The Elder's Passing - Jonathan Hill

In the ancient times, mostly in Greek or Roman History when writing and print wasn’t in circulation, viva voce (oral communication) was the only way to convey knowledge to a person. Oratory hasn’t been just about a man coming to stage and giving a good speech, but about conveying knowledge to people on a large scale. In these times, knowledge was imparted to students and others through just narrating the knowledge. Lengthy writings writ in the minds of great men would be passed on for generations together just by narrating the same.

The Elder’s Passing by Jonathan Hill looks at this idea and brings it in the context of the Aborigines.

The library of this land

Resides within your mind

A tapestry of knowledge

Spanning from the dawn of time.

First Stanza: The poet refers to the Elders of the Aboriginal tribes and the wealth of knowledge they had accumulated. Its ‘spans from the dawn of time’ as this knowledge isn’t just knowledge of the current generation but also the knowledge which has been passed down from the Elder’s Elders and their Elder’s Elders.

I ponder all the secrets

You’ve taken to the grave

The stories and the song lines

Of how this land was made.

Second Stanza: After the massacre of the Aborigines, and the genocide carried over Australia from 1780s to 1920s, a lot of knowledge was lost in the process. By knowledge I mean cultural knowledge over here, which may include traditional remedies they might be using or the stories and events taken place over the continent.

The location of sacred places

Including ceremonial sites

Traditional bush remedies

And endless bush tucker delights.

Third Stanza: All the memories and facts about the location of sacred places to the location of Bush tucker delights has been lost in the process in the name of knowledge.

To convey these ancient truths

Many languages you used

But with your death they're diluted

With one less teacher for the youths. 

Fourth Stanza: After the death of the Aborigines we didn’t lose just one language out of the many languages in the world but over 10 to 15 languages lost in the process. We get dictionaries for aboriginal languages for languages like  Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan which are among the few remaining languages of the Indigenous Australians.

I reflect on the cultures crushed

In the creation of this nation

And wonder how many Australians

Know the extent of devastation.

Fifth Stanza: The poet is trying to make people, including the residing Australians understand the magnitude of devastation caused to the continent in terms of cultural wealth. As the English people took over the continent they washed the continent off of most of the Aborigines over a period of a century and this was one of the largest massacres in history. In 1788 there were over 250,000 of them, by 1920 we had only 60,000 remaining.

Only one source of solace

Soothes the growing grief

As you descend into the Dreaming

You are finally at peace.

Sixth Stanza: The one way an Aborigine can forget about his terrible history and the wrongs done to his people would be that of dreaming for a better future and finding peace. It is possible to be peaceful even in the worst of times, as peace of the mind would bring about peace in the world.

The poem describes the plight of the Aborigines and the devastation caused to the. To make us understand the poem in a more relatable sense, the poet has introduced the concept of knowledge which puts light on the traditions of the Aborigines. It’s the Culture which brings a society to its forefront and it has always been culture which has brought humans together for so many years. With a diversity in cultures we have the opportunity to interact with different cultures and bring everyone together to bring about change in humanity and improving the world. As we embrace different cultures, we understand the importance of these and the different ideas evolved from the different ways people lived, we would understand life as a whole. Not just traditions passed down from person to person but knowledge which would shape the ideal human in the society.

Jurmana - Premchand

Jurmana, written by Premchand, is a peek into the life of Alarakkhi who is a sweeper who is most probably employed by the Government under the sanitation department.

In the story Alarakkhi is shown to be in a state of constant turmoil as she is not paid in full by her boss, then she is always picked on by the inspector and is fined constantly. She is shown as an everyday mother who is working hard to sustain family. Towards the end of the story, as Alarakkhi is getting paid, her name is unusually called later on which erupts gossip among the other sweepers gathered at the Municipal office to collect the pay. After her name is called, she is given her salary in full amount. Instead of being happy for the money that she got, she feels guilty for having abused the Inspector.

Characters:-

Munshi Khairat Ali: The Inspector

Alarakkhi

Husseni: Alarakkhi’s Husband

The Baby

In Short:-

The inspector has over 1000 sweepers under him – the feeling while waiting in line for the pay is the same as a student waiting in line to get his grades while speculating over the amount of deduction – Alarakkhi scolding her daughter(still a baby) as she doesn’t want to leave her mother as the mother works – Alarakkhi abuses the Inspector – Inspector appears - Alarakkhi is scared – Asks her to leave the baby home next time – Baby has a fever– Inspector asks Alarakkhi as to why she was abusing him – Alarakkhi is scared – she tells the inspector that no such thing happened – Huseni alarakkhi go to collect the pay – Alarakkhi thinks she has been fired – Her name usually comes after Champa, but doesn’t this time – gossip in the room – Alarakkhi’s name finally comes – She collects her pay – leaves – guilty of abusing inspector – the end

Themes:-

Unfair treatment, lives of workers, Guilt, Happiness

Motifs:-

Suffering – We can see that throughout the short story Alarakkhi’s suffering continues and even at the end of the story when she should have been happy she brings herself down by feeling guilty. Guilty for having abused the inspector. 

