 I
t .tmong ot 1cr e1~ necml-ccn-
· I l
ub uhur\;:s whrch fo11m ll'i td~.::llliiV. f111.! tc' hnu.1ue hl·tc 1 ~ 1~ ~ ub·gcnn.: r . 1 b
· ·t·s in which the rca1tty 01 ur an 11C tS unp tCit y contras- \"L • 1· l
umncd1JlC than tn (lfllC later poems !\lllCC tlw narrator's voice anu tur) wntc · 1 ·11" .-.J rural pastora . ll .m d sc.1pc an<.\ b ch :wwur. · 1'he pocom
the <.:cmunllmg m taplwr dist.lnlC.:S "lnt is obscrv~d ratl1er tha;
te J tOIU) IZC
.. prev1otts urb:tn 1110c -pastora s, Wllltmagc:. of a
. k \ . \ .
I1 1
beg1nli ' ac; · •g' (c.:"n implicit contrast to wakmg • • • • h
off nn~ .n unmcd1an:d pn.·scnlalitm of sights and sounJs 1h wy morntn 1 to a sun rlSing
· · · 11
mt e
pt m moH·o, from an mnial1 cf.:r encc to the growth t)f Bandra tro · I·) '"fhe public wakes' recurs three tJnH!S, 1rnn1ca y
ountr}'stt c . .. . h . 1.
callin the Cynthi.ls and other beauutul mmn:sses w o ·'-'~ ·'"t:
I

a ca from tm~,; n· to 3 'sc.:ttlcmcm I of shops, c.1fes, cincm ,

hur h · , ho pn,Jc., l:hools, park '. ·me
fnLus shifts to the re ~· ·,n older poems · but instead of C\)Untry deltgh£s
tO tlC 1 no,Jng~ll5 lll,. .1 be~gar's early, mornmg .
wa1'l' , ' tnt'll -s1rcns
.· " ' ,
me qu wnh II'> nowcr- dlcr, policeman COntrolling hcJV} t Itcro are l~: t- • , l" 'Th • . ~ k
tr ( , mel! of •-.trccl t tlls, and ~laugh tel house. The third ccuon , 'broomdust' and 'ncw· pnnt · :sen c t:OL ~
p'l1 egm- l >u r t.s • h h Th ~
I

nn n B:mdra a~> a lum ('diuhcapcd', 'guttersmdl', 'shmm· have turned nem otic I crowing .H odd ho\tr!t ot t "fc nJg t • t:.
. ·l ds mto a d1 tcrent, more
m mon I I nc and Jt It\ mg conditions ("aujc-:audy factng the reference lll the mormnb newspapct . ea . 1 f s·dcr"tl
~ 11 n kn hen f.tung the terrace bedroom'). The Lenc u1en
. d f
COOlCmporat \' ktn 0 poem lll W liC 10 '
· 1 ·h p 1cc o .con ,. •
t ... •
f _
,. . f 1 1 . wral the coni tctmg, t , .,
m \ c to B nd tJnd. a place where local lov!!rs mcc.::t among th£ oplmticatcd 11utues o t 1e moe <.-p~ls ' . · offen~d
l1thc nd f1sh, crab hunung aml publil: defecation. Next the poem
. . f . [ d ·rn communlc.tuon" IS
orgamzcd 111 ot matron o mo c . h 1 , resultin1•
J ts •If ll!Ullg 1 llt: t>
h the 1cfram 'GI\l everyone' in which Bandra is whorq;udJe.ss d1rc~tly llnd all owed tO p.uo Y 1 c . . · ~- 1 1 g:tns ativcr-
. •. f . t 'UlCJllS po1ll\l.l S ll • '
offcnng a ~.lJ'ICl) of goods, sights and cultures- upcrnt.llkc~~ mcongn11Ucs o government sta t.: •• • l . tu · ts editor-
• • • . I l C )11'\tnCrCI.l pttH l '
'>mall J'IO\ Jsnm-. tur('5, roadside stanJs, l.lrgc villns, we,tlthy 1'.\rsJs, t1wmcnts lor nur rt.lgC..,, JOl'lS .u11. '
. . , nts 1n vlnom '1
J · . rc d}'madc
"cstcwizcd Clm~;tians, M\:r\,;cdcs c.u s, toughs, whores..111d an 1a ls, weather hu 11 cttm, spc..>ns H:,P~ · . · . 1 abtlul. Thcre-
annual ( lmc;tmu rchhiuus ccrcm~my (hnlallcing th~: Mushm l.~~~~ r.J~urc'i Ill. speech.('By I . 1
no mean !'I. \ c..
. ')
E ,, h:nt 1y Jt as tm
A thr contJ
' •
,\sts
l ·come .tb,ur ,
J
h
cuorr twuJ. An mantc p1<1)'('r ir; wbich tr .•diti<•nal supl~r5 ll 110 "
lL
In fOtc /In htct. h 1s ng 1 ttmc ... · s . 11
er phon>gr.lp "
ll eeraum.t
l' • f
lntl"ll(1ucc., rl' l.!rcnces to :
tVP''' 1 ne,vsP· 1
n:mams 111 :t modern b\:ttln[; concludes the ponr.1it: ' 1. , htnvn. In kcep-
and l1\e way t hc1r · captHmS · o ften bc·lH.~ the •acnu d ll} , , ,t infonni\uon. ·
Preserve us • l
Ill~ Wlln the urh.m scene. anu t lC (.
l l b )tnbaa nlcth l
. • 'NO SPl n IN
. rG'
'
·1 kc all . . l l . uc nnuccs .
•ounds, nonces, the poem me uc e."i ~r~n.
pnit
CVIl
lNCONVFNlFNCE REGRET! tD ·. . I a sivc amount
dn\ en uuo cln off(•ring Cl\aractet istic of contemporary rea 11t)' hIS t lC 1m aphs and ot er
h
.tnd dropped of · ~ p otog
tnv1al new , signs, adveruscmcnt '
from a tram window
 1\9
' fJI I I

m 10 the open in~ 'iCctinn of l·11Sl O[{t:IISC is difft:rcnt. s

t :an md1v1d tnl in depth ,.,ul witl1 c rcful :tttcnuon. "Poet
n d rt'Jc.; as a kmd fr 11ll I• zclm:l's urban chat actcn.kctchc<t;
I r •.till: people I 'I k1cl mcctc; .uc.: rep• C'>Clll. u"c.: warnmg~
the rmgln bctr•ll'lc unlc'is he a !)t:rts hi~ will 10 change Jm
nd brc k fr01n the tcmpt:tuom of the uy. Pcer.adina
I the dcdiC:lliUil, I ol uon, di 'tlsf:t~.;lloll'l. no upr ted I

I modctn Indian I ngh h pol't. ..1he poem dot:s not saunzc,

r lllllllt:ntalt7C; 1\s strcn~th r~.;suh~ from 111 umali\tal corn
n htch dcH:Iops in spite ol a tadlll c of cvmrmani~.;auon and
t 1dm , t\ :IITI ,n~ the nolo;c .md hu•.tll' ,,f tl11 ~.;ity Pccr.tdina
tnto ontact w11h ,, murc ptofouml, purpt•~cful, Jll,'\tlltC
1 " c "had1 st md~t , •ut 11(itll the f ukJ cx~.:~;lltl\'t', bored
I 1 111d ~rca y !;•'' tt;dl.liHh whu P"l'"lttc lti!l111hca pm:rm:
\ 'Ynur tlUSI Cl<C ICi'il: lllOIC ~CIItll!ll
ov r Wqt ds', he -;.,id.
It wn._ •ltsr•llat..cl Liug
J (J11Urfc I 1uldn't ,,,w~.:t thcll 111 his 11h ,ut~.:l'd
11 111 f1om t woll? Inc •Jf lot .. ·lmc"
hlltlnJ• Ftutll {tty U• \.:i1y 1u vtll:lgc tr'
Oil
0111 d 1.1\)
I he land I w.ull 1 , tnhahtl
r num undt!i OH:rc.:d ·
l.f0 MODI RN INUIAN POETRY f'S 11'1 D I A 11 141
Iff. ,,.. E'NcLrt I pOl
111 I ,h.. "" that the printed page offer.; a tccling 0c e
The a.~nd secnon of Fmt OJJalse consists of mcm . II ~r eng • ' n-
lifr in conrrast to the pi"C'10uc; urban poems. TI1 is is thnes of "-a! J..surtldhood memories. of trappin~ and c~gin~ 'firefhes', whtch
cin has forg t~· ntimentaltty a.s a' C?ided by c~~Orld 111e ctu 1)' become dun, lose thetr nashm~ ltght, wilt and die
descripuons "·h1ch rum the ~.:enes mto tmages. In th I, ~ _.,...,equenlbJect f t I1e fiarst poem. Th'IS ·sntroduces several of'
""'-
Pecradma 1 a\\are of\'\'alliam Carlo \V'illiams'. techniq
. esean~
ue • .~..
0
art ~s ~ain themes, lnduding.thc problems of growmg up and
line bre.tk~ nre u~ed ro convey 1c act o perce1\ing an b .. n•cb
t1 f ShcetY st between the attracuvene~s of the outside world and
cene and "'hich by com'C) ang .an immediacy
· · of 'llCrccpt?
JOnJtcl
"'•L. Or the ,~rrawhcn seen dosely, and the way the routines of adu\t life
reahn eem cltarged , a "or o amagmanon. In 'Vani hin ~~
k f :.::he~~ spontaneity. Mem~ries ~~ paft cxp;tc~cc are brought
he alludes to \\ tlliams's famou poem 'l11e Red Wheefb~lts to the present to l1{~co m~ t. e su JCCt nhr re h7lcdu.on. The chi\d'fi
here the presence of the 'one 1 common I bird, animal, or UTo.,
human form' on 'an air-field I of grass' ~hich is 'so es en!:t"111
0
11 d towards ~he arc y as annocent as t e c 1 ts only aware of
'"'d IY_J anracti,•eness; by contrast the adult, knowing" hat it is
ae-sthenc ,; ion contributes to an affinnation of the narural wo~ a esarcu bt caged into a rouune. rnad e necessary b y the econom1cs
contraSt to the abstract: Ill of sui" ival, no longer as annoccnt an d sees h'amself ·m the trapped
lik e to · ·
And a neighbourhood tnsects:
of .sounds I felt nothing then,
of 1nsect-lifc Onl) a small pang for the loss
constantlv# •
Of a schoolboy's ornament. But now,
creaung Travelling my daily groove
ilence. In the hunt for food and habitat
If I rt2d these rural poems correctly they show the natural as 1 remember their trapped blank lights.
rontra.sted to the urban, \\Orld necessary for the imagmauon ~d Fireflie is impressi,•e in its art. The contrast bctv.•een ~Out­
1

the renewal of anenuon. At' Aksa Beach' Side' and being caged is conveyed in the language. The fireflies are
Stopping tra' el, I turn •flashing streamers', 'wavering lanterns', 'burning crystals•, but
and the sea finds me. 1r1pped 'Soon dimming', the glass walls 'baffling' them. In c~n­
uast to the vitality, movement and bright images of the open~ng
Obeymg the sea-air's quiet goading stanu, with its active -ing words, the final stanza, represenuug
to\\ ards water heel, eye, ear sund the present life of the speaker, is purposefully abstract, dull,
at the ocean's feet. A wave breaks d ched ('hunt for food and habitat') and the -ing words appr.o-
pmtdy dull {'nothing' 'Travelling'). The dimin1shin& of the qualaty
of expenence between innocent youth and adult rouune l5. refl~ted
1
The mind lS a hollow shell
conSCious only of the ocean's single statement. mthe adjectives and similes: the Wl.,rld of youth as fiU~d wJtll bng~~
descnptive words ('like luminous dials', 'like \\'ave':'ng.lante,m. ),
Guarded fSp ace, t h~ m1c of Manohar Shctty's f1rst
su Aeem · book• the adult's perception consists of fewer. duller adJCCtl':e ~ d:uly
The h a c~tlre u •defens1ve concern with the self and its fedJOgS
1 groo,e', 'blank lightS') while the amplied metaphor of adult life as a
hJ" tau es• of
prOJectort Sh •
• • • ett} 5 poems are an indication that
he tri1 JUngk tn wh1ch one fights tO SUI"\ ive is purposefully, '!lad~ fl~)t,
mtrgylcss and without any excitement ('groove'. 'hu~t a ll2t ·
1
'Fireflies' ·"·s.... nstta\ , . and mtrospecuon
'd , mes · · on the extema1'\\·on_jd I

'Fog' :ml· f' er,, Pageon', 'Mannequin', 'Pedestal ','Cocoon' httty's fireflaes are the nighcingales of dtsillustoned cxpe-
Jrror ·Careful control is shown in the physical sha~
llenct· b · · · ansect that
of Sbm ,1 • 0 sened closely they are found d•sappamung
} 5 poems, '\\'hJch consist mostly of stanzas and tines ol
142 &ODI:RN I l>IA POETRi IN n' ,~t>IA ,, t43

soon die. But 1he\ rcprc cnt t.he acti~ c, attract!\ c, free , 011
and thoughts of .1 dmlll s dumm) m a hop wm
d \lSI
~agntfacant o
f hrtt' ,s preo\;~.;upatton '" .u,I t hc rout me
ing' . natural \\ orfd of cluldhood. \'( nh rhe sh1ft frorn ch ~~
adulthood t.he hunt changes from vouthfuJ illu aons of. d t d thar the ltrst fac~: the manncq\lln mgles out from
It1l 0 • • . h
emb r4i to I arnmg the reaht\ that attracted i mercl a~ idtng horde ts .l man \\ 1l
and life \\all non const t of a deadenmg rounne. 'F1rcn ~ .-d b o" the p~:rpctual brief \:asc
\\ orn.. 1 •
unu ual an that the cluld, though mnoccm, JS a hunter a d \\can "nh age, ~ he vant!-.he'i .Pa'>t
ch 11d' hunt unnecc ani k1ll \\hat i anracti' e ) 0 ~1 Too pressed ft)r nmc to appre tate
hett)' p em 1 not }0\ ful or edenic. r.
\h groomed lender ame, Ill\ gla blue eve
'Growm Pam • u a 'itn11lar stratagem to 'Fare0 1c In 1 Glc:umng at\ da\J from 1"11) clc'\i ted place.
re~ounung a nuauon m 'outh, and then commcntmg up t mannequin could be c;ecn as 'mbohc of the poet or
ag:un ecn from an adult per pectl\ c: UlC • • l It l
t • ltk~.: , he ftrefhes H a so o cr~ a < ccct\ mg, u an t torv at
h began wuh d~rk c;raars ~~.rt the pt)Ct the S\.:11 tti\C, t 11e attra\.li\C, t 1'\C urn •
J\tOC'i" /., , ) I
lmad\.:d by '' lmc ~hapcs 1 seem un.1bh: to 'erase' the longtnh~ the' reate a t 1c
\X ath O\ al gaps for C) e" trc thcy ofler arc outside form" of .lll 1nncr ltarknc
And a ~rcak arnpltfJed 1,, ~,.1 u1d like w t:ra:-;c that longing
To t nhng ounJs. In her C\ cs--ornurncnts can be r..:pla\:ed,
In contra t to uch fear , there\\ as 'the solid door bcl11nd But a' a ant da1l ne s "at ms
there\\ r mam hght ' w mnh ', 'd1 anmng lauglncr' of \X 1thm me too, and 1 cannot go be) ond
and fn nd u h protecuon ms no longer a\ ;nlablc: N Tin faxed fond mile
arne f c grow str nge And the nighto; are cold . Th tl poems set m recogniz ble soci •I -.iiU uons, hctt
latJon ndla koh,armth eemafunh rdc' I Jl or p•a~ llC ft:clmgs h:n Ill to do \\tth rhc rclat•n•~
of bemg alone m tlu.~ dark c pcneaKed "'lui ' 1 t 'thee te• nal \\ OJld \'\ lulc real II' ' han•h. the elf~~
An il\\ arcne f l1fe a ompcuuon ( hunt') i .a.l o <: pr nlv 'iupcnor; there as no r<llll.llll1Ct7'atton °1 \~:n~a
Bread and l1 h • v.. here the peakcr nOtice the 'Glum I • ht be dJil 1derc.: d lllC
uon ( f the poet 1 l1e P' et rt m•~
fi h em nn 'the frav' forth bread he thrO\\ anto the at n ot tht: po m "uh that udc
t , hov.ner onlv th m1ddlc s1zed ones'\: ho compel . Th
log to dulthood be~,;om cxphcn m the Ia t Stanz . e lll) cH
\:O on brcathl·
th rr an the snkv
I m mran~cd b,
tla mky den 1
1 r Ill) teeth hk~.;
tl~:r men
•11 1111 gt''i 1rc.: ut
11 111
:.1 p ucrn to Shcu ' am gmmon 'c ~ bu•ldu1 ·,
'lllb w a\mg, pmmnA,Itunttt);' I3 ;lalon arc a rcc.:ur
0
•I• t n\ and light 1 he dal mmJ 0 1 ten .t he
I R lu 1 unda .. au~b t.ll ut rc.:m •:u>k d hdl ,
0

tr.un' \\ l 1 d 'J adan' U1tc un

r I n I) Yti til
lny·)
( ol. 1, no
av th
 A R INI

Women's Voices
UA Dl SOUI'..A AND SIL(",ARl>O
1
 Jo48 MODERN INDIAN POfTRt
•
IN ENG
Lts~
.. .. ,.. 5 vot< • s
)!let' aw ,1kr. I
149

rHer early poems are pnmanly concerned with her . h IJcd trom w\w.. h mv lllvt
I(I\ e ltfe des1re for in timan and the various results- ~arl r~g~
• l
Sect c.: L
' Th . b .
gmlt-and her fame as a wnter. ere IS a astc story which K 111g
tnc ud J-ia" tl "d
.. , the cmptv room,
. the
]'lJkcd \\alb. l:~mnt on ttngl'rs
Da tells about herself in her poetry and autobiography M ~ Mv, et v tcw fncnds.
R.used in the warmth of a ught-knit Kerala matrilineal ;oci~ ')
10

"as uprooted "hen her father rnm ed to Calcutta. For a t" ty, silt mcrnu iall·h.mgl''i nt mood, attitude .md selt-rc1•,ml
t he
attended a Catholic boarding school and was suddenly at ~me she
n..cptte
vo.~ rv there is an .mncr core o t .tucnttty
1 •
to w h'trh , I1c refers-
o

ttl her po:tand .ui•aoaatic blo.Qd, her moth.cr'~ tamilr, life in the
age marned to a cou in for" hom she apparently had little affecyo~
while he "as too preoccupte · d wtt· h h'•s career to expect more ftton, ~ d her) outh in contr.1st to her nurn_.1.gc.
his young wife than acook and sexual panner Left by herself asroh ~an •Compo.s'ttion' contr.l.sts 0.1s\ prcsl.'nt lite to 'lying beside my
and her husband mo,ed home in accordanle with his Job, re~t grandmothcr':
.lim!§ an.g.ry and confuse~ Das turned to others for affection. H That was long .1go.
~hUS'band's willingness to let her have her sexual experiences v.ase: Before the skin,
funher blow to her e~o. What he saw as fre_edum..fm: a writer h~ intent on survi\'.ll,
saw as a lack ot cannr,l learnt lessons of sdf-bctray.1l. _ .
StgniTJcantT\inany of her poems are about the warmth of her Before the red house th.u had stol)d for mnol-ence
childhood and the farmly home in Kerala. Similar to other South crumbled
Indians, such as Ramanujan, Panhasarathy, Meena Alexander and and the old wonun died
Sharat Chandra, she writes of memories of childhood, family rela
uons and the famth•'s great house. In her poetl) there is an idealized The tragedv ofjifc
ume of childhood at 'My Grandmother's House' when she felt the iS not death ~~~th,
secunn of love within familiar surroumlings innocent of sexual ..the ditld growingi!!_to al~h. . ,
fears and frustrations. lt was a period of love, rOO.!.§ and freed~ . · 1 1 , 1 ·b nd otkrcd ht·r h l'l'-
contrast to her present insecunty: Aftrr revtewmg her marnagc w 1cn 1cr 1 us .1 . l
1 1 · ·
dom' to· do as she wanted ano t ll' unccrt:untte::. an J the sdt-dou
· . . Hs
... you cannot believe, darling, uch freedom brought o f ten .me Iw.ung
J. I.K·k of sexu: ll ·s,Ul ~i ,ll..' tlllll'
Can vou, that I lived in such a house and
. ' f. ,
he says that whtlc she o tcrs auto 'ltograp11).• to C\Ctte destrl'
l ·
Was proud, and loved ... I who have lost The onlv secrets I always
My way and beg now at strangers' doors to wtthhold
Recei' e love, at least in small change? 1 are that I am so alone
The cont~t between a familiar, secure, loving home and tl~e world and that I miss mv grandm~Hher.
she n'?w experiences since leaving her family for marriage, tts dtss . I b . pt'dinh ullm)
In 'Composition' Das claims that bv \:onksstngh' b) • 1 , 01,, rltll'
tisfacuons and her love affairs is the theme of 'The Corridors': I;tyers' , she will l:omc ncarl'r her •souI' ,tmI 't e tmc ~
Why do I so often dream ferencc'. , . ,ta.\tcJ tP
. . . . . 'ch ...ou 1 '" LIH1,.
Of a house where each silent ..s...re 1s a. Jualism tn her wnung, tn \\ h~ 1 r.- 111k throu~h
1..:::-.~:- Sh · 111 s uu w ... m l
Corridor leads me to warm ~ e seems to tmagme overcO"mtng t • • • ially t 11 d1Pwn
Yellow rooms-and, loud voices death; her poems are filled with longings ~0 dJe,. eh-.pt:n'-all t'm·olllP·1"
tn the sea, water being assol:tatl'
· dm · 11cr m1nJ wtt ·1 •
Welcome me, and rich, friendly
laughter, and upturned faces.
M 0 a I ()lA
YO ICES lSI
her poetry offers its verstons of the carpe du:m th
.L.

•.- t
day both 111 awareness of the pas mg of ttme andcme,tha
to I.ave .
~~res l1tspo'f.o
'nr
se To a person who ob 1cct that y uh
er name ')he replies:· 1know Jlu,;:
1i be lived~ each namde,} I Corpu\de an me, hu tt J!fe
...
Why should I remember or bear
That S¥l~j!iPS Qarm. pmned to
Me, I , un eservmgly
Gained, at moments when, all of
Me as ablaze with lj~(:;
<
many potms speak of unhapptncs'> and the dcs1rc for an all
~love, others are filled wnh Da~'<. d1scmcry of the Lie
..,..ad her on the streets and in bed roc 11m. While nurnage ha hurt
leavtng her unfulfilled, hc;I p_ucms aht, rl~Or a worn
the of the world as ~he wo1ndcr~ the treet and
own anteres~ The poem~ 111 Summer m ( ah ltta m
ttli llllltei, stlffi"eume'!l more somhrc, dcpt es~d Hrse • wnnen
tenOUS aline s, reveal~omcone y(lun~crJ...!!lOrc _gul"illnb m re
....Uv dnven than th u.thur of My Story\>, nh 1t:. cl.11m that betn
aeiiidbnaUJly led to adultery and m sdf apologetic<; ami pmtua
eondusaon. ~c poems show th at through her ~exualL nf
her wraung ha!> made her .1 'ielfcomciOU\ '-'clcbnt\, and I
up to It, often braggmg amllclebr 11111~
tnterest of Das''> poetry •~ not the 'itory Zt ~ex out~1de uf mu
but the m tabltlity of her feelings, the wa) the} rap1dh h ft
ume nrw postures new attitudes l)f Jdcncc, atta k, xpla.na
• - 1 1T11 :t I X
110ft or celebrauon. Her poctm Jre ~nu.ttcd mil 1er II te ac
1ft feelings of love; they arc imte.td mvoh cd '' tth the "eN and tt
vaned, oftm confli~.:ting emounrH, rang111g Ttotnthc dc\lrc or e ud
~-.a . I I If lranulllauon an
I'll)' iii1U mnmacy to the a)scn1on o ~tc t•gu, ~t l
feelin of lwne and deprc~\lon / 1 0 f 3 bon:-d
'nWre ll another' more mtcrc,un••" stor v hcl11rtd d~ ta c
l J1n'AnApo1 ~
WOinan kan.,D rcfu"e "
from an unlarutg lnl \Il.lll I r frt~m t h re e<.
Gou tama' at as her ! 1
s nd who mu~t com ,,n tc fear 1
by another man hall Some I )a~' rtwgnrlt'f"fh~:r ~nvn
~ lh { o nroom
"-lllnaion to dom sue ,omfon'i anu cr ear
llhall some day leave, leave the cocoon
 Read Rirnbaud in the domino dusk uf the stalagnte
nemng
when little bats go wheeling
bladdy into shadows asprawl upon the ground.
'flhile cdomino dusk', 'stalagtite evenings' and ·~hado,~·~ aspr~wl'
. . . I ~·s love of words, they arc part ot l selt-c~n~l'IOU'
poeac diction with no roots in common speech. Gaun D~. .h-
,..,oaeof the younger, university-educated won:en P?et.,, oht'~
'IJtJta of love and motherhood without intensitv ot feehng. l.n th~
concluding stan~ of Deshpande's 'Oecembd ~h~
langu.lge I:- .lb-
ttnetiDd pretenttous and far from spoken speeLh ·
When I feel the sun warm on my b.1ck
And tend to forget
lt'twinter
 154 M t) [) l' R N I N D I A N I' 0 I T R '\
IN ~N
ells r.z's v o 1 c. 1 s 155
And , ou about to depart .oM~'

Then the other times clearly felt t ·v of Karn.11.l IJao; and such Y')ungcr women poets as
Futilitv of my life.a sumes import ~ •'<.' is an exprcss1on o cmotlona lnV(IIvcmem. Their
, dequia!
the
l
poe!,Silgardo the dirc<.:tneo;s of spce~:.h rhythms and collo-
JZJ anc • . t" • I.
A-:; a , ast preparation
lang~~~als feel in~><; in all their quirkiness and unpredictability
~e rc:H · I '
For our confrontation C'
langua. · 11 previous women poets anguage stands in the wav of
" here1~
And it brief but ,•icious anger that set · · rather th.-m re flccung
. · Wit eticizin~ and genera11zmg · ·n. Das,
'
Your hand hard about my face emouon, pod Silgardo offer a range of highly volatile emotions wnh
Before} ou went. de SClliZ<l an ·peered!\', changing direction and gaining effect from
ems unex
P0 . .
' fl' . . J
ontrast<>, con Jets, 1romes an extremes.
Contrast such artificiality with the natural, direct <>peech rhvtfuns heir mner c d ,. f
of Da ' 'Words': ' t .110 c 111 be s.1id to have create a c unatc or a more honest,
\Vh• e"': as·onfessional
' J' ., b d
poetry by ln Ian womcn,,ner a un :me~ u
f
... Words are a nuisance, but
rt·relaron' ':c h its repetitiOn
·· o f worJ s, phrases-'an d '>ymboIs, ·1ts
They grow on me like leaYes on a tree, 111 an ncr \\It · · d h · · f
• 'bl d of Indian En"ltsh usa~c an t c mtro-.pect1on o an
Thev never seem to stop their coming unous en b bl h . I
c.. b h . ncteer, seems at pre<>ent over own, event eatnca
From a silence, somewhere deep within ... Ehz.a et an ~on . f h' . h
the oran d mne· reenth-centurv • romantic as um, . I m contrast
f tot e
In 'An Apology to Goutama' the naturalness of expression and m ~-do .st¥lc, street lang\!.2ge and.fu_rcetu nes~ o some con-
rh~ thm is powerful and the scene rapidly created. Even 'woman- st~m'cn_eoet\. The present contemporary manner
form' seem an Indian compound word coinage: te~ Q h been imtiated by Mamta Kaliahwhoh. explored
appears to ave hh b
the
voices and registers of speec w IC a\'e ecn
themes, amt u d ~.: •
'S
... and 'et Goutama, d f0 h d '
taken further by de Souza and Silg:trdo. Instea o . es pan .c s
The other owns me; while vour arms hold
j
lo'e poem about awaiting the return of h~r ~a~, Ka.ha complams
M) woman-form, his hurting arms
Hold m} vel) soul. of the effect of being rl housewife on her IOOIVIclualny:
I no longer feel I'm M.unta Kalia
The detail. the naturalness of speech, the Indian use of 'gift' as a \erb
and the cadence of the lines are noticeable in Das's 'The Looking I'm Kamla
Glass': or Vimla
or Kama nr Shant<l.
... Notice the perfection I cook, I wash,
Of his limbs, his eves reddening under I bear, I rear,
Sho~ er, the shv \\;alk across the bathroom floor, I nag, I wag,
Dr?ppmg tow~ls, and the jerky way he I sulk, I sag. ('Anonymou'i')
Unnates. All the fond details that make
Him male and vour only man Gift him all . . hv and the mhib•t-
Gift him \\hat ~ake )Ou wo~an, the scen't of ln 'Tribute to Papa' she rebels agam.s~ pam_a~c. ' 'clean thoughts,
Ing v. orld of middle-class respcctabahty' ~··~ It'~ · ng the poem
I ong ha1r, the musk of sweat between the breasts, dean words, clean teeth'. As in some femm•st wnu
The ~arm shock of menstrual blood, and all your are haumed by her father:
Endles female.hungers. Oh) es, getting
. a IO\c-a~ ffair these
d days.
A ~an to lo, e 1s eas}, but li, ing You suspect I am havmg .
~ nhout h1m afterward may have to be But you're too shy to have ·at conf1rmed · llv
Faced .... Wh at if my tummy starts sh ov.,111 g gra ua ,
 MODI RN INDIAN 1'01 1 RY 157
1S6 'S yO I~ IS
0
r.tEl'l
And 1 refuse to have it curetted? "~ d h ·r f 1mi\v ,md wi\\ look for any signs of insanity in
But I'll be careful, Pap, . . he girl anf ~\y ' h ist~1ry, ns they know that some Goans wi\\
t . \'s ami I . . . h
Or J know vou'll at once thmk ot suicide. the g1r rv off ·' wom.m w 10 ~ ~ msane m t e hope that it
attefllPt to ,m.trAlthough
' · an o b vwus
there 1s · anger at the socta
· \ and
Eunice de Souza's Ft:\· i al o .1 thinner, less ril·h \V ld
. I I . or th "ill cure ~crd of the women in the Goan Catholic community,
Kamala Das's; soun ds, un~ges, anguage, p ~rasing, cadences .,ora\.atu tu ~s mpassion and sympathy for how they h.we been
line lengths have been :;tnpped d~wn to lntlt.> more th ba there 1.s a1d.sobl.O their confonmty, . . .
pas.,\VIty, ' \\ .
1 us1ons ant ~Kcep-
\

statements. There JS Jtt Ie nere o t t h: comp 1:tints

· I' 1 · or an
attacar .rt.
,.,,u ze- by ·l1 ~wiour expectco ot. women. j

demands for freedom and Sl'Xu.l_l l'nJoyment found in Da~ ta ot the c. ' · res were among her early poems in which !>he
poetry. Instead of Das's excess ot emot1on and self-dramati:a. he G oan satl· list. she rebcl\e d a~am..,t . a st1'f\'m~, cnllle rc \'•-
appears a fnauon.l '
.1 u bringin~ by, ·m reaction,~ · 'd ent1'f ym~
· w1t· I1 t I1c
tion there is economy and control. 1vhny of the poems are sat·
' in a confess10na
or are · I mo de sm.ll
· 'I ar to.}'
S Iv1.1
· Path's
I tre
mimingol gious and a~n~/ p111 d India This stage was to\\mvcd by .1 larger
deep fears and resentments whtch .1re expressed through ~elf f:l
1 u.s_ ' H·ndu l~dia . as we\\ as the Goan community.
Poor, the·s In nw 111C 1 dents ' ..,,ltlni'cS
..
ironic wit. Where Das's grandmother's house seems an Eden a awarencs.. , . towar1d.s Iwon1 cn . The '
pol.'m 'M ,v Stu •
. I
is reore!iS 1'e . k m\v be written bv fmc1gners .ml
paradise lost, de Souza's childhood among the Goan communi't ~ who thtn poetry can l • . .. . ~
of Poona appears to have been a hell. The subjects of her sat1res those . write about thc1r scxu.1l ltk:
that only men l.:an '
are the church, marriage, Catholic motherhood, Indian colou Mv !itudcnts think it funny
prejudice, sexual prudery and hypocrisy, Go an \'ulgarity and the th;t Daru""'a\\a'i .\nd de Souza.,
alienation felt by many Goan Catholics towards Hindu India. In should writl' poetry ..
'Conversation Piece': Poctrv is faery bmh lor\orn.
My Portuguese-bred aunt Wom.cn writers Mis., Au~ten. l .
Onlv forci"n men ,ur · t 11CII· l.·rotc
: 1cs. . . I
picked up a clay shivalingam , n . . • osv~lwlo~1C.\
intcrestll1~ poems ,\ll: f .~
one day and said: • '

Some nt de St>U'Ia s most

I

\ .· t. .0 11 flict-. w1th p.Hl'~'·

'-

Is this an ashtray? . I 1 'th the rcsu ts o L~~:..:.:..:.;;.;.;.;.--~--

anJ hav<: m.1tn y to uo WI , • 1' : .
No, said the salesman, Her poctn 'Forgtvc IV1l'. 0 thcr ts l'XP
• "J.CA" M ·
tut. \ •.'
rl'·
This is our god.
It was kill or die
In such poems de Souza has mapped a society in which she r and you got me ,\nyw.,y: , ·h
grew up and which she feels made her what she is now. The poe~ The blood cm1gc.1b at \.overs tolll.
'De Souza Prabhu' rejects her past and alien mixture of names an The guts dissolve in shit. S lllll' scl'lll
language, but claims that she belongs with 'the lame ducks' e,er I ·ir b Hl' blliH''·. l
Her poems .ue strippl·d llown tot \c .,;. itnllll.'di,lte rc'P011 'l''i
since she heard her parents 'wanted a boy'. Often .de Soul~ · t. ·
~dtled, fixed in po1nt o Vll'""''; l • • •
>thcrs tppt.:• nn.nt•nt natll nltwss ' .I
suggests herself through satir;· in these poems the imp!ted .Perso • · 1 t • 1 Aun1ng ,\t •111 •1 r r • , 11 1s w1t 1
I' ' · rontc. to conversations Wit 1 rtCJllJS. . l r<>Uilll'tnt>,,_ l 111 nl pm k' )l)C11l'i
na ltv appears off-hand, cold, controlled, self-distanctng, 1 and to avnid !.!lib condus~·111 ~ Sl , 1" 0 ids Ill ·' "111 b l .
Poe d h · · ·n intent. · ~~ s 1c usl's .11)rltpt l ·nd1ng~. • IL •
Thl' pm'lll"· tl:· ·tlccung
ms recor w at her elders said and are saunc 1 he' obscrvattom.,
.I
. .
. tl d1cuon. · trPI nvcr
,
although without commentary or a saunc . . mannc·r · Rathert r 111 ltt:rary artifacts and usl·~ nottll· , \ns to ~.un Lon . 1
repohnand use juxtaposition for ironic contrasts. Her rnannreate Il c Souza's Catholic c \11'II\ l HH>l • •
1 Hl' :1. 1nc.
• n· in t tcI l(
11 1tc..,,,una
.
t ffe Goan poems ·as more that of a novelist w h 0 conccntw ut . . . . . S ·h ,.,ol'lll" ·1 . . . here 1s ,\
0
pnvatefears,anxlcttc~,-.ltl)!,L 1 s •• ll~ r • , of ('h.lr.tdl: 1 t 1 w
· d t. •01 l'>tstl'Jll.:\ · ll ,
e f e~ts t~rough using scene, dialogue and irony. Poems groesofa
1bout ttl
manner, where mstc.l o l. . • esnc('t.\ } ·
, • \ •vd l{IOJlS, r
~ .~tuataons, as when her aunt discusses the physical f~alturarnint mosa1c of guilts, dcs1rcs .uu n.: '
n e, or from the way Goans arranging a marriage wtl ex
JSI MODI RN INDIAN I'Ur ·r R' IN ~Ntlr 159
'S VO IC f.S
.o~EN .
• emotional life has been formed by tlw P·'"t. 'F . . tes in my patr of eyes,
oMne sh 'concludes 'In dream" I I h.t~.:k )'l)u '. 'For Morgrve~t subsutu
ot er . f . 'I' , . y Fath Ilied·d . . onto d'tsturb'mg emottona
. l
D d Young' has as ns re rarn m ' l 1 U • Autobio .et project her anxtettes
beg
e~ bv confessin~ feeling of guilt f<)r her t.nher\ ea~lrapdht~
•v•ral disastrou love a ff.ur~
lOS . an d f or 1e.trnrng
. noth''v ea
ft
Silgardo te~ s~ work of many women writers, the making up of a
0

£ jn\ages. As ant fe mirror is a symbol for the unauthentic self, the

10r s". "
expenence:
rng r0rn
face in front rfot
smiling. chee u ' p
assive, unambitious woman expected by s0ciety:
Right now here it romes. Daily faces crum.ple,
I killed mv father when 1 wa . . three. die in front of mtrrors.
1 ha\e muddled through sen-'r,ll .1ff.1ir' Scraping to uncover
and alwavs come out ludly. ratted faces,
I've lear~ed almost nothing from experienl'l'. to uncover endless faces.
1head for the aby~s with Bleak as the sun snuffed out.
monotonous regularity.
Darkness and shadow
She then shifts to "lut other, think of her, admits a suicide
attempt and claims that everyone is try ing to 'cut me down go
r leap and hit the ~ac~.
A tear shocked mslde an eye.
through me with a razor bl.lde', before she realize:~ that's wh~t A mouth a gaping cave. . .
. of the kind of pamc suggested tn
she 'wanted to do to the world'. Self-expo~ure is a defence. This is a further uncovben?g ,
Although de Souza's poems ari'e out of alienation and the feeling Kamala Das's poem 'Su sututc :
that life is a mess, the' arc also hi,ghh- consciou:> of the situatio~d It will be all right if I )oin clubs
problems faced b~mTn.l11i~ l'Or;sciousness is expressed through And flirt a little ov~r t~lephone .. h
understated 1ronv rarnerth.m.lrticulated comment. DeSouza's per· lt will be all right, lt wtll be all ng t
sona is, howe' e;, that of someone negative about herself as well a1 I au1 the type that endures. .
others. This is not a poetrv nf heroics, nor doe!> it seek pity. While it
has no affiliation in pol!til:S, communitv, humanistic ideal,, religion, ~~ It will be all right, it will be ~ll n~~~d and me.
it is feminist in its kind of awareness, f~male vision, and affinities 10 It will be all right between t e w f l hat the problems
' f nrnf'nf"O see!Qe_d tQ ee t l VC
th~ mode of other women poets-rather than in a prodaimed com· f An earl~ ~nerauon o ~ n's love. There are n.o 0 .
mttment. ~fe couldJ$ solv,ed ~hrough a ~her there are cool, tromcd
Melanie Silgardo's The Earthu:onn 's Story is dedicated to her poems in de Souza s ftrst book, en and women an
teacher. ~rom. de Souza she learned how to write about her~elf ~
· h ps between m . d 's one
satiric pieces on the relauons ~ f d 0 ·nance. S1lgar 0 d
her pa.~t •.n a darect, colloquial style, and to usc her Goan chtldh on male predatoriness and feelings r ~~age of the man stan.I-f
0

and relation to her parents as a basis for self-analysis: love poem,' A Memory'' r~jects her ea\~~: a brother' and asserts d
ing 'at the waiting end, I b1g and brave, Instead of the o~n~r
1
aao
You never knew I wet my pillow I must meet you I it must be'half-way. ·~womenpoetS,S 1 gar
oftener than I had ever wet my bed. . . . enerauon ox '
l~Umacy wanted by a__previOHS f r us 1 I cannot merge :" ·wn. if
Forgive me for the things I said. says 'No there is no togetherness 0 tO be on their 0 ·f
Grow~ fifteen and above I thought ln de Souza and Silgardo tne wome~ seeemss and not the fault 0 a
· l' ' t · s thetr tn ontempo-
that Wisdom lay in startling words. they make a mess ofth e1r 1ves 1 1 ~alit.~ d Like m<~nY c
In saying cad and bastard ~and orlover. Butthis must be q:• "' ~ _,.),
fifty times inside, and finding
~~' ~
 I hi
160 M 0 U I H N I N 11 I \ "l p o 1 I I< '
IN 1 !'I'S VO I< I 'i
. both 111 ,1\c ,\Ill\ female poets, .1 dn. l'Ltncss ol cxrlrcssion
N{,lt .o~F
rarv fcminrst \\ritu'~ hoth de. Souz.1
t I .md Silgardn .1r~.:, prl'o I
1111'J 1960s Ior· \i<llll•llit:, til11 l)qttt.l
. I Vt~our .ts morc o ften found r in the
I
wtth thcrr rdauon11 I11p tn llCII .11 H~l. lrr 'h,, J·atlll 1 11 lcuplfl! atura , I c. 1 I \ .
~oJ n f I) K.1li.l, de Scntl.l ,\Ill ""~' g.ll< n t 1.111 rn the male Indian
tlgardo \ ~u mingl ll·bdlrou.; I ,vr,1r ,, n1I ( '1 ~ICl1the
It

. J I m 'The
d.ll I I Shdj
. ,rrs~.· o ·''· , In their n· \lC 11'1011 ,,g.un'>t' t Ill' tr.uI'1t1nn.1
. 1role of Indian
I
nte'd a mmd' rs qwlk I' cxp .liiH w 't 1c letter, \'nu . t·oghsh rodwS. ~.. 11 )ncts, led h)' l>.ts, h.ul to fiv,ln .1gaimt the kind
1111 1
1111Jt
cam(' nn manrft:,to .
. 1'1tc poem uc\ J I • ''rote ··· Lut
\VOn:' en. t 1ll' ,<1hv ..,uc.: h poet" .l'i V.mn.1 .mlI l>cc;hpandc, ·m whiCh ·
c clp" .u nund 1,,, 11 ronfl'1
('mouons, h,·r loH' ' for .md -.h.m1c nf hu f.u hl'r . ' 'hntl 1 \ .I11~II\. ct'~ 11f d
·trOll U'ill
• ll
, , \ \
\adv-like l.ln •u,thc wa'> .1-;<;on,ltCl Wit 1 ,, c.:onfor_m.il.¥- of
h('ro <l f 1h<' pr<'t <' • ' ~nil refined, · lttitutc.,,Juo;t ,wrn n·jc~:tinv, the 'pmtuahsm of Auro·
· · .1m1 economy, the
Both <fc Sm~1.1 .md .srlg•.udo 'il't'lm t1l1 ~..·om.',,..,, thl'ir tathl·r\ ~ 1 h~. 1
~· t.' nnct.., ·in..,r..,tl'l
1
v1our ,,nt . 1 on pt-co..,•on
ranl.e~d lrum: ':T
ca'c Ill t 1
r, lw work \\'Jlllhctr uwn im·· . '' u
~lllrtlll·~ d
:ntto t1ll:
b10tl . . nn:-.sin 1• new .ntitudc' rcqum~d
Ill· r . .1 new, more appro-
j:.u:s. hen' tnl' :u tCI'i wl11ngcd tcl ~t·ttll·tl '''l ietit•s, •I' I Jn Wl~ men 10 cXr
f writin~ ,1hout thl'rr l'llllltiOll", expcncrKcs
n · · ·
and consCIOU'i-
·
. f I , ' Ht , \\
d('adenm~ or\\omcn,twpcll'l~ nwnmnrclilwr.Hl'dw111·II' f'cn pnatcwfayhl~ ·\vcs ·" woml'll. A., is often the ca..,c with poetry,
wn· h anxrctu.·s,
· · f · fl
. I . o ten •'Irn ucrKl'l I ,
I Il\' t Iwrr
•
· f.tmih- l'du· l · IS rlld'
•, l.llron .tnd
•ss o
nc..
t ems~: .
c ·,.,a indl'X ol content.
l.llIturaI m tcrrtant('. S1 g.tnn' \trongl'~t pot'n" 1ln 11 .. , · 1 I \an~uag '•
' i I , . h ' II I I \11\t
on I1er latItrr s l l'Jt 1, rcH".tl a p ..ychnln~v of hPrrifvin. 1. 11
· ~<·lfh ates, lllSl'llllltlt''i,
resston, · ·· st'1·1-1wmili.Hinn'
· ~l·"'· •P
• ' f' • ,md' f •1I·1 l'l1l'lll\1
taons 1956-1976 .tht• ll''it pPem Ill tlw ~l'lt·lliun, lwgim:
T\\rnl\ \Car' a~o
thev latd a ~rlolrl·.
I mt<·rgt•d lll'.tdlong
cmharr.tsscd, \\ l't.
Thr\ slapped me on my bottom
I Sl'rl·amcd.
That" a!! Ill\ first t'Xperit·nl·e.
'A . ' tl1<' wnc1Ulf'mg poem, usl·~ till' met.tphnr 1 1! .1 t.,ilt•d d.ul'
d IIinale'
. evt l.trcus pt•rfornwr to t:Jll:h lwr M'll\l'lll p.tnic .tnd iml'l'lll it\ ;.,lh
IS not r('ally free as S1l(' 1lJS ·lll1l'rltl'l
1 · II ll'l" f.Hllth•
. ,\ltrtlldl''1
. ·
1 ,U\lhiiiPIII, r~
angers and modds of gender role~: .
I sit .1mid tht· duttl'r.
Dead ammal.
~wels loosened all around.
Ntght ts heavy on mv b.tck
and !, towering ·
on my moth~r·s stilts •
the new act
on the painted bill.
ale· theh liberation 0 f Ind"aan poetry from .1 (llllsl.tllll"·
aud B . fllrl113I
111 111
ratas spe«h and diction occurs ahuut thl· ,,,nu· tinll'
 ....JitGUAL EX P f. RJ MENTA LISTS \(,)

ckJUbt, or secondary to the attention given either to _

:;J.........
_.eill aon or to the poem as construction,
. . artobJ<ct or
proces
work

.. r:;-~talism began in lndi.an regional-lan&"''l" poetria

......... t'J40s, usually"': the wr~tm became familiar with such
ilingual Experimentali
--i& AND CHITIU! Sts
£oglioh-languar,e moderniSts as Ehot and. Pound, and through
£oltiJh uanslatton~ of the French romanuc-modemist tradition
of t,auu<:unont, Rtmbaud, Bau~elatre and the Su~realists. While
each .,.,.1ern !ndtan-language. htcrature h~s a shghtly di!!erent
bis<O'Y• Ute general pattern IS ~tmtlar. Someumes there is a distinct
,.w;onshiP betWeen moderniSm m ~he lndtan regional languages
,.din English, as IS shown by the m!luence of M.G. Adiga on
A. I\. Ramanujan in Kannada and the way B.S. Mardbeker pre-
c<d<s Kolatk>r and Cbttre m Maratht. In the case of Oriya, ]ayanta
MJhlpaua .,., aware of the modermsm of hiS contemporaries,
-of whom be b"': translated, but it is less likely that there w>,S a
direct mfluence rather than a parallel evolution.
B.S. Mardbeker (1909-56) bad made his own blend of the modern-
ism of Eliot, Pound and the Surrealists with the Maratbi saints'
poetrY of Tukar.m at a time when Kolatkar began his own rapid
propes• through various kinds of experimental verse, sometimes in
Maralhi· sometimes in English, often translaung from one language
., the other. Kolatkar's early Marathi poems are what he calls
'c\ult<r bombs', densely packed with sounds and metaphors. ~~s
ady verse in both English and Marathi often seems surreal; n"
obscure and difficult to tntcrpret, but consists of projections of
suual desires and anxieties into sinister, extraordmary, .r.-.uonal
imap. Such poetry channels the subconscious intoimages. short-
cutting any engagement of emotions .,ith the outSide world. HIS
wly poems in Chitre's Anthology of Maratht Poetry appear to

·~
have as their scenes beds, hotel rooms and sexual umons, or exiSt
in • nowhere world of words and images ('The goat of g\"':s the
a>mer I Takes a metaphysical leap'). Besides extraordmary
OlpT<IIions of emotional anxieties and incongruous JUxtapofst-1
· · d rpose u
tlons of images Kolatkar appears to have atrne at pu , h
opaqueness. In poems such as 'The Renunciation of the Dog t e
surreal combines with the spiritual:
Tell me why the black dog died
Intriguingly between
God and our heads.
J(,4 M 0 I) I R N I !'\ ll I ,\ N I' n I 'J R 'I I fXI'llllt>-li'N't'ALISTS \65
IN EN BIL!l-IG\JA •

A'!t no detailed bibliography of his publicat~llns

exists the Gtt
r"'o
d bombay Mil s
. k
10 ~, ot Kolatkar's "ork IS oh cure; but dunng the , 960 hc~ro
an ·
, . , f th~ bakony parapet nscs
g . . . . lI s IS th~ \t:\C10 d
changed from high!) unagtstJC, unlnterprl't,l ""~ c priv.ue poet . \1) e citv is submerge
anti-poetic as represented by the wdl-knnwn 'Thn.•c Cu '1f to~ an d t h •

. e po~tl~~.
~s
0
originallv written in Bombay-Hindi .md tr.msl.ul·d bv th :·h·ear a cheeping sound
. I 1
parodv tough-guy Amencan "peec 1: n• i see a sparrow .
i want my pay i aid . " there .l connecuon
L ' d · d not know.
j ,l[tl afr<H I 0 ,
to the manager
)Ou'll get paid ~aid .de' an ordinary trip around Bombay harbour IS trea-
ln 'the boatn b h · ·redib\y boring and a':> a source of wonder
the manager ,,J bv Kolatkar abs ot m...cnd sometimes fanuo;i?cs upon the trivi.l\
but not before the first l~ . • serves .. . h' ·h
wh1\e the poet_ 0 T\ trivial is viewed w1th a coolness w 1c
don't vou know the rules?
" ,,nd stereotyptcal. 1~1 \exit of tone, whi\e the poet as o~scrvcr_
In reaction to his earlier hyper-modernism Kolatkar was evolving curiously crea~es a .co' o~her yossibilities for the scene, es~ee~a\\y ?\
wwards a conscious styleless poetry using (like Tukaram and the will suddenly tmagmc p Ko\atkar is aware as a vtsull lrttst
. gruous manner. f .. .
saim poets) colloquial, common speech. Chitre has suggested that a surreal or mcon . f . ht \ines of angle o vtston. ~.:an
. h
hat a shg t mant , . ' pubuon o stg . ' d
·h . nonna\\v regar e as uu , d l 1\
such poems might be regarded as an Indian equivalent to the neo- t . d turn tnto art w at IS • \ d
Dada, humorous pop poetry of the 1960s. Like su~h poetry it resists defa01 i\ianze an k odd non-committa tone .m
·ommonp\ace reality. By ta ·tng_ an Kolltkar turns the common-
depth; without embarrassment and with some humour it uses l . a\ pcrspecttVC'i • • \ 1: •
bv bringing ln unusu_ . , . ng the ordinary as t 1C ).,s.IS
stereotypes and refers to reality by way of popular culture. In . \ t . cxpenencc, usl
other poems, such as 'the boatride', Kolatkar went even further place into an aest 1C tc fT . , 'the boatride' is non-pocttllll
of art. Like his 'Three Cups o ea '
, )t1 ~crning a tourist tri~), 'the
towards removing the 'poetic' from his yerse. Here and in}ej1m
subject matter and style. .
he charges trivialities with significance by viewing them "ith
attention while at the same time using a flat, toneless voice which
Consisting of_eleven. sccuo~s \t u~ditics of .,ocial beha' tour w
boatride' ranges trom saure on t e a 1s
denies importance to its subject.
surrealist fantasies:
By profession a visual artist and designer, Kolatkar , in wo~ks
because a sailor waved
fro~ the mid '60s onwards, looks at aspects of ordinary Indian back
reah~y as capable of being made interesting by an unusual pers·
pecuve or by the addition of some imagined details. The surreal to a boy
which once seemed to prevent entrance to the meaning of the another boy
~ now becomes a way of investing ordinary reality with P0551;5 wave:> to another sailor
bilines for the artist's mind. Two characteristics of Kolatkar in the clarity of air
poems si~ce the mid '60s are a tendency tO play with \:ision a °d thq;csturc Wit · h,crs I'or want
scene for Its abstract qualities, as a painter or designer might: an.; of corre~pondcnce and .
tendency t~wards a cool, non-committal attitud~ in what ~ ~; 8)
1

'!he poem Temperature Normal' (in Kavi-Indza, Januar)'_k

1 the hand that returns to him
the hand his knee accepts
ill":strates both the conscious manipulation of ~ight lines, h elan as his own
arust o r cameraman, and the throw-away 1-couJd -not-care- ess is the hand
manner towards the subject matter: of an aged person
a hand
i lean back in the armchair
 \101>1 RN INlll N 1'01 I R' IN • J\,t.hX l'liUMIN 'lAl.lSTS \67
166 I Nt,l 81 LtNl,l.l
ISJi
that mu!'.t rcmam p.nicnt ,-fi'O ion of 'A Low Temple' and the l.ucr version in
01011)'SISil\·• vcrs. where hne
· s1X · rcaus 1 ' •
rcv1vcs · · ll y
and d'1cs'h c ongma
and ~iH' the bov it\ a p.u t oft imt'
· · s n11nor' 1 · k' h' h ·
cjurlt" . , like invisio e lfl , w IC IS more surrca ut con-
1. \ b
w cah.:h up. J 'revlvcs ..
wrote . me sceptiCism.
The flat but highly ),df·u>ll~l·inu' l.l.ll r.nion j, signilil'.lnt; Kolatk t veys the s.a . ·x section'> of jc}r·tn consist, ltkc 'the boatridc', of
re,cals that all is m.~dc by ~l~c ,\rW.t .md tH't hy l"l\llity. How th; 'flv~ th.1 ?i~~1~-to-ana\ysc perceptions and attitude., of someon~
·enc 1,. broken 1nto ~ompi>SitiOllcll pat t'> c.m lx· '>Cen from th, .1
S(.; J• 1 • 1 c sat or~ ,.,,ric~i. thf, Here it is an apparently sceptical :ouri~t.who .arr~ve."
wa' ing and the way the 'hanu )C n•n~s mu('p('ndcnt from rcali on a loun:l:Y · I . ~)f pilgrimage; at the end he 1s wamng w1th lrn-
This is elf refleni' e po.,t-lllfldcnmt . pl)Ctry
. which s1mu. tyl. in the ·'~clcnt P. acco he can depart. The opening poem estab\ishc::.
I 1 . tor a tratn s . .
taneoush ccrns to . a~· 'I am tl'ull·~ mg re,t tty .md th.n rc.1lit}' is tauon f erception and altenatton:
what the pou11 ...n ~ 1t 1S ,ts .1 r('o;.u It nf I~ ow I c hn~)s~ .~~ pcrcciYe and theme~ 0 P ivided face ·m a pair · o f gasses
\
describe it.' The rnmd pbys With un!tkdy pnss1bd1ttcs .md wrylv Your own d
an old man's nose
, iews beh.n iour: .1~ the ho.1t n•turn-. · 011
. 'tl the countryside you get to see.
~~a
"e are preparl'd tn "dcnmc
a more realistic sense ·A~ the end of the bumpy. ride .
of proportion. . h out· own face on either s1de
v
\\'It
But the poet ne'er lets reality bc~.:nrnc f.1miliar; he turns the familiar whe; you get off the bus
mto art. 'The boatride' ends: on't step inside the old man'-. head. .
you d · 11 ·, 1
an expanse of . ' d ocm in the sequence, sceptlca y VIC.'\ s'
uns" ef\ mg stone
'The Pnest 't~e secon ~ ·n et from the tourist's offenn~s.
priest calculaung what e WI g
encrusted coarsely The tour bus stands
with shells purring softly in front of the priest.
admonishes our sight.
A catgrin on its face . .
. Radicalness here is less in technique than tonal, which in ru~n and a live, ready to cat ptlgnm
mfl.uences our reading. The meaning of the poem, in so far. as 1ts
held between its teeth. . , 1. bet\\ecn
uned clements are reducibll', is the aesthetic possibihues of .l1 posstble n:.tttV,
· b . appearance an-. ,· · ' 1 1 t in
w 1'1 .
orde~ing reality, an aesth<'ticism made possible by a refusal to accept The dtscrcpancy etwcen · . I . , , 0 f worsh1p ano
· 1·11atton
· o f th c.• rutned P a\:cs 'H ~:J· rt tlt
the' tsual as stable; instead what is seen is alwavs a possible so~rce the commerCia
• • 1· , s shown
· tl .. nc:-.t poem.
tn 1-- · 1 • pic··
for the astonishing, the miraculous the satiric-.for a range of attttu· the ,peaker\ VIC\'\' ts ot\·tnc, L · • • ·n a rutneo tctn

de and imaginings. Delight in free' association and visual design are Ruin' about a mongrd bitch an~ her puprtl:" \bin•' k.,., rh.1n lhe
, , f I . h ., pbce IS no :- , l the
among the qualities of the poem. . No more a place o wor., 'ltp t 1 • ·I h s been -;c~:n ·'m..
· · ·· 1 · k owm•• \\ 1 ·\t •1 ,, , ' 1he
After 'A Low Temple' from }ejuri wa<> published in Dion)'srus house of god'. The d!lhcu ty 111 ·n t"' • • ·l j, .,hown O)
. . . .. , J rc-percCt\t:l • ·
(vol. I, combined nos. 2 & 3 p. 95) a little maPazine of the mid '60'• \\'av rcalttv c:m be rcvtsu.'l1lieu,
the ed. nor.
· 1ost the whole manuscnpt;
' ~ • • t> •
Kolatkar eventually rt:wrote
h Dl;ONcp'~
]eJun, whtch first appeared in the Opir1ion I.itemry Qu.zltt'?; That's no dnorstcp.
( 1974) and later as a Clearing House publication ( 1976, . r~
197
lt\ a pillar nn its side.
1982). As Kolatkar does not use the surreal and astonishtng h
Yes.
~eJu_n 11 might be asked whether his stvle had changed mu~, That's wh.u it is.
unng the next decade. The only change. in the text between t tc
168 M 0 ll I H N I N D t 1\ N I' l..l I 1 R '\ Ill;
IN stLtNGU,-.1- F. XI'ERIMY.NTAI.IS'rS
r.,o 169
Pas tng through the temple (Omplex the '>pcakc <.,,
wtter uphp Iv ptpc. a pa1r ~f u nd cr.,hon left to dr·v r notes 1
jeJuri juxtaposc.s the ability to astonish, to give life in
"a ue, with. what IS convcnttona\ . and. dead · The art1st ~erl~kst
. ts 1 eand
, ttg teen ann~ on an ctg11t ai'Jl1 gudd c.,s'
. the
d' on a tetn
~p sat1
'nt in be ng unconvcnuona
d 1,
. . scemg life diffe c l . h
r nty,m avmg .
doortnher h< • <OW shed or anot hct tcm .,lc
may an ·n .
a c.tlf. in 1
10
• I irect or renewc apprcc1at1on of living ln co ntrast to t he
tJun and t hc ra1or s cc gc bet\\ ccn legend d c~c1ah7.at
r • H.: \:0111111 a · f b\ ·
d
p .est's son wholl ts uncom· ortah c when. asked if he bC1'ICVCS .tnthe
of J
Nl!ll"sud by 'A Sera" h': .>n f alstfic.110: rl
legends he rete s to tounsts t ere IS the butterfly, life itself, with
what •~ god no future, no past:
and what is stone Just a pinch of yellow,
the dividing lim· it opens before it closes
tf it exists and closes before ito
is ven thin where is it.
at 1ejuri A similar divine dynamism is represented by the scene of the
cocks and hens dancing 'Between Jejuri and the Railway Station'.
there is no crop In co~trast tO the petrification of the spirit in the temple town
other than god with each of its priests, houses, pillars, steps and arches numbered
and god is han c ted here by guides and guide-books, the fowls do an astonishing dance.
around the vear. The typography which represents the dancing puts the themes of
dynamism and perception into visual terms. The dancing chickens,
One contexttoisasupplied
the tourist shrine wrJby an
. Iold W< m.m wanttng
1 • •
f1fty p.lisetotake like the butterfly and mongrel puppies, stand for a divine quality in
'What else can an old ·woma \\ 1cn 1c 1 1 , , 1 .· 1 f I
d attempt<> . < g~: t Jl <, lCr ~ Ill' savs: life which the legends of Jejuri represent but which has been lost
Contrasted to such sec t' -~1 o I on hJ~Is .ls wretched ,ls these?.' among its ruins and commercialization.
poems. Thew d . P J~Jsm and re.lh~m are the threl' Chaium·a A failure to perceive the miraculous, divine and surreal in the
or means
engali saint who c a ltfc · and refer~ to the
J . for. .cl· . nn1ynalllJ.'>tn · ordinary world is similar to a deadening incompetence foundauhe
B
tanya poem ('c > am~t? ,CJUn Intent on n:form. The first Chai· railway station. Just as the ruined temples and their cornrnerc.ahu·
tion represent a lack of spirit, a lack of vitality, so the railway s~auon
simple adorati:nme .oh flit) contrasts the red painted stone tn
o ers an ironic coWit bowers · Tl1 e secon<.l Cl1a1tanva . poem f~orn which the tourist attempts to \eave Jejuri is another kmd of
ff . ntrast etween tl d d , . I' d
or-tounsts tempi } 1e ccaye , commcrc1a 11e mual of modern India:
fthe saints and de e .comlp ex and th<.· astonishing living faith of
. . the spirit of the place
unatated here): vottona poet s (w hosc paradoxtcal . , manner seem>
lives inside the mangy body
of the station dog.
~e P_Opped a stone The station indicator and clock do not work. No one knows when
10 has mouth the next train is due. No one answers questions. 'fhe speaker vow-.
and spat out gods.
to
~placid,
The third Chaitan
cow-n{af ~oem
makes explicit the contrast b<"""' slaughter a goat before the dock
masm of the sain:s:e anh of most religious activity and the dyna· smash a coconut on the railway track
smear the indicator with the blood of a cock
when hed disa
h ppeared from view
an t e herd of legends
..
returned to its g ra1.mg. '
 MODERN INDIAN POETRy IN,... NGUAL EXPERTME.NTALlSTS 171
170 r. NGt
IS~ "' 0 stLl
if only someone would tell you r obiographical and, while in a variety of moods rangin(Y
when the next train is due. ~os the lyrical_ and '.'n_e d'Jtatt.v~
tl)' aut . to th e mcantatory, reflect whit ' n
trom tinutng cnsts of hts mner hfe. Influenced by the great
seen1S h. a con
Bh,,kti poet T u k aram, b ut h'tmself a rattona\ist . with
jejuri is, 1 think, less a po~m of scepticism a~d a poern abo '
modern wasteland's loss of fatth than a poem whxch contras d Ut ~ ~1ara: \l anings Chitre creates a large, intense world from hi..,
1

· wtt· h the a b'l' h d" 111)·soca eespeciallY

' · o bsesslOns
hts · wtt· h sex, rnad ness and death.
1vme in thets ead· •
ness of perccpuon 1 tty to see t e
ctn° ~ ~' his work, as is shown by the poem 'Prayer to Shakti',
0 0
vitality of life. If the crazy hens and cocks dancing are l~katur~ 1
'fhcr~ts tn omanticism which celebrates living intensely, cxcc~ ­
· · of v1ston
simphctty ·· o f tI1e samts,
· t hen presumably the e the .
· 11 y. some o f t h'IS f ree d om o f spmt.
· · InKartist a. ~\.1 , e:drbeing open to experience, as a desire to be one with the
shares, 1'f on ly ·tromca I st' ~l) ' Not surprisingly, often such poems develop from frL·c
.. f . , k h oat.
kar's hands the tradmon o samts poetry ta es t e forrn 1· untvcrse.. · ·
use incantations and ·mvocauons· wh'1ch b nng
· t\1e
. d' b l' f f . . ' n our
age of self-consciO~S ~~ e .1e , .o an.tromc ~a~ody of a pilgrima e a~·soc•auons, nscious into view. Ch' . . \
ttre wntes m eye cs oI \yncs .
whi~h while mockmg mstttutwnahzed rehgwn affirms the f g b-
su . or f h ve their stgntftcancc m t e sequence rat er t '\,\n ·111
unco . . . · h h 1
imagination and the dynamism of life. The long poem ab~ee whtch o ten a
Jejuri is a way of making the .kinds of ~ff~rmations which in t~; an), individual l 'Ppoem.
vate Poem in a Publtc . Gard~n, (trans1atco1 from
early dog poem are shrouded m surreahsuc obscurities and para- 'fhe ear Y n ' ·
. be ins with a surreal image ('Ltsternng · to the exp1ostOn.s· I
doxes. Maratht). gh arden') but is a somewhat oblique, argumentJtt\'C
Kolatkar's flat, colloquial, sceptical tone complements his Of roses . . m t e g.the ways the m.uena · 1s o f rca1·tty .ue usc
· ,d . cspc
· ,_
focus on particulars. The doorstep is a pillar on its side. A pair of med1tanon on ' b\' · · · ··
cia\\v by the contrasting private and pu JC tmagmanons.
shorts dries on a temple door. The goddess has too many arms.
While paying attention to the real, and trying to see it as it is A superior gardener uses
r~thcr than what it is supposed to be, Kolatkar's poem disturbs, The season itself to cut
And carve out his intended g,,:den.
smce we tend to make some analogy, to draw some parallel,
He never wuchl's trees in rcaltty ·
between the secular view of Jejuri and the traditional religious
Sitting upon newsp<1pers spread out.
mean.i~g of a pilgrimage: We might see the emotional withdrawal,
Beneath his bottom mutely in bold type
scep~1C1sm and ~ur~our as a kind of modern equivalent of th.e
medJe,:aJ Bhaku samt who could ignore rituals and addres) h1, Atomic Bornbs explodL·
While he listens to the roses'
God d1rectly, conversationally, even sceptically. Kolatkar replied,
Monologues ~ , i
when asked by an interviewer (The Indian Literary Revie'll', . . . - , . . lied between (,oJ s nc.\t •
;ol. l, no. 4, Aug~st 1978, pp. 6--10) whether he believed in G?~- In scctHm s1x a concspondcn~.:c ts unp
lleave the question alone. 1don't think I have to take a pos•uon vity, writing and the subconscious:
about. God one way o~ the other'. The sequence of poef?S seems \\'rittcn by a v.\st, invisible
t~ ~ff1 r.m both an undiSturbed equilibrium in the viewer and the Private in:-.trumcnt
d1vme 1.n the vata· I'•ty o f the real. It shows reality as it is, bot h 10· 1·~s
15 \•arth th.\t's l\ug open
deademng normality and in the divine life with which nJture Bear · the cx.H.' t m.1rk
charged wh · d b y a playful and imaginative VIS
.. en percetve · ·10"· • Of that instrmncnt. . but given
E At~ohf•c poet in Marathi, Dilip Chitre has published l:!is 0 '£ .I'L . If . . ' t(' "nd unconsCHlU :
nc natural world nsc 1s P~'~' ·' ' ·rn,tl•in.ntoll ,till
I the
Angb•s ~ Altho.ugh he privately published two hundred copteS · 'f' . • rS b)' \nun.tn I n
stgnt •ca1Kc ami pubhc m~.tntnb
T m ull'nce Rrde (1972), his first volume of English poems-
rave mg m a Cage-did not appear un ti1 1980. His poems are need to find meaning:
 MOI>I RN INDIA N POf 1 R\
172 IN lN
Gll
The garden, mutcl} burning
Jn various colour , pas.,cs
A flame to d1e C) c-
Souls are lighted
On the ro e's matchstick.
When in the gradual
And burning night
The trees stand like innocent clowns.
The new papcnncn arrive on the lawn
And, slapped hard, . countcrp~m~oughout Mardhek~r's poems 'one gets the feel~ng
Roses in a poem are shocked mto awareness.
In another of his Marathi poems, which Chitrc in his antholo
has translated into English-the au~o?io~rap~ical 'In Ethiopia'~
contrasts are made between the artiSt s hfe, h1s creativity and th
work of art. Paradoxically the remoulding of the intensities of ex~
perience 'into a dumb vase', with its accompanying repression of the
essential self so that the superego can have its will, creates a world of
metaphysical significance and anxieties. Words create symbols
whilr the raw experience of the self becomes transformed by the
work of an into a permanent metaphor for varied, changing, larger
stgnificances far different from what was intended or felt at the time
of the original experience:
It's the death of all earlier motives, a transformation
Of all apparent purpose into the terrifying
Ambiguity of the word: I become my own symbol,
My own other and author: a durable doorframe.
In nothingness: an entrance and an exit
For less permanent meanings, a formal metaphor.
The realny created by Chitre's poems is that of the romantiC self
beco!'ling its 'own symbol', 'own other and author', a metaphor or
nothmgness and meaning. His poems express a broad range.o
heightened, intense consciousness often in opposition and conflict·
In the 'Travelling in a Cage' sequence of eighteen lyrics such co~­
10
trasting ~otions and perceptions exist simultaneously, usually
coumerpomt to each other. . .
Travewng
IL_
m a Cage cons1sts
. of three parts: f1rst
. t he 'Tra velhngtn
a C age• sequence, wnnen . h' ught
during 1975-7 when C 1tre ta
Am.enca;
· then a group of poems entitled 'From Bom bay'• rnanY R'de
1
which are set in specific places; and, pan three, Ambulance
l l X p 1 IU M I N I A 1. 1S I S 17 3
aJLI~<.;UA
,...,o . . . f neral elegy written earlier on the death of a friend .
50rreal~st;~ ~ry Jrzditt (vol. 1, no. \ , january 1%6) introduction to
ln h•!\ oc Chitrc says that the Marathi poet revived the old ir:J.di-
Mardhek~r, )etry and combined it with modem European trends.
uon of satnt ptalists' Mardhckcr 'plumbed image~ out of a Freudian
'Like the :~;,r:nd st:.Ong them to~ether,' ;. but he di.d not use fr~e­
uode':""? urrealist automatic wntmg. Dcsptte the seemmg
;s
a.ssocta~IO~ or are strung together with a purpose; often there is a
obscunty '.mag aking 'two processes of consciousness sound simul-
tancously. · cd and enclosed m a death chamber from whtch
that o.ne ts trapp The trap is absolute and eternal'. The concern
h 1s no escape.... I' . . 1
t ere dh k feels is therefore re 1g1ous, not soc1o-mora , nor
which Mar e er
socio-.cul~ural. uence of poems entitled 'Travelling in a Cage' may
Chttr: s slliq 'b' to those brought up on what by world standards
~eem unmte gl e~ative English-language tradition of poetry, but
1s a rather cons which appear obscure the themes and
like many modern pdoe~sh the inner self. Rather like Chitre's des-
.Images are concerne With f t oem uses counterpomt . Wit. h the
cription of Mardhe~er' t ~ IrS ~the caged self contrasted to death
longing for tran~en e~ceheey~~otal concept, with the first poem
and defeat. Ma n:ss IS .t J h . sanity and saintly ecstasy. The
schizophrenically lmplymgl ot m. d by repetition of phrases,
poetic structure is musica • organ~ze h by argument or formal
tmages, sounds, and by contrru;t ra~ er t fanfour verse paragraphs
patterns. Th e flrst poem cons1sts
o my time come'' wh'ICh
f . 'Has
unpunctuated except for the r~ ralt' f the first stanza and the
0
occurs five times as the opcmng 1 ~e hniques of poetical orga-
clo5ing line of each stanza. Among~ e teens of sound:
ni1.ation are syntactical parallels an patter
There IS no watch here
There is no calendar
But I know
.
h'le bein'' used
herence w I co
The way parallelism can cr~ate pocttc c~
for the irrational or surrcal1s shown by·
· Mirrors are walls
tO
0f Walls are coffin
a Coffins are capsules
'
174 ,o I tLtNGU!oL EXt•HRlMENTJ\t.lSTS 17S
Floating in space 1 ~
.-.ere the consciousness
f h of lf extreme
. emotion ' i~o\auon
· madness
(lines7-10) . alienation rom t c sc ' ts expressed in terms of ' . of'
b tsS, d d d f 1. separatton
1
I . . ..nd
sptrtt .... bo y, wor s an Th ce .mg, appearances an d rea .tty But
'l1le images of mirrors, walls and coffins recur Ia . these are not c~ntrhastfs: I c vano~s ex.tremes are simu\tane~us\y
nt that 10 t e ma stanza msamty may we\\ b . r
do imageS of 'madness' and 'blind': ter tn the I'Oern
phreshe
t e
ospital
50 may well be heaven. The lack of
h · f b' · . . punctuaet~amt mes~,
IOn COntri-
The quiet point of madness (line 6) •• buteS to the ~ec mque ? am tgutty wtth hnes being capable of
I am going wild (line 12) various mearungs accordu~g to how the st.anzas are mentally divided
Dancing in blind bliss (line 16) 'nto
' sentences. . The f poem
h h ts a hrepresentation
. of a state of awareness,
I dance wild (line 39) a compresston ~ t e t ou.g ts, e~ott?~s and self-consciousness
The cata~onic smile~ (line 42) within a person~o/ ..Two of 1ts mo~t st~mhcant themes are the sense of
Has comdors of bhss (line 51) fullness of posstbthty trapped wtthm the body and the difficult
of putting the fullness of experience into words. The subsequeJ.
. a range of consc1·0 usness w· h ·
The poem represents poems in the senes develop these themes of life being 'travelling
0111
contrapuntal, paradox1cal emotions: It Its varj
in a cage' of the self and of words.
I am going wild The second poem with its echo·es of Dante's Inferno and ironic
Seething with serenity twists or cliches is about a middle-aged, greying writer in a
Like a saint 'Furnished apartment' facing his typewriter while being aware
that' A poem hardly I Upsets the balance of nature', and , 'In the
Gou~g .out my own eyes
Dancmg m blind bliss middle of my life I I have come to a white page in which I must
Measuring the raging distances live'. The third poem makes explicit the poet's presence in Iowa
('North Dubuque Street') and feeling of estrangement from
BetWeen me and me
Indian culture. Is exile in Iowa a time of suicide or a time to find
Performing
My own autopsy oneself?
In reviewing the contempoary Marathi poet Purushottam Shivram
The contents
·. of skull and guts Rege (Poetry India, vol. 2, no. 2, April 1967), Chitre claims that
The JOmts and the seams the search for identity by Marathi poets 'is of a schizophrenic
Of my being origin'; feelings of disinherited ness, alienation and unrelatedness
;ne leather pouch in which result from the conflict between 'two cultures, two sensibilities,
kept the universe safe two conceptual structures'. Chitre, who lived in Ethiopia for four
Has my time come') years and in America for three, uses the 'schizophrenic' search for
•d~ntity
10
The . as a source of his poetry. In these poems written wh•le
u:_..L~-awareness
UUAIW to the deadoff the Pol
hyph ony of voices, ranging from the
"Between me and m~ !~~t e ~er~ne t<? t~e mad, is implied by
exile ilie poet's relationship to the new country becomes a meta~hor
paradoxes and contrastin ?nmng · Umty 1s provided among ~he
for hts relationship to himself, its possibilities and defeats. Allusl?ns
to ~d echoes of American poetry interweave through the narrauve,
~ (1, wild, my e g u~ages through a pattern of recurnng
mty, me, autopsy 'ey s, bli~d, my, my), some end rhyme (sere·
wh~eh in several poems involves sex with a local woman. symboh<
of America and freedom. Other poems return to the themes ?f
wall~ sp~'e
1
..,._;. · recumn·, seams.' bemg) and such devices as alliterauon,
--,---tton, .
reah~
agony, 'questioning mirrors', the relationship of to n
recurring doubletsg(m d (seeth'mg, gouging, dancing, etc.) and
pan1cles
~).The wo~l~n ~d
contrast
Whil to the cage of oneself' and the need to bl'feel ahvttal ·
e are potnts
poem me, skull and guts, the joints th< e some of the poems are extremely o 1que t er ..
budds on the techni bear up to endless stylistic analr,Sis an.! of return to recognizable reality to avoid total obscurity· 'fhe VISIOn
purposes. ques of the early Eliot for rather different
176 M 0 0 I· R N l N D TAN pOl IRy It>~ G l.l A 1 f. X p 1:: R 1 M f NT A L I S T S l ?7
lN ,..-o. ~ILlT-1
.s dlrcLt .
· \· ·
. . and talkauve 11s mm d rap1<:
\ .
· :\1 y moves throurrh asso-
ff ,. , . . ,. .
ciliates between what appear to be actualities and c.
0 ChltrC 1 d l vds uf cxpenence, p aymg o c H.:hes, tdtoms and
tiona! states. Images of sex, death, suicide, c.tges liehtrerne . o f ~cnstt1~1ty.
1_ .1 complex1ty · · · 'P~cm in
cilt.'O'~.
· s ·111f c; ceech to rcvca
·
God and poetry recur ~nd build towards a thematic' st~et, Pleas, re~tstc.:1 ~ ~bY· ns with a senes of secmmh\y random 1mpres~1ons:
suppressed psychologtc.tl source of the poems: rnentoj lf-E:\tle cgJ
Sc 'fhe season's first dead. butterfly
Meamngo; . arc transt.crred
1have no country no continent to wear ly frayed wmgs.
t-Ias f res h
Travelling without legs or language 'ke the wet on .the . gr3s~
<

