My country is rough silk
My country is smooth spice
My country is black silver
My country is blue ice
My country is lotus temple
My country is golden mosque
My country is brick church
My country is glass synagogue
My country is tame elephant
My country is hungry tiger
My country is jumping monkey
My country is scuttling spider
My country is scented flower
My country is smelly dung
My country is ahimsa
My country is loaded gun
My country is
every manifestation
between a fiery red chili pepper
and your tongue
a peacock dancing against the setting
sun
Analysis:
The poem “Where I Come From” by Shikha Malaviya effectively uses anaphoras and juxtapositions to create this image of India as a multi-dimensional country with many different philosophies and societies. Malaviya uses multiple iterations of a single line usually following the same basic structure: “My country is…”. All of the lines contradict whichever line came before it. The message behind this poem is that philosophically, India is very all-encompassing, to the point where, to the human mind, it may seem contradictory and unfathomable. Malaviya choosing to title this poem “Where I come from” asserts her own connection to this holistic, multi-faceted holon that she describes, representing that India encompasses all of these heavily metaphorical ideas not just in theory but in faith. Because of how heavily India’s culture and society are connected to Hinduism (I use Hinduism as an umbrella term), I believe that on a both practical and abstract level, this can be connected to the larger cultural theme of dharma. Not only are there physical references to dharma in the poem, such as “ahimsa” and “lotus temple”, many ideas of Hinduism focus on the illusion or impermanence of perceived separation, nondualism, and a Universal Form (atman), which I believe connects to this idea of India being multi-faceted yet unified.
Where Do All the Frogs Go? by Moumita Alam
The midnight moanings,
the creak creak of an old rusty
wooden cot,
and the croakings of the he-frogs for the
she-frogs -
We have lost all in our jobless pursuit
and greed.
The empty stomachs are listless to the
early morning's pleasure now
The cot has lost its skeleton
The frogs are all dead
The rains are breeding pesticides
In a basti of a megacity
Still, the door is wide open
Zamila's tired eyes are drooping
No customer is visiting these days
Her mother is turning her eyes away from the sky
A patch of dark cloud is hovering in her bosom.
Analysis:
The poem “Where Do All the Frogs Go?” by Moumita Alam describes the destruction of nature in the human pursuit of materialistic stability and progress. This is exemplified in a story of a poor shopkeeper receiving no customers interspersed with imagery of dead frogs and pesticides. The theme of this poem is that in humanity’s relentless pursuit of external things, they have destroyed everything around them. Not only do many Dharmic religions condemn destruction to this degree (seeing all living things as equal, hence ahimsa), they also condemn pursuit of a desire. Hinduism in particular believes that desire implies separation, which goes against the idea of atman and being one with the universe or “true self”.
Mediterranean by Sudeep Sen
I
A bright red boat
Yellow capsicums
Blue fishing nets
Ochre fort walls
II
Sahar’s silk blouse
gold and sheer
Her dark black
kohl-lined lashes
II
A street child’s
brown fists
holding the rainbow
in his small grasp
IV
My lost memory
white and frozen
now melts color
ready to refract
Analysis:
The poem “Mediterranean” by Sudeep Sen likens various objects or appendages to colors, such as in the lines “Yellow capsicums” or “brown fists”. The statements of different colors seen in typical Indian life end at the line “now melts colour”, signaling the blurring or synthesis of the elements that make India India. This is similar to Malaviya’s idea of India encompassing a greater whole of multiple different things, in that the larger message here is India or Indian culture being multi-dimensional. These observations play into the larger cultural theme of Hinduism or dharma because Hinduism essentially calls for the spiritual union between different parts, as seen in the Bhagavad Gita when Krishna tells Arjuna that God is in everything, encompassing the true form (swarupa) of every subject and object.
The Morning After the Festival by Tanya Mendosa
The temple lies along the river—
six stone pillars lifting it
above fields of frosted vegetables.
It is the morning after the festival.
In the leaping light, the water
floats between the pillars,
glimmering, still as polished floor.
On it lays a form wrapped in grey,
looking as if he is floating on water.
He floats in his dreams, for he is
the singer brought from afar.
He is reliving last night—
music flowing into the river with his voice,
river’s light carrying it up to the moon,
its notes scattered among the stars.
The light is stronger now. It washes over
the sleeping figure in the temple,
as if the river had overflowed.
On the bank, mongrel dogs feed
on remnants of the feast.
An old woman with a broom
starts to sweep away the debris
of fallen leaves, withered garlands,
paper and tinsel, and dreams.