The Boarded Window - Ambrose Bierce

The Boarded Window is a short horror story written by Ambrose Bierce and is set in the early 1800’s. Rather than typing a full summary, I’ll provide a link to a page with an accurate and simple one:

http://murdertodissect.blogspot.in/2013/11/the-boarded-window-paragraph-by.html

The above page summarises the story paragraph by paragraph and explains practically everything required for direct questions. Strangely however, the page doesn’t make a single reference to magic realism.

Magic realism is, in simplest terms, any form of art that, while encompassing a range of subtly different concepts, share in common an acceptance of magic in the rational world. An accurate example of a magic realism painting is included below.

http://amazingezone.com/img/2012/August/Setowski/Magic-Realism-Tomek-Setowski-Poland-05.jpg

The story, ‘The Boarded Window’, makes extensive use of the magic realism in its closing paragraphs – in which the man’s wife’s corpse is attacked by the panther. The all too elements of human fear and panic are expertly conveyed through the flashes of lightning-illuminated vision that the man gets. This comprehendible fear is contrasted in the final lines by the discovery of a piece of the animal’s ear between the wife's teeth. This contrast may give rise to magic realism. This is most certainly not the only way that magic realism can be found in the piece; it is however, the most easily noticeable.

The story is an open-ended one in the fact that the mystery of his wife is never resolved (Was she dead before? Is she a zombie? Was she possessed? Is she dead now?). This uncertainty, the intentional failure of the author to clear up such questions, is a crucial component of an open ended story. 

Passion in the Desert - Honore De Balzac

The story Passion in the Desert by Honore De Balzac is a short piece on a friendship shared between a man and a panther in the Egyptian desert. Its primary theme is that of the beauty and simultaneous callousness of nature, and also explores the emotions generated when love and distrust mingle.

The story begins with a man talking to a woman who has just seen a man (M. Martin) working with a hyena. While she is convinced that M. Martin must have used some vile means to domesticate the creature to such an extent, the man insists that animals too, can be swayed by the same vices as men. In justification, the man begins to recount his first encounter with M. Martin. The first time they met, they went out to lunch where M. Martin recounted the story of when he was lost in the desert.

During the Nile war, a French soldier had been captured by an Arab regiment and made their prisoner. When provided with a suitable opportunity, the man escaped, only to find himself hopelessly lost in the scorching desert. He camps out near a well, where he finds a small cave in which to rest and shelter him from the sun’s rays. At night however, he wakes up to find that a giant Black Panther is sleeping beside him. Too afraid to move, the man sits, paralyzed in fear, waiting for the morning. In the morning, the panther wakes up, yet strangely makes no move to attack him, its appetite already sated by its meal from the other night.

For a while (the duration of time is not explicitly mentioned in the story) the man and panther live at peace together. They provide each other with a source of companionship. Despite the panther now allowing him to pet her, the soldier still acts warily around the panther. She eventually responds to his call, and he becomes passionately fond of her.

Eventually however, the distrust reaches a climax when, in a moment of fear, the man stabs the panther, owing to the latter biting his leg. He is found by soldiers of his regiment weeping over the lifeless panther.

The beauty of nature is dwelled on extensively in the piece as can be noted through the extremely descriptive language used by the author when speaking on the desert. He compares it to “An endless sea of black grains” and in the very end of the story, “God without mankind.”

The intensely clashing emotions of inexplicable love and logical mistrust are used to draw out the complex emotions that humans can feel only when love and distrust mingle. While such a concept could be likened to many surrealistic and interpretive notions (life, death, relationships, morality, etc.) it is wiser not to introduce any such comparisons as the story seems to be written to exist in a very realistic scope. The author was well known for being one of the first to introduce realism to the European literature scene. In his stories, the human characteristics of his characters serve to convey much more to the reader than a metaphorical analysis of their actions would.

The story is titled aptly as the passion of the relationship between the man and the panther is described accurately and in depth through the thoughts of the man and the actions of the panther. The idea of human insecurity is dealt with extensively in the story as the man continually suspects the panther of wanting to eat him, despite having only experienced love and warmth from the creature. The endless fear of what could happen and what logically should happen, eventually overpower the flickering beacon of optimism in the relationship of the man and the beast. This could be a means of the author implying that we should be less cynical in life, that we should enjoy things as they are, simple and beautiful, and not be overly suspicious, insecure, and distrustful of others.

The Cactus - Hasan Manzar

The Cactus is a short story by Hasan Manzar set in Hyderabad, Pakistan. In it the author speaks on the after-effects of the youth’s departure to other countries to work and eventually live. Such migration often leaves the parents feeling incredibly lonely and alienated.