Exposed and caged by my own condition Ll Amcnca 1c; mered'bl

. 1 y erotiC.
.
What doors can I open in this fear 'fo sh oes. h
r\egs makes aUt ese streets '\CXV.
'foo man) · '
What windows look out
'ddl of the poem is slack talk:
And will I ever find my own face out there. 'fhc rn1 e . . . .
esick wh1ch 1S stuptd of course.
Writing is itself a cage, in contrast to silence. Desire is a cage W l am h om r a famous, . . b acl\
chauvtmst t. h
ome,
e f
feelings, self, are all cages: · ords, l was . A erica not beauti u . ut am tern'f'lCd.
nev l B 1
Nor 1S m
r . · l\ . 'America here I come, too I Late'.
And condudeU~~o~~ ~~anslator' is co~cern:d with problems. of
These bars of music are my last prison
The quietness of an emptied vein A poem cda 1 Language is a lie dtstortmg the true meamng,
Lies beyond manifestos and stars \ang_ulge an cu ture.
of things: .
Spinning a deeper silence I vanish Who crafted the first words out of wild corn
At the edge of my own voice a world is ending. d the boncc; of animals?
An r
Who told the first te:; . . ·d.,
Those last words fittingly conclude the sequence and suggest that Upon which our professton ts base . . i
d thoughts, between signs am
consciousness is itself the cause of our intensities and dissatisfaction; The discrepancY between word 5 ~ns ·spcetl · '1\} a~·oncern at present
consciousness, like words, creates space and walls which close in the what they supposedly represent, L c ·. tr"P which e:\pres~c.,
space. We are our own world, our own cage. · d h t \antruage IS a " . 1 1•
when theonc;ts have c lalme· t ad •ott>w ,·1at 1s · felt and pen.:et\'l'll· ·or
·
Despite the apparent obliqueness and impenetrability of Chitre:l onlv what a cuhun.: pcrmltS an ~ the discn:p.i11CICS
po~ms, they are not surrealist poems; rather they are poems m~ a translator, • · 1· · · . d ffcrcnt country'
who ts 1vmg m ad e1 probl em ·IS m ultiphcd bv oclng )f·'.
1. •

wht~h ~urreal effects, especially of disjunctive imagery, are use? as; between • languages are. acute;
1
cctcc:\ to trans·\ate, the mc.lntngI .. l\11
proJeCt~on of consciousness. The tradition of Chitre's method IS rh~ poet, someone who 1s now exp h w.,kc the tt".\11~ .1tot 1.•
dramauc monologue as it developed out of Browning throug ~ilcnce into words. The poem. s.1y~·£/t ~questions':
Pound and Eliot. Chitre has taken the method a stage further by ~oothe himself by activity, 'asktng cl tctl
carryi~g the imagery of emotion to radical extr.emes, by further But once he goes to sleep, .1111
reducmg the suggestion of narration to a bare minimum. · ·c His own ambivalence diswrbs h '
There is a surprisingly talkative almost American characten:,tt Producing nightmares ff rffcrent langu.lgi.'S.
about f Ch' ' · h d 1· the 11rst
some o ttre's poems written in Iowa, pubhs e ~1 s Out of the savage silence 0 our cl . \ ntl.'tnpt w
pan .of Travelling in a Cage. Some seem to aim at the_~ recre~ . ' , . , l a sin,ibr a\icn.,uon ~,,~~.t.1~,,,n,cntctl
and .1mmediacy which has marked the American tradtuon ~ re
0
Chltre s Bombay poems rc\.c.l • ) ~l·t\WI. .,111 0 therWI'I: ' t>
:h•.tman 10 William Carlos Williams 'Dick Bakken carne •~d use poetry as a means of ho \d mgt<. g
nvmg hts old van'. There is a poem entitled 'Pinball ConcertO hell reality. 'Mumba\' claims:
even one on 'Pushing a Cart' in a supermarket! But even w
 ·xpERIMI NTALISTS 179
iODERN INDIAN f'OEiR\
GIJAL E
17 I~ E ic
,.~ o 81 Ll . • to the hospita.l with the friend who they did
like a poem . . f the lourne) .
this city the garbled :relic del.lll' o 1 d already dtcd:
kno"-' la
of someone's emptre not , ·ere ,·ery still .
the remaining ) ou " head shook a httle
Qoh' vour
, oice now peopled . . \\'ith ;ubtle sarcasm. . . .
b\ esrr<~.nged mtllions. 'f ·ontinues 111 aUus10ns to the hosp1tal and the
' mon c · h f
'(he 'reme~ ber . -al of Chitre that the elegtac t emes o sorro"':' an
d
1
modern Indian chaos resultin2 fr oera\. lt tS tYP b~ . ·essed a~ paradoxical extremes and as dlstor-
Bomba' IS a svmbo1 ofdthef "'1 fu hould e expi
taCt v.;th the \\'est an o l\ an ' s estrangement from a man
#
metnory "
con . H , ff d .. llli
v.orld'. <father Rerummg orne o ers a r~ary VISion of aeo:.- 0ons:
muter returning to sule food and a sullen famJ!y; he goes lO sleep Sarro"-' may grow
Like a cancer .
Listening to the static on the ~adio, dr~am.ing Sorrow may npen
Of his ancestors and grandch1ldren, thmkmg Like a wine
Of nomads entering a subcontinent through a 1.arrowpa:
But these are no• poems nostalgic for tradition, organic con: Memory may trap
munities and other romantic nationalist ideas of an innocence\051 A single event
v.·nh colonialism, industrialism, materialism or some other fo·· ' ge of mirror~. 1
1n a ca other movements anu
b1dden fruit which resulted in the problems of modern life . \ m passes on to .
l: ro m this pomtd.t 1C 1poe . b f ed by deep mourn mg. to
Chitre's poems imply that there is no Eden, no state of innocenct , lt.!slre to e re . .
associations, indu thng t ~r..:~<. .alytica\, before returning to var~l~IO~~
that can be recovered. Reflecting in 'Sanctuary' on the darknes bec<Jme part of deat 'to Jc. an uestion 'Do you rente?" ~r t ~.:
whtch surrounds the god, he says 'Nothingness must be cor· on the theme of remembennlg. T~e q a cosmic vision in whtch order
cealed from human eyes' as 'It is the clearest of mirrors'. AlthouJ drunken conversation' dcve ops m~o .
proclaiming scepticism, there is an implicit mysticism; the poerru is dissolved into a unity of contranes.
contain often conflicting significances. hom the slums of my mind
The long poem Arnbult.mce Ride is a surrcali~tic funeral ele~ II\ . . l en my arm'> tn, .
Tu the ~al axt~:s op \ f feeling~
which Chitre addresses his dead friend as if he were both dead and From thi~ blind hcmorr 1age o
Still ali" e. The incongruities of tone and the self-consciou~ness of of ;11\ art-form'>
1,o the m:J.s'iacrc
· . f. . · ,,. wnunt
l
style could at first appear comic·' but' rather than being humoroo.d
. . an From the pus 111 my ~.:st~:n0 ~'~
Ambulance.Rzde uses wit as it docs the grotesque, ~epcunona To the d.nity of the wa:cr ..
other ~cchn.'ques ~f poetry to raise the level of emotJon ~0 ~f~ In whi.ch all languav,c d!sslhcs
calypucal mtensny. The method with it!) forcgroundwg And silence begins to npp e. ·I • othing', how-
· h rna r~ most
aru'fjtelaI an d the absurd, avoids the' sentimentality w}liC . ' 1: . Ill su~,; 1 n l ,
d' •11oth1ng. 10 ·1 0 fthc'sum·'~
funeral elegies w:-itten in our time ·· d gut these an~ 'only wor s • a11 cnt memona , s till'
111
· h'
Am ulanc.e Rzde is dedicated to Bhola Shrcshtha, C nrc s of'
b ' tnen ever the poet wt'\l •ch'1sc10 ut' a perm•
. ()ther moolern pot.:
, l. d A , In many I 1C'
' w ho beI'tevcd tt· was possible to create a whole syrnphon)'d.out in april' when his friend 'IC · s I . tkrlyinh tlCil ·
from . • led as t 1c l 111
poet maktnl!, the poem IS rcvea
01
d~scordant elc.mcnts'. Ambulanc.e Ride is a funeral elegy ~h;dcad
dJ\COrdant elements. It begins with the speaker addre:,smg • tO l will be at the centre
'Remember t hen'de:. I The one on which you d'1cd'i' · • 1noves on
 180 MODI RN INDIAN p lJ 1
R.\
I 1 Xl'ERIMI N II\ I ISTS 181
Of the nde B I I I N l• lJ A
On "htfh , ou died. ,.~o l , Tigl'rc;' ('well fell tigers anll f.tt sheep drin. k from
. 'I otno1 t 1~.:
'J\J.lllll t') incot por,\tcs the external world as a dtstanccd
Ch•tre' plletn t:xpre ses an inten ely subjective . he sat nc : P I
011
. l
the consonusnclts
•
o f t h e poet. h~~.fter 1mpattence,
· ·
. I ld
wh•ch ignore the pIn ..ac.l I an d so 1a wor except a
, lllner
. 'l'lo1
) 1
11
oblc~t " ., 1 tici~m. ,1nd announced refusal to enter 'inside the
11 11

thee\ e .md imagination. In Chatre and rhc earlv Kollt~_stunulu hu!11l) rouss~q
,_I , f when lc.wmg · 'T\ll' 11~us, 'K nat I k ar recreatesJeJun · ·
tradation of romanuc · exp101 au·on, expn.>sston · and • Jibl'r
· "'atthe
. gr~ 1
0 ld " 1 illl' f l11· own persona tt)'. J.1mt , C!> want Rao , t hc
t:at 1· 'A' '\' 'Y h '
self 1 brought up to date, made Indian, made p v~..·h' ".oftht
11 10

... . . f 1 • " 1
o og•~al in ten · ·k ~1·nd hens' 'in ,1 k'trw1 o f h arve':>t d.1nce', the parody
11' 0

the poetn cxprc e mten e emnn~.m~ o ue.,are, fru,tr . •il ' Jo ~~,
·n -~COl s ' railway stauon ·
.wd ~ h e ftndaI ·tmage. ~ f th c settmg·
1
of the
constiousne and the longing-. of tran:-ccndt:'lh:e and ~~~~n. selt htl 1n~:- h" longed-for locomotive an as a sptntua1event-
. d o f t I1e1r
. ptletr~· K t1 I.ltk- .1r and Chitr' nn,f · ' bot 11 t '" · ·f'tcance of. Je)un· · asapIace
In the earh pcno ~un · 3 1. , t the conventiona1 stgm
in the extreme romantic rebelli~.m of "U(h writers .1s Ri 111 b~ odund, h•se suo,er · t. h
,,II t c . · , . d recreate it tn terms o t C·SC s perceptions If' · and
t pilgnnugc: an
the Surreahst , a wav to 3\'0I'd t I1e buroem J
of •mtdlectuau 1 and 0 •
. ] - I . II .
ponsibilin and ethICJ (.'1t- JC('rJtiOn usua )' tound in En 11h
a rel-
r sen,ibihty.h h ool wry and humorous distance of ]ejun is fa.r
lan~..uage "'riting. The intellectual and ethical plact·s the poge1 · Althot~g ,t .e c ass,ioned absorption in himself, the way Kolat-
" from Ch1tre . hs 1mp s seem to be wntten- · f rom t11e perspect\\e · · of
socien, frame her or h'un m . <l represstve
. (Ontext of otherness •n
1
nece an and accepted limitations: Kolatkar .md Chitre are·;. kJr's Eng ISh pohemd.sengaged from society-is r~lated to and ~
stead, amoral, more concerned with the reality of what is desi,red someo ne "' o f ash ' mantic concern wtth . the ulumate . rea \'It)' ot
lopment
deve . . . o t e ro d . . f.
felt, imagined. "'ithout que-:rioning irs validity. This differem inin s erceptions, interests an asseruon o Its
the selt, ItS tmag g.' p takes the tone of a refusal to assert
consciou~ne~s find another kind of expression in -Kolatkar's later b · The asseruon now f t
own emg. \ness of Kolatkar's English poetry u:tners a
poems, uch as 'boatride' and]ejttri, where a flatnc:~s of tone and or respond. ~he ~ ~ }·
0
. mmented upon in his Marath1 antho-
distanced attitude, along with a concern to be very exact about tendency Chme a ear t~r co 'h a s mbol or an image'. The
what one see , defamiliarizes the familiar, shifting it from normal lo(ry: 'He suppresses feelm~ thr~ug y . . blandness and
~" . ' . ·thettzed mto an emgmauc
contexts to the perception and emotions of the viewer. In his inner v101ence ts ana~:s . . . ch writing a guarded nos-
'From Bombay' poems, the second part of T1·avelling m a Cag~. Th · qmet mysuctsm 10 su ' . ·
comedy. er~~sa . . l'f ·dfromitsobliquearticulauonm
the cit) and places are a setting for Chitre's imagination, sell· talgia for the d1v111e whtch has s 11 tc , · ve··t· ng of the simple
· · f h Dog to an tn ;) 1
assertion, fantasies, mood!>, reactions. The local world is a setting 1he e~rly 'The Renun~t_auon ° t e .ved b the self. The old detues
. .

for his ps) che: > with traces of the spmtual as p~rce~ h y 1 rn Indian world of
and legends will not come to ~~fe m t e_ mo~ ~ lt Kolatkar retains
5
I plot seductions and rapes, plan masterpieces bored priests and inefficient ratlway statto.nl· ' , l 'than ironic spiri-
Of e\asion. The loudspeakers blare at me. .
sentiments h' h
w !C persona Y mv
ll . est the un 1I l...e1}· WI congruities de bun k·
Bedbugs bite me. Cockroaches hover about my soul. . · · ns between t 1e m . . . Th •
tuaI approval. The qmet tens10 . h b 0 ther possib1hues. c
Mice scurry about my metaphysics, mosquitoes smg while guardedly suggesting there mtg . t e · . this unresol\'ed
d he~ inve~tmg
1
among my lvrics. .. . ·
puzzImg attracuon o o at .. · f K l k..,r's Enghsh
.. poetry · of t.l1e
Lizards crawl ov~r my religion, spiders infest my poh~~s. tension between a concern for preciSIOn aln · ·ta contempor.u-y m-
Inch. I become horny. I booze. I want to get smash · .
s1mple · provts1ona
w1th · · 1·tmagme · d wonder . . ·. the t 15 spaces
•
berween con-
And I d~. It comes easy at Chinchpokli, ~tance of the breakdown of older cert:unues' . hem selves \;>ccotne
. and the provlSlona
necuons .. l.1ty o f a1\ statements
• t ..
Where, hke a minor Hindu god, I am stoned
By_ the misery of my worshippers and by my own reality. . ovemcnt of the brst
Chitre's poetry belongs to the modcrmst. ~ •.. as its open-cndt'd
11
Tnumpham impotence. haractensucs
J bv haIf of this century in suel1 formal c ' •
The relaxed tolerance of Kolatkar's ]ejuri, reprcsente '
 :\! 0 () I H. ;-.,· I N D I \ N r'n 1 ·rR. Y
JS1
. I . . r .
~1uqca
1
tohnn , 1t . re 1.uk1CC ft~n recur~mg symhols
'N IN
t.t1
omu. co crencc. It 1al· o lnt~?rest m the 111 • or 111nt'f
1 h J • • • atenal Is'
locanon m t e cstrangeu arwa ' ubrccti\'it\' F "'.orld ii!Jd
surreal element it is Ct)ll ciou lv • high ~)r ~lilt\
'"" an in 1.-t,:·' rerect 100
pl't·
Q' ~
temporary and tcchnologv. Its roots go ba.ck to of the Cl-iAPIER ELEVEN
Romantic . Blake andt\t.
B' contra t Kolatk.tr'.; later work is post-m d, . 1
'ff . d . o ~rnlst II
lrt EJ{perimentalists II
d1 erent 'cr 1011 . ot . post-mo .ermsm from M ~·h rotra : · tKlaugh I
appear~ to be. a1mtngf at an· .mt1-art in which the an1st . . .s. s olatk•..
f}-{RO'fRA AND MAHAPATRA
~1
and personaIIt)' an: . . o no 1mportance
f and in wh ll t c anmemorr~
· ·h h. k
no dcpt}1. I ts art 1::. 111 a purpose ul transparenc wor hll
ficiality, in contrast to the formal and elaborat ~or apparent super.
•Th b 'd ' d I . . . . . c texture ofh'1 h
e oatn e .m . Cjllfl ,1re Similar m that th · 11 .g an.
The main, often .conflicting concerns of modern experimental
beyond the snapsh,?t-lik~ reality of what is see~~eJ~~ ?. ex~sten,ce poetry w.ith investtn~ the personal and the immediate with signifi-
eventS of. the fboatnde,Thw1thout significance except ' asJUn IS hke tne
cance, w1th the relanonsh1p of the self to the external world, with
a sub" f
the c_reauon o a text. ere is no sense of meaningful. · . Ject. or the introspective sources of imagination and with the poem as
Reahtv• appears
1 fragmented ' bits and p'leces to b e accepted unstable assemblage open to varied interpretations reflect a collapse
relattOnsh,ps h
own or p ayed with for amusement Rather th . . of older notions of what is real. The fracturing of reality has been
on t eu
an wa1tmg f G d
It IS etter to enjoy the si~ht of chickens da K l k or ~ o~
· · b ·
. one of India's cultural inheritances from colonialism and from its
ness is his conscious lack~ of depth h. nci~g. f o at ar's s:n.o.us·rapid modernization since independence. If Ezekiel and Daruwalla
in which a mongrel bitch is a godde~ss~wn qmet un-house nthlhsrn attempt to steer a steady course through the resulting intellectual
The styles isand
romanticism f
th att'tI des
> . ~~sumptions. Chitre'l and
re fl ect. rerl~ious
ethical confusions, Chitre and Kolatkar adjust by accepting,
even welcoming contradiction. The different kinds of experimental
Kolatkar f at ol an a~nostlc With spmtual cravings whiie poetry of Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Jayanta Mahapatra are
seems t , a terh ear
an . ,v period 0 f mtense· personal fechngs
. ' now J
lo~gero!
further attempts to link poetry to kinds of Indian reality.
ress,·ngoctreat t em 111 an off-hand, sceptical manner, as no . Mehrotra and Mahapatra, early in their careers, app~ar ~o h~ve
P oncern. v1cwcd the poem as object, a structure of images, but m.dtffenng
ways have increasingly been concerned with the need to bnng to the
poem's surface the obsessions, memories, doubts and ot~er per-
~onal experiences wh1ch are the source material of the imagmauon.
The approaches, concerns and products of the twO poe_ts a;c, how
~ver,
as divergent from each other as they arc from Ch1_tre s plunge
IntO the whirlpool of his psyche, Kolatkar's
and I' k'
ncuuahzau~n
d · · 1 d 1n the fr:lg-
of chaos
·.:zc 1el's wish to find intellectual an sp1ntua or cr ·
memcd instability of the modern world. Although both Mehrotral
and M h d' d h · eans of contra
a apatra make poem'> from t'>Or cr, t etr m f k
arc d"ff · conunua
· ll Y a srn...•II bodY· o wor '
1
olish'
erent. Mchrotra
f · ' rcvtscs
· · ~ion and an un-
·
Pper~ mg, 1· era tmg,
. ~"~
aiminP at elegance, wtt, prccts
1 } .
'
1mcmones . .I
t 1at
are ?na
t
1ty whtch will fix the pot•m anuJ t lC persona
. :ll
. 0 bouy
rrowtn~" 1
(}t'
1 s source. Mahapatr.1's laq~c .mu raptl Y g
 ~F.JII'fAI, I!>rS l I 185
184 M 0 () I R N l N D J A N I' 0 l T R' I flpERI •
-~~ardc: of the 1960s, cspec1ally as represented by the S
a1 av.tn tscene
ENctis
poem conunuall} ~ornes his perceptiOns, his rclati) 111• poll
o
v.· 1. th .tts Bcat poetry, counter culture .md rebellion
an
aosclsco . I d d' . I
feelmg and h1s em uonment, often going 0 , cr the l ns 1 P to Ius f r ost bour~cois, convenuon.a an tra mona. values. The 'state-
from different angle~ v. hilc calling into doubt t~)t' , an. e themes agal , ~igncd by Mehrot:a whtch prefaces the saxth and last issue of
between realitv, self, statcrm nt, poem and n.'.lJ~1 ~n~t hnks mf'll1 · I. s rcpresentauve of the rebellious, romantic adolescent
poem is a ·construction, .1 Mahapatra poem often dc~~)n struct, chrotra
· 11
d.JrTIII)'OII
stick·vour-tongue-out • d
~tUtU es w h'ach made the magazine,
' and'
and v. hat It cxpre.,.se . It~eu ·. rnab of the penod, attractive:
other JOU '
Mehrotra's poetl) largelv falls into thtcc group~ H'15 crate'· unaware of istslisms. if we fmd a libaated soul on a creative
v.ork i an immediate rea tion to hi disco' erv of variou earh~t ,.·rare
J. •IIewe
t! might •om . h t Ict h'tm go h'IS way ... creation is done
• h 'tm. we mtg
· d I' · \ moder 1
po t-modem1st an ear Ier. a' ant-garde ~tvles • anJ poet'ICS, Th n, at~•cntur . b . h . .
,.hen a pair of red hands tap an msane rathn. wd efn acfrow ~~ fhght scratches its
range from French· surreah · m of b .the 1920". to the contcmporan , e~ p.t\\Sll'-
•r a de~ert its a canvas we try to get o o , be ore wmd anJ sand pile in
1
•
1
B eat an d cono;trucuvJst poetry emg wnttcn in the 1960 0 1h. The youthful rebelliousness, anarchy an~ surrealist acceptance of
mflueuces indude the collage-Cubist methods of Ap )11· s.. er hance is one side of Mehrotra; but the ntle of Ezra, an imagiste
E p I I . l maire and
zra <'~U11ht .. B 1t~r.datmtt~ad(l9fl>~) and W/oodmts 011 Paper (l%? ~ g, z e th:tt he also starte? in the. late '60s shows another side
bc1ong tot Is "ane . peno .o l11s work ' as do the earlv .•'"crsiOn~o
· f 14 1 111
rooted more in Pound and h1s Amencan followers. For Mehrotra,
some poem bcIongmg to Ius second period when surrcal1' t ., hke Chitre and the early Kolatkar, a poem consasts of images
of chb ance · ·1 ed · ~ ~'>ames
· are as ·tmt at mto a constructivist poetic • ,.,' 1' rh poems presented in juxtapostion w1thout connecting links; the result is
nov. emg conscJou~ a:'semblages. Such assemblages are meant 10 often an incongruous assemblage. Mehrotra also self-published a
enclose the reader . wnhm the poem itself• without th"" pocm
Th' , h3\'lng · pamphlet of 'concrete poetry', typewriter-designed shapes made
a 'ilSJ
d ·b) e su b JCCt.
· · IS poetrv
, . •. . is one contemporan.· ·, 1 o post·•
k'nd f from words and sounds. The typographical, visual, concrete
~o ~rmsm m which tn~ tmit:Hion of reality is replaced bv the poetry aspects are continued in Woodcuts on Paper, published by
ommar~cl' of the an obJeCt: but unlike earlier forms of e;peri- an avant-garde art gallery in London, part of which was repro-
mcntallrtcrature the work is an opt:n , structure an d ·IS not given . an duced in a London Institute of Contemporary Art bulletin
apbpearance of ~oherencc through an implied narrative mvthic (August 1967), along with experimental work by others. In the
su structure or musica ) orgamzat10n , · · Wit · h recurrmg . moufs '. · Baroda avant-garde magazine Vrishchik Quly 1970) Mehrotra
Mehrotra's .third and present phase is different as it invoives a publi~hed 'Song of the Rolling Earth', prefaced by a quotation
precise recordmg of ex t erna1rca ,.. )'ltV, a mak'mg of art from specm~ ·['_ from the French poet Apollinaire: 'I believe that I have found a
an d d etaals • the notati ng o f " hat he•ca 11 s 'I ocatton . '. Often the subJect · source. of inspiration in prospectuses ... catalogues,. posters,
!~,aht~ er comes from mt.'mories c•f childhood or from reading history.
1
~ I e poems b such as 'G enea • )ogy • ·tmagme · a mystcnous · past w 111C ·h
advertisements'. His Pomcsl PoemeslPoemas (pubhshed by
~mhchik in 1971) includes the visual, typographic.ll poem
cannot e. recovered, others such as 'Continuities' and 'The Roys' culture .and society' in a shape which may be a bomb, skyscr~per
;re ~utobt?graphical. 'Company Period' and 'On the Death oi a or phallic ~ymbol; there is a page also of 'epilogues', quotauons
un a}IIPafmt~r· appear to be historical reconstructions. Mehrotrais from Ezra Pound Dylan Thomas the surrealist Andre Breton,
especJa
d h y Iascmated by ch'ldl 1 lOOd, pIaces associated . . ht'>
w1th . fami} ') ~ 111·lam Blake and' others. The attitudes
' ·
range from mn.e~eent
• h-
an t e cu ture of the colonial era ~nt~ry romantic assertions of infinite human possibth~y a.nd
Whfale it is perhaps ingenious t~ trace Mchrotra's later develop· wh'ton's definition of surrc.tlism as 'pure psychic auwrn~ttsm-;-
ment. rom . the . cxuberant we1commg · of various kinds of a\ant· Ich expresses 'the real process of thought'- to OctaVIO Paz s1
1
gar
.: d tsm m
fh. has early p oems an comments 1 some of the contrad'c·
d upf to-date claim that modern poetry has no exterior obJ.CCt ?
...ons
cy 1 0 led IS WOrk
. Can b,e seen ·m h'IS f"1rst poems and enthusiasm~· ' fhc re
b erenc e.. meanmg
· .IS not what the word s say b ut 'what ts ·said
c ~?I JO~~nal damn you, which he co-edited, rcpre~cnted a etween them' .
you u ' uncnucal but significant attempt to be part of thl' intcrna·
 ...,.sisWr
W,lephone
cat
rd player
recoewly married sofa set
10
Mehrotra makes o f 'mc~ngrutty, · chotce
' andfr
. ~e asso-
'11ac uses th ways his methods differ from the surrealists can be
cia1iCJD and earing two published versions of his 'The Exquisite
_. by comp ame which the surrealists used to tap the uncons-
eorpse',a!d~egart by chance. Exquisite Co.rpse is usually played
ciCJU1 10 P · · g a line of verse, then foldmg the page over and
by aperson wrmn h the next person, w h o w1·11 wnte
· another 1·me
• the s eet to h • 'Th E . .
~~ · h receding one. Me rotra s e xqutstte
without seemg t e pd in the American magazine The Nation
• first appeare .
CorpSe be 1972 P 342) as a twelve-lme poem:
(16 Octo r ' ·
Smoke makes faces, grey h~r bums
Children who don't play wtth me
Are taken away by jackals
Each vowel is wrapped in dead skin
Once a year I.open my cellar
The old woman comes out of her shoe.
Instead of Hickory I find.a young gemtal
The goat's bleat has turned pink
Oouds of black stubble roughen the sky
Out of my father's cupbo~rd .
Rush clusters of tiny walking sucks
The smell is of good manure. .
. b . largely from ch~d-
Tbc itnttsnnsed material is mosdy literary' . emg d two lines which
•--r- tales and play, scemc· descnpuons
ren'utories, an
. ra ed in', 'The ...
has
i'i
pndy ready-made phrases ('Each 1S : S!d of exueme meta-
tumed pink') but which also seem 1 e t ~ and surrealist poetrY·
..&.......:_ '
......-; ltatanents found m. F rene h romant1C . of the
. all revised vers1on
Meluotra published a nine-line, radrc y
- .poan in Middle Earth:
Smoke makes faces, ladders bum
au&dren who don't love me
 188 MOI)I RN INDIAN POE'lR\

Are lifted by h) enas f.liSfS II 189

tRIMEJ'ol r '
Once a year I im em or\.'"' cellar o.r . lture Mchrotra s pO<.'try offers a cool, clever,
The old woman's alone an her shoe 1: rJtC bou." n>COIS CU • d d d h .
pte I wur u f r cccived .ideas and rea y-ma e spccc . Suruahst
Georgie Porgie' a pimph- beau
A dusterot bamboo walking- titks
, .... jl.'cat.\ < ~
artl•·
"·hniqucsS:tlc
ttC
d f•lr socral come Y·
c u..e "
:u , t Ill:, sl."tuation
•
. b
vanes• ut provt
. •
"d f .
cs a ra.rmngh context
11
r •The • • . h' h surrealist )UXtaposrtlons create umomus
J orcc open my f:uher's. chc~r { ,peel'hC' tn w tc hip and simt'lar socra · I contexts. The cI'tch'es-
The goat is dead, long In e the baa or · f
rodt<'> o !i
alc~tn.lllS
i · b "l bl ' '1
·e' 'they may not c avar a e , can t press
'
rft'S )·ourS for l lCipn~
I not eavrn ,
g,• '1 would never have thought of selling',
h f' .
Here there are many of the motif from the early version {srn l } ou', ·omc ycster a.v'-are followed
'"·l·re , d d' . by t c usc o mcongrUiry
face , the threat, the cellar, the old woman, walking stick~, theg~ate •f(ad you \ 1 . Jtions into absur mes:
but the) arc more carefull} .structured ro foc~s upon. typical memo-
tUfO SOCl.l SllU
to wr 00 IJ vou mmd if I showed you
ries ot ~hildhood. The goat s bleat of the t•arltcr verston has berQ
a parodyof•the king is dead, long Jive the king' which in this come>;: 111 av.few more
' •
thrngs now Y.ours').
\\Ould he applicable to memories of the f.1thcr. The re\·iscd ver~ion Be carefu,l one river is sull wet r
I wish }'OU had asked me ear ~~
is open to interpretation as an opening of the ccllan of memory an.j
The paintings ~ave been boug t
finding (possibly im·ented ?) reminder' of childhood threats, gantt~,
by a broken n11rror
stone, rhymes and anidesconnected with the father. Thcrcisal,
but I think I can leaJ you
more Internal rhvme and other combinations of simibr sounds0
to a crack in the wall. f
which link the m;terial (me, h) enas, inventory, Porgie':;, pimpiy.
cellar, duster,. Sur~eafist techmques have been used hy ~1ehrotn . d
Th.. implied sinratlnns an o J f -1. . b'ects mentioned are from
h't·h seems dated and ts
a com nr:-
in ·Exqurstte Corpse" as a method to create an open, amu~1ng, " 1 1 • y o tvmg w l
able, uppc\-midd e-c ~ss ~l:hed bourgeois colonill ~ulture ot ~ l~
. I

~ophastJCated poem based on no~talgia of childhonJ. representatt\'C of the cst.l t • h centuries with at.'i travelkr:s,
He lrkes to juxtapose bits and piece:. of sensibility a~ rrpre\t'n· latL·ninctecnth aml early-twen~Jetl ecimcns .md various other
ted by cliched language, cntirnent.s and ~ituarions. Parthasarathy .
i.!Xplurattuns, trop • • h"cs
1 anatomtca ll . blcs as a· tiger·SI'.lll,
sp 1 •
:m t
dope
qumes Mehrotra as e>:plaining that a poem may con~i~t of collcettons. There arc such co ectab rtl" The salesperson at
·ga~cs, riddles and accidems ... and the poet creates a~ many bone\ ' c:uvcll w Ilee1. s, a s kelcton l ' utte I ,ac:s.
e~
·turcr poantmg· · out rIl t•
acctdcnts as he. can'. Whale Mchrotra begins by using tl~e well· cimes resembles a Vtctonan co· · l ector or
kno'' n surr~a!Jst technique of .lutomatic writing in 'vhrd1 f~ee exoti(a of the WI 1rld. ·, •)f th·· fin;t part arc geo-
assor1at1on rs supposed to hberatc the subconscious, he c.·dm, . I'he puem .1s .m three secttons. · · T11e topru; ••
' thi., ..~carebug A~u · ·· 1n
shapes and re' ises tile results into a can•fu lly constructed p~em. h.
grap ll"a I: •1 h"ts .as I"-..uropc,• I that •. Amera~a.
I · 1 evolve .anto brJl· ~ a-b·
Be r.oo elegant and cle,•cr a lraftsrn,m for formless ~pt Jwllng.
15
the ~econd scctton t1C geogra
· 1 phrca nuterra I . polo~y:
~ 'M us ·~lso
·t .
Man) of Mchrotra's better-known poems such as 'The S.th·'. .
ra( conm•urd wtt 1 cxp oraI I t".
10 ns .md
• ant 1 . ,• The t 11r ~..... ~ uon
uo I . d •
'Th c Book of Common · · Lmc.:~
Phccs' and ·Index 't)f Frrst . ' • arl' ~how rou a trgcr-~Ktn
· • · 1 t1at1 once htd . af p;l dJtt:in· ,1 Vlcton.ul
. · atll(',
ll · J o f parap hc·rnalra
devel_oped from similar illogical hut dcvcrly humurou.'i JUx.t:t· a udes to rhe kmu 'M Otlllt the ohit•(tS hc:re anpcat r I
posJ~ons. Despite the use of chance and plav there is a di~tin.ctJ\.e . l f I
rcrutn, ers l> 1 nt•nt v p.l!!t cu . lturc · .uw . • o.. 'I've also ,1 w·hedt: \.urI
...., bduv in these poems. Witty, so ph j" j c; 1,•d, moe king c!"::~ ~tchnma'~ ~~m:·Ie, Kcw.l
I
l<J aludc to Mchrotra ' ,s own f anu"hr· lwmu ·I . v · II h •
and Stuffiness, the poems parody middle-brow attitudes, HliJ, to show yuu; I it bclongt'd to my Ut~ll e · I , Uni,·cr:.rt)' t'f A a ~.3 .
das~ soc•al conventions, the wooden phrases and desuip~rous 11( K. I
n~ lOa Mchn'~tra Pro fessor o f 1·.. tll'hS n l .lt t lt . of 1hc: tv...., ...... b<lOI\ J

bad Wrrtmg, well-known quotations and other bits and prel·r~0

b •
ad (1959-l)t;), wao; proba }' t " I bl 11 •
1\UskIn's Lr.ctlfrC'' o11 Art ;lnd A Sbort 11 ) -'
tJ
los ,. rm·v of Eng 151.' 1
('')S\ll • r ,r,·-
 \9\

190 -rs 11 • cX''rc..,-.cd

Jtf~LI 5 ' C01\SC IOUSI1l'SS ,\S r
MODERN INDIAN POETRy IN
. ' A b" .
,II• •tth the P~'ct . Chi trc il1lp\ics th.n ttn ;lgc"
rat11re by Legouas . uto •ograph1cal allusions tal ENcLts " fasttthar wf pecch. \\'he• c.ts ·cfcrs t•, particul.•t s, obscr-
ries of the past and references to Allahabad whe'renohs . gla,
• . I f .
mcreasmg y requent m Mehrotm 's poems as he at
, c 1aves b
Ill'
' '
.....--1.
_., hiS f0 rf11Sb ~,...nscit.)\
o
SU \,;l•
1 "·
Mchn)tt ·' '
•
\
~·· l IllS 1lV
the ·e~ and cxpe~tt'J'\I..t:, n~tnhi(Jgr.lphic,,\ rdet cn\,;c ..
\
11.. tchrotra lCill s tnWatl
~

the local with personal significance. tf'l'llpts to ltlv~ ~ fl\ef1'1ort .dv nostal~•·' .uHI. l . )1'1 ,,,hi~.:.ll ,,n<.l \u.._,,ltJCll
One explanation for Mchrotra's nostalgia and inc · '(lid!• aro '
~..:..ldure,p h.· of the ,at<: . .
' ·r llll<, ' <..; ~~I• r ,,,,.•H.l)' du• surrc.t,I
Allahabad in his poems is offered bv his long two reasmg Use of ~~ . S tp . 1Ct101'\S 0 r •' . , f
'(be relauon rlicr mi"-l'd con"'' l t 'Otll\)aring 'The B( H ,k o
Cho.ndrabhaga (3, 1980; 7, 1982), wh~re he claims th~~~~ essay Ill the ca
~to d fantasy ,an
bL· ~CL'n )\' e..
. •'
• • , • •
( •('.nntinuiucs . \he unp(, st .
•
the location- whether cultural, geographical, or fictiv ~a J>Oan ._..,ries Plan. 'with 'Gencalog)f ,\Ill I • ,,. on a\ in 'The 1\nok ot
on 'specificiry' H~· evm.
15
. ' Th"1s JS
th mg. · reIated to h"1s msastence
· · -·;· .....- n ae..es . 1" ron1 t 1C Pl: . h' I
d h . . · avtngearly ~ arating wttt)' paroL he Middlc Earth vet ~um , w. K l
f P d
J

r.-~~~),laces' (I.quNote fr~:~:~~'urcs) may ubgcst Slf,nC1C o\ the

accepte t e tenets o oun and tmag.sm, he criticizes Panb
sarathy's use of generalizations and universals; he w.ants pan· .__a-
•pound hears words (' Yurra Jurrmun!') not ideas; and seesICU~· ""'..... h crsion tn me . 'Th" Book o ornmon
1 .' .....crs t e ' . et otlwr pt.lcms. t: \ •

nous details'. Further he cites Rilke's insistence on 'Things'um~ ~;~•ltv in trying w tnterpr i -m.lde literary phr,,scs
GIJII"" • I I r p:lrodv of re.l( y
·"'L s t.tu,\-
I 1t pllt'})OSC IS to
quotes: 'If you can manage it, return with a portion of your we~ places' I~ argc) .I 1 ld he t'L'·'d ,\s ~ur 1. s. .
and grown-up feeling to any one of the things of your childhood ~nd probab )' s 10U l ' t ~ot1sists of ftftccn secttons,

with which you were much occupied'.

S
101\•"
ron truct a sp~cc o{f l, rcau~r; It..: ·
t {\iftcen line:.;, divided into .. t.JnZ\.,, ...
ea of v.hich IS mateo bitnrv ~onstruction is typac.l .C?. p()st-
t f'"'
ten
Mehrotra's poems insist on particulars (especially the things of
childhood), are made from images and have over the years become h\e lines. ~uc~ .m _ar .. • :c th~t literature is aruhctal, a
increasingly set in locations-although the location in a poem such mi m wtth ns tnststen~.. . . t'on of rcalitv. But
"~"" 1 tnotanuntt.lt "
as 'The Sale" is rather different from the scenery of realistic descrip- trucuon o angua~t: at t
fl • • f childhood reference
tion. This does not explain, however, the spaces between the duoo hout the poem there are mcrnoncs 0 . . hist~lt' : r

tothegneighbourhood and thoul!,hts about tamtl) y

images, the extreme use of discontinuity.
An explanation might be found in Mehrotra's essay where he I brought home the first pigeon
refers to ·the modernist crisis: the inward collapse of words, the 1shot
fragments of speech" and cites Valery's claim that the poet's lan~age And hid It
'constitutes ... an effort by one man to create an artificial and 1deal Under a flowerpot. .
order by means of a material of vulgar origin'. Mehrotra's essa), T wards the end of 'The Book of Common Pla~e~. thc.·re 1 a
with its many quotations, is an example of his poetic meth~ of -'1v tpnomtzed
. . htstory
. . •s l nc1i·'· from the Ar)'.ltl
-J:
•1111c.u oi ""
l\l tC l1rott.1
constructing an order from images, allusions, particu~ars. Smce
Hlvadmto the coming of the Furopc.tns:
language fails to embody the quality of individual expen~nce--~~
rift between language and experience--it is necessary to dasestabhs. My childhood
the dead commonplaces of expression and from the :res~Iung · dcbns Wanders off into th~ f.unilv tree,
create a poetry based on particulars and personal expencnce. And the tree gets lost .
Without trymg to compress Mehrotra's compl~x argu_melt~ ln the North.
which often works by juxtaposition of quotations, mto ~ s•m:ch I'm told we followed the tr.11.:k
fied statement, it is still possible to see the basis of a poe~ •:,U- ~~by none in particubr,
91

nplains his an. It has similarities to Chitre's claims that e ~om· anc horse
ficant poet turns away from the debased babble of mot~muniqut Was our animal
munications and constructs a private language to expre1 ch~ reader ~once in th~ plains
SalSibility; such a langu~e at farst seems obscure una e settled among rivers.
 193
192 tODI RN INDIAN I'OI,R\ ,..-. 11 stSI1

The hadowlcss tribe men pflll~£!'1 • rcoccupation wnh per onal and local
~~ h tra's incrcas';'-g ~11 agism and his demand that poetry be
Easil" picked om the gap Me roderi,·cs frt'\IU J liS I ess its 'locauon'. 'The Roys'' a poem
In the procession .IS f'1lIcd w1t
· h rcmmtsccnce,
· ·
r~l1ueSt' speetltCS
. · ano t•xpr ·
Of mountain ; lJc l, . .he kno\VS ·t11 Allahabad
• • '
Then a few ship!i [!lL··utafarrul;
~v·l
·,·1 observation:
· f ·s soc ,,
fiJied with white tt .1ders JetJil• spect. •~·'·nre
• J .1 t 1· n Ghosh Buildings, Albert Road,
1 ·' Mt.· Rov,
Swung around the Cape \'i/e ve rc Roys·'1.tV~", "Ct·oss
·
the street.•
And sighted the west coa t. l
j\nd t tCI Mete,,, I nt , dresses in whtte h'
The) redid the land Genera . I g-sleeved cotton s trts,
'II usct s, un I
From ea to sea. Dn no kc; like·' friendly barn-ow .
And \(')0 • hool with ml!. G.mcsh,
Perhaps it is the context ?fa lost pa t, and with it the lo:st abiliryo · ns arc tn sc d
}-lts so . h . a gleaming forehea ,
language to expre-s reality, that we "hould underMand: The eldest, as ._ l ·on a small
d eg~· comp ext ' ' . . . \
Yesterda\ Ashe11 e - o h. 1 belongs to a mysuca
Equilateral mout . ' 1C
All the ~reline!~ of philatelists.
In the book Group . these autObiographical poems and
Were traded The relationship b~tween al -oems might be seen from the
For common ones. the earlier a~pare~tl)·T~rr~o}~· to stamp albums, .autogra.ph
vanous allusions •.n ~ f 'dead advocates' libranes' (whtch
The poem ·Genealogy' follows on from the racial and ancestral books and the auct~oncerm~ oh S 1 ')
fantasies of ·common Places'. The speaker describes himself 11 bring to mind details from T. e a e . osin!; poles in Mehrot~a's
'the last sun ivor of what was a family'. The poem is both a parody There is not :,0 much a tensl?n ~ opp \y ~rork is constructtng
narrati\'e implied by fragmented allusions to journeys and create~ an work. One tendency found ld~ e ~~r of older social and liter-
impression of a lost world where 'Fowl and dragons play near the poems by assembling a~d paro .~mg 1-t~ rcvivifie..d and open to
shores I My sea-wrecked ancestors left'. It concludes: 'But you ary habits which by. JUXt~po:mo;.l~~cother tendency is to seck
who h\'e in fables, branches, I And, somehow, icebergs, tell me, interpretation by the tmagmJtt<:n· l . st childhood legend
whose seed [ carry'. . . l l ll d-cape t 1C pa ,
the permanent m t 1e oca ~ :, ' ne. celebrates such penna-
The autobiographical poem 'Continuities' tells of an upper-mid· r and myth. 'Engraving of a B1son on Sto
die-class Indian childhood: 'At eight I'm a Boy Scout and 111 ~ea
tent', 'I wear Khakt drill shorts' 'My first watch is a fat and Sliver
... The land is of one
Omega I Grandfather won in a' race fifrv-nine vears ago•· Afw, Piece and hasn't forgotten .
memones . o f h'1s cousms'
. h"lStory b oo k.s, postcar
. d s Mehrotra. s . · of a btson
Old m1rac\es: the engravmg
grandfather sent from Germany, his father and mother P1-?~:~ On stone, for instance . · · ·
0
cards, and other impressions from childhood, the poem codnc .. of ... The land d'
Wlm·-L
ashon lament at the rupture from contmUJt}':· · 'T}1e anC•d bv Cannot sign it<> name, it ~annot tC
h ki
t e tom s n /Is for much later'. The poem JS con .
. structc J
der· Because it cannot be buned,
assemblage; the method is in the accumulation of p~ectse, utaced It understands the language. "lbte 01 i~ht be
stated images and memories as building blocks wluc~ are P"aguc . . between w h'tl·l1 h'15 pol·ms osCI
The two polanttl'S • • l
, h. dance (ll t 1e
together to make sections or enclosures while suggesung;,NY1':1?' thought of as the deadening flux ot t he_present ' t Such
t:
poelll~ .ls
narrauve. . of ' C onunumes
. Rearrange t h e d etatls . . . • so the autootv"·-
bla torn skin• and the lost continuities of the p.1st.
hicallinks are lost and the result would be a surreal assem ge.
•• MOlliiN INI>IAN POliTI

M. . . . teeml to have evolved his poetic Jal)e)

y ...

• n.t.llectUaJ a t . Man of the poems m Ius first'bon bia~

lk li,. Tn ":Y Tnt, are runou e periment and readoak. Cite;
-- MIMTALISTS

.
tlat spa_c~ smgs
•here • hve
II
197

walled lt the antelleocc than P~.ducrd b emotton. ,.::orel&f at home

co hyperbola of sky-tasted love
.,.. of lonel&ne., the tmpossabtlat ()f expres ing the ~
dae clifficulty of ~le understanding each other ~ for the blessing of abscnl:c
...adaift.theprt•gtlln of tlf'ncc, themind' i~a 1~rn-.., 11 its essence.
coau.t becwten the p~vate and public "orld, lndi~ = :1ht
11
is 1 construction in which the larger themes are stated
rituaL dreams and 1dtnuty. Poems about love and SQ.ual _. 11wpo~m through unusual images and odd, highly stylized
dtlirr and ~lataon ob . urtlv a if thf')' were~ metaphy.:i: ~~cc!'nstructions while the original experience IS alluded t o by
~ Sexual annct1on for omc w.oman. or women iao&e. lbtsymbolism. f d h b' . . .
dw cfisawled sub1rct; ~thers have :as thc~r subJect poetry, 'Writioc. M of the lyrics treat o poetry an t e su Jecuve Jmagma-
anclthe probltms of u ang words. ertam words and imaaarecur anolrhc gap between what is felt .md what can be expressed.
thrcJuahout me book and b«ome motifs. Many of Mah. UODt
The ' "1
poem 'Loneliness' is a sequence of• s1m1. cs, each o f "":h"1ch
pan'alater ymbols art prTsmt the sky, crows. flames,~ tht anempu to express isolat.ion th~ough unusual1m~~es. Lonelmess
le&IOU. the k • walls, distance. Some of the links art subtlr both deadly silence m wh1ch the world d1smtegrates and
'Londinae'. the tatle and subject of the first poem, is picked u; moments of intense sel f-rca1'IZataon.
IS . •Love•, one o f Mahapatra •s
b 'le.ve daoucht alone• in 'love', the st"Cond poem. 'love' ends more exrlicit early poems, makes an analogy between the expe-
oa the word' un'; the third poem is 'To My Father', which an rieneto love and the experience of poetry. It warns :
duda the lirw 'The tift' tight neame , which has not moved . leave thought alone
11w nat~ 1 "The Monmf'nt'. Thc/enulumatc line of 'To to find the meaning . ..
M Father 11 as ou fall to au; vee woul not know how tho.',
tLt 6m line of 'The Movement• i •A if to avoid a fall,leanmg' it will not tum
The uae of rteumng motif and smagcs is a means of givia& to
wuty to a volum~ of~ and bringing the individual Iynes uuo asentcnce.
doeer rdauon, 10 that the seem continuous meditation on such Poary is created from love of poetry and is untranslatable into
daema ulonelmeu and ~nonal rt"lauon hips. The technique ill common discourse.
a-. t6r S.,, Tnr ~ Tm is ignifi ant of the natu~ of Maba Sw,.m"•r•and other poems, published the same year .lS Cl?se
patra ' early work an which e periment with fonn, lanp&C; &W Sky, shows that Mahapatra had already developed a recurnng
unap, IOWad prnails over nnotaon. The meaning of 'SanctuiiY tocabulary in which words become concepts and S_Ymbols.:
11 daM ~e Wllhdraw mlO &he self and wntc poetry about ~t rteurrlng theme often associated with sexual love IS ~ohw. t . e
pollmtiali~~ea of full apaience of the outside world from which makQtgof poetry distances the writerfrom thereafIt)' whI\:• IS'th
ItS
d. poet lw withdrawn; &here i a suggestion that a love affair,or SOUrce••ln 'Morning' the coming of day leads to the poet's WI -
-..&-:-~ ' Oil
~ woman, is &he hidden ourcc of the reflccuons drawaltnto poetry :
.. nl.QODaap ab' of the poem lO o~ricn c and to the pot' •51'nnct
lpiCe; The morning seems distant
u I climb into words
DOW l doR the aky shrinking from the lotus
wida a tquare 1m by lCD J.t.ny .o( .L d .L images often
'~~' early poems are obscure an we . . eem
lftifi..:..aL~ ua1 vate assoc•auons
.._ raof on alial 1\e---...ay contnved or anse from unus pn . . edl and.
• •
....... lpOCIIyptic idal "'urneot or narrative proceeds angularly, dtSJOIDt Y•
 199
198 MODF.RN INUIAN POETRy LISTS 11
IN tJ~~cLra ..-.as... ..... ,TA
r' •Main 1 emp\e Street, }> un. , , 'ATwt- .
both sentem:e constructions and the phrasing seem u p•- · • •surnme • p ·• ' \ J'
":.unt.ng' . • 'Silence', Dawn at urt, nntan
. f h'IS way to d'•srupt cont'
nnatu-• nearance • f so \'ttud e,express1ons
·
1f the poet were gmng out o . ....... ~"'Pr-
• • ....,..
,.......'"-"''• •A . • Thesearcpoemso
expectations while the focus shifts between differen~"~•ty-.! ~ rv---~
II"' fll poel'll '
• •Evenmg · . · l · l
r which arise Ounng ISO atlon, Onl' IOCSS , \'
thought and emotion. tvels of !ee
~nUances of 1nng:nd then decreatcd to a\low emotions at the
By the mid '70s, hov.'C\ cr, Mahapatra's poetry bq;an to] ofdte·~""orldtsseecome forward . Such poetry suggests ':"ore
appearance of bei~g. co~trived. Althoug~ it retained theo:e~~s ~ f 1.,areness to\ of the mind unstructured by rauona\
td~ o . vea " areas ..
obhqueness~ surpnsmg 1magery a.nd rap1dly shifting levet:"e ..-is Slid as 1tre. There are contradictions, oppostuons, con-
experience, 1t became more c<?-ordmated, less choppy, rhrth~ thai' ts and logtc. evelations. The poem aeatcs a space sepa-
cally much better cadenced, Jts phrases and sentences clo ·
· J ser to
::u~d unexpected~e external world. There are consequently
normal syntax, less a pr~ d u~t o f a mmo constructing obseurr ng the poet from h. h . s the external source of the poe~ and
tortUous arguments: Wh~le •.ts con.:er~s an~ themes remained ~ i6Jities,. that w tC ; feelings which arc revealed or dJscov-
private moments of ~Hummauo~, dcspa.tr, .gUJlt, ~~sire and other '"'"' . medtate persona
tholt 110
momentary fluctuattons nf feelmg and ms1ght ansmg within tht __J • h of Mahapatra's striking openmgs
ercu· · w 1t one · l move-
mind, they were presented as the result of speculation on merna! 1)atw<n' begms . h d thus allowing the raptt
stimuli, panicularly the landscape and environment of Cunack bich tend to d·a.soraent t e rea er' .
where Mahapatra was raised and lives. Although there are som; :ent anto the unknown:
imagistic poems on scenes among his earlier work, this attentton f the dark it whirls back
0 ut o . h e
to the outside world, the other in contrast to the self, was new. into a darkly mystenous ous .
Mahapatra, along with Chirre in some poems, appears to have
learned from Roben Bly and other American poets of tht btc ~~:~~ ~:~: :si:~~tng, give brief respite?
'60s and early '70s a new means of using the external world to
present subjecti\'e feelings. Although poetry often uses tht other like a hard crossword puz.~le h
. amst one anot er.
as symbol, projection, or image of the elf, or as a start for rdlte n sets riddles crov.•d mg ag . . h· h
. f I d' carlv mornmg m w tc
tion on the self (as in the Romantic ode where the nightingalt or Tbm foUows a descripuon o an n ta~h ' , d with detail which
Grecian urn ss the tan of rumination and reflection), the Amrnan . 1e poet vet c arge
uccne seems d 1stant t? t 1 . 'f ' The dawn is next ts-
d'
poets had given such method a new twist. They spoke of orga- sugests undefined possable stgm ~~anc~s. the tlcncc in which
nizing by 'field', itself a poetic derived from William Carlos W~ams mined as rather the start o.f acu,•ny ~ ~~ trast to the activnies
and Pound, in which the logic of the poem was its inner relauons mooauons are found and dascovere?· n ~;oa~assiv•t)' of waiting,
nther than narrauve or argument. A poem was an image of what momang, however, there is the qutetness. ' '
one saw, felt, thought, and sensed at a panicular.rno":'ent. ~~t of acc:tptang: ;
was an immediacy, but unlike the immediacy of amagasm an t
1 h 5 uch strange terrain.
Is the dawn onlv a way throug 11
poetry of Williams, the emphasis was not on describin~ the P~ · h ' h 51' lcnce reca s
The frenzy of noise, w ac a d'
appearance of what is sf'ell but on subjective feelings which b~ug . 5 uddenl)' foun .
. ed d anXJtt~t'l· through companions lost, t mgs h
to the surface othrrw1se unchannelled, repress • eep
There is a dawn which travels alone,
fean, des&reS, hopes.
In A RAin of Ruts (1976) Mahapatra uses symbols fro~ his d1t f
\'1
Without the effort of creauon,
.
d . hout puz.zlc.
11
white in the air:
ronment to articulate an anner space of feelings. The 0 esaU~ tht It stands simplv. framed U1 the oor'
Ill lndtan woman, p• 1 eu up
• . _..~ her stlences,
poems are indicative of how the external worl~. espect of d\t 10
. \ \et her do.
Indian llnd~e~pe and seasons, becomes the swung plf~tcS', •A Yt~Kmg for what the world Wl11 on Y
IJDIIIIIIIIioa: "Dawn•, 'Villa&e', 'Old Palaces', •,A Rain ° ""
 201
200 M 0 DE R N INDIAN pOE r R) IN E r-1 1' ,A. 1. I S 1' S 11

'D.1" n' i)i n.:prc cnuni'e of ~labaparr.1 's poems. Ncltslt

,;Jrtttl rd F. • able to be pan of the traditinn.ll Hindu culture
f,(ahapatr~'s be;,•:g·~~ Oriss,, Journal : July to November 1?72'
with an obscn arion, puzzle at. Cl'eate thrir 0 , whtch be~,
· 111 11e1r
cone Iud c wat
. .
· own su b'JCCtl\·c
• 'I
· · rcahty. It i.s al '' n sp.ace, and
• • . . so tvptc I
on ,.ro.. 0
•• ~ ha111·
ter
l ·ol ....--vv no. 1, \973, pp. 65-73) he has wntten
q14cC1JS Qu~; a1yl'fe· " ·•Each
~~,
time I am here 1 fee\ the soft Hutter of
amponance gn en to 1 cnces , wamng'; the u~e 0 f ,' a tn th~ (fsoch tradtuon• ~ ~ like the phvsical touch of a feminine hand in
'crow·, ' un', 'door'. 'wakmg', .. 'air' and 'dark• · s·am, t~nllplebell•
ar h • othtearth' the sensau 0 " f
l'k the beginning o some mysuca rate. ut e
. \ . ' B h
and symbo I recur. tIhroug . I10ut the volume as !\la'l
' r apatra r
t ernr5 mine. More e f rhe mysteries and rites. In the Great Temple
1
tot }1e ame matct ta s. goang O\'Ct' them from diffcre t
' t. kb n anr>l('
eturns
. cannot be pa~ 0 sanctum there are 'Ten feet away, three gods,
new wav• •
, so'- mat a 1)00 • ecomcs more than .
a ;')elcc·t·ton ot\f ps or In at ruri at the dncr nge limbless, grotesque-and I am here. Stark
and hts .worK takes on . a cons1stencv , .ot visi 011 and perso oe~ r dark, dar~ an ~fa kin'g gazing into my abys~·. He leaves fee\ in~
Manncnsms of tvle mdudc the repetition of key wo ·d ~a. ny eyes, w?•t~. s~d s:mething', an 'infinity' he has 'not been able
night', ':silence recalls'. ' her silences'; 'dark', 'darklv!· ,' ~-shtlent he has rnls l . the temple he looks .back on the crowd and
h ff ' . . h I ') . '1 " . \\It OUt
~ e e ?r~ '·d~~ tt ')out pu~~ c.' , ~•7• ar words ('mysterious' to fathom':h cavJtg ould like ~ 0 be with them. Within and with-
pukzz.1e , n es f oppo~mons ~m con :rasts (noi~e 1 silen~e· thinks 'Per aps w
dar · I un: 1o t I ound; compantons I thmgs; v:hirls 1 · · ' out'. , often record a dist<lnce between himself
an d t he two dawns ). '1'11e stn'k'·mg u.<.e o f <ldjectives ('hatchet~f
. wattlng·J
banana leaves', 'acid ounds') charges the scene with nuanct> 5 •1 cbel
3
( M ahapatra
and the\ bcustoms
s poem
o
l\ the prayers
5
f his surroundings. There are t h e soun d s of
of priests, t h e funera l pyres, t he u~com -
. b d' . . ut a e
f or an art· of1refldecnon, ·ro~.> mg. 1tstenmg and wairin~. to
The 1 d'
n 1an te~p.e c s, ce of the past representing a possible reahty. or
\\OJl_l~ tnt 1e . oorwa)' IS aS) mbol both for unknowable. passi"e, plamtngl'acccpftanh.tch he is not p' art The listening and waiting are,
rradmonal l~dta and for the poet, passively waiting for the poem amenta tty.o w · · · d h. h ·
however, a result of consciousness, the rauonal_ mJn w tc_ ts
brought to htm by the da'\\'0 of the awakening world. 3\\'are of its individualization and differe~ce. ~he poems keep
Few poems affinn. Most question, endin\7 in uncenaimv or returning to the desire to overcome such alaet~auon th~o~gh ~as~
defeat. ~ey are lyrics of a troubled soul, ota weary, undefined . . . h h h ev:al w 1ll occur. Ltstenmg
stve anenuon m t e ope t at some ret1 'Th
unhappm:ss. The mons?Cn season, which provides symbols for A concludes •y ~u merely wait, listening, pinned to the stone ·
1

c
Ram of Rzu·s,_ts both a nme of grey skies, disasters and depressions
and. also a penod of renewal, binh, vegetation, aiter the dry stifling 1
Sentence' ends:
ln~aan su~mcr. But the rains bring no renewal to the poet. In 'A Behind
Ram of Rites' a ~onrrast is made between the ~urprising moments the locked door you're waiting for thing..,,
whe~ the sun. shm:s t~rough the clouds of the grey rain and the those reasons:
. h \' . 1 b . l ·eeds ol vour
.
velns
poet s lack of 11lummanon and renewal: somethmg t at tves m t 1e ntt e 1 • •
something that urges the relentless trees
Sometimes a rain comes to whisper of their years.
slowl~ across the sky, that turns .l . . . . . I t of chc prison ot
upon tt~ grey cloud, breaking away into light Wh 'e a sentence ts a tcm1 m pnson tt 1s ~1 so par . 'RtHns · ,,
I · · ·presston
before at reaches its objective. anguage which distances experience trom tts ex . · ,.
co · . b· •mor)' tnto poet f) ,
ntrasts realtty
· wtth the attempt w nngl past me.: h · seeks .tS ·JU::.t ~s
~t paradoxtcally as...erts that the whn encss c
Numbly I climb to the mountain-tops of ours un posst'ble as an art made from it.
where my own soul quivers on the edge of answer5. AR f · .mner wtt· h outer worl d ·' .an \'~1,, az·, z·11g the
tenc;· am o Rttes balances . . d transparent state~
Whi~.:h still, stale air sits on an angel•s wings? ton collapses in poems of descnpuon an . . 0 f ccting
What holds my rain so ies hard to overcome? ments. 'Song of the River' announces the fuuhty expd ,.
sono f 1· • · • stones an tn a
Ds 0 1vmg India as its 'words' are m ttS ~
The listemng, waiting. questioning solitude is a reflection of
 MOIU RN INDIAN p OF. l'R) IN tot£N1'Al.IS1'S 11 203
202
~~pEill·f and its •
dommance over extern.\\ reality. 'The M•)On
trance' ln\tcad of the dead symbol<> of tl F.Ncl,,
. d' l nc pa t 'A
grO\\ 1Icnt I\ 10m rmn , mt 'The rhyd f acrcd ts'cotnP I:uns:
cr lI c .
cum~.: and goc~·. In attempting to \,;reat" 3lmt dark Water nvtr rnn
~{of1'1eo}-io\\' can 1 stop t he. \'t. I \ea.d wt~
· h'm myself-
mcnt, the complex. fragm rncd,
I I 11 r
c.xciting~ P am poetry ofSonJ)
mncr spac f \~tt 1 1
1e
1.he st. rtlcd plcadtng quesuon tn my hands lying in my
\0 umcs t o t. tcrc arc rcwcr images· 5 11 co theea li
s~
have lm.t thcar mctaphonc value. The 115uc tymhols ass; rr lap . . .
. 1~. 1 .•~olarion wh~nht
"'hilc the gods go by tnumphant, 111 the sacked city at
1

before ct catcd
, a rich" u•rid • of fceli 111~.., and p0 SSJL)I
e ltiCS • ' IC
rnidnight?
asscruon. I '>'contrast, Stnkc Your ccrct I·. .an 11• one,Is0reduced f h to Basically thc~c ~re po.ems of the shapes of so.litude, the hfc
~~ \\•ithin the sc~f .'" 1ts vanety, recurrc~ces, obsessl<:~ns, anxieties,
mtetcsung pncms. I1a lI1c hcnnctil:ism of C/ ' t e rno
Ten. whtlc lo,1kin!; forward in its s1.tstaine<.f • nrgumem:n · 7'cn }
ose the Sky, es imagmtngs, dreams, speculanons, mcmoncs, betrava\s
to omc o f tlc
I I 1 IatcrIf poems; . it also shaiC.> ; l 1 ~ tvc method dbur~ts ot jl\umin~tiOn and. ~tta
(51 rI • • l'tty, and mo.mcnts of poetic crea- l

poems t lC gm t, c - a~.e• au on .md concern ; 1 1 ' ) an later

I • "n , t )(! carl· d
J

tion froOl its own mner r~allt~es. An e~p\anauon ~f what Mahapatr.l.

• into •t·lf
poetry. h• IcritH::izcs the caS)' fall l t ;c n.uurc
., -l Iouwbitt ano k f of the ;~ doing can be found 10 his essay The lnaudtble Resonance in1
1, 1 nrc chaa·actcri!ltic of mnny J>OClll ~ tn
ttons wIll · \v' .~ea
\ aumg: a firma· English Poetry in india' (The Li!erary CritC'rion, ~ 5, n~. I, 1980
) 'ou arc loul )'I u cd t,..,f 1>Cdrw0 )''Jur own Il.ltl{i.s tl~C
: pp.17-)6) where he says that the exper~ences at_vanous toone~ in the
ngamst t w t u oats ,, your ,vords. · writds ltfe have clothed the cssenttahty of h1s bcmg, whtch the
Don't let) l)trr tirnidity, your sw.picious response v.·riter exploits in symbols of his own making'. As a writer prOl.:eeds
tum) ou !nto awkward parrots, furtive crabs from bonk to book 'he begins to be drawn into an inner world of his
or uno wmdows, alway shut, rumps to tlle s'kv. own making-a world spaced by his own life. of secret allusions, of
desire and agony, of a constantly changing alignment bt!twcen
In tcad of such wruing: •
dream and reality·.
I or some time ) {JU mu t begin. ln the sdrne essay Mahapatra complains that there has been no
)t ou must
.a f cxhau : t all ),our mcmoncs · and sohwde
. change in his poetry, 'simply a renewed flight of birds'; instead he
lear ulC vammg w, tcr no'' wants to 'celebrate' his own 'Humanity' through 'feeling
thundca into the dat k P')ol and ~anguagc which pass on the mythic forces of life'. Rclation-
tht leaden mind ' ~IJJp rs an attempt to go beyond the repetition of sma11lyrics tr.eat-
' mg of tragments of experient:e, to go beyond the self, co wrne .a
hcakl the cmbl) o of p.tin gww long poem, a modern epic which will embody the myths of Ius
ns ccn fuwcrsr- • 11d w.t lk w:uer .m the:- nvc•
, a . cultur~, particularly the historY legends and mythology of the
tho " f . • '. art·~ ot Orissa where Mahapatr; lives, which ""·'s once pnn of the
1
.ts n (Iraw
. s
c unscrs '' m tum:!'! outt•r nm:
r.lW \ISIOI\, n fla h of lOilM.it)USill'SS
ancu~m empire of Kalinga. . .
watt·rsslnwmc•ci\'Crt"
n ,., me I.t t I1l' l.,one.
' . Alt~ough RC'httiomhips has many epic-like characten:;uc:;l
It ~~ uatuJal '11sinced tl" c ' f Mahap:nra 's poctr) i.. b:15Cd on
1c '':01 ld "l,dudong a raised or 'sublime' manner of speech, eXpressed
rough heightened dicti~n and long winding <entences, an intro-
unccnaim"
d
followt·d l 's r., oubt, gmh and brooding. that W'amng slwuld bt'
•l)t I rJ t rm1 · Tl 1csc .1rc more •mtercsung,
• omPleX uc~o.ry
. announcement of its theme ;n invocation of the m\lse, and
1 d1' 1dcd, like most epic:>, into tw~lve books, it is a mod~m l~ng
oem ) 17

P
Retreat· 111 ~ ., n ten c contltcts bd ween '' 1at ··rh~d
t 1e11 nn:wen d - · 1
~concerned
bo ,. d~.: 1 ~.ms my udden need for life' nnd 'the d~.: ert of dra
,
with the self's relationship to the kinds of h•stoncal
rnatenal which have in the past been the basis and culture of the
bolotv oflofeuust'
11 .. an h . fTnne, .onnnonalil}' de ire. pa.sion, th< 0 r n••" ~o{tc, rather than, like the epic a narrative of a great legendary event
ohe •olu 'Tt e ••.r of de•th and ageing arc among ohe them<'
etaII ll me lhere ' a rene\\ ed ensc of en erg and dr ire, c pth
nano na1htstory. The epic ' traditionatly is obJecuve
· · ·tn the ensc
~amst t c n,,w... nc: o f umc, and n hcightene-ld sen e oft~
 205
INDIAN Po~:;,.R) I LJS1'S II
1 4 1001 R
e~'~r"
. f . t~cl rEJt 1to& Mahapatra worric about the problem the
th t the ruo;t rs at a d1 t.m ~c rom hr materi.11 .._ rs ~ th clf.ihc more td he seeks: 'This c;\eep is a ong I that IS
· f If · ' un1ltie th (rofil tcs the wor •
P em." luch r a fom1 o ~e exprc ron: In Relatro l 1\~ t
he crca .1des continually . . . .
tin uons col1.1p e a tbc narrati' e is the poet' attem;t 'Jlfl su~h d ttl~ fro!U all s • • \ 1f. it is separate from the obJect by ns ISO-
matenals of an epic culrure through a dream-like pil t~ rcgatnt}-t he roble1n ts 111 t. 'e sdee51•'res hungers and guilts, its making of
•aim 1 to u:Iic'e the elf of its guilt nf alienation, l)f its Pe~~age:J'h '. ud so,.lt\~1.lc ' .ttS 0 ... 001ent
f 11e p ' of breaking · through t h e wal\ to
ranee from the other by recreating the other .md co f &ofdu. IJ c,on s·cction
a ,~'..'r-
"ht ts ad 1• e self w an org.tsmlc ·
re \ auons
· htp: ·so
. d l t . . n ronttn ng·
st' . of gotng c l · b ~yon t
1
1 the gleaming skm o t c t rec k'mg-
' · f h h
"nhtn the mrn . t IS a poem 01 cn~r s, a psychic relivi f gIt
0 fuston, . d00r t Houg 1 . d· · h'
imaoined ongm . It is also work de ccnded from thneg One's u~'h thiS .' ou(Tht and expenence 1S not m one t mg
graph t-
teal, l:On f.e-slOn~
. 11.on.g poem o f t l1c ~omantics, throu autob
h o. thrO ? The rnearung sal b0 r satisfaction. The many symbols on the
Joms · . ·111 le re m . · d Th
, mbohst , "1th the1r msJstence on pocnc puritv so th ghthe lf not 10 a " ~ f hat 15 · dcs1red and not expenence . e
. . • ·' ·llter~ 1tse •1e arc ·tmttatt · ons . o w~ h human condition ·ts the parttclpauon · · ·
are few lmkrng narran' e connecttons. Images are given
. . d h h . musr~
. t~P d . c1ndmg o 1 t e · d \ · h
orgamzauon, relate to eac Ot er spatially rather as recurnn !·mate un e t S . he world once agam rna e sexua as m t e
uo l"ty of cre.mon, t
motifs than bv torv. g ill the wta 1 H. d belief:
Rel«tionship begins with a poet atten1pting to undt•rstand th \dcst Aryan '" u .
o . . . , he real body: ragmg pach>:derm
myth , rituals, legend'> and hi.,tory which are his past from which I1~JS ts t . testicles, red and wtld,
he t alienated. The \'ision comes as 'dreams' found in the carYing With th: crazyd of the blackest Siva night;
of the Konarak temple. RecaJling ancient history but baffled by it the lustmg go
('time has no mouth'), aware that 'my existence lies in the stones',
the poet wants to find the 'mouth' of the earth (probably an allusior. .F.. ·I touch vour secret order
·or no'\\ '
to Krishna creating the world), he wants to feed on 'the stones' hkt embarrassed yorzi; fd
a chtld on its mother. Memories come and vanish, and their origins l . the sulking )'ears o reams,
befnre me Je l
are questioned. Are thev 'just voices I of another world, I pretend· t I1e stn
·cken purposes .of the muse es,
ing from the throat'? • the violent splashes o~ sunsets
\X'hile it is possible to imagine a narrative for Relationship. the in the fibres of the bemg. . . . d1 _
· · 1cval un\t\ .m 1 '1P
poem is not constructed on such linear lines and resi::,O> translation By Section Nrne · t he mom ent .0 f orgasmtc, ' d pnn'the' hope· r1l soot11-
. d d
There is, however, a detectable process which moves from listening pmc~s ha!! passe an now 15 Tlrefcrre1. tof as . ·
tl~e spiritu.1l p1lgnn1Jge
to the. words of the shi,•alinga, looking through the window ~f f
.mg m}•sel f' . But what was 1·t~• 1C rca tl)' o • t. 'the burntng
, 0 the present o
· sun ·
"
consciousness on buried Mother India the awareness that one 15 . .
1s questtoned a~ the poet returns t f l . . ted j rom the pel>P 1c
situated in the flux of time while atte~pting to understand time and newspapers Wh .lL em · t he pas·the etaten.l 1
h' ·F·~'r 0 1nw gut.1t,
past, the dialogue with the Father, and the continuing theme.of uound him, now 'We are dchvere · ff ·.
db Yt l1 • mvt · tht.·'"''lile forcl'
CJ
• ~
.1nd
·
l h1d you farewell'. The poem ends ~y a tm~ ~ . s rl·rn·e~ented by
10
solitude, to an awarP-ness that such alienation and irs rc.,ulung
depression can be overcome and new sources of energy tapped.b} .
the: harmomous energtes o contmtun~ \; ..•
. f · , ·reauon ·'-•our rdann· •t:> my
· · · ·
a parttc1pauon m the past: '1 know I can never come a 1ve d 1· 1 1f I lhe templl' dancers, the 'dark daughters · 1n )
refuse to consecrate at the altar of my origins'. Section Four.cn/ elusive hinh'. . swork rc\<.:. , . , 1led b,•• hisItitle~.
. .
~ith the poet feeling that 'now' is the time to satisfy his ~. d~/ 011
Mahapatr.a's poetry fonns a conunu.ou . bl'1 1ed Re!taions 11p. n
10 a prayer-poem which reflects 'the earth's lost .lmphtu. d
~her writing The False Sttn·t and havmg esta. ~\~ l)ctns ·' 'Gt anJ-
S. ecuon
· F"·1ve begms · with a vision of the mvths of Inwa 15 appropriate that Life Sigm . . hou~~.-\ follo~~ · • u,~c ~ud1 more ,tcc~s­
5
1
1· nt:une
co ·· d
m th
c temple ' stones, but questions whether . ·1t ·IS possi 1 tO h.ttn g ·ue lathcr' and 'The Loct Children ot Am('ra:.l '1
, . . 0 ther pl)Ctli:O.
-'Mornmg
51·b ~
1
~enewal ('blood throbs') in 'the pallor of dreams'. Yet some\~~~s 1
It:, fo~.:ust.·d beyond the self on othc.:r ~'
IS there, which speaks through the 'wall' that enclo:-.es such rca
 207
1' II
206 MODI R:"J INl>I.AN POE1'~)
IN liNe £-lfl(tfolf.i\LI \l 0 f at)near;mce .md spirirua\ reality. Whi\e
tgn ' 'AM\ n oon l);n fable'. 'Again, On~.· D.w \\ alk' lts11 •' ~ ot· t I1c ~:>.·llr <l . " 'olourcd
r aml ::.\ 1aped h"tS ·mwardness,
Ri' er·-'u r. mor c dctaiJ, from the e tenul \\'orfd' and tng bv thr llllslon I1 1n:~.v ,,,... c ~.: b.
tht 1 h to op )' ' ' i . he desire to find some untty, some cmg
dil"{'c:th .1ddr e ed to the reader. Hut the poem:-; in Lifi~ ~ ~eern Ill r (.JI;an P ;,, is reflecdt~~ m t round him, it would be too facile to see
•1sk the .tmc que uon~ .1bout realitv and den•lop in th~g~~ 0sth
11 and~,-crUI ith the ua 100 n :t 1 ·onccrn c1r even the philosophical
rJcc" · g or ccntr.t L ' •W'\1 p f
b' a d1ak\..-ri of que t1011s "h1ch generate c.ttegoric-. fror11 the "'a\ atP the mca? 111 The quoted lines arc from 1 a o~m o
kmd oi tc:elmg · and probl m as -·'me e.1r1·1cr \O]umc~;:' 'the e S.l!ne thJt as rk of hts p0 etm· n ,. in which he contrast the am mal,
J't'achc our ar i.. 1m1 our O\\ n': 'lt i the ~ilence whid1 ong dut -..mC\'o 0 1 I , An~\\ c:r. ' f f .,.
,,.... e be the ' ) f l : a'\t with his present sense o uu aty as
worJd j, not our '; ' .. o "e drag the meaning from what a}s ~t 1\liO I excitrtncnt o_ hHS p u.st face death. The poetry speaks of
') et ho\\ real i it?'·' r is it onJy desire, hoping to rc unw ~;se ee' t u:a
bt :agt'' an
d k~~ ow~ e 01 ·
\ t~ feel ali,·e. the need to nnpregnatc t e w o
h · rld
. ht..
Itg Inner • the ne~o:l . d· .
o~ed ' fi , love tt, we 1t.
1\lth ugh thcae are di..tin L p riods of hi.s poetry and differen es . h(tgOI IC,lncc •
\\It • • h -k\'
m mannrr. bhapatra')o '' ork ha no dea.r demar('ation~ of rom 1 , 0111 ts tot e s . .
No rnan P . re of the desire to \ave
mg opinions .. nc" kmd of matcri.1l or radical Jep.l.rture in 0~ ~ ' lhout betng awa r k
nization. Th(' poem' appear a continuou~ relation of aspect., of cla "I . h llv where the earth-sna e tes.

.1 olauon. Jonelme,~. 1;olirude and alienation of the self from e~tem~

Ill hts e. ' . , H . h. msetf like 'The Lost Children of
h 'ltfe swns . e lS 1
reahur.-. in a world wit hom apparem purpose. This i!> the t':\iqentUI These are t e . tt
dil mma of mo t modt-m litt"ralUre. \\'hile Mahapatra's ,, 0 rfd 15 Amcri•a':
ftlled "'ith per onal pain. guilt. remorse. hunger, dc~ire and herclon el.l"rtth)a·v does not reverb~rate any more
moment of renewal, hi em·ironment i filled with ~\·mbols of w lCO ll!i l ,
belief b' the L rdmar; Ji,·es: of the people of Cuttack. lhe temples, with the puhhe of thfe dhru~e on a ~acred Puri shore-
the Hindu festi' al , the ancient mon!Jmcnc. The poems are' aried or" tth the c ant o t e u
attempt~ to bridge an epistemological, phenomenological gap-to
··· d l· b"llows upward
kno", be pan of. en lo e. e.xperience-with the world and tht as the burden of ununderstoo t ltng~ I
other. "hether it be a "oman. temple tone~, a Hindu priest. Thr like smoke. h
skie • the "md, time and wa\'e are S\'mbols of the world of '"han e . db 'd of Mahapatra's poetry, t e
and flux which rai e que tion of th~ nature and purpo e of life as There is much that c~~l . e ~at . I.e habitual romantic !iad-
repre ented b) the un hanging, fixed, rooted {stones, trees. the t.ay he plays on and reVl\'tfte" chchcs, th. ' · · idle ai'C
. . o wntc poetrv m nut o
past ; but th e questions can nc\ er be ansv.·cred b' t.he m1nd, 1ts ne the significan(e o f b cgmnmg t • b l . ' J•:vork ahno~t as
andtheobses~1on . were:- ate an .amp f""'<I\'C
c:
Ol \ Ot '
' h·•t cr·,ation of
perception and emouons. Thus nothing can ati.,fyJionging , pro- h ' \\' l \' t .. ... •
'1de the ans\\ er to bemg human. Guilt i bict 'farewell' at the end of a dehance against olitude an d deat h· t \: - ' ·nvful
1
world
poems become ood-\ike--thc creation o1 J. mcan 0 :1'
Rel:monsJnp. but the final word of the poem refer to the poet as a ::! d 1. 1 t be 'unt1er!'hJOt .
pirit.le oul of memor\''. . rom refle~.:tinns una worl w 11c 1 canno I f •tr'V which
' d - · t :t bo~. ,. o pPl: . ,
In Llfe S1gns tht>re i a continuing air of sadness. defeat, spsnt· "1ahap:nra has .mempte to co~stru~.:. · · J the prt'b\em
les ne and con ciou ness of death ('the sleeples~ line I walk on \us the kind of relationship with h1~ ~nvlromnent j' '~ ·tones' th.lt is
1
lead no\\ here': 'defeated as I am by m}' own tactics'): of finding ignificanc~ in 'this time ot d.ukJ:c~ anf \\~ sll.tcc SteH~ns'
0
\Urular to the major poets of our age. One thm ' •I11.'' h bv e.xplaitl·
If I had that giiJ "'ith the tender touch des re to create a 'supreme poetry •! a n1eupoem"
. r
I ' 1tic"S will' rep1.lCC
be-stde me no",'\\ ould It ha' e merely prepared my self ~.._,how belief grows from perception of loca rc.lld ~ 1 i 1•ht e~ en be
for a'\\ orld of illu ion without my poems. d V.1 th an ep1stemo
utUe{ · logy. H'IS ·tmagt· nati'
• . ed wor . d ono as memo-
. th iJh.a·
I t "'ould be em to focus on'\\ orld of 1llusion• and claam at een nbed as post-Samuel Becken-the nun~ gnn ·... \ fonvriting.
p~ua makes a d1 uncuon familiar to Hindu metaphv ics bel"
11 d .
CS1res and h ungers pre ent t h emsel -;;·es as maten..
 MUfH .,_

~ ,.Wf.L.Vl'

tJile
~Jo\N• sHARAT CHANDRA, KUMAR, NAZARETH,

t&TII

MillY Jndoan P?"ts now _live,_ or have live<! for long peri.ods,
abroad, mainly an the Unatcd States, and a number hold unaver-
11'/ paou teaching [• nglish literature or creative writing in English
~ ,_/1. K. Ramanujan is l'rofessor of Dravidian Linguis-
011
tte~tShiv KumrfWas amiNfccna Alexander is a university English
IIIChcr· Aaha ShahiJ Ali and G. S. Sharat Chandra teach courses in
poccry wnung. While Dariu> Cooper appears to be starting his
tcKh&n& carl!er an Amenca, H.O. Nazareth lives in London and
makes fitms. B. R:1jan, one of the first modern Indian poets, was
before has retirement a Professor of English in Canada. Vikram
Sttb was until rcl!ently an editor with Stanford University Press.
1M bttrature of exile is not peculiar to modern India; former
eolonaa and new n"tions with their limited home literary market
for proft saonal writers have tended to have expatriate writerS.
Usually tXpatriatc writt'rs are no-.eli ts; this i~ partly because the
market for poetry 1 small even m metropolitan centres and there are
fewer opportunmes for a career as a profe ional poet. Another
:"""poets tl •t home 15 the need to be close to the culture of
ear own prakinp_ oke. Indian poets, however, are an excep-
bon, no doubt the greater opportuniucs (especially at unaversi-
~ outside India ha e ~ontnbuted to their e ile.
t.r•ro•t• po<t do not ... rite from the po ition of. d• -
......._ \ commumt , uch as the e oled block or West lndi..,
ut thear nung refle\;l the perspecuve of omcone
two ultu~ The m~ look ba k on India 'Wlth no tal-
C;.....-~•II :ekb..tin& thetr hbcranon or asscrun& th<~r
... ..!i:" but th also look pncall and wey ly on their
_______________________.j~=~- ~~~-~:""~::u:m:ders:-_'· a
th feclma of somdhang bavm&
 2JQ MODERN INDIAN p 2\1
0ETlll~t
been lost in the process of growth. The abilit
modate and absorb other cultures without 1~ ~0 to)~,
_,,s.a . identical twins .
-necung l <'n thctr bodtes
ness of being lndi.an marks the expatriate poe:~~g the~ "....th rno es d'
._,, "d1ferent-coloured tapers
A. K. RamanuJan makes use of his South 1 d' ._,tth I
background in complex ways, seeing in the t" nh •an ' ll thern apart.
tOte h t'r'• ~comment could as castly be seen as
Indian family life both the security of closeness ag ~~~
which he is now thankfully liberated. We can ig: ~-­
assume that the interest ofRamanujan's poetry co:~e Clltiq ...
wit is unstab '
lc· t c s.t ' . ,; l
, emotional non invo vemcnt as on t e
§uch ng on the speak.er ~ , realitv which is depicted m contrast
foeust f he conunumg •
h

ariness o t. . Madurai ofthe poets.