The river will accept it all
and carry it all away
because the music was so good.
Analysis:
The poem “The Morning After the Festival” by Tanya Mendonsa explores a subject reminiscing on a festival that had just passed. The calm morning contrasts imagery of lively people and music as the subject recollects the sights and sounds of the festival. Imagery of “withered garlands” and “debris” represents the impermanence of such lively events. I believe that the larger theme or message here is that Indian culture and life experiences a blend of quiet, contemplative moments with larger community events. I can see this in my day-to-day life in my Indian-American household; one day, we are at a loud diwali celebration. The next, we are quietly praying in the temple. This is why I can make a cultural connection between this poem and Hinduism (particularly, the society surrounding Hinduism). Philosophically, Hinduism emphasizes nuance. On a practical level, because Hinduism is so connected to the society of India and coming from a South Asian ethnicity, it calls for both “loud” communal events and “quiet” contemplative moments.
Engraving of a Bison on Stone by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
The land resists
Because it cannot be
Tempted, or broken
In a chamber. It records,
By carefully shuffling the leaves,
The passage of each storm, rain
And drought. The land yields,
In places, deliberately,
Having learnt warfare from the armies
It fed. The land is of one
Piece and hasn't forgotten
Old miracles: the engraving of a bison
On stone, for instance. The land
Turns up like an unexpected
Visitor and gives refuge, it cannot be
Locked, or put away. The land
Cannot sign its name
It cannot die
Because it cannot be buried
It understands the language
It speaks in dialect.
Analysis:
The poem “Engraving of a Bison on Stone” by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra explores the relationship between the land and the people who inhabit it. People are always taking resources from the land, however, it can never be rendered obsolete or die. Mehrotra uses imagery of leaves, storm, and drought to personify the land as a learning, responsive being, giving it a sense of autonomy, approval, or empowerment. The larger message here is that the land has been here before us and it will be here after us, such as the titular engraving of a bison on stone (even when faced with natural forces such as erosion, it would take a very long time for the bison to fade away). This primordial atmosphere reflects many of the sentiments held in Hinduism. For example, the sound “aum” or “om” is seen as the ultimate sound of the universe, first to appear in the existence of this form of the universe, and resonant all throughout nature for those intuitive enough to hear it. Similar to this poem, this in a way calls for an acknowledgement of or return to nature. Chanting “om” is a way to clear the perceived separation between oneself and the atman or source.
Figurative Language:
The biggest instance of figurative language throughout these poems is the use of imagery, particularly in relation to color. This is most extensively seen in the poem "Mediterranean", where different objects or places are vividly described through the use of color. The use of color is also seen in the poem "Where I Come From". Imagery is also used in the poems "Where Do All the Frogs Go?" and "The Morning After the Festival", particularly in lines such as "the creak creak of an old rusty / wooden cot" or "the temple lies along the river / six stone pillars lifting it".
One additional instance of figurative language I have seen across the board is personification. This is seen most extensively in "Engraving of a Bison on Stone", where lines such as "the land is of one / piece and hasn't forgotten" depict nature & Earth as conscious and having memory. This is seen to different extents in some of the other poems, such as "The Morning After the Festival", where the language used in the lines "music flowing into the river with his voice / river's light carrying it up to the moon" characterizes the river as taking conscious actions.
Broader Literary Tradition:
A similarity I noticed across all of the poems is use of figurative, "fuzzy" language to convey feelings rather than concrete ideas. As someone who grew up culturally Hindu, I believe that this connects to the socioculture of the Indian subcontinent––and thus says something about the literary tradition of India––because of the emphasis on spirituality or the non-physical. For example, the poems "Mediterranean" and "Where I Come From" create a mental "feeling" of India through casting a wide net of different ideas, from mosques to capsicums. This can be seen throughout some of the other poems as well. Especially after reading my selected book, "The Sleeping Dictionary", a conclusion I have come to is that many Indian writers rely on what feelings they can evoke out of their readers––they appeal to their readers' "pathos" more than they appeal to their "logos".
On a separate note, I feel like the literary tradition of India contrasts with the work ethic of conventional Indian culture, particularly that in the Western diaspora. I have met so many Indian-Americans who feel pressured by their parents to pursue a strictly STEM job or give up their more creative hobbies for something more "practical". I have recently talked to someone in particular who did not even consider that they could pour time into their passion for art in lieu of their education or networking. In a way, the Indian literary tradition is countercultural, as well as a hearkening back to some of the more holistic values of Hinduism.