Mawlai by Anjum Hasan

Born in Meghalaya in 1972, Anjum Hasan is a noted writer, critic, editor and poet. Although
she identifies deeply with the North-Eastern culture and often writes of her childhood spent
there, she currently resides in Bangalore. In her poems, Hasan is both an observer and
inhabitant, an insider and an outsider.

Her series of deeply attentive yet uninterrupted thoughts trace the landscapes which surround
her, taking centre stage in her poems. The lyrical expression of the ordinary finds a way into
her work, consuming it deeply. In her work, Hasan seems to rescue the routinised landscape
of everyday life, often romanticising them, providing solace even in familiar boredom. There
is epic in the ordinary in her poems, forging shared experiences and connections with the
characters who dance through her verse without having met them.

The poem is in a five-line section, all of which are skillfully intertwined through their
structural and thematic intricacies with imagery, vivid descriptions, and thematic elements,
which creates a strong sense of place and atmosphere, allowing readers to visualise the scenes
and experiences associated with Mawlai. The poem opens with a description of a bus journey,
which was part of the poet's routine every day for about seventeen years. The picture of the
passing scenery-"waxy red flower", mauve beef", "shiny strips of tobacco", and "rough
golden clapboard shops" paints vivid imagery, transporting you to the bus ride which passes
through Mawlai.

Although written in free verse, the utilisation of consonance and alliteration in phrases like
'waxy red flowers', brilliant white napkins and mauve beef" creates a flowing and harmonious
sound pattern. There is also repetition of the phrase 'passing through' at the beginning and at
the end of the first stanza, which also caters to the rhythmic and flowing quality of the poem
that mirrors the repetitive nature of the bus journey itself, reinforcing the idea of the speaker's
detachment from Mawlai. The phrase 'the passage of time' also serves as a metaphor for the
fleeting nature of life experiences, adding a thematic element to the poem. In contrast, the
passing scenery reflects the impermanence of moments.

The second stanza differs in tone from the first stanza. While the poet builds the image of
Mawlai in the first stanza in the second stanza, the poet introduces the sense of nostalgia by
shifting the sound pattern from vivid sounds in the first stanza to a more mellow sound. The
poet uses phrases like "sunlit drawings" and "places that grow sad," which evoke a sense of
reflection and memory.

The "hand-painted signs" and "fleeting cherry blossoms" become symbols of fleeting
memories, which reflects the inevitability of forgetting the details of Mawlai as time passes.
'The graveyard with the fence weighed down with roses' becomes a metaphor for the fleeting
nature of life. There is a sense of introspection and reflection in the second stanza, which
contemplates the memories of Mawlai and the sense of loss associated with the passage of
time. The use of phrases like "We'll keep quiet then and try to ignore that sense which is not
pain but has pain's cloudiness" suggests a deeper, contemplative style. The imagery of maize,
eggs, and hand-painted signs conveys a sense of nostalgia and the passage of time.
The poet adeptly uses enjambment to create a heightened sensory experience; for example,
the first three lines of the poem- "For seventeen years we passed through Mawlai in a bus –
saw waxy red flowers in the pomegranate trees and a man, pegging brilliant white napkins on
a clothesline against the wind." It mimics the continuous movement of the bus journey,
immersing the readers completely into the sights, sounds and imagery of Mawlai, much like a
passenger on the bus taking in the passing landscape.

In the poem "Mawlai," there's a continuous shift between the tones of nostalgia and subtle
undertones of regret, both of which are intertwined with vivid imagery. The nostalgic tone
extends not only to Mawlai itself but also to the route that compels the poet to pass through
Mawlai repeatedly. There's a palpable sense of longing for the place that has been a part of
the poet's life for the past seventeen years. However, this nostalgia is tinged with a subtle
undertone of regret. This regret stems from the realisation that Mawlai was never truly
experienced as a real place by the poet. Instead, it remained a mere backdrop to her journeys
to other destinations. Mawlai, for the poet, existed primarily as a transient experience rather
than a fully inhabited place. Despite passing by the same houses with their laundry hanging
out year after year, it never became more than a fleeting blur through the bus window.

Toward the end of the poem, there is a sense of yearning that the poet wants to convey to
someone that they know the place, but they also recognise the limitations of their knowledge.
There's a feeling of something slipping away, and this sense is described as having "pain's
cloudiness and its regret." The poet conveys that the true essence of Mawlai would only
become apparent if they were to return to it someday. At that moment, the regret would
intensify, and they would wish they had taken the time to understand and appreciate this place
during their many crossings. Mawlai, once regarded as an in-between space, would then be
seen in a different light.

The poem captures this complex interplay of nostalgia and regret, highlighting the human
tendency to overlook the significance of places and moments until they become memories. It
is a reflection on the transient nature of life experiences and the bittersweet feeling of
realising the value of something only when it is no longer accessible. At the same time, there
is warmth in her poem, where Mawlai isn't just some town, and people aren't just simply
quaint; instead, it makes the reader feel like they are part of the experience, like they are
growing on the roof of the town.