~c ~~mories of ~uth Indian life, that his poetry issl:~...,_ dreth romanttctzcd R' , ... a more witt)', complex, dtstanced
mabahty or unwtllangness to embrace some larger ass br. to e . • A tver "' , ·h·
Tht attitude tn · foun d .LO 'Epitaph on a Street Dog •
wtt tts
h
Indian ideal or tradition, or is limited by a failure t:lttonof.. version of the sattre sordid reality: 'She spawned tn a urry ~
fuller or a more comprehensive vision of Indian SOci expre.. stmtlar tnsistencc on alc.l, blind, and growing .old a~ her .Paps.
demands on literature belong more to the world of poli:· Sucta score of pu~s, I all b. f 1 deflation of romantiC lnd'a,, thts um~
me?ts ~nd rhet~ric than to actual experience, the realiti~': Agatn there tS pur~ose .uhe low melon moons' and Peacocks
whach lsterature as usually concerned. The truth of literature u h references to t .
1111 throh hgcontrast to the rcahtv: •
its awareness of such falsities and in its refusal to proclaim •plr w tC • four pairs of breasts,
traditions where there are in fact discontinuities orcomplexnaa. But She had Ill a rohw 1 k. i a.nd wi\\cd their fill
Ramanujan's 'A River' is about truth. the reality of the nwr . d out s p uc Cl •
where b' m m d She was full of fhcs .
and kinds of relations between the present and the past. In Mad1111 'II lhs had eyes, an •
u mou . . f, A River' as Llforgucan,
the poets of the past sang of the city, its temples, and oftbermraa Although 1 have describe~ the arony o Ramanujan is widely read
full. While 'every summer' the river 'dries to a trickle' the 'pam thtre is no need tO eek spectfic_ snurce;~d modem Indian poetry lO
sang on]y of the floods'. When there are floods, they :min &a n lndtan, western and western-~ uW fusion of v:wed roots in
destructive, causing deaths and damaging propeny; but praaat- fndtan languages. This unpre tda c ttitudcs it expresse . The
day Tamil poets still echo the old poets and ignore reality. No• 1lamanujan's poetry is true o~ th~ ~ R • 'Sma\hown. South
writes 'of the pregnant woman I drowned, with perhaps twansa apparently dcrisi-..e view of lndta m, . ~:~e'contrastcd to ·~ove
her'. Ramanujan's poem is in part an answer to su~h pOCIIC lndta' and 'Epitaph on. a S~rcet Dog .•mg f shared famtly rdauon-
myth-making. 'The river has water enough I to be poeuc I ~~ Poem for a Wife l'' wtth tts mcmonc o
only once ~>:ear:. While the poem shows a realistic d~bunkinc: 1h1ps and a common heritage:
the romannaz.ataon of traditional Tamil culture, the aronyofchaa Really what keeps us apart
~ndusion distances the speaker and shows alienation rather at the end nf years ·tS uns11 ared
1D\f0lvement. This is the kind of irony found in Jules Laf~~ childhood... .
or the early T. S. Eliot, in which the poet's self as defend "1 Or we should do as wd\-mealllng
~ IDaes~etiz.ing of possible emotional response into a non-com hmdus dtd,
taittal, Witty disdain:
betroth us before birth,
It carries away forestalling separate h~)foscupes
iD the fint half-hour and mothers' first pertods,
dtree Yillaae houses and wed us in the ora\ cradle
&'*'Pie ol COWl and carry marriage back into
._.. Gopi and Brinda the nlmelessness of childhoods.
...... PftiDaot woman
 213

ZIZ NODI!RN INDIAN PO£ f woman (perhaps his wife)

Ta"•• ec:tionate gesturh ?m aand the dead w oman 'brea
Thi as onco of coveraJ of Rilltlanujan 's I'Oems
of mamagr and should not be reg.trded as sim;l
b
OUt the
.If che fi~h for ~' f .-,and'. The association of
closeness of Hindu family reJations. The deta1Js .:1thin •,ned indtf~crenc~ s~rou ght to mind by the dead
a shared heritage are a bit absurd: the
lrdifferent . , h h \f-caten sand W .lCl1 carne
universe '· . s 'the
~.~~~._an an '5 ·uLtfe t e a
Only two weeks ago, in Chicago, jepOernbite'. '' fl . South lnd ian childhood. They
ou and brother James staned of her lls tfle snakes o 11S . cia ted with family. They are
one of our old drag-out fights 'reca . but are asso . . \ for
__..,terrified htm , His mother use!. them .m .ntuabs . d
about where the bathroom was ttJ.flll'l terrible aunt · 'But 1 scream' . Ao; ht~ stster rat .,
in the backyard. 1i-t .ornef her pays money. F haunts him unttl he actually
. L:.l. bas ~~ .nes snakes. ear
The conclu aon of the poem builds up to humorous~ ..- be arnagt k
lief IIIli' d kills a sna e:
... Probablv _,.oaan
only the Eg_ypcians had it right: No"' n this sausage rope,
their kings had sisters for queens frogS can hop up?ll ob the look in his eyes,
to continue the in~ests flies in the sun WI m
lk through the woods.
ot childhood into marriage. and 1,an wa . . ff d bevond memories, events
'The 'namelts ness of childhoods' refers to a time before thr ~ ~Lcrpoems there IS httle o ere ·m· a.;.e a complex of fee-
MIDOU1 Th m presents an 1 t:t ' d
lopmmt of personal identity and e~; while it does symbolize atllbt aaddescnptlOn. c poe d vents v. hich are not elaborate • or
of umtv WJthout the smfe that anse from separate wills, It c. iap.cfistiUed memones an . e begins in the present 'no:"' odf
hardly be considered an answer to the problems of marriage. It •
rathtT used here tongue-in-cheek as an unrealizable ideal. Wilhia
the poem there is enough family conflict mentioned ("one of Yfllll
=and ted upon. But as It . t with rural Indaa an
bookstacks whtch l~~;:;~~n from the fears of the
'-ilJ life, the poem c~lebrates a . n now feels safe.
oJd drag-out fights,, '\ OU wagered heirlooms') to show mat I Mtt.. •...J-m' from wh&ch Ramanu)a .
r--r 5"" l'b
. . 'f he were he
d from blS memones, I
common famil) pa t does not prevent disagreements. He IS not really. t crate . f . libraries. The past keeps
IUmanutan' concern 1s with memorv and the way it atab- ..W not be recallmg snakes l1l oret~n , h . an observer of a
lishes or falsifies relationships m a changing world. The poemsoi
disdam towards India could be matched by poems wbacb offera
less attractJ\e portrait of Chicago, where RamanuJan liva 1811
-an
ilutllliac- In 'Still Another for Mot
as
er d e IS n Although he
LoDclon between an aged man an worn a h.em.
DDt bow exactly what took place between t .
teaches. Ramanujan is neither a nostalgic traditionalist oor • something opened
aciYoate of modernization and westernization. He is a proclucc mthe put and I heard something shut
of both and his poems reflect a personality conscious of change. 11 the future, quietly,
ellJOYIDI ats VItality, freedom and contradictions, but also aware like the heavy door
of memones which fonn his inner self, memories of an U!'coo~ of my mother's black-pillared, ~ineteenth-century
cioas •namdessness", which an still alive, at the foundauons lileat bouse, given on her marnage day
die lclf. 10 my lather, for a dowry· h
1M memona are seldom as pleasant as the shared ~asia ........ h and woman. e
'• ~ of the confliCt between t e. man is rojccted on
fa.ily Nluioas 111 •Love Poem for a Wife a•. In ·a~ &he ~.... Jlllhaically hoping he will forgtve h~ fheavy door'
r ••,.. recall a half-aakcd woman dead on a bach~ -~ ,_and perhaps on his own future. e
••., aot cxplallaed, there is a symbolic:
 2\S

MODeRN INDI \N POE

TR'a 1 ~ ··~tl.£ I d not the ain1 of poetry, which should
of the 'black-pillared' '-.ilent house' cnntrib . Er-.c;ltsll v j\1\C fl'.Sl1 l ,\n
. fd Utes to th
~ theloSepos \J.
a Wl1 r • be a pcro,onal wmld, it may be a sou;~.\
.
matTJage a as I1unmg m o cadi)' pri,·ate qua ,., . e en't of
c.mon that th1s too will be his fate. rrc s, Wath the liTlp"' (IIC \\orld 11 ma)' b~· V ~;:mbodicd in poetry. We need eMugh of
The 101( nnanl:e of memor-v to Ramanu 1·an ~ ~hltr\-cr a ,...orld "htch I ' ·~ . ·-to explore it as bc-.t we c~n
, 'A C . .h . . I out cxpencn~c
~JIIJ
.. me part~''
but
\:Omes Up • 1L
Jh ~
a onven.anon wat A.K. Ramanuian' (TJ. ln '\&."".c . . and ec;pecial\v the inner world of
Revz~'. vol. 3. no.. . l,]anuarv-June
b . .
1981, pp. 5-l3) 'JehHrnnttuihts
• w ere th
v·• 50 .
of\. U\C of pnv.tte • .
e~pencnce. • . . wtt
. . sand discontinultlCS · \1 t h c past,
a\ s t hat hJS wnung o tam It 'nou rishrnent• f h. e flOet ,.,e anll t he conunultle
ctnoncs f 1anv of Ramanutan . ' 5 poems. Th cy.are
culture: 'rhose are the root . That is what bind!! U!> b:~~o ~s ln.i~
.•
'11 be ~l'en ,,~ th~ basiS o ~~ n'd m·•ke mor:ll choices \ike Ezcktel's
can · U ·tua 1ze a . ld ·
notaueo'pt' to mte e~.. have Daruwalla's sense of a violent wor Ill
hood and all the early year .• urduld "

AKR: Beuuse. ''Ott cannot enureh· lJ, c in the pao,t• neith"r urt' "·otk. nord~ tl~) d to tragic failure, nor arl! they Maha-
v..Utch fulfilment.'~ oomd.e . s on the relatiomhip between the
'" can you en 1,
IJ,.e 10 the
11 pre ent, he.:-a use \\ e arc
. not like that · We are bothtlrt th v!.tca\ me ttanon · · \f Tl
t h mgs. 1e pa t nen·r pa' . .Jcs. E 1thrr
• • the individual pa' 1or h'•stonrst pltra:s tner.lpI,, . 1the world outside the percetvmg se . 1CY are
past or cuIturn.I pa~t.lt.IS tt zt J u;, . 1t 1~ what ni,·e~:
::. us th~c r'1chne ~o[ _ creatl\e 1111pu\sc aflL h' \ h'fts while the self and others change. ln
v. hat •vou c all , n-the nchne~~ ol under~ tanding • AnJ t'l1e nc · bnesuif .. of a pa~t w IC 1 s l - . ' f h ') a
n,crnoncs . , .. \thou h a product of ht-. past ( my at e: '
expresston. \'\1e ~nng tha~ to w~:ne;er is present and ~om~ of tb ·Self·Portr:ut he IS, a h g. fixed essential being, rooted man
undcrstandmg m1ght be s•mply 1r0n1C, that ior;, or;o much ofitunno suangeno himself. As t ere IS fooh.'dl ' ods' ~o there is no pure
be trul) supphed, or related to the pre~ent . · • lessness o c n 10 ' • . \
unchangmg name f l h · e The core of the essenua
Rj You mean the points of departure?
alstenua~ product. o pe~~~l~ ~~~~h-is is modified by changed
AKR : Yes, .the disconnection is as much an undersrandmt; ofthe pm as
makmg the connection. And people li\ ing in chc pre~ent haH to scr self rem;uns as andt~n~r. s the essential self develops. evolves,
ctrcumstances an ectston · . ds a [uture which
changes; it grows fr~m seeds m t~c past to:~r The vision is in
both, because to assert contmuitv, \\here there is none' where y,
cannot sec any. is to be a revi\·alist.
v;hile unknowable ts already bcmg form .bl' \ d . I> Lal's
· , 1 R · n poem pu tS 1c tn •
An expatriate, he lives 'in two different worlds-the one 'Cupc Ott>m , an car Y. ama~u)a
within, the one without'. But with modern mobility olde~ Modem 1ndian Poetry m Erzglzsh:
notio~s of exile have taken on a new significance. Ramanu1an IS
P\uck the moment,
not d1fferem from other Indians living abroad:
saiJ Epicurus.
Creati\11) comes out of sustained attemion to one's own expcnence, outs
own locality, one's own landscape, you know. And the cin.:um tantc~ v:htch But when we pluck,
one can understand and feel and cxpcrien.:e deeply v.•ithuut any ~ .. hrmcl docs the fruit forget
v.·ithom learnmg th1s, that and the other. the lree's inverted image
mopin~ in the root,
He distinguishes 'one's own experience' from ~df-consciO~\,
anJ the slnw certainty
willed cosmopolitanism or pan-lndianism or an unaware provtn· of the earth-shouldering volcano
cialism: 1 w.titing in the green hereafter?
1 d' d 'd by 11 JU$ the l1v·" \>oJ y ot cnttctsm h' l I p •round
1not mean by regtonaln.m, provincialism, nor d• I m~·an .ofrh~ ·· · w tc 1 us grown u ·· . . R.tmanu-
·l .
dcvouon to a panicular region. What I was saying was the par11culant) k 0~ Jan\ po h J' · pha•m 1ng ctt 1er ·'
. 1· lv ha,e to fl etry as been slightly mislca tng tn em • · ·1
expenence. Even w hen you are cosmopolttan, you u umatc ' rtvlv~list carch for root~, some os!)ification of the p.lst, or .n.
somethmg qu1te deeply 10 to r po$lttng a tC>ntrasting modern existcntiali-;toutsider. f4:n organic
The particularity of per onallife treated in depth, the attcn( 0 ;~
lior\d • • • u nts t" do er w
1n process, chang111 g, growmg, but conun l ·'
• • · ·c·
e>:pencncc , ts s1gm 1cant. Bcmg
· represencauve · o r contclllP
 2\7

216 MODI UN INillt\N 1101 ,,

I H \ It>;

the 't'illlll \11 Ram. nuj.m's P•) try. 'I ooki 1w f,, 1 t ~l,-
• I I I · · · I · ~
\\ mg s 10\\ 10\\ t lC llllll)Cl'IH p I\ SH.':.ll t;l Ill, a < ou
f 111 {I
becomes auu J I I' I ext o d 'ld ~
t c ua It\. r.xun .n, .ucnr s .u 1d hvi)O . Ill h
n '.
To\\ sh~ looks fut th~ .. ,, ing ·
in lltlt''i wnh fihl'lll suburbs
and till'' to hl· umo'"cnt
about it
m11 l nh on the ctotdl of a tree
th. t I ,nkcd a~ il it ''maid hut st
Ull0('f ('\''I\
• Je:tf
m to ·' bH od ,,f Ull let fig .
Thr ~:xunluv "no; tlh~r (' ,,II till' time. :md w.1o; fl·lt, bu 1 ih aa 11
tgnifi" :ttl\.l', tJtdd nnt ltav'-· been krll)Wil. Thl' puem, hL'Wt:\C u
ntlt ju~t n ps' rlwlogi~·.ll in ight into l'\'O h•inA sl'Xu.tlit\'; ll is \;k
'l .c.'' c Sonh tu .1 \\1 i fl.' 1' ·' st.Hl'mcn 1 aht n1 t t h~.· de:- in·, and itH\)m1:
ab'ltudit , of\\ .mting the \lllsL"IfuHlS~ious feeling 0l '' holcnrs
of unrdll'tting bcmg, ol unthinking df-idcntitic<; tlpposfdh
rt)Uilll H1 ~haJJ hood.
m 11l '":tl\: Rdlccttom on a Gre.ll }louse' mihht be rc:~d
'' mbvhl of the mmd in whi~.:h all nc\\ cxpcz i~.:·nct: anclmf mn
uon bcl:omcs part of tlw past and is hanged. JU t a the pa~t
changed, lH cxpc1 icnC(' of tlw mod~rn world:
onH:t11nc~ I thmk that nothing
that C\'~.:r comes IntO thi hou t'
goes out. 1 hingo; com(' in t?VCI) da}'
to losl th<>m ch ~.., .um1ng other thin 0s
lost lon~ a~c., . mung
other things lost long .1go;

And Jl~o. ntwthing th;u gol'" out

\\ ill~.;l'lllle bad , pruu.·s.,t•d :\lld uflen
with lung bills . ltJl hed,
lake the hooped bales of cotton
hipped oft to IIWJsible Manchcstcrs
and brought ba k milled • nd r{ ldcd.
.. ,, '"
...... I . . . d ~,huon
tile tousc. rcprt· t•ntatl\'C of the lndtan Hm u u.. d ,1t
ac~.:ommodation }6 disparate m th , id~.:as, philo.,oplucs, go
21
219

•••L' . ue ~ignificancc of tl.1c water bugs as 'prophets', or poets, is

'J1teobl~q the original vcrs1on (Poetry, Ch1cago, 98, july 196J
,~ar
•• t! 10 f whil·h the f'trst l'me • •t> • away, put away this dream''
. ut
p 128) r~'Teu:-d. (Nnu~d by G. N. Dcvi, 'The Two Faces of Alicna-
h~hr'fhefl ~ c,:J"trv of A. K. R.tm:lnujan and R. Panh~sarathy' Mas-
t: 1l-. "
••
uo?·th . University o f Leeus, J 'j
Eng lano, 1979, pp. 23 & 101.) Put
'

tt r •~ dest~.
cams and deep)' l searc l1 (d rown) one ,s own small spot of
awa\ r . ld
~in' in a ch:mgmg ~'·or . .
rt 'The Strider ·, weJghtle!-tslyyosc~ on d9• legs, m•ght also be an
of Ramanujan's style, l1ght, ttght, distanced, but enclosed in
anagen "'orld so that the poem '\eems self-contained, without wider
uo~
resonances . h .
of the kmd mo.st poets, ope to .csta~hsh through allu-
gon. reference or symbolism. In The Stnders the only explicit
broadening of a:-.sociation to m.lkc correspondences with the image
'prophets' (since 'dream' has b~cn deleted in the final version).
15
Although in free verse, shaped v1sually to suggest the water bug
ptrchmg. 'The Striders' is a wonderfull}: concentrated poem held
t dher by ound patterns (search, certatn, perch; stemmed, them;
l m .m mt an lh Ill\ th Iogie~
... ba ble, bugs: eyed, dry, eye, sky), lightly rhymed ~ne endings (of
~ mt-ht and th ~urre.al ~teen v.ords eleven in rhyme positon ha,·e 's' sounds: bugs, legs,
roun iubl m min·~ \\ttghtle s. skin. stream, prophets, sits) and the positioning of
king v. ord (for, on, of, into) at the beginning of lines to form a
rhetori al structure.
Eath of Ramanujan's poems ha its unique shape. There i the
ormal organiz.. ation of 'Small-scale Reflections on a Great House'
ncrete result_ ('a liner of 0. n~ ~ ... se\en pan , each of the thirteen lines consisting of four three-
r rt m from the aru ·etie-s '\\-hi ~ follo~ ed b} a c;ingle line. There are the eigbt-~ne un-
us 0• Lo\ e Poem for a \\7 ife 2' each of which bas a short siXth line
Tht m-eg-~lar ricln-hand margi~ of 'Still Life' \'isuall} seems l~ke the
~ttn sandu ach in the poem. In uch poems each u ord as used
:riu '• preci ely, economically; spacing and line bre4k are
t, to produce a self-<ont.ained anifice in contra t to ~e
-...._.,..,"" stream of rime and memories of the past ~ htch are thet ..
The poem Itself becomes the ubilit}·, the fued pom~ an
the self~ its anxieties, odter persons, Indi:a or the P'5
1

e G S. harat Chandra~ like RamanuJm. h.as memones of

ess of South Indian familv hfe, a sauric perspt'CO'c on
lnd1.1 a::td a sense of being uprooted an his ncvt country'
~ Sutcs, his poetn. sho~"S the stlf as msecure, c.x«pt
~I Being at ho,;.e neither in India norm theN~
 22t
220 MUUI KN INDIAN J"Of:T
R~ llf . . . masked by religion ('Death of the
1
\l orld. he often fanrast7cs a tlurd nation where h ..... social U1)U~lCC~ontraSts between Indian government
The mul.trltlC'i of thune bet\\Cen Ranunuj:~lbt•~ ~6 \'asion Cler~), tual condition of the country ('Letters
{ hanJr;~ m•ght be c pl.uncd b, both being South 1 •nd ~ ~ I ents and t e ac. l greed of Brahmin priests ('At the
'\\ dl c ubll,hed t anultt:' f1om M' sore, and b\' b hhdtans "-' ~ther'), the cymca rstitions connected wtth idols and
grated to nH: nca But harat Chand, a' po"em~tare ~t_ng.._. ~-~:Ghats') and .thle r~anesh, Halebid', 'Tirumalai', 'The
te ture ~nJ treatment of theme, and more colloqui 1 tnQe,ll ~gholy places ( B ac .
manner. ln t hc poctn tus memones • are o f the close·kn'
a •n~ ~ ~ kDcityJ· . . washed his hands of lnda~, Sharat
of f.tnuh rathc.:r than. as "ith Ramanujan, childhoodlttt..,_ &ta;,h'le having an dtsgust d ndefined in his Amencan sur·
before the fall ftom un e-lfconsc10u unity into a fra~t111t "' l ot\ess an u h ef '1 h
andra appears ro this is the kind of freedom. e pr . ers. n t. e
tdcntll\ te4 Ch _J:..~. .Apparently h' robable funeral m India, Amenca
roUJIUII.,.. , he contrasts IS p
harat Chandra· themes ha,·e remained constant, altho nurd eou~tr)'d try'. in the latter:
on~r the' ear h~ t) le ha-. hanged: He :''rites of India, in~ ~·medUr coun ,
tra t to hts famsh, as a. p~a~e o.f fmanc1al, moral and cultural ts your whereabouts
Nooncw an ail
corruptton, a land of octal lllJU!itl('e and poverty except fortbo.st no one worries your m
m po'\\ er or po it ion of intluen('e. The brief biography on the I{ you changed your mind
co' er of Ap, d i11 anJimgud say he left India because of tusocw d rumed there .
and politic.tl oppres ion. This is reflected in his poems. 'Bharata
• ·an am Dancer', the mle poem of his first book, describes an
: ::e wonders if it was appropnate
whether you acted hasty
utlst "'ho. although as heavy-footed as an elephant, is acclaimed or with wte. . . b' f
b\ her audience of go,emment ministers and politicians; shes . illed lack of idenmy IS the su Ject o
the daughter of a famous dancer 'who was a great social hostess The effacing of hlmself, a w h hosen nonentity instead of
v.-ho had mam friend and relati\ es in the government'; 'i knew her 'Sc~-Portrait' where he appears to ave c
tht anxieties ~fa strongly defined place:
mother... aid the chief minister'.
Poems v.iUch examine ocial conditions include 'MatrUdesb' There are scars instead
which dcscnbes the hungry md poor; they search garbage ~sfor of lines on my palm
roam food, are forced by po' erty to live like animals and will sdl I've no biography
mar children for a meal: 'I know a nation wher: death /Is a~ only remembrance .. ·
smg to the dead and living'. 'Abdul and Fatima' IS about the.
unm:ogniud li\es of the poor and their religious supcrson:S I'm not their man
~trust prayer rather than hospitals to cure the ill an~ when~ I assure them
die are forgotten wtth no reminder that they_ ev~r. exiSt~. the
poems conccm the new sights discovered while hVlllg
mm's room in an American petrol station with its d~ v~
at
wries·
walking away
my hands squirm
in my pockets like fish
Bermuda, the 'white man's resort' with its black wa~ters, L •• gasping for air.. . · a1 com-
--~
iiiiU shoe boys who do the menial labour; the American
. ~-~~ 'as &r h · anemouon
The results of being in exile, rather than avmg to which he has
who alks knowingly of Zen Buddhism but has never been
lllltJnent to the land of his birth or the '~?tr'Yhere after claim-
~as deaoit'. CbJnd:ra's ,,,.,.,.tiKU,
- o-• .-.1 can be seen m •
0 nee or Twtce w •
Hanoo,. olfers a representative selection ~ ~ o! InC
WOIL ~ are poans concuned with In~tan _...holY
('"ladiaa MiaiaaareS 1'), the way Indian poverty 15 made 10
 223

tl I 1 1

Although Sharat Chandra' later p~clris are more co11oquial,

lighter in touch, more focused on himself ana His con~ition of
e¥.il~, ·sgla~on af\d f re~:dom, t)u:}in~cord. dce~njng rttti«AiPJtiOfl
hi$ ~eri~~ or :\he~ea~i~m.rPii a ~r:.wnaJ woJicJ. Ei~~r he {lrd0
such a condition or he ha r ·~nddd ~P his i:tolation ~ ~i~
poetry which speaks dirccdy, sccpti~allx from a position of exile,
rented rooms and an apparendy small Jife}t mav be si~njfibnt that
in the two poems he has written on his fft.hy-ffiirU f."(i t~y-fifth
birthdays, the first mocks poetic inflation cot r.eal~ty ('It's none of
these but myself I Turning thirty-three d~ 1a grey morn~n~') while
1

the other consists of angry memories of his childhood .'~ ~ndt~.

Taking realistic attitudes and usirw a dir«t spcakingttVOt(e m
o • •
!s
J 'Ill~
poetry, he ~ontinues to mock social and religious ptc~tt~& .. n f
Funeral of My Pmccssion' he imagines what (t would ob ltke
death, the sound of friends with smoker's oough a hlsffunera' e
t;
waiting to be reborn: JJl i' ~

These are my ancestors

Sh<Ming, .15Ltrpris~t-8drpri tt"
2o0min~ thtittarch~t face
IJt. atuJ ()ut the eoftiJ\
Laughing their siUy heads off!
 225
224 M OD~RN I NOlAN
I'OJ·TR\·
.
publi hcd by Cleanng Hou~c . Na;r.areth is I~""' Ct E b que m"nner .. • and usc of diches and rcady- ··
r' 1L accato, ru~ f the ironies and. help create a saunc
Indian poeb now re .. iding and often ~ettled abonedof the,., t ~· h ·etn orce d .
of'l.eabf\1P • l1 f :,f,ccc 1
h tccl,niquc 5 as dtstance tron
.
conunues to ·~a k·e use o f th ctr ndianwhOse,•ut•
. ea~ Iy years and 1roa l" fi res · sue . . . y, com-
\ ·
3Je 1g~ ~'htle ust.ng f { • Na-zareth is also exp1lCtt, rc ymg
but Naz.treth J also con~emed wtth the Indian in r:- experttnc 111 . ~uve. 'd shtft o ocus,
f J b •;.n~Iand ntr'P·sioO ,,nd r·'Pd1t·hymc:
hr st•cs as pa~·t ot an o. tc!1 u_n~cc~ptt·.u . lack r.t~.:ial re~ llihc.
t, r·
rrt'' 0 t an l
P11 etrv therefore has sumlarmcs m dJC:uon, attitud: cnce. ~ o ~t.ttCOle
111
h once sculpture<.
~. I d' ·· · c.rnann~r~ o 1c t at
commltml'nt to ":;
w e..~;r n tan wntmg; soc 1a1Jy ,. Ap:OP. erntic tangles,
culrurall)~ ~nd political.ly .the India~ and blac~ \\fe;t ;~~i~~rn~~~~ deiues m 11 loid kisses now.
once u ·
communmes .. hare a :lmular eJ~:penencl' of d1splacemen ~h frowns l ical revoluuon
and lack of a similatjon. Influen\:es on Nazareth's verse~· Preludi.:t '}be tec~~o t~~ wooden plough.
. W I d' me 1ude·t 'ogs best c
two ma1or contemporary est n 1an poets, Edward K D LO!
waite and Derek \X' alcott, who have used West Indian. taiih. J . • obo Nazareth looks most~y back on the
rhvthms and personae in naturalizing the English poetic trad~t~etd, In the
first ~ecuon of L
. the contrasts
between foolish mnocence and
IIOn[O h' person • 3
pa.~t ~t ts 1 a political purpose:
J. •
the1r own \OCtety.
expenencc lave
Nazareth's per~ona, Lobo, who links the series of poems, is adi
Not so tnnocent now,
tan~ p_irirual descenda~r of Byro? 's .Do1_1 Juan with his roman~c
asptraoon and conrrastmg sarcasuc, 1roruc awareness; he is alo~ he can't asstgn , l d of the mind
o-man s an 1d
disdainful, both hero and anti-hero, a confusing mixture of undis- to some n .d that miners have mo e
criminated thoughts, feelings, and experiences which usual!) end the Gll:tO countrys• e
fMtron . and manganese ore. d
un,.atisfactorily. The poems provide .a loosely knit biograph) of d oad roaste to a turn,
Lobo. In creating such a representative, if probably distanced, autO- And there r d feathered with ston~s.
biographical persona, Nazareth is foJiowing on a method developed is to be tarred an h g hero's travels .:md
in America by John Berryman and used with social and politic~ • £L b concerns t c youn ' kl'
The second scctton o o o l b d'scovering 1
the new wor
awareness injussawalla's 'Missing Person'. Lobo is a portraitofth( rxpatriauon. · H e ·ts a mock Co. urn usd · his arrival and su dd c·n\v·
continuing effects of the colonialism which has resulted in fragmen· of Europe, but London is umn.tercste ~k ba:stard'. There are refer-
ted, rootless, westernized individuals from the Third World. Lobo, 'F X Lobo's boy' has become You blha ded suburbs and the
· ·
ences to living in London e s~tter. ' b d · s t e crow
l · the puz1Jed outst- ·
wolf in Portuguese, is a common Goan Catholic family namea.ndB
representative of the colonial heritage of the fonner co!ony. Bey: v.·av the Briti~h retreat .mto t.het.r houses J
\ h. eavtng
he drawn blinds. poem s
the effects of colonialism the poems also contrast the mn_at.ed 1df I de; -....ondering what life ther.e ts Je ~nk ~ at parties, the loc~l
of rulers, politicians and revolutions with the realities ot ltfe rt 015 describe brief affairs wit·h· wtdows P~\ ~·k ~':ninded friends, a tnp
by an ordinary person. . !l .dof pub futile late-night polmcal talks wttf ' e ffatr and other nun-
to the' west of l~ngland,
. t he b rea k -up 0 a 1ove a .
The early poems in the sequence contrast Lobo's. chll~ 1 ~ er
spons, dances, friends, girls, desires and family With 1k e l 3 ~~~; mon experiences. s of travel set tn
The third section of the boo k ·InC 1udes poemto l .ondon where
puhlic, adult world. Lobo's youthful dominion is a 'm.a 'f·]~ness b efo rc 1·obo retums
world' of toy soldiers and flags made of rags, whic~ in ItS 3 5
1
JUT\au:a,•
Spam ·
and Amenca ·
. · to me d'JOCntY · • the
hehas an intense bnef . affatr . b cfor,c ~·cttd1tng tn
f ll'10g into ruuune .
anl t
and self-cemredness is symbolic of independent Indm:
romantic revolutionary adventurer ume h'. a rwo Although he
thorough Indian patriots usually rest begtnning
· to feel old and nmta 1gtc · :n. t trt y-
f ·h· ~vcial evt'l~ 3
on the laurels of a glorious past '
rem.uns politically aware an tS con~ d ' CIOU" 0 ~u~..;
•rt redcvclop111en t ·
while other nationalities wield power the destruction of neighbourhood~ for pro~c Y 1·•0 1 and ~omc-
hc·ts helpless. In the concludin~ poem 'he lees 1 u •
or expect grandchildren to tower
over the rest.
 229
228 MODI·RN INDIAN p
0£11\\ IN
tuztm 's Gardc11 arc metaphorically about then f!~Ctrs~ i,~.r. . f sublimity .... But her_e
,I d . . , G d
'The Humb1c A rmm muor s ar en·, the titl
atureuf
an.s...t Cl1tll r
°
·cnuon tnur snorkds • once ag:un appc.u. .
1
d
real pleasure gar en O• fCI' b
unese an uih from th epoern 'Lils
• offer~ four heJl "' . \ S, l 's high\v original poetry 1s based can
pcrience of life in implied contrast to the idea! irna ~ P~actrcal eta .• upon whtc' cth1 Midniv,ht' and 'Unc\aimcd'. In the
..-l.. n(ICtiL • Upon t c 1 ... • d
a Keat:; or Yeats: gtneu '1Vorlds 0~ 11•'" r • ·co~anP, . teenth century romantiC o e
L• foufll1Ill .I of the great mne
1.1' • tOU b\
He eye~ fhe Rainbow Bridge. He may have got fi>oncr, u'~ . 1 dishes on the ta e.
The means bv somewhat dubious means but }1e ~t~lcks t 1Cd' but is unable
t~ tO lC,
This i the lo~·eliest of all gardens. What ' now He wan . h and how .
..,.. dc?ctde w en ">
Do ~cruple~ know of beauty anyhow? l o h ;venders, now.
Why not, c ' .
Other poems refer to Seth's loneliness, sense of bein . . . f ristle catches hls eye.
d 1 • . f d . . g CODtt· .~ ptece o g . gs . he turns to reply.
nualIy on t he mfo"e an ~ 1.e vanous ears an danxretres which are "1'\. phone nn •
close to the sufr ace, hawart~ng ~nf unfcfont:o11e occasion to erupt ,uc U f burning comes
Asme o h . Something hums.
'They have lc t met e qUJet gt to eanng. I I arn consumed b from somew ~re. lik h of the poets it\ the great odes,
fear, chilling and searing'. 'Homeless' begins: 'I envy thost~ Hi~ 'meande~ing,' m~nor~s;hc :XtoJ~~ but instead of wi~hing to :~c
\'V'ho have a house of their own's. Significantly, each of the three
sections of The Humble Admi,1istrator's Garden is represented
by a tree i•hose name is symbolic of a different country in which
r rang
e to forc,gn lan s .an
· oet m ecstasy r
f om some rich expcnence w t .e
hke ~ romanttc p. h' ld d by sleep, common sense :m
Jrinking wine, he ISs f';or: self-destructive introspccuon:
d the tra<.lt-

Seth has lived: \V'utong (China), Neem (India), and Live·Oak oon.tl rule., of poetry
(America). The California poems are of interest for their mixture 'T'\.. lcohol his molecules,
of amused enjoyment, witty defensiveness, sense of dangtr, 111e a ' • • · the rules
The clear and mum~tc al.f,
comic incongruities and feelings of loneliness among easy acquain· of metre, shield him from
tances, adventures and comforts. In 'Abalone Soup': Himself. To cease upon
They tug their wetsUits on. Jim strips a plant: The midnight under t~e live-oak
'It smells like liquorice.' The oval moon, Stems too derisory a Joke.
Squeezed by a fog-bank, loses shape. I can't • The bottle lies on the ground.
-No wetsuit-go with them. 'We'll be back soon. He sleeps. Hts · s1eep ·IS sound . rf •, of lif~, of
Custodian of their spectacles and keys, f l' .1
on the su at:c
I sit upon the least moist rock and freeze, 'Undaimcd' proclaims the value 0 ff ~g h'le 1
avoiding depths of
enjoying what the moment has t~ .0 er w
1

Watching tliem bob and strain to the ~ar rock, emotions and entangling complexitieS:
Four buoyant blots against a lightemng blue. To make love with a stranger is the best.
Eight thiny. Where are they? At nine o'clock
There is no riddle and there is no test. . . h ,\ highly
I'll call up next of kin. 'How do you do-- ' . . tic l:ombtn.:'l1 wtt. . ·-
Mrs Gebhart? Your son was lost at sea, Seth s acceptance of and dehght 111 ex l dy rc:-,ult Ill surpns
A martyr to cuisine.' Ah, abalone, self-con.,cious traditional poetic form am p~oso much of its time.
ang\y original poetry . Like most good art, at 1~c~~r;dmire . ,1\so l~ses
The gourmet's edelweiss, of the four A's Ttmothy Steele, an American poet w~\om · S ~h neo-fnrmahsn"l
Of California-asparagus, form as a defence aoainst sclf-destrucuvcness. • u~ ·-in-cheek, \ow-
Ab, avocado, artichoke--you raise l k' n ·
~ One tnd of post-modermsm, a~ 15
· che wngl c
Our palates to the most vertiginous
 'fER tHIR1'.6EN
cHAr
And Reuurn
pJ\IliJii\:S1\PJ\1'}iY AND

R ranha,, fathy and A.dil Jussawalla ha vc expres led th cir feeling of

1
\:>n.ltinn and disappointmendn·Ehgland a.s reas'bii<: fot their return
J ltlodia (lrtd ~.tttempt to fu'ld ·a vital relationship toiL-. ~.:uhurc. Both

~n ~ <1 remain critics of existing !ndiaq ''"iew while sceki.ng it~

1
renewal and aansform~tion. The .rP,ute} they have chosen are\ how-
ever, Jiffcrr~t. P.arthasarathy cl~ims he is engaged in a dia.lo~c wirh
the Tilmil culture of his origins, while Jussawalla desires a political
re\'oluuon which wiU result in new fonns of cons~\ousncs · unlike
the colonial m~taliFf 'Yhic;h,he see a~ cl1a.ncteris~ic of the Indian
middle-cbts~ intellectuaL Despite rh~ir feeling~ .of marg1nality
vmhin lnplil b~fh writer~ have sigqifi~ant, energct\~·md continp-
in,uoks in modern ~ndian culture. Bot~h~vc writt~ longpoemSJ
ba ed an their liv~s anf! the need for ' c,o mmiunent which will
O'>~come thrir cQntinuing sense of alienation; both a\tempt to
uuper~tand its ~ources and try tO forge \le1" men tali tic f rom their
a~cness.. Whil: Jus5~waUa tracet; ~i~ mtrginali~y ro b~in~ p~rt
~i the .lod!an mt9dle classe~. w!th t~eir. cl'lonial and captta~st
1 ~a\lon lrom the111asse~ Panha c;ar'\th~ givffi more cmph,asi~ to
1
~los of ro~tedness tfiro11gh hjs Eoglish·lang~age ed~~a~ton
I~ P"~tty whtch R\ace ~wall between t¥m~el\ 11nd the tradttoops
0 I amtl culture ·
p . f
Q anh>sarathy's poems began to be published in such journals JS
~""·. ~~ i<ee/lany and The LtterarJ Half Yearly bcrwcen \ 956 an~
1'E63 · 1hl!y were often slender romantic lv rid: 'Late rlove::rs •
pttaph'
P«ee . •· Lets, be Strangers, A Iway '. an11 •'\:<" er<'. Dehcacy ~~·
"' ptfton, ltghtness of touch striking images ~nd .a romanttc
ewo plove mtght
Que · summarize' Ppiliuarathy's early wor k·. 1n
unpl~rled tha
anhasarathy published a poe.m. '.f,alse ·reeth', ·htch
t as 1ove poetry' t:be Engli~:;h language :-an d tra d'1ttona
· l
 l J
I l JA

p h the ft t n
1
, J h .a.n he be omc h .lf
ter ht return from I ced Parth
~-·t~ln 4d nun oLea JOna1 lvn to a \ n r
.. bt' 11 eoce of ~hort pocmsltnked b rccurnn
1 d a~tob o raphtcll deu1k At ft~t the
1
~c penod from hen he was twenty-mne and ent t
cqucn e

d h return tO Indta, and was wnttcn b~ een 1 } and

Latt;h'cexpanded a equence of love lyri whtch novw (.On-
1 f...nnn "ntten ber\\cen 1961 and 197-4. A thud ecuon,

~~ing", con tst of poems wntten since 197\--ahhough

ttnnte be found 10 them from poems of the 1960s- h1ch arc
~~bout the e1ght years he spent in bdras as a reg1onal edttor
Otford Uni-.erstity Pre s.
ThepotJ!lS in the 'Homecoming' section of Rough Passage re'\cal
Puiliagrath) 's wdy of and admiration for the poetry of Ramanu-
. (rem Ramanujan he leamed how to u c the poet' past ex-
~"· <specially memorie of the complex South Indian netWork
[muly rebtions. as a way of evoking Tamil culture in En lish
8cs des poems on family and the ancestral house (' mall-scale
Rcflecuon on a Great House'), Ramanujan howed m 'A Ri-. er·
a.. ay to make use of Tamil cultural tradiuons, w nung of them
ftom acontemporary perspective while using his own equi-.alent
of tht understatement, irony and distancing found in cla ical
Tamil \erse.
When Parthasarathy describes some of his poems in 'Home-
commg' as Tamil he has in mind such srvlistic traits as the di -
tm~•. rather anonymous voice, noti~eable in Rarnanujan's
tnnslauons of classical Tamil \erse. Pan:hasarathv is al o refemng
to charactensucs· · of Or-:.n idian lan<Tuage and poetrv " wh1ch he ha
~ 0' " ·tnto h'IS l1ter Engli'h b\er>c: the e include
taken ~ the use of
n bl~Ct·verh symacticll order (in contrast to the U~ ual English
alli Ject-vcr\r.ob'
su . JeCl ord er) , .mttmate
. colk)qUL·. 1terms, promment
of tttat 1 ~1 • especially initial alliterations, and the foregrounding
Hchadh ~em h'. IS youth whoring
Aft andetap ~r. Although hi:. \'erse is poetic in it' metaphors, sound
er t e ~~ngiJ,h gods. 'Mule ~tanz.a1c
h for · a)so ;ums
.. m, It · at a pn>s:uc.· pe l e tnan
· anon) m·1t '.
11
YouereleaIS ometht ng 10. b c satd
. for exile: ~terns t ei~evlsJon of his style to ~queeze out the 'literary' qualiue
I• a treern,lo roots are d ecp. Th at 1anguagc T•""·' to anhasar.uhv in keeping with char"acteri~tic of da sical
U ' e co1our """u
the verse' a ~aJor
lllco . tendency
• of modem poetry h been tO\\ ard~
nder •mother ky. Tile bark rporauon of the quotidian and the fom1erl ' unpoetic. In
 2 (, "'fOr> KN fNOI 237
AN I'OE1R.y
1 r.:
nu lead mg. \'\fhilc it "ould be us-cfuJ to krl
ll\\ rno i
r.,.tlrN "~ " llt:'l"liR < wn by Jl,1rthasarathy and Rarnanujan, it has
•
T. rmJ poctr) m l~e how he make usc \If it 10 · h< ell\ and cl••. • 13 0 J, as 1u . .
ion 3 1v.uaat10ns.
cctaon of RougiJ Par age, anotht•r context is
1
.J
'Holll~~
f7.ckrc
b' 'dr~tin~;uvc relg ra.'s 'The Emperor Has No Clothes', m
Land, four Quartets and Eliot's crit 1 ci~n~ ~rt~ t'd ~y 'rhe :~ 1." Me Ht)t 8 3 ) .
1 corf\C
)\f"\lnd ~· .3, ltJ80, 12-28;and7,Summ~r19 2,\- 2 raascs
Panhasar.nhy is af1cr bigger game than the 11'," cu.lrurai"\Vrj11 4S'r ..drahhaga ( rathy's views on lndtan poetry and the
· o f a 1.' 11 Itura I 1oenmy.
· J • Ji c 1s
· ~onccrncd Wtth Cb,,,, Part 1lasa . h
uon cn·natton
h aI'1Mtc:~sllg\
1 ections tO d . cry found in hts Roug Pass«ge . A paru-
poet ir~ moJen1, speo:ifio:ally lndi.m, ~.ulturc, andt ~i~hoblelll~or:~
,1bI
,_. dof sty Ie •an. tmag f 1 • gcncrahzed, . unrevcrbcrant \anguagc amI
~10 • • . 1"1 IS 0 t 1C \ f •
the wntrr as language, syrnhol, allusion and ref, , lluch tools of llr cnuctSI · h p ssage Mehrotra wt~ms a anguage o paru -
. . .. A d I. . ere nee to L. ·...agery 0 f Roug l ·~~ h embodies
cu · •
expenencc rat11er tl1an d"1stan·
al ready ext tmg wntmg. n t w. I'\ part of a large I 3 uodyo[
problem oi the twenti~th·centuf) writer faced bvr, a ~ostunrvtt~~ Ol'try d · 'ts locale or context w1th'm ·at sueh poetry
w ·uc · -
1'"
,.,!Jrs. a P
•v b mbo vmg • . . Th .
cion, the loss of culrural tradition , the influenc~ ~fp rnoderru_2a-
1
cts it; Ye '· ~> encralizing about expcnence. e cns1s
language, the alienation whil:h rc-.ult.; from mohility m~:;~dtaol aroid~ self-consct~U :cs facing the Indian English poet does not
.md the relativity and fragmentation of \'alues and stand dUCt!JOr. "·hi,h Parthasarat y s ho is instead concerned with the wider
. for Mehrotra, w ment between poeuc · 1anguage an d other
by the txpansion of our sense of the world due to ~ ar sdcau$eJ ex1st
of the estrange · ·m our age. Wh'l h
. . I d th . . crea.,e com
mumcatJOn, trave _an e mtcrna.ttonalization of culture. · Problemf -ommuntcauon . ·
a
nd expenence
.
1e t e
·
forms 0 ~ b different notions of Ind1an poetry, tts
Central to Parthasarathy's theme:~ is a concern w'tth .1 t ts etween tw 0 h f 1
rcspons1'b'l' f h" l'f
r 1ty or ts 1 e and how the poetlives as ahuma b ·
pcrsurll . 1 · by Mch rotra rna y be explained by t e ages o t 1C
argumen
arucu auon .. . s· h observes (Chandrabhaga 3r Summer
Many of his lines sound like Ezekiel. in their precise eco~o etng
b. ut genera I'd · · o f the. moral condition •of the poet's m1n poets. As 4~~~~:), ·l;;r~hasarathy' born in 1934 and coming to
tze . examt~auon
1980, fP· . h . lt' ndcpendence feels caught between two
~tfe: 'J!le autohlo~raphJcal, confes:.10nal thread in Rough Passagt ty wn nauona ' f B·· h
IS Similar to Ezekiel's Unfi~zished .Man in making a linked sequt'flct
m~:~ and his poem is a declaration ~£ _indcpe~dence rom nus
cu d h 'd l' d colonial vaston of England. Mchrotra,
of poems from an analys1s and record of the author's life along hrerature an t e 1 ca l:t.e d ert cultural
wit~ resolutions to improve it. The culturaJ concerns are pan uf born in 1947 at independence, docs not nee l to asls dy wa~ J.
. .
nauonahsm; when 1e egan wrn:~ng ~
l b ·· octry t. 1ere a rea "' •
the m~ell~c.tual, moral awareness; although they take on a ditfe·
significant body of poetry by Indlans Engltsh. 111 d kd
rent Significance, being specifically associated with his T.untl . . R hp beyond the roa mar c
background, Parthasarathy has EzekiePs dual concern with the Aproblem m dtscussmg oug assage' h' m (m . for examp1e,
coherence of the individu~l life and with the nature of modern by Panhasarathy's own comments on 15 .P 0 ~ j- Poetry i~1
culture. A difference is that Parthasarathy is concerne~ wnh 'Notes on the Making of a Poem', Studte~ m 1n ~an k keeps
problems c~us~d by the use of English in India and by hrs ov:n Engluh,ed. 0. P. Bhacnagar,Jaipur, 1981), "'than. ew~r offered
sense of bemg uprooted and alienated from a culture, themd ~anging. The second edition added tw? poer:lsd a~.tion "'ill
shghdy revised versions of a few others. ~he thtr k~ rov rt!:.'>
1
which do not appear to concern Ezekiel. A concern with t~e~l)lf · furthcr poems. In t h at It · w1'll remat n a wor tndPW'll' t>
tradition and nostalgia for childhood rend to be characterrsol
0 conl:un 1 1 •111
. . M~~ lhroughout the poet's llfe it resembles 1 oun
> d' 5 Cantos
•• I
an "
rv Inn''r:o
wmcrs trom Hindu families (Parthasarathy, Ramanu)an,. d . . h •nnet 1-cenn.t
tra). Kamala Das has a similar nostalgia for family relatron~ an Ca rIo~ Wtlltam's Patterson-among ot er rwe . · · · It j.,
taung revtswm.
hcr ch'ldh • ood. Writers such as Shiv Kumar, Ko Jat k~r. 0 r Sharlt , but
P?~ms created by continual editing an d accumu . , ·l\tded.
d1ff \ · h, LS not LOne
• •cu t to draw conclus1ons when t c poem : ved th:lt he w.1s
Chandra may treat traditions sceptically or even sauncallyh'· •·
'11
t hey are stt conscious of them Rough Passage oes, d' ·0~
d · I t Ul"• f!l?se readers of Parthasarathy's e'i!tl}'S wh~ behe . d would in
gtvrng up using English as the languag~ of poecr:r: ·l~ "ction w.ts
show that despite Parthasarathy'~ conscious search for a tdr~ 0~ol
1

. d' . a tra rtl

an d hIS attempt to graft himself on a Tamil tra ttton, d jant~ ~~rewrite in Tamal conduded that the 'Hon1~~o,tn~~grcl~ 1sarathv's
s arewell, his last words in English on the o;u )Cll· a ' ·
Indian English poetry has in fact developed from sec s p
 239
238 IODERN JNDIAN
I"Of!l'
.} Ry I llli,.u~t~'~
ub equent · E no lIS 1 poem'> proved sucl
rif 1 a read
. . N ENG 1 ,_stl , , cti()n of Rough Passc4gC .IS as much boul aliena-
')'he ·~le se blelll of what to do with one's life as abuut the
L1
poem· wnttcn O\'Cr . Ii teen vears
~ • wa'll · ·
m Itself h ang tnn'rr ect 11. .
Jod th~r~~ialistn- Studying abroad creates a crisis for
u

dcspne ·the authors

'ch attempt to stabiJ;,u..
... e n· tnto
. a ave · 'dincansas~~
' ln.._
ng• lllan ·- -:~
pan of ats n ness.
Another problem is the poem's inte a1 h
biographical e\ ents do not follow cacl:nothc r?nology, as th
ner,th~
0011
:t~eonc r':but
rd11lts of h lad assumed that he would settle in England and
0
be .all En~ 15 •
~et. The disillusionment raises a consciousness of
after returning to India feelings of dissatisfac-
In 'Exile 1' the speaker is rn emy-nin er m consecut•v eau btl"S Hl~· remain as India seems no different from the West,
ld
'thirty odd years' and in 'Trial 16' heY~'; old; by 'TriaJe ~~b
9 tk tJOn an. ext.fcd within his own country. Althflugh alienated the
CLJ • ' h .
nomecommg e JS on v 'forty'. I e as Iony fi
- l\'e; but 1 .. 31\d he 1~ CJ'\ies he is the real India and that the modern lndia of
:c b
Lue a . roa
d·
. .m the poem is limited ,~. o 'EXt.'I e ?' h
ater 1.1 sptake~ tmPfilms, v.'ristwatches, clothing shops is the ru\e of the
th..at'(b)J'th
!Jnng rnakEngland the speaker ' S J'11 USIOOS . - ' w ere wear ~~01 t~~;gs'. Such an attitude is rypical of many who discover
cr
1:.oxt e e spe ·cr has rcrumcd to B b .W ere shatteredel.,. n\ lnd.'an ~ts and become nationalists while studying abroad.
Usuall}' it WlS_diss~tisfactiOn :Wlt h e a~ ome Wh ICf ~odve t hem 1
c . 'al . om ay whtd1 hnd • h lif h h· h d h
10~ Its commerc1 mtcrc rs, traffic and lack of t oes notlikt thetr 100 ·

Bemg unable to rake root in Bombay or G h person~l warrr.~ ab d to bcg111 w1th; returrung ome m searc o an 1 ea t ey
moves to ~~.tdras where despl'te .r t ~at e speaker an 'Exile7 fi:~~ht'ir alienation ha_s inc~eased_ and t~ey ar~ now c~en more
· . • e urmng to T .1
remams a1lenated. The sea is 'tried' the 1 .a~t . Nadu, he ted. Their dissausfactton w1th the1r nauve land mcreascs
shadow', the Tamil mind is now w~ste~~!~~ge IS skJmmed','a
uprithOOtheir heightened awareness o f w hat ·1s al'ten, w haL ·ts 1nc
· ff't-
~ent and of the fact that others do not have the same nationalist
!he hourglass of the Tamil mind r(fonning concerns as themselves. In the last poem of •Exile' the
as replaced by the exact chronometer pott 'has come full circle' during the past year; he has returned
of Europe. only to find he is still an exile and still faces the problem of
The goddesses have been re I d b . . responsibility for his life:
dows. Panhasarath • b p ace . Y. mannequms m shop vm-
of India. the new )r la~es _colomahsm for the westemizauo 1must give quality to the other half.
' ru mg e nelS a copy of the former colonizer. l'..:e forfeited the embarrassing gift
innocence in my scramble to be man.
···The dubs
are there, complete with bar and golf-links. •Exile' is a self-contained section of Rough PtHs,zgc, concerned
With an awareness at thirty that the poet'!i life has no direction, is
~e. impact of the ~'est on India
llprooted. The images of reality remain the same under any sky
as sttll talked about
though the wogs h;,.e takt:n over.
:r~" they are projections of the self, the way it .ecs Iife. 1ma ~cs
hmmor:., sktes, water, walls, lamps, trees? ~mokc, ~a~nc, nots;.
The
criheironic
th user of 'w. og~•~ rh e Brmsh
. . .msult for foretgner!i,
. to des· rco.tographs, sleeps, ashes dust snow, children, trafftc recur tn
. e ru mg 1nd1an elne shows his own alienation his sense of1 ~XII I'mk'mg the poems that
v.all'e'I , comprise
, it. [n London t~1e f<~~IS . ca
fo re1gnness fro m. t h e gove~mng
return to India · classes. It recogni~es
' t~at h th •the suburbs grey, the 'lanes full of smoke and ltner : and
and d mtght be luule; the human condition ts unoversal ere are 'puddles of unwashed I English children'. 'l'he Thame:.
oes not change: mtlkme \; ogged' and the day is announced by the 'notse:.
appears'\ . 'of rra~ns,.
," ~d newsbovs. ('Exile 2') The ~Meets n( Bornbay arc n0 "Y,
1
d
· · · What have I come ~!%~ fuulc >'). sm~k y, 'The sun burns to cigarelle Jsh' ·. 1n the
there s~ere ts :noise', 'traffic' ('Exile 5'); in M:tJras the sk?' .'"grey;
here for from a thousand miles?
The
B skYJS · no difft!rent. 15 0 • as m London, a bridge; the women s111ell of '1garette
eggars are the same every-w·here.
 241
240 MODERN INDIAN
' h'l- h h' . 'd PO!T.y 11'4 , 1 ,.utt~'~
ash w uc e s '''ers m ark allevs of th · '' ,JIP ws show. I polish .
that' left' of his youth ('Exile 8'). Whe~md'; 'The &shea the fla harpcn the lustre to a poun.
the stone, s . .. .
except for the women he love . er he gaes ht '-.W ·vc has,\ son, .md Ius lite h.1s settled mto a routine
The 'Trial' section expres es the attem 1 '~loa; tlt.is"~~ fortV•
f1
bles~ at the' p.1ssions stl'II tel t b y l 11s
· •h '
cart . , .
exile .through Jove and the new respon~~b ? .~vercorne faa~~
1 ~bicb nib . , begins with .1 conu-.lst between the poet s Jes1rc
I sa ' ttles th "qJft&s..L
marnage.. t covers f approximatel}·
f' the n f'f
ext I teeny at ..,'frith"~
hegi.. 'tlomeco;'~~ h for 1'.101il and the corrupted condition ot that
age_ of t.h1~ty to orty- ave, picks up some of the e~rs, froll!Lt gi1t UP.~,ng 1shooked on celluloid, you reel I down plush corri-
whale gtvmg more emphasis to the fing preVIous int bofl~~l uave of d.\ssical T <Hlll.1 .IS uc.m,
10 .ue· ,,ow. J
tmpotcnt, a symbo1ot.
J •

tongue as symboh of the senses achieviners, smell, taste, b'ltTy ?"". ang t' all the po€t can d o •IS _c'T'1 urn •m~arll' to. th,c pas~ :
J-'· J II'-t culture;
· · · . g oneness 91• h ~
the closeness massmg m ex1le which he will seek in • It anodJer ~presen 'ke out a \inc for yourself I trom the tron ot hfe s ordt-
through a rerum to the culture and language 0 fT 1.romeco~ ~aps,' n:esensc ot the past, as represented by his Brahmin chi\d-
scenes of. his childhood.
'I . While 'Trial' celebrates ami
ove Nadulllddtt
as ~essd. by familv rel.\tions, is sharpenell by the now uncommon
overcommg ex1 e Jt contrasts it to an awareness of death~ meansli boouan • rcumon,
a family . represcntmg · conunmtv,
· · umon · .m d
h' 'botb~o,e
~~Ce Of • J
and death are contrasted to poetry which is wr· ·nr Acousin with whom he dun bed trees
which is also threatened by death. 'Trial 2• ~tten wth&lealone,and secun.,. ·
d fR · s ows e use Panba. stood there, that day. forty years taller,
sarathy. rna e o amanuJan's example of writing abo .
of fam•ly: ut memona her three daughters floating
like safe planets near her.
Over the family album, the other night, Conunuitv is asserted when, watching the cremation of his father,
I shared your childhood: hethmks:lshall follow. And after me I my unborn son'.
Although far different in their nostalgic view of family and child-
· · · You rolled yourself hood the poems in 'Homecoming' often usc situations and events
into a ball the afternoon Father died. found in Ramanujan's poems, such as memories of a girl cousin who
has now grown up, a topic found in Ramanujan's ironic 'Looking
~dtpoem seems an example of how Parthasarathy aims at a langu¥ lor a Co~sin on a Swing'. A comparison of the distanced irony of
WI out reverberations, often through the use ~f cliches and dead Ramanu,an's 'Obituary' with Parthasarathy's assumption that he
metaphors: 'Over the family album' •the other night' 'in the dis and h1s son will be cremated like his father with the family
tance'
hi , •• •a pretty kettle of fish', 'slaked
' your thirst',' 'Hand on as~mble~ at the burning ghat shows a difference in attitudes.
be "Anded the corner'. It is, however, difficult not to rcmem"
r . rew Marvell's 'To his Coy Mistress' in 'you rolled your·
!:""' '"-his poeo;n on Madura i Ram an u j.m brings out !he truth
Utthe nver, wh1ch seldom floods and when 1t docs bnngs des-
self 1 mto a ball'. trucuo n, part hasarathy laments ·No one has anv use for Vat·k .u, · I
thIn contrast to poems with grey noisy but uneventful ciues. nvcr' 0 nee, 0 f t h'1s sweet city'. ·
Ios:;n !ove are filled with im;gery of excitement ('H(JIIll d~ter such ~astoral scenes of family life and a once gre,u, now
g~- tomcandcscence', ·uvecoals 1 blow on' •Anipplehard~L. ,. thy~d Tamil c~hure, 'Homecomint,' returns to t~c present
on UIC to
body. r . ') Whereas language lost colour, · ~
' 'Touch b"""do 1
He IS e ~et eamm~ a living and writing, presumably. m ~b~ras.
uaioo '£:. ocus,/ restores colour to inert hands'. In coo!"""'ck<l 'fhe.a~ alone, exaled with his memories, choices and marnage .
...U ol the 'd:• ~are words 'no more than ripples/Ill:::.,,..
at· Towards the end of•Trial' however, ten .
sbaoe~•saons and 'll .
I usaons . tas k .as now to
of the pa"it are O\'Cr. H1s
and c~ of his life: 'I have ex\.:hanged the world I for a table
~·.'"!he straw has come betW..,'., us'; he lives biJ P"' ~ ~1 shouldn't complain'. He is again walled in, like Keats
ugh the wntmg of poetry: g rough a window at unobtainable pleasure:
MYpast 15. an unperfect stone:
 243

142 NODIERN INDIAN

I reaun hom~ ti---~
.,iaall of himself ('wrung the handkerchief I ol
POtTay ..,d IJeCaD'e silent. Unlike the passionate lovers of
~ ~.

mfy facr pressed against th~ windo his CoY Mistress'

0 e.pecwion. 'W
'1e rolled mY fate .
1hese poans are strangdy devoid of child
ewna and sighiS except for abstract 5 ren, his wife,..._
~ ~ ~'
...,1 -ner ball and tossed 1t
........
~

.-lhcvnndov.r.l can_ now walk

~:
uaopenm letters representing his isol
I~
'Once m a way I light a ci abon as a wrioor ,..j ., tbc end of the marnage .
dtough " .....,.. •. pri~e tour' . garme. Folio.., I ,i;'""'lll;, ClllllflY knee5 (or roy unspeakmg sons .

L-~~ unplication that the poet --•-

... ~ answered by 'Exil 12' . . llliaK the
......
-'" tbt ...,Ung point of Rm<gh. Passage is Parthasarathy's
., take root in ERJiland and hJS at~empt to ove~ome h!s
'"'!"01..._
"""''-'
spmt
by:
·
his
if be had rmwned
youth whoring
· e
1 after E
""'th. "' portrait of
a uruverslty 1
1.
ng •• h god~ of
"'-
EnpL, .._.
he:t
s' Ill '&ilo r . llJ_
..
,..ohli<ttation in Indta through a re<hscovery of hiS roots tn
;:.coJNr< and faDlily relations, the dominant concem of the
loll~ is the consequences of his decision, the life he has
.... afbiJnS<lf in love, marriage, poetry. "!he more than fifteen
He went f~r the wrong gods from the
And marnage made it worse. stan. a""' the rough passage of manhood, between the end of
110 micldle age, the period of being a father and a house-
_.sing to the traditional Indian view ."!he conventional
~ be teaChes. Reviews verse
wa aam by odters.ls invited to confer
· · · be t~t~uats on the d h ences · · ·
wil
iloo af what is success is satirized in the teacher of literatUre in
'fi(r 12'. Nor the poet become a holy man and beggar. Rather
. ...., ......., he Will continue to 'the end of the marriage' and
1he.
olold-, ungeap
tats and obscure comm ·
entancs.
._.,bees'. Another choi~ has been made; to continue as a res-
......husboad and father, to be contented 'with the small change
of gods,
.magespoems
suc:cuding lCXtS and
which co;nmentanes. arc picked up • *
occordiac to Panhasarathapress ,..,. of the ~ unnnls ..... wa....aa'.that_this lov.r-keyed, ironic, self-deprecating accep-

I fear I have bungled

yt poetry tends:
·
:-.:...,-will
ll•aalikay
be partlusarathy's last word on the subject of
.,. He.-!~ Madras to New Delhi and more recendy he
~last rdinanent :r~ "._......,. m ~ whik editing a classical Tama teXt. In
tari6es me. 1be balloon fiG.,__ mapZJne N.w Lettm (48:1 & 4, Spring I swnmer
ol poeay has __ ..1 •
ed~ n:u ID the face
~IH) be~ thRe 'Delhi' poems which will probably
..,_ me Dm cdiuon of Rough Passage. 'Delhi 3•concludes:
Ilhar
wi1b
~For scriptureS
Lile, at fony-five
cbe bumble aewspaper: I fmd 111 hrmh of fresh air
Brf prayers ocxasiomlly answered there. '1\ecbildrm are grown . up . ..

"'lle..dedmonofRDr'-P. _..J __ ..!-1..-~of· ;-afar shapes the poems

To~ become familiar as prayer,
• a11owlef _ : I I J 5"' .wag~ cuua llfiUJ ~ ·

;;j.._.............. ~Jiunr)' ..........:

..._..., - •- da•ies. Ia a ...;.. of plays oD..,..,.. •an
oneadf, strike no postures,
. mamble upon
......, ~~.,.._ .......-ralily~·--;
-...., d.e Wallace 5ceftDI poe&- tf/111
W OCCIIIOal
.. Ell •• of . li .
l• ,..,t aak llllllp aty-
OI'morc.
G.l•waway.&hispocmilapi•7• klljll
 l+f MOD E RN INDIAN P0£1" J • 'Missing Person'.
1'1 , • I ·r founo sn h . ..
It \' IJic ,._ J tcnstKS au: l cs (short I s ort umc,
Ad~ Jussawalla's poe~ ~re pr~ccupied with . chara~ ed r wm . •
G&.a II C'Jtub•ts brupt line~, 1ag1 dis~.,nced rd\c~.;uvencs.s even£
not bemg pan of the OCJety m which he lives and ~-.. ~.~.cshort, a hvtluns .tn<. a twas 'like a I hs rth o
nal need to be part of a community. In an anick onthe~ ,.....-_.riP l) angular r ' h"n each momcn
~cu • •111 c w t:
Poetry' (Readmgs in Commorm:ealth Literature, ed"11ae ~
Wa1sh. Oxforc4 I 973, pp. 75-90),jussawalla says of hi · 'W'~ ~""'~'
-L.:tftll the u
m in J..an d' s pJn d' uses.
the
' the second poe ·mbolism for a sumlar
ten abroad that he had 'tried to show the effect of (j~ ~ltrl fdl'btr
DaYd' falling . o f leave'- J5 sy
can ne\er lea\e nor love properly to belong to'. Betw~ ~ bncis1 al {adll'lg an
1970 he studied and later tried tO enle in England; his disill .957 ~ Ifuuht":
is recorded in ·Indifference', an ~say he contributed to D~ 'd mv ,vindow
ed Guests: Essa) S b) African, Aszan and \\'!est Indian StMde,PPoiiJl. ~s outs• e d d from tree
Henri Tajfel and John D>Iwson, Oxford Universitv Press lo~ lJavesfall faf ~I mv thoughts
1965, pp. 118-35 ). He returned to Jndia only to fi~d him~elf t of So let me \et a dr ' .
Gone yellow and . ) . in the book, also record~ stenl-
place; meanwhile he had turned sympathetically to the Third
0
w:rld ··s· the thtrd poem
politics of the New Left. 'While the ' Missing Person' sequenc~was n.r.omber ' • · • b ,\' f
stv<"" . f'll d with vnahty, c te'
wrirren during this period, its themes, although set widun a 1~ was once 1 e ' •The
political context. de,·elop from his earlier Land's End poems (1962 all ·Imagines the past '" and Cloud at Easter ,
lncUW a 'The lViOOn ' 1 em
'Missing Person' contain~ similar feelings of alienation and cultural ~but such poems ~s d life as sterile. The ttt c ~o . '
chaos, but suggestS a Fanonite-Manist rather than Christian explw. ;;b: and 'The Dolls' vteW mo e7:· al place in England wtth ttS
rion for their occurrence. As Jussawalla was educated at an Angliao 'l.Mid End', contrasts ~h~ ge~gr·a~ . tc God's creation of the ~orld
school, a] though raised in a Zoroastrian family, the Christian \'JSIOII s to the older Chnsuan. ~ •; m founded. Published m the
of Land's End is an example of the continuing effects of colonialism wthe ~arly Church whte , ~~:te examples of a mode estab-
with whtch 'Mtssing Person' is concerned. . .L~ApoemsofJussawalla s ar . s F.velvn Waugh and
~ . d db such wnters a • . .. .
·~enteen', the first poem in Land's End, is in the tradttJOn of byT. S. Ehot, an use y - l' . f ml>dem late are JUX-
. h h bana mes o · ·
Hertr) Vaughan, Thomas T rahem_e~ Word~·?~ and O):lan Thoma GnUn Gretne, in y:hlC t e he vitalit , and supenonty
m contrasting the supposedly umfied senstbiiny of a child, when all --Awnh ChriStian symbols to shlow tlt re B~t behind the dis-
wro-u _.J nt secu ar cu u · · f
experiences are felt directly and vi tally,:with t~e d~ay of such fed· af rmcrsacrcu to a prese f ·1 of alienauon rom a
ings through maturation and a developmg rauonallly: onmmt •sJussawalla's own ~enlseho ~~e. pointed him and in
Llopc, especially England, whlc 1 as tsap
Time was shon, hht: r~els reJected. 131 sense of being
short time lbtsymboltsm of the wasteland reflects a pcrsclll • lla's own
when a boy
li' ed each moment
awuway, of having gone astr1y '~ .ng h.
. E 13 darn Jussawa
·l suits from culture
nngnnent there. It is the unhappmess w }': 1 r~. ·ss and aimless-
anew, k, from lack of friends, from youthful one me trv which
which has been sharpened by being in 3 stran~e ~ol';J ~lf those
Now detached, the lud ttr~tt thought would be home, the prom '~e . x ress an
water is spilled \OUght the Eden of British literature. The f:hou~s e ph at the
ktlled ~tholic rehgious phase Jussawalla was gomg t roug
on rocks, which was pan of his crisis. Jussa-
one bv one Al..etttt for Bombay', written on turning twerty-.on.~. ssing
the lights are lr1cs a lechninue which he was later to deve 0 P 1 ~ 1
'• of JUXtaposmg
-. autobiography wat • h represe ntauve scenes
snuffed.
 247
246 MODERN INDIA:-, PO£'J'R.y J
111 .,rllRN ·ds 110 t only his .unbiva\cnt feelings
from tltc life of an Indian middlc-cJas intelle
1 St ·
t~cL,,11 !iP "
~
)
p home rcCOI ' 1
ts them within a genera \ po}'mea
. f h I
reco rd mg o t e war ) ears, t 1c poem recalls fctua · . a•ttn~, on ~ 111 J • l t a1.;o sc
· r cl' ear a)1 • e 1•L tHr7 'og 1() tnu~a )\1\ ••1- the slums he sec below are contras-
• ena.~an ~
, l\-ofl passengers .m t he atrp
. Iane:
vanous IC" mg!i of trea.:on: ~urtt' , w lt~ l
~o··· l"lllltcxt, 11 I
(\Vh,l' winning ro-d:w? A1e we l.lll the .,ide of nd suCI.l • udes t1f t lC we
l
tfd LOt
hcattll ~ H'
enc\oo;cd in tstory s
'
Gem1.ms ?) the •
~:,onlHlll"t~ · · T Chairnun M.lo,
.M) enemy rongm~ tO nurk time silent!\· "'hile th ~- b n~cs CJtlilg
chincst' t · ·' lc nourio;;hed on ccay
d
tJ'('.tson. • e rest spokr . ·I w a pcop . ·.
1\nO" 10 r ·rlsh in ctvtl war.
It continue by referring, strangely, to such a past a 'those . tc~·rate o \; - .
DJstn ~ ' the Indian dtplomat,
gardened davs', after whilh the poet began hi' wand . . · cabreless, Contranl.>, . confident the poor
, .h I D . ~.:nngs a ro.td Fi)·ing wtth me. IS
an d coneIu des wn an appe.t to ev1, u ...ed here as mus d •
dess of Bombay. to bring coherence so he rna\' returt'afn go~. Will star ·lust .ts tile}' are. . .
J • .. n rom h . 1• a political and soc1al consc&ousne~s
wanuenng: 1s . p •m., on Arnva · · · · of l11s
In ·Nme ~c . , l , from the concrete c&rcumst.mces
... instruct me in my art, . ·t rlv anses d~rcct y
1{1111 d
I

1 acking .1 legendary muse, give my chaos form. life. • . • ·ased radical social awareness, while rcsult.ing
Should ,rou refusl"-thc rack of )'OUr hovels raising your Ju~~awalla s mere.. • . alienatccll ndian intellectual, IS, l
\'OlCe !rom his personal Ctl>ncfern .•ll'S a~ 1-.e gained in London with the
Still further-demand nothing: touch me only as far \. shaped bv
th'l., ·'
t 1e amt 1anty
I . f their middle class and the sttuatton
.
As the paned psyche can stand: divided city, comhme, black ~estlndtanl ~na yh~lST~h. d World. While the Land's End
And I shall return and pas beyond your storm.
1the mtellcctua m t e tr . · .I '11i ·n
. . E' •I d express his sense of &solatton, ule .. sst. g
lvrics, wnnen tn ng an ' . . l d'· The ersona ot a
Missmg Person (1976) is concerned with the need to find cohe Person' sequence explores hts rebuon :o n ta. p '. wed
renee in an India from which Jm..,a walla feels alienated. Hut par:u'li~e ;vpical middle-dass Indian intellectual lS crc.lted and then..: le • ,
. . b . · · ·ally as reprcsentauvc
is no longer a lost tradition or childhood; the poems are concerned as avtctim of colomahsm, emg seen tromc •. d d' . . .
. . I. d b . c0 nscquenual an JssatiS-
with present problems and their solutions. The bonk is di,·ided into o!the bourgeoiS romantic ate to e m · d d h
.J • b· · d · . . ll'lt'ty to un erstan t e
three groups of poems: the 'Missing Person' sequence(mmtlvwnt· fiw by cucumstanCl·s, up nngmg an an m.. 1 . N
. . l l · • h n '1 ~ht be soluuons. ot
ten in 1975), 'This Room and That' (poems written between ~9b2 comrad tcuon 1etween ongmgs anu w at t t.; . · · d . t also l 1as
1
and t 972) and 'Travelling Separately' (a group of songs wntter C!llly has ]ussawalla'.s poetrv become more po ttiCIZC .' k
berv.•een 1965 and 1975). The increasing policical cont.:nt 0 ~ hs beoome increasmgly, on the' surface at least, depersonahz_ed.
' Mas si
\\ ork can be seen in 'Karate' a poem about the love-hate relauof1 unpcrsonation'> thl' ~re:uion of characters :md the use of JUXtapo ~~
ship many blacks supposedly, have towards whites and in 'Song
0
romes have be~ome a means to guard the sdf. The castaway· lan(. sl
Hired Man', 'Freedom Song' and 'Immigrant Song'.ln these poems end•waste1and aml st~n·1e emouons · fe1t ·m F·.urop c <1rc now loc.ltt.'l
o f t hc mt'd SIXties
. . the angulanty . o f tne
t
ear1'ter verst' has become
. h eJ1 within apolitil'al analysis.
• ' )
e111puca as Jussawalla increasingly comprc~ses syntax . d ob·
· W 1lCI); I The two sc:ctions uf 'Missing Person' are an attempt. m ~~c
·)Uxtaposauon.
·· 'Se a Bree....e, Bornb ay' menuons
· such vaneT bet.
pr 1o beyond the alienation of Land'~ End. Continuing to reJCCt IS
lems of modem India as Partition and refugees from h10l • and ~pPer-mtddle-dass Indian Par~i upbringing but no longer ~lt~cmp~­
complain that the cooling sea breeze 'investigat~S ?
01
!ad of lll& to tnsen h1mself into an already dated European C:at~lollc ~chv&­
'settles no one adrift of the mainland's hiswncs: J~st
"alism'.JussawaII a now ecks umtv . o f bctng
. b Y .Jut: J "nufy&ni' 0 wu
'11a
rt\olut•"' . . 1
.....n~ry process m whtch the peoph.·s o t e f h Th'r1 l \Vorlll wt
acccpung Indian life as it is, he asks, 'Restore us to,CJr(e · juen tn l •
Cttatt a new 6ociety. Untll this happens, in the future, the llltellcl'..
'Approaching Santa Cruz Airport, Bombay wr
 249
248 M ODE K'N I NDtAN

tualca.nonlvwritc,,iLhanl
, • II' StOII. aJ n,
1
" t ..
f'Ol!'l"R.y ... -o' ~v~~e alter tl' y .,tcrco
J • •
,,nd ~att Ic ,

.. • ~,~,lC . rcs soon

a a repres<ntatl\ < of a dec a 'in" cl " • ' .m·ness of hi t '''' caJ11 bndc ·
of •whJLh he cannot be p"'rt came afrcrr mYf, \ly tl)fll ,\fhll't b } ' CCIll f\'u:t, CSpCC13
. \\ Y.10 SCCt101l
.
I . to be repslao...,nd Slh·-·
~ ~
I .....Q
11
~ urder~lb, !tcf ·:ni\)'
1

lCig ncncd con ciou.,ness of tile su ung work 'Jete by fo ·bookdust' .1nd 'Eng. Lt.'. ln contrast to
~ .] o f l rlSContcmWt ~xpre,s""h
...
I~.:u Iue
. .m per onalh re oh·ing thc•u,cs
. past, h'1S f ate pret\'tcts t h c f uturc:
~~1. m~}n.ddledja-15
•!4. b) h''s 'trt l c • k·' iroOl' hts
nt
Person'. f IS aI 'en..ion of rom::mt'
• oc uon 'u'sawala' th d' vu<on'),! " ~ ll'lbaht) tO ,rca
s~ It rom t lC out"'idc. He use tcchni • c lstancing of ' Is~ ~~ t\nd h.:re'!\ an announcement:
me. hto sho" c ntradicti•ms ' elf- uCCl' J qu~~thatcreateoth
pt
the!t\f,,
er
~~~ periodic.1\ly triggers
llJ
o t c .tlread, difficult unstal)l" . •on' and causep so{er$ptc
c1ousnc~ ~nzo~ Urt.
. l llll:\.turc )f · f 'I
1ourge\)IS con
# • ,

md
•

tl c an •ron)•-lad rne men to .tct

b . .
mo enust t>orucs he uses pc1 t
• lC n\m-na ·
d . rrattve orga . . ne o! ~llJ
an Ol~,...
..,s the bonds of the earth.
1 a bright tide rev~l':mg 1ns1 ~ me, a oor.
andJ:tde.~t~·eme fragme~~:
• • 'd d
I d . ' , "
a ong With technique..' of the cinema
' -mo ern """ o! has set
Giv< up your seats .>nd 1mn the cast of thousands,
frmn
11 popular,
.. rna" culture· O<Uon often bormw~ ""
revolve about h1s p1eces too .
(brown slav~s, black vamps, wh1le faggots,
~romlCthehrst
b'
pan of the ''tv1issing Pc:r ,
~~q~ence.is
Life' anc.l umsists ol tout·t«.:onn·SCtCCttOnS f entitled 'See11<1
1\C . auto tqg~aphy .see!' .\~ cinema fl.lshback ~om a rcpresentat· deceivers. women who rend and claw)
,.mou 'matcnal \\ IHch lronicallv pia. • . s, mterspt>rsed "it~ Some poems in th< first section of 'Missing l'em1n' arc difficult to
. , , ./ us or comments upon thellf( oruJ<r>rand b.cau" of the extreme fragmentation. The various bits
Belte' e. that ~ me on the screen- . "'pi"" of an unintegrated character shaped by ,·aried conrra-
through the Muttering dust through th b d.>Orycultural influences. The jerkiness, caused by juxtapositions,
The numing
'Q J dog rrms but ti))''"'" P e .urst-opcn door.
vt Ut 01-tt ItS t')'CS dlip<S, and the lin< movements of the poem. is meant to express
~ce was whole, 1 was all. · · dn.Theshifts in voice and register suggest the uneasine» of a
Beheve, why don't y\lU believe?' m,ddle-c\ass, English-speaking Indian who has no authentic
character, voice and consistent tone or angle of perception.
A~;~.~ se~ion recalli~g the alienating effect of ,.;hooling and<>
The first plrt of 'Missing Person' has the f~eling ot a quick mo'-
p on, Lost, runmng from acid to Marx' the , ,t' . p
returns h 'll l . , :.v tssmg moo
h 01~~ su . ~syc wlog1cally an exile. Although now recOK mg: ro~ghly-cut movie with rapid shifts of focus. an abruptness
. .
017.J·n~~t at diS pnv,legc arc ba ed on the continuing injusucesol ~b,ch ~~.~upported by a deliberatelv flat diction dr.1wn from cliches.
car_~t ISm .an colonialism he is unable to rise abo\'e his situation as :llru•ng and mass culture. Ther; is .tn aud iencc watching a fdm of
<m~>•ng person, there is a school-room setting in which the
a vourgeo1s rebel: ~suing
1 effects nf learning the English l.m\1Ul\~e .ue rcpre~cnted b'
1~ the {~st of a rioting people tnt • A'wl"'
le cttcr . \1 ."contrasted to the child's
t> l'\ "iggly laughter at
h1s romng head. ili~e i h'f
•rnmg about h. oerog YP
1 h. 1cs an d the l.mguages o of de.><l cultur<:
A mirror fires at hin'l point blank appurs a 'l 1 t (Part I, section 6) in which the missinl'0 pcr .. <'n
and yells, 'Drop dead rom theH\) •)C aIThi ~ d Wotld b\ ac k• surroumt<d by anuJ .11en>te d
.,h"~' . de~·m.ots
\'

colonial ape, ' rtU!ics of a foreign metropolis. there arc liol<'' in

back under an idealist spell. cd mel.:; 01 ('. d of he ult to say who is speaking. Th c u n assi mil a-
Ybes, Y?u·vc made it to some kind of hell. Cttatesache 0 mtluc~ccs and pressur~s on the mis ing pen•on
ackslader, get liquidated'. j"' P'"'~"'e
bourgeoi:os uf 1he personal it • ' isi" o ,md cu It ur · ol
'"'"<n•ed co o~oal ontdlectual. The poem reveal the nej;ati' ,
1
·w.an·•you know whose ide
'passt\'e quality of the mi sing person as a rc. uh of
I'm on', he shouts
__t_th
.______'bu ~ e people, th,cir teeth bright as axes
 250 MODERN INDIAN 2S1
colon..wsm, western mass culture
~-•~
th E .
POITly IW
• a1 • • as representative of his class falling off
tions of a foreign metropolis the EaS: ;ghsh ~ t:Jongan s•0 •
family and the potentially r~olutiona- ~ c~nflict, the-·--- :L.~---
hiflor)'t
of which he is unable to be pan. He be?' Situation in hia --bling through cavities of space,
·c·....

of bits and pieces. As in many of Juss:;~l t? no Place,IJe

--·"'·'
~d _rhymes occur _closely together, creatina 5
:c:emsin~
aroruc dfect, an anti-poetry in which the gl Olnewhat ...
. d" . d . overoadofrh ~
nuncs tgruty an contnbutes to the criticism of the . YDtell04r.
~tho_ugh fragment~tion is characteristic of th~SSUlgl'enat
r~p•dly JUxta~ses vanous perspectives, unidentifi!i' 1rbiQ
kinds of matenal, there are places where ju aU "OJca ...
ak . h
spe er or tmposes co erence on the seeming h
ssaw a ste\..
,;-•••
somewhat of an illusion; the varied voices attc. aods. ch1011
.. . ad , ltU es ad '
az
cnactsm~ ~ e throughout the poem either contribute'to a'llc:~.ad
of ~ ~smg person or are themselves misleading voices
adVISe ~ and themsel~es reflect the post-colonial situation. Ftt
example m Pan n, ~c.tJon 5, the claim that Indians are rbe 111
~nalSsance peop~e 1~ •~elf -:ne~t as ironic, and the critic iscna-
cized. A problem IS dt~ungutshmg between the voicesandbowiD
regard them_, as there as often no guide as to who is speakinc 11
bo~ ~e vo1ces may. be wrong. But occasionally a controllilc
VOICe m~rvenes (as m Pan 1, sections 8 to 10) to conuiburu
penpecttve.
·~oints of Vif'W', the second section, consists of seven poems
w~ch offer a critical portrait of the missing person as a repram·
Wlv~ of a class which, in Fanon's words, will accomplish nodUli
and IS ~demned to failure. There are various speakers in ~I,
Rpraentmg the attitudes of such different persons as a wife, a
profcuor and an anist. They are the supposed audience of 1bc
film of the pe~·s life shown in the first part of the seq~
~ part of ~ coo~ As is seen by the missing ~ ~
~apart m Ll~, he JS surrounded by violence, the VJO~~ 11
tOCiety and ~ violence of the various influences on hiJn,
;;!; •aWe to pan:icipare in the violence because he does no&:
• be~ unimolved, because he does 'lOt love. He cannoc.....
:;;.~• wilb Ibis M•ebon and what jussawalla sees as~
... - - -IOciety. Ratba- than becoming a herO, or - ·
l\llilillil• is neprivc, unable to solve me~~
"DDbbe to aa, feel or care is ui~Y . fl'*
.lfllil,il -.cace madudes with cbe JDisljrll
_. mind's gone,
~ds, rocketing
blind .
'dt unlovtng error.
ft'l h thy has sought to recover a lost Tamil-Hindu
~Part asara .h h . f
"~:;,alia hopes for involvement w1t t e prodgr~ssavki~ dorcesf
~.J-:- , development. Both poet~, however, es~re n s o
~~ 'ties identification wllh some collecuveness, as a
,.-_~unml1·0 g' personal alienation. While the themes and
_.as 01s arc indicative of problems faced by tl1e Ind"Ian EngI'ISh
overco
GJICBilthc also represent two usual responses to the chaos and
~oriness of the modem ":or~d-.nostalgia for the s~pposed
lllheoacity of the past and faith an fandang w~oleness by mvolve-
- with a revolutionary movement workang towards a better
&mac. . h
Alienation the lack of harmony with one's commumty, t e
' .
irding of what others might consid~r inap~ropn~te responses,
Ge smse of not belonging, is also nouceable an India~? poets who
have not lived abroad, such as Manohar Shetty and Keki Daruwalla,
mdmipt be said to be part of the human condition. Parthas~thr
and ]ussawalla arc writing of the human condition, but tre~t~g 1t
widio a specific historical context brought about by colorualism,
lhfrole of the English language in India, the alienation of th~ edu-
cacdurbm Indian from the rural Hindu population, and ~e1r own
._of~ both in England and in independent ln~a. Such a
COil:em wath alienation is a major theme of Indian English poetry·
be~poetry in our time is not pan.of m.ass or po~_>ular culture, to
1as:a (In contrast to a song-wnter) as to be ahenated, regard-
~t language is used or where one Lives. While aspects of
-.t are pan of the thematic repenoire o~ most ~oets, and a
11eaaa ~ of some, to be a serious wnter or ~nt~llect.ual
·~that It •s unpossible to return to one's roots. Thts s1tuat10n
•6t 10 be felt~ intensely by an Indian En~ poet. ~aps
c•
10~ do IS use the tension berween wnnng and an •deal
llllli.r aoew culture.
COmpared the poetry of Mehroua, Chitre, Kolatkar and
 M O I>I n~ I IJIAN 253
l'()l'l'JI.y I
~ h . • N I!~ ttfrvttl'l cr's response than do Mahapatra,
Mahapatra tOr
d
c ara...ten.HJ o; u uallv thought f
·· I ' fl
post-mo em wnung. t 1 use u to compare Panh " 0 ilSfllM~
--rn
l
~~~ 0 ,..,.,u·ol 0 £ the read even at
R nanu 1· an. In this sense they arc
· · · f h
awalla in ~uch tenns. h should be undt'rMood ha5arathy ~dJ~ ore . ..,... Kolatkar or. • l poetics with ItS :muatmg u t e
· · c, not CY<_, · • owev~r• .L""at lilt ~e~~rotra •. ,rs (}t E7.cktel
r cuslear yl context its emphasis on moral
v
comment are dc cnptn uU.lti\'C, Panha.sarath •'s ,. · herttt
both ,n I ithin a 1argc
tura •
unicate to the reader.
s.1ge, as might be expected from someone inf]/ · Ro~eghp«J. persona ; its anxiety to comm
Eliot, jo; in tilt' tradi~ion ot modt·~nist pueti~s. It haesn~~ ~y is cho'ce an
aloof author "ho locu~c on Ius memories Ref ah~ated
material, historical worJd is slight: the emph;sis is erehce to tbf
p!iychology of the seJf. Thematically the poem is h~:~~: ~n tht
contemporary world of technology and modernization and t tbt
found in v:riting; after variou~ di-.illusionmcnts an becom 50 actil
of life. Rough Passage is open-ended and given coherence~~ a " 21
symbol~ and p.1tterns of imagery and other devices, incl~ugh
suggestions of .1 ~wry, which give it a formal structure. 1
ng
'Missing Person' appears authorless. There are many \'Oices
but, as in most post-modern writing. none is identifiable~ speqfi.
cally the author's or his persona. "!be fom1 is highly fragmented and
without a trucmr.tl centre. In places it reads as bits and pieces. Jus·
sawalla's collage, montage and cinematographic techniques can bt
said to illustrate the post-modern tendency to imitate technology
and mass culture. History is not a tradition to be regained, as it isior
modernists, but an undesirable colonial past which has led to cui·
tural chaos and present hopelessness. But unlike the post·
modernists who refer to a continuing nothingness or t~ose who
focus on the self-reflective nature of the artistic creauon, Ju~·
sawalla is closer to the Latin American writers who see the possi·
biliry of hope in raised polirjcal consciousness and revol~tion.
The disorder and chaos of the poem is given .sense by allusion ~0
Fanon's views on the Third World bourgeois intellectu~ and t ~
~eed ~~change ~ne's sit~ati~n through revo!uti~nary actl~~ri:d
adenuftcauon wnh an htstoncal process. Th1s m1ght be de: ·h
h I · ·
as anot er, ater verston of the modcrntst use o m ' h'ch f yth 10 su~;
works as The Waste Land and Ulysses, to provide a frame w p1ire
:v~ coodere~ce
h to the tragmen~rness· emop:rmas~athy
ot· t h.th d m era 0 es r
110
err m em1st or post-modernist styles, net er d frag·
Jussawalla is willing to allow the poem to be totally ope.~ansuchas
~~· Both au~ors provide comments or ~ther mateo ~ retain
significant quotauons, to impose a perspecuve; both po
PART
2
 QtAP'ItR fOURTF.EN

The Diaspora
ID All'S TRICULl URAL NOSTALGIA
"'HASHA H

I rcant decades the older boundaries between the nation and me

nuide world have become fluid, even arbitrary, as cultural inOu-
::cesand people rapidly cr~s~ bo~ndari.es and ~a~guages. Fo! many
writers the choice berween l•vmg m Ind1a and l1vmg as an cXJie now
s:cms a produce of a time before low-cosr international travel, rhe
mtcrnltionalization of the economy and increased opportunities ro
tt'Jdy, live and work abroad. In such circumstances, when writers
maybe pan ofa large and increasing dia'ipora, rhe question of who is
ousnot an Indian poet is different from in the past when charges of
beingnon-lnd1an were essentially attacks on writers who did not con-
form to some nadonalist norian of whar Indian culture and tradition
should bt. Whereas the nationalist finds in aspects of an ideali7.ed
pm useful, ifarbitrary, symbols of identity, Lhe writer of the diaspora
u aJ:v'ays faced by the need to give cohertnce to his or her life. If
~ung ofthe diaspora is marked by feelings of exile and Joss, the better
~nter will find ways to transcend uprootedness and turn lamentation
Into a more cncompassmg • vtslon.
·•
an~;:are ~ow severaJ generations of poets who travel regularly to
a,· fi lndta, poets who were born of Indian parems abro:td or had
sec~~•canr part of their childhood and education abroad, or who
W::'
ffl4rned on the. rnove. M~ny tea~h in fi~reign universities or are
~'-- n non-lndtans and ltvc ouLstde lndta. R. Parthasarathy aud
~ttm r·eerad' ·
f!OeiS a! tna now teach and live in the United Statc.'i. M.any lndaan
Canad~eA so P~rt of the new multicullUralism of the Unitccl Sr.atcs,
alsodev~to ~:Ilt.a and England. An international lirerary matkct has
abtoad th4.p • wnh. the result that some Indian poecs are bcuer knowu
~poll, 1°~ 11 lndaa. Agha Shahid AJi might be con~idc:rcd part of a
llldg, but n ~ans who spent part of their youtl1 abroad, returned w
~t ed elsewhere, and frequently visir Jndia. Sud1 lives have
 258 M001 RN INn
I~N i'Otj 2)')
prodw:cd a difrerem kjnd ofJlOCtrv wh' h ky IN E~
. · tc • rathe . h Gu ~ sr~"'({" . · I h · · I
1
th I
ro c conrcmpomry uerary ~cenc abro d . r t illl bei 111 £ or" inccrnacional cduca.uon a ~c t c •.ntlcrnattona
Agha Shahid Alii one of the few Ind~a~ ~~~fte_n cc~rro1r':~ ~ar&l~
chnologJe:., k rs and profcsswnal e ttcs-rmg tt he more
~· re . ed wor c: • h . f d
~r ·t·ryofrr.atn 'alism' with tts emp asts on a racture ,
poet~ (alrhough rhe numbe r is inc .usiJm English.J t. 0 b11 , osc-co 1on•· .
English-language poets from Kashmir (~~a~ng), o_nc oft~~ 111 fol ,han p cultural idenmy.
us~stant. oarional or als exile blues, fantasies ~bout roads not taken,
now that he has been a Jong- rirnc resident f ch Ka~ ts anorh 1) fell r~v~ 1 ileAii's poetry r:v.e of family and old friends, its idiom is often
the new Americm multiculruraJ poets. Tr?tin eJnn_ed Starc:s~ illd
product ofmany e\ ems-Indian Independe gu d• tnculcuraJ, blltcf
0 " r he sccunues
Iongings ror td Wit• hout the exile's defensive need r10r cu lIJlra1assertion,
l . c h . d . .
.
. . an d l he M Jl1"equenc migration ofpenee lan the su bconr ne~ IS a
Partmon Amerialll an T · ns or self-congratu anon 10r avtng rna e 1t to a
. m. I'nerary modcrn1sm, . " 1 IUs .,..'t'11ge for humt htauo h · . poetry moves imaginatively across borders
educanon participationop · es-and .rn~auenccs_ •·· 1 d R:lt er,• • tsg experiences in a vanety
s 1 r~nge an °
·
o fl andsand Situations
· ·
styIes-w h1c . I1 ma k·e h'1m .pose-colonial'. But hm · conrernpol'alylitrl':ln. 2SSO'iatingand ~b ~ or co recall what has been lost. Lm.s or nostalgia
1 10
. h ,. b'l' f lS poems ofte -r
qu~non t e :1pp 1ca J ICY o generalizations about th n makelU bl . I rclattons tps
1ocsra ts \ . h'
.
etry for parts of his Amencan as we as n tan
ll 1 d'
and post-modern. Rae her chan a poetry of fragm e post-colonj~ c.tn crop up a1Ill IS po been interested in what others have 1ost-whether
. . I. h l . enrs and fra
cxpenences m w lJC cu rures Incongruously conll' Al'' grncnred past. He hash way; dian culture of his mother or the American Indian
.
become mcreasmg . Iv orgamzed. .mto mcani o~fuJ st let' I s poet L
. ry 11a, 0
. . " f . . () ructures wnh irbechc 0. rt ernhnre he for a time lived. His lyrical nostalgia provides
narratJ\'eS, suggesuve o conttnuJty. · o
tnner ( Ar1zona w e
paH~ . . d a springboard for fancasy. If the poetry appears to accept
\X hi1e Ali i~ conscious of exile, of che wav
1
especial! · r d' contmulty. ld an.tis' such lyric sensinvtty
· ·
can be nusrea · d ; thc Urd~ ghazal
guage an cu cure cause separanons, differences thereY·In 1n Ja' la.Qa
. 1'
d I rhe".or as I t'l. t'cal lyrical While writing in modern Enghsh verse
. . • IS a so aware. ~by 1tsnaturee Ip 1 , dUd
n_ess thar mu Iuculturaltsm, change, e~~e, difference, loss and nosuJ. r. . ~~· • also 1 ' nfluenced
·
by the conventions of
•
Pcrs1an
gta are common ro the human condition as seen in che lh... fL· 1omH ;ul IS • f •. ' r u
an
ry, especially the ghazal wi.th its conctse ~e o repen~1ve 1~~~
·1 h' r · d
own. f:amtf y.. 1s men ho s and che artists he admires. Loss is part f·L
passmg_o time, .ISlory, t~e earth's geography. Loss, whether of lht
..~ o ms
0 Ul(
!: phrases, to develop suggesnons of symbolic narrattve, _Jts ell•ptlcal
metaphors, imaginative leaps and reliance on the reader to br~ng coger?er
proteouon of famtly, of fnends, homelands or ahernati,·e furures,u adimsicy of unrelated couplets into a supposed m~ca~honc na!rau~e.
normal, par~ of grown-up experience, rather chan panicularly dit By convention there is greater significance in what Its 1magery 1mpltes
tragedy ofextle or the result of cui rural conflict. This sound~ as mudi dun in what is actually said. . . .
!sla~ic fatalis~ as post-modernism. Ali received pan of his school· Although Ali writes in the manner of Amencan poets, ~1th thetr
mg Jn ~he. Unaed States, which might warn us against superfim.l tmpha~is on the concrete, the specific, the here and now, theu gestures
generalrz.atJons. towards transcendence (or the denial of transcendence) an~ ~he
Bor~. in D~Jhi into a well-educated English·, Urdt!· and colloquial parodying ofcultured sensibility, he also inherits a trJdmo_n
Kash_mm-spealung fami ly, Ali lived in Kashmir before anendrng the of nuanced desire, offaralism and separation, ofimagining, of no~talgJa
Burns School in Muncie, Indiana. The Burris School is affiliared to fi,r what cannot be, the poet's union with the divine. All ex~ertcnce,
Ball State Universiry-where Ali's father was earning the 0' 51 whethc.r of family, friends, place or culture, is ring:~ With los~,
Docrorate ever granted by BaH Stare as well as the first Doctorate Ill nostalgia. Nostalgia, not for an ideal world, a place of oraglnS or !oots,
Education by a Kashmiri. AJi was well integrated in rhe school, W2S bur for something missed, a past or future, relationships rhat will not
encou raged to Wnte · and 1s · sttll
. remembered WJth . auecuon
_rc. • b)' formerf develop, lives unlived histories the poet cannot share except by an
classmates and reachers. Although AJi is parr of che new w.avc ~ rxtc~sion of the self d~rough desire and imagining. . .
phost-colonial immigrants to first world countries, his wriring •s,rnoral ~Nt studied for a BA in the Humanities ( 1968) at the Umvcrslty ?f
. lZed bY nostalgia for his various homes t1tan by cu chas
c aracter· ru J: .. _~rnir_: he then went to Delhi University for a M:tster's (1970~ 10
conflict Co 'd ·
, . · nst enng }us . f:am1ly
. and personal h'tsrory, 3 rer.rn f dsucnicy, ':"Jt;~ll>h
Sb.tes whltrt'r:uurc and taught there until 1~75. He retumed to the Untteald
new mternationaJism'-wirh its awareness ofthe spread 0 .rno e ere he earned a Master's degree ·m I:.ng· 1·IS h and wrote a doctor
 261
EV'"~ro~tA · La I
ll • , · tingaKashmtr · ncscape'Al'&writes,
· 'Mycolours
1
estro)cr. In •.un rhe sun~ct ran t h rough my fimgcrs; ' rea1'tty ·&s
..s~d 1.1 not 1t&ng ... 1't
uld ho u 'Lie past which he cannot grasp. ne great singers of
CO
~til all
'nacn
1 ..
-ssJ,
1
· as bndges
bolic · w a l11story
· he cannot expenence
·
thrP'~t bCl·mne
on • f Ali's poems in t he1r
!lyn . attempt to fim d 1'an k~ and
and .~f 1 ~1 ~~lt~K~ L. Saigal' is celebrated a~ such a link: 'N~stalgic for
coounuJu.c. ·. I / I make you return I h1s wasted gener.IUon ... You
Ill) ~athcrs )~ur r~ins of decades.' In the title poem, 'In Memory of
fth If all kh t 7(later reprinted), Ali writes an elegy for the great singer
Btg11111 hA r.,.u oblique lyrical qualities of the ghaz.al. The way the
11.p'ch JS t lC • h h• th
'. , ~re e:<pressed parabolically c roug 1ma_ges, e ~ay statements
r~dlll~ ' d'ng on their own. the general feelmg of dcl&cacy, and the
are lett st.m , 1 really is a song rnade up o f 1ync · ph rases show how
1\J)' t he poe
111 . .h h . d
. . _· . 1. Ali writes Engltsh-language poetry Wit t e muslC an
m~tlm Cl' e ) .
uern of the ghaz.al tn his ear. . .
pa \\"e are ·o used co the cliche~ ~f moder~&s_m and post-m?derntsm
· h'ch fraccure is valued as cnuque that It &s natural to m&sread the
:l:~i~tication of the rich cultural tradition in which Ali participates
and celebrates: 'You've finally polished catastrophe I the note you
swoned II with decades of Ghalib, I Mir, Faiz: II I innovate on a
note-less raga.' Since Partition, however, Ur~u culture has been i_n
rl:dine in India. Perhaps the only strong surv&val of the older poeoc
tndition is in the ghaz.als as sung in movies. 'Thumri for Rasoolan
Bai rommemorates her voice, which is contrasted to her house, burned
do¥tn during riots in 1969 in Ahmedabad: 'I ran from there./ The
v.ind's blood-edge where I her songs had curled me in fla~es-.II I
could only preserve/ her breaking voice.' Ali sees himself m exile as
tn heir to the tradhjon of Rasoolan Bai and Begum Akhtar. Rasoolan
\\~a Muslim but her sryle of singing was influenced by the ~~du
BcJUrcs tradition. One loss, one nostalgia, is that of the pre-parot~on
north of India with its rich Muslim culture that had taken lndtan
roots and developed as Indian culture with shared sources.
M~. ofAli's poems are autobiooraphical and concern his exploration
~ or'5Jm, his condition of exile~or his evolution and life 35 a poet.
!h~tuc.i~· trac~ his development as a poet _from his m~d-ceens
~his twe;Dnes. lr begins with the interesung .?b en:auo? ~t
. romanuc poetn• was not our of place in Kashmar " 1 m l[S
....~......__ seasons and na~ural beauty. Although the uees '"ere different,
-.J poec:>' '"'aS often similar. Ar 18 an English professor (~'ho read
his poems and wrote a derailed crilicism) [aught him about
 262 MODERN JNDIAN 263
.
modern poerry, T. S. EIJot and 'dis ipline' An . 1 ~'~cq
flOEl'Ry IN
b 1 ,~.sroRt. n'
, rei language, he realizes that he or~ly !s
·
the contemporary world and its wars lcxi to h lncreasmg a.,.,lr~n "'
· ,. £ o Muslim) and a f~on gins read he continues to scudr En~hs?
1abnguabge and andodbsesshton.'\Jt
· · h death which 1took ~nf
e usctheof~a Olor~supJllt .J-;tlland
ratJlU 1.1 sef'V·- I(.e to Revolut b vest . h.1t 'SI1.akesneare
r feeds myahenanon
• .f
a our ones an eat . Ht:~ poems became le.ss · ),ng P d 'ronically o ser L ft he like many writers, JS aware o
~IirerantreaAnl''s' politics ~re of the e t, ali:V and political simplificm ion~.
orm of POe
1
sJam suggests 'Now I slant my \\"av through rh}·mcst/mp cas .the Pun : 1 h I between ac u. ., h' h kdl
,A,!thoog d incongrut~les
. .
my twentle5.· ' Each o t~ t I1e £'rour st.tnzas
• .s, stttmblt n~ th roughn
of eight lin o volumes of poetry w tc mar e us
theme in technique beginning with the 'e.ISy' rhym~ ~Tproxunates thcabsu;87 he publtshed n:" h real achievements. The~ ~re rather
and 'here I corner' to such slanting rhymes as 'day 1do ~7}' 1ShclJq In I as someone wtt . . manner and, surpmmgly, were
111

'Not Autobiographical I' and 'II' recount AJi's est~at Password emergcnbce o'·s· almost contr asnng . d111of t'tme 'Both are related to Al''t s
·tt. nt o to..: ' h me peno . f h'
Islam. His parents were modern and secular, read Freud ~~~nt fro~ dlllere . 'tten over t c sa U . d States and acceptance o IS new
d)•\HI . he nJte . l' h .
his grandparenrs were obser\'ant. 'While we should nor assu a~ but mos. ed residence tn t .
nunu h an mcreu.>
.,.,e 'tn ver!>e technique, m po IS ' tn
f c H'
co The poems s ow k . h' a larger range o rererence. ts
home .. nd the ability to wor ~~.t mb' cct. The Half-Inch Himalayas
the family derails are literally true rather than poetic truths ITIAlie.,t t.all
ft~~ ~ecome his mythology, ~s i~ s~ructure follows his change ~f
·ts rhat l1e was ra1se
· dm · a C'ram1'1 y 10
· w h'tch Isam
1 and European ' tho s flOtm
gh
existed alongside each other, although with each generation there\~ 1
rapid increase in westernization. One grandfather, an onhodox Musltma ;~:tl~ bac~ t~e b~~t:~
looks to States. It even repu?lis~es ofh~s
twho
hon:esfrom lndta tot e h h
A Walk throug. t t I t . . 6 , v.llow Paoes as Its tJde s ows, ts
prayed five times a day. A grandmother used the tale of Job to te.1ch
him that aJJ things belong to the Lord. Ali wryly claims to have lost his earher poems. . d American, 1d10m.
wrim·n directly an a .mo e;,consists of a prologue followed .by f~ur
faith when a servant's shoes were stolen at the mosque. Ins read he becune
Tht Halfbzcb
.
Hmzalay. 1
h' h ov1de a oosc tmag
. 'tnacive narrative wht1e bemg
a devoree ofpoetry: 'l\.1y voice cracked on Ghalib I and my rongueforg01 disrinctsccuonsw tc pr . ch es and other patterns. J.O
-r.
the texture of prayer.' h ugh tmages, e o
linked to each roget her .t ro . ·ub necessary to discuss the poems
Ali looks backward ro a supposedly unified culture and nation .he appreciate Ali's accomplishment ttWL d ~ Kashmir' che prologue,
has losr and which he tries to recapture in his imagination, friemhh1ps in more than usual etal · os d ·1 •p tear 1rom mo loss of home and
1

introduces the themes of the volume, ext 1 e~ me ~' and it have both
J0
and verse. (Such nostalgia for a lost unified culture has been a feature of
Indian Islamic writing since the mid-nineteenth century, when the acc(ptance that you cann~t go hOI~e a~m ~ a lost pasc: 'Kashmir
British destroyed the social fabric of Delhi after the Mutiny.) The "' 0 clu.ng~d. All you can have lS a shrun en tmag b six i nches./1 ... Now
versions of•Learning Urdu' concern the divorce rha.t Panirio.n ~rot shrinks inro my ~ailbo~,/ my ho:ne a n~~t ~~;This is home. And this
about between the pasr and the present. The revtsed vers~o 'D !hi Ihold! the half-mch Htmalayas 10 r:".Y um · ntrol and neatness
Panition', comments 'History broke the back II of poetry. Inch e thcd~sesrl I'll ever be co home.' Dcctston, P7~~~~~~he eight or nine
the grandfather of a Hindu friend warns 'Those M usI'tm''d burR ccher'
ers •, il( remforccd by the careful balance of sy a h fir.a four lines are
they stab you in the back.' In another poem, 'The Jama tvfasJI out smile syllables in each line of the first couplet and the ~ay ~ e 1· ··d . . s disturbed
A1 • b {'
1 uys nom a butcher 'Urdu, bloo y at
d his r1ps who does I . flfGh~ib'.
·
\'lsually of~qual length establas · hes a pattern wh tch IS vane _·d" 11 And my
c:
I

but 'We establish tl1e bond ofphrases,/ dressed in the co~p 0 sing the tmmtons ar~ brought forward: ' . . . MY1ove I so overexpose
. 1 ·,.,al. a~surance
· ·
Bloody, haclcing at ribs, a prayer book hung .on a, .00 h, ~utcher's ~nemol) will he a little I out offocus~ tn It. len d huasing IT~ ew tee 11-.. ' ....
lonform
~1e handling t)fline length and the way synt~ a~s a~drmeaning tinds
10
langu~e of Ghalib, there is 'a century's c.areful1mage Jn c ~ted many
tongue. Ali .later ~ev~sed _this poem ~ th~ experi7nce rep~~~:final r,e~ to line bzeaks arc also seen in how well the emouo · n of the
of the confltcts wtthan himself and lus vtew ofhts pa.st~.J' Rev•SJtcO rn~phrmc cxpre::ssion in the picture pasteur an
. d d the extensto
tr of focus ...
m m1s volurne, writren in the United States, IS
• .:L. . 'TI1e I:.Uuor
• lence ort e
th ptau~c: image in 'love ... overexposed' and 'memory · · 01
in which Ali's 'fa.int British accent' is contrasted to theH~IOd' urdu. or negauv~ ... still underdeveloped'. . . · s of his f.·unily
streets. Marxists tell him he must learn to wnte . 10. an •· ""'eS£erf1, I . Secuon I consists largely of fantasies or lmaglnmg f Delhi' Ali
Bengali 'fh · ftl • culrures \ "' HstorY· 111 t he firsr of the etght . poems, 'A L os r Memory o •
I e IS to be an Indian poet. A product o ucc
 264 MODI!R!I; INDIAN 265
• f h . . J• I'UE Ill,' IN E
ol"sr 1{~
\\ rnes o l e ume munemardy before and h' t.icl 0
. h future.• 'This is fifry years thlater.'
I> Thed
the r 1ree- me stanzas dC\'elops the nnrrativcat d n~.:~ption. Ea
a IS Co rtll • here t e h . lso picked up from e ostcar
00 ,e, h tap orts a . . ~ ll db
'I am' not ' born I it is 1948 and the bus turnrotlln an unageor ~or 'n another hotograp me I our horograph.' This IS o .owe . y
I rc:<roseu p 'I overexpose y h ,P the best of the three '" ptmt.
5
· ro be dpan o f Ius
name. ' H e d e,!res · parents' earlier
ontolife·a ,~0ad \\ 1P
14ct
thour
1 1 1 1
them :1m lleJr !>On o cr much older than th ' Want to
o"'t1'Jogue r- vision of 'A Butc .cr ,I is still fine on h'IS 1'tps ... 1smt'\e
nOCill,

. , Th e poems .unagme
k IH}C k·mg. . a past he nevereykarc I I knock kr!eJ1 ~tilllnotherlrbeloody a£ his fingcrnpls,tcs I the couplet, smiles,/ I quotes
, 'Urdu, 'b I' e· he comp e b . . I ts
often fan rast ic. 'A Dream of Glass Bangles' imagi newl and \\:hicht[
wou 'd I1ave worn SUCJJL bangIes. T his links, in his nesfa t lath"~~ lllother..
}terc
t
II Ghalt m • 1 • Ali's poem emg tn coup c
111Jqu~te complete I the c~~~~~peaking Muslims share despite
a Mtr hne. adition the twO r .
sleeping warmly in a quilt · tudded I with pieces ~ta.\~, hJs parrnts
0
'bangle /like wa,·es of frozen rivers' to a later winter \\.~h Jrrohrs to her
. ue.s the tr
conun ·ffi nces. h oet to think about the tstance
d'
1
'nouse ts • CO\'ered · h tctc
. wJt · · Ies wIuc
· h are used for torches.en r efaJnill their e~out Kirzg LtardcausesftD:h'li and irs rulers during Moghul
tt'
The first ~ccuon of TIJ~ l!alf/nch Himalayas is carefull A m he former splen our o . 'B ars now live here in tombs I of
bctweeodt the poverty of the present.. e~He recalls Zafar, a poet and
rf
The eight poems mo\'e from the Himalayas ofancestral and ·~1an~ed_
and his father's Kashmir down to the plains of India of hi~\
side of the family, the plains of the great Urdu culture that pr 0c ;r~ 11 or • esl1l

un
emperor, whose sons
d£

. weredraws
tten samts.
urnknown nobles an org~ll d by the British and who was ext e to
e on an d makes explicit the sub
'I d

. text
U dof
Partition. 'The Season of the Plains' speaks of his mmhcr's chil~h~d Burma. While ~ts poem within the tradition of post-Muu~y. r u
in Lucknow, the music and the seasons, especially the monsoons J.slamic nationahst pro~sc. 6 the glories of Moghul Delhi, tt als.o
(which do not occur in Kashmir). l\ femories within memories. wuhn fiter.uure with its nost gt~ or ocm of this secnon, 'Homage to fatz
loolu ahead to che ~oncludmgdp U du revolutionary poet is seen _as
the frame of the poet's fantasies and memories occur the memories his
Ahmed Faiz' in whtch them~ er~ r before I the Sabra-Shanla
mother might have had. History repeats itself even in her rememb~ring F · · Betrut two years Jb
of the same records and music her son will later celebrate. Although
me heir ofGhal'b t • at~ m . . . the 30 000 men hangc y
massacres' is like Ghah~ gtvmg votce to f 1857 after the Mutiny.
Luaknow was a centre of Islamic culture his mother remembers and the British in Delhi dunng th.e shummer o d begins by alluding in 'A
appreciates music about Krishna ('that invisible I blu~ god'). The . III al . ts of eto t poems an . Ah d
Seaton so consls din the <Homage to Fa.tz ~e
India of his imagination is the .Muslim-Hindu India of northern!"~
b •
WrongTurn· to the massacre m~nuo~~ m dream I'm always I m a
before the Partition. There are also poems on his grandmothe~s life Faiz' in rhe last poem o~ Sccuon II.d ~n ~ hrmare of alienation, of
and continuing religious belief, as represented by the 'Prayer Rug,and massacred town.' But th1s dreamla~ IS a d g dead gods rather
the great crafts ofthe Indian pasr, as represented by 'The Dacca.Ga~, bloodr unexplained foreign revoluuo~~ an s~r~g~~ e of3 revolution
destroyed by British colonialism and never again practised wuh qune dun the dream ofa renewed Urdu tradmon an P
the same skill: for social justice:
In history we learned: the hands I'm alone, walking among atrocities,
of weavers were amputated, guillotines blood-scorched,
the looms of Bengal silenced, gods stabbed at their altars,
dry wells piled up with bones,
and the cotton ~hipped raw
a curfew of ghosts.
by the British to England. . 'th
Th H. I"[! is uprooted; there
Tl te ctght ~• e following poems are set in America. IS 1 e . apartments.
· poems .m the second pan are concerneJ prilnanl}' . bety.ecn
life, culture and history in Delhi and the plain~. A brt0ge dis che rmanyrefercnces to airplanes, night~ in bars and ch~fJian Partition
th e last poem ·an the previous secrion an d th e c.rtrst 0 f the secon co ~e last part of 'A Wrong Turn' thoughts about t :.h~rl! the .speaker,
a!Utlousty ~ppear to take the form of a deserted r~wn Jed at the 'town':;
• also u.se5
monsoon season and rain. 'A Monsoon Note on OJJ ~g~ g hin,sdf one, aw:uu another train--exu:pt that here he ts scran
th d '
e evtce o f''A Lost Memory of Delhi' of the poet Ill' ' l"IPIOIO
t'
 267
·o~"
()!A I •
. I ' life "aving undergone no real
~5 Sl•'tltlllary, ll~
I tl ti•C por l •
01 te U •
1
1 i~ travel"· . l .. -like ,0 c.ns of nostalgta for
:lflJ I ,pttl! I , '" c sIX t ' calli 1 ' • '
haog ,\ c croon ,here· . I S "tCS In ·s,.rvivfJr he lm.tgmcs som:-
loche• Ia~' ,.,L,ilc in the Un
CCII vol •
att:l ' '·' t ,·rst··<l in his home in Kashmir
J Of rc I " I

1nu_;11'''''' •f be r c rn;ttrl c • f · mother. gur in. grotesque

I e ' 11 • J l c VOI~C o 1' 1 c d'
one', lll~ro l<tt~hnur :Ill t ;, tell her ,,,Jc.c; I in which 1was ncv~.:r •oun .
"1thl~ '}'eisbrc:.,thlcf>st ,A . KMiun it's an nouncement that
I 1\t 1 1 "' t o 1VI<.110 • f h
h ' 1\\ I . obvinus :m.t og, I f' l e climl,crs. ' I he power o t c
'11. ts t •c I I >n c< or so I ' f f .
''' ~~lrch \J.• l~er.n a ).IIH ~he obvious p.lr.tllcl and m_ood? sel -pity
the~ ~~partly Ill ~he wa~ \ Ali shifting between an trn~gmcd cor~tt­
pa~m, u,te,l . md dtHIIpltct >'(. <l im l''inill" his othct sell commcntmg
ll uiS J \ •ft IOillC ,\1\ • 1:) o I 1
ui~·iCitc h.tt not .t: 'f Ali were so meo ne else, ~o mconc ost w lO
n lm IHl'~rnt hfc .Is I . . ·, This awareness th at one has
up<~n . I . I rct\t I n ·' g.l II . • . l
:Uncvct lw IoutH ,tnt I ''< ut iti<.:'i of' hildhoC)d ts a umvcrsa
Ill I t ret urn lo t l C s... f I .
,h3nl'l·~l ""' ,.uuto II ' . India!\ I>Otll y hc~\WiC o l lc unpo~-
" ·tn y stron[~ Ill
th~mr! hlltuaw<·~p~ ·, I . .. ·l '•n other JlO LillS, sm h ,IS
' I 1) ream 1tIS
r 'I llt'i c ,1 >OI.HC.:< 1 'll k
tsnceor1:11111 Y· l) ·ll ' wlH.• tc h~ •tm:wln •
es lC W I ta e
WI t Rt'turn w r " o . .
Nttr~loun ' 'lt:ll S } I'IS f. rll'l\l
IS llll
'
I I ·
,s w '
l't ti•w fo r him wnh ~' ctnema
o
up thr. p ·~las II w.t • I I S~ 1Ill il is not there; 'The usher taps
tl c t•nd oft IC s \OW ... • I •
o kct, llilt .II I I . l·ct j., ten yc~H·s old.' The fin,ll poem, I ouS(!S,
:;:;n~~~;,'~~~~~:nlr~:~:·l~etwccu his .let of imagining ;I home and the
srcurity of home:
'I he man who buricJ his house in the !i:tnc..l
and tligs it up ~•g.ti n, each c~..: ning,
ll•arns to put it wgc.·thcr qutekly
allll just .1s quickly to t.1kc it 41p.ut.
My p;ucnts sleep like children in the: d.u k.
1.1111 ton far ru hear rhcm lHc.:ath c
, . • l ttl I)Oc.!tnS
1'1nr l/,rif ' huh 1/iour/ayru is rc.·mark.thlc fot • • •
us ltll tVIl .l • ·
und lllr ~~~ ~ttuc..tm.tl dc.:vdoprncnt .md unity. lt i~ ·' SUtlllllll1g l~p ·~nd
Jtlt111Jtion uf some !lftt•cn yc.•;t rs or wri ti 11 g poctt Y· Each poem 11\Vl.lC~
conlrn~r,t
' Oil .US teeI11\UlU
. C, W I\Ct I\Cr ..It IS AI''
IS I \,UU. II'lilt_;' (Jfdw tluc:c-lme
S\~117.a he •. 1 · l 1 · t 1 · , 1,."1ncs
.~:c sm ln JliCt Cr 1 { \C C,ISC Wtl \ W \ll ll IC 111 'o
r
. •
mct.tJ)hor-
Oilly' the I'111 k• gcs llC\Wt>cn pocmo; the coml ~l' 1y11c.t · 1<.lcl1\,;,'~)'of move-
rnent the · · • . '
oH '. ~ rcauon ol ~\ tl.lrr.tUV"' h .unc, cht• proJCCtiOil • • ~u f a.n .inner world
. t~~! 'C uno conllistcm images, or in the mu il. ol th e Ime~.
1
_
rugh a/k tl1rough tht illlow H1r,t>~ takes fut thcr the sllrrcal world ot
lltUre, fusuasy, absmd inumgn1ity, wild lnunour :wd the grorc que
 268 MODERN INI>IAN PO
269
1
th at oncn • Af'
.c.. appears Ill · the t1ve •BclJ Tt Rr IN tMc: Lr 11
1s poct:ry. Bcsrdes
Oil-' bl and keeps the witch in the
f piA r he lives com~orta dy fcake 'we take portions of her
poems, there is a poern which sJigluly reworks:~ . clcphone J..J_ , oecnt. . s tnsrea 0 d' h , Th
· c D' S n or1cnta) t;Ood•ltort'
'V\IQ ,Jd lllll cial occasion hes I her blood from the ts <7 . e
ad\•ernscmcnr 10r 1m ums, ['\.'10 poems called 'Ltn
on Scrabble and Charades, a poem base-d on graftlti (~age~es·~
1"'~~11·· oorurold father wash . wn house? Might the Witch be
bl"sel"t': 'Afl ~e old and build t e•r,oWould I be wrong to see that
W.11Js'), another telephone poem-th i~ time ~ign itlca oe:S on Barhi'Ootb
and three poems based on fairy tales. In these '>ocnr Y atChris~
~rtplace t rc curncd into pocltryhe repressed but as representative
narrnuve · re\'Ca 1 tne
1 • • •
msecurmes an d crears caused
r b 1
ms hang\12-
--~" ~
rv- r~. that a
dlt {cJlS h basernent
as not on Y t
--~ IO r .e house and t ere ot
1
h (i ·e imaginative y connecte wa
d "th

cultural displacemem and personal isolation. Each of rh~ ·S:~Iess~ ~.. tr\cncan . · abroad? · h'ch
Hours' plays wirh a slogan used in the television :~dvertt' el~llt of an "'" adult by 1tvmg . . has turned into a narrauve w I
ingan h" · secunues th
, , semenrs
anyo~e heard f!um you lately? , Cal_llon~ &stance: the next best ('H.~ be"'.~ , about ts '~ f alle aries that elaborate on e story
Afis ~~nme the subJeCt. o . g d figures. Autobiography often
to bcmg there) and re\'eaJs an extsrcnnal anxiety under th th~ itself has ~-- hors dtsgUJses an . Th
londincss: 'J only hear /lhc busy signals I of their nightmares:n; hSOci4! h
rough nrious merap f "ldhood which is lost in grow mg. up. e
1• s, 111
• .UJC
'L comemporary manner, d rsp · Iaced •nco
· humour. The 1orror dt in a golden age ~ c I demotions, his acceptance of dlffere~c.e,
'Today, talk is cheap. CaJI somebody' becomes the basis for d~a~~an ~dtyofAii's~xpenencfo~able yet exiled, of mis~ing somethm.g
Heaven; but instead of the Angel of Love he gets the Angel ofDea~ his feeling of betng com tribute strong1y to the lynca.l power ofhts
:btft\'Cr he lives or go~,. con d chnique since his earlier poetry allows
He answered, 'God is bu.sv. ~ry The more sophtsncate . ce. moving rapidly often elliptically,
"
He never answers the living. r-- . --•·A f varied assoctattons, , 1 book.
bimto~useo . while ordering the poems into acomp ex
He has no answers for rhc dead. ~cen layers offeelings, . A Nostalgist's Map ofAmerica (1991) _also
Don't ever caiJ again collect.' The I04 pages of poetry!n . . th section leading to secnon,
. 'fl t orgamzauon wa . Th
The ways in which one becomes habituated to, even made comfon- h1~C a stgnl rcan d. d underlying narrauves. ere
able by, recurring fears, so that they provide a home of a kind, con- recapitUlations of rhemes an. tmages anth e and is followed by four
'E d' ' whrch creates e ton d h
cludes 'An Imerview with Red Riding Hood, Now No Longer Little'. isaprologue, ury tc~' . . h S uthwest United Scates an t e
She, now rich and successful and no longer part of what a'tuallywasa
~ions. The first sccnon as set m t e ~ ythic and anthropological.
me poems move from the personal tot em f h mes·
demanding family, is asked whether she has any regrets: 'Beyond the Ash Rains' begins with an announcement o t e .
Yes. When the desert refused my history,
I lied when I said it was dark. refused to acknowledge that I lived .
Now I drive through the city, there with you, among a vanished tnbe ...
hearing wolves at every turn.
How warm it was inside the wolfl The second poem is 'A Rehearsal of Loss'. India and Amherica, ~~
personal and the historical, loss and fantasy, merge in t e 1as,r po
While .It could be sat'd that AJt.,s revtstons
.. of f:auy
. tales are another
redi.sco\·d)' of the 'cction, 'I Dream I return to Tucson in the Monsoons:
return to childhood-although one influenced by the ~ecent , Game'
of the terrors in the original Grimm's versions- Ha~se1sf rious Below me is a world without footprints
concerns the impossibility ofsuch a return. Life is a narrau~e ~I va in I am alone I'm still alone
stages .an wh'ach maturang
. and survtvmg
. . means becomrn . g stml
h arrr2ci\'t and there's no trace anywhere of the drowned
10'

the process of mastering, the sources of one's fears. Here rile ~~m 'the fhe sun is setting over
be&lna after the happy ending when Hansel's mothe.r te s into the what was once an ocean.
a-..~~c Section II consists of only three poems, 'In Search of Evanes:
womb's no place for a big boy like you' and pushes h•m out 0'((, no
world again on the route 'from the womb to the grave'. Wiser n '
....'I.C tsit"•lf
..... a sequence of eleven poems. The t h eme of'Evancscencc
 271

,.,,Asr0 ~~ . r sm As All is younger than Rushdie

•1y ts!Jrtll. ·c un 1vcrsa 1 • • B .. l h ..
• ty is more t1Uid than nus 1, t ere IS tn
~ b)·f-SorthAJtle ncan. soCIC
;>I' '
bout culmraltdenury,. . d"IS \ocauon, . anger,
~~ • gleSS coflfustofn a t·•tion resistance. This may be a matter of ~
~·'\1-fllhulluhauon.
111 , • • con alron .. '
circurnstanccs · cr
or a dmcrcnce o f gcneranons. · "'
~r ersooaI'11Y• person rrer of the c.onventtons . o f t he \'tterary genres.
~seoul :vs.
sp d -• o be a ma and traditionalls amtc poetry are lynca
I . . I an d
II'' 1110dern Europcnn
(loth •
the novel, based on m .tmests . an d reprcsentauo~, .
nt oal whc:rca5 . , tl political. I h:we also suggested that lslamtc
r 0 on the socla
(o..11S'$ , t1aJneel of change wbtch • • • I
1t ts use ess to restst an
. d
· .• 1: rn-an acccp
f;WII' f 1 •.ldivine will-mtght • expIam · Al''1 s turnmg · o f 1ass
t~htChIS F . . d hi~ universalizing loss as muurCl to the passmg
· nart o nc 1 · of
Sl~1t•l.l .111
ntiJ no L•
ted in ::~ctually knowing about the past of others and .ts
•
:·me. . . . lustory.
through
Ali IS mtcrts si nibtc the lacunae o f crorctgn h'tstory wtrn . t lus • own
.2h,r1 ·to JS tim•1 In A Nostal~ists, JV'Jltp ~o ..r o.I' A mtrrca · \11S · own ext'lc ·IS
1
tm~su'l
uansforrntd:md . . .. .mto the topor. o f t l1e t!·~vcll'mg Amencan,
. .lsstmtlatcd .
theArnrrican alvuys on the road bccwecn places. 1 he book of poems
b own version of the 'being on the road' novel or autobiography
15
hett-a\cls by car. airplane, train and imagination to friends, places,
~morics and the past. As in the American versions there arc mentions
11

r!pwfic roads. exits, tadio stations. places, people. Ali is often,

htcrall}. behind the wheel and on the road between one place and
Ulothrr. Whcu:as the American artist invests the here and now with
r~.rytlun?, making.e.xpcrience the onl)' v.tlue, Ali treats being on the
rood as:' Journey of the imagin.nion, fancy and memory.
lnAhs pot:try the im.tginnrion links past and present, America and
lndta .. lslamic .tnd Ametican desens, Americ,\1\ cities and former
So • lnJ't"·• 11 m•t)~s.. modern (1eserts anu. I pt ehtstonc
Amwcan • • oceans.
am ntetunc the . "' gc ts a won sliC 1 .ts a Clllt.t or ( esert . t hat
linl·' . . . l I 'C l , ' l
rJU~\ up lnd~.\ .IS \\dl.ls :\ pl.tcc in the United St:nes. Ali is conscious
plnfte Junagtn
• ·Hton .~s n Pl.tyground ;\1\ll o f poetry as :1 produce o f che
11 111 1
tnttn~xtu ~. c .t~~~ucr:.ur allusions, hccrar)' echoes aml self-conscious
iudf ltfe; '~·al.1 e tl.'.u.of man}' conccnlporM)' authors. his writing
IHtruc~nt• m pomttng to wh.H it is doing and how, Loth alluding
t\ r ~zriures Mnand ofere•tti '~g ·. metapocttc · war1 gm ern •ns convennons. •

The[! rma] 'P :~A'!'trrca lS more than a title to a volume of poem~.

"~I td bydtru~tunng oi lhe poems inA 1\'ostn/tTist's ft1n" o~'Amtrica
of r ki .
munns ,., ·,tam d
0
tn ng unagcs of c. rth, desertS, o eans, \vater,
r 'J •
' n OV."S • rcfl e nons, . d'taman ds, emero ld s, turnpikes,
 273
MOOERN IN
~roJti\ . •
ex.pre.'>s\\\l)'S, stairs train·· w' DIAN rol!l'Ry f pl/t h. tv reason to ask such qucsuons IS to understand
o ea seas, ghost towns silvc . ~ ~c trnages assi . ~:on'
fd d ' "• mgs S h · IN . 'T b . l' . t hc poetry
~,'.lfler•call· c.h distinctions have ccome tn ( tscusstng
Chance Village, Ghost Ran,l:,h Crl.~tleo;, ~ t•th'usd'"
£Nell
lrr~ th
sih·cr
· frac mllate
tures With.•rn~l> su d perhaps most recent poetry. !t could even be
that evnpor.ated. Although AI'' . , e m~rrored • green cl '1les d•3spor.l an cness of being p;trt of a culture and yet sharing in
are ooll oquial, there is a h ightt. \'Otcfijnd most re;r~~n<nt, ~ th, frrt~r ' hal thc:a'var
d
d their artistic trad'mons
. . . o f al\ good
.IS c\ taractenstlc
m..-ymoron and other means to l?ftphro 1 ed language of ,convenan ''~r coltures an
Th 1 t e poe .
e poetry presents a world of mirr . ms ~to the lyrical r, Paradox,
co ou olll
~15tS· i2.1tions of Agha Shahid Ali's poetry reflect many
person, place, rime, has reflections ?rshm which each e>.per'and fanct.1d, 'fhe re~t~l:t literary history. By the time he was included in
th h
~c, r e near and far:~way. If'Each
tn t e p d Jence b
ast an present, th .o 1CCt, cha?g~ !'~ ~c~ Mehrotra's Oxford India Anthology ofTwtlve Modem
th ofhsunshine ,·s sevene he~
IJ'1°d ~ns ~ 92), he was long resident in the United States and
old then · there are places and peop J·e ray
w ill see Jt. .All existence bcco mes t he s bat · ave
· and
f alread)· seen itmJnurcs
19
f,.l";.:'~ming an American poet with The Halflnch Himalayas
has some link or similarity to its o ~ Ject o nostalgia and or that "": \ ~ A NostnlgistS Map ofAmerica (199 1). Now, according to
deserrs, cities in America h . hpposne. Former oceans h probably ~0 7 ::. of his Tht Country without a Post Ojfiu (1997), he is a
.Al' kn
' . ew, a place to be visited has ... ~ . ~ames as cities in Ind' ohmc
a\ e t e same ave bee
~~~iri·AJTlerican. From the ~ontents he could be the nat~onal poet
of AlDS 0 · .....soc1anons · h .
. . ~to ctte the title of one of th
•a t at f fururc independent Kashmir, a land that the poems remtnd us has
wu .a fnend who died
Rear\'lew . Muror' · e poems: I see Ch'J'e .1n my ~o~been free since conquered centuries ago by the Moghul emperor,
Akbar. Ali would probably deny a nationalistic intent and claim to
In this poem we arc on the road a d
Bly or James Wright poem of the 19~0 rhe structure is like a Roben be a humanist concerned with universal justice, which cxphtins his
here and now is a starting point to buil~ ~r e~t 1970~ i~ which the rcftrcnces ro Sarajevo, Armenia, even a Norwegian hostage killed by
?f each other. Prefaced by a quotation fl anct I associations on top Kasluniri militants.
1t appears very AmeriC3.n •et . . rom a poem by James MerriU Pcrlups his intense emotional involvement with Kashmir has led him
have been written by a 'b} It IS ~ po.em that probably could o""' to experiment with so many forms as a way of distancing his feelings.
The poems creat~ an evolving loose narrative with seeming digressions
c n o servant 1ore1gne ·h · . . •uJ
fi rst IOrmed
. b)' the 'bo , f K h .
nes o as ffiJr What b r v. ose lmagmauon
. . . was
an I nd tan past he never knew ha 5 b . e~n as amagmmgsof bmnonizing with the main themes through repeating images and
a c:ontempo..... ,.,•Wh' ecome a connnental New World Prues. ~~r a prologue there are five sections, each a small group of
by curfews •v;ni ..... •
h · u mancsq · Jon
. cue \'Is · 10 · wh'tch the cominem is plagued poems ~\'tth 1ts own characteristics, followed by a few note:>. The prose
' :. mg ram IOrests, wounded republics: poem The Bless~d Word: A Prologue' expands on a phrase from
\X'hat will the mirror try llOW'~. I'm d nvmg
.. t"dch~ to imagine a time when Kashmir will he free. 'Farewell',
eop;.~~ng poem of the first section is in one-line smnz.as. The note
• f1 north.' a1 \"ays
still , 10r 11 owed by that country
t~ oors tee, its citizens so lovesick
f:" ~ po~':' ar one-but only onc~level is a plaintive love letter
' of~h .hm1r1 Muslim to a Kashmiri Pandir (the indigenous Hindus
: at the ground-sheer glass-of every city tlum! 01 11 are called Pandits).' It might also be seen as expressive of a
JS. torn up. They demand the republic

g1ve back · . 1ed • t hClr

. every reflection.
tte
thea~u1 and history asserted throughout thl' volume: 'ln the lake
22]. Th 0 temp~es and mosques arc lockeJ in each other':. rdlecrions'
The d' '~e,.,e
H ~ 1g till dawn but find only corpses. couplets er~ are Vlllancll.es: ghaz.als, even a proper ghaz.al in which the
T~ as returned to this dream for his bones. ll4tial ~~ ~u.gh each IS mdep~ndcnt in meaning, arc linked by the
e waters darken. The continent vanishes. ~nd It/ et AA rhyme word, 'Arabic', recurring as rhyme in rhe
Am I wrong to hear t h e translator of Faiz Ahmed Faiz in such J'10esd, tn AJ • ~ 0 each following stanz.a. Stanza 13 explains some allu~ions
Ther• · 15
lllttotell d~ry and the psychology that informs this work. 'They ask
. a nosta1g1st,
. . 1s not only
mappingAm · there is a radical at heart on th c: 1'0.1112 ,
enca. Is .Ali an Indian poet? An Islamic poet? A~hm
em what Shahid means-/ Listen: It means "The Beloved"
 274 M O IH IU'IJ INJ)IAN
, '\ ' ,, • ' ' I 0E1 RY I !II£
111 Pe.r-s1an, Vltncss m Arabt~ In the od NeLl~
li r nd lo1> of communion with the b~l c~n ~olitic:al fashion d
parr of the longing for home by rhe exiled>\<' J• •od, is Undc:l'lirl\n~llt
\VJL I AJ b II . an conou d ""~~ ~
wntc I nngsa.n samtctradilionofh' hi :1 .c:rc · ovflER Flri'E.EN
hi d1ction em also be clipJ>ed cconorntc •gh >'rtctsrn into f!ngl•·t
• t C 1311Pio
0
f
anxten•, as '1.\'C]J as" mged Allusion s range frorn the
'
k:age
0 rnodrrn
"'I

publishing 1987-99
mythology ro Shakespeare, f:.:mtlv Dickinso C , ran and Grrt~t
Au den D unng . . ' n, n1 Ho k"
4,
our rm1e of rapid , ross-pollinat'10115 · f P •ns and
people.~, he blends the radi :ally diffcrenr tradic'1011 0 f0 J cuh.ul"e1. and
\\1
rr. .
"th t hat o l:.uropc, rent:wmg a former probable 1 1 .sam. 1
I c P~try
· I
Renatssancc 10rms as t 1e c:mzone, of which th
r s an-uc 1nk 1 ·_n such
. , ere are ~ h"
vo Iume. TJ lC coneIll d mg poem 1\ftcr the August w~-ld' . 0 111 l IS f odern Indian English-language poetry began
. •
PaIostan . rr. .
consiSts o m•e 12-lmc sran7.a~ and a 5-line
1.:\J Jng In Lth(J
wn. te,
L
';'be culwral status o m r. 1986 Previously the poet:S fought an
envoi. \v rule th ' ~ the better arter · . .
(jJ\'C rhymc word s arc 1epea1ed in each l>tanza they cha _e 1~changc or .. d publication. Suddenly poetry soctcnes
• ' ngt! p1ac~ In ''lb tclefor recognmon an d
eacI1 stam.a a.!l t I1c coneIudmg rhyme becomes rhe fi1 h . uphu a r . d. a)· or cities new magazines starte • many new
c 11 • r . . rst r )'rne In werebeJngror~c l_n m .
rI1e 10 owmg M:tfi7..:J, rormmg the ltnkcd sequence abaacaaddace 1 d• courses in modem Indian English
nner~ wert com mg mto vtew an d y· kr S h' G ldm
eaecl>eeccedd ~ ded~~d.dbbclcc; I cdcccccaachb I bcbbdbbeebaa 1abcde. r· ·were being caught ar univers~ries abroa . . t am et s o
As Agha Shaluc! AIt ts J~ll..reasmgly a major poet it is perhaps unfair 10 ~I C!86) showed that it was possible for a publisher t.o make money
~ntrnst the vancty of lus f<mns, styles and tone.s with, say, H. K. Kaul's frcm Indian poetry. While other books were unlikcl~ ~ ~~e ad
Fur/nus m F/am(t (l ~95) wl~ich f~lr all .irs ambition and epic length i1 co:nmercially successful as Golden Gau or Dom Moraes o cu.
stuffed wah gods, phllosoplucal dtscusstons, wooden explanations and ~1u(l987),lndian poerry in Engli~h was no l~nger regarded as th: ../
stiff language: 'Also, if the rules of our movemenc I were set in the poor, unprofitable, unwelcome relanve of c~e literary world. It no
valley, we would have I Drafted our own free agenda for freedom' lud prtmgc, might well earn its keep, p~S51b~y even make ~ sr:ady
The better poets of rhe diaspora bring out mosr clearly how Indian profit for a publisher. New Oxford Umverstty Press ,Publlcatton.s
poetry in English is roote<l &n rhe rime and place of the poer ''hile 111duded Nissim Ezekiel's Collecud Ponns (1989), I mt1az Dharker 5
being part of many overlapping cuhural and lirerary tradition~ withm flrlrdahand01hrr Ponns(1989), and Gieve Patel's Mirroud, Afirror~ng
India. and abroad. When you closely examine rhc poerry of Asb.a 0991). Penguin I Vtking, Oisha, Praxis, Indus and Rupa b~~n to p~bl~h
Shahtd All or A. K. Ramanuj;m it is often impossible to say what IS booksofpoetry. For a time Praxis, with Adil Jussawalla gtvmg e~n?nal
distinctly Indian and what js foreign. The same is often rruc: of such adv~, continued the high selecriviry that had been ~hara~cemuc of
poets as Arvind Mchrot:ra and Jayama Mahaparra who J.tve ·'". I0 d1a Oeanug House. While the quality was excellent Prax1s !iuflered from
and ·who at time:; are strongly influenced by Indian literary rradHions: problems of llnancing and distribution; ir published in runs of 500
1
Perhaps the conventious of poetry, and orher am in many cuhur(, n~mcc financing was withdrawn it collapsed. .
are of a similar species and, for those with the rjghr words anJ era 1' h bcr Oxford University Press the most prestigious poetry s~nes
imerbreed with marvellous joy. J:d ten the be~ok!i published by Penguin India I Viking somet_1111C:S
w'1{'one or both imprints. The Mumbai poers and Lhose associated
~ i>thern. had n.uurally fed into the Oxford Poets and ar first into
ofcr:. cngutn poets when David Davidar formerly managing editor
•rmftm411 h ' , d~
MuiTiha'1 ' ecame the CEO of Penguin India and move rom
tnd th 1\ Nl·-:v Delhi. Davidar and .Moraes were friend~ in Mumbai
0

c engu1 11 I V'lI <~ng

· poetry programme began Wll · h I"
"1orae~,
· ·
 T'G Mlllli·RN IN[lfAN ' 277
I Oll"Ry IN
Col/(cud Pot'1m, follcmcd b • Morae • )#.. d' t987 99 ~ • 6 tl .
t'l stU~'~'
ENclls . warded first pnt..e for the 199 A lmlm
. .. ., m tp (I 990 II
e ffic r, the puhltc rerum ()f.Mor.te.s 1o poetry r. ). This well as being a
. h I ancr ma11 Was
excepr m prosew ere 1e h.t!i alwa} been a 1 h Y}'earsof il' II c~here, eo111aspt'tluon.f
· ainrv Penouin has scu led tor - pu bl'1snmg
L •

lr is the poerry, howc,·er, '' hid1 i.s hi~ .tn. Darg~~d-t an.)ifc perso~~Ct .,..At'/
J\1''.:' 111e years 1
0 unccrt ·; r> l d kn
by younger poc1s who arc a rea y own
good JO
. b buu'ld'mg t hc nC\\ Pcngui n I Vikinga\ I bl' 'h. Was do·'"~'"·'I·
ar wh 0 !Jtcr ~0 "olumcs. ' ycadr therefore likely to sell. While the level of
mnjor cc.m1pany which tmnsformed the lnditu ~J' 111 ~ house i~~h ~or~
Ol•· eading pu bite . an. be welcomed that m~ny o f t hc poets arc
uncomforrable with publi~hing poetry. Hims~~~~ ~;~lltgscene.:~ to
lhC r d 1J It IS to
js goo at . . . mensc re~ourccs an
d d'astn'b utlon
• network
knew the poets and kne\'\. of the difficulties in sell in b:rof prose he r~lrY, Penguin'
"Ollll"·
. ~nth 1ts tm
rc
.
111 poe
try with the cxpcccatton
l
·
•
h · "II lJe
t at 1t WI
h h
to a bro.ad general market. Early on, he appears gh oks of flOetl\o )
ld invest mo . d [time which rather tnan m t e s art run,
'.L • • to ave d 'd -, ,ou .1 . r a perto o ' .' b k t-
appma~ I1 poetry w1u1 cautJon .md 1f possible stick t 0 bl' ect ed to rthwhl e O"e ' d American publisher:; expect a oo every cw
such as Vikram Seth. likely to 5 ell. csta tshed names 1\\l • [cwar s. hh · · h
• hoW poetr} h ·se the poet is not wort avmg smce cor
oet· or erwt h' I . . h
Thi changed somewhat for a fe'"' }'ears \\'hen dur1• h
. • ng t e earl}· I ann
tS
)ta~ from a P d l0 P a reputation and readers tp. t lS a p1ry t at
there was a ~udden d tscovery of modern Indian poet · E ."'.lV~, che 1sunltkel}' lO cvd~ ew publisher~ or that Kolatkar has hundreds
many newspapers. journals and publishers. Penguin brory hJO nghsh by . II keeps nee tng n , . all
Dlruwa a . d oems or that de Souzas poems appear m sm
,. "ahaparras• A rw1 • - ug t our Ja~ ..... of n~w unpubhs 1e P 1
m 11'1Jltm~JS oj Bont and began in 1992 p bl' h' ,~....
. .. h h . . u IS tng some
editions. r d l p nguin the third most important commercial
)Oungcr \\nters sue as Ag a Shah1d Alr, who was already bl' h
. . Bh N . esta 1s ((] B d Oxwr anc e hE k' I d .
abroad, and Rukm · 101 aya arr, who had a reputation as a · ~'On f oet was for a time Rupa. Rupa, wit ze te as a vtsor,
.mteII ecrual and revtewer,
. n essayasl
and who had won the second All Ind'ta nroetry'
. publrsher:e;rl 090s brought out a large number of volumes of new
Contest m 1989. c~mini ( 1992) was the first of two books, prcfactd dunng t~. th~process along with Penguin, changed the poetry scene.
by Dom .Moraes, each volume inrroducing two young poets here Jeer ~tsan m f the' 1990s either published their first volumes or
Many nc:w poets o l bl' h d
~hayil ~d Vijay t:Jambisan. Thayil was already known in >magazine !heir first commercial volumes with Rupa, and R~lpa ,a so pu IS e
~trdes. Vijay Nambtsan had won the first All Indian Poetry Competitton an anthology to publiciz.e them (Makarand Paran Japes An Anthology
m .1988. The next year Penguin republished two books of poetry by o'Nrw !nditm Euglish Poetry 1993). The start of The Ncwd ~oethry
SuJata Bhatt that had already been published in England and had been ~ Rupa senes
from · was amazmg; · an adver t'1scment was pace1 mf t e
widely praised. This was followed by Imtiaz Dharker's Postcards from newspapers seeking manuscripts which brought in a nu~b~r °Klne_w
G~d {1994), her second book of poetry. Dharker was well known as 2
prunter and filmmaker. Gnnini II ( 1994) was divided between Jaithirth
fuces .tncludmg one of the best, t11C preVIOUS run
· 1 known labtsh t:.ur.
The books were inexpensive and nicely destgned.
R:to and C. P. Surendran. Another young poet Penguin introduced wa.s Disha, with Ezekiel abo advising, published a few volumes of poetry,
Vmay Dharwadker (b.l954) whose Sunday at the Lodi Gardmsfollowcd including Charmayne D'Souza's A Spelling Guide to Wimzm ( l990). At
a string of publications in the USA. Dharwadker did his doctor_arr about the same time, HarperCollins also began to publish poetry. The:e
with A K Ramanujan who was singing his praises as an up and commg wtreperhaps the be.'lt years for publishing poetry in India. Unfort~natc y,
sur and with whom he co-edited a major anthology of Indian poems. ~owards the end of the decade most commercial publishers Wtthdrcw
from many languages. In 1994 Penguin published three more ~ksol from publishing poetry or kept a low profile.
verse by Vikram Seth and Ruth Vanita's A PlAy of Light, whteh USd With rhc increased interest in Indian English poetry ma~1 Y new
mythology to examine the roles of women. For the nexr fivebyearsd anthologies were published with a shift in emphasis and pre cre~ces
n .
a·en~n only republished poets, like Seth, with repurau.o RukJnin'
·nsaroa· rather than a radically new canon Vilas Sarang's India" Pottry ~m~t
Pengwn would rerum to publishing new poetry in 1999 with ~7T16rJJ ~95f0989) hrought Moracs back into the canon, republished Ch::r~s
Bhaya Nair's Tht Ayodhya Cantos and C. P. Surcnd~'s :~Tabish s~ uf4nu Ritk, confirmed the importance of de Souza, Jussaw ;'
Potms. Future volumes were contracted by ViJ' ay Nambtsan d 0vd r.try and Peemdina implied that A1ahapatra had become aSwor1 -
Khai r, who had by now published three volumes o f poetry an an c"'" Poet, and included• Darius Cooper,
· Sancan Rod ngues
· and arang·
 279
MODERN INO
•JS7· 9 " h . \.t
11 <tii'~G ' '
,., ' IAN I'OLT . \cs.<; a.ssurcd, \es-c; convmcmg t an It cou u
R~ IN tN
1
lvfchrmras Tlu O>.ford india Antlml ,~,
(1992) 'va..' more ad\•ememus in igno.Q-' ofitalt'lt1t' 1\fodrr, 1 Cq~~~
wever, st.-etned. AgarWal who had won <tn A\I India T)o-
snthCiog)'• 1~~e induded Sm•~ kin print, andTara Pate\ who claimed
Shiv Kuma~, Pard , and himself. £<' i~;;:5e ~~ala Das, ;ar~ " ~
14
ht'"be~butdidnothave~c ~uz.a included but was very critic.tl of
Juss:twalla, ~heuy, Agha Shahid Ali tnd \rlkra oraes, Chitre d~athy t!l)'a"~ t re.Uiy a p~etd
m ~eth. ln ter~ efSo~
t of her life abroad and who seems more
Kolatkar and Mor.aes do best. M;hrot ~ ~B<h110rt '<'~ho has kve mosdersrand de Souds inclusion of and res-
· b'J' · · ra mem 1on so ~p·
al rcmatl\'C (>O"SI 1 1aes mduding the olde r poers such s some
F intercst'•ct. ~p!3. nathan ' Indian · l hcan un hile being the most pub\'lShed, recogntz.e · d
Berman Sak1ar\'ala, Ruskin Bond and L. P. Bande as redoon l<ah tn~ IJll~:a ,bout Bhatt w w en poets can at rimes write about cu\rure
0
ones as Menka Shi\·dasani, ViJ'a)' Namb 1•
. d d d ~
d~an.and~uch}·oun~
san an tabt h VL
ta~ 110 ns · f th neW worn
'"1 rofcs.~ional ~ . e. the blood or sentimentally assume that t .ere ts
h ·
ha\'e m u e some ot the short lyrics . A ·1eh
tv
"-flair.] wo uld
rorr-a h ad s bl' JJidP t'\J'"ec>JSOng 10 ..... ication between humans and ammals.
recent rears.. T hey are. almost perfec{ distillatJOns . of po tshed
pu . du nng
• JrnesignifiCUlt
1tnt7-""tt
uns
pokencomrn~u .
ot to have had enough maJOr poets ror an
c
anthoIogy p1eces, an atm he shared with Ram . etry tnto pu ~1~'h'ik de Sou~ s::~ ~amra Kalia to readers of Eng\ish-langu~
influenced by the great anthologies of namanulJan-both writers bcingtt
. __ • e ess or aim ,hology she d•d r received the attention she deserved. Thls
0:ed.~~~.!.11 poe~u Ill rh; Indian languages. Saran and 1 osr narneless an'letry a writer who nh~ver 'cally important poet, but placed in the
dmlmJshmg mreresr 1n Ezekiel as Indian poetsg ~ ehrotra reveal a r·Jl(ll only restored an lStOfl
t
ets brought out her strengths. M amta Kalia
and traditions. examtne orhcr model~ f rher women po , d h d h .
conJdf o o rful er with her strongly cadence p rases. an c angmg
Perhaps the most conscious attempt at mod.ifyin h 01nbopowe po th S lvia Plath influence, but Kaha also has her
poetry since Mehrorra's anthology was Eunice deg~ :~ . ofTndian 0
00
rhvthms. There was e 'Why ,.... .,es c0 r you Papa"> I Who cares for your
~mm . Potff: An Antho/otrv'?""
(1997)•which bes,·des remstatmg
. ':fmtKarn
IndJan~ ' .
ov.nvou:e,astr 1
ikingone· o ....,... I' , •
. ds clean teeth? I Who wants to be an angel
D as mdude_s Mamra Kalla, Melame Silgardo, Imtiaz Dharker Sm~u Jew thoughts
, I Wh~cwants
ean wor ,
it?' There were those great open~ngs: . '1
.want to
Agarwal. SuJata Bhatt, Charmayne D'Souza, Tara Patel and Eu~icedr likc}ou. I' bl'c place'· 'Looking at my navel I I m rcmmded of
Souza. Three of rh: poets are Goan Christians, one a Muslim educated pitk.my Mnose' Thetn a pu l
range of cones '
and dramatic Sltuauons· · h d
t e rea .er
abroad, one a Pam, and another a Bengali living in Germany Exc
D d t.,_,. · . cpt ~~~ ama. . re55ive and the speech, the situations, and perso~alt~
as an ~1a 1~ appears .mosr~y.a pose-colonial configuratio~. an ehtc ovauears are tmp • , A c.. • h f marnage
of.the margmahzed. \Vhtle thts ts perhaps ro be expected at present-
a:t of the present, immediately there: JU\er elg t years o h
· , 1 · · ce and tone t at can su
.'11
thmk of how many of rhe writers of contemporary England are immi· d
'let us forget your dea th an nune . t 1S a vo1 .
grants or the children of immigrants-it does show why there \\JU be heard in younger poets such as Mukta Sambrant.. h h lf
Besides creating a way of regarding poets from Kalta throug ers: '
alw~ys be rhos~ unhappy with the idea of Indian poetry in English. . e D'Souza Eumce
lnd~an. poetr~ In English is part of the continuing modernization cf S1lgardo, and such poets as Tara Patel and Charroayn ' h
deSouz.a avoided rhe trap of making a larger anthology through~ ~se
lnd~~~ mcl~dmg the increasing independence of women. !,woman, am a victim, but proud' mantras which still fill ~tho o~te~
l'Vmt lndum WOmm Potts: An Anthology was obviously intended~ a of women's writings abroad and which can be found m_ Deb)an;
reply to A. K .Mehrotra's Oxford India Anthology o[Twrlvt ~lorkm ChanerJee's I Was that Woman: '1 was the woman, neurone, torn
lndtan Pomwhtch had reduced the representation ofwomen wntcrst? disowning my sex I 1 was the voluptuous, decorative dr,udge I I was
one, Eunice de Souz.a, and pointedly ignored Kamala Das. MehrotrJI
expectations of high ~tandards of technique, economy, a body of w~rk,
the creature with will-power raped /1 was that woman.
a pr~feren_ce for impersonality and imagist poetics, had worked agai~
h.i~d~prcssing how often critics, especially academics, still want ~o~e
nauvt~ttc Indian tradition in the arts. Depressing beClUS~ ~eman s or
the tnclus1cm of some Indian women writers who had been more cas ds tilth · · d' 1 0 11tlCS and have
and ·mstmcuve
· · a bout craft. De Souza could meet Me hrotras• ~ tandJr
and tried to bring similar scandards and ideas about poetry lO ~er canod
t• cnrtctty and purity rapidly translate into ra 1ca P
betomc rallying cries for racial ethnic, or religiou> morders. But
d~pressing because there is no' never has been, such a pure past
of women poets, although she was more concerned with the vlgoSur an's
. . I d' De oU7J uncomaminared by alien other~ess.' As Arun Kolatkar points out:
use o f ord mary speech and the position of women tn n Ja.
 281
280 MO t) t:.RN INOI
AN r•oc st~ 1 t-JG 111~7 99•
. p~u us~d f.o rc·tgn fiorm~ ch
IL (
u am
•
1n Maratht have «l'Jty IN d their works may not he known in India. As
B
~ the so
E I
here t I1ey ltvch anShahid AI i the quesnon . o f nauona
· 1•1ty stops
ucs 1n mam opened up a nN area f
ot
about a ·waterf;~ll .... There arc a lot p~rf) 10
su
lndt;, h be~er ·l'hc ~
not ordmary thtng5. Usual!} an ordi.:!~. :~birds and h~rs 10~ 11~ssil>Je
bliSh:.n ff<ln1 t\gd ~"'} '}e Ali still chinks of himself as Indian and
~- ghnof'\ care newer poers, sueI\ as Rccu·ka Vaz.tram,
1 be _, r ,•ar · vv 11 · ·
h
111 ~~
1
higha apmtu:LI mcamng. Sparrows and tng appc4n only as 1
tdll· gs'•p _,,ros co I ndiah' t USA er ·
ctry. but it i full of mythtca.l Sanskrit bi~nm~hav~ rarely appca~~lnbo of
and who perhaps nnly sennmentaUy
remote imagery used b} ~orne of the best ~ e~s a gap betwct:n chnl f>bra ~
dl•··-
"'lS ratsc 1· d · n t cd' n Vi).ay Seshadn, who move to t11e US A,
' · d
tmagery is as remote as G reek 1magery. L~. 0 the orcLnary nu~y~:~ (illsnU bet ou ab'ects to such national or cu\tural classmcauons
o h ght 1n ta . · C". •
.
.Len 5rears ol~. I •ill rake root in other lands and no longer regard
It is clear by now that \\hile modern I d ' tl ~~ . IYInd'ans . t he1r
\\· exile nostalgic for . ong1ns.
. .
part ·m a wor ·
ld\VIde
· dtange in literary tn •an. poetry In
d .
· Englrsh
astes It was ft . taok ~
rl¢'"g
ln.LemschC:S as Ind'tans 'I d' South Asia and the Dtaspora, ·1ssue of 1v1
10 · . wasarfin·
by moderms~1 an social changes in other Indian °
en mfluertccd U'
'fhc Spn~g • 199 5 n ta,
uded :~ecrions on Canada, Amenca, · ~ l d dS
Eng an an outh
de Souza seeking the sources of the us" of d' languages. Eu
forbidden topics in the poetry of l\-1a~t oKalr'~ru;' speech and form~~ n:n~land) 1 ~cl th p 'fie as well as the Caribbean and East and South
. d' f . . a ta IS told 'J ...r, \"''
f..ast~"'1:13 I Sou r. . hactecrion ' has poems by Ketaki· Kushan· D yson, D eb-

I
H m.. ' I poet od the ann-poetiCtradition. AkaVltil ·
started With
_was already a
rr ,. The t:.ng
AfnCl· • p
1IS s
bl u Guptara Melanie Stlgar · do, Saryend ra Snva.c;- ·
.... l"'Y two ozen poems in an anthology in H'10d'1 ourenons .
11111 a.
Ch [teqee R:chariya Maya Chowdhury, and Shanta Acharya. Only
ra 1 ,
the Hindi reader: Kolatkar and l\1amta Kall' were shockers for
g\'2 S~nJe.clv d is lik~ly to be known to readers of this book. Just as
5
1
.mtervtewe. dby Eun1ce . de Souza in Talkintr naareamongthe
o roems: Gonvmatiten poets Mebnte t gar 0
West Indians living in England went through a long peno o. wnung
. d f ..
Roets ( I 999), a book . that usefully shows the many sou•cesom ofwud h r_ 'bbean and the clash of cultures before a new English-born
press~res upon Ind1an poetry in English.
lA
• • h
an awul t e \ftlrt
· starred to think of themselves as Black Brms , so we w1'll
lnd1an Th .has become a global network o f wnters
· poetry · ·10 many generau00
nsee poets of Indian descent in England and other countnes w o
· h
counmes. . here IS Sujata Bhatt in Germany (and th B · 'sh 1'
Kh · · e rm ttcrary :unquestionablr a part of that national literature and have no or few
J\1 ), T:
scene AlabJS a1r m Denmark' Agha Shahid AI'1• Sa1eem nt·eeriUina _.J
ues\\ith India itself. Too often, however, such poets are encouraged to
e:na exander, Jeer Thayil and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni mdtt remain part oF the national 'other' as European nations try t~ come co
Umted.States, l\1elanie Silgardo in England and Vikram Seth and Sudccp ttrmswuh their new large multicultural immigrant populauons.
Sen. gomg back and fonh between India and England. Then there u Debjani Charte~ce, who has won poetry competitions in En~land and
lmnazF'harker, from a British Muslim Pakbtani famil)', whohaslxcomc bas at times been an advisor to the Aits Council in England, 1s another
an lndsan poet. Marriage, jobs, education, opportunities, the desire for mrmberof the di<tipora who writes about India as if it were exotic, an
adventure, chance, all come into it, bur the facr is that Indian poeuyu cscpe from her acruallife. In 'The Parrot Fortune-Teller' in I uJas that
no longer a poetry. solely written by those living in India necessanly by ll'~m.tn 0989, 1997) she is aware of how she uses parts of her origins
those born m lndta. It would also be a mistake to assume that every :~th~c?ntrast be:ween reality and her desires: 'how dare it I ?rean~ of
writer with Indian origins is pa.rt of Indian literature. The children of wchtlhes and chtck-peas? It needs I ro fly, you need to fly from s•lly
those who emigrated abroad are natives of their new councry, at best ~m~. / But tl.tat's why you go ro the parrot I fortunc-tdler,. isn't it?'
sentimental Indians. Identity is not in the blood. d Jstsadcvcr tdea but it is prose, the comparisons are roo obv1ous and
If a characteristic of recent years is the number of good nrw~omcn rawn out. There is a similar problem with the rhythm. The regular
poets! another charat:teristic is the large number of Indian poenf ttnThsyllabies seem to be counted rather than poised to mke fl'tgllt.
espectally women, living abroad. The days arc over when a feW Y~
0

cLch~~are IOO many l,ines in Cl~atterjee's. po~ms that seem ~rose

studying or adventuring abroad were followed by a return to h~d ? 10
1 018

ood · b rcl ':lng cogcther. The lonelmcss of ctty jungks I Shelters the
:m
g . JO at Am~rican university that allov-red one to ~ ad: ar.d
pectahrt
muUctant tm mtgranr · I Amid skyscraper towers of silence. 1 1 roam the
lndJa and beang lnd1an. There are now jer-serters who rra\cl ~ ~ on thgger -stalked streets I Of Porno-Babel an easy VJcttm, · · I lJnwc • 1com e
fonh and there arc now Indian poets living in Denmark, c dto e gold and unsel · pavement, I But ' free to go my way ... But on
and Australia as well as Canada, England and the USA. They cen
 283
2 2
a language o f t he non~po,.. --' ,.
MODE!RN IN!) •• 7~99
-' 'J •
a.nnuou p1 grunagc I My jc[ hoppin b .
lAt.: Pot:
l'R.y IN 111~o~Ci"{ctI E.ngli~h has bd:~owards 1Uc.a1 e tte
being an c\itc an form requir~
lnd1anness /1 can onl} unravd .:1 g n~gs me back_ 1
. ule csscnual , .. n defr1 ' . .:.li.¢'· ry ttself ten
problem m_ such diaspora pocuy-this ob rn~. And that ts 1Ung ~~crfl poe~ . ·ry towards language. E gl' h . b
non oflndt:mness and the lack of ·~~esston With ..... t.Partor.r f.d ~,.nlc: sc:os1t1'll who have a mastery over n , ts ar: ~omgf to ..~~
'1 ked · an} rccu f.... ~•· ... -ost ~ CJLl~ that those d' · 5 and greater opportunmes o worY.
tr.ughtupatthec}-es lA ~ny.ln')''t. raq,..
·ng this ave of mulu'cul tural'tsm. More
tte oo cJClr b
the ette 'all dtuon
r con
· · b ·, E · storeho f ne EJ h·~ (liS J
m Its ram • '\•en as prose this Would be cr use 0 Sorrow ep1 ~ .-ctcu t 0 ec1 Y ura " 1 tal · ~
First \X1orld liberal muhiculruralism . •ch~d. In the n...~:~ ocl:td 11"-tJe 0~c:rs~' espdias ra poets and some will p ay up nos gaa or
'ch wttters are ..... '"' O:ld ~ 1'\/lCts w•ll b~ 'd' go ce' and this may not always be good for
t h e cxpcctcd c l1 ~- ChanerJ'ee kno"' h' , .cncour:Ht....l ,_.11111 r-_ h r meren 'd ··
·h· •. 'S t IS :Ana aJ RciaJ-<>"'-u tl'l1a.o.-.~_ p-- riginS or t e1• f rse another rca5on best es opponunmes
ceme d \Vlt n- vasas, arranged rna rnages,
· .' . m 1· , : .. ~\Q
_..J • tmmtg . a IS Con. tc:r~tr)'· jhere & sfodcoutu~ for those at home in English to leave
uscu, now to ..1.
clus phenomenon'' but the very next po rauon •... JshouldL~ ~ r~ormal sense of al' ~enus fundamentalism and the political conse-
pose sees u1e world from . the same pigeon ho1e she em, co Prirn:.rup re tg!O th
'A,,JJ kn ow vou are a.n tan woman 1No mp 1ains~'aLQ. 1b'fhc:growthre oional-language
'1!1Ua d
nationali~ts have rna e m?re an
·1 • As · matter wha UQU" uences of the g l If postcolonial means the state bel ng chal-
I 10U .WIh~I alwa~ b
be an immigrant., ln •-r th E . t your generati "
JO e nghsh Lan o. q • r e1 unwe come.
ewnter ~e arrs, that does not always lead towards to1er~nce and
the cIac c: a out dreaming in one language w h'J1 e speak' gua~· ~" e-. en lenged by 1 ~ P wr. h h lack of a centre, the partS of a nauon-the
011
~urrected alth~ugh Chatrerjec is apparentJy not at Jn~ anothtr [ _J • uon wIt c e
n!QUernJ/.1. ·
.
relioions and language groups-tncreasm y
. gl
\<'hat has profictency to do wirh it? 1 I know I d .ease In Beng~1:
_,. fh · · · · ream n endle I ''rt ,wous . reg&ons, fl' castes, t:r
they assert their independence, d estre . dommance
.
Bengar ao er tmagmauon 1s 'sweet and 1·u·tcy · h
· h d · ·.t Wit monsoo
ss Y· •ue come 0 co~ 1 ~c asThe social and political changes that help devel-
!"'
nc an sp1cy ww1 ancestral • outpourings'• The expression . tondwarmth/· or claim terntones. h things-an English-language 1'tterature, cremmtst • ·
a 1anguage meam that H was the language in wh' h reamm _.among ot er . al .k l
h d k . tc a person was raistd 0r · le lives and open homosexualiry are so 11 e y to pro-
at orne an spo e 111 the community in contrast to th Ia enrs, sl~ng new fundamentalism radical nco-traditionalism and
~n schools and used at work or among an elite. Poets w~o c~~~~~ ~=
movemdu

m Ian~ t?C}' d~ not know well do noc even get the cliches right I
find sam~lar daches m rhe work of a much better poet, Sujara Bhatr.
l}l_ere ts a demand by some official bodies and postcolonial critics For
poln~c:ally ~rrect semimcnts. In such supposed mulciculturalism the
!~ma~ram IS always understood to be a victim and desirous of a lost
om~ of people of the same colour, race, religion, and language. The
J
V.'ays 111 which su~h emphasis on 'difference' rapidly rurns inro sepmtism
and a s:~-dcfeaung reverse racism are well known. Ir is, however, noi
the _polmcs _rhat conc.ern me but the way such politics harm poeuy.
lnd!an E?ghsh poetry 1s the product ofa complex, sophisticated, modem
society; a_ should reflect it. The best poets do. For diaspora poets 10
treat Indta as some tribal Eden is absurd and rapidly becomes
contemporary Indian version of the old black minstrd show for the
approval of'r<?st~olonial' metropolitan First World in~ellccruals. with
lf postcolomaltsm has come to mean a posc-narionaltst concern
minority
. groups Wlt · h'an a state in conrrast ro the domman · t flOwers.
. hi
In_dtan poetry in English has always had an ambiguous rdauons
wuh_ such power. Many of the writers have instinctively been P~led
the hberal opposition to both Hindu fundamentalism and to a state
ceanopposi g '
micronarionalisms. b 1 1
f.J Dilip Chitre is not only a bilingu~ poe_t but has ~en ~ ose Y
involved with the original culture of his reg10n and wmes _m Th~
Mountain: A Strits ofPoems (1998) about his spiritu~ ~onverst~n at a
loQI holy spot, it is a shock m learn that he feels a v1cum of re~onal­
language and cultural nationalists. Chirre's Afterword to hts !he
Mountain might be regarded as a dispatch from one of the front ltnes
ar this time:
ill1ncd wriling poetry seriously in 1954 at the age of sixteen. I am now six~ years
of agr. When I m.ned writing poetry forty-five years ago, 1 wrote b~th tn ~y
mother ~ongue Marachi and my favourite 'other tongue'-English. ThiS pracuce
hu survtved so far and it will be my habit for a lifetime. These two languages m
2
equallyuucial to my self-expression in a chosen universe of awareness and action.
1~~~c been a reasonably well-known Marathi poet. With the publie2tion of Elcuon
'pkt d ' th e '.h'lrd an d r-nnal volume of my collected poem) in Marac h'l, evtry com·
"111111·3
M~c _;_nd av:ulablc poem wrirren by me from 1954 to 1998 is now accessible to the
lluu reader ....
!r Mtl'lnM
tn~bl
•
fV\oll) In F. ..1' h h •
?& 1 ~ ad to accept the f-ace of all Indian poetry wrmcn .10 EngrISh •
·
••~tn ~~ pcr': 1 v~d by some Indian ideologues as a colonial vestige: and therefore as
<onunumg bondage. This confusion is shared by religious and cultural
 285
8 ~H ' DI RN I NJ) J •'1 .
'\ \ oughf t WO 1\l."W p oetS lO (lQtiCC.
~1
w(i 11187 •.
runJ nlC'Ohtl hr \\ uh \lllr.\1 h AJld I'
'I •
.
•u l n a r 1 1
N 1'0 1i RV IN I 1sl'llo· J
l' ,.n nnll1 C(·t 1h~Y •
1
l >r k Sh' d
.J 1 bonks hy Men a .. IV asanl,
.
~>~a-ped
ENr 1
' lllf'hlll • I n II\ 1 m' 10 M11 r,. 1J k s , 11 :ant, t1 I
\'i~Y ,..a tlc:"clopt11.( J c·az. Dharkcr. There was new poetry
'" ..1 Ill liS,. , 0 ( 'i lfl C liU Cll
t.· I .,_ 1 an
"o ill:K~I o If ) Ill(;" nc:\\ kmd of,)()hlly(J •. • lnJu r htluu"•al o orua! rl
.. ,. llll.l•

•I ~J - "' ) nup•rrd I .,.1 11 P<l~l

filch""trt...
~ t' .;"A [C(Cil1 p tht ,\JlU 11\1 I
' tt' pra.1 rcrmtncu , 11 lmmn lhat Kol k ,
1 h a1 Drs en~•II tuuii U era, .,.. e 1'17, • l'•hht• .at
0f
,!Jiih ~-.•r:..,, dhcu~sion.
1\n,
l1 omnll''lll\\'t' h Pmc \\.11~ \\nncnm b;ad f:ulh b puc:~lls}?un'/"C>col'll nslations into English including
m ther-ronsue, "'"'"' h1, and "ou "rnrer1 fo r lUI 1•· n sl t'CIU$c n was n
•~h-s~aki ot "llttcn '41
Won L Ill ~~ • cnll.... 11 t new tra ·
A o!IS ~ llso e;<<.:C en f I. . Atlmcd Faiz's Urdu poetry m J' t
. ..,.'h
'(\CfC a d ,\li's vcr~ton . • Sa 'r.uka· )(/~cud J>ottry of1u~earam,
\'{CfC ' • 0 •al7, f
ng aud1~nct •n
J"": • • L
1 he rre r-nt lndum nation :o.t.ltc j, pen.c1,Td h. HmJ .
T1 Chltrcs ~· 11 • •
"+"i·~SiU)Dutttt. D• P • Tl t Absmt Travtlkr: Praknt• Lovt rottry
11 •-" h;J.Jll n .1'
n:at on m \\ht.h the' iii'C' rhe pu\lleged nauivc} d reltgaous fund11
or no ~hgl n as 'out!'\lden'. One docs not kns, n lpc:ople pra thtng o~~ra], ttas
OJ
, OW lllW 1h Ul(f rtJ flbt s . d }(, MehrotraS J u L R Parthasarathy's The Tak ofan
m r 1dIIt'rs, the fin~t 1,cohlc' of lnd•' a, t h e I rl'bals ey -~ AfV!O • .f '\atwzhana " H k
~ fitauiJ ace.•vUnt ro'tiC.1. &11"(ilthM~I''a.iaft t1.1 ..
mnem1ost n /lul. •
r. . warded many pnzes. Ranpt o:> ote
sm lt'f'I'C' :c\1, on Jet i the d'lnl ·C':<:tl. unJc.1t): 1\ C:1 thou~nd
oatrn u
I uuon: I1e ~onlt n bt'twcen the Brah n • I )mg
.
u~oha'scuJ
·oc.t
)'t.lf..ti
tu rtl ~ ~~.
... h I. •n '"irt1:<;o"'!' buila\w~ a f Vasant A Oahake's Yogabhrashtra:
ArJ~t:ll
t t 1
, • :an to.;a model 0 f 1 ..,. , 11" 1's trans anon o M th'
n n _.lmthmant r ltealuy tltat lndaa I~ Duflr\g t il I fi
C: :~.~r t t l)'
t It' World and
' ' tbr d~iangt:Sh Ku ~~ • brou ht a remarkable contc~porary ara '
~'1-' .,rist oftbr spmtakh.. g d Mcnka Shivdasant have brought to
L ' n
blttCn 10UL;11t tO hangt' the Cr;l!Jt,uian lllld II' L • )'C:ars, l'talun~r.IS 11L.
o- nertartan OlS JlCC 0I
~ ,r.. ~
lll 1J
con munon .
1 I'C'pubhC'.an ~1<Jtc ot ludut A ti
o f lite • 1m her complo.:i~~ • rh~, &rnoctall( A . M • lp an A J lo
l'lltt light. n)u . . . their Frtedom and Fissures: An nt 10 't:J
l h1 ~1tu uon "hen dte con~tituc 11 t 'liltc <:~f th'" U · r: 10 bhcmons m _t d
. h J .. llll1n o ( 1nJut . !)ww:ts tntrod
'd ..""<~~ ....J
n lght many 1os~ ~u R J t as the translations have revea~e many
c pok"n h • the 1 e~·aon.U ere. ~hllhcd~
4Sir:Ahi J'artmm~ . omy.f u~der Indian poetry with their own hig~ly
L d rd IllS t(lt .mgullgc • n 1.,·
1 •
.. () fl£\'.
•11 IUS tht
I I
un II\ an tate ot the lnda.tn Union i~ J.U)tiiit·d lw Ia •
0

· • ·• • nguagc an d rr 1srnora !.1 d umou g:~phbticated tr.l~tuons o o and poetics, so translations from Onya
.I
dt'termmes a JXrsons natl\1(',', Ttu~ ha) dcxr1 and distu L' • 1. nguttc L"w
Urdu, an d EngIt h becomc: 1n·d.lh' lc:adtng · Matdes:o
r flung '"lP IC!Uoru ~ ndh ro:fined con~enuons,hgenreshow European modernist poetics have
En I' h _,_. I d' langua"- () r
r,' ... '- r, •or mnancc if
•
are lln g ts : pl"lUI.tng n tan,) ou ar\: a non-n:ui'~ m any srate ofl d d) ~ • '\ tht have s own . . . a)
nd-ib..~ Cttltcn C" "IJ"' here, by• implic:aion · You ..... .. .... .."11 .....,.ten• JUSt
. n taan o a ano ,, ~ re ionallanguages and developed in st rik.ingly ?ngm ways

or
as Mus! mfluen g od l dia Influences include surrealtsm and T.S.
nstuns, ~~kh s, Buddhtsts, and :Ul utl.ers nre simply 'others'.... m~ponsr to m ern n · ·call ized
M 0\\ Jl M~th~ dti~nshtp an~ s.ratus as a poet is of no we to me whm, as 1 bit ngutl
~lots reduction of poetry co imagistic fragments musl y 1.
s' com arison Indian poetry in English may s~em tra mon~,
)~rva;ivc more directly addressed to the reader. It as perhaps only m
poet" nung m Englt)h, the natt\'tSt casts :upersion) o n m\' natt\'lt). l do not
lx- a Maradu poet when I wnte poetry in English. The \'oi~ of poetry cannot~
b) the bnguage It docs not ~peak; and the language it chooses ro spe2k od..da thc pomy ofRamanujan, Chicre, Mamta Kalia and Jayanta Mahapat;;5
human Qf, or. more recently.Tabish Khair and Hoskote that .some the strcngt o!
o rtgionallanguage poetry have infused poetry m Enghsh.
ll. Amajor t\'ent was the publication of TIJt Oxford Anthology ofMoJ:r'n
\\'hen ~1od~rn h zdian Po~ny in English (1987) was firsr published Lhm
lnJian Ponry (1994), edited by Vinay Dharwad.ker and A. Rama_nuJan 1<: 0
mdudmg 125 poems by 67 authors from 15 languages mduding 2
wa nll no consensus about who were the signifi cant poets or poems from English. Besides sclect.ions from such newer authors as
recog~ition o what had been accomplished. I came to Indian J>OCU} At\uShahid Ali, l-.1eena Alexander, Sujaca Bhan, Imtiaz ~harker, '(i.nay
by accadent; I had read orne good poems by good pnet5 an~l l want~ Dlwwadkcr and Vikram Seth, the book concluded w1th a bnlla~nt
to know more about them. This was mostly uncharted terntoryandl AftCNord by Dharwadker commenting on various contexts oflndi~n
soon found myself mapping it as 3 way of learning abo~H it. TiteJ:~ !JO«ry.Th~ range from stylistic and ideological movements fou~d 10
that re ulted ''as favourably rcviev. ed, but left me wanung w rea bled
write about some of the po.ets in 3 more .;vsrematic way. I was rrou
~ the major l.ndia~ languages at approximately .th(: same penods,
c -, k d' ss Mo~tes • btough wtm as umque to the litemtures of spectfic languages, and
JJiJ~ .':.~ poet may h< a product of personal histories, influences 7nd
L - •
bYnot na\ mg 10und a way oforganizing my boo · to .ascu
length or to aamine the Indian influences on RamanuJan. 7'1m•Ezel:id . e anthology and Afterword ~how it would be wrong to vaew
~ts
n__
( 1991 ) illowed me to ha,·e a .second chance to diSCUSS
• d' dtc nnetr)
rJ ~ ln English in isolation from what was being written in other
I'.OllllaDUJan and Moraes. I had also wanted to lSCUSS r-(1992) bnguages, just as it would be wrong to assume that the story of
Agha Shahid Ali and t-.1eena Alexander which 1do here. c;nnm•
 286 287
Mt: l>foHN INnr
AN I'O£t G .,s7~9'l
ea hI uernrurccan be told without ti RY Ito E~ ,uaLrstlll'f Circle contests, however, arc not as well known
1 · · kn re ere nee ro E Ctr111
or l uu a crrtrc owing one or ~ • J d' . :.uropc and th JJotl'baY PoetiJ:' bo k publication in the same way ~s those held
k fi Jl DJ \O n ran lrte e~
tvc 11ot resul.rcd ~ d'o) in New Delhi which publishes an annual
1
pea or a · tarw:adker. who ~lulf 1',.d · h raru~ ca" p...::"'~
ch aracten· uc · of mind an ~ab T ". wu Ra
· d arny ·• tes
~ . '
. . fllanujan
1 •l) ro d.tss l:.,
rL~11Jne IQ
lill'ts L
sndtbc Foeti}' SoCiety~ ~ l.l(Jndia) and beginning in 19R8 the annual
b~oftht Pot~~of:Zan Poetry Competition which the British
• ...
) er create a tinunc for dr cu~sing a far e _ 1'J• make distin . nu
Dhan,':ldker, like Ramanujan claims d g complex changin ctlo~~s, j •.L _,rne gaps) ·' 1 hough open to poems translated from any
\\ hidl hisl'oricaJ links tragmcn't arid l~r world consists of rf_"'orld •'Ill' . ponsors. f'\.1( • d · h b
eouncll co-s ge almost all the cntrtes an wmnberl~ hadve_ ecn pnemsl
. .trc rcrormcd · ~~gt ·
recem Indr:m f>Oetnr as bound to b" . t] an new Wav.: LJ lrl !ncban langua .' h The best poems are then pu ts e m an annua
. .• . c Ill uenccd b h ':· IIC~
older ~Jonaal lndta and us ways into m h f Y t .e Passtng of lfflttcn in.Eng!~oi ediLed by H. K. Kaul, rhe Secretary~General_ of
poet, hke the novelist, is likel)' to be anractyted o ogy,.J~hrle the youn= /Dlf'Y/ntlta an. ~ ·udges usually include such established Indian
mternaoon . al EngI'•sh-lant:,'Uage readership. rowarw thc feWardsof~ --e·' tht Jioetry ~retyE. kielJ J P. Das Lakshmi Kannan, Sujatha Mathai,
NJ.SSun ze e , . . , • al
. The .first modern generation took decades to es bl' h
non and ro debate basic questions. 1 speak of ata e: .
a p<>ellctr;dj.
dcspir~ di!ferences of age the poets were still a small gro:rataon ~callk
poc!S as alik E · e de Souza, Shiv Kumar, Kelci Daruw Ia, Jayanta
~vM 'd ~m~iaz Dharker with an annual visitor from England
MahapaAicra, aBn mJ'ohn AnrhonyThwaite, Michael Hulse, Jo Shapcott
a conrmuHy through friendships and publications gJ P anMdthere was
sumas an [0\\TI ,

fel tan oucs1'der, and h1s · poems were certainly d'« · ayama fro...~1.~~
~tra
· b tuerenr m th
~rltten _Y many of the other poets, but eventually they appearedo:
~ ~e JOurnals and anthologies. With Vikram Seth and AghaShahiQ
Ah rhmgs began to change. These poets lived abroad and were 1101
pan of local cultural and publishing circles. While some of the new
poets ofthe early 1990s bad a connection with Ezekiel, or now Eunice
de S?uza, through studying or living in Mumbai, others, such asTabish
Kh~, ~ere oucsiders r~ the .Mumbai poetry scene. Skyfllrk, a minor
provmaal ~tty mag:wne, was Khair's 'home'. His subjecr maner,or
world, was l1fe m the provinces. Many of the new poers were women
who had been educated, lived or worked abroad, and they expressed
the problems of the single career woman in urban India.
~!?a's em~ into publishing poetry followed the formation ofpoeuY
soa.enes dunng the mid- and late 1980s. Some of the changes in poe~
~unng the 1990s began 't\irh the formation ofthe Poetry Socicry (India}
m. N~ Delhi in 1984. This was followed, lWO years Ia rer, by rhe P«trY
Ca~~ m ~umbai and other groups in many ciries ofJ ndia. Th~ ~
scx:'eti~ .bnng together those interested in poetry beyond the arcl 1
~Illes and journalists, often have annt'al contests and some~
magaz&nes. The Poetry Circle in Mumbai began under ch~ sponso betS
of Dom Moraes and Nissim Ezekiel and among irs foun~g me~
v.ue Menka Sh.ivdasani, Aroop Mi02 and R R2j Rao. It still mecGUJI'I'-"
a month aod since l ,992 has published Poiesis. In Bo~bay. nOW ~at
there~ also often l..oquacions', weekly poetry readings hdd
the Cbauraha Sunken Garden.
or Viclci Feaver. . · b· ·
·r1•0 n has been successful at d1scovenng or nngmg to
Thecompetl f h I di
· f the ne.w poets who were to become part o t e n an
nonce many o c · ·
trvsceneduring the 1990s. The nrst competmon was won r
b Vi' y
.'Ja ,/
~ambisan for his now widely republished poem'~-adras Centr~ · Sm:e
lhen first prize winners have included Rukmm1 Bhaya Nau, Anju
Makhija, Tabish Khair and R.anjit Hoskote. Ocher pnz.es have been
won by Sudeep Sen, Smita Agarwal, and C. P. Serendran. Several of the
Wlflll(rs soon published volumes with Penguin, Rupa or Har-Anand.
Al!hough the numbers of poets and entries vary from year to year, from
1500 to 2900 poets annually en rer a total of 4000 to 800~ ~oems. The
success of the competition led to an All India Compeut1on am?ng
schoolchildren, V·tith its own anthology Pottry oftht iCung-also edued
by H. K. Kaul.
The new poets who appeared in the 1990s seemed like a new, scarr.
Some were from Mumbai, bur after a long period in which a soCJal and
atltui1) network had been formed, there were suddenly a number of
ncw.faccs whose books required attention and large numbers of ~ets
~llllngforwaro for the All India Poetry Competition. A new generauon
~~ Rupa's New Poetry series included volumes.by Makaran?
s.~ ~. Hoshang Merchant, Rachna Joshi. ~na Su)arha Mathaa,
~Sen, Tara Patel, Tabish Khair, Bibhu Padhr and Satak.ant M~­
P.laJ·~ of these poets were not so new and had published wn! 1
61lt · Wn~ers Workshop or other small presses, bu~ th!s w~ thctr
~~~rth a commercial publisher with national dlStnbuuon an~
.....,. Was not Penguin! VIking or Oxford University Press but It
 28?
288 MODERN IN()JAN ,
1
O !,"JR'r IN
rNcL11~ 987 '19 lndi:-n modernist poet pro-
had oR1ces in Calcurra, A11ababad, Mumbai and D .
eJh,, and Its~
~~~~~rJG' . )' Nor had any a rejection of the past.
could be purchased in London. 'L L.,rt/~lf ir<>"''~.Hds India, nnr even ..vcn in an ivy-covered
~faknrnnd Paranjape~ Au Antholog;• of Nrw 1 d: • ~ css w
1
ks IS ! "" Tower not ... d'd ·
~JI' eel ~o alno ~ . J in an Ivory . ~lid not and never 1 e'XlSt.
(1993) \\';15 imponanr in bringing together the " ; English 1~ 10
~o• dtan po~t h\'t Indian modcrn~sm often consists of such sha_d.ow
0
election~ from Robin Ngangon's \\~nit and Silmc~{;, ~CC!;, Here we~ ~~1111 p,tt.tnJilpcs. 'cisrn unforrunatelr h-tcxt. Paranjapc's cnttcal
1988), Mcnka ShivcL..-;ani'sJWrmnn at 'Rn Rupr~s(Prax:u~rsWorluhop rt~· . a""<.rl£1 There lS a su .. d
en'~ TIJ~ Lunar VisittJtioru (Rupa, 1991), Charma;s 6?),Sud~~ 9 ~~troic ht:r I' incd opponents. ards recisel y the mysttclsm. an
·ri(TwithIun~. ·c attracted tow P. 'cally there is an all-fit
~~fling Guw m \fi1mm (Oriem I .ongman, 1990), E. V. w~Ul.1', A ~"D
.J cu\[Ura wr
tt!Og 1~ . [ so lfOnl
t of the poets r~Jecl '.
J

• There are 5till Indian poets,

&ing Elrrwl~ in A1ysr/f(W/rirer, Workshop, 1990), Tabish I<h"~.nan's a.'~~~
•• ~.,.srn
h t mos
I a , cner.uion an
d hiS c :ums.
d cis local Hindu tra
d' .
ltlons
U~rld (Rupa, 1991), Tara Pards Singk lr1muzn (Rupa atrs~ -~,\tell h'IS new g
•a.n Mohanty, attra
ere h Shanta Acharya (J vot ,.,.'h.
cowar "''
Hoskotes ZonN ofAssault (Rupa. 1991 ), Jeer Thayil's G~; ~.!.t"iit 1991
. such as Nir.l~ationalism. or ~hose, su~ct~e understated lyrics ex pres~
J ' IS,

1992), Vijay Nambisan'~ Grmini (Viking, 1992), Rae~' • h~

Configurations (Rupa, 1993), Hoshang Merchant's Stan~ to Fro%~~ 1 Is ~ cultu~94) who have wn~en a~ y· ~ck Tandon's Climbing th~
N,rTI!Jt, 1 .. m and spiritualism. :ven L piritualism, might be
Workshop, 1989), Yzmifin 1\ft>mphis (Wrirers Workshop, 1991) ~~e~ or rnysUCIS [ as an answer tO ~ . ,
Sl"e /(1995), although me.a~
Golconda (\X'rirers Workshop, 1992), and Flow~r to FlAm~ (Rupa '19;~) ( Spmt ki d of mysuctsm.
These
•
however, are not ParanJapes
and Paranjape's O\vn Tlu Snme Flamt' (~upa, 1991) and Pfa;:ing tht ded as a n ·
~ tts. n. a e's own poetry. Besides b.etng
Darlt God (Rupa, 1992). Suma Jossons Pomzs and Plays (Writeu
Woffishop, 1982), and Bibhu Padhi's Going to th~ Tnnp~ (Indus, 1985) "t manifest~ ~ight
. ""ted in nauvtsm, nauon~~
a~ply t~ Pa:J spiritualism, he has also wnnen
p odernism is little. more than
and A \r~und Elsrwh~u (Rupa, 1992), and R Raj Rao's A/im (Wriren rr.te... . p Japes postm ·
Workshop 1982) and Slitk Show (Peepul Tree, 1993) were represemcd about postmodermsm. .aran fancied and mythic. Hls poet~ IS
1 ph)ful mixture of thmgs realb, . ly so but enlivened wlth
a1ong with two poets who had not yet published a volume, Desmond . I · em arrasstng •
Kharmawphland and Prabhanjan Mishra. Mishra had a manuscript autobiographaca ' at umes r . ns d'lalogues the pretense
tions comessto • '
awaiting publication by Rupa. Manohar Sheny, Sanjiv Bhacla and humour, supposed conversa ' 'l If conscious attempts at
. h' d me heav1 y se - h'
Rukmini Bhaya Nair did nor want ro oe included. Vikram Seth and of acnng myt tc. an so. . hl'1 hts rhe conventions of IS art.
Sujara Bhatt were too expensive ro include. Most of che poets had sdf-reAecuve writing in whtch he ~ag g D rk God (1992) recount his
published their first books since 1990. Tbt Stmlt Flamt (1991 ~ and Playmg tht 'a . a1 affairs. Th~ Satnt
rebtioruhip with his w1fe and som.e e;crra-man~ b
Paraniape's 'Preface' righdy observes that the poetry in his anthol<>g>·
is too varied to he said ro represent a fashion or manifesto, but then
&rnt begins with a jokey 'Invoca,uon ', fo~owe y old-fashioned
concludes with a 'PS: Venus Sernus and Epilogu~ (As hical moments
:n 'Prologue' and

he ruins it by making just such a daim: Hom1ly)'. In between there are selected auroblOg;~ )') d some
• • • • . • .J_.J
Yet, I bchevc, that one thmg ts certatn. Modernism 1S ucau .... Mod t mism in !ndun
t and ' College Days', 'The Seven Year Itch', 'In Love (At lrty. . an ence
!. I' ) h the mma-sequ
English poetry, with iu notions of literary avam garrk, its emotio~aJdrcstral~fc .oo mg around (in more than on~ s~nse , sue, ,as . f the Missing
e~
~eu
d . . all ther aruru to 111
repre.ss1on, It~ pre1erence roc 1rony an ~cepuctbm over
. • r r . o potu~ I
ThtLove Poem Unwritten', '[A M1Ssmg Poem] • In 0. and
srlf-consdota and precious crafumamhip, iL\ belief in the imagt as. the 5.uprc~r~ghl 1 rt·
Poem' and the 'Muse's Gift'. Paranjape teaches Enghs.h hredtu:u to
dc:v1ce, iu aloofness and alienation from India, iu secular dogmausm~ 1 ~ 0 ~~, t}unk·
~.e two boob show it in their many echoes, parodies an n
jc:ction of the pUt, and above all, its arrogant nan:issism and self-absorpuon
fully, now pw. . ~sroom topics:
Th 1s 1s an mcredible statement as most o f che poets. he. included
o • • •
(why dse
1tl There are I take it, many rexts in this P?st-structural age
his amhology are ironic, sceptical and self-conscio~ly .u;~cs ribcS her In which introductions become intermmable
should lhey write poetry). Menka Shivda.sani in 'HmgesI fie~ as iro"· Because, quite simply, rhere•s nothing to introduce~
body as a door: 'one hinge I was insecure, bU[ [he other r 1 No
N mam · body, no 1nner · chamb cr, no sa .. nctum des1gnace,
<>where to lead into, nowhere imro duare:
 29l
290 MO()J RN INO
IAN POE ~1!-l'c 1'1&7-91) h the situation of In d'tan poetry appeared
JDust mazes, pas&tges. and
d d' enrrances
'RY IN tN
COli rt' . , Prt'~s ~cries,"': en Is were stanc:d and publishers became
1
centre ' scminations of dift • £i U"j\-c.r!ll)r lving liS ~eW 1ouroaThis reached its pe;tk in the early 1990s;
So these poems mav Jead
V. . '
h crencc.
now ere b b
oJccs J n my own conscio usness seekjn
ut ack to myself.
i:
10bt 1 m~ publi5htng pkoetry.io-ht be said to be in recession. After 1996
•..ot6tcu 1
Jlll"'.tben the poerry rnarI' et
h 1mn~e
-o
poetry •tn Ind'1a nnce more becamc
!his academic postmodern playfulne . g rcJea.~e and pia ~15hingbook.~ of Eng; · ~xford withdrew from poetry publishing.
ts C\'en worse:
. .
ss 15 elephantine Th
· CerotiC'~
y. r bltrna.s first Rupa·d' u~versiry Press in England said that while
-~
lfl!rtog I 99"~ oxfor t not rna ke eno~gh an.d
did notnt lose money, .1t d'd
-::he ~mv1leged upright seam
blishing poetJ Poet series. OUP India followed. Pengum lnd1a
Eat Jll(O lhe warmth betwee r I
How will it fed n }Our egs- ~cd its oxfo~ h' ~etry again but gradually, maybe a volume a
nas begun pubi JS tng publishes poetry. Disha similarly lost interest.
~~~~ paJm you gently there? no onger P
)'¢· Rupa r 1. ry small and not widely known. arpe 0 ms lS
I
H rC u· .
\X Ill your thigh-stubble tickle) 5
tuvtDayalshtst ' ve well-known publishers include Firma KLM
You drc!'s ro tempt · · Ot Der 1
erratiC. CessBooks (Kottayam, Kerala) and W rtters · Forum
to prm oke undress: ealcurta), . . . bl' h 'd f
; ( ch') The Writers Workshop conunues to pu lS a wt e range o
It is· difficult
· d not to contrast this cl umsmess . W)(h . rh . l (IU~ !rhere are some good poets, but they get lost among the many
precJSton,. ram~, and economy of&..ekiel's Th( Unl: . e senou~nc)s, ~ · h }1aystack. Har-Anand (New Delhi) is a bit like the Writers
sequence m whtch marriage• love ou•c-'d . 'J'mshrdMan,anothcr ome~ Ill r e · f h'
. ...,, e marnage and · Workshop in that poets are expected to purc~ase 75 cop1_es o t e1r
to art and I nd1a are inrenwined 0 D S . . f ch
.:L • ear pmr o e Ag b · b
commitment books. Supposedly 500 copies are printed. While some cop1es a~e sold
mat out-of-date modernism and convmce . J.-aranJape th e, hnng
n .
· ack wlibraries and available in book shops. they are not sent to revtewers
postm.~e':l Byron, not even a Don Juan! at e IS not a (whi,h is the responsibility of the author). Har-Anand, unlike the
of~le lt 15 c:as>' to mock Paranjape's poetry and criticism, the amhol · i'riters Workshop, does send proofs to authors. There are good authors
and M:.:;:~~i~=~ ~~uer. or
Most rhe poets were ofsome int! published by the small and subsidized presses, but they are swamped
Jeer Tha '1 d V" t, armayne DSouza, Tara Pard, Tabish Khair, by those far less able and tend not to attract critical attention.
r hY1 an lJay Nambisan were good. lr had taken a long time his noticeable that during the final years of the century there were
berore r ere was gene raJ acceptance o f I ndtan . poetry .m English and fe11tr important books of poetry published and that good younger
a-...-areness
{4 h ofwho were .LuJe betrer poets. WhiJe those banles were bcmg . pot~ were once more starting ro print privately their own poems or
oug .t a new generation was coming along. Paranjape's anthology turmngto the Writers Workshop. As in any art, improvement comes
00~~:u~ed to b~ing m?ny of rhe newer poets forward. from competition with the best, moving up to publishers with prestige
1 t e growmg national and international importance ofEnglidl an~ co~mercial distribution who pay royalties (rather than needing
to communicatio
. ·
n, emerramment, ed ucanon,
· careers and traVt',I neW 1? era~d to publish), and the real test is in competition on an interna-
generations of poets seem ro arrive in less than a decade. Jf the early IIOna scale. Whether the entry of Picador on the Indian scene wiU help
:g;~s sa:'' the first publicacions of D'Souza, Ranjit Hoskote, Tabi~h ~:ttemajns to be seen. There is money to be made as shown by the
th au, ViJay Nambisan. Tara Patel Menka Shivdasani and Jeer Thayii. by111 ·r ofanthologies in progress but how to make it on small books
e ~asr. years of_the decade were ; time when another generation was ~ or.>There are now a few
one auth ' more maga1ines and newspapers
~nmg to gam attention. Although they had no publisherorpub-
Nin
lhar j~· or the occasional poem as it is recogn iz.ed rhat the readership
g ~ 0 ~· several had worked on D~bonairor Gnzt/nnan in Mum~· ·a difficInterested i n culture a1so reads poetry but pu bl'tshers st1'II fitn d
~a~~ Majumdar's Tlu Brown Critiqu~or TBCwas becoming a " cc
01
a11d l,k~11 to mak~ profit from poetry unles~ the poet is well known
orha ts new generation. Mukra Sambrani is the first of this generauoo lnd a/ to be Widely reviewed in the national press.
to ve published a book. • td 1
poetry has started to gain some attention abroad, and some
There was a long span, beginning with the publication ofthe oxJo
 293
292 MODERN INDIAN
PUE'fR. at~G 19~7,99 • r'c; im tvination. Engli~h-\anguage
poets have been publi~hed in Engla d h YIN E!-4c 1
JJStl •
J abiliues wa
·thin a write ~ '"t'> • j · I d h
. ship with vanous 01a Cl.'tS an ot cr
kllp-tedr~ aJ1 ent;lllgled r~1~ ~~·5 Introduction to 1'u,rlve Mockrn
British and American poets compl;10 .tbe USA, even C llsll 10
d I h a our th 1 erma
an sao, even t e small number oflnd' e ack of b' 1 .\a [lttt)'~~nd f(rishoa N e ro. ally acute discussion of multilin-
remarkable. ft i~ noticeable rhar besides \~a~ers published~ •shtts ~· has a short b~t ex~lr;J·nh Mehrotra's view is that Indian
marker appears mostly imeresred in fern~. Seth, the inr~ r~ b /JiJ" ~~luding varieues o n y ~ifferent linguistic structures avail-
consequen~ of the feminist movement e poers, possibly an ~~01lal ~rsfll·.'~..C.' in English ~ave man natural authentic or national than
How might we explain the high quali~· 0 fi d' n Lrtq ..-ttS"11ta."tt
r.- . 'thout an}' one
bemg more , d [I
th levels keep being shifted aroun ; or a
is sometimes rhoughr that art requires a 1 n 1all .~ngli.sh P<>ctrv) 1 iblcfthe others a.od th~t e age or dialect is the base, other languag-
· Th' · · ong tradino -~ 1
soaety.
.
1s as true m the sense that an art fc
h' h ...:L
• n and a su.b'-
arm lS a f,... ~~: :~tent writer no :~.~hrotra's anthology is a reply to Parthasa-
co~ventJons w ac eau:1 anist and generation builds -·guage with not superstruc . J. Cmtury Indian Poets (1976). Parthasar-
agamst. Even protest literature is created by u1 upon or rcacu cs~'s earlier Trn Ttutchntt~ ,, .l culture of the past and discontent that
models. It is also true that stable societies are lik rl es, con_ventions and ~~ywas nostalgic for I~ atnl language in India and that an Indian
e yto provrde h I'
and patronage necessary for the production of l e ers~ af.J1~~h had become a I terary c a ttme
.
StabT h · 1 · camp 1ex last' d Parthasarathy, who 10r gave up
11ty, owever, IS re anve. Life consists of growth d
d mg art. En~~h had nglo~ ~e~ appp::n~ative of a period when nationalism and
vitality oflndian ooetry is an embodiment of chan Tanh d;cay. The
In .J~ • I fj
wa, Jts many cu tures, rustrations and confficrin d ·
ge. e rvers f
ltyo
f v.'!iting in En. IS , IS re fused with choosing between local and Euro-
aJirural idenur;·were con
source for a writer. The need co make sense of dg' eme~ ar~ a nth
..1: • Isconrrnuaty and ~ langu~es. bo -c-Akiel's role in keeping modern Indian literary
wSJuncrure~ven acceptance of or amusement with in ·· 1have_,:wntten a ut ~ th l
can fertilize art. congrumes- b t I doubt whether many readers who are not erose .ves
culture ;u.Ne, u all ' · · 1 edttor
Litera:r ~orm is itself the dominant language for a writer. Aport v;ntershaveany notion ofAdil Jussaw as con~mumg ro ~~a~ .
wor~ wuhan. or reacts again~t the conventions of poetry. Each Jueruy
ofanthologies, including the important Pengu1.n New Wrm.ng m Indta
trad~t~on has lts ow~ convennons, models, influences, but every literary
1974), and in such publishing houses as Prax1s and ~l~anng Ho~se,
tradmon has been mfluenced by the conventions, forms and models
tnd as an editor for Debonair and The Times of Ind1a, m promoung
of other tradition~. Even the rebel is in rebellion against somethtng Indian writing in English and other languages. I sometim~s hav~ a
from a comparanve perspective the similarities between the world's ftding that a large part of Indian English-language culture, .mclud~g
v.iw is available from other languages, results from the d1scove~es,
literary tra~tions are surprising; it is as if they shared a similar grammar
of conventions and kinds, bur at various times emphasizrd different enthusiasms, energy and judgement of Ezekiel, Jussawalla, RamanuJan,
u~es. The vitality ofindian English poetry results from the constant, Mthrotra, Chitre, and m a lesser extent Mahapatra and Moraes.
rap1d adaptation oflirerary influences, whether from British, American.
~uropean or various Indian Ian guage poetries. Lirerary influence ofttn lll.POSTSCRJPT 1999
anv.olves the partial adoption or adaptation of a mentality, a wa~ of
seemg and conceptualizing the world. While such poets as Ramanujan,
~~ lndi:. became a nuclear power, that its population crossed a
Mehrotra, Chi ere, Ni, Mahapatra, Kolatkar, Parthasarathy, and Salilng co~lon, r~at ~angalore ~nd Hyderabad e~erged a~ cen~res of modern
th nmunlcauons and sc1ence and that Hmdu nanonal1sm threatened
~e bi- or t~i~lingual and imaginatively work within more than one t~tability of the country, s~emed a fitting context for Indian poetry
literary uadmon, good poets are always influenced by other cuhun
altdt eend of the century. It did not take much hindsight to see th. at
whether the models and conventions are Greek, Latin, French, Tarn '
hicb ctry ·m English was one of the seeds of European co1on 'al'
'Nnunpo I' ISm
Sanskrit or Persian. as hybridized, <.:ross-bred, took on local characteristics and flourished
An d' . uld _.J to take rnto
accurate 1scusston of Indian poetry wo necu 1 ~· pan of modernrzauon
· · ·m many places after nauon · al ·md epen d ence.
acco th . . fl nd the a) 'llitougho
. unt c tra~snauona! and transcultur~ tn uen.ces a. 'c modds, ut the decoloniz.ed world the English learned by the former
mg of many different kinds of mentaliues and langulstl
 294
MOI>flllN INI)J
• AN POF.TRy I
colon•al elrrt.s ""s being rransfouH~d into a In NBN~lltll
whtdl hdd nauon rogcrher, and \\lud, becacal language•nd
large stgmcm" ofrhe popul~rion as the cmer:'e an~~ ~Ut
edu ~lion and modem johs. y d rhc World of rnacJefor ~RSJXTEEN
Englt"h lartb"'' tgc larcrature miofu 1)(: I'll
lob.tl I . o ccn a!l an as •
g e<:onorn . r Ui llSSociared "irh rnticmnli ~cr of the n
•·
rol rr.ancc, IIL~rty, .md.JVh.
•j uala~m
.
• ~ninorir·:,.~
sm, secularasn
.
.,...., unaversa
~
Ii l, sc..,.,.jt'i-.
-r· -u,
Maturity
o f t he ~t:Uus quo, c\ t'n of llsdf. No wonder it h b sm and critiCisJll rEERADINA. RAMANUJAN, PATEL. SHF.TTY,
da mast by the n:.tionalis~ and by th<)SC: wh0 dcen ~gardcd With
propnerormf viC\.. of rhc worker rhe JlCOJll...
ha a sangle-rninded
MORA Es•
t.tEHJlOTRA,DARUWALLA. DE .SOUZA. ALEXANDER
~-'fh L - • • .. or t 1te rruth Th
hK! .u LX:'Cn od~h· unad.ooJogicaJ, apolitiCJ.J, and has · e.~rry
~r usIa k ofpubh~; comnurmcnr and rherorico 'aJ. ~n cnnca~
many of the poets W('re themsch es $oci:tl demo~:~' J~•~ alth~
a aal M>emhsm in whach freedom and lihcrrv w . ohr eghd a belle£in The change from regarding Indian poetry in English as an unprofitable,
~• I e~ t ou uo bt .._
most unponant 1'd eaJs. >l'l'lgm:m m cmJ>irid~m ' and . UJr eccentric minority inrerest began quietly with Vikram Seth's The
wh h ,.. d t' ' commttmenr
ar t C) ~now an ,~J hav~ made the 1)oets avam gard h 10 H1Rt16k AJministrat()r's Gardm (1985) which was highly praised in
•
IT\'Onmomanes, · poanung
· . to a fu turc: that was already b ·e, t r ~ London; the title poem, 'The Humble Administrator's Garden', was
lnd1a. ecomangpano( said by some critics to be a certain candidate for future anthologies of
An em is p35smg. ~ntering the pagt>s of lirerary history. Ram • English poetry. Whereas previously Indian English poets appeared ro
and. Ra ~rot :are de~~ Etckit~ is how!ng the dfeas of age an:Uu: be arching up with recent changes in style, Seth's book was itself
sub.JeOt. o a brography by R. IUJ Rao. It 1s now obviou$ that Ramanujan put r1 a movement towards greater formalism and rhyme and away
w.as a g1am. =an extremdy good poer, a great tnmsbtor, an internationally from the excesses of modernism and experimentalism, although its
famou ~dhobr, and someone of powerful and broad intdkcn.W and blend ofamusement, witty allusions to anistic conventions and laid.back
culruraJ ant~st ; he had fcv. t-quals in the qualiry of intelligence be hedoniSm was itself characteristic of one stream of postmodemism ar
brought to hts many works and has range of achievements. Mehroaa. chc cime. Seth soon went beyond any other poet of the new style in
no lon~r th~ )'O~ng rebel. has carried on omc ofRamanujan's interests hisi~remationallysuccessful novel in rhymed verse, The Goldm Gatt.
an older lnd1an Jncratures1 languag('S and their conventions, and tn hJS
panoramiC' i.saon of Indian literature:. and in his insistence on Indian
cultu~ as both uniquely a product ofspecific rimes and places and yet
r
While so~c Indians were still debating whether Indians could write
English poetry, Seth had conquered literary London and New
~Sah was the fim Indian poet to have such a reputation since Dom
pan of me larger\\ orld. • bur whereas Moraes's success was in a style that had alre3d)'
bctn funned by poets of the previous generation. Seth was a leader
~those wh~ were changing the direction of.English verse. Just
. Rushdae gave the Indian novel a promment place on me
~~literary scene, so Seth brought Indian English poetry from
~~the centre of English literarure. On a smaller scale Agha
H LzAli did something similar in the United St2tcs. The HalfInch
~ (~~87) sold remarkably weU and was reprinted in. a
Ali-. ~tlon. While he did not have Seth's grand success, Shahad
~hf!dly recognized as one of the better young American poets,
r:1 'Nidt an unusual range oflanguage. sound. image1y and mastery
~ Hia nect volume ofpocay was brought out by a wdJ.known
1( l
297
MOilERN INDIA N I'OJ!r
j,l~f~ P.Jl'i d ,. . f . . .
a nightmares, e mums o pnvatc amoeues memories
•rm d c• pu bl'1 h cr. mrhcr th.m univcr.,iry R\ IN F.
3 NcLisli d surre.u . c: b h' r ,
that mean~ a poet has made it; few poe.r prchss. In the Unit(u S h3oll1c ubled family htstory, 1ears a. out 1c; nwn rumre; the imagined
. . . . s get l at fa 0 tat
1ny 1~ not ro recognize rile CXl:Cptlonall . ~s
o f provmcta r., Ine of th e Sh!n of :t lfO d [4 lorn ofhis youthful dest res were now populatal by demons
~Cf)'~1 ~ 0t·r1ve friends and his own lack of home or family. At som~
.h _ •
Eng I1s ·poets enrcd. lndo ~
E 1roo often faced b)' sul:-h scepttc) .ta
· · \\Cre
were wnnng m ng• ish. Ramanu,·an's rna gm'fiICCn( s~contf
f
tsm c-:,.J
o wh} th ey
ran _Jf.desuuc
sa. h · She began s1owly, uncertatn
e left htm. · Iy, to return with
105
perhaps t I1e. .mo t m teresti ng fusion so fia r o f In d'tan a ..Jll>m p0ant ~ e ~y published Absmc~s (1983) .
d ~ ( 1986)'' th~~~;d Porms offers~ few instanc.es of Moraes ~uring the museless
li rerary trn d1aons, was mostly ignl)red bv tndi ,· n r:.uropean
'd f
e Ieast 1 ea o what the volume 0 f
J an m •ewers wh
oapparently decadecxperimenri~g wtrh a colloqutal, post-Hcmt~gway realism, but
had nor. t hbl' h d d · poetry was ah · 're recent maJor works at the end of the collection arc not reader·
an dAl 1 pu 1~ e an ~med recognition abroad whe out. Se1h themo
t' dlv Sorne of the
all us1ons
. are very pnvate
. and ..
It IS d'ffi
1 1cult to find
whether the r were r
Jndaan but 1 ·udged their bo 0 ks.m compa reno one · asked · utcn'ntr..of entrance .mto has . world of personae, masques, myths and
o th er P'!ets and 10u.nd them ?utstancling. mon wnh ~~~aric monologues :Vith their formal. tightne.~ and labyrint~-like
That . . ethRand Al1 . . firstf rcccl\·ed recognition overscas .Is perhap5 movement. Exile and wtthdrawal, the casung ofa shell around ones life,
surpnsmg. ccognmon o Indian English poetry h d 1 ·be not
by an older cultural nationalism which began 1·nathonlg e~ dt'laycd
as likely to occur 'at home', ifyou are nor really at home, as abroad. But
15
. h e ate ntnctee h then, as Strmdip shows, exile, the living in a snail's shell while roaming
century and w h tc was once the source ofthe independ m the world of imagination, may result from the intensities of loving,
0 . . all c: f . al' . . ence movement.
ngm )'a rorce o Vlt ltv, laberanon and rediscovery 'tt h d I' d from no1 having any children as heirs, and from an awareness that with
· cil' . db ·r. • a out tve
Its u. tC} an erome repressive, a burden on a rapidly changing modern age all d1eworld is no longer before you while death approaches. Moraes
India. Even such concepts as rhe nation and national cultures have was now building poetic endosu res in which the words densely guarded
bee_n challeng~ by. t?e new inrernationalism and by the a'iSertion of his ftdmg~. This is very rnuch a late style, a private world, a craftsman's
reg1onal, e~m~ reltgtous, gender and class differences within nations. art, admirable in its complexity, rather unique in manner, at times
The publacauon ofDom Moraes's Colkcud Po~ms: J957-1987and off.puning. Moraes condenses his images in startling 'Nays. The expected.
Sl'Tffldip (199.0) brought back to the local poetry scene its first maJOr connectives and transitions are not there, the place or scene is vague,
modern Enghs~-language poet, put ics history and development into ~in time and focus help to dissolve the narrative. Asche poems are
dearer perspective and offered an alternative to such influential models nghtly craft~d, the dislocation between what is being said and poetic
as f:zekiel and Mahapatra. Colkcud Ponns sold well ro the general public stru~rure. is disconcerting. From earlier versions it seems thar M~raes
"h~le the new, later, verse revealed a mature poet, somewhat difficult, beginS\mh a more open, clear poem which as he revises becomes nght,
at times even puzzling, but richer in interest rhan the romanticist tl1at a>mplex and puzzling. He claims that he is not a difficult poet and
had m~de his reputation in England. that IS true in the sense that you know what the poem is .saying even if
Dunng the 1950s and mid-1960s Moraes was the darling ofEngla~d. eo.·erything is refracted oddly.
A craftsman who did tricks with traditional forms, a writer in love with . frrmttip comists of three sequences and eigh cecn 'Other Poems'. The
writing, a poet whose verse paid echoing homage m English literature ~ e~qucnce of sonnets refers to an ancient name for Ceylon or Sri
from Spenser to Auden, Moraes had over unusual mastery over ~e1 I' 11 'where Moraes lived for a time as a child. Here myth. personal
harmonies and rhythms of traditional English verse. He was rornanuc Hstory and present horrors serendipitously intercwtllC. · 'S· te1es' ·ts also
witty, cono:rned with stanzaic form and rhyme. From r~e first 1~r: COncerned
H -:•t wnung and death. 'Sreles is extreme!)' 1ayered ·tntItemes'
.. .: h · · •
was. somethmg
th d . Hend :uter
larger than life about his poetic person:J.lll}'· r. whvc: we ttme to inscribe our stdes? I And who will read them? I
vo1ce, e poems Struck poses, rook ani tudes. Before, unng a For
· 'I ' blues
fl~;~ are these great caped figures I Coming down. silenr, from .the
· fi •
his years m England his poems were filled with an ex! e.s · e.rer ~h· Barr · 0 ws' • a sequence of monologues, wnHen ·
'" tns
tn 1\C qua t ..... . '
personal reasons, having to do with his family and early Itfe, h~~r.tCS 1
&uardufl~g· a di~e_rent persona, concludes with a l~n~15 d~d Swedish
felt at home any place.That was the point of]olm Nobody (_1 965)~ ~-ere dtng hts Identity through tourists: 'My tUlliC sull on flame/
began as a romantic dreamer but by the mid-l960s hts poe
 ~98 MOO(RN INDIAN 1 • 299
I 01::1 R) IN
Under my black uit. Hormts, ab~ences tl d .
1
ENcllsfi ..~ruAJTY . t of 'equipoise' is ncces ary for the plca.sur of
·c-. • • lC CSlll!' 6
breast 1 t h l
e way are ts tran formed inro an and h0 or CoJllfortin ,;, ahc arr:unmcn •i th being a man, father, a husband m love With
~1., h:u cornC'" . . • , h I Id
the dead are th mes found throughout the volu ';-~t rne1lloriai~ '·tfilment t • • gs' Pceradma rncnttons a mentor w o sc 100 e
be knoned, dotted, chtscllcd and hammered into me. _1 e language,..,~ Ill
L'p~·tfc. n
I 'lkglllOIIl h . f
· , of his wit, I t c frutts o me 1t ltlon,d' . crmca. 1
. . unu.su<ll evenJ ....., ••'hl111 '111 1he exerCI~c kicl . I n Group J"'Ortralt,
t> • by a
\\O rd o rd er. At ttmes It can be biblical, traditional '. aeo~ , Tl 1 111 enror is Ez.c wnucn
·m1press"· e s11ow: 'A . .
.1'\J 11anguage 1s us own hisrol)• 1
:. poencal
I Yt • •
If. . · et It IS tn stlfJodgcnl~nr • · ~ Hindu moral and social concepts, paying homage
• ... Hlsred b Mushm Indian, usmwe em sec how an Indian poetic tradition hc.gan by
a word , /Each one must find his ovm./lt is the destiny ofad Uct le to
form a language from a language.' rnasty/J'o 10 aJewish mefncEor.gli 5 h poetry, developed its own traditions, and all
1111 ng
IJ useoots o inn the• many sides o f Ind'tan cu Iture .
.Moraes has always been an outsider only at e
. ff.
cosmopoll[an, rhe o -beat, the unlikely, on1y at home i 1
' ase amon h
gt e .long lu.~ r blication of the Co!lecud Pot:ms 1952-1988 (1989) of
poetry. Yer how Indian! Complex 50cicties prod:C anguh~eand Wi.t~ t ~ p~e CoillcUd Poems of Moraes, their long out-of-print
campIexmes, · · -L •
mctr own •ormsc
of·a1·tenauon,
. . own reiet't c1rh' own
thc1r ~~te an t w available, and it became possible to sec what had been
. d' . If .~ I ,
other artLSnc tra mons. " oraess late poems are laboured th
a tons Ips ro wnnngsarc no J h d I f h
ublished in those early decades an toft race t e ;vc o pmencfo sue
\a.·ell ar a subliminal level. It has sometimes been said that ~wor~ P • (I nding modern poets. Most o Daruwa11 as vo 1umes o poetry
identification with British and European poetry is a dead-end and ~ra~~ mhaJOraloubeen republished and selections ofKamala Das are availableJ
~eave no poetic heirs. Th.at migh~ superfici~y be true, bur poetry i':tf r~ ave so . . cr
f -• erratically. Time was also havmg ftus euect.. I'\.Ciffi:lllltpn
n. • d' d
1 rJuJer . h 1e. on.
lS a l~~e and a natt~n; w.lule Moraess poetic heirs, such as Jcet 13 July 1993 in a Chic~go hospital a cr rccctvt~g anaest esta ~~
Tha.ri, m.tght .not lo~k ltke hun, they are likely to have his complex pre~racion for an opcrauon tbat was supposed!} Without danger.J-!Is
relattonshtp With I ndta and also to see themselves in terms of world, poetry often told of such gri~ i~conwuiries; t;he.ir amusmg, wry nomes
especially European, poetry. shO\ved that life was filled wnh unagmed anx1et1es and unexpected real
One poer who has continued to build upon the Ezekiel tradition is dangers. 1 he deaths absurdly reported in such poems as Obituary'
Saleem Peeradina. Group Portrait (1992) is a self-examination by and 'Madura' were attempts to distance the pain and apparent
someone who is now married, head ofa family, a father, and responsible arbarariness of ordinary existence. Rejecting the Hindu revivalism and
for himself and others. The poet is aware of the duties expected of a mysucism ofmany nationalists, he still regarded the past as an influence
man at his stage oflife and the poems are Sanskritic in their econo~y on the present, although in such forms as memories, the unconscious
and the moral concern that infuses the narrative. There are the fan11ly andgeneuc inheritances, where rhe actual manifestations were likely to
portraits, introspective self-examinations and moral studies of friends
and characters characteristic ofsuch poets as Ezekiel, de Souu, Katrakt
;ppear wh~n least expected or desired. V .
RamanuJan early rejected notions of sptrirual transcendencej hts
Parthasarathy and Rodrigues. Even the unity of the volume, ~h~ poctrr shows that reality is in the particular, the specific, the individual
subsections and the pairing of poems, are methods used by Ezckie' ~xpenence. The lesson he drew from both Upanislurds and science
Ramanujan and Parthasarathy. . was that after a life of unsatisfied fantasies and sclf-de.strucrive pa~sions
. ' marn
Peerad 1nas · concern appears ro be t h e recon ciliatiOflh'aJ or We ret.urn to nature but as part of the food chain. llis later poems
harmomz.mg
.
• • o f con fl'1cung ' emonon:»
. ,
' r)uough a soct'aJ and et I ap
· ge as a rr
~~eumes joke about Hindu-style ecology. In dassie1l Indian writing~
CODSCIOUSness. Whereas Ezekiel S poems often treat marrJa eaf riol1 u bl
e,ound a·Slmt·1ar vision to that of modern science. Evcr}'t h'mg lS ·
~or the spiriruaJ and moral self, Peeradina finds the fuU:sr self~r bf': sdf, w:;ta c, changing, tran~itory predatory striving to survin~. He
an the tight community and duties offamily. The ero~tc, t.heJu f~ilisl. as~com_c? modernity hut his s:nsibilirv w~s shaneJ by a view oflife
.e~tlltvc I ., r H . d
the creative, the affectionate and the moral find resoluoon and 1ehe poet's Buddh· cy~ es which have the ap"carance of change. e practase
The conflict between the busy life of the house~olde~fi" writer 15 Wh'ltsthrnedatatton · as a way to stop r · fa cnons.
anxieties an d d'tss.&tiS ·
need for privacy and silrnce to nunure his emononall.1 ~as: pvriciOS ltirn•.:fe .e w~ an excellent poet in three languages, and thought of
shown to be deceiving. While 'staying divided' is a cond•uon ° ··Oo>Q prunar1I
Yas a poet, Ramanujans • ·mrerests ·utcluded I'mgutsucs,
· ·
 00 M O D ERN INDIAN 30 1
1'01 I R\ IN
folklore.:: mytholo~·· p.s) chology, philosophy and li fNCL1sli •' r1Jil1n· . · as ·u •1s h'1s mo1it carcfully organi7.ed
dSight is decepttve
011
tran Ia non ofdas teal and medieval Tamil and K l<:rary theory If ndl 11 css of Stt1h ·ming post modernist flow of free associations and
the means by \\hich many readers bec-ame . , annada poetry. IS or-
,..,,11 me:
hcre t eb'secgraphy masks a nothcr, but d'wc:rerent, set of classical
trndiLions of ~outhcrn _India. a\\ arc of the older lit::re '"'
prerrnsc at .''lUtO 10cnrions govcrnmg • la nger poems, w h'tch he d.1scussed
Ahhough h1s poernr as e.tsy to read and appe
. , . ars personll d c
ry f3mil ~~~ c~r~vndW~r. I have discussed this in greater detail in Thrtt
[nPomtJDJ ~· verse was never f1ec; it was shaped by complicated
th 0
on e pre.scnt. 1ts 11eemmg rran "n:uencv is d . ' a.n 1ocusAJ
ch . .
. I
. . r ' - .1 eccpttve h · fill
e oes, qmet alJus10ns, uomc S} rnbols and other . ·h . ts 1 ed with
ennc tng
~ 1

that dec.pcn, muItap y and change its signittQn S resonanc~
:rr
d urerenr · ·
se.rmottc structu res may be teasinglv pres ce. . evcral
. rad'lcaiJy
. . . " em In a poem .,. .
ro unpac:k rhe vanous strands IS like being in a room fuU f . · ~rytng
· 1·s fi n a1 , each ·tmage change.-; with the perspect' o 'Th tnck m~rorsi
noth ang
is a short, imagistic description of the New England wive. b eStnders'
. . ater ug bu ft
t h ose w ho know Tam1l poettc rcrms and m}'ilis concer · s'. r or
L_ • nmg 1va the
poem em oc mrerpreted ~an argument about Hindu philosophy which
IS taken up throughout h1:; poems. RamanuJ'an spoke of rh
. , . . ,
fh
o IS poems as negouauons between culrures and himselfas the h h
· I d' Am e~can.
~~ n tan-
·
As appe~nces are the effect of many hidden
diS:aiu causes, mrerpreratton 'Ntll change according to the kinds of
av:ulable kno·wledge. Such a 'poetic' is as applicable to national cultures
~milies, individu~, linguistic theory, psychology and religion as t~
hterarurc. Perhaps Its most concise statement is in such poems as
'Elements of Composition' and 'On the Death of a Poem' in Sfrond
Sight (1986).
If Ramanujan's accomplishment as a poet is nor berrer known ic is
b~cause he published slowly, wrote in three languages and few cxc~r
hunselfhad a similar range of immediate culrura1 refercnc~. Therets
also the problem of the kind of poem he wrote. He may have been.~e
last major modernist, the last poet of the perfect, concise, imag•suc
lyric. The modernist movement had an earlier, stronger influence~~
several regional Indian-language literatures than on the Indian Englts
poets. Among Ramanujan's early publications are translations
Kannada of rhe verse ofGopalkrishnaAdiga, a poet he kneW and admth ..
1
,,_ c 1• dea wer.
The Co~cted Pomu Ramanujan was working on berore 115 •
to include translations of his own writings in Kannad.a. Partly mfluen d2
bY th. e modernists,
. partly by the convennons . of-rIaffi 1'1. and ~(anna
rising
poeucs, Ramanujan aimed at a toneless impersonahry by ~d be
through perhaps fifty versions over a decade. The ideal poe~ w~ part
an anonymous lyric in an anthology. Such a poem w?uldr~;~es and
s d1srrtl1Se
d
[,ufian Po~ts. . stanzaic forms and conventinns of prosody which
. d' .
rhyrne ' h Indian as Western 11tcrary tra ttlons.
()\\t:as roue ~~ died while preparing his collected poems, they were
As .Ramanu)a
0
d I >omzs Iargely t he work o f h'IS
11
d ftcr his death in a Couectt
11
pubhs e a. 1Vinay Dharwadker, but with help from Molly Daniels-
former P.upt Krinika Ramanujan and others. The Colkct~d Pomzs in-
~an;Ja:~w poems issued under the collective tide of The Black Hen,
ulcst'on compiled by a committee of eight people from 148 new
a~eect
e meamng · I poems Ramanujan had left on computer d'1sks . Best'des a Prerace c by
, Kr'nika and a long useful Introduction by Vinay Dharwadker there is
YP en a~ncluding 'Note on The Black Hen and After' by .Molly ~aniels­
Ramanujan. While The Black Hen poems and Dharwadkers Intro-
duction emphasize Ramanujan's co~cer? with the b?dy in r~l~tion .ro
1imeand death, and the way everythang ts related whtlc rcma1nmg dts-
tintt, the fact remains that the selection and arrangement are not by
Ramanujan. This is a different CoLlected Poems from the one he had in
mind. I remember having several conversations with him in which he
spoke ofinduding translations of his poems from other languages but
~dt 1hac he had to write new poems in the spirit of the originals. I imag-
tne that they and the poems not selected for Tht Black Hen will eventu-
ally appear in a volume of uncollected poems. Ifso I hope it will incl~de
th~e. earl~ uncollected poems and early versions of his poems whtch
~~ tllummate the vision an~ methods behind his volu~1es of P~~try.
th~ prcsem Colltcted Poems ts nor a Complete Poe~s; tt rep~bltshes
r.: 7:fir~r three volumes along with the Black Hen sdectton, no clung else.
.ht B14ck Hm takes irs tide from the first poem in the selection, in
luch th
\\also · of 'it', presumably poetry or the poeuc · unage
· bur
ceO . e con.ung.
uraJt~losophlcalmsight and death, is something that must come nat-
tee/a ~m growth over a period of time the way le-.tves appear ~n a
earn· } now there are a number of poems in which the mysrenous
arepltng uf'it' ·ts undersrood to be inspiration and Ram.tnupn;s · ' · poe m j.;·
black~ : sue~ a romantic aesthetic; here 1it comes sometime.."/. as the
1
0

of a c:are~lly constructed sequence with ~eveloptngThcapparenr tven n 1 wnh the red round eye' This might seem a lovely tmage.
rccurnng 1mages, puncruated by a few contrasting poems. asuggestion of fertility and life: bur the black fowl with its red eye
 •0l MODERN IND IAN , 303
I Qfll'lt) IN
alro di~mrbingl ' sugg !:dve of an: icrie~ d
1 I!N(;lr~ •ItIf\
black hen rnrcs I" ith ils round red C)'"C 11 ~nadn, ~erhaps of d- h·, It ~~fl: ~ think you see .'
. . . . . )OUrea[,....·.J. -t . tb Jt you crcc, then Its
them .-, octJc m~:ptrataon. anxieties and J h .'" 1u. The$ tl f thing on a
no kon you sec.
our the ' lume .long with the idea thar all~a~ -will recur th~ rr~e 11 cbanle · ht •s D ay' w h'1ch must be
11 tory is 1'10k ''Jllgh ems such as ' N1g
unrrn ea bj e cau • nd cuect • nd that bin:h is the
tr.
.n. e art-, however, p~hing has been miscopicd. The second stanza
ed in ofi ·
the eventual rerum to nature from which 3 pe st~rt of death Clld 1,,cr. ed or else som~
th fo Th · · rson wJ!I b
o e~ t:_~m ·.h •ere 1s ~ conase amusing version of this e ~~-cl~ 10
:ln
llofint~hI. tle sensc as
··
prtnted:
T:asre num t c 1m. ges sequence: VISion in ~
~
--~~ tt h
. dancers need crutc es
\~'alkmg, h
1orhcrs smear biner neem .r: utes and eunuc s
dell Ill
paste on their nipples in rnafia harems . h
ro ween greedy babies .
anJ pJCan has savour cats fles ·
and gi,·e them an inexplicable . f R;l anujan's philosophical vision, while rrue1 can be
taste for bitter gourd SpeakJ.ng ~ mphasizing a totalizing interpretation over the
late in life rni~~eadtng0 ;~[41 e%at are the subject matter of the poems. Many of the
partJculars ~obiographical and treat life as sexual desire, the longings
The poems in the volume were dearly meant to be u d J pocms:ph~ ~especially of his divorce from his wife and his continual
ked d
11 · . f n erstood as
11n · an returnmg ro pans o a larger view oflife. 'It' fo
. h w h'ICh t he selecuon
l otth~ ~ 'anh and his family, along with implied other affairs. The
takes up chat 'I t, wat . begins: , r cxamp1e1 longrng 10r er d · l · · bl
trouble is rhat while each poem c~n b~ re~l o.nd ItS ow~ t 1ey m~tta y
I see it out there like a small lad the reader to ocheryoe~s wtth s~m1 ar 1 eas, p ~es or. Images.
tree with two broken branches Usin the con\·entions of medieval Tamil poetry, conventions still found
between two gnarled oaks Jifting inorter Asian poeuies, any mention of_ the scene can ~arry a fLXed
their full head of leaves significance; even che mention ofa colour 1s meant to act ltke a sym~l.
into the rain, Soe.1ch poem should properly be seen as part of ~he volume, often m
p;.radoxical and ironic, even amusing. ways. Stx of the poems are
but, 'I he4r it I running like an underground Ganges I under my feet, uded 'Love' and the way they and other poems are linked to each other,
over my head ... always nmning from me.' As the many comparisons in Imitation of che linkages between past and present, can be gathered
that I ha' e not quoted in the poem and the various sc.enes he mentions from rhe tree, leaves and colour images of 'LOVE 6: winter:; 'Green
show, 'it' is life and death intertwined in all existence, and fhereforeaU lea.~es on a grey tree I look almost like flowers, sudden s~mles on a
existence is a possible subject for poetry as a possible image of such a ch~ekenpox I face, or an accidental/ couch betv.·een quarrels. Someone
reality. ~-ith an extremely successful career, Ramanujan felt that his domestic
. Th~ Black Hm poems seem less complete, less worked ov~r, I.N po~ ~~~ewasa f~lure; he was surprisingly lonely although he had ~any close
ished, less complicated, less a house of mirrors, than RamanuJans earli ~mnds. Th1s personal side of his life is in the poems, often dtsranced by
poetry. He normally puncruated lighdy but few of these poems ha\c ~ronyor humour, and it would be a mistake to neglect the autobiographical
any puncru.ation. It may well be that this is a conscious later ~1 ~~er, or the larger, philosophical and psychological themes. There is no
~ur the foregrounding of the philosophical vision of his work 510 ~
lt. In Ramanujan's previous poems his philosophicaJ rhemes d~redo mi·
J ~~sfactory way around che problems raised by a work that an author
t ul ntlnished and The Black H~n must be regarded as unfinished as
fi-om an image and some concrete situation, here ideas sec~ t~ PW:me- tr· . . poetry d espite the quality of many o f t h e poems.
avo ume of
.
nate. ~er:e a~ some lovely poems like 'In To~land' with ~~~~i)d-likt to thtsslgmficanr of how poetry in English was muving from the margms
leon numtcking rubber roy ones and irs amusmg paradoxth'l pher:
. conclusion worthy of any Hindu or Buddh.ISt p I oso Pllbl'ISehcenrre oflndian culture chat Gieve Patel's fir~r two books were
rh yrrung ed by Ezct.:
tUeI and Cleanng
. House wh1le . h1s
. dur. d was publ'IShed
304 MODERN INDIAN
30S
POETJt't'rN
by Oxford Univ~rsity Press as an Oxford p rb Ill~ ..-"''~ , • usas part of the _di~cipline he feels he ~ee~. To
Ia d . . p ·• . ape ack. With
p ~ an . p:u~tmgs ateJ as very much part of the 1 LL
•U. ~ _....~~~rtoa.disi0
al~ean trying to 1m1tate the state ot mmd tn the
While has Mrrro"d, Mirroring (1991) carries furt~ture of'Bc)111~ ~~~.can
50
tions with his God have become one example
~tlcrberrsco~vcrs~ meditative technique which, stripped of its
.towards
h. even greaterdeconomy, al compression , und erstatcrn~
the lllov-..:
--:"•qt r-.~
~ . 0f •a unaverses boundaries and can be 1oun
r. d .an most cultures
~s p~rry-ad dtenS cncy so noti~ble in new volumes bynt~~ny ~.specifics, cross
anuJan an c ouza-whar ar first appears s · . . ::-"~
avowal ofspirirualiry. The initial poem 'The Di~rpculrasa~gasns&Uddaa 111d&diJiOI!I' h Shetry's Domestic Crf:ature.r (1994) I am struck
In the beginning
I I ty begins ~Man~ t~ 5
·
the same throughout the world-change a
by h011' persodnaall ~ 'ns and the poems could have been written in
1

it is difficult ..,..,CS an f h al f r. l'

ftW _... • th have the universality o t e person , ? ~ee mgs
USIO ,
even to say, aJ'/ country• r:'f ble part oflife. They are as the volumes ude says
'God', tbaurc ·a,rccognaza , . . f . .
1n 'Dialogue with a child there 1s passmg o tame, pam,
and the volume concludes 'Embattled mind settle dow 1 'dOIBCS~~~fthe ideal, and the relationship of time, P.ai.n and memo~
. d P I'
I h . , n so to swcu ~-t.: 0 fart relationships that are natural to hvmg. The details
quteru c. ate s emp as1s on the physical, on the body's sufferi his to the llliWng
awareness of the world's violence, and of such conflicting ~
'
• .L • • L If h emonom of life convey the truth.
wtwm we . se asd the co-presence of love and violence in scxualirv
.,,orUI..£ Yes, that's a pretty scene.
compassaon an are towards the wounded, and of his own inner
It's pressed into the page
con.flicts along with a crisis in his life led him to an ashram and a quest
By a hot iron.
for mncr peace. The poems in Mirro"d, Mirroring form momcnrs fiom
a narr.uivc, 'God or I something like that I shot I through each part of
you.' Some of the story is allud_eq, to in de Souza's Tallting Pot'IN. And inside that glass
Ctmvmations with Po~ts. ,:J(/ Paperweight the flowers
Patel is not a confessional poet and the details are vague, but it seems Arc frozen.
that his sexual desires were part of what made him seek spiritual peact· No, they're not rings
In 'Hill Station', 'Each ecstatic thrust is/ Freely contaminate with an In the tree stump
appetite: for lice.' In 'My Affections': 'Such odour, such rioting-:-'~ But my footprints.
eroticism oftwelve lives I Crowded into one, now I At a suoke ~
God becomes his new love, someone with whom he is having~
~c ashram, being away from the grime and noise ~nd bad
1:
d.:cnbc
I like a t1de like Domntic Crratu"s. It does not begin with an idea of
~or an ideology; its quality comes from its co~centration on
aty, make access to his new love possible. He uses such imaP to 15 the k .~nal, the known, the genuinely observed and what u really means.
his new condition as life without the burdens of the past, such chc ~rent from yet as specific as the stripped-do':'n poetry of
image of a donkey and building a new house. These are of~~ the any . an~ de Souza. It is too often assumed that Indi~ poe~ry, or
kind of simple metaphoric analogies that are so e~ccn; ~, llkh0:~~ lite~~. ~ust be unique, must have some sF,al annb~te,
KWDtecnth-century religious poetry of George Herbert! ,oodd is ci ~ ~~ty ~r dtalect. That, however, is a false. pohncized: notaon
and in such a poem as 'In Just Two Years, Said the D~~ beilll IDd ~ry wh1ch results in stereotypes and dishonesty of mtdlect
Habert'! pat poem·~· with ~c i~~ of.ChnJtS It is~ ""'-~na. The novelist Amit Chaudhuri observed ('Lure of the
•'7UIICI". hlfltJ Li
.,....led m the Eucharist commuruon wtthm His ch~ . ~be o.e c. £\
tmlry Supplnnmt, September 1999: rv1:
r.ra DMW• were also Indian such as Akho, the GuJ~il~ ...:!;~ways, indeed. in which the multilingual imacinarion enters an
WllliJicd.l am not 10 CX)Ilcaned with Pard's 'so~· (ai~.OD} .. bJbia ... t
~ do With che we of English words-noc transmuted or 'appro~naml
.. , ••~ dw poetry iaa language learned by imJcaD lhc pon-c:olonial'a own ends', u the current dogma hu 11• but
 06 MOI)IftN IND IAN r•
307
C' tnmgtngl , in thctr ordinar) and t ndnrd fvrnw , . . Ol:l'l(y IN F!Ncll$~
I b A •r' and' Instead of a Farewell'. There is
port ta.\ ttn •mu r •~m • ckJ,o,, !edged or srudtr f • '' ~ Jlraqkc WL
~~rt: erns as 'Sdf-Po~t~~u em· not a tradition of con!.cious
• I • ,. et I 1lis " p11'l'
h n_ 11 ~~
o.tll~nu)a~.~~n
. A I
pncu) t IU 1'\ilmanu1 n, 1'\'HIC J\fchrotra or Onm 1\i l . pcculta "llOJc
111!. pog r:om each other and their own
t Oqtrme
Rmpb) \\rorc in rhe !!)60 and 70s dc.-mrd nor .~ontu horfltc,s (ru ~~~c: n,lf). ~~toft'"t ~""'. traulll
behind :;uc, cl
f oets earnm h .
td ' I
I'•' I' hc rurntu
r . ' ~ I I . l
liOn of 1 lc :anguagl!, hur , 111 na 11 , £ium 1
rntu t hcu' u~e RultcJ d'; ~ ~o~ ~ l:'~s. r,l!hcr o P . about themselves and what t cy expenence.
1od1~nn
10
' 1181§ ~ur\s 1 t-: •Jlli."H, \\llllnw, 'U~·. 'douor' 'd,•nr' ,,
I I k ' J ' ' ' I ' 'I r lll'\Vay the)
. 'Useuordi 1 11e1
rk how cohatS
wntc11Uts Oll t foreign literatures, bur somewhere
\\'a\ oflafe. 'l tm W<h, and cuminucs ro he, more ch. JJent•in ~ • U~tton', ro sup::..•rr
1 1 d
F~il1 r n tradiuon .r : bJoch, the models, the inrertexua tty, StartC
' usWO • }'
1
d I
as n 'OUilg rca cr. rt:mcm l~• 1)cJng ~pclled broth<'SIndia "~>"' a
of111ay (i•rst ~l'lle;r,
· •
ltghtly
~''" \' oompanrncnts I found rn d1c e poem'; ft1t I didn'r th' k u poq-oflicts~
l 11an 11
"I
lr IS line the buddmg th foreign sources as the poetry developed
~oogr JC I· Indian rather an
D fit &ubJref for poctl'). ThC' poet~ r la.a\'(' mentioned appeaJ\"1.1 (O
to • ppropmue• or •su 1l\l'rr • 1he 1~<mgua~, l,ec:ause the En~>lidtl""e no oven arttntpn
:.I.
le lndi~ Jlivttj Ill
!Ja,;ngmh~r~~. cul val uesyo uth and newness, but there isfsomething
·
d h'\1/""o~,~-1«~~
h ' f J.:--" ()WO .,
t cu , 1n co not so mu ch to hac'I
co j onaur
• a30 ro their ~eme 0
ofsdf .tllguage
ISContemporary .rureas a oet. As with wines the passage o. ttme may
pocu' u e oflangu:age had les.~ ro do wil!1 rhe colonizer rhan with rh an ..t'ory; ~ be said for ma.tunng d P d better bring out the essenual flavour.
cxplorauon, and rewrittng of him,df. e mo ern lnd1aJ1'
ro Iish off chose ~o~gh ~fre.: Daruwalla's A Summer ofTigus ( 1995)
dtc~tonth
1

hetty ha~ given~ ·amples of how a poem may begin with a · T

pohc verst' and 1' poems the manner and matter more
of a fruitless avocado tree~ a cauliflower, a brinjal, or his da:glhlll~
· h d'
is smoother t a~ h
h 10 e ear 1er •
tough common sense, along wit a Jstrust
h
• st ma.
. ft~ .
1 he .tmage .In Hsc .
1s an empty ptcture which needs to~
ters rrOccrive. There 15 t e sa~e t at how history repeats itself without
~
linked ro rcaliry, brought inco a \vider human canvas, shaped by ~ ofidcologJ~, anfrom ic The first poem in the volume begms
. d a puzuemcn . 'PI
•a~ers
I. nguage and emorion, made inro a 'meaningful metaphor' with aa people lt"arnmg _ :me 1 da er-moment, word and deed. ~1rsr
idenriry of its own ('\Xfritcr at Work', Gmr/~,uzn, July 1997: 1J 7). change, bur nor t~~ end kil'l.10g ~fJulius Caesar by Brutus in ancsent
.L • the berraya1 an b d h·
The concentration on the seJf, on the place, on reality itsdf, e\rn the Ulere IS f . I history rearranges ea s; ... not mg
reality of rhe imaginings, has always been ar the hean of whar Arvind Rome 'On chhe .ta·~~ ose~:~ halfof the poem tells ofan ass~ination
Kri hna .Mehrorra learned from Ezra Pound's imagism and from \'i/. C. an reverse t e fl e. e b h. d 'He dtes not
in modern Argentina of a gaucho y IS gran ,s~-. the voiume
'X'illiams' in.sistencc on locality. Here is l\1ehrorra's J\pproaching Fifiy'
knowing he has died, I to re-enact a Roman sce~e. ~er:munisc poet
in Tbt' Trallsfiguring Place.( (1998); he is no longer the young rebd,
Daruwalla addresses the famous South Amencan/ tho a1 fall in
experimentalist and formalist, but instead a mature poet who ha.s Pahlo Neruda 'Pablo as you must have known, ey • waalys
polished his craft ro a dassic minimal ism: thm. metaphoriC ' I (Caesar, o f course, fell/ with the. rre one
. . togas. .. on h
Sometimes, his back.)' Throughout history there are betrayals and kilmgs 10 t e
In un\\iped bathroom mirrors, JUme of5o me revolutionary justice:
He sees all three faces
Looking at him: We don't know whom to believe; each one
His own, turns the tourniquet when he gets the chance.
The grey-haired man's The ones who dined on the revolution
Who e life policy has matured, for fifry years were no differenc.
And [he mocking youth's Ceausescu was a bigger bastard
Who paid the first premium. than any dictator on your continent.

I have quoted the complete poem. And .tr ts . ~ane, Uous.for

h seerns 50
an essaY
You talked of the bombs
QS) ro write such verse, but it Gould provide subJect m~te~ne ends,.lfS
and the 'murdering gas' in Vietnam,
in itself \\ith its patterning of's' and nasal sounds ar t e d hannant~ bul not a Worc.J on the Prague of 1968
--.J.1magery and symbol'a~rn, .us .mtern;u-'rhymes
compn••xu . h. anco such A· K·
no~ a Word on the Budapest of 1956,
~n its d~nt and difference from and rdauons rp as If the Soviets never had a tank.
 309
08 MOL)I RN INDIAN '
I OU'J RY 1 '{ While de Sou1.a is still best known for
Jn t lte ne t poem Daruwalla mock l I IN Et•<.tr \ ~ J eeonomy. · o f t hc soc1ety
·
Co mmumsr · .. s lOt 1 Nc d , jes :~n h w coml>assionate portratts
'I . mcs and the hlirld ness o f tho ru. ·•s Lli nun~
I .atro .r . tefllor ·t sorne o 0 S
nl q:ic:tly~ngry rc.J her writing has movfe? o~.. e 0~7.aS do-~len
' Wi
' ' 1ll e pro arnung non-alignmcm and . . se IIHcllccru 1 to
. d • .\llCJa1IStn a S \\•h thost he was r•usc ' asts ideals o femrmne ~let an ~m
to tJlC SovJcts unng rhe Cold \XI.ar H · . · Were ~Ytt
Ul'\biCh/. sf'•J'nting (1988! con~:n·tl disquiet and guesr.ing. There is a
o
• . c unagmcs Neru 1I . l(la.thetic
utt J I• ·r s er ' . . . f
And you would have iltn lndtt '' D wi1h 1hc . of herself wtL~Kalt as sh~ ~el -consCIOUS
rJnce om anson '1 1 k .k'
enjoyed talking to Nehru. asSO \l~ y1rontc I. t: ~ rc her bank manager: .,.J. oo .SUI tng

lie would. ha\e given} ou such a dose nl1

C\·c n
~I 1.tncc. s •
ttn s ueiO
l f skulls.' luther than scIf.-dr:unat1z.mg
..
cf a k' I and a nee .ace ode Souza is often eptgrammauc. . and
on non-alignment and non-violerlce an d soctal' .
I h
t tat " o kn ows, you'd have stayed o d asrn l c. l fher own votcc,
d[f\l\tl\1 0
a Vi siring Professorship :n jNU. nan · perhaps acctpred ~d•tanced. ld l gued that she writes well-edited, personal
~ h .11 cou
Altnuug
le ar f h M b.
h. k of as the manner o t e urn at poets
Daruwalla's technique
. may .lt first seem that oft':nee verse b d . . ·10 what 1t m 'd f
the way t hc Imcs break rhere arc many securer d d ' ur espn( rcllcrnons , k'
1 5he also shows another, more extreme, t ea o
rh) m~. ('you~, 'N~hru', 'you', 'who', 'you'd', 'JN~')e:nda;~~ Internal 1
nfluenced by_Ez: te ' st of the usual attractive characteristics of
Sl 1e cltmlllates mo . . al' Th' .
feels ltkc an JambJc pentameter that Ins poetr)'· ~ . I . 10
. a distinctly new style, a mtmm 1sm. ts poetic
, . bec 11 st rung over the rhythm
I'10 vcr.e•WI thts resu ts d d the bare thing sat m t e cwest o f posst'ble
brea ksand generally been loosened w resemble coli · I
many ways sue poems recall such great satirists as Dryd J h ·
h
oquta speech Jn( l m\\ ':
·h htone! soun an
ds •~ extrrme, ut re
b
. d
lated to a simt1ar economy an consctous se -
. f
. lf
. . al'
· h · en, o nson wor . ·. A . d ~ Aehrocra's later poetry. Such a poencs o a mtmm tst
an d Aud en m' t eu compressed mctal)hors r
('dined l,n rhc revo1uuon) · • !li1UI1D00 tn MO tVl • h b h h f
su l)tJe I>arbs ( He would have given you such a dose') and . -~ ima imt "~as at times shared by Ra.manujan, and mtg t e t ~ug to
d' 1 'H' ,
en mgs. ? lStory , DaruwaJia retdls the teaching at school of the
unexpectru ~hool or movement of poetry on irs own. I know of poers. mother
usual hero1c story of Aryan hor:.ernen invading India from the north :~nuics who write that way; indeed it is tempting for any a~tst ro ~k
and then settling down, which he conrrasts wich che beauties irunies "hat:.ue the essential bare bones of my art, bur that three maJo: Indtan
and inju~ti~es of real life. 'This too was history I though no ~ne ever f<!cts, de SoU7..1, Mt:hrotm and Raman ujan, share such an aesthetic makes
wrote of lt. Daruwalla's poetry i~ often concerned with .su~.:h historv. L~em a movement.
h would be a mistake, however, co sec Daruwalla's poetry as oni)· \vnilede Souza's W'ays ofBelonging: Stltcted Pon~zs ( 199~) and Stkcud
concerned with sociery and politics; they arc for him parr of a larger tnd Nfw Penns (1994) differ somewhat in their selecn~n, the .Nw
problem, how we give meaning to life. His view of life is exiMentiahst Pamucome clu!lest to the purity of the poetic which ha~ mcrcastnfly
Th.cre is a scepticism towards large ideas whether religious, poliual perned her poetry. Here is the complete 'It's Time to Fmd a Place, a
or mtellectual. He can be amazed by, and write impressively or. those poem which alludes ro irs own conventions:
who willingly suffer for their beliefs. He sees life as a void that needsro It's time to find a place
be given significance. 'Writirw is more than mere selt:cxpression: lr.ls
o · .1 • thm to be 11ilcnt with each other.
al so an attempt at rranscendence of sorts., 'The seed of the votu 15 w~ . ~ haYl' prattled endlessly
us aJI .... \X1ith age this little pocket of emptiness expa~d~. ~u~~ ~,sraiT-rooms, corridors, re.staurants.
helps me erect battlements against the expanding void' ('\'Vrtterat or ' hen you are nor around
C. l~man, August 1997: 116). ce, namerr10r ~tarry on conversations in my head.
1 ala Das was the first modern woman poer ro ~r~a 'for others .ven this poem
self and a bodv of recognizable work bU£ it was dtfflcuh t A has fimv : t word s too many.
. • ' hk·vernen .,·c:tgnt

I
Wlth less flamboyant personalities w build upon her ac J stlhe ee<momy, clarity, avoidant:e ofornamentation anJ metaphor,
break t h rough came wah · Eumcc · de Soll7.aS• rtx c" • h w:as
wJlJC ••
a ntou.•ir~. anThrough
ap
1 01 Pearanoe 0 f detachment and the dampening down o f emouons,
·
opposite: of Kamala Das's poetics in its cucfully craned sm:Ul p
 311
310 MODERN INDJ
AN f'OJ TR. f'( U . d States. Many of the memories in
de Sou1..a packs a lot ofhiddcn feeling · \ IN £Nq1 ~ al dand now the nlted by desire including, seemingly, the
Jt k·em ak .mg prose do dte work ofpoers Into ,B
a small
. pac~ge.
._ ~
.._..lan • • create · h 'd
1). uc wan . "rr
Ants~ .~. J:.llb' {_I ... ilnaguHngs L 1 of how to combane t c two Sl es
h h f 01 kaiC ~,...., The prOLJ em 1 · h
t at li )'t 1m come from? TI1c r>ocm ho\
ers arounda d Jnure.• wh ~d···" ttboO
fiJ''-
• • r drrwther. . d b the creation of literature, w 11c
rerun11ng to au elghr-syllable line. It co 11 s1• 1.~ f'fc ' eparnng frn ~ .Jitjcalg~n ·s tempornrtly ~o 1ve yld ·n which she feels 'abandoned'.
1 ~11ere arc su d 1 echo1ng . . s so our tw I'
panerm as 'time' •r d' , . 0 • tnesrat-.
•vlll and
t:. desires I fh If m a wor l ( 989) l
'lO fimd' •to be,' 'too many.• And what abour' those Jtn ' SJlcnr' •r '"''~11. Jho the creation o ersTht Stonn: A Ponn in ~ivc Parts 1 )y
final ~ony, 'llltny'
I
6b> der introduces f: made by foldmg a sheet of paper.
as the poem is not 48 words bm onl)' 42 with htw?lmes,CSOfri.!L AJ~" it to one of thoseh. ansthe scenes on such a fan, the narrative
'kj • OUt t C title· d0 .L --~
create a SUI ng complacation in which d
, , .
1e poem nself a..__ .
I UJqn01 !Plll?l"' "tt
dina her poem 1 ~ e I
• l'k
1 wacc mg f d'
d funity there is the acto rea tng, an
meraphor fcor t I1e prartle . One re.sub ofsuch a al . uccomcs a ,._.~ d 1 ccs nscea o c. . . ld'
. lfb . nan ogylsrh th ~estn bits an P e d · as similar to 'parts of the xemmme wor ·
nse ecomes llS aesthetic which necessaril at e~ ;!) rh'ch Alexan er sees . d . cc
. . . y crcaces a second I ~"' I d (1992) is a ten·part poeuc, ramanc sequen
Interpretation wtth the poem being abour · · (\'tl of
bemg .
a ~upposedly factual sratemem about ., rei ·
wrmng poetry
• as w li
dJ tYf'rSctnt~.rht G~~~~nhas been performed in New York. It also r~calls
.. attons 1 up with IJI!C\cral VOices w . K al d the fate of several women assoctated
person. I say supflOScdly because ., suddenly we m1g
• · h t wonder ·r$0mc h I h me 10 er a an .
reall}' was a personal relationship and wher.her the po
1
. ht ere hct lllAtcrn~ o d Al h h meant: for performance the sequence ts
11ith her chlld~oo. . . t ~~gh one of the starting poinlS is an experience
always have been about writing poetr)' And why do hem mdlg 1 c"_O~
l r . . · css enee ro 1100 ~ ~Clllya mcdh~tat IAlon 10 wdelrC celt that she could only possess the world
a pace tor st 1encc? S1lenr places are for pra}'Cr perhaps ·u·· den w en exan '' Mah
'I 1 r • , ~1gnanons.
:~"bein a poet. Her poetry resembles that ofJayan.ta
rna ybe a s1 em pace 10r a stlenr poem without words? The more I look apatra
at .~ose ~2 words the more poetry they become. This is the kind of llm7~·ayh:r writing foregrounds the provisional creauon of the sc:If
~111namal1sm de S~uza,_Mehrotra and A. K. Ramanujan share and wfu c thro~writing, in her use of abstract symbols (sky, star~ sun), ~d m
It d~velops from Jmagtsm there are plenty of precedents for it in oldc• !!Sforus on the mind, its obsessions, desires, and esscnnal_loneLm:ss.
Indmn poetry, especially in ~orne ofthe poetry Ramanujan and Mehrotra ~lwbeen writing for decades, living in differ~nt countnes rangmg
have translated, although the conventions in the past were diRerenr. from Sudan and England to India and the Umted States where ~he
MecnaAlcxander, in comra.lit ro Eunice de Souza, is inclined wwards r.o'o\ lrves. Her poetry still revealsa tendency towards the abstract htgh
poe.rry £hat is incantatory and medirational. Memories, desir~ and lyricism found in her early French verse written in Sudan, a?d she
fictton merge as she examines the construcrion of her idenLiryand Its lrnl4ins influenced b}' a phenomenological approach to the existence
relationship to family history, actuality, being a woman and writing ftbeldf and its expression in art, a topic examined in the doctorate
poetry. Although she has written some very good individual poems lhtv.Tote in.England. As a university professor living in. New Yor~ she
her writing seems more a world of process rhan de Sou1.a's fiKity tends 10 be Influenced by li terary and intellectual fash1ons. Dunng a
Alexander's power comes from poems resonating upon each other :~hen_postcolonialism is the discourse of the month and w~en
Wit . h'an a volume or as her work is followed from book to b00k· Sh' r elsexl!tcmem in mixing literary genres, and when there is a fashton
1 1
has wrmen · about phenomenology and women in Romannclsm,, II · · ·her ~ autob1 ugrap h·tcs, especially by those thoughr mtnontaes
lllul' · · · an d
• • 'I I If. p,n~cultural, it i!. perhaps not surprising that her Th~ Shock ofArriwll:
pe" 2 Y
poetry IS S1m1 ar y concerned wirh the creation of the sc • cs d
h If I' abroa · JICftloru on p
ost- C~oIonial Exprriena ( 1997) shou ld .tn termmg . Ie
r · •
t e temamnc se and what it means to he: Indian if you ave
0 0
tl:ai
Housr ofa Thousand Doors {1988) mixes verse and prose ' / : ofk:ton, · from he r Verse Wlt . h autobJOgrapluca
. . I prose. Th'1s appearance
~lf-comaancd, private emotional world of images, sym~ols a~~der's ~..·ys~ up w·11 h ·lnte II ectual fashions can be mis1ead'mg. She h as
1!..-.Ptng
stons. H.ouses represent fixity, shelter, roorl-dncss and lfl ~aJ ~m1ly that It rn _~cstless writer and the narure ofher vision of reality means
3

poetry, like that of Kamala Das are associated with a mater .. __ I the Usc '"way5 change and should never be fixe d smce
tort •IS a!Wa · t h c ·anne!r
h . K ' ohUOlh
owe 10 erala. AJexandcr recalls rwo grandmothers, one f dS the ofchtnPin ys.the ~carch for self-arriculation and definicion in a world
other domestic. The former stands for her feminist consclousn nd''' I)' gsuuauons.
latter P~Uents her own longingl{>r roots a era i e sprea across
 ro£T~ . s education at good sch ools
,,F~ this mc.w . l J,Carcers•
1~LJ I swon,cn. l'b ....1\ifc ttntC.,lro.Jt
lnnlt ~
·JIIc:cas . ·of•' er".tt.....
e~lJcnc:ncc. . .
' husbaml .m d WI· ~e
l 'ach both
c.~~b . • ~onl ·t:lgc tn w l (' \\ d
~"t 11-tr~toc~ •.I t'fc or a mart • . . l unong women o owe
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN dllfl sing c l c Ill bctng r,Hsec ~ d
dctthcrJ JitTcrcnt 1ro · one's husb.m ·
IT~ It hver)'tmarri.lge and scrvtng Ru ~ts ( 1990) was one of a very
New \X'omen Poets • trJdluo~ad i's NirtltUZtl at Trt~ p ·d' t'ton of 500 under the
bf1 Sl rv .l~ao r \ hcJ 10 an c I
Mtnkot~ ~er of books pu) ~~ Praxis. A c:lrcful selection. spann mg
•

SHIVDASANI. PATEL. D'SO UZA. SAMBRANI, DHARKER, smlll n~!Tl fAdil Jussawalla y f l c best first books of poetry to
DJVAKARUNJ , BHATT ·s,on o . . s one o t 1 . • h
IL-pcrvt • work, It remain f he poems were wrmen w en
ll~"thrYdcJ:~ g che 1990s. Some o t ftcr They arc obviously the
1 urtn . h l thcrs soon a · . .h
SF?'!.... ·,"IS snll at sc oo , o d l poets studied tn classes. 1 ey
~~iW"n • · as mo e s h l
kof ayoung poet usmg man from a sruden t through t e ear y
t'OI ss of a voung wo
Jhov. the progre '
Poetry in English by Indian women has been seen at odds , b
. . _I cu Irure. Th'1s JS
. another 1ssue
. ~2(Sof .t career to a mot he~. alist who worked for a year in Hong
eradltlona.~ overtaken by modern soci\~J[ SJuvdasani. awell-travelle~ JOUrn b f the Bombay Poetry Circle
.m w h'JCh w har .JS supposedly trad'mon. aJ 1s
. often a guise for gainingCtyor f h foundmg mem ers o . .
Kong.wasoneo r e . . d anyofthenewcharactcnstlcs
keepin? power ·when. fac~d with the. liberating .e~ecrs. of democrlq, c: 1986 In her poeur, she ~~~~~~:e :Uring rhe 1990s. Th~re was the
ed.ucauon and urbaniZation. According to tradmonahsts Sita should ofB(Imbay poetry as It wou h spbttgs noise and other disagreeable
be the model for women, but, of course, there are many versions ofthe iW f the filth powers ortage , , . f
Rama)'.:Ina, some of which might be thought feminist. Traditions are :monofth . 's' ,·,re 11
There were rhe horrors and cemRtanons o
t_~ctSO ectry • < • l 'r~ h' h ~ere
what you make of them; there are always other versions available-, as ngalonc in a small flat, the anxieties of a slllg e l e, w tc ~ ll
can be seen in Ruth Vanita'sAPiayofLight(l994) which contrasts images ~-....---
cofiiphcated by bemg. a woman. Wh'l1 c hcr P0 etry alludes •to a war h (
ofSita the dominated with Saraswati, the unmarried goddess. In Mroka oraru~ seillaa food, broKen relationships and sleepl~s mgh~s, t er~
Shivdasani's Nirt~tlflll at Tm Rupus ( 1990) social conventions .111d tr'
11iliowit, '
irony, knowingness, and a marve11ous ·tmagmat~on. · Sh1vdasan1 ks
cultural myths are enemies of the repressed, angry, imagi~ative self. A a~ use vulgar :ipeech, make expressionist and con_f~ss10nal r~rnar •
poem titled 'Protein-rich' concludes: 'The egg yolks choke m the fre-ew, ~the poetry is always highly imaged, clever, surpnsmg, amusmg and
I and I, stiff as a refrigerator, I pride of place in a middle·d~ home. -mocking. . .
Watching the Ramayana on television 'like yer another nsghtm:.rt Her poetry holds cogether a private world of cha.onc. en.tOnons
Somebody's I crying as usual. tomato ketchup I oozing pasr a km c. ~ghitslogical development and its strikingly imagmauve un,ages.
And here, something else I coagulates beneath my cyel.ash ,"' I want to Hinges' begins '1 found my body I hinged like any other door ~~nd
stick my fangs into Sica, I but she vanishes just as I st~tke.. ll 1d tO COt:dudcs:'Now I'm building I another boJrfor myself.' The opentng
Whereas previously the existence of a woman poet mevHa >Y ethat ri Uphonc5tatement and its logical development could be from one
questions about her relationship with the femini.st moveme~t, n:-press rlJethose sevcntc:emh-cemury George Herbert religious lyrics abour
the feminists have helped free women from betng expe~te '~\\1 thll1
13
~~fand Cod. 'Today's FairyTaJe' begins 'Hold me, octopus./ Your
a narrow range ofopinions, feminist ideology h~ ~en •rst ·ngle hfc, tart~ arc not enouvh.' and similarly develops logically though
a broad spectrum of topics including the comphanons 0 a ~ucation, ~ra lhJfts ·111 0
• but
tone and direction to a self-analytic.tl observatiOn
problems of marriage and life abroad. Women have ~ore :cr before '0 r 'urrea\ i mal)e: ·were you really there or d'd 1 I I on 1Y ·unagwc ·
more exposure and are more financially independent.t 3• ~of todiln
11
r ltnt~cles I sprouting from my scal1>'' ThC.'ie appear to be early
Poetry in English by women is part of the modern•zt'Jucation and rd.flyiasl!.thew· . llty ·schoolgirl No More':· 'I learnt the mec11amcs · 1o f
society including its participation in a globa~ systc; 0 erial netwOrk> 1\gln Biology I but did not posse.••s the wings.' Her poems arc
economics which hru, replaced the older colo mal an unpe
 315
314
MODI RN INDIAN &tl poETS
'Repair Job' about a more mature woman
often continuous mer:aphors k' POET~ty Itt lt.l toiA
. ~ ofrhc ate:ed conventions of social life, strongly aware
1
and result in unusuaJ scenc.4: 'Sm~ •ng usc of puns, rcfi II
was y k II . prmg-Cieani • be: cr to h....a.. ~frorn thedxpec cal unrest, her inner and outer life at odds. h
our u on the bouom shelf. I .ng ginsstriki~~ ~~uahcyan ,:'en day 1slit a jugular /Thar ~trayed into a corner
and d evclops: ' sranng sockctIcss at-"rr'T;
,...- ly: Jesterc' ces· 'they s.u'd: "Sce t he roses .tn her chceks''"
.
Ca rny ll1kle L..;ns
1
~lc.ssly draped on a h:angcr I f. "t"'-,
(""'bftll1·
No one
ll no • c
sexual imagery (read the poem ror yourself.
5
.leanmg bonilj• rowards tl lc pc~•fiume ound
. an arm '"''
Aftt:r sornc rnarvc
. ll h ou) she · 'scuck the shts . wget her wit. 11 gum. I Nobody
'".another corner, a dislocated kne/' ~\apect 1 ta erced· 1the businessman-he smiled and propo.,ed.'
o.d you run away so fast 0 b . ..,OCCS"~a~•Pt:in~a carpenter build a table contrasts the poet as
I wish you'd wipe that fo~Jfshu rokc your leg? Arotm•. utsocial being ('anxious hostess') and her real self angry
tOothless grin
Y4 • ofryour St up1'd rrace ,J.coftSCIWSbothered by che noise of the carpenter's work, tempted
ou needn t be cmbarras ecl ubou; I . lfilbcbes:'~~ reccntl)· met, and thinking of her own modern version
me down. Other men have roo dcnhmg
'an t ey ~ · 1.,ewith what Keats termed easeful death. 'I would gladly
d I'dn•t d'IS .Integrate like you. ofJ,tlllgln
,.!_\.
O•
assium cyanideJ I •mnocuous 111 '
a lovely Crrosted glass, I a
Gfllll' pot '1'h
This i~ like Jacobean 'meraphysical' >Ol't dim) sinking gently to ~he boc.tom. c voIumc h?s .as own .1mp1·ted
op~osu~; there is even a similar usc 'of thry of Wit, wuh 1£3 rnixrure ci
• • •
toblographical narrauve as at moves chronologLcally beyond the
1 he uric: of the volume comes fr< ·~grotesque and maabrt. ~trl and the ~orking ~oma.n .alone in a tlat to a h~me owner
poem about the disappointments oofm I ser,ff:L?ser, Addict.. anothtr uad mother. Real ltfe rcmams suflmg, far from the destrcs of the
a ove a au:
anasmauon and urges of the body.
When you arc happy. only clich~ Sbivdasani mocks 1he easy but destructive Nirvana of smack ar ten
come. to mind- the ~ky is blue, OfCCS• but at the hcan of the volume is a similar urge for a paradise or
~mss IS green, butterflies arc free. alllMlla,somcthing lxner than the anxieties, dishonesties, repression,
fhcn somcdting happens, and solitary
35 ;~ murderer, you rwist the knife
r~necdsand basic ugliness of ordinary life. In 'Four Walls' she feels
ltkt :a fly trapped in a spider's web, she has lost her freedom through
an~ stalk the street~. your brain
~drugged by 'garbage:': 'Somewhere in those I rapped I gauze wings
bfmg. crushed to powder like rhe contcms ~om born ofshit, buu.ing I self-~tisfied after a meal ofgarbage.'
? a VIal of smack. NirvOJna at ten rupees Patel'~ one book, Sing/~ \\'loman ( 1991), assumes that being a
IS c.h~ap. but the sky has a sihcr)' tinge
~m arself a perspective on life. Using a simple vocabulary and
you would ~ther perccive as grey. r tary sense of versification, craft and rhyme, Patel manages to
the. buucrflles are pinned. heads down. COatin1orctful ·Images and poems that have a personal voice and 1d I a
Clair
thcu backs to the wall, lake you.
llllrof~ng story, ~story which gains from being recognizable. The
The
. drama
. • com ·
. prcssaon, rapa'd d cvcJopmcnt, logic and narrauveart IWI!hout~volu~e.as itself significant of a modern woman living alone
•m:~ssave ll..lli as the use of rhyme or 1he significant repctiuons of)'ou plai ,~eeurme.s of family and a husband about which other women
wfi 1 • moves from the second word of line one to the middle o(lin
rr' as echoed ·an •your' ·m )'lilt' sax,
ave · renews it imponance at l he sUrt
J
~n cannot live: like )'OU mother .... I cannot be a dutiful
,._ oflovter world ~s that of a modern woman with the illusions and
Th an.e ten and then strongly concludes the stanza as the final word
11 " very m.uch a poem about the $dfas 'you'-6omeonc ot-rved
-.I~Cfca ' tduauon, ~ OlUlllc's own. Violence. domination
a.otduc lesser proDienu than the experience of pain and the

ru:
lbc ~~ can hun. She docs not have 1he alienation from her
10
anal)'RCI.and Judged-nola complaining T . '
rh~ )'i(lhly mnaphoric, at urn.. almo.t sumal, '"'""""'·'""
e lopcal devdopmcnr found in such ~ly poems as 'Han~ atr
~ .._lbou of what one feels and thinks that lmtiaz. Dharker
t; r there is anger at the way 'A woman's life is a rcaccion
 317
316
MODERN INDIAN
I ro the crack of a whip. I She Jeams to dodge ·
POITlyiH
. ,oafS . \so a uap. a falseness tof 'oneself, a
rirv
ctivc but IS a . ftl eattr·.tctionso msecu .,.
her.' The poems wfuch follow concem rhe e~as ;r ~....._. fl'l"'tY as•~So~ often.wru~:ut ;isks and satirical towards
memory and in rhc isolation from others 'You-~ 0 IUc:h -...:....~ ~-dvnt can be wttrY a ' p er' amusingly contrastS
cv: c..._, • • ' .....rro~ _--..Cia
IOUrc:"CJ anyourdrcams. The~isthecoJJ~ to~ ~::;ies. She. ks 'A Maidens . raly l e 'without a man'.
..~,.,.,.- -"e ns · f mg 1t a on c.
of wo'?e . 'If>:t>u carch a man by his balls 1 his heanCOtnrnon~
foU rd, hkc many women Indian poets has a
&ankness abour sauaJ matters seldom found ~ong the
:dreane.
llliQd"'
...
~* ...
81 do pOl ~»'

~fliP' h tnaJ en
sed peace o a h 1 ks: 'Security /,rom
the supfl?d desires what s e ac ' 1 'White Line
I . own ares. n
~--• ~ t e nly offer nle tts . d .n the middle of the
a one-night stand is luxury ... He is another woman's ~~ ~ofl~':n:esota', t~c line ~~:io~s becomes a symbol
ro go ro bed with an American she met on a Goan ~She~ ._ cbe Jlold '~tr.c going in dt~e~ntr lf for those moving on, I a
wcdcs I can brood of nothing else. I He is a growing~! but 'Far 1)1111 .-srate a:a''' . eluding: a lue· me
_... • ..y-- ntngs an ' · l
AJrhough the poems complain a.L:wut the treatment f tt)..-nY rn~ those yet unborn. . h rheir short lines and samp e
men th~ arc the opposite ofmi~ The speaker Wanr3° Wornea by ~I r t her short poems wat akc obvious points, eve?
companionship, wanrs Jove, 'tnr throughout the volu~ "':• 'Nanca
feeling of having missed our, and of the cosrs and price of~ere " 1
ksseiiY~~:(~ many of them prcac~,e~vho wrote 'Subway Vigt-
~~ issues. How can som~oll' be a poet? She is, howcvcrd.
casual affairs, of being oursidc the easy joys and conquests ft: tbo'Jl SOC' , 'Train ofThoug t od ed b Ezekiel an
'S~merim~ for old ti~es sake I ~ou should look me up./ Havr~uach Jlfl., •God's Will or
Jllle . Guilk to Woman
{\ 991) was intr uc Y
. d Souza's and ParanJape s
. ,
wtth ~e, I U pay cltc bdl. ... I mass you most when rm eating alone,• HerA~. ns from it in both Eumc~ e. magery as 'Shark fins I
There IS the awareness ofage and death, ofthe lowering ofex~ m-are. S~~ is capable of such amazmg ~ as mere rocks' in 'Win-
'You can go blind loolcing for the choice I tidbits ofi<M.... But unfed
and unbank~ hungers I can kill you, I you cannot kill them.' ThCR IR ~ th~n l~~ :::~o~ke
snowdrifts,/ thousands of previous
- th Dakota' a poem m w a ., to describe the way
affairs with married men, with older men, 'This city breeds homdamea alii Sou ~ks new and interestmg ways and innocent as it
I in women, in me.' 'Tune passes C'VCil when unemplO)":d. ... Uncmpla,td
lldiature ~~can make the world seem P~';Strange Bedfellows''
whitene~s. Th~n ~:t::~
people try to sleep at any I time of day.'
:Jthe power of Singk ~m4n is in the larger srory rather than an ::;everything with exist between desire,
llfiWf2 poem about the relauonshap t h. ch can be interpreted
individual poems; here is the pain that can follow rebellion, liviac by
one's self, failing at making a romantic marriage, drcal)' jobs, urban ~-violence and death. It is a poe~.w pow'er from the way the
loneliness, Jiving in hostels, growing old. It is a story about beang an •...J ~rent ways, and gains some ~ ats f 'Seven time around I
older single woman, but also about the modern condition and dtc .... ttsdf moves from the incanr:'taon ~ch rhythms of'What I
disappoinanents of freedom. This is a poetry of failure, which in iadf it &at of my shots', through the weavmg sp, the double vision of
is remarkable. Art, no matter how much about tragedy or even if~ Mledone I is done I for all ~y ~n~orn sonsiftt~harp 1erection I into
victims, usually ends in viaorics, triumphs, affirmation, heaven, ~ry. '-ina and sexual penetration m and a ~When God First Made a
l)rd ~ly ignorg such q~rions and con~ndons. S~c has~
..._,There is the macabre humour of
a book o poems about life'• ters without pretending at really 11 nor
Wl.ore':
10 bad after all. One day,
By now dlere are a number of subject~ that are known as hkdy co God will ask for this sweaty body
be found in poems by women. There are poems to their mothers <w::; of mine,
chey haw probably defied, rebeUed against and left), poe~(aai- but, like all the rest,
~ (likely ro be auociatcd with traditions, an o~ .,.d He will have to stand in line.
PGT• ..._....,.Ifill
llilla or llllkemaiive home), and poems about mother bcca
...U...orwomen who in some way have So llld the whore,
• ~asked for more.
 319
318
MODERN INDIAN flO
otTS ile the literal meaning is clear,
Her poems appear easy, but often they take unCl:pec d .
I:.IRy IN EN
CLJs .,...~ r i's paems. wh horic meaning of each
-' ofS:unbran licate th~ mecap
the ardrude is bJRling. '1 W'ould Like fo Have aM te. d 1 ftctiona~ !.1. .,.anY h w to cJtp ton ·
Husband' is a jokey tide, but the description of'Ou 0 v'~ Co~boy for
' .h. ' . . I f r O\crnakj1
orgasms \\ 1r 1rs cnsp cerra1 nty o death' is disturb· Th ng ··· OUr
~
¥.,.... rrain o f their attra:t . . tinct towards suggesung
,- ~ dtat is P~aopatra and Chttre a~:~s surreal characteristi~ .of
parody CO\\ boy life of 'fried bread, beans and hash' l·
e a.l'llllsing ,t~lfl ""thM . "ficances. There . so that the famthar
rhe 'guaramec' U1at ic will only lasr a few years, ~a tv.'Ur "-11h ~multif~~~~fbeing in~~p:~:7~ost magicaL A poe~
that our marriage could be •r&d, kinds o he unexpecre? anyth~ but sentimental. Sambra~us
deliciously wiped out, ~;:h'ifi\'Oives t an in bed ts an Lng d ess and irony combme
91""'~1 and worn f . d bard-heade n r becomes
fike an rndian tribe, ~ra~c:penden~o nun ~hich within twelve mes
forever. ,y. .
a rapidly .
drarnauc scene
udycomtc:
1!1[0
The idea of the male is desirable for a time as is sex and security-th
it is time to ~ove on: But 'deliciously wiped ~ut' has that same ~1'\'('l'SJ~n ~'fhel.d...
.... of a wife
and ]0\ e of nsk noticeable el:.ewherc, even m the connection berw~ begins to nudge
orgasms and death, while the reminder of the extinction of the Indians at his bed-side.
makes clear that she knows that her imagination is playing with danger Maybe she will
and '•iolencc. D'Souza is a poet of risks, of strange bedfellows. make rwo-a.m. soups
Even nice young women from middJe-class Hindu families are wnt~ng for his whim and htm.
poetry in English, oorsing their fathers and moving to America. Muku
Sambrani's Tlu l~nzan in this Room lmt Lonrly (1997) is a book of He rurns to the woman.
swprising intensity and imagination. Sanbrani has a IYJ:icism and fanciful Ltt's', he says.
imagination seldom seen in English-language poetry m.recentdcadcs. 'Fuc:k', she says.
(Ir is at rimes made even more surreal by the usual Wmers Workshop They share a tall glass of water.
misprints.) The tides of rhe poems, pointing ro their basic sour~ in~ Then mere is a knock on the door.
anxieties of a young female, are similar to the themes found m othet That must be your wife", she says. .. l
women poets although her poems develop very differently-'Idea of
Freedom', 'lde2 of a Wife', 'The Colour of Desire", 'Birt~ing', 'B~~~ l'!m .1$ the contraSt between the simple diction
, . , , and s'the'wh
1
su.rp~·~h·~g
m, am, r
11
OO.pattcmofsounds('wife', 'begins'.:s~de', ,w)\·h;~; ~r~ the dramat~c
1
Poem', 'Dear Father", i\n Apple for Mother•, 'Her Mothers House,
Asks', 'Thar Is Not My Name', and 'Female Ancestor'. Want an unusual 11'0!nal' 'says' 'says' 'water', 'door , says · ts what she w1ll
• • •
2ftll.i....:tics.ls'Fuck'whatisonhermm . d ,what she . .wan ofh', sthoughts
feminist love-hate poem? :""'"'6"' • • h reJecuon 1
beabk rodo more of in marriage, or lS It er h . hat 'tall glass of
The man with the plastic heart fl. &tfting married and being taken car~ oP. T ere 15 ~ersratcd way of
unhooks his heart-lung machine water' with its ironies of being both a chch~ and .an ftun Lor instead
and bends down to kiss ~Uf;esttng reflection, the cooling o pass1~n
f · ('
1 s thts a erwarw
furure produced
~) hthe wife interrupting their love-making a grot~~e swiftly evolved
She opens her breast pocket, (_~Imagination or perhaps his real wife? Thew~ asthe love-making.
finds dte heart-shaped candy, "~~~'~lhesunofanide.atothat knock on thedoore g · of poetry
chews it into gum By now .L ___ • . • • I d' ms of the commg
uacrt lS a tradmon m n aan poe . unexpected.
and spits after him. ~llltthing mysterious. Sambrani's version 1~ tot~Brrthing' 11 (' 1 call,
Her hean dissolves. L.. ~ ~m· comes directly after a poem mled , .
Streaks ofblood die downstream. "'Ql/ the window. I I hear voices under the sea. ); It
 f s who rc:~;cndy moved to
320 Po& k Sambt'3nl, r •
M O IHRN INDIAN
I"OE.l'R.y IN
ftftA .. '90S, Mu Ul..., • Adrienne Ric.h (her Ja~ountc
... ~ill msh home to me 21'fttaslt -'-elate 1? o M:untn Kall.a; \ f: 1ily th. tis noticeable,
.a..rtPI ua · helf t dluona an \ t
ltke men to their wi,·es. ....,.,..JSttld• IS t·,on of the tra d 'z·•... and more pcop c nave
~. ccu ent3 d' no erlll ~ . \
It will come on scrnps borrowed from ~~~~,JI(lchefr41A':rdties,~ ln ~q'ua\if,cations they can usc'" t lC
from someone d e's ink strangers, ·,n the ... tJ-. Enghsh an
r"""...:.111 • n an ·
:and I will love it r..:
~ •.~
educano . d d a maJ· or new voice,
989) ultrO ucc . al l)
like my blood. ~pu· • purdah (1 Mamta Kalia, Kam a as
It will be mine. ~ Oh~r~er:,j-.e in her own wayh asro Indian poetry a different
?v1y bastard child. , .Jt'll( as dlstSin ....
'l Oharker broug t . t One of the few poetS
JJJ~.:- _. de o....-· 1' .cal commlttllCn . .h
Thi is an amusing, or imaginative description of · __.£unlet J a sense of po ltl • d ·l n Scotland and broke Wit
· a1·ny that me dana d he was ratse . H
demonstrates b mtenex ...'W4llty,
_L • · ft • ~ P
mterrextu poem Itself · an ,.MfO\lO . backgroun Is 1 d' nd move to lndla. er poetry
Y ns u~ of . 111"'0' ''usbrn 0 n tan a . h f
and p h ~.common to orher poems to produce 'My bastard ~ iol''~' i family to marry a. l olirical, consciously t at o a
The struanon dc,·clops a few poems later with 'Dear farh child· lacr~l feminist, consclouskny p her own mind, rather than
wanted to come home happy ... and I wanted to place yo er ... 1al~ys sc1ous Y who ows I • • •
g(OII ·Jer someone . . She \laS a poets msuncuve
_..t.inl outsl0 ' d l'b l tromes •
on your lap' which suddenly erupts into ur grandchiid tplll"f'ee run of doubt an I r~ rds and .rhyme. Although she appears
Tame's up father. ::~rcadence, the s~unds ~ ;~~hmic, and despite diffcri~g length~
Yours and mine. .,write free verse h~r h~~s £r 1 There are linkages of sound~~ the end
All my friends have finished having babies -'- have astrong tam lC ~e,. _c ' ' ki , 'in' 'sin'. As a pamter an
Gl'n • . J' ' h me sa.rety ' s n , , b h
and your friends finished taking them for strolls. ,.udsoflines: sato, s a ' £ . es Her poems have ot an
Don't ask me father what I have done with it fikn.maker she has an ins~inct ortutrme~fn ~xamining the personal she
like I ask~ you . d dramanc srruc , "fi fM r
rgumm~ata:e rsalan 'Purdah I' takes its setting from spect tcs ~ hus tm
for the doll you had forgotten to buy me. becomes untve . b . . al metaphor ror t e way
caltwt,specifics that are criticized, ut tt ts . so a al d harm· it is a
I am sorry father, I forgot.
women retreat into shells to be safe from dlsapprov an ve~ruall
This is a marvellously dramatic poem with irs many shifts in ani- amdition ofthe mind under social pressure and stress where e y
tudes and tones and its hard-hitting yet low-proftled contrasts and ODe loses a sense of being true to oneself:
repetitions (roues', 'mine', 'my friends', 'your friends', 'finished', '6n-
ished', 'you had forgotten', 'I forgot'). What seems at first an apolo- One day they said
she was old enough to learn some shame.
getic or indiffe~nt poem contains a strong assenion of independence
She found it came quite naturally.
shown by the concluding pronouns-'you' 'me' 'I' '1'.
The next poem in the volume is ~Apple for Mother' about women
living only to give birth to a child and then dying: Purdah is a kind of safety.
The body finds a place to hide.
and mother had a seven pound baby girl The doth fans out against the skin
who grew into an apple-eating woman , much like the earth that falls
who says 'Mother, kiss me and you'll die happy · ( on cofl'tns after they put the dead men in.
The poem mnttasts the innocent apple of a supposedlY pastor~ ~ll an alienation from one's own se!t. a .sl.oia& ~hat is ~­
when women existed to become mothers with _the.·~ in ill ~ther than what one feels. Aii"d this, in Dharker s vaew, rcsu ~
~and penonal choices; its ironic cnndUSJon Urban· sinfct 15 -...,..i&ine women are taught early on about their gender an
com:r.t between me language oftenderness and baaed. . pocu1
iaal.,_. fiom a IDicldle-cJaa Hindu &mily, part of Mumbei me
 U2 M )l1f RN INDIAN ror T ,.0 r.1ll
RYrN 'I' £f'o Y ul 11\C· IY
Sh half rcmcrnl> r tlun • t cl Ihe Ill every ~;~ a •
rc 50 11'1 til
(rom om un "'' r:' hfe, fbere n ct then'• JllC on dtc succls.
1hAvef'lj~eIf\ • hadows
p rhap from} ,ur , or mille-
r fully .ury111 wh r we dn not own·
g thcH nll fuull c
,ceo their pa~t ·' I Jll.tcc t hc:u ICCL
. ('
o ".., n rhc tl11rh , " n e of in. 1kflOW • ,us way t lCY.
\ the c:autl(l' \their vctls.
II ec he 1111~ k
'Purdah II' mrc"o, 3\ Dh rl cr'.\i own conOicrs b 1cans I y 'PC·'
ornfOIIJi of 1 Mu lrm rdcntit), h.t ed on how he was r;u:cr;ce~ l~e .Jf'ld before ·'/;ungues, thkk
• clu luy of tud} 111~ 1he Kor.m nudging words inro )'our l.ca~t;' rh 1kf\OW thet f 1\irminghalll
hc btur ()
un.;oJled by s n , I pu1c th) 11111 on the tongue.' Even in st ~oflh 11h l
'' I _Js. I I rl'hc ll.nm I ClI 1I l C.lllSC,
holy u1 lm lool•. /ll.lncls 1hat pr ;tycd. '.~ceca I droJ~pcd a 51y
11
the Ko1;an there wa ~cxualat). 1 he new Hajji .... ~Jl,erc wa ~ ft:~t
1
flow!
or .C~' •
(ulll di.,linc.'t !>CCtiOI\S
-Purl a'·
.,tion vaouping togct ll'f pO·
on your B ol 1 h re 1 a powerful cn11crsm ofMuslun trcatmcntof
>urJAIJha~ Hntllcrlinc"-c.lCh sc. Pu;<.hh section includes
'fheCiuld s.ngls, ·,~ theme. The ()pC1~111l;J 'S·•c·;·ifi~c· I)OCIIlS which
wumrn nnd e pccJnlly of wnys ttuch <;mlurus are irucnsiflcd wrth n ~ Ia \JS ' 'I) ·lycr .tnu ' •r .
the d 1n.,porn Wlulc wcm•cn nre VICWt.:d as slaves and c.omrnoditicsthe
1 cmsaronnl II 11' 'CnH.c, r. . I itu lls as sctnngs or
dI I' 'Pur<·' 1 , I' . tc·tdunvs ant r , (" l'
wor t dTc t j,. on tile spirit, tl.c ftd!>cnc.ss bcrwccn wh:u women fc Iand ,.J 1\tr •ll lly' me 1•1n •,,nic rc awnus• 1 ,• n .arontC t>' • C('lttr•tst hct ween .m s
• ' 11
wh. r they 1 !lowed tv how, the di~1.111 c bc1wccn dmn and theu tpcthC2 •r. ·'thctitkpnwtuCsO'I. , !'amosquc)~ln< tte
·_J Ill( In '••·•cc ,. tll. ·uchatcctu rc o • . . d
o 111 ch·c.s. Wll " • d h 1aciousnc.:ss o c•onlCil
' · 1\y Juring her pcno l •
....rn (an 1 e g ' cspccla
At 1hc he~ut of chc p10blcm, according to che an.llysi~ suggesrcd b ""'"' 11 trho~c who sec w • l ''Shell tils the mont l
toumcss • k 1 /lnste.u ... ' 1 · l
1 h:ul cr' p ,em , i fcrnalc t>o:uality. Culll~r~ u.s~ ~;Jr:unc to rep. 'lledoc.' not 1oo ,\t ym. J llotasc is .thout t te soct,l
l"' ·n llauntc
1
ttng. · J
(4 m lc C'XUtluy nd d1c independence of !ipmt wtuch rs a part ofir bt m,\ her./Wc ate dclilcc . . te f~rci •ncr living in Engl.m , con-
onsofhome, whether betng a dg ci tl resentments tt)w.uJs
) hey have all been sold. nd bought, ~v' home an 50 •
Y>hethcr or not to c. c I l . ltttling enjoyment ~H their
1II gi rh. I I. new, le"' o ha,·c app:trcnt y n • l taJe goo( • me
un'' dlinr vu1 ins wh\> h. d been t ugiH, of :usimil:u ion:
cspec• II)' rn du tmnrcrs' land, w bind
It wu easy to hate, fwm the te.ncmcnts,
thc1r hnghtnCJJs ti~;hrly round,
the: ones in lite hou5C on the hall.
wh.1tc-. 1 they might '"'car,
m the P"''bh f d1c mi11d. 'They'll come tu no good, ..
d:tu~hrcr's hi~lu:r-cduc:.Hcd, mtXIIl9 •
.• • d I . I • ' 'remforc.c
( u tun 1, Uldlllon, acllgwus HI ct uw.; 11 M. I'} . I bliUCh mc:nral
diupor with "hclaiti" \my~ The}' 'II rcgtct "·
llurd h nd 11<.h. trodhion. nd ~CJJse oflustoa \'I 11 c<. > tom an: Yc~. they will. l•
wl •cpconlrolofthcrrwom.en
• IJ)'IC II'mgttcm
1 d1ar r1tell u
li\l(lCfiOf Hl I hose of 1he fl'IICI{;Ilt"l:
Ihm head~ lllllll' 1nlling Jown the 11 11 • I
, . . ltildtcn, mothctlnlOt •
A h 1rde f dead Ill n 11tc Child S1ngs liCt ttnn has poems •1lmut c.;; • II y HI nc~:d tn
btJ ng wue, ·r sue I1 as 'A Worl\an:.;
' 1,1 ace·'• 'If m;C' ISitlll,l
I Y c !icC d1e
held up )'our head, . d • · [' · I w ICI c yot 1 1111
n•, o It I nlonc hut in front o • nwror. . ll''Titcsc•III~!ICC
I(1
1hmc the ancan tcmpt~uons
uf thos dicn hand ~ hapc 1he nlOtHh makes I bcfnt e you w.rpc.•t ~. _, · titer wulll n
hOI \\ith ernpll:t!'iiS on du~ hush nd 111111 lJ 111 g ' ~~ Ia •s her ell
111

\ou n \'lit'l'<'d w )OUr ro • ~onununll lilt II I y t 1IC \'1/IIC •

t.t Iough th:u happens), but l'l\ l \C W\\ r c. r of "hopptng
Hta I"> u ;~n HRn end the pr:• ona I h > • l c orne th t
1 ndof llle Another Worn 11' from what she WJS ltc Y 5
._" l'1111 "om r:nlfl 1 ng:t '
1 II) ch da por.1 o f mu
 325
324 MODERN INO tl I'"'' rs
IAN f>Oi l'~\' IN
ot.:t''(
for food in the market . e behind you
· ~uurmng 'h
If

"~~~om;,
f: . · Ew aeOlus •
b"':'"8 lh<r hostile ntothet-in-law out <areiUn ·' ""' '' eJ wire groWS
emg a one. Society, religion and h'e t~tng or anJ on h) • cooking bJrb ou once
no ?ther po stbtlmes, 'u was the on I~ c~ ~re h:wc given he~r husbana' '' hert ) t 3 uee.
d ,!ante~
Thts leads ro 'Choke' which con~l cd Ot~c I rhar .she h.ad ~no options' ha 1 rdsjom Gad (1994) is ironic; it assun:cs that God is
back at me.// \X'hen did my bod . u es Mother, I find er knoWn, """e titk ~JtC•1 , rid which he does not rccognt7..e or approve.

try (0 esetpe the fare of dlcir mdt~:;::~~o ~·•ear your ra!e~·~~aring I Ii tor lo0""
atltJ~trustsll'~
•·•ngat.1\\0
,: r ·tcrs' He is 'noth'mg b uta space I t 11at some-
~ the· empty_ space wtt· h the ·1mages t hey cre-
~o mould them, bur C\entuall . wirh ag h t e way mothers omen 111 his People
tnterp fill
ecomes a modler and recapitulate eh t e rebellious woma a~ernpt nt htS co ft h three major secuons, Postcards from God, Nam-
own morher.
• . ~ t e way~ and anit udesn ofcrself h 2tt.'fh~volu~te ~Bombay: The Name of God. As in Purd,tb the
So It IS not onl)' rcligiOJl or I I . er ng r&e Ange: '10 d as sequences and the volume as a structure be-
s amtc culru · ·
Jove, • ·
•
marnage,, motherhood ag•t'ng L~
' '- , 'VJUC Wea h re, It IS also rdatio, h ~tctions ~~lh e renaeral discussion and definition which leads, by the
1

su bmtmon , mto being false w h . If. . r a woman do . . '

IS tps
g1nn11'' 1g \\II . l geme to che specific and more persona.!:.J jl~1 wo poems
of dangerous borderlines The s;lrsf.ct. di
th I . ·
, ~n:o
menral purdah}ife:
s ~tmcr yet i l d
t~ro
nststs :o
end of the: t~tlcs'. '6 Decem.ber 1992' and 'B January 1993', while
1
e sexes; ove, an deed all idenrit)' is confin. I n;o vc tn a battle of h•·1c'rdllatC.\
· ·,orply tided' 1993' .Cfhe poems concern po1·mcs · an d com-
lovers have been brought togeth:r b , d . mgb. n Battle-line' the tw ~ a al · ' na~ln 'Seats ofPower s ewrttes: ere, tnt ts qutct,
tnt ~~ SIOI ' h . '11 . h' . ctvt
. '\
d' tin di .~. } eslre, ur aftc th o ., mun rrott o:. I c h b . , . '6
ts c~, ~tru.s~rul of e..1~h ocher, sleeping back to backr .s~x ey ~cm.Un
.
1 ermisston has been gtven xor t e carnage to egtn; tn
councnes. Malci?g love IS like war, an anack. Th like two dtffc:rent in
~;mtec 1992':' Outside,/ blood runs;' '8 January 1993': 'A match
people, checkpotnts at which ro halr before bein e~;ue,borders between ·tntck nd thrown. I The burning has begun. I I .Afterw·.uds I the
g m'cd to go rhrou~ 1 ~ tr;~ e11 removed I one by one.' In ' 1993' she writes of'rhesc d:1ys I
1 1
to the other country:

Checkpoint: CIU5tcd with hare and prejudice.'

The place in the throat
Po :tards from God is in ~omparison to Purdilh l~s rich in imagery.
aLUStons and implication~The central notion of God as an absence
where words are haired
not allowed to pass, ' wluch people fill wi£h rhe1r desires runs the ri~k of becoming talk1'• an
1dca J>oluical poetry is especially difficult to write. Oharkcr, however.
where questions form
enriches the poems with other implied dimensions as Lhe way the tide
and are nor asked.
'ears of Puwer' coming after the angel scquenct: m.,kes an ironic
Relationships· Jo' ·c• marnages,
· arc constant struggles in which pe<lple contrast •.or thcwJ.y she images the communal violence as like breaking
fay as m~ch grow apan a.•.. roger her. Small irritations become signs ~m winch of cours~ Cllls. to s;ni~d the 'crystal n~g~t' w~~f.n the Nazis
o g~eat d1fferences, of larger failures, of ageing and life catchiug up tack~ the Jew~ durmg Htdcrs nse to power. ThislsiCommtttcd poe cry.
sot at even the rebel, even the woman who chooses freedom is nc:vc:; ~~nmmed to the politics of trmh aml humanity rather thln pa.rty or
really free. There is no return w paradise: ' lut'ology:
You come into a room; It\ not Bombay that burns
strangers haggle over trivial things- hut thb speLifi~ child '
a grey hair curls in a comb. s~rcam ing behind a bolted door;
Someone tugs sadly at your sleeve. particular man on fire
t lc
But no one screams. tr:tpped inside his locked car.
Because leaving home, . of h erself she speaks for mo~t of us:
In 'Minority•• ·In spealcing
you call yourself free.

'I '\ ' •

•

326
I was born a foreigner.
I carried on from there
to become a foreigner everywhere
I wenr, ~en in the place planted . h
my rdati'Ves
Wit
A documentary filmmaker concerned wirh I' . . .
suggests thar iris through working with the pobnl•caJ InJUStice, na..... .
'gh .L pro ems of -t:.. ........_
~ n t, mat ~ne cor:nes ro find one's rruc selfand i d ~'illl, orPitilaa
will commumcatc wnh others. God, others, oneseU: Olngtoanll'lilt
strangers, aU ourcasres. ' Dhirbr. all lit
until, one day, you mecr
the ~rranger sidling down your stn~er,
real1ze you know the face
simplified to bone,
look into its outcast eyes
and recognize it as your own.
. Postcllrt/sfom Godcan be seen as an extension of the themes railed
10 .Pr.wUhJAithough each book has its own specific subJect manu
and the ge~eral fed is .d~fferenr, (!'ostcards takes up the ida of how
people use tdeas of rehgaon and culture to gain and enforce
an~ ~ow ~iolencc against others (whether women or rh01e or::
religions) .IS ce~t~ to s~iery. Dharker is a powerful poer who ue~
her own sa~anon '? society, whether in England or Inclia, ro crate
poetry wh1ch exammes large social problems. Her two boob 10 fir
have begun.":irh what might be considered the root of the p,.
lem, the oragans of how and why ideas of authority are formed.
~ ~n .take the theme through stages until concluding by foM.
IDI It warhin the self]Some of the individual poema are SUOIII_.
IIWI~, othe!" may !»e thought thin and weak, bur rhe JCOP.C. _.
amiHtion are unpreaJVe. The poetry of commitment and potitiel 11
eeldom u succasful. Dharlc.:r is a painter and both volumcs wse
meant to have accompanying drawings. Unfortunately the 1919
~ Uaivenity Prea edition ofPurtillh did nor indude her~
~which can be found in the Bloodaxe 1997 edition which r-
lidaed borb her boob together.
Man;r women poea have lived abroad at 10111e time in rheir n-
- • c:hildaa. Mecna Aleundcr lived in Sudan, Su~ Jlllllllll
... USA, lmaa Dharker in Scotland and Tara Patd in MalaJ'j
H•••:=:!ct•cedeSoumandR.
. ........_
B. Nair.~bld-:.
. MaakaShivdaani buwodcldaaHGIII
327
fOSTS U . d States. Alexander lives in New
. he nate . ·
J)'ScJUZI'n t th · asing number of women 1avang
e-meO· With ~ mascreto men: at what point do they
1
1DPI-·- . n app acs
...., ....1!111! qucstao
. B··h
db come instead, Amencan, nus ,
..,. .....- djaspora an c '
...,,. ,,"'·- patrofa arc citizens?
c:ounttY they. d h-r husband are both Indians, often
.._-,zyo,o o·vaJ<arunl an .. l d'
a.ncrjee 1 c United States, and she writes about n 1a
Jndia &om th . of severallndians who are part of the
10
'!f"~ fiyes, yet she asl onel scene and are not pub\ ished in India
• and cu rura . .
~~asanovelist,shc began with andfconunuedsto wntde
1111.......,~-·.n y.,ba City (1997), a volume o new an se1,ecte
~Her /.ltf11l .'l f few poems about the author, such as How
Glir~' ~ns~ts do 'Balackout: Calcutta, 1971' (at the time of the
a-ftW! 1 Wnter an
I...-;- ofBangladesh), intenwmcd . wnh. groups o f poe~s, many
:::'B/Mk (And/t: Potms about Womm from India, Palusuzn and
.........(1991). .
~has a novelist's sense of movement, narrarave economy,
ri'Mfl and use of memories. The groups of poe~s ran~e f~"'!
~-by Irish nuns in a section titled 'Growing up an I?arJeehng
•flllll!l•
the end about Indian immigrants in the Unned States
... lhc becomes a 'we' speaking about the contrast be.rween
11 lk1lll and reality. The volume, however, does not constitute a
ilplcbiopaphy of selected moments from a life. T_here are group~
tffOIIIII about Rajasthan (including the eye-openmg 'At the S~ta
ll,ie,Bibner', a poem made powerful by treating its subject ~tth
~rc), about babies, Indian miniatures, Indian films, tourang
lllipe.S Yuba City (an Indian community in Northern California
=cady in the century by Punjabi farmers who until the 1940s,
~~laws, were unable to bring brides to the United Sta~).
~wried, the poems suggest two intertwined themes found an
..:::::and ~nduding poems of the volume. Th~ first tells of
b , • readu"l her each morning to read and wrate before her
~;' father awakes; the last is about Indians in New Jeney
-....:~ • a falm and their seDJC of community temporarily
llli.d~the feellnp of humiliation and exile from living in the
Gioa~ DWolwuni hu a remarkable ability ro notice whal
illapn Visiting Jodhpur Enjoy Iced Sweet' begin~
...._¥illap they would never dare it, I thae five men, sinina
..,._,. 11t1 lind I by the roadaicle tea ..U licking at ica.' At
 329
JlB MUUI RN INUIAN J> o£:1'~ . '1 can't hold on to my tongue.
'J
Jtome, 1cad of hou,chold ', they be: t 1 · • L
O£lR~ IN ~r 'the punning dau': . I but the Ji,.ard darts aw~y
l) t drun~. Lu ing their field rhcy WJIJ t~c•r ~uldrcn and "'•\1'
MY'fon~e d's uil/1 try to gnph rds in Roman sc.npt
by gomg t:o v.horchou cs: tu cccp their Plltle ~If r trkctheliz.ar. Gu)'arati script. t e wo ntinues throughout
~ De'o'nagan . h The process co
;ed h>: . to the £nghs . she is losing her mother tongue
But for now, ~uon•n. s that although h in dreams; it is the languag~
held v. ithin the c fro1en orange cry rals,
tlenr, uckmg,
they h:wc forgotten to be men h rthan.
:i:
a BhattdaUTl t ce irreturnsto er

•M rieCuneto
fday ManyofBhatts
~If\ :a foreign E~glish. the la~guagHe ~r Hu~band' concludes
. c h · · s
and arc, briefly, reaL bt rat e srmilar po.int. . a, While Bhatt's nostalg~a ,or er ongm
F' rn,.ke a lll CDunt mPohsh. ti mcs works as a translator fro~
1 he movcmcnr of the lines and the placement of tJ
. .r • f
d.
tcwor 51,clli atntghtd~~le, especial~y as_sh~so~:h for a non~Gujarati rcadersh_•P
ca cl1 Ime ~oc.mmg on a part c) the narrative and . CCtrve .J1!l(l.rsta" r;~.llywrncs 1n ng . \ sentimental andexottc.
, • • h I
poem Il:lS ItS COIHlCCI lOll Wll t IC open j ng f>OCOJ CO l
·•rgumcnt.
•
Su..t
1.11 a Glarati, she nar~oflndia can be .emb:~rrassH. mgry~ writes such sentimental
.r I . . . I I ~ ' I lrasung wr " "JL.. treatrncn • ''A Different lStO ' 1 d' I
as a H::rna c actJVIfY wu 1 1 1c rad1cr. It cvcu brings symfl 1 h '-.ng ~~A~~' nnetwho. 1n h · ly emigrated I to n Ia.
• I
w J10. Jc pmonc1s o an cxpcl.lcd role and likely victims 1·
ar •y to t c rn the&aspora r·~- . . dead 1 e stmp , e
en kts 'Great Pan ts not . . d nakes or monkeys. 1n som
I d J I . . I
ca.ssnn .:!.It r~< 1ans~ug'n'cJn c.tvethclimitarionsof~uchaworld•
o cconomra
Cll~:JY WJ I' Cr .l(_)~JZt)lldS, ll.l Ill I ftt•msclvcs uprooted, no~ralgic, and
~ :e
~b gods roam freely, dtsg~tse l:::r: are instinctive, which is not
Bhatt dairns language an cu
p~ naps' JSCflmlnatc ng:ur~ I abwad. Moreover, in t•king thcirculru~
wnh tbcrn they also bnng liS problems. Individuals cannot be fi r
f«~true. as Eunice de Souza has pointed to t~e now
. l }' l r· . rce o I 'f.,'tn( Indian Womm Po 1 . al d diaspora authors usmg two
conm)unuy. 'A'flumg 111n '-"Y 1s a subtle, multif.1cctcd portran oflndia L.r~mt'\,ed convention of postco odnl a_nd ce of cultural conflict. The
anMrtdians in which the links and contrasts arc mostly left unstated J.IU"''I • k as cru e evt en h · ·
more languages '.n a wor E an language is the claim t at lt IS
~Jjata Bh:m is perhaps th e most ambitious and ~.JOntroversiaJ of the ofincorporaung a non- urope lC dreams and expresses
female poets of the diaspora in her lcchniquc, espccia:lly when she uses rtlltongue of the aut.hor, the l;n~~~gea~'d seldom true. (Arvind
Gujarati along with English. She was brought by her parents to the ltltlf m. The assumpttons ar\ oo ~~ ~l phiscicated and practi~
United States while young, ~tudied at the Iowa Writers \Vorkshop,and, na Mehrotra off~rs a. more t eorett y so Bhatt does not write
now married, she lives in Germany. /Jnmiznn (198H) was awarded the alvicwoflanguage m h1s Oxford anth~logy.) the dis lay ofGuja-
Commonwealth Pocuy prize for Asia :md Afo11krySI~tldows(l991)v:as wd Ill her suppmerl mother ton~ue, GuJarau, ~o [I l' h pM ny of her
a Poetry Book So~icty J{ecurntnendmion in England. 7'l;rStin~·ingRost
( 1995) was fcJIIowcd hy Point No /'oint ( 19~7), a sclccLion from the
tt Sanskrit, and various scripts Ill her poems
15
d
~~ 15 ~a can say
I)O(rns arc about the language and culture of her J 00 · ou b
first three books inuoduccd by one ucw poem, the tide por:.m. W!ule tb4t )ou are uum :n ease or more competent In a •
· language , ut nor
Bhar t hn:> wr iuc11 pt)c m~ ctJJH:crning the position of women m so:r~ty, lh.t it is in your blood; tbar is a form of raci sm.
and while hc1 exprc:;sion ofrcmalc scxu.rlity might be tlwught fwltnJit, The rnrmative period of Bhatt's life was in the USA nnd her p~euy
1101
t11e livc.s of women, t;c11dcr :111d the relations between thc..s_~ll fccb Aruerican. When interviewed by Cecile Sand ten _('l nte~Je~v •
-• j 1c1 w 11 I • It .as po:.s1'I >Ie to 1lC o f cwo rntn
~lll1:r.uJO . dsa. bout
•
her
•r. poetry lh Klnuzpipi XXI. I, 1999: 11 0-8) Bhatt spoke of her Amertcann:ss, er
'1·1 1e pro lll em p.u t Iy .lflscs ' 11om
r I · ·I ·
r 1e ways an w llC 1 I she rJc:ntnu:s
• • WIplies Oltn~tfl the British literary sce ne, and how her feeling o~lndtanr~ss
lndia hut that is a m01 c obvious cxprt.:ssion of rhc ways 51tc rm i:;rtginallya re:.ponse to being raised in America, a feehng that as
' . . • I ,. . II c 1 in thel f'oem~. rne less f>trong over the years. Now that she lives in Germany she
connecuons and mMghts on y super tCI3 Y rounc 'l' u 1isrn
. f her >I rng 11 o.n sec her Ameri~nncss. While that makes her neither a bcner _nor
It is unfortunate th. t she raises dtc l)uesu~n n fh volumeS
and its ignificance, blll :rs it i foregrounded lrl each n~'atl clalrns ~~Uepoct,
0
Bhatt is as likely to write of Canadian Indians as the Imhans
111
nd110 b '
it has become a tOpic of critical discussion. In llmmzt(" ;ession. In Bht r eutg an Indian abroad. .
that a person's mother tongue is one's real language 0 exp n u one of the many people of the modern world who. havmg
 331
MODI R~ INDJAN t.t£!-1 roEl
1 \00 frorn country to co I'OI TR.\ IN l " ch as 'The One Who Goes Away, whac:h open
ro oth~r c unrne nnot ~~~'} bnnd luwing the oppon . ll 1l ~ ff'v poems, ~u road poem and lyrtc of &elf definition ar blended
.11 dcntil} an comrut to cidze/h c ~~to ha.vc a nat•ona~,~'t} to tra"':J 111
Sit kmgRDs:dl ~~cy theme, but the lyri 1 rn of'l am the one I who
dt por.i and bcrome a tm\ 11 'P· tcr a time you sto 1:
or nation 1
mhrr Jodian 1 , elnwith ics wide range of pos able stgmficance , and
che world )ou earn memori~ '~~~t~ permanent cxpatna~c, ~ng P.tn of ~away
.,~1i'S b--. rcflccuons:
\'Outh, but your \\orld I \\h ll.ou, you retain assurn .atu:cn of suggesuve
Once dtc- e ob . ere) ou ''cat present. puons from dlt S rnetimes I'm asked if
Ject&on arc acknowled d
poems me Ul ofhcr ,oJumes Sh h ge there rcmam ma I~vere searching for a place
than he acrua.Jh sews \\'hil B e a~~ pocl's ability to SUllo fl} good ,hat can kee~ my soul
ao f d: . e rumums The Peaco k' . ooest more
no an an m •ghr as given resuhin fi . c • WJth irs irn lica from wandertng
JS not omethmg you Clil get by specifi~7~~ ~nnc.r ~ccpti\·en~s; i; a place where I can stay
has broken )Our anentlon; I and ifyou look !Ong for H. Something without wanting to leave
!he peacock I turmng a\-.ay as he gathers i ~~ JO ~;~e I you might 5e~
concludes crirely with:
Its varmus shifrs in focus from the extcrnaf'wllS ~~··. This poem, with
conc:c:nrrnr~ ~Jf and then illumination follo: th~nto rhc relaxed bur I am [he one
mantJc ode m Its Arnericmized version fc d. panern of the ro- who always goes
of~be.rt Bly and James \X'right. Her lonas ftu~~ fi In rhe 'su.rreal' poems away with my horne
she anvesrs the physicaJ world w· h . ·ff' ree-verse lmes, the way which can only stay inside
nation will suddenly leap from~~ ~g;~~cance, an.d £he way her imagi- in my blood-my home which does not fit
are also characterisrjc ofmuch Am~ Y I t~~me Indefinable epiphany with any geography.
The poems do not seem ro developn~ yn 'alpoetry during our time. Compare lh!! power of those first lines with the tongue-twisting con-
rh fd rom socJ or personal relations·
~ar~ )ocms o le ~e)f experiencing and defining itself. , uivanc~ of the final lines, which fall flady into poor prose with their
e m e poem of Porm No Point begins: uruayable rhythm and such a danger as 'can only stay inside I in my'
'Why name a p!ace Point No Point? where the poem loses to an idea about what it should be sayino about
dentJ~.
. 'I am the one I who always goes I away' would carry enough b

Does it means we are nowhere ~esm~ness ab~ut being an Indian journeying through rhe world
when we reach it? Wl~ur h~r needmg ro explain.
~&~:t ~n write powerfully about sexual and maternal instincts. In
Does It mean that we lose our sense
of meaning, our sense of direction i
mi Y~h M> rc:nember flsrfuls of torn seaweed I rising with rhe foam ,I
~~· ~ allmg, falling on rhe sand I strewn ovc:r newly laid turtle
when we stop at Point No Point? 1
.., ·aI dn • o~kry Shadows there is the powerful invocation of female
1
1 11
Many of her poems arc versions of 'road' poems, and have the same ""H bCSlre I n 'Wh.I te Asparagu~'.
tendency found in Agha Shahid Ali's poetry to use a parricular trip as-a them~cr orooh arc. arranged ·m sections, each of which has some central
metaphor for life•s journey, and which a criric might intcrprc£ a!l being
~ves Thr ~~pk1 c. such as the stinking rose l>e<.:tion about garlic which
part of the Indian diaspora, although here, in Bhatt's poem, rhe journ~y . I The fitrst third of Jlr!onkry Sbaaows,
- -' The
wv.~y toM.Jtm. mu o Rose .Its me.
towards 'the Juan de Fuca Strait' appears to be parr of her relationship lnl ndia.lnd' anlnagar con . I f . f h h .
• . d
wuh the person she is addressing and has m do with the renewaJ of 'h;
h ' stsrs most yo memortes o r e ye-.trs s e 11ve
does not kniJ, ~Wt:ver, provides a text for wondering about what she
physical and ins[Jnctual. This hovering near profundity results in Bhat~s
wriungappea~ing ro take offinro the marvellously poetic and symbolic whatmonk;feel onkeys appear in several poems and she , ..·onder:,
Whu they bot! fl · A chtld looks a moukey in the face and she wonders
while the conc.lusions em seem contrived, meandering. even faked· 1
ee1·There is a mixture of sentimentality and honesty.
 332 MOPL:RN INillAN f'OiiTRy
IN ENcu
511
'The children feel closer I to the monkeys, although they
never 1~I,Y
play rogether, aIt IwugI1 the mon k·cys I probably hate the children'
leads to thoughts about llanuman, the monkey god, in a poern ~1'~ts 1\Pl'ER EtGl \ nmN
concludes:
Some people have monkeys
h1ch
\ ~ew Poets, Styles and Feelings
in their dreams, monkeys in their nightmares, 'IL SURI=~l)RAN NAMRISAN. Ml RCHANl
·ntA'r . •• •
monkeys crossing their shadows ttOSKOTE. 'HAIR PRASAD. RAMAKRISHNAN
long after they stopped being children K,a.O. PADHI, K '
long after they haYC left such a garden.
And that is the trouble. Too many of her poems imply there ar
significances, 'monkeys', whenever she starts writing on a topic. Naturec
• l 0 new encralinn of poets bcg:m to .ippe lf With
elephant~ and freak waves are like garlic, subjects about which to think' from th~ ~~'.d: 198 s ~cw th~mes. Previou~lr P'lets had 10 argue :hat
puzzle and write. I fer lyrics make grand gestures without the dram~ new 5ens1blhlli.!S and l 't'toncd 1hrmsehcs ogaum
4 T l' bngu tgc· t tcy posl II
being dear: they are modern romantic odes, with all their attractiveness English was a~ n<. 130 •• ' . '. ·tlist $,m-;knti\:, p.tSIIH'nl, lltll 11c
and vagueness. nmions of I nJian culru.rc as spmru. ' the (c.tl lndi.t. A few poets
cultur.tl politics chat clamtcd the pc.tsanl .ts t •t't·- srvlcs uv.ul•hle.
· I' • l the r.uwe ,, poe " ., • 1
wrre cxpcnmenta tsts cxp om1g . of I . J y Clllllltlon~cnst~oa
. C VCfSIOI\ 0 I IC r (I
most, however, wrote m so~ . ot Fn lish-IJnglaJgc pocuy or
mJnner 1hlt lud been a m.IJor pMt . •
. h anJ w 1liL1l \\,IS o
? 1.eing reasscrrcd ~~~the
I of
most of the twcnuet ccmury <
0 1he f1,1m!Ofoi11CC
main ttadition Juring the 195<h ,IIlli h~h ' 11111tici m ol Mor.1es
1
K:amJI:a Das 1he economy ot· l l c s ._ ouza, e rtlll •1 that different ~rum
1
110
· · · '
thedls11lus1oncJ toug mo~ o '1 1 f D ruwalla.
•
\\ereking ducctl) ant10 rncnlv I
Ezekiel's cornrnom.cnsi~.\1 :tpprouch 111 spt:•l ·riting 11 more cornr ex
to his readers. Even Ramanujan, who wasl '::~s nt mncs. rh1nn ss
poetry, appc.ared to do t IIC s:tml'. TheI rc 11s(31111 \ . v01d anee 0 rzrlII wed
I l~rn
•, of trxturc, an unw1'II'angne:;s w tnkc \: d,a nee . 1• J11c po<:' who v...., fi•l
0

b • 1
o scuruy, the wild, t 1e po lllC'.l • I' · I the cv1an ·
aJw;~vsnsscnoL•
· sorJu.....J ·11r J
·
would cxpIore tlw.sc rcg1ons. •.c.: '11 ·y were noL • r
I range ot cnw uou~ 1111
auhe eatlicr poets hut they wu.l.cncd e eary. f
1

of Indian life th.lt were 1he subJeCt •0 kpol wrote inll.arc vert rh 11 11
d bh•rll, ur~IY
I••or 111e RupJ new poetry sell·cs. Ezc fl d acling :ull110rs~ burprcJb;ll>
" 1Y1he
)..usu.,.leu··I1y Ius.
need to promo te IllS e g
• l.QIIfl tJ; Fl~"... h' lr ' 11 vtrY
.1' doo4lllll5
all
1HU1prising to 1eaJ 'Ranjit lloskl:tes of Indo En~rl1 n.a.•fc-WW1 Y
rn , k • 1 c Jus tory ,I.! cht1C:S• d~ltn1v
v~t complex hrst boo 1n 1 1 nagrunc:tn ~ -~ .•-u}s
110 tven book which, while having~m~rneof&he~ If IJII".. -

&ui.Ce.\sful poems anJ. unfortun:ate Y•beO'flry or d chiD""

&o ofT 1rack and conclude in rant, 0 .J:....,. .,er/Jcll
M:.....
c...... &\ can be too pat, Hosko re's enuao..,..
 TYI Am FE LIN ,S 335
• . ., metric verse and either stay ngidly on the: beat or escape
enjoys a natural rclauon
0
rewn 0l"hayil
''1) · \up · L----
DCl.wcen h vou and
frt(hecO:res.l:..ngl ish is his language and he uses metre wtthout feeling
,hat d ; a form such as lines of a particular length
In America the angels rot young.
their cheeks arc hollow
blowing out forest fires.
They carry marv.s of past beauty
on c;~rlobc, nipple, bicep, nostril.
They arc skinny always, be~rded sometimes,
their eyes, haunted by wakmg dreams,
have slipped (Jvcr the edge,
looked into chc void and returned for now.
They carry tiny gold-spoons of hal~ ranm
danp)in~ f'mm rhc end of nc~;.k-chat~s.
Arneric.1n angels live alone wnh their per..s.
In Gmlim (1992)Th:~yil introduced new are-.LS ofemotions to IIndt~
· · th 11 many pcop c t.cc
111'1 try Bcr•inninr• with a quotauon saytng
r~ o o , 'I ')'5I If0 f cl 1e' volume ts concerned
aftrrpainrathcr than ple-JSlHC. I 1ay• 'a d has lhc dark
Wttb the attractions of drug~, dri1~k, sex :md eve.~ ~:~rning Prayer'
s1de of life radu:r than us hbcraung plcasurcsf.l t:~ L. 1 the other
, A • 1 I'Cf 0 t \C rtCSIIo df
commm , .two hungct s ... certainr:. J lllflo
for a 01oment as
1 the nee e
.
d•~m.Joltcd,
,1 I .
pure, I bot 11 sOitcnc
I ' .1.1
•
h ubvwus poen
15 of addrcuon
d . he
mounu 1110 me ol ove. 1erc arc !ill\; L.s'· 'Ish e tn' 1
aJ
'11 ·
1e Akohohc .n Dawn an • d 'A N I
Ol .for Burrougu
•rh·s is ·different (Iron
10
11p,/ ,, red llowct bloo!n'i I in my gl.tss synngc. ;,urc. (..ovc is pJ •
l •• d l h' ,y couutcrCU nnt. 01 •. 'Inc
lie r•JIIlaiiiiC.t'>lll ofKc:ats an ttc •PI . 'P ,.drn.1 n'~ w•• c 1
d tru~;tiv,•,. ddict iuu w the flesh: or 1" cttcl . k\PI'c:d ho~~ lloW1t"rotn
II:IIIWl•;tiiS• hcauuful . d:lllg11tcr /Ilrtttg
· •s me. ' ''' J:asrs. Thcre t51•U f c in'
fr-·' . ' 01 . sly tt never 14 11'ons o pil
won l.cr own lccitl jUice. wiOU ruing allfi - h s 1t 11
tltc:: umal tittc,&mS ol hnglish poetry C(l~c;;cs 0 f c"cful dtatlo~t'S arc
iitttl &elf ,lcStnH tivcncss, even K(uts wrtr:cion• Thaytl CJP 'fhcrt tS
w l t L • a• l 1,e c:fll J'u:rarurt I
c:rc a p e~~;ur 1hle Mate o "etn,.,. 1 £urarcan 1 H • (rhe rtt c
lllotr. likely to be f(,und in ,onunc~ca •Hyn\P ro arn ab<Jur rht
lhe \li!lgiiSI with the ncsh and JcthltC ~1\pJi~rioJ\ diJr II IS
trUlllc; · soun dI and I e '""
· •111 ·1111 da~htng
davane).
pcrfccc hcJ'f
Oh put hun out some nfll
I can't suppurt hit heava
 36 MfH(Jt4JN 1
clu 11 ,ry 1
In
.r
down I r
JCa I II om
'AN 1 <. ,
f kY I
~,or S
1VLE ,t.NOFf.EII C 337
uonrnphov.lf r >cow 10
or w :td nd 11 I eof subject matter, tones and revelations of Indtan poetry the
11lC ef t1 II Ill (:'rm/111 move I, ~J,
11 Don> Moracs ~as allu~ed .to the urban qualny in modern lndWI
c n , more about ciJc Jl•• t ' I ruw rd!> •he <c}n~t. d ry. 'I here is ccrtamly a btg-:n.y f~l about many of me newer poets
n I rep lU lc n IU!il ad o I r .on• d •an I nd,a ' "'S 'A Crr b ~ appear cut off from fa1m.l~, ah;nated from religion li ing on
~ hat lemon I JJI cl . d ~a \':lllutt.l he J)O ·,"' which rh r chen own, part of the gener~ ?1s1llusto~m~~t and disquiet wh 1ch an
ou • ' >Ut nd wuh I he IHoJ • c ,r o r:': tow can you r,·vc •I~ere:tauc•fllJy
I)' l mall I nd /I en, 'Cgl b ere accompany fr:edom, sccpttc~sm and md1vtduali m. Sometunes life
appears ~o con.mt mostly of dr1~k. drugs and lust, without eo< en lbayils
my
11pp1UJ' Ill hlnlllll' his
fiC illCll , J'Ool fascinauon wuh and pleasure 10 the darker aspects of such emotions
wh 1 demon t:tll 1 . .b snot, C P. Surcndran's poems first appeared in his h21fof Gonini /[(1994)
I I . s t liS artd l.•nd)
01 In I H! .sltp, sl&p Ill the slor . where he was introduced by Dom Moraes as fiery, raw, and filled
even the 5UII srcp lil<c .1 rl lie
• f• , with loneliness, alienation and anger. A journalist, he brought a
•
hard-boiled scepticism and disillusioned tough-guyism to the poetry
I he I urm s i11 dJc two h alv. f I
~ ;he;; ~I I {'flt~lly{'IO arc more aaom I' I
scene. I lis half of the Gemini II volume begins with a reply to Wallace
~11,1111 a !it"<.ltH~IlCC lhan ph15l~,
\\lltiCI, lc dq>clld('llt on
11"1!11111, bur t..tvc· tlu !\Jil ' I oll( Stevens's famous poem 'Sunday Morning'. In Surendran's version there
<,;Ot • lC \;(lllUlll wuh j'f4 I OSC In is only flesh as opposed to the earth on which it lives. The first and
a ~OIIfl.:C
IUj)li OII ' '
h. \'C children eli fiiSlCd
ilfd '
at~~
of ''I n
s we II afs
1c ~uu1u 0 thci
I I cas corruplion and
life. Several ofThay,il's p Wtlh
{\ems
third s1am.as conclude 'This bed. Perhaps this bed is all.' There is a
purposeful ambiguity throughout the poem; irs subject may be the
'~akc:r's
1
' I '<I ocn" 'o III ""l'i n '' .til i" ' d •J r parents >aving S<X Many vision of the world as physical. a place of flesh and lust. but
eem IH nf lu' rvp.uody 'c I I~ tc ,c.-.uh:;ofpoctsorindudingan 1hc: poem could also be about a violent relationship with a woman. The
sc\r.l Arncric..;; n l'octs •. ,·. t l)c'rl ~oplesDcarhs' mod<.s rhc:dearhsof poem is apparently both a reply to Stevens's hedonism ofthe imaginacion
fi n st Iv ry u ~ t tg ll concludes 'There is a
. ltltll 'IS llll t A N' I •
Hll d. llt;lin 'our II . and also itself a metaphor in which man's violence towards natu':
Mchrotrn i dac Ollr g fTI o .,~•s fly. A well-known p()(m by Arvind I~
shares in his relationship with the feminine. the first stan~ there IS
. c0 1'1>'1 ~ '\X'hcrc 'J his One Came From':
•pun on sole I soul (which will reappear lateriR the volume). H~
1oruglu tht I ocm w.alks nhrcl:td out~tare
~mplication
my hand, /1 the sole of the beast I Twisting '" mr::;· rh
IInhmtc on I'•g1II, r.~vening ~~lr ·'thing
• • is dut the soul is where we rouch the earth (the ' ere
• .mnot e.:btl)' be n,lme..l) tonighr. IS only the flesh upon the physical. . . 0'des-' Renunciation',
, Many of the poems ironically use ~hS'ous Greene's novel
de. c not promcn.tde ronight
llltlc fll)r.Jll Annunciation', 'Whisky Priest' (alluding to ~~Requiem of the
A' f y not
CJ ' ll sk u lk· WH. tl the furtive • Thf Powtr and the Glory), 'First Signs, Last 'd,'aRornanCarholic
II o ,, body-thid or soul-robber. Rose', 'Lazarus'. They offer a portrait of~meo;~-:dern
0
lireracure living
Although background and familiar with the dass&C:S 0 f his rc)auonship with a
those Ronl fr m1 ul S>.11·'\ll C-. 1lfiSU.
. . n t.lmilv.
. Thayil can seem likeoneo( by himself with his cat after the ..1-• w him; rehgion
1 crs w I10 tm, ds.tht> sinner closer to salvauon
. feels up
, :c.break 1 •
woman whom he still desires· J..UC bd"evabJc, yet human re au~ns
thnn tho c • n1 tno I 1I . wr't meanll1e--
Bdl and }-t w lOse \Ou7.on nrc limited to the ordinary secular world. ~ Jack ofslgrtificance of life.
~d'~~ cro~~
and notions of the spirit are no longer
uncle trnn--.ca' s~r ° Cal h othc.·r than either ro L1m
en :.ue )(.l 1 · bo. Th ~r 111I's

I~ ba';f t
l ted B
M:lb~...1 have failed and he is left with his day &Us from the
1010
d audc::hure. the great French poer of decadence,
a1mlan lntrod u~.;ooj CCI tu su h poetrv The cempcanonso
dmcc, .... . fdca·
~~
d'
In 'Surprise' 'I'm Ieavins. she oays ,.d<JIIf'don fioln
~rncab for harnsc
d
...nrJ~Jill ond~~.:'&,~";.;' s1,
Dies on the floor.' 1-lis laJvariOI'
. ong
sade b) id l d wnh the Bibl b . . .,. .
care as1c mtluences on h1s pocuy. arr- ,_ w.h•n she lcaVCS· fie dJilllr' ""'alhiflife;
Wlulc The, a.11 • 111 hand, rather than alw:t)'S as conflicting op~res.h
1 1 h1s cat) is a up co ~~
)S8 ......
emotional ( ay1 1. 1s a spec ·Ia1 case, someone inrensdy exp1or ng 1ttlc he will die. In
crram where pain and pleasure meet, he shares then
 338 M O nr RN INI)IAN I'
• . 0 h.\ IN S ANTJ PEl ttNCS 339
and wane .... Lund1 a couceu of three, My
IS v tt 1 oE1 S, STY I I
me. Sccrer rum I m · m1m tea. • lie oficn peab cat, 1 1ou
fJ r na~~Jo~ "E«' fi aned 1he correctness ofhis sceptici m. Surendran
imagines his death or 1hat like Laz.aru~ he w II 0 11 0lsclf ~ ,~_ ~'ld ..rh1og. have wn1 lrow•h scnsauonaI'tsm t Itilll t hc cununuaI use of a
anr le s l tr "' . . I r
-' hough 1h osc he meets wr'II nol know that '1 rcrurn
cu[ l Iu tI•c~o
Wortd nO,rry orcs . d :t Myle m wh1c 1 many sentences are rragments
ClJlnOI be like those in the pa.o.1 who lived amo~e 's a 7dy d~d. f.j r~jPhtcncd
ll D J l ;utcc ·'"r in which an extremely ,1bbrcviated lcind ofspeech
tnngC.'i ()
111 ~11 et as · k witwncss. Economy IS une l 11ng, n:pcmton o
I. . r
they grew Clld accepted their wlc ,ts elders to beg 1argeJ f,arrlllic:sand~ I nncho no "' ld . d' S d •
. 'Gcnatrtcs, " .
. . ()eraarritks', convey~ · • ani ficin! as .1ny o cr poetic lctiOn. urcn rans
poopj e he knows, m h d or· SCc:lngold
that caret hcseon 1>cas · t hat 'aII traged'tes are mte, ·
rdcgPP . · p0 1thumous Potms dauns
hurnilaations of age with its 'Meekness without c: 0~ ~ot Want e
. avenues offl c.sI1 and bone .... Demure andremtssJon 1'he lntroducuo~ ftod h ..... nnot resolve', which is itself. depending on how
emptymg gla.s meres• no gnc . e.ll ~.... 1 c 1n the face of sueh a d'1s1 11 us1onmg · · world he
want to be r:here .... Takc me, dear Lord, I before my t' ses;~l do 1101 d it trHC: or 1<1 s . '. d d alk' '
)ou rca • I ,oetry is true, absolute, l1ke ea men t mg ·.
alone are hdl. In 'Saturday Poems', he 'sits, wishing t~· eckcn.l d11ms that on YI ffb C P. Surendran's manner. The Introduction
here.' He Wa[ches n~ gets drunk, 'remains I Bedridden ~-i Wae
her thighs'. He 'wants Monday ltke a woman'. These are p' 10 nfgof
lc is e.tSy to b~ put ~
ro Post umh
r
ow roems ts a ua~
t•r~ivc attack on everything: 'IfChrist were
. how many ofus would watch Lf' l lm Wit out
h
· h o f. moderfnd~rba~ sf:ec~ Iar l'fc · h· 0 emso the
1 ~ w a t~s expectarions offulfilmtm
· on the cro.-.s agatn, I' II ' E che
;mgtd HS to SWim . . d; 'II1c, ucstion applies to Catho acs as we · ·~:n
an c:xpenence <> 1ssam acuon WJC11 ones personal rt'aliry and 'th aremote: m h.ln · 1fi bl . · If has •an dement of sensauonal·
1 c justt aa e 111 l t!iC •
the universe. This i~ the world of unrest that Hindu and Bud~· tiue ofthe VO Urn , . • h l' • hal hIS died is .I former marnage,
spirirualiry aim to avoid. 1St i~m. Surcndran is very. muc ~ tvc, w • ,lly had) in ideas and politiC!i,
Surcndran's solurion is, rather romantically, in poetry He Ius rmdt his helic:f (which he claim~ to ave never~~ never sh.ucd) of his friends.
and in lhe radicalis_m (whtch he su)':~,u~h I rica I poetry. Often the
clear his poeric, social context, purpose ('therapeutic') and asrunxd There is posmrang here, but .a s ~ve-liner Surendr:rn a·
readership. ' The dangerously funny thing about arr:y-fany writing u cwo are found together. In the hrst pocrdm, ~ hi B~t de:uh doesnt
rhat it is not meant for your consumer: the salaried man or w man • • one wo ug t .... h
plains that he is try1n~ to ge~ onl meutphor, there tsalso r Y~~
who is pretending to have a good rime in the big bleak ctties oflndi1 maurr./ It's metaphor. There as no~ ftly e conduding Ime rhymes wu
but is unable w make sense ofhi.s huge spatial and temporal d~locni n and harmon ·~J•..at ·Ill!\. '1'1lC 'n1etaphor
, •
1
I of ~l line <lnd w1th •matter' .1' n lme . •
the urban alien unable to make sense of his migrant middle-elm the unusual 'Ms Chri!>tuphcr m.t.l~ ~ t tlw end 0 flinc three.. I Ius IS
situation which makes survival possible bur nor irs ncar-noswg1;~i~J four: the 'r' :.ound is al~o in the: ng ll a L\ · 1 cnsationalistu.1 he sc:c-
promises.' 'I am seeking a whole new constituency of readership. ~ou .' . · · • If s popular Ulll Oil
lyncpoctrydlsgul!;tugatsc.a . thcproblc:mso ana
f rhlece as a
ffi\e
write so you remain sane .... You write so you can come ~o tc:rnu Y.lth ond poem is 'Goal Keeper W~lch usesCo .. nsisting of five stam~ o • ' a
your life ... in an increasingly urban India, alienation w1ll r~ tJl r • he unaverse. of all umc 10
metap hor 10r man Ill t ful Elioti~ 'lmplos1on . fl ted bana.l
neurosis levels. My poetry understands and respects that I, wnre 1~ ' lines, it r.utgcs from th~ powe~·ff f eternal loss' to the'" a blazoned
not impress. Poetry as prophylactic.' ('Writer at Work' _Gtnt dthe moment's dare I And m~s?' a w 1 ° c at my goal /lc~:·em
·· 1
f'l rc I.1p e ·1nw VI gal-crysta,b'ill
August 1999: 94) His manner is aggressive, attenu~n getfunghan he 15 I!ICS o , • ·nal even
SOlitude lU rutUIC ,IJld re.c,u(v~. he good, suiklnglf 0rl~~dllp of
argument minimal, but Suren d ran has a c Iear nouon o w at Surent Ir.lll t IlC tnera Jlhonsr 1
· can , 1111 1acc:~ as the rc. :Ill rhc cor11p Ietc:
doing in his poetry. . refaced by I ·
w1cn dcalmg wit 1 su · 1 ch comnu . nn wa 111g k' tlcreJS
The ironically tided Posthumous Ponns (1999) 15 ,P theb~ .
mghtmatcs to I10w we :.t:c:. theWtlr 1u1 l 1r·- 11
Surendran's explanation of rhe poems bemg . 'po_sdlUmous to of .l
h failure u•e third (ll>C:tn:
up of his marriage, the collapse o~ Com~unr.smds\\~ 0 havech. ell whtrkd
In my sleep the t~ec m tied
Naxalircs and the betraval of revoluuon by h1s fnen . cy here ,,net
Aud leaf by leaf l•ght ~in~ J hked
to go abroad and earn• money. There •as an.•·nconststen of litics, ida5 and~ When I awoke everyt
Surendran claims that he was always scepu~ h ~ rhe)' !hould I ooked nlikc.
life, so such betrayals should not have shock rm.
.34
Th a.l
 DEll.
DIAN 1'0£1·~
uon c. JJ'('cspectn~ on whar h 45 been sh
C'l1l'na
343
G.udm \.met} Sbo" ends" th; OWn and ~lid.
 iOl>ERN INDIAN Po
• • • • E'fRy 11'1 EN lES AN o FE.ELINCS
Kh arb amu mg lips on Crossing a treer' · .. 1i ro£TS . sTY
1 cro-,.,d~ \\ .t
1
Cln\ ut othen\1. e he shut our modern phen- I s nOISI} the page, but only. when
Pear on·,ting or only pIanmng
power 1cu"Iures, to m
c:. • d'tcue .L
u•e unchan~ing, hope! omena exc~Pt, as \\lthUJ do apnor wr • . . .
and of the oommuni 1)'. W'ha r mighr ha;·c been the~~b~IJ.Jre of his life
I am
ro rcmcm be r the mtssmg 1me.
nO\ ef. 'Our 'mall town ha.s been t111ed wich 1 rural )ect rn~tter for; .• . , rld life drones from day ~o <ky. This ~ be as lnd a
of maJJ jobs' is rapidly p.l..'i-'<."d over for a litany ofn:'~raras ~ ~ 1
migmine~ I The cycle sram all O\'er again'.
Ja " ""' Mahaparr.. has also made a poetry of boredom bo
r eurnaus.rn and
.
In P.tdhts wo
t
W~ru1 Eh';::'~~e ~!aha
d fears of urbanization. In the ude poem of A
& as che chaos 992) a poem with more flue ups of excnement
himse~ as if he wtn: another,
~nss.,
;,.rra, addresses
in "hich besides the praliabili I)' of the sun rising alTers! a "' !fo.an mosr, ' ld ot understand what he teels:
and the rain_which prmide a subjeer for many J>Oems he7J'1ess ~il. 01
ne who cou n
S~:uneo th' h
watching the world of believers with their cusro~ and ~....~~~ez "'T t h--re not here, not IS, not ere.
rh' that
·• • aparras poeuy we nanon ms eternal India become h'gh~
A h ' .L • a}' , fl.~ fn , ... a '" )
It is one of so many tn?
localiZ<d and seen through <he_eye.s ofa rni.:.placed modern ":,.• wh~ vou,ve c_ ~~ed to locate thts year.
ra.u
he we~ o~e of<he f.Urhful, bur msrea~ writes poems ahour rhe diHicuJ~ •, face questions about your .
p~rcepuons year~mgs.
\dou1. . health from anxious laps;
of expressmg an? _ThiS has resulted in a!"!< ec mmg • . - ·1·
the answers rematn · ord I n~rv
7"' ' tamt
h tar.
body ofwork ot UDC\'en q ualny whrch ar '"' best is extremdy good;,
irs richness ofimagery and in the range ofpossible significances nised Nor chis, not h ere, nor thts' not ert. · (the
as the mind meditar~ upon the world. J\fahaparra combines theCW'ltru . . bernecn
Th manner is distincri,·e wuh u_s confr;asr. us lips' the rtpcritions), the pocuc
r... _L ~ ed d'1enon
interests ofthe inrellecrua] avant garde with a lirer.uure celebrating Qf'isg rnderhymes the old-rasmon th.o a.nx.&o •
' 'failed to loate, cw~
• 'd-..J: · g
and he manages ro do it in a manner which is both puzzlingly a~1 and the flat ich<s ('one of so many bem~n the spccilici<y of~·~~
d
and } et conveys a feeling of locality without deraiL health') There are similar conuasrs d h ""''"'eness of wfur IS:
Padhi has learned from l\1ahaparra bow to make poecry of "''airing denied ·as the subJeCt · 0 f rhe Poem anrher wish e ·-e- . I .'n td.' face
ro he tn
phal
of silence, of monotony, of place: ' . . h t ,.rou get ... nor d d w•tha rnum
isnt the mtgr.1.1ne t a 1 'The poem con u es al "2}'S some
Ir is mining jn Cunack once again. the pillow .... It isn't because .... n~d k.no\\./lr 15 :'
,.._, knows no one . h from the~.
The rain rhar arrives so gemly hopelessness: '"'o one eaJ"' inro the ntg t .h. wn manner, so
that it can scarcely be heard. o:hrrplace-1 the hurt sr. mg ra~yot lSO of\\'Orkdtat
lfPadhi's ncwoms can at nmes appea_ ·, sn1e :and body _and you
It is a ~try of the interior life, in which lin:le is sai~, the': is~ charactens0 ., 'N ne com.....
can any poer wirh a srron~ hJ ~.Its itself. ' o o 'cham~ look on
r--

communication berw·een propfe and much of what JS felr IS often, and sometimes foohs Y• 10 c: Uo"ing I cb i '\1 ~~f'Ja:a-tike
articulated as ir is somehow beyond the reach ofthe "ords .~~ ctlebr:ue I the loss o a a>•. f d • ever.•~Mahapatra, ~d tho..~ --h He ts not an
1vn
vur f.ace.• n1-adh· • however,ch'
1 lS not
are nor Padhis JD::.)Ou who~n
,)treJ. 1J\'('
being used ro locate and define ir: 'Words are someumes fai:;f_> Mod"' . dls hun.
cs of wairing and war t~g ·der. A friend' ·-~I J'Ora~J4)rhaC •nck
lyri
or jusr remembered from a distant year I w~en I was sm leasurd of 1ns1
an ,.,. if)'()U ~p.dh fiomdoc:s
,,. ...not
words'. This is a highly subjective poe~!)~ smpped ~-f m.e~emanner,
_ L •
outsider, he i.s a Br-.lnmm._t.. rJd. £,'('(1 (c;.a

·Ill Cu rrack I ww ..:11 ~

ne'\·er ~'" u•e... 0 .,
bcr 1 ~ ~ L-.-o&JSC 1
lyricism. •1 wrire this line I I could\•e wnrren anoclter &n:.:OO Jlldhjs ch · c fi another P . -~ IIJOI'I
or oose a wue rom tiJth, fttes anu
"!
''oice, tone and trea'!"em ~bj<tt ""'.Rat, WlOO:;:~genrn 1 smss will rerum to the crowds.
verse, like ~iahapatras, English 1s used wu.ho~r mu reply, bur thinks: che tifnt
or pitch, while accents fall regularly in equal rune: re since c. .-.. , .
... I've b«n he rbirfY·P« ~~
I could've kept my line I was born a ~ed by dJjCII
invisible, .secret, ... in this town en
1 admit though char such Jjnes
 MODERN U.tDIA •
an \\1'th th.e £'supcrsritious clouds
d POETR}' rnf'S AND Fl fliNGS
IN E~; poETS.~ 347
of my rown:s 10refathers f' In all rny poems I simply walk the: streets of my town once
still hanging aboUl my' c:ves Ill. 1 .
~ a ovang :stu ~gJin;le co le.1ve be h'm d men an d women ptrching
·
tar
~ Wound Flrnuhe" and Line fto por. Una b
~ societyofdoseyetoftenstr.Un"~a 7-nzd 09?3} te\~ On the hot roads, mus<.:1es suammg· · ·tn t he sun;
Unable co forget that old beggar sleeping in the shade.
thar IS almost novdisric. It i:s a provina:f ~JlO\:erished ~
nse of the ri,er, another pO\\:er failure·~?·m v.~jch tht ~
A
sezso~ arc e\'ents. father dies, is remembered, ~nung of
haunnng rhe poer; there are memories of his
lh::
mcsalznast;~ t:ll
\\orld (1991) mosdf co~cer.ns. 'hon:e' ~nd homes, the world he
~ which keeps recurnng tn hts, 1m~gtn~t1on.' The 1.1glin~s 0 ~ the
• a projection of the speakers dl!lsausfacuon With h1s soacty.
(' c I t:k . ,.., h'
~m; mere are Brahmin riruals; Padhi feels he~dmorher; ; child II
S(COC IS
, •
of the mornmg It ree s u e mournm 51 enter 1s consciousness
'd • \
wife ilie way he did in che past; a friend's son m • om speaks 'l1th biJ j'k warer from the ry, spunenng tap outs1 e . 1 n age<t 1ormer
:nages
1
d . c .
SJ1lor
-n1ly he continues ro live in his fathers house,o:hcn~Padhiv.nndt,n b cbeen drinking aU night 'And scilllies huddled in the ordure:'. Tht"re
~t, they move in; Padhi and Mahapar.ra grow~ ~~other hOUst a~ litde child sleeping under a lamp~post:
m~so~me m~ and Padhi recalls a rimewhen th •could p.ur;~ Old Mr Rao comes out into his patched and peclmg porlh
bemg falsely polite. lr i:s rhissmaU socil"nnofbi-'-:>d ths,li~v.1th~1 Wirh a brush between toothless gums
illn . d d' -~.~ •ul.), ea anruvcn.an
. e:ses• InlSUn ersr..a.n mgs,. wounded friendships, friends' c.~ildr t~l And stands lose m memories of losr passion.
V.'lth.in dte s~ world of_Onssa_ thar evenru.ally emerges from p~~ His son, after studying till four lnsl night,
poems ~d which make hrs poenc world different from Mahapa Splutters and coughs like a goat in hi~ :.lcl'p.
Ezdae1 created the poem of modem Indian cities; Padhi 10 his: Thts. .IS a more Cfltlca
. · l porcr-aiC · 0 f 1nd'1:.1 tl1"•n the t lOC found~ in I'P.1dhi:Sf
way has. created poetry about rhe provinces, the places where t.htrc · c J •h
poems. The poetry IS. also more rorma wrc· 1eacm and l'('permon
h of the lin: rnc . of
a;e. no ~mgle career wom~n and from which your hen friend! and tJc.h ~!an1..a cunforrmng to norma1syntacuca un I
o
tn~tr children _depan for htgher education and lxrrer jobs ds;o~htrc. Mrds and alliteration. . , rc nnaJp1c:tll)·
Ic ts a lower mrddJe class pcrspeaive of those who stay at home, lt.l,.~­ Khair, unlike Padhi, is looking ar such:.~. socleJ f'~hms migltr Le
at the local college, and for whom nothing Changes, or changes ~ He has thought about what kinds of Engli~h an .r :~s use t>f~J 1ghtlr
while others move on to the problems oflifein the bigciciesonbrold. . . .. b B'h r There JS a cuno h
appropnate for wrmng a our I ~ ·• . , h ch suggests rh tr t ts
As wirh any poet mere are the hours ofwairing for the poem rocomc. uncolloqui:1l older diction 'ordure~ whl 151 IIJn '1..e cnst in rcrrns llf
but here the waiting for inspiration and a subject becomes analog l •as lost in time, a meanmg
pace ' whIC t1 \\Oll 111• " cs ts a nurJOr '
'' f
ro life i tsdf. ' he poems• concluston · w h.tc11 spc.:.t ' k~· of 111 11
. thr 1 •gunplra!lo" • :~boul
vtOtt•rd:~y ,\ltd the day:; betrore·• 'I hc·re I'I a1o 1,,~•~ ro rh1.'.5C pco1 1lc• 11
One of the those who did leave the provinces for the WJdaworldu
r (·nn' .wgt13. v
Tabish Khair. He is also one: of an increasing number of1n~1.111
from Muslim backgrounds, including Peeradina. Agha Sh~udr 1and
J:: • I .
~uc h u1won Lhac En~l1s 1 IS u 1 c.: k rht·rrlllnspo en. 'fKI••r
.I' • •
I

Llngu.rgc likely to be learned fr(lnl boo,·s rolrrts 1

k J\/rltoug1I
llfC ,,au 111 1:t
11 1
ry
· h,· n) '
It u: poe 111 i\ srmngly rhy~hmrc. 1 ,\Jiglo·lnd•JII I' ~~e ""'c , iuuug h I 11s pul 1
lmtiaz Dharkcr. It may be significant chat Ali and P~radm:a; and
teach in the United States, Khair lives and reaches m
Dharker has come to India from England. Unlike the ~n rh ehbcr2L
o: 1
tali u Were purpos~.Ju lly Jcp.tnlll~ from nd manner ;u 11 . ,1,,, i 111orc
w"ll
~
f n· d ronc a
J u ten have .10 ou~ccnt re ·r. Indian charJ
crcrulll; ·
1

.linn r· oli~h.
1 • 11''
or ~orne rcgwn- . <>r c I.lsS·S pt'-1 IC ··ers chJIII c rt~
h IIU h fl'~n~ IS rwt
who Geem to dominate politics, the Muslim poets are : 1 ~crnlll suI11 lethan the usua I wa)S
, chat wn• L nor tng
in whl"11
,.. -
odtrn world w1"'·
h
aca.dtur.J.ring, modernizing. secular side oflslam. Thosed'dstf(1k \1 ~ I l1e India of decay and the Pa:;,nr,...C ro dte mIS usd bcrng off
such a context are also likely to have or ha\·e had a ra [!1 wrrttrs 1¢ always b.td. It has a roor.edn~ ~rer~·!!~ 011 rhe porch look.~
pTOgres5ive ideas and social involv~n:enr: Each 0~,the ~rh esanbc
0
rtplilces it. 1n ·House wuh ~while 111 old
...,...,..••_poems concerned with soaal Jusoce. l(hairs sym one hinge and always open'
n The Streets of My Poems•:
 48
r tR '~ r or
up wl n c rhe" t
o
• •
r t '"rhe d
" ~ Po r
1 sr "• LE.S At-ID FEELINGS ~
no 01 rn • nor ha for e wrn l:.xpcctJn antral theme. In 'To Gyanendara' he realls his ..~_ __.
rcfu '" ro he weeded our ~h ~ Jn the garden h~bi'Jt~n as•tS ucao
nd dt old woman and ar ld' rv~ as an ana) lJ bcry hcs
OU( from rhr& 5l·yscr prngl ~rc~~-L~n oflife-f re~,~or the: ld
be: true to us. 1 shall believe your death.
Is hall
\\here the pcaker .and Ius fnend • !'COntrasts With ~tof>c We kneW heads are &haven ·IR ~n, · graves contain emptmcss.
ll' SUtrt'de :and thar ntg}H lus fric~tdJn a caf~ dJscussJn e llett Th l 1hc:re is no soul to start wnh and no flesh after a month
unpfr th t the uicidc results from d COmmru uicide &~uri;}i All~ all that might remain of us will be a piece of bone. '
condnlon hown in the noa po .,. ~e anorny of rno<fe..... e on poetic trope of returning to nature. a v1ew consiStent
• l. em, .n.Jter Wt k' ... u"- we. cornm
,
not ung to look forward to' t J1c streets s or: •'whc:re tJte"'-'·- 'Uill H. duism and Buddh.tsm, ·ts treated Wit
• h 1rony:
· 'The dead will
r
t I10 co stranocrs and h•..
o • ..., apartment and h
eem endless' h-~
• t e f~ .-~th. ~frs and pieces scattered over the land./ The living will d1e 10
t IJc u ual techniques ofearly mod . !I ' ean are Clrlprv lrL_ · fi\-e tJl d piec.es in the slush and sand.' The next poem 'The Young
. crmst 11 .,. 'UJCJI
ubJccuvc cmouons upon th aJ tcrcnure, such aspr b~ ~ Old' continues the theme 'They fmd out too late,/ Death is
I k f
::c o • en c ofcomrnunay forrhe u b
c extern world
Other poems in Mv World sp,.· k fr an tee and factoryv.o·"-
mo'
°.
h
ow loncJm
OJ 111 ech a part ofourlife.' An awareness of the lack of transcendence
wom;fort in death results from experience. Life is found to be like
• J ..... o rc:Gurnng ·~ or co ion peeled to the core: 'At the end, there was nothing m hold,
an d procIaun a private W<Jdd of th • - '-' communaJ~e 111 00
'"- · e weaK that ·
road ru you dnve ro office, flve days a week'. O:Jsts aloFlglldc .., 1 Except of course, the ·mevtta · bl e tears ·m the qcs.'
lOSho """
Many of these poems are small narrative alleg~ri.es of hfe as seen
'

lW;he WaJJs . world are made of cIay and 5tra .

'cldof my from a materiali~t per:~pc:ctive. A broad range of rehgtous. cultural ~d
ater rn es rn from a rent in its roo£ . . .;· scientific references are drawn upon for images. 'Only,~e ~ead s~y m
But, on dear and calm nights tlle st~rmscooong~. my one place. I The living are condemned to movemenc. This, perhaps
• me vun ng m was the curse of Adam and Eve-/ Having_ left home once, n~'Cr rf
find home again.' Life, especially after havmg left home, consl~
0
5~ know aJI my lirde :>tars, each by irs name,
_J hough you have probably never heard of rhem- anxieries. 'Fear' is a recurring word and there are two sonnets on w.
. All d 1Th J.ukness sudden as a
I hey arc so small, they would be lost in your world 'I fear the second when thts- may en • e fr.· d 1 In a
·thout a 1en
power-cut, I that shall leave me un·don~, WI (J he fw of
This world. of the ~eak and poor who arc dose to nature and an Jet mcaningle_c;s flux.' Writing is a way of seeking rcfugt rom, cIn 'When
:~e stars Will last, ~1ke those weeds of an older way oflife, longafr nothingness where we arc 'hurled I from sense 10 ~ ~essds. 1 · caand
. . h d h fhis twO men • ...,. •
c rums of the regimented impersonal 'prouder worlds, brger Someone D1cs' Kha1r returns tot e car 50 dd nJydies,/Thtrts
l Ma~y of_ch~ sh.on poems in 'My India Diary' concern memoncs
511
Cyan. In contrast to art 'Offstage when someone ent-acc:ful deaths,
he pams, limitations and continuing influence of home: to tC2lal\4)' -- J and scrt:aming desp1te
blvuu • thc )'1e~. • TI1erc
. h no
art r-·
d' 11te concluJ'mg
your rtJ< 1t.s I wre11ch free I I will have ro rake myself apart I bnck~ rhere is always 'blood and screaming mslde .rhbc)-·;-'011·sand' but it you
· that 'llappmess· · d scnb hcu .. re blut skit'S and a
hri~k: 1 he viUages au.: pJac cs from where 'all roads le2d out II ncq'l
•
poc:m cI.ums JS a wor
. . h . es.~ c ere ... 115
durmg ( lcctions', hu1 for dwsc who leave such communiues: whtrc can 1gnore the way the ude erases apptn . , . agc:rycould bcsetn
'd b . . fu Khalr s 1111 • fururc:
dtd the aloneness end I and lond in e~s start'. WJ c: each on wh1ch to wnte a
· · .
tore. f -volunonJry
· here o a ... · from c e
h
Kh:.ir wmcs from rhc pcrspct;tivc ofan athcisr influenadbr~ lron1c or perhaps there as a suggesuon . ,
'I h ds · J(haar s poe
rry rang111g
. bulary IS
•
1 1 m:acriali m. l Jc sees life as a short period of eJisrenct ore ere is a varicry of moo '" h corn•'· Hts voca He
nodungn • Jhere is, however, an existentialis-t influence
1
h a r ~Juy a leaving u featful with the need to ~aJcetom)aktS
Ill;::, d ' · · ds f ' ony tO ( e dJ -·-1\ISI011·
.epress1vc: and vanous lcin o If. cohtreJll inr tc(UiAI rnc:cimes,
&lmple and easy co read, yet there 151 b'ecuof~~lv dcd '{ht
50
also has an instinct for light verse, thcsu 1In chc iJolu'-' u
of JUt l1v I Wuung i hi& 6olu rion. A R~porttr's Dill'] (l~er rbJ11 nor aIways, related to his scnous r--
. .vldtf·
J' rf 1dc01 of a dtary from Afy World, but has deadl. ra
0

ll 1 y 1 1 ~ AtW I Jill IN •
, . , PO 1 :~~I
11

'When Anytlung went wmnG I htr gundmother would y 1

biB''" 11 wom.m horu.' Inn odety in whtlh wade ws luvc no pl
hkr "'1~ 11 11etw a , iaulli~;<tlly, 'her· nnly chanc:.c I for 11 plil~ in the !llm
Ctllt
01

!OS;~('~,j: ks up rlu~ J'JI hluxi 1l irony.1 his 1~ rold frulllthc pcnp lrvc
~tan•c•~.; h whn !it'll~ c Implutt,
1111
'II swcrt~, fiiiW<'ts
/" und ptcrurt'S {lf
II ·~ ;uul whu 'It It lot 1 a<: VI ''h" 11 Oltc,;c mr 1 killu,g Wil to he
11

•il< U(~\( • II' 'I I I • II .h J

!i1 J Ill tlu' ,11 , tr • IC'jhiC IIl l(Hh, uucs 1 ac ,111 ad c nne •norc
~ J' e u' Ji,1,j1111 / .Hid••crinn
111r ou• • th ln.•lltl.c .rdhus In lion I jmtlook 111
I aHonry w ll1<1•le.
··~I1ICJII poem i pokcn I r .• \\1)01.111 reponcr lug '-It)' \\hO from~
~~1J1c vtlltf'C '111tl iu• r;swnp11on \vho <.ould ho\ e 1n1 led the
mot 1\S
watcl II' ' )'
•
C
• >
Ill ,Ill C'HI nfltlH'fllllllll,
•
•
''II1IC:I I 1IJII Sr.Cin{t
1 • (ICI •
• I WOrll.lfiS
I
l••tpiJII \.C' j tti ,1~ 1 ICSiill uf tlld<•UIIII.IIIOII
I (Oih C:flllllSI H:r J1I 01 C Ill
1
,
lit'
I
I S(lt ltl II \ lt· uml IH.1
1 1 • of ntlw1 du111 • s, r I•I nIp•mct
. • c .llttl :. \e wu
.
•"''l'\ I' ,Ill( 1 i~ auld tl utt isn's;hfilc•t•l'!',)
Sltr,tiS1118
I . .llItUII~I) 1\.\t'IIIOn
I
I • I I ,• ~'' I i~ luld It• lltiaul hct 0\\" '''Milt'.,~. met\ tl'Wifl[t t 1..
II II I 1111 ) • • • I lith I
1•1 ·' I .sw.utll• ...I' C lu•t.ollt~s ~llhj'C'tl to M'Xl\lll lliiiiCIIf'
I . ,,_
lth ~~It)'
hDme
\\'(•Ill II •~ 111\C't)ll "' ... · • Jv ,.. 1lae Jllnhl~m~ol Wt< r.ws
.. •,. 11 1 11
I • rv;-fiiiiiiHS
I I 'ft
I 'If'} 1 IIIUIIli CI'VIcW i tu.:w~J'aper coop~~~ L'" lltCW< -')S lC o•e
•r• • 1 'II lCill f•f women:
hci"[~ lo r llliiiiiH •H hrr .stories Celli elllllllt; ' IC 't • 1 JR'III '' ho "c
• I I
• •

I cl ~ I 1•tiC ,)f l"w' I • • s gu '. ('I I'· '

','f "
dll\\ 1)' I C II HI"' IH H II ., • let ii:lll Olld 11.11111 I.e
• I II
II)IIISIOIIhlliY ICitl ,1111
II tJIIIIi) bi.' ' 111 1>.1
/ I ' I I
1' 11• •
llclc\\itltullltlllllll,ill
•

h.lS 'lo ,t loll I I Wll. II

nut I HI I
"l I II ' I l:llli I IC llll
I • ·llltllrt.lt't', 'd )!lll
. I
.1f111.d 111111\ II C ICJIUIIII IICI~I'll
ll'h'l''i It' 1111 Ull "t''
t•
. SCC I IIC
lll\ltttW 111
I ICI'C'IIIIIII) , ~ 111111' tnauo""''
au't 111.1f.l II Ill Ill' I
t~lrl"\ I Jt hlthc j w.lt, ty.' . · tl\d t'ilt iflhlkr.an C",
( ltltCrJ'f•CIIIS 11!~;11 I vitclcncc•cr 1•IJ\'um I,. lit lliHC •Cl\\ C ll
ortlll\lllltl
1
. I It .• Ill>· ' 1IC lllllllCI ~
~~'l~"'''·''"·'''""·l ll~lll. I ·~ "'ert, I ll nl lllll,mouilll \\,t ~
•
' I I • >'II porll.llf (• t~ooufl ' 1 •
1nd' ll rt•lllll I
the tni.ldlr, l;.s Hh I 1r. puo•,
of J'oltlki.lll In l JruJII/11 11 • 1
tit~~utnl'l/.1 ~ • ' c wn~ mu CHII 11c J;HII II}
1 11111

I'"' tl 1 ~ 11 ,~ r.111 1111111 1s 11 11c11 lllltulllf~· 111 lie w I1" IIC'f 1• lf ,\'(Ill dtc
• ftcl tl..-. II ..... I~ /thl" ''"'111iIII. II \tlll ('II Ill l
1 11
I
wialu'111 .' , r I t1 111111 j,is lnH• 11 ) · \'\' It) 1 oc
\Jn fll " lo l lt ,h I'1111' I' I I ,h I' I ' ..,, .. 1I( ' ~' ,kiuglttt I'II 'r
ltl' Will~ foliC !. (hHIII A , IS ' J) eSJIII'lllt \ ,('
•

111 llC'IIti
Wlliullll I \ j I
111 j\ I d nu
11 Ar rn 51')'
 352
In Bombay VII~ AN It I II I INC,
pOIT~. S r
l'm ~n im•.1dcr
in A~ am cceul'IIl c vcr:;c ' easy to under tnnd cand llllll.lhle for dpublrc
I
, .nort • 11 try is more or .al, more perrorrn:wce Oriente , 1t n
an e.xploiring under. ,-dmgs , rhcSueJlasr.
po'cl 1' is is in kC"J>itwu with
, I
comcmpor.~ry
. • lrtrr<~ryfa
• I I hton
Frod .111 d1eo~rious
\ I""'"" I""'"d' 1l10 <II• I <>1'1 l1e l'oltuuc, "IC 1 , • I' . ~'Y'". rc ,fa, cs sp.•tinland lllWiiC:t orgaru:~..anon; cntrc..1 r leone..
1 ~nu ·
·•m J )' oem , 11 nppea" 1 ' ·" I11'"·'" ~ 1. 0 ily , 1
uoarrauve 11 10 · 1 ,. 111 cer ned with pro c, rcprcsenrauon. and lrory
'~ L~
' d 'I 'l f> 11' · 1
111 mns nn
middle dos lll.tluni liS in ""~llbmil N.d .. and fle.lli,.l lo 111 llita~"' areH.more
rhan Y .uu the j 111 ,agc.
likepocrry • Jn the prorus,
. ,. d'ifintcnsnyhasbcr:n
nd 1hrn funhor alield ' •~sulr ofC:1<1c and d."' violence: 'we l"d"' It mg . · iu 1he ~.; r caunn uf 1 wrc cr au renee.
losr,
WI'Jrhcrc. ~ssdou
{I ga•,n r I I r: v• R• makrishnan's A PpiJOn f m II rSnnlu

as .Ill ex.uHp 1
fl~r~·l; ~~;~;I ;~lc:111hecx.~mplc of the tc;c:~r~~.::~~~~v:~~~~~,~~~~~r~~';;,~~
land a tat h. put it I being t1 ue ldm iIi ans d rh·e, "" 1I i111 o he des: IIIII I lo I ...

.. nd of I dh i I the n01 i -hro h111 in scm i 111 en t lliC•wn uu 1 1of h lfld '
•Imm igr.ln r in our moll, erl.1 nJ I em ig10n IS li "'" <>u r ho .1""' i h. is ucid.cr ~ IJI.Jjor poe[ nor' oc•
I t t
re ervcd our of.srarc I und reduced h) Ill ere ru.adra~is .... QJ. yo 1111 don't rhc p.•sr {Cl:.H ', 1 IC ar
ure JikdyIto he rgnorcl oiS c 'I I '<li'>l:tJSScd Rarn.rkriduun
Jonk a madr.15i I Would s.ay :lt quairll,IJllcs': 11 • c.n I cgc>ry II••.•• ca n lc:tsl y IJc•s and wr ices • 1 l I
into .ul o lVhlUS abmH Eng 15 I
B\ll you said rtllllll iJHI.'Iruprcd wisely (b.l9·1~) i~ nuuivcr.sity f>' ofc.•ssol' ~ lot~ac ~· <" iC:Ill p!)CIS .lnd a hook
omerl.ing ahnur us nor J,(·ing hindus Jirrr.llnrc. lie has publishcJ n boo c,' 1 ,ourllml;:u: l.•rwuar~es. Jlc w.u
1 ahotll mw ICllliSm · ·Ill InC 1
poe
·r1y of 'scvcm rH, • d J ois Aol~•ltJOIIIIlll . •

included .111 P.tr.UlJ.tpc~

1
'tnu have robe a P.1kis1:llli rn J,c rh:tr . ' .u11 I10 IOI', Y of new . poets J L an l<uj'J·1 A f)•lllOII r m • n
appa relied you hu\'e to Jivt• ncar rhe l11du:; Sm1J:r l~:rk w.as ouc o • I IIt~ Iwn ks• j>ul> ·~ tC<. L'Y
f 1 1 1 I' ,, rhe anlLISing . 'A
so in Dc/J•i you are aJ:unun. Snnkr ltrrk iuclud~s scver.1 gom , •
I f Jll ll,;tllO: III C IIC I 0D
! whid• bcglliSWll • ' 1J
' • • S rhiw•. hour' 1c tr~~~~~.
I .
Although claiming lo l>c a perpetual out.,idcr wirltin lruli.a, Pt.t~JJ
'nu Ill l'.•yy:uww
Spccd1 I Ic.ud ,11:. hnHIIISt Cllll •
• • 1 1ICI
th(apc,tk(•r:ulllllltlngtwt • 1m·s nor k11ow I .wy . S.\,Jkrhcra 0
1
u11n ru1n5
wrirc.s poems from deep wirhin .'i!ll iety. Exct•pt rhat thr. underly111g ' . . ."1,1. ,usc~
. K I • III• 1St; · tot I . r~t:ll
1 IJild lilt I Jllil . s•weI,Ire
IWoHielaWallcJsof I l.'r.J a,
~·rcwu (u ~c: I •1
1
i"""-' ••o "' likely 10 rcsuh in <lass and ('"JSf< violence '" iu '." "'' tnw lais two wivt'.'> 1avc Ilctr.tyc< I h1111. ·u u 1w; t.: s rhc11 ' • •
snobberies, the social comedy could he part ofVik.r.uus Scth:\A Sutlt/Ut I
Boy: Ia HHrt tu J.llrt•h at Ius . I<nowIC::t Ig•c ol. wonacll
' ,JI .1 rtCIIllnls
· • 1 •.
) I c .\I.JrtS
sCifllll •11 , 1• again:
·' c.aI'·'
Kill!_: •Jhllut 1liS
llllnorous irony
d.rrt'Cilllg
he is from ~adarkadu rhcy'rc not brahmim rl.ctc . p Iays :'llllI t I1c pcrs1, c'Cli Ve t: 1J,lngc 1 ..

:tnd he's no hindu.

.. , J :ll l>u deep Wll, I1 t IIC , I tl ''lill ;u .;I JC s.,u.;IICS!i
Spoken like a lcrkauiy.• app:t l.lught·d Fur each lll'W p l·1Y l .Jnsls I ulllin:ctiug ·• new lilY
bhe cquares Wt•ahiJ wirh lH.dunios 1111
fl>r t11 c lc.td role. Now f ' ' . •Y 1 willlw"w
. I I llljiC SOIIII, ( 1'
we are suffering you <.."tln 5t'c fc)r whose ~im. IWt'llty• fll .'il p .1y. I , fJ'cr..ffl
c•uou1•b uf woou:n wrllt'l:i." like rfJir,, ,,,, 1c
Bur we are hindus anua intcrjl'C tt·d ~ , ll" 1J ('fl l,;l;
to \Jil·,d, Ill a n ·'"l~llli , . , IIU in lw loll
r '""l~l t~r
1 h•g1 ·
a fiuurc cornrnunisr almosr n:ax.dite • 1 ,r Fzc.k1d :> l'"c.
• ·
II.e ahovc nur•hr he a' ou'illl • cc•tJ11 11Y whcd•cr i1r('(l f:nR.Jj h
to
you might as well be G:wgas or Cauvcri:S
e per~pcc,IIVC ,llllreelII iu lf!i!"
IlotS a t.•lltul.tr
• 11111111p• I
1 11
• Jllt'W1J;l( 51 rr ,uhJC'I
Q
c ,rcl JSC:
or beuer '!ill Gauya Ca uve1 ics appa reph<J J •1
r'' WJllthc s1waker, a comp • Jc.xlfy we'
• 1CSJlC:I c• k sucatJ• 1 1
115
• }lc Jy•nB 111 1 1 11
• .~
l'rasod brough1 ovc1 imo puc1ry """Y uf ll1c w.•y~ " mappiug
VIeW 1l I
r un
I S rtr:ttrc«
·I . J I
"' He' allows nawc I '·"' uue
(I
( nd. Anu
J '"lt3C IS
J mc-.lnllll,· iiCcn
rcprcsclltjllg Jllt1ia fc.,und hy .such uovdi:;ts .1s Ru!ihd•c '1m :,f.c gc ,cro~l
1
I
lla:arrcr lllld I he w.ay we !i wu Jd 1esp ' ll.• vc ·•.SC'Xlh•d ul•ufJ •l Iar l}uw1 r ffll•ll
dosing li11cs cspc hilly ns 'ku~w ~ \·nhuru:, 11 ' 1 ofC d•flcrcll
' t. ul
arc regional or d.tss srcr~.:qtypes and llliglu be M'«'n ap; p.u 1 0 1'm:wism ru 1
• recent pocrry away from , I l UC~
rex '!I h'rc :uc Ul' her roor I pm ms Jill . I l' ...·~ IIC: 1r(., l'o'" 15
rnovcmcm Hl • ucnsc
.I • Hill 1J t)
\.' CII(
•lC"CJII c' oiiiCI •Ram. · n:tkrl~ " •
•. • I'""
 MCIIJJ liN INI
each ' >rh e,, I>I If tl•c~· ollcu cak ''IN I'UI
I kY IN •
seem significanr 1~ 1 ' e somcc"ingnrJrn N(,ll 11
h . lCil' nr~: rnn I aryancf ,
t ere" ere a few tit, ··d"~ .. . r' c sr~~.: ' poems •111•1 ,, ruprdly o, ,L_
b' ~.. ...., ..golll /' •JI • llC~ ,.1\.C':fl
st 1C •r ofeli tical ace en rion or be :','u~i J l.c:r nrc unlikely roll[;,und than Chronology of
t lem rna n~agazinc or .rnrllolo . c •n n)ur5t's,l,urco eco'"e the
Lhe appropnatenes uf Englisll f'
Is n pleasure. By llfJW ':> {.(Jrrre Rcr~ Significant l)u blications,
whether mort oons arc lu J•' angu.tgc pocr ry in lnJj,. .t ,~!~uc about
U Jll, "IS l.~~>c:ar
gu,"':
Journals and Events, 1947-99
THI 1 Of.I.OWINf; AUBRhVIA'IIONS AKI USI'D:

A (~ntholot~Y), I J (cl rr~mll), I· ( vcut), J (Jull nal, I' (pr ),

1'1 (LJ,tllslatilllt), V (VCI C),
B (Br11uhny), ( ((.,tic utra), M (M:~dra ), ND {N w l>dlu1
AI f (A •n,,I.J-1 fci11~,:ma11n), ( J I (t laung f lou c) NC,
{Ncwgrnund ), OUI' (Oxlor(_l UniVcrmy Pre ), UW(U n
Wntcr5), WW (Writcr6 Work~;h •p)

19~7

r c R Mandy • pptt~mcd cdnor of the !liN trill d ~ ltfy I

lntha, n, J<J47-59.

1948
J rhought (N I) 1948 75) Ke f,~v Mlll•k f•r t I rary d• '
e ond Rac.;har:l Hartholomcw, tl 11 R.lk harl'un M lrka
cd1tor JtJ59 75
I Kamala Da pul.lli he m PI N (cd11cd Y :>phto~ WJd a
J N1 sun l zekacl goec,. w 1<mdon unull9 2

f'IJO

J. ( hakra (M, 1951-4).

J lflumat,;J Wc;e)t/:y bcgms publl h•nJP UryA u111l J9
l Kc hav Malik travclsm f•urOJK 11nd '"

11JS2
v
 35G ll R N AI S /l N 1J f V Jl N I 8 3~7
M liiH ft N IN lH
J The lltct C "N r() '-l'll 'V 1 ~ 1
~110111 1 • JO
I N' . a? Wtmun stoned My ~OLralt ,.,•._.c wan" 11awthorndcn Pr11e in l·ngland for A
.• tssun l·:ukid :IS!\1 t<lnt d' • fsnre. porn Mor11cs
<4). c lhJr o lllustrat~d ~ L £ .,,;,,. d. c
trtrly 0952 811 W kshop 11tart.c1 1n .
£, ~riter1 or
19JJ- 19S4
V. Ni!l:sim l~t·kirl, Su·ry Poems B t9J9 E k' ..J The Thml, U: Str:md Bookshop.
im zc ... • .r
J.E.Atlanttc Monrhl)' USA o ~ 'l '
I) ' • ~; t o •er: A Per .
v. ~~· 1
I.,,,Malik (b. t92K), The .Lttkc s;rjtlCC r.mu Other /'rJems, ND :
om Morae.s .n~d Gicv,• Patel puhlish in ;;;cuve of India. V 1\. P blications (rcpnntcd 1 U1 I).
E. K. K:nrak, Snmvas Rayaprol and R B I lf~trattd Wrtkl, Sullbe up rlonuo The Lamp is I fiW, C: WW (far t WW pubh-
11/ustraud Weekly. . an lolornew publish. in V. }lo ert e " '
A. P. Lal and K. R. Rao (cd.), M(J J em In do-Ang1tan 1>oetry, ND:
E. P. I..al writes weekly colurnn for Th h . cation).
poets, 1954-7. oug 1• pubhahes aornf
Kavita.
E. J?o~ Moraes meets Stephen Spender in 8 Opmion founded (B, .' 959-83) ..
E. Sahatya Akadcmi founded. · J. p try (Chica~o), Ind1an poetry •ssuc,January.
19JJ
k:.tR. Srinivas~ lyc~gar Visiting Professor of Indo-Anglian
Literature, Umvcrsaty of Leeds, England.
V. PR. deL. Funado (1922-83), The Ccmrt, Toronto· Croml h E. Writers Workshop bc~ins publkations.
ress. · ec
J. Orient Review and Lrttrary Digest (C, 1955-9). Editors All
Schcnkman and P. Lal. rfd 1960
J. Quest (B, 1955-:7) founded. Nissim Ezekiel editor 1955-7. V. Deb Kumar Das (b. 1936), Night Before Us, C: WW.
J. Shabda (MarathJ, 1955-6, 1960). Editors include Kolatkar and V. Nissim El.ckiel, The Unfinished Man (repub. 1965, Student
Chitre. Stencilled. edition 1969), C: WW.
E. Dom Moraes leaves for England. V. R. deL. Furtado, The Olea,ders, C: WW.
V. P. Lal (b. 1928), The Parrot's Death and Other Poems, C: WW ·
J9J6 V. K. Malik, Rippled Shadows, ND: Surge Publications.
V. Dom Moraes, Poems, London: Eyre and Spottiswodc.
J. East .snd West (Secunderabad, 1956-60). Editor Srinivu J. lrrdwn journal of English Studies founded.
Rayaprol. J. The Literary Half-Yearly founded, Bangalorc:, Mysore, ed.
H. H. Anniah Gowda.
19J7 J. Miscellany founded, C: WW, ed. P. Lal.
V. Dom Moraes (b. 1938), A Beginning, London: Panon Press. J. Port founded, M, ed. Krishna Srinivas.
J. lndU.n Litn•ture, founded (NO: Sahirya Akademi). E. Dilip Chitre teaches at a sl:hool in Ethiopia, 1960-3.
E. Adil Jussawalla goes to England, returns 1970. E. A. ~· Ramanujan, Fulbright scholar in USA, 1960-2. .
E. Sahnya Akademi awards in Indian English literature began.
19J8 E. Writen Workshop registered.
. d J I J ' D , _ • •,,,tho·
A. A. V. RaJeswara Rau (e .), Moaern nautn rot•• r 1961
logy, ND: Kavita.
J. 1"'/'ri"r founded, B. Nissim Ezekiel associate editor 1961 - 7·
 ·noNS JOURNAl.S AND EVENTS
MOIH RN IN

J. Mmot.
UlAN POl 'tR\
IN I!NGLIS~ •l''" '
E \fnttr Workshop group 111 ND, 19&4-7,1cd by 1 Bandtman.
J IOsnuzma
d jou ma1 OJ, f..•ngluh Stud
1
f
. tto~ h•v Kumar and V A Sh ) ICJ ounded, Hydr b
E. ~1alav Roy Choudhu and 8. :a ~a.nc. ra ad .. %'
uon C ry cngaJJ Hungrics' b \ [)cb Kurnar Das, Throz1gh a Glass Darkly, C. WW
E N ' • cgm puhl.ca V Kamala l)as (b. 193-1 ), Summer m Calcurra, BU: IUJindrr Paul.
-· •ss•m I zckicl appomtcd p f . v J'lhs'~lm f.7.c:kicl, The Exact Name, C: WW
College of Ans, B. ro es or of English in Muhibha•
\ l)om Morae<;,jolm Nobody, I ondon: Fyrc .tnd Spotmwodc.
\ p K. Saha (b. 1932), Poems from the Frftres, C: WW
1962
A 1'. L. Brent (cd.), Yrnmg Commonwealth Poets, London.
V· L a"' renee Bantleman (b 1942 ) G Hememann.
V. AdJI Jus awalla (b 1940). l d' • raffitr, C: WW. damn you: a magazine ofthe artJ (Allahabad, 1965-8, 61nues,
V M "k . ' .an sEnd C· WW
. om a Varma (b 1946) D 11" , . . stenc• lled). Founded by Arvind Krishna Mchrotra, Amit RaJ
A. Peng•;m Modern Poetry l (~!: :s Draw ~lame, C: WW
Pelcr Porter). oraes, K~ngslcy Am1s and .and Alok R.2i.
J DionysiNs (B, 2 issues), ed. S. V. Pradhan and A. S. Benjamin.
· J·The Cenru,y (ND 1962 _7). E. H. 0. N:n.arcth moves to London.
P. ~· R: S~inivasa Iyengar, lndia'l W
PubiJshang Hou~e. rumg in Engli5h, 8: Asia
1966
E. Allen Gmsberg in lrufia.
V. P.l.;~l, 'Change!' They Said, C: WW.
E. A. K. Ramanujan appointed to Universiry of Chicago. V. Arvind Krishna Mchrotra (b. 1947), bh•ratrrutll. " P'il!"•
bra-Fakir editions, B (stencilled).
1963 V Dom Moracs, Poems /955-1965, New York: Macm•llan.
[ O'Donnell .(cd ·)' A n A nlh 0 logy of Commonwealth
A. Margaret
'' V. G1evc Patel (b. 1940), Poems, 8: Nissim Ezekiel.
• erse, ..ondou: Black1e and Son. V. A. K. Ramanujan (b. 1929), Tht Smders, London: OUP
J. Opmron starts publishing poetry. (K. D. Kauak (Recommended by the Poetry Book Soc•ety). . WVI
adVISOr, 1963-7.3.) poetrl V Mon•ka Varma, G~ta Govinda and Other P~ms, C. .IQ11111
E. R. Parthasar.athy British Council scholar 2t Un•ven•ty of A Abu Sayced Ayyub & Amlan Datta (t<fs.), Ten Ytt~ffOJ '

Leeds, England, 1963-4. B· Manaktalas. ~

j. zontra 66 (ND, 4 issues, 1966-7). EJitor,~· ~=d•.an L•~rurr
1964 J. llerarure East and West, vol. X, nos. I & NY USA
t~sue, State University College, New Paltz,E tkjJ
j. Portry India (8, 1966-7, 6 issues)~ Ed N•:m~of !Its""'
V. Lawrence Bantleman, Man's Fall and Woman•s F•/1-0111, C:
ww. P. RaJccv Taranath and Meena Bell••PP" ~
Tr. A . K. Ramanuian, Fi(tun Tamil Love Poems, C: WW.
J. Bombay Duclt (B, 1964-5,2 issues). Eds. S. V. Pradhan and IL E F..uk,el I C·•• WW • • ol PrJttr! llf£~
...
•· R. Parthasarathy, Ulka Poetry Pn&Ct ol.,.,-,die'-
Parthasarathy. Amu Rai (b. 1948), poet and ,o-ediiO'
J. Lawrence Bantleman Jitcrary editor of The CtrttiiJ'} (NO),
196-4-7. 1967
E. Kamala Das, Poetry Award, Asian PEN, Manila, PbllipP•nt ~· La.,rence Bandeman, /U11d~~a
Centre. v' ~wrencc: Bandeman. N•
£. Nissim Ezekiel Visiting Profes10r, University of (.eedl. t,.dlel · Aahok Chopra. Ttlfll" IW"":
course on Indian literature.
 \I 0 Ill R N I N lJ I
JOURNALS AND IVENIS 3GI
v · K:unnf.t f \N I' 0 I I I{\ tiC•' I tONS, •
3~ n_,. /) .J I N 1 N( le . 1 l9 '") l'orrm. : \V/W
V. p I I l • • ' l'f' l1/CI.JI1ts, ( ' : \'\'\'\
rhk'I111 J'utt('· 1 "'(b ' 1?15), BonN nn d Dut mcas, C : WW
·• I li
. .a d• 'JP.:up, r/, ,· /.q,u/r,rtb,, r- w w ' ~ Rn\ ,,pn> •
\ • A t\Jil t\ ' J • ''-·"\\
11 Hl.a ~I hwtn < nn•'"d litlllll (475) • .
tcnl:tllcd 66 S> '' o•tn~tr l>(lrt'''· B· 1 k (se-on C( R ·,,·a (I·. R. Stanlcv), Tbc PcrmmmJt lit mcnt, C:
V ' • a tr I' I ~t>tniC\ al
. At'\ md Knshna Mdmm~ \\ o d ro s,
len umb 'l'e ( • • . o nu, on Papct, Lo I \\\X· ( handra (h. 1938), Bbarnta 1\at;.mr Dancer and
1967) n l'lllCt<'pnntedmlcAn II" ncon.c~
\ p
•
I
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r.·· Cpt
till, "lll'> \ '"'r C:h;uat C· WI\'\' (,c.•c,.ln<l cd'ltton, :'975)
1
. rHts l '.tnd, (b. 1947) o~rc .1 l Poem•. · ''
01 ~tr s •cant (cd.), Net. \ nrces of tbc Commonwealth,
\ R. p nrr ha at ;uh, Tbc Fn'St • J 'toas and
p
Oilt! ,
e,, C: \\ \\ A Ho'' art1 _erg
' <p, O('m, J<) 5 56 I 0 nl,1n' J',•nn,. d
pm .ucI \ ctr. ulatrd). · (srcllqJil·d ' · c rlwtta (C 1968-70, 19 ~~~ucs, rc tartc 1972-5 as
t\ · hiGn, arc! Scr gc.m 1 ( J ) . ' Dra1og~tc ' . • l •• 1 I
( d • ' 011WI01l'U't'lftb fJ nulogm! india). 1~ IIHlr I ~~~·~ \ N.m.u.v. •
. r,u,l on: john ~1utr:n. OC'l of Tod.r~.
f<,klr , H: Fzra Fakir c.•dnwns. (Daltp Chttrc.• translatton of
1 r. D~ltp Churl: (<·,!.), In tlmholo"l' of \ J. 1
Tu br.un.)
·r l\'u·nl3J,, .tdnnand, &! 'J fm.rrJn l'oet'i', fi.
. J.
Jul'l',id (m1, tO). Buff.tl,,, New) ork, 'New Pr._,,.c and [\1ctry
r
r.A. K. R.m.nuiJn, 7'ht!lntcnm·land,capl' It J' U
Pn·". ' I tan,, lllll'rl>Jt\ twm lndi.,'.

J· Blum (ll, 2 i ~ Ill's) F<l, 1\ p 1 P. lkvindt.\ K,,hli. Virgin \VIJltcnP~' : The Poetry of Kmnala [),tc,
'"'I . •
K. SutKurnar. . . . ·" t u,,u .tt1" , s. R,·s"· I k
t'l'• I ·,Ilia~~. C: W\X'.
p n,uu ~hu.\c,, M\' 'l<>" 's l~trbi"r, Ll)lllhlO: Sechr & \X'nrburg.
J. f·?.Pa: an 11/ltl,f!,lStC' ~~~grrzmc fnund,·d (AIIah.lb,td, 1%7-71 P. M. K. N'.lik, t'l dl , (_) Jtic,.,[ F. nay~ 011 lndr m \Fntmg m Et~gltJb,
tssuc,, ~~ lll'JII~ d). hluor A 1' ind 1\h,hrcHra. 'S
!Jh.u\\at: K.:llll,\1,\k UniH~t~ity. tepub. 197.!. 1977.
). lndum \\ mmr~ . 0 Todn1., (B ' 1967-70' Jl,.. I Sth.\
. )'
j · ."P" ' . I· ngltsh Sl'l tion of Kwtt t·ducd LH p... ,.a11 K t
P. ~h~nkar \h1k, "hi-P\Int·kM, J>. La/, .Au Apprt"'('urtion, C: \'i.'W.
1967 8. ' ·• umat Jam, E. A. K. R.unanuj.lll, Gl1ld ~h·dal l,f Tanul Wrucrs Asso iation
r(lr lmtrior umd•capc.
J. Pot'l 1)' Etm \\lc~t. cd. eel Am:muddm, H) dcr.1bad Sumter.
cnnh C:lrolina, U A .
J. Sameek~a, Indian Renai!;s,tncc Numbcr,l\1.
J. Tom ldo (B, 1967-70. 61ssucs, srerh.illt•d). FdHM P~l\an Kum2r
Jain.
F. l\'issim l·zekicl' fit t LSD trip (24m 1967-72).
/9t1R
V. D,·h Kurn:u Da ... Tbc f'yc 11 ltttmrm, C: \\; \V.
V. G. tll i 1k~hpan.ll· (h. I Y·12), Be l'lJH'ru llm!J,, :\X\\
V P.,llll,lalub (b. J'~40),~onmts. C: W\'\1.
V. K. I . Knt mit (h. 19 '6), A /tlll111fll of rhl' \\'")'• C: W\\ ·
V. Dom 1·torat•, Littllun and Otbu, ll.lltdon:TtlltCt
Pre~;;.
V. Pntii•dt N, nd\', I lJ wei )'uu in Tttm My 'cblmt• \\ pr.rtb, C
Dtaloguc Puhli ntil•ll .
V. Priti h Nnnd •, On brhn Srd1 ofArrogarm~, : \'\I\X •
 '" \
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•
 364 MOl>ERN INDIAN p
, , . . oaTat ••
\. Su~ h Kohli, Target for a Kus, C: DiaJ Piiw:........~
V. P. LaJ, Lot e's The hrst, C: WW. Ope --.....,
V. An-ind Krishna Meh~otra •. !wrltJ~ Ponn, t.....~
S~trrei#IISt. B: Ezra-Fak1r Editions (stencilled) l"lllll drr ~
V Gauri Panr, \ oodoo, C: WW. ·
V. Rak~hat Puri, '1\.metun PoNns, C: WW.
V. nnl\·as Ra\ aprol, MamecJ Love •rul Otbr,. p___
\ . ubhu C. Saha (b. 19-46),/nsrghts, C: W\V • ---.c 1rt
V Monika Vanna, Past lm/'"alltJe, C: WW.
A. Pritish Nand) (~.). ln_du.n Poetry ut Eng/i,h. 194l-l
Oxford and IBH Publishing Company. J72.ND:
A. aleem Peeradina (t'd.), Contnnporuy pOftry., ~
Assessment 1md Selection, Q11est 74 Oanuary) IDd B.~
lan (Repnnt 1977).
J. Debona1r founded, B. Poetry editor Lnt~az Dbaater
j. Dwlogllt>-lndw (C, 1972-5, 18-20 issua). Ed. Pritilh N.d,
}. Gra)• Boolt (Cunack, 1972-3, 3 •ssues). Aanaaw ,..._
]a\ anta Mah:apatra.
j. Howard McCord, (ed.), Yo.,ng P~ of IIIJM. M..., J
Bowling Green, Ohio: Tnbal Press.
J. YoNth Trmes (ND, 1971-9). Poetry Editor &-., Maa.
197~.
E. Dannvall:a's App.rt1on '"April (1971) fteeiftl U.. .......
Sure Award.
E assun Ezekiel appoanred Reader (subsequaady ,...._,.,
Amencan Ln~rarure. Univ~rsary of Bombay

1973
V. Richard Banholornnv, Pomu, C: WW
V. Kmaala Das, Thr OIJ PL.ybo.~ Mil Otlwr ~~~ Olilll
Longmm. 0 .,
V Gopal Honnalcere, bn Trn Mil WiJJ I111M£ ••
Gray Book Publications.

~: IBH
;:!,i~;:r~~~~N...,C OIW_.
V G.ariP-.~,C:WW
V S.s.dai(b.I9U),A,.,nr~ ND.AH.
V Moe••V--.A&....._J.,C 'trW ._._,.
A.. D-ill ee,., ... 7N Sl¥11..1 . . . . 11

,._..la'Mt kU.,..._
 D a•a. Tl

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 368
~f 0 01:: R N IN
DIAN flot-:l'R\
V . •\1e{' n.t Ale:\and er, I Root Af ' ' .. IN l:l'f<:tJs .. J 0 U RNA L S A N D 1-•.Y H NT S 369
V p L J C l ) J\amc, C· \\' \\;' ., LJfii..IGAT I O :!'II S '
," >. a . a cutta: A L o11g Pot•m , C: W'\V .
\ · 1;. La I: Collected Poem~. C: wrw·. · r ,, . /ruiia founded,. B. Editor Santan Rodrigues; consulting
f\(IV J-
J• 1 • or Nissim Ezektel.
\ . NJranJan.Mohantvtb. l95l) S1'l· .· Jl
V. Priti~ll Nandv 'A f0* .., ·he·· . ,·, ' N°D(lng t/;e R1ords, C· 1 "'"
1 c:ult ,
. Lvric (N D. St .Stephen s Co e~e, I 978-82) . .
)

A • Rogc1 "''
J • J\ • , t I
V. R. l Jnh.tsarJthv (b. 1934) Ro l Jl,
"'"· ; AH
· ·
. v w. t Nissim Ezcktd reads at Rotterdam lnternauonal Poetry
,., C«1\'er and Jo~eph ' Bruchac d ' ND·· OUP.
ug J (a.ss.rge rcstival.
fidd Re,·icw Prc,..s, New York. e s.), Afiernzatb, Green . Shiv Kumar Commonwealth Visiting Professor, University of
A. Sy ed Amccruddin (ed.), lndi'mz Verse ziz E t I E. Kent, England. Elected Fellow of Royal Society of Literature.
1't71)' Anthology, M. Poets Press ng IS'J: A Contempo. f Shiv Kumar poetry editor, lllu~tratrd Weekly.
A. Pritish Nandy (ed.), Straugcrr;'me · An Antl I E: Jayanta .Mahapatra at Writers Week, Adelaide, Ausrralta,
P~etry in English, I\f[) ; Hind Pock~r Books. 'Jo ogy of lndzan Festival of Arts.
Ncwground begins.
]. ,\ ew Quest, Poona.
E. R. Panha~arathy memhcr of International Writers program.
]. Osmam:7 journal of Eng/is/; Studies vol 13 Univl'rsity of Iowa, 197N- 9.
temporary: rd . P.oetry in Engltsh. '
n Ian · ., no. I' oneon-
P. Mce-nak hiM ukhcqee (ed.), Comiderarions: Tu:elve St,J'
indo-Anglian \f'riti'ng ) ND: Allied Publ' h
E:.. emergency
1: ends. ts ers.
zesof
' 1979
V. Agha ShahiJ Ali, In Memory of Begum_ Akhtar~ C: '«lW. .
V. Kamala Das and Pritish Nandy, Tomght, Thu Savagt Rut,
1978
ND:AH.
V. tions.
<?opal Honnalgerc, Nudist Camp, Dharwad: Release Publica- V. Eunice de Souza (b. 1940), fi:\·, B: NG. H
V. K. R. Srini,•asa Iyengar, LcmJcs from a L~, NJ?: A ·R _.
V. K R S · · ND.· Indtan Luerary C\ •ew
'X;W.' · nmvasa Iyengar (b. 190~). Cosmographica Put•tica, C: V. Sunit.l Jain, Benc.:lt IJ t he oust,
r..

edtt~on. . d C· WW.
~- ~unitaJa~n (b_. 1941), Af(m ofltly Desi1·es, C: WW. V. SunttaJalll, Between You cmd Go • ·
\ · Suresh KohJt, )mce Dt•cay Impairs, ND: Indian Literary V. .Mamta Kalia, Poems '78, C: WW W
Review Editions. V. K. [ >. Katrak, Underworld, C: W · ND· AH
V. Pritish Nandy, Pritish Nandy JO, NO: Kavita and AH. V. H. K. Kaul (b. 1941), A Ne~}o"';.Zd Pubiisht~
V. ~eja.swini Niranjana, Burnt Smoke and Wood Ash, Bangalore, \'. Randhir Khare, /J Poems, Sr vedr . Sadgwtck &ja\:ks(m.
\' I . .
Chnst CoJJege. ·. S uv Kumar, WooJ pedurs .. ' Lon
NO·on.
Samko~lecn Prakas han.
V. Rakshat Puri, In the Chronicle, ND: Paraj Prakashan. V. Jayam.t Mahapatra, Waltmg, other Place, ND: AH.
V. G. S. Sharat Chandra, The Ghost of Meaning, Lewis CJark V. Pritish Nandy, Anywhere IS A~ems. cJ. Krishna Srinivas. M:
. . h N anu~Jy , T.'ht Selecud
V. Pntts
College, Lewiston, Idaho: Conference Press.
V. Three Poets: Melanie Silgardo (b. 1956), Raul D'Gama Rose, Poets Press India. oflfl••p;tdl, C: WW.
Sanran Rodrigues, B: NG. V. Shrcela Ray, Tht Pa::: 19-35, J.f issues). Ed. Jayanta
19
A. Mary Ann Dasgupta (ed.), Hers: An Anthology of Po~try in ). Ch,mtlrabhaga (Cu ' d dh .lY
English by Indian Womt>n, C: WW. Mahapatra. Dareccor Pranab Ban yop~ u .YK . Sahoo,
J I:'TC (C 1979-80). k t assue). Ed. BaJ > .
A. P. La) (ed.), New English Poetry by Indian Men, C: WW. . £
J. xprem ·~ JndUI (CU~-~anatra.
J. The Indian L•terary Rn~zew (NO, 1978-9, JJ issues). Ed. adv1sory edn;or Jayanta ~·-r l·ditor Chaman N.ahal
et~l4fll• (ND)
Suresh Kohli. Restarted 1984.
j. The H,man~ 1979-80,4 rssucs)
J. Tenor (Hyd '
 3 0
fOIH:R~ I~DIA f'Of:TJ!tl JOURNAL AND EVENTS 37J
tudz~s
TION •
P. . Z. H. Abtd,,. m lndo-Anglzan Poerr N lNclrstt tLIC"
Pr2kash Book Depor. ry, 8~~u•.
P. Amab Band, opadhvay (ed.), lmerpretar s ( f fill "k 26 Poems, ND: Malik:
Bdnd~opadh, 3) ). C: W'\\; . 1011
0 Pranab J(tsha' Mall ' Tl Rai11 bow last N1ght, NO: AH.
V .. h Nandy, 'JC C WW
P. K. N. Daru,.alla, Su:ord and Ab>ss: A Collect of v. Pnt 1 Ni li. Satrvalltl, : ·
Stone~. ND: V1kas (reprinted 1982J. 1011 0 Shorr V Donald T. g (b l953) A Guarded Spact, 8: NG
P A. '. D.. i• ed i, Indo-A ngltan Poetry , Allaha b d. .,.. \; Manohar.Shett} ~am and S.C. Harrcx (cds.), o,/y Comttct,
Mahal. a · n1~ A.. Gu\ Anurthanay.l:'h . n the New Literatures in English, Adc-
Centr e for Re can.: •
11
Hl~kno
1 an~ ~anohar Banjopadhyay (cds.), 19 Potts. All
1980
/!Ideh:I\'
andMa
K
V . .Meena Alexander, Stone Roots, NO: AH. A es ND. Pachi Prakashan. .
V. Dilip Chitre, Travellmg in a Cage, B: CH. Antholog_:v • .t •• H ,mns 'or the Drowning, Princeton Umv.
Tr. A. K. RamanuJ~m. ) J'
V. K. N. Daru\\•alla, \t1mrer Poems, B: Allied Publishers.
Press, USA. l Quilon Krrala.
V. Pria Ue,i, In TensuiCs: Sdeaed \'erse, 1970-75, !liD: Sam.
kaleen Praka ·han. I .r Literature and Aest 'Jet~es, . ' . E-lish,
J.p Journa o,
0. P. Bhatnagar (ed ·)• Studies in lnd'1n Poetry Ill ··o
V. cauons
Gopal Honnalgere, The Fifth, Hyderabad: Broomstick PubJ.. . Iaipur: Rachana Prakas~an. S . ND· AH.
V. Sun1tajain, Love Tune, ND: AH. P. JPritish NandY· Sorne Fr'lends. ~ tones, . ., -- -'- 0..,
· thtPMt'f10fi\MIMM
P. Anisur Rahman, Exfre~swe orm Jn
V. Ashok Mahajan, \'ivzsea10ns, C: \X' W.
ND: Abhinav Pubhcauons. l . thl Pfl#tr1 t1/ N -
V. Jayanra Mahaparra, The False Start, B: CH. P. Anisur Rehman, ~. 0 rm and• Va• ue m
V. Jayanta Mahapatra, Relatwnship, Greenfield Re .. iew l'rrss, E k I ND: Abhmav Pubhcat1ons.
New York (Indian edition, Cuuack 1982). ze 1e • g Smet. _._ ....
E. Film of Pritish Nandy. ~onesok" .J • awardforb/A:JMy,
V. Saleem Pecradina (b. J944 ), First Offence, B: NG. E. )ayanta Mahapatra, Sahnya . hAbha auemt
A. 0 . P. Bhatnagar and V1kramraj (eds.), New D1m~nsium i'n
fellowlhip
E. Arvind Mehrotra, Homa B a
lndo-Englzsh Poetry, Mysore: Commonwealth Quarterly
A. K. N. 'Daruwalla, Two Decades of lnd£an Poetry: 1960-1980,
NO: Vikas.
A. A. N. Dwivedi (ed.), Indian Poetry m Engltsh, ND: AH.
Tr. Sitakanr Mahapatra, The Song of Kub1a and Other Poems,
translated by Jayama Mahapatra, NO: Samkaleen Prakash~n.
]. C)•gntfS (Lucknow), \'OJ. 11, no. J, on Indian Writing in Engl1sh.
j. Ekestasis, ND.
J. Freedom First (B, 1980-J). Ed. Nissim Ezekiel.
P. Chirant.~n Kulshrestha (ed.), Contemporary Indian Verse:""
EvalUAtwn, NO: AH.
P. Amitava Ray, Baby Tiger, Glebe, Australia and Los Angeles:
Wild and Woolley. . ,.
i
P. V. A. Shahane and M. Sivaramkrishna (eds-] lndzan Poetry
English: A CntiCJZ/ Assessm~nt, NO; Macnu1an.
 '2
~V~NTS
JOU KNALS AHD
,_.,.CioTIOJIIS.

lfll
t ~()as. Colkcr~J Ponns, YOI. J, Triw •• t. . . . . . . .

:;sfemmdo (Sri Lankan poet 1931-1912).Sd - ' • • 4

¥ pjl): OUP Fmd
SuDJtaJaan,
M~
Wrth R.m, ND: Aaia NWI u
ND AH
V l D Kauak, PMrglltory, : ...:..:__ •· d li!
V. • Koladtar, J~jMn_: Zw~ n. 1-l \¥·~-
V =Jarjon by Giovanna Bandini), F1. . . C. ;: ....._
WoU Mrrscahh.
V Jayanu M apatr~ ~~rv~
n:~ N- 7Jw ,_, A-,
Jaipur: Nirala Publacataons. ND ~
198) Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Milltlk Lmll, •
V H. 0. Nazarnh (b. 1944), Lollo, B: CH.
V ]2 anta M.ahapnra, Ltft SzgnJ, ND: OUP.
v Yuyursu R. D. (b. 1960),A Pr•c'~rw•raiJ-.q.(e•,...,
,.,,,.~.,lla..-~1!
Aroop Mnn (b. 1955, Dnpf.cing
V Pr~ th~
s,,light, 8: Wddhon. A Keshav Malik (eel.), Cmmlllfll .::_';~?~~::
Guild of India.
V Dom Morae AbJenu1, B: Dom Moraes. J Cho.a, ND.
H~IDc (Melbourne, Auttnlia). ~.I,_. ..,;~~~
JJP.·.-.,~~~
\ Ra v IUo (b. 1950 and IWique Baghdadi (b. 1947), 41 RPM,
B The Hack Wnter • Cooperative. J Indian Poets', ed. Bibhu Padhi,
A J 0 . Pony (rd .), VoiCeJ ofEmergmcy, 8: Popular P.....Man. 1 IGJisn-E-HinJ supersedes 0/ltlfii(Q"!
J Anel lCan~a), vol J4, no 4, Indian i11ue. p K. R. Srinivasa lyenpr, WIN
J Opmwn ceases puhJJCation. edation, ND: Sterliq.
P House
A. Dww.,J,, KAmaL, Dtt, ""d Hn- P~Ntry, ND: .00... P. M. K. Naik (ed.), Pm--.::!1
ND: Abhinav Pubtic:aliiO_II~~
P Bipy Kumar o.. (rd ), PmJMctw~• on the Ponry ofR. P..nlt. £. Kahav Malik mira . . . . .
ur•tby, Bare.Uy: PraJwh Book Depot. becomes editor.
P Sltiv Kumar, Nlllk Before God, N...,. York: Vanguard. E. K. N. DaruwaUa, IUIIIR-;'IW
P. £ N LaJJ, The Ponry ofEnct~~mtn: Dom MorMS, A. K. RM~u­ th~ D~.J (J 912).
"*1"" N,,,
lint/ Ez,lt~el, ND: Srafinc. £. Pritiah Nandy, E. lit
P. K It Srinivua lyeapr, lruliM.
eab..acct edition, ND: ScerJiac.
w-, 111 Eng/ish, lhd, ,,,
P Vih.a Sah, p.,_ H - r...J. T-.ir tlnw.,h s;,-., V.
_.TiNt Londaa G ... lc 1raad~ Pre. v.
E -.£u~cW......,....,.ol~ladiaaWr.
-. • f.ttpth ....,NO C.rtpc eo.,.., v
v
E. - ~ . . . . . . . . . . . ""
~
""""'
£ A.Lim;••J••.. &&t\alw,_e
v
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 3 ~4
MODERN INf;>fAN 'W~y
v. Melanie Silgardo, Sltit's of D~sign, london: The~
Tr. A.K. Ramanujan, Po~ms ciflowand~r, N~York:
University ~s/ND: OUP.
). /nJUz Litmzry Rnmw, ~tatted, NO. Editor~·
E. Kamab Das, Sahitya Akadetni awattl for OJ~ ..J&
(1984). ...
E. Poetry Sociery of India, NO, Keshav Malik n;..t;.~.~.a.", Iii
Kaul Secretary. TPS Bulklit: begins. 7~....... •'",It
E. Nissim Ezekiel ~ires as Professor of Eng1~h, UHfte..:.:J
Bombay. .r .....1 of
E. Vik.ram Seth awarded me Commonwealth Poetry~ for Aa.
for 1k Hum/;k Administrators Garikn. 'I
1986 v.
v. v.
v. v.
v.
v.
J.
v. P.
v. P.
v. E.
v.
E.
J.
E.
J. E.
E.
J.
E.
P.
P. 1988
VP.
P.
v.
v.
E. v.
L
E.
 'iODERN INDIAN roF.l'R
\~ YIN £N URNAI S ANO EVEN1'S
Bibhu Padhi (b. 195]), Goir1g to the lempk ND· I d CLISJt 1(CATIONS . )0 • • • • ~ A -
ing Companv. ' · n us Publish. pllt h dan Pra.sad (er.1). , Livm, o JndJan-Engluh Poets. nn "
uso·~Critica/
\(
A1anohar Shetty, Borrou~d Timt', B: Praxis. P. Ma? Essays. NO: Stcrllilnlg d' p Competion
thou'f.Y. ~
A.
VIlas Sa rang {ed.), Indian EngliJIJ Ponry Sine~ l950 B· . ·a Nair, tlrst prize, A n Ja oeuy .
Longman. • • · Oneru E. Mcnka Shtvda.~m wo
Rukmmt _Bhay . rks for StJuth China Morning Post, Hong Kong.
D. Gic-. Pard. /If;,_, &IJram, B: Praxis. (Originally sea od E.
). Bahur•ar/;1111: An Occasional ofrbt- Arts and Ide-as Bl g I1987·)
J. .1\at?'tl
v B'oamtr:. A Rl"lllt'W
. oflndran
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College). Ed. Jayanra Mahapatra. · er•can \~ Sanjiv Bhatia (b.19 Wa 's ~I' Brlonging, Edinburgh: Polygon. [Po-
). \' Euntce Je Souza, :>' 'J d . ]
P.
A'r'mrod. Special Indian issue, Tulsa, Oklahoma. . k S . t recommcn anon.
etry Boo octe y . k
fo ~~.,
. (b 1956) Tht &llSOn 'lvllStur-
Makarand Paranjape, A1ysticism in bzdiim English PMtry ND· B 'ee Dtva arunt . , ksh P
B.R. Publishers. ' · V. Chitra anerJ r~ .. Berkeley Poets Wor op ress.
E.
A1c.-ena AJexander, Night Srmr, tht' Gnrdm {pub 1992) produced tiums. Berkele~, Ca t o(~nt~9S5), A SptOing Guitk to ~mAn. 8:
V. Charmayne D Souza .
as play, New York.
E. D. 1. Orient Longman. .
~?mpetitio~, s~~nsored ~y Poetry Sociery ts 1.1, ~ d' NO· Pengum. ·
V. Dom Morachs,A~~:~ t\who Sirt'P Tonight, NO: Viking/BPepngua_n.
All I_ndia Poetry
(l~d1a)
pnzc.
and rhc Bmtsh Council. VJ)ay NambJsan awarded first V. Vikram Set • " IOU M' a llt Tm Ruptn, : raxts.
E.
Nissim Ezekiel, Padma Shri Award bv the President oflndia for
V. Mcnka Shivdasani (b: 1961)f, l
Special Shiv Kumar tssue o ,ou
':iofSouth .Asum Litmttu"•
.
contribution ro literature in English: J. XXV.2 (Summer, Fall). JnJi;Jnl'otl'],Columbw: Oh10
E.
Nissim Ezekiel ar Adelaide, Australia and Wellington, N~w A. Kaiser H~q (e~.)·Ifonttmporary NO· OUP.
Zealand Arts Fesri\•als. State Untversaty ress. 1i [,Jian /+Jmrs, •
E.
E. Gopal Honnalgere, first prize, Poetry Circle, B. · A. ArvinJ Krishna Mehrotra (~.),. ~Zu,is Nin, C: WW.
P. Hoshang Merchant, /n-Dts(rdiON~rnment service in England.
E.
1989
Saleem Peeradina moves to rhe United Stares in 1988.
Melanie Silgardo, ediror, Virago publishers, London, until 1995. E. K. N. Daruwalla returns .fro~(~ibition of d~wings)
E. Imtiaz Oharker, 'Bord~t.::. with Nissim Ezekiel as cons tanr.
B:D.

v. E. 'New Poetry from Rupa """6""-

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....1.-,1• M11p of,Amni(tl, [Poetry
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JrJi4 ;JiiiMI 11tJ &ntilulnh• Co '

~
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 ,97~ MOIH RN INDf/\N I'
ouRNAI..!i hND r.Vt·N"fS
~ •• "E1'R.y If..: E.N At IONS. I 379
\~ Ran)Jt 1-Ioskore (b. 1969). Zmusof.AJJault No. t·t1s11 tlfLIC J. NO R
\~ Tabish Khair, .A~· \\Vorld, NO: Rupa. ' dh' A Wottnd Elstw ure. : up:t.
\~
' · Rupa
v. Bibhu Pad ~· ranjape, Putying rhe Dark God, NO: Rupa.
\(
Anna Sujarha Mathai, Thr Attic ofNight NO· R
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W\~ upa.
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All India Pocrry Competition, Rajlubhmce De bee Bhanachar}'a
t lmti:rz Dharker, Alllndut rusts .
for Art. kJ 0 17,h-ccnrury Gujarati mystiC, at
awarded first prize. E. Cicvc Patel uans.lares A' ~~ckcfcllcr fellowship.
. . of Chtcago or
UmversHy
1992 Denmark.
E. Titbish Khair moves ro
Agha Shahid Ali, 71Jt Be/ovid \\i'imess: Seltctrd l'o~ms, NO·
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 180 1\-!1 1)1 llN INOiAN 1'01 Al rON S, )OUilNAI S ANI) [VEN rs
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\~ c· I
~uc "' } ' o ' . 'upn
CC'f' Sen, IYt'U m~ 711nrs, 1on don: 1 he M · · p
~. Jancr Beck and Mdame S1lagardo {cds.), \li'rago Nfw Pot'ts, Lon-
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K u as II)', Mo.: Buol. M rk Press. ' •s~uu
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A rwuc
I

n
Z'f.l. J • • .~ ,rv ,p, :1Cil11
Ill.: oiiH Ar Ull:t Suc.~J. (cdll) In l'hrir Ot'IIJ 11.(''1. t' l l'l
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r A L1 rttto, . I n
1 r.
A. K. Rn.rnauuj.IJI, .llymm for tht> Drowning. Ponn' for l'unu, Penguin. . . · f
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1 r o· •
ND: VJkrng/Pengum. [Rept. o
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J cgacy'. V.
v ...... ,,.rat a DomtstiC · Ci-"turn·
,... · Pomu• ND·• OLIP.
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62 'Remembering A. K. Rnm,HltiJan.
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llJJIWJN s J0 U H. N J\ I S AN lJ P. V I N I S 38.3
·n. J.tyanra Mahapnr 1':1, (trans. of ltakri Chnt J I!N<..rr II Hnrrc.-.rtoN, l d ' ''- . . ~ ND Vi
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. · .r~'Ium,
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· A. H. K.1 ;/J~rPti 7 Madurai:Thc Study Centre for lndaan litera-
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11 11
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-~ founded by Gayatn MaJUm<k(, B. then moves
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l)f"aK.'lS
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All Jndia Pocrry OmJ>elition, Anju Makhija awarded iir~t • · .
E. Dilip hitre, .Snhity.• Akadcrni awa rd {(,, llrst volun 1c ~~f'~~· 1
I~ N .:' ,tya 'D·
1\lj·l}' Kumar .ts, Jt 11 Poetry o "}avar~ta
i.f
MahapatT'II, NO: Adantrc
~.;o]b ted• poems,
f , •l·l:oou
I
. w.ul lor .Sa)'J· 'h11.w.
Kmdtll-1 in Mat.trrhi .tnd the lr.tnslar 'rc)Jl15
~~~iJ~:~s:~~~~~~.tr D.ts,Th~ llv~izQn ofNzssim &tklllj Potrry, N 0 :
F. luui.tz Dh:td(er, 'Pnsrc:uds from God' (:tH "Xhihirion), B, M, P. 1l. R. Publishing C::orpc>r•'."A' dMarrillgr, NY: bouPI<J•r·
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1!. Arviud J(ri:dwn Mchrutr.t, G~tf)'Jburg Rtrdtw Awnrd, USA. 1~
P.
~~1~~~ 1~.~~~.~~~. ~~~k.;~;~~~A:::r;. K. R,1mamljan. ND: B.R.
1
1~.
[om M01acs invircd ro the ln sriru tc for dtc Trawdarion of Puhlishint; Corpomuon. KA lA [)ass f 1mon, ND: lntd-
} lcbJcw l iccr. turc, lsrocl. 1~ hlhal Knur (cd.), H:t7ptc,twrs on 11l4l
1995 lc:~,;~ u.tl Bonk utnc:r. • rraror;· A Nouti, ND: Rupa.
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P.
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M' k.tra nd l'.m•n jJc
R. Rnj R.to, Ont d}t ~ M! Flat m S.ul C. 9'· N ~: lRupa.
1r Traditions in India" En~lu" ttrra
J>r . P. I~ K. R. jan (eel.), BJang~ng u Ia Ill
v. Mccu Alex. nder, Rir1~r and llridgt', ND: Rupa. tmr, Nl1: Cre.Hive oo ·. It Ntu'.' ft.{llfitnusm w Jna ~1 "'·
v. Sujnl Bhau, Tht! Sti11king Nose, Manchc.o;tcr: Carcanet. P. E. V. It: mukrishnanS, ~~h~a1~fndian lnscuute ofAd~ anced I t~~
v. Kclu N.l • ntwnlln, A Sullmltrnfl~gn'S, ND: lnclus (HarperCoJiins). J..1turubi and Hindi, tm al. ( ds) Ntu Ptnptcllvt'J m m'
V. C l, v .· uclim:uh, ct · c ' '
H. K K. ul, hrdnm i11l•Ymnrs, ND: Virgo. P. • '· J • r;n rt .. . l ND: Sterling. . 11 cnce Com
v. 1abr~h Khair, 11Jt lJool• o(lirrotJ, ND: Rup.a. Liumturt Ill l·t~glwJ.. a.~ Ch:urman, Jo•nt 1rue: tg
v. Anju Makltijn, llirwfirunthr H~b, Nl >: I Jor-An.unJ Puhlic:urnm. E. K. N. 1 atuwullo rt.•rrrcs I I Y95 8.
v. lloshaug Mcrch.anl, /rmah nmlthr H7halr, C: WW. .
rnlltce, . .
of Gt111ttman,
fliten&ry5ccuon .S 1 khildrcn. Vishnu
V. t:. Jl'l'( 'J hayti~ cduqCro etidon ~mons c too
I fo hang Mc11::hanr, 1'l,r 1/omt, tbr Ftirmtl n11d tfg \\''orlt/, C: \V/W
V. ·r •:. \JI l I' p ctry omp
IJunalJ NiJ•Ii, W'brm \\i'r .Sptllk, : WW J nt •·• u .' tirJt P~'~· I
Pt .•blml<ar awardcu 1 Writer~ Works top
L.
V. A. K. lt·un.anuj 11, Thr Collrrud Por.ms, Nl ): OUI~
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;>

v. Su lecp Sen, /11oum Vbur im in l·•gbr Fmmrs, l.c'c<.ls: Pecp:tl Ir~ a__ ) Ch for ( hcnnJJ (Mudras 1
v. Sudcep Sen, Nrw l1Jr:k 7mus and Kali in Ottava Rim '1, N · I !)Y6 ~ (Bonmilly ' K · I) C.
Rupa (R pt l9Y3.] , .• (Note: ftotn 1996 M forJyrhtS
Mun ll/1\nfJWI /Jow to 'Illig. ottay.un. .
V. 0
Sudccp Sen, 7wmrtl J/ands, Leech.: I cep~l I n~c . V. K m11la D.1s, n I. (.)ark a11d Othrr Ppmu. ND
v Vakro1m Seth Hu J'o,mt I 981-1994, N D· Vtking/Pc:ngllln Book · SrPif''"''"b,, 1"10 I I'

v Vivck T:andn;l (b 1962), Cbmlnng tbr Spiral, ND: Jla1 Anand V. Randlur Kh~liC~~tiCJill
ll"' Afl;JJld
 MO DERN I N DIAN r O ElRY IN EN noNS. JOURNALS AND EVENTS
JR4 (, ll!iJi r~BLIC~ 385
V. K~~hav M.1fik, Ozon~ ! ay tr: Stftn~d Po~ms, ND: Abhinav p h
. lic.Hions. u• \: Debjani C harterjee, I Was That ~man, C: WW. (Rept 19S .J
9
Imdaz D harker, Postcards from God, Newcasdc upon Tyne:
Th~ B~u of}aynnta A1ahn~»atra C .
\'· J.t}'anra .Mah.1parra, Bloodaxe. [Includes PurdAh and Postcllrdsfmn G,clandan.)
Rodhi Books. r ' a1•cur··
\' Chirra Banerjee Divakaruni, Ltaving Yub.l City, NY: Anchor.
V. l losh.ang Mcn:hanr, Lovl'i PumiJJion, C : WW \: Jay:lnta Mahapatra, Shadow Spau, Kottayam: DC. Books.
V. Hoshang .\1erchanc, Thf Jlt'art in Hiding, C: WW. \~ H~~hang Merchant, Talking to tht Djimu, C: WW.
\~ G.). V Pr.aad {b. 195.5),/nDtlhiwithoma Vira, ND: Har-Anand Hoshang Merchant, Th~ Birdlns Ozg~. C: WW.
Pub/il~llions.
~ Main Qazi, Tht Rtal Fact, C: WW.
A. H. K. Kau/ (ed.), Pottry India: liJices .from ~f/ithin ND· y· V. Main Qazi, Voius.from a Tznctumi Ht~~n, Ranchi; Writm Forum.
., • •rgo
D. R. Raj Rao, NJt: lfr:IWI Fool on Earth and Otht'r Plays
'
KaJ '
Mahara.~h rra: The Brown Critique. ' yan, v Mukta Sambrani (b. 1975), Tht Wt»nnlnin Thul'onnl111tllmay,
C: WW.
). Li'm Rr:4tu'. 1JB. Seprember 1996, Midlothian Scotland '11 1
\~ Sudeep Sen, Postmllrlttd India: Ntw 6 StkcttJ Pomu, NO.
Modern \oung Indian P~ers, Guesr edi ror: Sudecp Sen.· We vc
). ft.ftl1'm~ Afmr (ed.). Tuls1 Naid u. HarperCollins.
Tr. DJ11p Chicre, Slmjnandtt'} 'Anubhavammt/Tht' fmm 1J:-. V. Jeet T hayil, Apocalypso, London: Aark Arts.
. . rv . • NO S h' orta -.rr· A. Eunice de Souza, Nint Indian Womm Ans: An .An~ ND:
1
runct o Dtmg, : a Jtya Akademi. (From Ma rh · )
P. S~irish Chindhade, Fivt Indian English Potts: NiJsi: ~~l A. OUP.
R. R.n,~Janu)tl~l, Anm Kolatkar; Di!ip Chitr~. R Parthasam.J... NO: Tr. A. K. Ramanujan, A FIIJwmng Trrt liM OtMr Owl/ 1illls J!o"'
Arlant1c Publishers. -,_,, • India, (eds), Stuart Blackburn and Alan Dunda. NO: VJkiA&I
P. Kek~ Daruwalla,. Thr Ministtr for P~rmanmt Un"st liM OtMr Penguin. __._
Storw, NO: Ra\'l Dayal. ). London Magazint, vol. 37, nos. >4i (.Augusr~bcr), ~1
P. SKwame Da~es (~d.), Sutk"p Sm: A Bio-BibliographicalSou~ Indian issue. Mcn:wy
umrer: UuJ\'CrSJtvofSouth Car I' • P. Meena Alexander, Manhllttlln MliM, San FranCJJCO
P. Ch' R ·; o ma.
· Jtra anerjee Dh·akaru01· Th M.' .r House. . Q: &.War Boob.
P. 1abtsh Kl · . ' • t zstress oJ 'Spicts, NY: DoubJaiay.
lalr,AnAtJgtlmPyjamas ND· H rCoU' P. Gauri Deshpande, The~=: u..Jerabad: Orient
P. jeet Thavil (ed ) l" .. Ar
E. All Ind1a .. n •
• ' • • arpe
O)( , JV(W lndlim Frction M: Sterling
JDJ. P. Jayanta Mahapaua, TIN GIWII • a.,..
•·oetry Co · · -r . ' •
E. All India p. mpet 1 ~ 1 ?n, 1 abJSh Khair awarded first prize.
Nair award~derryfi Co~pemJOn among Schoolchildren. Ambib
E. K. N. Daruwalla1rsrPEN pme
P.
Longman. .
Rukmini Bhaya N~ {wuh a..:.:,
. Ramnik Baa· and Ankur Matdc),
NO:~
uclmobrat: Culnlrr m 11 C~. . . Essil}l 111 Li1m1r] Cnti-
j .
E. Imriaz Dharke 'Ra ·d nternatJonaJ, Freeman de, AustraHa P. Makarand Paranjape (ed.),_ lYIItlflt,IS
E. R. Raj Ra r, ? om Blue' an exhibition M. cism, N D: Sahitya J\kadenu. Gmt/nluUt CtJ/Ictitm ~Nnu F~e-
E. C p Sur o,tl1nlernauonal Writing Program U~iversiryoflowa. P. Jeer Thayil (ed.), Vta' 2: TIM
. . en ran, journaHsm fellow ar Cambridge Univeru"'- tion, M : Sterling. . . . London.
1997 '"r E. l nuiaz Dharkcr, art exhlbao00' ay prize. .
E. Vi jay Nambisan, Gmt/nriMI. poeFirst priu awarded ro RanJn
VI~ Mecua Alexand Th . E. AJ! India Poeuy Compcaaoa.
&,~ri~nr~. Bos~~n: ;os~~~lt ~[Arrival· &foctions on Post-~ dr' Hoskore.
V. Agha Shahid Ali 7h C End.
Norton. ' f! ~ountry witbout a Post Offic~. New
v. 1998 ......... Hanovu: Wduhabn
Sujara Bhatt, Pomt M0 p V. Sujata Bhan. NJ f~ ediQon)
' Se!t:ct~d Ponns, Manchester: '-'~~~~
01111
Verlag [Bifiaaual
 IIWil.=
S, JOURNALS AND IVINTI

K. Kaul (~.), ~ lru/M: Voite m

Ban.,,.. Di....,. . s· •'!I"M.r.,
,...ua~tMerchant (ed.) ~· umtfMJ HMn. NY~
*rwu: C., Wrin,gftr- buiM, •
Khare. Th~ n.,.,.. r. •
Dillll:~11111 o-· Jfn4mtys 11110 the HMn/itJIIl. NO:
Kh~re, Nottboolt ofa Footso/Jin and Othtr Srrnin ND·
M. , '

.977;,~~. Post-bultp~rrtkrrce lru/o-E,glish Pomy

V. Prasad, Corrtirruitin ,,. lrrJU, Errglish Poetry: N.,;.,
Form, ND: Pencraft International
~ICIJlnam Tht Colkcttd Essap, edited by V Dharwadker.
[Dated 2000 .) · '
~·~"~"· Brolun Mirrors. fnttrltulturalitiit am &isp.1 1tkr
Lyriltmn Sujata Bh~tt, New York: Peter Lang. ~
Seth, An EqU4i Muszc, London: Phoenix House.
de Souza (cd.), Talking Potms-Convtrsations with
OUP
Poet~ Co~ petition. K. Sri Lata awarded first prize.
N:adc:mi semmar by ten poets at University ofHyderabad,
Daruwalla, Shiv Kumar, Arvind Mehrotra, R. B.
Padhi, Makarand Paranjape, R. Raj Rao, Mcnka
Eunice de Souza.)
ltdemrtce on 'Trends and Techniques in Contemporary
Poetry', Osmania University. December.
-11oran1· studies in the USA.
bibliography, complied by Shymala Narayan, can
}tn~rrud ofCommonwtalth Liuraturt.

..,.'!*- Dt.A~ Ctmtos, NO: Penguin. .

.,.• .., ll.lfiJW * H~J~U~, Hyderabad: Disha/Onent

M-..-.A.Ias4W Pomu, NO: Penguin.

-•0..197~). c..am,~~N lltmJe.r, M: Self pub~ished.
._.. '*-- 11/}C: Pen.a, London: The Ddh1 Lon*
Chan 1: Life and Career Details of
Some Poets
----------~---------------------~--
~"··
1921
N,.....,
r.unur
19~ 1924
f.•clud

t ...hur~ ~1-4.,. 'lcru~

L.ahor~ llornbay 'iorc-.andcta
Hondu
H.ndu

Hondu Arya I!UI

lud..,\tr\

1 ngh•h, Hindi
Enl;)l!h M>rltho
Headmuter En&\sh Pur. .h
r•roln\()f Col "' •••ny
toe 7..nnloi\Y 1'r ln'IQr nfTclu~ ,l.J,aa~t
Pnncopal ol Mmtho
pnm-.rv IKhonl "··~ttr.""'"·
tnn lM, r
(\ Cuhoh.Khool,
NaumU.u~. DAV,t)t!h
8ombty Hv.lruhd
A.S. GovtColl~~ 'itJowph's,Uk ti
Wolson Collegr,
Lahore Sm•ra V'"'tttOtV Arn:u \onp. <..oll<y;t
(fnp,.h)
Snnlppo\rtn
h tort)
Forem~ Chriswn Wihon Cullry,r MS, llnfor.t USA.
College \CIYLl rr~nrtnnt)
Cambridge d
Uninnny, Engl;an
Prof~sorof Profruorol Editor. cnliC
Engllsh l .nglosh
Yts Yn Yn
In coUegt, thm n lncoUq:r Auhc~rof21
~e49

lncoUege Jn coUq;r In USA

No No

No Muathi
.. <J I
Dnmawt, Cnuc
Novefut
art, musiC, d;ancr
Hyden.bad Bombay
llbmraud Wt-tkly J/Jusrraml Wultly
(390)

Chart 1 (contd.) A.K. Ramanujan Arun Kolatk.ar

Jayanta Mahapatra
p,Lal 1929 1932
N~ 1928
1928 Mysore Kohlapur,
I»rt ofl1irth cunack, Orissa Maha.rashtra
Kapurthala, Punjab
PIAct ofb1rth Kohlapur
My sore
Cuttaek
Ca)cuna Srivaisnava Hindu
Vlhn'tnmtd Christian
Hindu Brahmin
f•tht'r'S
Srivaisnava Hindu
rt/igion Christian
Hindu Brllhmin
Motht'r'S
rt6pm
English, Tamil, Marathi
}Ang~Utgts English, Oriya
English, Punjabi, Kannada
spolttn
Hindi, &ngali Educational
At home Professor of
School Inspector
f11tht'r'S
Homeopathic Mathematics administrator
ocrw/N'non doctor
MothD''s
OCOIJ¥llD" Mysore Bilingual Marathil
St Xavier's, SteWart European
M., school or English
Calcutta School
co/kge Art diploma,
B.Sc., Ra.venshaw Mysore University
BA St. Xavier's, Bombay
CoUege (Physics) (English)
Calcutta (English)
M.Sc. Science Mysore University
MA St Xa\·ier's
Calcutta College, Patna (English)
Indiana University,
Ph.D
USA (Linguistics)
College physics Professor of Graphic deslgner
Gveer(s) Professor of
English teacher Linguistics
Tr~~ttel uT04d Yes Not until older Yes No
/kg•nwntmg 1946 At the age of 38 At the age of 15 Around the
age of 16-Ii.
seriouslv a~ _I
Ducot~rnd
modnn poetry 1947 In the~ Q)G)
At the age of 38 At the age of 1S
MaduLngl441
llit'nln" No Oriya Kannada Marathi
Tr.,slator Yes, Sanskrit ~laratht
J Oriya Ka.nnadi. Tamil
/rom Indian Hindi, Punjabi,
l.urg,..ges Bengali
Othn-arts Calltgraphy P:tinting
Shonsrory
Nowliwsrn Calcutta Cuttack Chicat;o Bomb.n
Fust SJgni[~CJJnr Illustrated Weekly llil4strated Weekll' llluscr.-,ted Wet•kl; Quc)r
!*bbc.taon Thought ' Le'l,oant •'
 (39J)
()attl (contJ.)

KamabDas IU~ D Katnk

~,. K Duu alb
1934 1936
{)lllj,tb 1937
~}rtfh
r U'UppanittUnJ, Bomba,
Tamil ·aau Lahore
Srinngam. Bomb.a} Bomb.l,.
ftt't~ \ arious pla es
r¢•
Hindu Sm-~
,;,- Zoromri;m
~~
Hindu
~ Zoroastrun
(.pg~~Jtgrs
Er.glish, T ami), Sanskrit,
~ Mabvahrn English
English, Gujanti
Abomt ,

AccounWlt Businessm;m Profe sor of English

Poet
vmous, including DomBosco. Cathedral Anglican Various
Catholic boarding Bombay School
school
Siddbanb College, Started at In English,
Bombay University StXa\~er's, Bombay History and
(English} Political ScienCE'
Bombay University University of
(English) Punjab (English)
Diploma in English
Srudies, Leeds, UK

Writer LectUrer in Advertising Police, govemmou

English, editor
Trr.:tlllbroad No Yes Yes Yes. later
Btg.UirUlng Very young At university
At the age of 16 At the age of 16
Ducot.trtd
lllodmz/'Onry At university
At the ageof20 Attheageofl6
Jt~gU4/
~
r,.....,__or
-'>till
Ma1ayalam Tamil No No

!torn l,ckan
'-t~~cges Yes, sraned re endy
~4nJ Tamil, Sanskrit No .
Short .story
Flction, Music, film, Theatre. acung
~'11'lltszn Journahsm theatre, painting
Fir•JlftJut: Tnvandrum New York State, USA Bomba\'
Delhi
~"""'O&nt

-----=
~-~-~P~E=~~----------~~~----------~ll~~~s~tr~at~e~d~~~e=ek:l~y----~Q~u-~_t
Qu~st __________
 (392)
Chart 1 (contd.)
'IIIIW DiJap Chatre DomMoraec; G. S.Sharat
Chandra Eunac~dt:Soul..i
IMut(/Hrth 1938 1938 1938
1940
1'ltl« ofIHrt}, Baroda Bombay
Nanjangud, Mysore Poona
lftcwrwiiH Bombay Bombay, Ceylon, Mysort!, Bangalore
Australia Poona

......
Ftlllwr's
Handu agnosnc Roman Catholic Lingayat
Rom~ Cnhohc
......
MetJ.n•s
Hindu atheist

......
Roman Catholic Hindu, Naidu
Rom~ Ca.t:bohc
~
Marathi, some English English, Kannada
,_,...,
'-w English
Editor, publisher j ournalist, editor Attorney,
Engl1sh, KOnkani

oa I._. Teacher. schoo

...,....,.
Mfl~Wrs

M..,dooJ,
Editor
Many
Pathologist
Advocate-Genera) anspector

School rerler
Various Catholic
m.lqr jesus&. St MMy s.
schools Pooru
&A
Oafonj, Fnglaod Maharaja's College, Soplua~
(F .... Mysore Born~ (English
MA
Law collqes, Poooa Marqume
mdlbnplore Uru cnarv USA
English
MFA Uruv of Iowa.
USA (Wnting)

...... .._.......
T~ .. mu cdilor Prolasorol
English
u
mfnPs.h
lcmvtr

Ya Ya Yes Yrs
&
• 4 Auhr•ol In school Aubc•
AI
• I f..t, lobrr~ee~~~

a
......... ,, IS?
 (393)
Chart l (COtztd.)

-- ~
,lf!Sl
ttofbirth
)JttO{binh
Adaljussawalla
1940
Bombay
Gi~cPatel
1940

Bombay
G auri Deshpanck
1941
Gopal Honnaigac
1942
Poona Bijapur
f1,trt ra.zsed Bombay Bombay Poona
My~ Banga)orc:
[Pbtr's
,Jigwn Zoroutrian Zoroastrian None Hindu
llothn'"'s
rr!zgwn Zoroastrian Zoroastrian Hindu Handu
lPtK""ges
qckm.U English, Gujarati English, Gujaraci English, MMatbi, Tami~ Kmnacb
}to1M German
fttht'rs Narure physician Dental sureg~n Profe~rof Engi~
()(OIJ"%t wn Chemistry
Mozbn-'s Professor of
QJ.:Cilp.lotwn AnrhropO&Oc,.
M4m school OT ~thedral An~) ian, St Xavic.F'-s, Ahalyadcvi High
.:olltgt Bombay Bombay School for Girls
and Fergusson
Collcgc
BA Oxford, England B.Sc., St Xavier's Fergusson College B.SC.
(English) (English)

"-~ Medical dq:rees Poona University

.ObD. Poona University
(English)
Cuttr(s) Editor, teacher Medical doctor Journalist. Art~.
of English Lecrurn in English bookselkr

Tr~Jt>el ab1'04.11 Yes Later Yes

AuM age of 22 ln~-hool
&gar> t.."!J'lllng In 19>4 At the .age of 18
Drsw:.n-rd In schCXJI In Mar:adti. ar
mr.;df'nl school: Ln English,
pon1j at college
(abilingu.J Yes, Kantuda
L.7UO" No Yes,Manr.Ju
No
Tr~sJat.o.r
framlndum
Yes.Guiauu y ~. Mar.arha
:.ttzgJc.:Jges Yes T'heaae
Shonstoncs
~.:rns Painttr, acwr
playwright
panchpnt
Phalun,
ou-bt~srn Bombay Bombay
~bturuhtra
and abroad

FUJI 'Slgrtz{&C4nl M""'-1·~

-- Qwst 01"'"""
~ MuuiJ.ny
 (394)
Chart 1 (rontd.)

'•tnr
H. 0. Nazareth Saltern Pecradina Arvind Krishna
Mehrotn Priti~
1944 1944 1947
V.uofbJtTh 19-47
Bombay Bombay Lahore
PI.Kt ofbJtTh Calcut~
\l 'htff TIIJHJ Bombay Bombay AUahabad
CalclJtU
f•tbn's
r~/igio11 Roman Catholic Islam Hindu Chrinian
Motht'r'S
~ligwra Roman Catholic Islam Hindu Christian
Liutguges
spo/tmlll English. Konkani English, Hindi, English. Hindi Bengah
homt Gujarari
F•tbtr's Businessman Homeopathic Dentist Teachrr
OCCiipatKm doctor
Motbn-'s
O<'CMpatwn Teacher
M., school or Dr Antonio Cathohc high Left after one year
ro/hgt D'Silva, Bombay school
8.-4 U ni,·ttsity of Kent, St Savier's, Allahabad
England Bombay University
(philosophy and (English)
politics)
MA University of Bombay University
Bombay (English) (English)
Wake Forest
University, USA
Ph.D.
Carttr(s) Barrister, Advertising, Ediror,
Teacher, University lecturer
Computer Advertising, Editor. in English Phorographtr
programmer Administrator
T:r~rwl.bro.J Yts Yes Yes Yes
lkg~~n umturg At the age of 1S Arth" lf'C of Ill
In 1966 At the age of 17
DiscocJtTtJ
I'PU:HJmz ~try Auhc age of 16 Ar rhe :~gt "( 1to-. I'>
ln196S At the age of J7
MtdtilingJUJI
Wnt~
No No No
No
T r~&nslator
from lndum
LangNAgtJ No Hindi and Cujarati Yes, Hindi yes, Bent;~·'• Urdu
OrheT•ns Film makrr. drama PhotographY
Painting and singing
Nowliu~san
london Bombay Allah<~ bad
Bombay
First "rmfl{lant P~trylruii.
p.b~ P~trybtdw d.unn70f'.
Miscr&.ry
J (contd.)

1948
louruJirn. Goa
Goa and Bombay
:.
,..

- ·-
Zal' ,• •

Taalor
.• .
(396)
Chart l (contd.)

"""
Dare ofbuth
PIA« oflnrth
B1bhu Padhi
1951
Cunack, Orissa
Vikram Seth
19S2
Calcutta
Manohar Shetty
1953
Bombay
19)6
Bombay
----
Mdan~ Silgardo

Cuttack P:arna, Delhi Baroda, P.anchgani Bombay

\f1Nrt J'IUSNi
MJNri Hindu Hindu
rrllp• Hindu Roman Gtholic
Motbn'i Hindu Hindu
Hindu Roman Catholic
""~"'"
UurtJUlfl
~ltmlll Tutu
English, Oriya English, Hindi English
bMrv
Lawyer Business MNC emp}oyee Pharmaceutical
Ftzs/Nri
consultant company txecurive
«~"
Mothn-'s
Lawyer, judge School teacher
tKtMJNIM"
Mllirr schDDI Dr Doon School, StPeter's, St Xavier's,
Tonbridge School, Panchgani Bombay
co~
UK
Uthl University, Corpus Christi B.Com, Universiry St Xavier's,
BA
IUvenshaw College College, Oxford of Bombay Bombay (English)
(English) UK
Philosophy,
Politics &
Economics
Udul University, Nanjin University. Scarred in English, Universir:y of
MA
Ravenshaw College China Universiry of Bombay (Enghsh)
(English) Scanford Bombay
University, USA,
Economics
Ph.D. Stanford Universiry
(in progress)
Publishing, ~itot
Ozrwr(s) University reacher Ediror, Sca.nford Journalist, ediror
of English University Press
TTWWI llbi"'OUU No Yes
No Yes
In school
&g1111 1VniJ11f At the age of l 8 At the age of 19
Ducounwl At the age of IS
~pomy In school Ar the age of 19
MuhiunpJ
No
wntn Yo No No
Tr11nsltuor
Jr."' /Niuzn No
ill11p4ft Yes Yes, Urdu, Handt No Phocogr.lph>
Orhn11m Hindustani Short srory
classical singing London
Nowuws '" Cunack New Ddhi Go.1
Fm1 s•P'ficAnr
prJiliuli.r. ~IIJIIM ~Worlahop /IJustnt,J W«lry
=-----
}{A VI
!"-
Chart 2: Anthologies,
Publishers and A \Yards
-
fOL'U Three
m.11or
Three
stgnific.mt
Other significant
P'~bbshers and
Other pu blzshers and
anthofogzes
antlmlugzcs pztblzshas awards
-
c:
E -;:i
~
,
- ..s,.,
'1.1

..,.: =
> ,_
~
..X
'"' ,.. ......,. ....."
N
.......
~
::;
.."'
.... ~
-;::
:::,
:c
:.I; 5
... - ~
.L:

~
c..
"'':.I - >-..
-... ->. ~

"'
.... ..c. $
;:l c.
.....
c:
·c: :;.e
"§· ~ ~
<i .-;;= ""2
;;
-- ...~ ~ ~
~
J
"- "-
,_
....
0
!:
':) 0
.-;
~

z c
~
;:l
.... z z; z
< i:J :... c.. :..
"'
~. Ezek1cl X X X X Fort'.me Press X X X X X
Pergamon Poets, Ezekiel
issue ofJSAL, Sahitya
Akademi Award
Ramanujan X X X X Pergamon Poets.
OUP, England X X X X
K.Das X X X Orient-Longman, New X X X X X X
Writtng in India,
PEN Philippines award
Dam walla X X X X Sahirya Akademi Award X X X X X

Mehrotra X X X X X New Wnting in India X X

Patel X X X X Ezekiel Publi...:alions X X X X

New Writing in India

~ S.Kumar Tata McGraw-Hill

-
X X X
Sidgwick and Jack~on X X

Poetry India Pme X X X

Panhasarathy X X X' X
Pergamon Poets
U. of Georgia Press X X X X X
1ahapatra X X X X
Poetry Chtcago Award
Greenfield Review Pres~
.
SahitY:l Akademj Award
-},olatkar
~

X Commonwealth Poetry
X X X
Pn:-e, New ~ riting tn
India
-
~awa!la X X X
X X X X X
X

-
Nt"Vr Writingtn India
Chttre X X

deSouz.a X X
 (398)

Three Three C )r"( ,. 51J!,nt}~t.mt Other publrsl-;;;;---

Poets ptthiiShers c.md ctnd
111ll)01" lignijlnznt amholog1e5
,·mthologres pubflshers •lWa~·ds

t:
...,
.,. } i ....,
<IJ
....
"'
.r
;.. ~ "'0
_:.:
::: E. .... "'~
...,
·= ..
...., ;;"'
;:: ~
-;;
..;::;
-c~
c
c.... -......'
-J

-;:;
~
;
-;
'J
::-

:::: -§•
~
-~
>
'"l
L..
u -
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 Index
Abidi, S.Z.H. 370
Absent Travelln; The 28 5
Acharya, Shan ta 281, 289, 381,
382
Adiga, Gopalkrishna I 63, 300
aestheticism 11, 74, 89, 111, I 12,
166
Aftermath 368
Agrarians 23 5
Agarwal, Smita 278, 279, 287
Agrawal, Yogi 366
.
Alden, Daisy 27
Alexander, Meena 34, 37, 46, 47,
48, 50, 51, 88-9, 90, 148, 209,
280, 285, 310-11' 326, 327,
367, 368, 370, 375, 376, 378,
382,383,384,385,395
Ali, Agha Shahid 46, 47, 49, 50,
65-6, 209, 257-74, 276, 278,
280, 285, 286, 292, 295, 296,
330, 363, 369, 375, 377, 378,
379,384,397
alienation I, 5, 9, 19, 30, 58, 63,
79, 80, 91,119,127,156,158,
162, 167, 175,201, 204, 2° 6•
219, 226, 231' 236, 238, 239,
243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 251 ,
252
Alkazi Ibrahim 13, 15, 19, 24
A11ah;bad 15, 23, 30, 4 8 , 189 •
190, 193, 359,360,??0 6
All India Poetry Competm o;
279, 287, 376, 377, 3 , 8
;~ '
1'
382,384,385,387
Ameeruddin, S. 36B
America, American 1 6 7
, , , 8 ' 14'
17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27. 29,
38, 41, 46, SO, 51, 53, 59, 62,
65, 66, 78, 86, I00, 108, 112,
120, 122, 124, 136, 139, 164,
172, 175, 176, 177, 185,187,
198, 205, 207, 219, 220, 221,
225, 228, 229, 230, 235, 243,
251' 258, 259, 263, 273, 311,
317, 355, 356, 357, 359, 361 ,
363,364,365,376
American College (Madurai) 376,
383,386
American poetry 266, 271, 272,
330
Amirthanayagam, Guy 66, 80,
371
Amis, Kingsley I 9, 258
Andhra University 54
Anglican 244
Anklesaria Hanovi 374
Anthology of Commonwealth Vt-ru
19,358
Anthology oflndo-E1zglish Pot'try 32,
33, 62, .63, 69, 366 .
Anthology of Nru' 17Jdian Englzsh
Poetry, An 277, 288, 290, 317,
380 . 83
Anthology of Maratht Ponry ,
163, 172. 181' 360 8
. .
Apo11 matre, GuilJaume 184, 1 5
Arirl 372
Ariosro 230 , 27, 34, 45,
ArnoJd Heinemann 9
53,61.364,365
 404
Art and Po~try Today 41 , 4 5, 367
Atl4ntic Monthly 4, 356
Auden, W.H. 1, 12, 145
Aurobindo 29, 55, 161
Austen, Jane 157
Authors Guild oflndia 373
Avanr-garde 7, 15, 23, 24, 27, 52,
60,82,83, 184,185
Avasia, Jimmy 47, 379
Ayyub, A.S. 359
Baghdadi, Rafique 39, 372
Bahuvachan 376
Bakken, Dick 176
Banmthali Ratrika 362
Bandyopadhyay, Arnab 370
Bandopadhyay, Pranab 37, 45,
365,366,370
Bangladesh 28
Banjopadhyay, Manohar 371
Bantleman Lawrence 2, 17, 19, 26,
32, 45, 63, 64, 278, 358, 359,
362
Baroda 24, 48, 185, 362, 363
Bartholomew, R.L. 2, 12, 14, 16,
45,74,355,356,363,364
Baudelaire, Charles 336
Basant, K.B. 163, 374
Baxter, James 18
Beckett, Samuel 194, 195, 207
Behi, Aditya 381
Belliappa, M. 359
Bengali 6, 19, 28, 37, 168, 234,
358
Benjamin, Abraham 23, 359
B~qu~st 379
Berhampur 38
Berryman, John 224
Bhagat, Dhiren 39, 41, SO, 51
Bhakti 52, 116, 163, 164, 168,
170, 171, 173
Bharucha, Nilufer 386
Bhatia, Sanjiv 377, 379
Bhatnagar, O.P. 237, 370, 371
lt~DE.X
Bhatt, Sujata46, 276 27 8
279
288, 326, 328-9,' 31 5:377, 280,
380, 381' 382, 385, 386 ' 378,
Bhattacharya, Rajlukshm D
378 ee ebee
Bibliography of Indian Writin .
Engluh 44,372 gzn
Blackburn Stuart 275
Blake, William 182, 185
Blunt 23,44,360
Bly, Robert 8, 198
Bombay 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23
24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 34, 381 39:
40, 44, 45, 48, 51) 52, 54, 61,
62,82,84,94,95,101, 109,113,
129, 131, 135, 136, 146, 164,
165, 172, 177, 178, 180, 223,
226, 238, 239, 245, 246, 358,
365,374
Bombay Duck 23, 45, 358
Bombay Hindi 84, 164
Bombay Review 376
Bond, Ruskin 278, 363, 366
Book o[Verse for Children, A 69
Books Abroad 27, 362
Book Review, Th~ 42, 367
Braithwaite, Edward K. 224
Brasch, Charles 25
Brent, P.L. 359
Breton, Andre 185
Brown Critiqut, Th~ 383
Browning, Robert 29, 176
Buckenhan1, Noel 16
Byron, Lord 224, 230
Calcutta 14, 16, 17, 19, 22. 27, ZB,
30, 33, 37' 44, 45, 48, 63, 82 ·
87,148,151,359,361,368
Cambridge 12,51
Camus, Albert 30
carpt di~m 151 , 215
Catholic ], 21, 47, 48, 1OO, 131 '
133, 134, 148, 156, 157, 224,
247
INDEX
Cmtury The 19, 20, 45, 358
Ccvert, David 364
Chakra 355
Chandnabhaga 9,42,45.55-6.68,
84,88,190,236,237,370,371
Changing Tnadih'ons in lndi4n English
Litn-ature 383
Chatterjee, Debjani 279, 281-2,
376,385,386
Chattopadhyay, Shakti 382
Chaudhari, Amit 305-6
Chaudhari, S. 362
Chtlsta 375
Chindhade, Shirish 384
Chine, Dilip 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 22,
23,24,25,29,32,36,43,44,47,
48,49,50,51,59,64,65,66,67,
82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 134,
162,163,164,170-82,183,185,
186,190-1,195,198,227,251,
276,277,283-4,285,292,293,
319, 356, 357, 363, 366, 370,
378,382,384,386,392,397
Choic~ 373
Chopra,~hok 359,360,361
Chaudhary, Malay Roy 19, 358
Ghowdhury, Maya 287
Christian 3, 30, 47, 57, 92, 135,
136,146,195,244,245
Ocaring House 34-6,37,40, 41,
53. 54, 57, 61, 64, 65, 67, 129,
166,224
Colonialism 1, 3, 11, 74, 79, 84,
91,110,111,121,147,178,183,
184. 189, 224. 226. 231, 237,
238, 244, 247, 248, 249. 251,
252,367,368
Commonwealth 26, 226. 369
Commonwealth Literature SS.
226,244
Commonwealth Poetry Prize 34-
5,226,361.373,315~~~
~ /WII t(T,.,_J 21.
360
405 •
Commonw~alth Quartniy 4l, 56,
367,370
confessional 6, 7, 8, 20, 29 • 86 ,
105, 106, 108, 113, 120, 122,
131, 133, 134, 145. 150, 155,
156,157,158,204,236
Contmzporary Inditzn Poary 377
Congress for Cultural Freedom 13,
15,59
Contemporary Indian Verst: An
E~luarion 44,370
Contemporary Indian Poetry in
English 25, 31, 61-2, 69, 75,
77, 79,135,136,364
Conrinuirin in Indian English Poetry
387
Contra 56, 359
Coomaraswamy, Anand 341
Cooper, Darius 39-40,47,48,49,
51,209,278,280
counter culture 7, 23, 27, 185
Crane, David 17
Critie4_l Essays on IntiUzn Writing in
Eng~h 26,361 .
Critical Sp~ctrum: Th~ Poetry ofKelt,
N. DaruwaJ/4 378
Cubist 184
Cuttaek 30, 48, 56, 198, 206, 364,
370,371
Cygnus 41, 370
I>ahake, "asant 285,379
Daniels, Molly 16, 301
Dante 175
naruwalla, K.N. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9,
10 25 28-9,31,33,36,37,38,
41, 4344 45, 47, 48, 49, 50,
51: 55: 59: 61, 62, 63, 64, 65,
66, 67, 68. 69, 70, 71, 72, 74,
75, 76, 71. 78 79-80. 87' 88, 90,
117.119,122-7,128,130,134.
157. 183, 215, 251. 287. 299.
307-8.333.334.362,364.367.
370. 371. 373. 375. 377. 379,
 406
382, 384. 385, 387, 391, 397,
399
Das, Bijay Kumar 372, 383
Das, Deb Kun1ar 2, 17, 18, 26, 62,
357,359,360,362,363
Oas, J.P. 34, 287
Das, Kamala 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12,
13,15, 16, 19-21,24,25,26,28,
31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 40, 43, 45,
47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 62,
63, 64, 66, 68,fi9, 70, 71, 72,
73, 74, 101, 13-14, 117, 119,
126, 131, 134,v(47-55, 156,
159, 161, 236, 277, 278, 299,
308, 31]' 333,' 355, 358, 359,
360, 361, 363, 364, 365, 366,
367, 369, 371, 372, 373, 374,
377, 383, 384, 386, 391, 397,
400
Dasgupta, Mary Ann 70, 368
Dasgupta, Subhoranjan 367
Datta, Amlan 359
Davidar, David 275-6
Dawes, Kwame 384
Dawson, John 244
D'Costa, Bob 371
D'Souza, Charmayne 277, 278,
288,290,317-18,327,377
De, Ira 17
de Souza, Eunice 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 18,
25, 30, 31' 33, 38, 39, 40, 41'
43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 62,
66,67,68,72,75,87, 129,131-
3,134,135,145,146, 12), 156-
8,159, 160,161,194,277,278-
9,280,286,287,298,304,308-
9,326,333,334,375,377,379,
380,385,387,392
D~bonair 42, 56, 58, 364
Delhi, see New Delhi
D~/hj London Po~try Quart~rly 275
Desai, Amita 17, 18
Deshpande, Gauri 26, 28, 31, 32,
33. 43, 45, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,
tt.Iut.x
67,69,70,71,153-4 1-
360, 362, 363 365 , 5), 161
3_85, 393, 398, '400 , 366, 37a:
Dev1, G.N. 219
Oevi, Pria 370
Dharker, Imtiaz 46, 27 S,
276
280, 28 5, 3ll-25, 364 , 2 3;8.
377, 379, 381, 382 , 385 386
6,
Dharwadker, Yinay 276 ' 2
85
. 287, 302, 381, 383, 384 -6,
d1aspora 257,274, 280-l 322
330 ) -3,
Dish a 275, 277, 291
Dialogue 9, 27-8, 45, 55, 63 65
s2,360,361, 363,364 36 5,
Dionysius 22, 166, 167, 359
Disappointed Guests 244
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee 280,
327-8,375 ,377, 383,384,386
387 ,
Dravidian 50, 209, 218, 233
Dryden John 145
Dutt, Madhusudan 234
Dutt, Toru 55, 79
Dutt, Utpal 14
Durkheiin, Emile 348
Dyson, Ketaki Kushari 281
East and West 14, 55, 356
Ekestasis 41, 370
Eliot, T.S. 5, 11, 12, 66, 81, 84,
116, 123, 163, 174, 176,210,
234-5, 245, 261, 262, 284, 35 2
Elphinstone College 22, 39
Emergency 15, 34
Empson, William 12
Encounter 15
Enright, D.J. 18
5
tud: of
Endkss Femalt Hungers: A ry
Kanzala Das 380
epic 8, 12~ 42, 203
Erulkar, Mary 16, ll 1
82
Essays on Nissim Eukiel 3
ETC 37, 45, 56, 270
 408 ~~()

Hm 70,369 bzd~an ~'7~ in English 42

Hindi 3, 6, 48, 84, 119, 164 lnd1an U:tntzng ;11 EnglisJ '363,368
18
Hindu 1, 3, 4, 21, 30, 47, 48, 51, Indian W'riurs Conft;;11 ·26 362.
Indian \Vriting Today ~ 77
58, 84, 92, 110. 117, 119, 121,
lndianizarion 3, 20,4 2 ' ~~ 2
5
51 1
122, 127, 131, 132, 135. 156,
157. ] 95, 201' 205, 206, 208, 121,128,139, 1s 3 1 4 19,
180 160-1,
21),212, 217,2J8,236,25l I

History of J11dian };..nglish Litera- bzdo-A1zglian Literaturt 30

tur~ 44, 372 lndus 275
homosexuality 336, 388 In Their Own Voict 380
Honnalgere, Gopal 47, 48, 49, fnterpid 24, 36)
363, 364, 368, 370, 375, 376, Iowa Writers Workship 328
384 , 37 S,
393
Hopkjns, Gerard Manley 11, 12, Iyengar, K.R. Srinivasa 18, 54 357
29,334 358,368,369,373 , J

Hoskore, Ranjit 285, 287, 288,

290,334-4,378,379,383,385 Jacob, Paul 360, 361, 364
Humanities Review 214, 370 Jain, Pavan Kun1ar 24, 360
Hungryalist poers 19, 358 Jain, Sunita 368, 369, 370, 371
Hyderabad 30, 54, 120, 358 374 '
Hyderabad University 388 Jayakar, 1. 360
jayarzta .A1ahapatra 375
lllustratt:d We~kly 2, 4, 12, 13, 14, Jew 3, 47, 51, 80, 92, 100, 106,
15, 16, 17, 20, 25, 31, 33, 39, 117,121
42,44,50,56,75, 118,355,356, Jha, Ran1a 214
362,363,365,367,369 Jha, Vinay 25
Imprint 19,44,58,357,371 Jhabvala, Rurh Prawcr 17
Inamdar, F.A. 378 Jones, Le l1.oi 83
Indian Book Chronicle 41 Joshi, lt'lchna 287, 288, 3 0
India Horiwns 87, 363 Josson, unl< 288, 381, 382
Indian Literary Review 9, 42, 56, }ounzal ojCo1111nonwr.a!Jh litnaturr
145,170,368,373,374 88
indian Literature 19, 45,356,362, journtJl of!nditlll \'(/riting in English
373 34,365
Indian Poetry in E,zglish (Owivedi) journal of 1 iurnt't~re and Antluttcs
69,370 44,371,372.~74 86
Indian Poetry in English: l 947-· Journal ofPoetry ~ociety 287,
4
1972 32,42,63,68,69,364 Journtli ofSouth Asianl iteraturt '
Indian Poetry in English: A Critical 100,287,367,368
AsStssment 44, 371 Joyce, Jatne 342, 35 2 17 18-
Indian Poerry in English 1oday 32, Jussawalla Adil 2, 9. 15 3 2, 6 i
63,69,365 19, 22, 23, 24, 25. ~~· 41 44, t

Indian Revitw ofBooks 380 33, 34, 35, 38, 39. 59J 61 62 J

Indian ~rse 45, 56, 365 47, 48, 49. so, 51. ! ,
I 'l f;X
. . 65, G 67. 68, 70, 71,
I
78. 109, 11 7, 224, 226, 231,
AJ -5.) 275, 277, 278, 293,
1 • 356, 358, 366, 367, 375,
37. 9 ,.97
Kabraji, Freedotn 278
K.C. College 38 39
Kafka, Franz 83, 123
Kaiser-e-Hind 373
Kalia l\~amta 28, 31, 62, 63, 155,
161,278-79,285,321,362,398
Ka11uzdhenu 362, 369
Kannada 6, 15, 21, 48, 84, 116,
163
Kannan, Lakshmi 376, 396
Karnani, Cheran 366
Karnarak University 26, 54, 361
Kashmir 258, 260, 261, 273
Karrak, K.D. 2, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, Kumar, Shiv 2, 6, 8, 28, 29-30,
25, 31) 32, 33, 34, 43, 45, 47,
48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 62, 63, 65,
66, 75, 106-8, 356, 358, 360,
361,363,366,369,373,395
Katrak, Usha 363
Kaul, H.K. 258, 274, 287, 369,
373, 376, 379, 380, 382, 383,
384,386,387
Kaur, Iqbal 383
Kavi (Kavi-India) 9, 34, 38, 39, 40, Lal, P. 2, 4, 6, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
44, 56,68,164-5,367,369
Kavira'93 380
Kavya Bharati 376, 383, 386
Kea~,John 111 , 228,241
Kenda 48,148,366,371,37 ,3 2 73
Krynou 41,56,58,372
279
Khair, Tabish 276, 277, 278 , 8'
28 347
285,286,287,288, 9, - ' Lall, E.N. 372
82 385
376,378,379,380,3 ,
Khakhar, Bh upen 365~ 367' 369,
Khare, Randhtr 47' ,
384,387 d 288
Kharmawphland, Desmon
Kher, lnder 367
409
King, Bruce 375 378
Kohli, Dcvindra' 26, 36l 366
373.374 ' ,
Kohli, Surcsh 28, 42, 63, 362, 363 ,
368,369
Kolatkar, Arun 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, lS,
16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 31' 32,
33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 47, 49, 51,
55, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70,
71, 72, 79. 80, 82, 83, 84, 87,
90, 162-70, 180, 181 , 182, 183,
184, 233, 236, 251, 252, 277,
279, 279-282, 283, 292, 356,
367,401
Kostka, Ivan 40, 367
Kruti 360
Kulkarni, Mangesh 285, 379
Kulshrestha, Chirantan 68
Kumar, K.S. 360
32, 36, 37, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,
63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 80,
117,119,120-2,126,128,130,
134, 209, 223, 236, 278, 287,
358, 362, 363, 365, 367, 369,
372, 374, 375, 377, 378, 382,
386,387,395.397
Laforgue, Jules 210, 211
Lahore 48
19,20,25,26,27,28,29,30-1,
33 44-5,47,48,49,50,51,52.
53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63. 65.
68, 69, 70. 71, 73, 74, 75,111,
Ill 215, 315, 356, 357. 359,
360: 36L 363, 365, 368, 369,
390,401
Lata, K. Sri 387 163
Lautreamont 5,
Lawrence, o.H. 29
. FR 68
LeaVlS, . ,' 190
Legouis, P1erre
410
lift and L~ttm 12
Linn Rn~inu 384
Liurary'Criurion 21, 81, 85,203,
356,357
Literary Halfy~arly 19, 231, 357
Litn-arur~ East and ~st 3 59
Liurary E1zdeavour, The 374
Litterit 366
Living Jndia1z-English Poets 376
London 24, 92, 185, 223, 225,
226,239,247,355,359
London Magazint 29, 61, 385
Longman's Miscel!dny, see Miscel!dny
(Longman's)
Lorca, see Garcia Lorca, Federico
Loquations (Mumbai) 287
LoweU, Robert 20
Lyric 369
~1acmiUan 31, 36, 44, 61, 135,
364
Madras 233, 238, 239, 241, 243,
363
Mahajan, Ashok 45, 365, 370
Mahaparra, Jayanta 2, 3, 4, 6, 7,
8,9,28,29,30,33,34,36,37,
38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48,
49, so, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68,
70,71,72,80,82,84,85-9,90,
134,162,163,183-4,194-208,
215, 227, 252, 253, 274, 276,
277, 284, 286, 287' 292, 293,
311, 319, 344, 345, 346, 363,
364, 365, 366, 367' 368, 369,
370-1,371,372,375,395
Mahapatra, Laxmi Narayan 363
Mahapatra, Sitakant 288, 370
Majumdar, Gayatri 290, 383
~~ay~am 5,20,49,336,383
Malik, Keshav 2, 13, 14, 17, 28,
44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 58, 59,
63,287,355,357,362,363,364,
367,371,373,375,384,386
Makhija, Anju 382, 383, 386
It~ DE
Mandelstam, '0 sip 334 }
Mandy, C.R. 12 13 14
29, 25, 355 , , · 16, 17
Mao 246
Ivfararhi 6, 7, 1S, 23 , 25 ~
64, 83, 84, 163 170 ll
3
), 39
173, 175, 1s1: 280: 28 ~n. j,
285, 334, 356, 3GO 366• 84
382, 384 , , 3 8,
Mardheker, B.S. 25 83 163
2
Marvell, Andrew 240, 42 • 173
Marx, Karl 244, 248
McCord, ~oward 24, 3G4
McCutchton, David 17 18 26
362 , ' ,
McEuen, Rod 27
Measure 3, 364
lvfehrotra, Arvind Krishna 2, 4, 6,
7, 15, 23-4, 25, 29, 31, 32, 34,
35, 36, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 58,
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70,
7l, 72, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81,
82, 84-5, 90, 162, 182,183-95,
227, 236, 237, 251, 253, 274,
278, 285, 292, 293, 294, 304,
306, 309, 3 i 0, 329, 336, 359.
360, 363, 364, 365, 367, 371,
372, 373, 377, 378, 379, 380,
382, 386, 387, 391 395, 399
J
Mehrotra, Kev.,ral Krishna 189
Menzes, Armando ll
28 8
Merchant, Hoshang 287, '
384
342, 376, 377, 378, 383, •
386,387
lvterill, James 272
MiUer, Henry 22
Minimax 365
Mirchandani~ Anjan 386
A1irror 358
Mirz.a, Balden 362 , 12
Miscellany (Lo~gmans) 188 380
Misra, PrabhanJan ~· ; ,365
Misra, Soubhagya Kum 232, 358
22 44
lvlithibhai eon~ • '
 INDEX
~fitrd,Aroop 39, 40, 48,287,367,
372,386
.ft1od~rn l11dian Poury in English
(King) 281, 373
(Lll) 31,48,51,57,62,69,73,
215,361
(Paniker) 376
J\1otkm T"nds in Indo-Anglian Poetry
42
modernist 5, 13, 15, 41, 64, 77,
78,81,88,95, 163,173,181-2,
183, 184, 185, 190, 194, 213,
227,248,252
Mahaney, Niranjan 37-8, 289,
366,368,381
Mokashi- Punekar S. 381
Mookerjee, Romen 14, 16
Moraes, Dom 2, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16,
19, 20, 32, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,
51, 62, 63, 64, 65, 74-5, 76,
108-1,112,275,276,277,278,
284,285,287,293,295,296-7,
306, 333, 337, 375, 377, 379,
382,386,398
Mukherjee, Meenakshi 25, 365,
368
l\1ukherjee, Sujit 25
Mukhopadhyay, Durgadas 365
Muslim 4, 47, 92, 100, 119, 126,
135, 136, 258, 260, 262, 263,
264, 273, 298, 299, 321' 322 ,
347
Mysore 30, 48, 54, 220,350, 357,
370
Nabar, Vrinda 366, 381' 386
Nabokov, Vladimir 84
Nahal, Chaman 370
Naidu, Sarojini 55
Naik, M.K. 26, 44, 50, 68 , 361 ,
372,373
Naipaul, V.S. 64
Nair, Ambik.a 385 381
. K•R· Ramachandra
Na1r,
411
Nair, Rukmini Bhaya 276, 287,
288,326,377,378,386,387
Nambisan, Yijay 276, 278, 285,
287,288,290,340-1,376,379
386 '
Namjoshi, Suniti 342-43, 376
Nandy, Pritish 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 24, 26-
8,29,30,31,32,33,34,37,42,
45, 47, 48: 50, 51, 53, 54, 59,
62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70,
71, 82, 86, 87, 128, 162, 360,
361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366,
367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 373,
380,392,396,399
Narasimhaiah, C.D. 54
Nation, Tht 187
nationalism 1, 11, 13, 30, 52, 59,
81,92, 128,147,157.178,234,
237, 239, 257, 284, 289, 293,
296
Naxalite 27
Nazareth, H.O. 25, 36, 43, 47, 48,
49, 66, 209, 223-6, 359, 373,
379,398
Neruda, Pablo 5, 83, 307-8
New Delhi 12, 13, 16, 19, 24, 30,
44, 45, 48, 63, 235) 243, 359,
363 E .h
New Dimtnsions of Indo- ng1ts
Potny 42,307-8,370
Ntw Horizons 69
New Leturs 235, 243, 372.
Ntw Perspectives on Indian Lttuaturt
in English 383
M Quest 15, 42, 368
;:; lft1icts of tht Commonwealth
26, 361 . 1 d' 32 34 44,
New Writings m Jn ta , •
64,67, 70,36639,40--1,44,53,
Newgroun~l ~~, 129 145, 363
s4, 58, ·b. , 2s8 375. 381
Rom '
Ngangom, 'd 382
Nicholls, Davl 37L 382
N·gt·
I I, Donald
 412
Nimrod 376
NiN /NiUzn Womt71 Poas:An Anthology
278,385
Poe-ts 42
Niranjana, Jejanwini 365, 368
O 'DonneJJ, Margaret 19, 358
Only Conn~ct 66, 37 1
Opinion 19, 29, 32, 33, 43, 45, 56,
58,59, 357,358, 372, 373
Opinion Liurary Quarurly 9, 32-
3,45,166,366
Orbit 41, 372
Orient Longman 31
Orimt &vi~ and Litmzry Digm
14, 251
Orissa 8, 28, 30, 44, 45, 63, 201,
203
Oriya 6, 7,23,28,49,84, 163
Orlovsky, Peter 19, 22
Omuzni4 journal ofEnglish Studks
358,368
Osmania University 54-5, 386
O'Sullivan, Vincent 374
OxfimJ Anthology ofMolkrn Indian Patnaik, H.P.P. 365
Ponry, The 285, 381
Oxford India AntholtJgy of Tw~lv~ Peeradina, Saleem 5, 7, 25, 30, 31,
Motln-n lntli4n Poets Th~ 273,
2n,278,293,379
Oxford University Press 9, 10, 21,
34,36-7,43,44,45,46,50,53,
54,61,64,65,67,233,244,359,
363,367,368,369
p~ 13, 15,20,21,39, 77,146,
355,358
Padhi, Bibhu 28, 46, 47, 48, 49,
50.375.396
Pllfellllt ofPonns, .A 69
Pan~ Gauri 25,363,364
Paranjpe, Makarand 276, 287,
289-90, 317, 376. 378, 379,
380,381,382,383,386,388
~ 1,3,S,32.47,51,116, 117,
126, 136. 247
Partition 246
Parthasarathy, R. 2 4 8
17, 18, 19, 22, 23,2 '10, .
3]' 33, 36, 37' 38 3~· 2S. 26
1
47, 48, so, SI ss' 62, 43,
6- ' J 63
,, 66, 67, 68, 69, 7o' 71 64.
78-8 t,s2,84,ss 87 s8 89. ~
109, 1 17, 13 1, i 48 ' 18 •
8
2 19, ~31 -43, -2Sl:~2 · ~90
\l~s, 2~2, ~~ ~8,' 3Ss 35
360, 363, 367, 368 369, 3 9
376, 380,397, 400 2J ,
Pard, Gieve 2, 6, I 5, 20, 22
23
24, 25, 31 , 32, 34, 35, 36: 38
39--40, 44, 47, 49, so, 51, 59,61
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 69
70, 71 , 72, 73, 109, 113, iii
19, 275, 278, 303-5, 376, 378
379,390, 393,400
Patel, Tara 278, 279, 288, 290
315-16
Pater, Walter 74
Patnaik, Deba 7, 28, 30, 44, 46, 47,
48,50, 63,65,66,82,86,398
Paz, Octavia 18 5
33, 36, 39, 40, 4 1, 43, 44, 47,
48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 61 ' 62, 63,
66, 67, 71 , 75, 76, 77, 78, 87,
I 09, 129, 135-40, 146, 194,
257,277, 280,298-9,363,3~,
370,376,379, 394,402
Pmguin Modnn Pomy 19
Pmguin Nnu Writing in InJill 383
P~rgamon Po~try 9: Po~try frt~m
lnJia 26,62
Perlongo, Robert 17, 35 7
Periplus 380
Perry, J.O. 372~ 379 . r_..J;~J.
Pmp«tiws on InJimt Pomy 1n 01&-'
44,68
Picador 391
Plath, Sylvia 21, 156
Pomu from Jndilz 261
 ,,.,o£X
/'tid (Madras) 357 413
~ 38,41.45, 56,366 Prasad, H.M. 372
Poetry (Chicago) 16, 65, 219, 357
/WI'1 &st anti ~st 360 ~~ 37~.m
/+JdTY.from Bomblly 39 ~ 46.275,293,3)3
~-TJS(J"" 24
/+JdTYfntlilz 9, 20, 25, 26, 28, 31,
44 62,64,67,173,175,22,287 Prob;lill 365
JWtr; India: Emnging voicn 379 Punjabi 25, 51, 113
p.my /ntiill: ltOicn .from Within Puri, Rablw: 16, 33, 64,355, 361,
384 364,367,369,398
p.my JNiill: UJicn in th~ Mlllting AuhJNI".iMi 2S
376
nme
,.,., /nJill: voicn in 383 ~~ 362
/Wtry JnJUz: WJim ofMibiJ ~ Quai Moin 38S
387 Qwms~ 201
IWtry /Nlill: Kicn tifSilma 386 Q!et 2, Is-16, 28, 22. 28, 31, 33,
JWtry of]11Jil11tll MllhllJNl1111, 17. 39,«. "· sa. S9, 61, 64, 1s,
(Du) 383 "· 79. 1&2. 2&1, 356, 364
lwtty of l•J"""'
{Prasad) 374
MIIIMJNitrW, 1N
!+Jmy t(Klmuzl. Dtu, 1Jre 511
PtJmy tiftiN y..,"' 287
Poetry Society ofIndia ~••c
373.374,376
PMry Tnw 363
, . , RniMu 318
1\Hesis 287, 319
Poona 48,13
Porter, Perer
post-coloaill
311,342,
Pme.J../ill
 380 Sahoo, Bijoy 369
287. 288, 294, 342, St. Xavier's, Bombay
Je-4. ... 378, 379, 383, 384, 32, 38, 39,
40,48,379,380
,.,, 388 St. Xavier's, Calcutta 14
. a.Ju 373 Saints, s~ Bhakti ,44-5.49
Jtmn,Jai 17 Saklatvala, Berman 278
Rau.. A.V. Rajeswara 16,256 S~~~ani, Mukta, 279, 3!8-! 9,
am. Dayal 291
Ra~ Amirava 366,370, 381 Silm~~ltsa 24
RaJ; Lila 17 Sandten, Cecile 329, 387
RaJ; Sluee1a 370 Sanskrit 6, 28, 52, 80, 103, 218
Rqaprol, Srinivas 2, 12, 14, 16, Sarang, Vilas 46, 277, 292, 376
19,26,47,49,50,112,294,356, Secundcrabad 14
361,364,366,381,389 Sen, Pradip 17, 18
~ill~l.itnrztrwe Sen, Sudeep 280, 287, 288, 378,
379, 380, 381, 383, 384. 385•
. ,lrulia Enpsh PHil 380 386
Rqc. P.S. 175 Sergeant, Howard 25, 62, 360,
Rep.S. 360 361
Rich, Adrienne 321 Seth, Vtkram 2, 4, 43, 44, 46, 49,
IUchariya, Sanjeev 281 50, 51, 209, 226-30, 372, 373,
Rilb, Rainer Maria 12, 83, 190 396
iUI&baud,)Uthur 5,83,153,163, Sethi, N.K. 17
180 Shabt/4 15, 356
~.Sanatn 2,4,34,38,39, Shahanc, V.A 68, 358, 370
40,44,.7,48,50,66,109,129- SharatChandra, G.S. 2, 6, 18, 19,
31,13S.l45,194,277,298,367, 26, 28, 36, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48,
368,39S,398 49, 50, 61, 65, 66, 68, 72, 148,
a.e, Raul D' Gama 40, 41, 47, 209, 219-23, 236, 361, 362,
129~369
363, 365, 366, 369, 371, 375,
lap; M.N. 12, 13. 59, 102 380,381,395
..,_.., 362 Sharma, T.R. 382
275, 277, 286, 287. 288, Sheikh, Gulam 362
-~553 SMIIIIIUI tilt Rtli"' Tht 364
Sheppard. CA 69
Shcuy, Manohar 2, 5., 7, 8, 9. 39•
68
41. "· 47. "· 49, so. 66. 2•
17, 129. te-5. 146, 251, 27 ,
171. ~ 371. 372. 376, 383,
Shtfdrr
- 1'''·aJ.Minb
' " 278,285. 287
4
•
1
.,, 290. 312. 313- ,
J..a711fL J1'- 377, 387
171
 INDEX

Shulman, David 380 Surendran C P. 415

Siddharrh CoJlege 38, 39, 365 381, 3s4, .3.86 276, 292, 337-4o,
Silgardo, tvleJanie 3, 7. B. 39. 40 Swaminathan J
4L 44, 4 7, SL 66, 129, 13I: s .
wammathan v -•
'. 359
133-4 , 135, 145, 155, 158-61, S , nAUpana 386
w~ny, Jane 374
194, 278. 369, 371, 372. 374 Swtft, Jonathan 137
396, 398 J
Syed, lshrat 385
Sindhi 284. 385, 386
Singh, Brijraj 237 Tagore 55
Singh, Man Mohan 34, 3 73 Tajfel, Henri 244
Singh, R.K. 380
Tale oJ. an Ankkt: An Epic of South
Sinha, Shampa 381 lndra, The 285 380
Sio, Kewlian 17 Ta/kin(f
o
Porms ·· conversation
' "th
Sitesh, Arun 381 Potts 304, 387 wz
Sivaramakrishna, M. 68, 145 Tamil 6, 15, 21, 22, 25, 48, 79
Skykzrk 42, 56, 286, 362, 376 80, 81, 84, 115, ll6, 131, 210:
Social Wtlfore 12 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237,
Socrates 92 ?
2 8,241,243,251,358,361
Soliloquy 365 Tarrul~adu 48,238,240
South and "West 36 5 Tandon,\nvek 289, 382
South India 22, 116, 148, 211, Tantric 33, 108
219,220,233 Taranath, R. 359
Spark 41, 266 Tata McGraw Hill 32, 65, 365
Spender, Stephen 356 Telegraph 87
Srinivas, Krishna 370 Telegu 49
Srivastava, Saryendra 281 Ten Indian Writm in lntnvUUI 378
Statements 367 Ten Twm!Uth Cmtury Indian Pom
Steele, Timothy 229 36,43,44,53,55,64-5,67,
Steiner, George 84 69,79,367
Stevens, Wallace 136, 194, 207, Tm yrars of Quest 70, 232. 251
242,337 Trnor 42, 370
Strangertime 42, 65, 69, 368 Thayil, Jeet 276, 280, 285, 288,
290,334-5,341,344,379,383,
Student World, The 13
Studies in Indian Poetry in English 384,385,386,387
Thomas, Dylan 12, Ill, 185. 244
237,371 Thought 4, 13, 14, 15,45,58,59,
Sunday Observer, The 387
Sudeep Sen: A Bio-Bibliographica/ 74,355,356
Thr~~ Indian Po~ts 284, 30 I, 378
Source Book 384
Tim~s ofJntiill 87
surreal, surrealism 5, 7, 8, 23, 35,
Tim~s Wttlt/y 75-6
82, 85, 86, 162, 163, 164, 165, 10~0 24,56,360
166, 167, 169, 170, 171, 173, Traherne, Thomas 244
176, 178, 180, 182, 184, 185, translations 6, 23, 24, 25, 28, 32,
186, 187, 188, 189. 19L 192, 35,49,116,285,299,310,378
364
 INDEX
416 Wadia, Sophia 15, 20, 3SS
Tsunde, Tenl.in 386 Walcott, Derek 224
Tukaram 23. 24, 25, 163, 164, Walsh, Willi am 244
17L 361, 378, 382 Warrier, Go pi 275, 386
TUJnJty JnJitln Poems 377 \Vasafiri 281, 383
Two Dtclllin ofIndiAn Pottry 2, 42, Waugh, Evelyn 245
43,55,66,69,74,370 Weisbrot, Daniel 381
Whitman, Walt 176, 186
Ulka Poetry Prize 25, 359 Wildhorse Press 19, 372
United Writers 37, 45, 367 Williams, H.M. 30, 362
University of Bombay 31, 38, 40,
Williams, William Carlos 17, 136,
41,49,50,5~, 129,364 140,176,198,237,306
University of Calcutta 50
University oflowa 175, 176, 363, Wilson College 12
Wordsworth, William 244
366,367,369
University ofLeeds 219, 232, 357, Wright, James 8
Writers in East- wtst Encounttr 80
358 Writers Workshop 2, 16, 17-18,
University of Poona 55
Urdu 6, 28, 66,259,261, 265, 270~ 19, 20, 21' 22, 23, 26, 27, 28,
284,285,378 33, 34, 38, 40, 45, 52, 61, 63,
64-5, 66, 72, 74, 96, 100, 153,
Vagartha 56, 365 288,291,342,357,359
Valery, Paul 190
Vanita, Ruth 276, 312, 381 Yaravintelimath, C.K. 383
Varma, Monika 16, 17, 18, 153, Yeats, William Butler 11, 95, 116,
161, 358, 359, 362, 363, 364 228
365 , Yogabhrastra: A Tmvrist oftht Spirit
Vaughan, Henry 244 285,379
Vaz.irani, Reetika 281 Young Commonwealth Potts 26, 359
Vedic hymns 25, 103 Young Po~ts ofindia 364
Vietnam 27 Youth Tim~s 45, 364
Viking/Penguin
~0
275 , 276-7, 291 , Yuyutsu R.D. 373

Voice ofthe Indian Poets 366 Zen 48,102,105,220,364

Volume 39, 56, 366 Zide, 1\rlene 380
Vorttx 45 Zoroastnian 244
Vrischilt 24, 185, 362, 363
,