                The story comprises of a man (the narrator) and his wife visiting a house that is for sale as prospective buyers. At the house, the couple is greeted by an elderly man and his wife, the owners of the house. They show the buyers around but the latter decide that it is too large, both for their needs and their budget. The elderly couple then sit down for coffee with the narrator and his wife during which the house owners begin to talk about their children. They have 3 daughters and 2 sons, all of which are abroad, in Kuwait, Dubai or America.

                The story is not all that hard to interpret, the primary theme being, as mentioned earlier, the ramifications of migration. A sense of loneliness and emptiness pervades the piece, primarily manifested through the fact that the parents seem almost abandoned by their children and thrown aside. This sense is amplified by the seemingly commonplace nature of the story; many children, especially those from upper middle class families, leave the country for a better education and job. The fact that the rooms of the children remain neat and well maintained long after they have left generates pity for the parents in the contrast in the mindsets of the elderly and the young. While one has carelessly abandoned the other, one still cherishes the other.

                If you look closely at the piece, you may notice that no character’s name has been mentioned. This is not an unintentional doing, rather it is literary device frequently employed by writers. The fact that no names are mentioned increases the chances of the reader empathizing more with the characters. In addition to this, the withholding of names can also be indicative of just how widespread the problem of migration is; it is not limited to one or two families but many.

                At the end of the story, the author associates the story with a nest. This is owing to the fact that when birds grow old enough to fly, they tend to leave the nest and their parents and set out on their own life.

                Finally the image of the cactus seen by the buyers when they first enter the house bears a lot of significance. The cactus had grown so tall that it encountered the wooden shelf above. But rather than pruning the cactus, the family cut a hole in the overhanging shelf, allowing the cactus to grow freely. The cactus can be seen as a manifestation of the undying love that the parents hold for their children; they refuse to cut it even when it becomes a burden to do so. The properties of a cactus also come into play here, allowing us to link the title to even more. While cactuses are visually appealing with their bright green colours, they are enveloped in sharp vicious thorns that sting, embedding themselves in the flesh of the victim if touched. This could be compared to the love held by the parents for their children; painful to hold on to, yet too beautiful to let go of.

Riders to the Sea - John Millington Synge

‘Riders to the Sea’ is a one act tragedy, first performed in Dublin (Ireland) in 1904. The play is written by the Irish playwright John Millington Synge. The play focuses primarily on the plight of the poor rural folks in Ireland. Before I continue, I wish to state that this is far from an all-encompassing analysis of the play, but focuses more on the relatively prevalent themes throughout the piece. If you have not read the play yet, or do not have a copy, check out the following link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/994/994-h/994-h.htm

In the play, there are very few characters playing an important role; Maurya (The mother of the household), Michael (Her missing son), Cathleen and Nora (two of her daughters), and Bartley (Her only remaining son). The play opens with Maurya grieving over the loss of her son Michael, presumed dead at sea. Upon Maurya falling asleep, a young priest arrives at the cottage and gives Nora a parcel of clothes, recovered from a young man, washed up on the northern shore of the island for identification purposes (to see if they belong to Michael, thus confirming his death). Not wanting to further upset the already grieving mother, the daughters keep the parcel hidden, deciding to inspect the contents when the mother is not around. The remaining son Bartley is intent on going to the fair on the neighboring island to sell a horse, despite the pleading of his mother. Eventually, despite her beseeching, Bartley leaves, without taking her blessing.

Almost instantly feeling remorseful for not giving her son her blessing, Maurya, following the suggestion of her daughters, is persuaded to intercept him before he leaves to give her blessing, and a lunch prepared by the sisters. Upon Maurya’s departure, the girls open the parcel and confirm that the clothes are indeed Michael’s. Their only comfort lies in the knowledge that, owing to his being washed up in the north; he will be given a respectable Christian burial.

At this point the mother returns frightened, a result of a terrifying vision she had of Bartley’s soon coming death. The vision was of Michael (The deceased older son), riding a horse behind Bartley. This, combined with the fact that she had been unable to give Bartley her blessing, results in her certainty about Bartley’s death. Upon being told that Michael’s body has been found in the North, her only response is that at least the boards that the family had bought for Michael’s funeral could be employed for Bartley’s burial. At this point, men walk in the door of the hut, carrying the body of Bartley who had been knocked off the cliff onto the beach below by the horse he was riding. The play closes with the following chilling words of Maurya:

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“Michael has a clean burial in the far north, by the grace of the Almighty God. Bartley will have a fine coffin out of the white boards, and a deep grave surely. What more can we want than that? No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied.”

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The usage of the word “must”, in the final line is indicative of not only her, but all humans’ helplessness in the face of calamities and accidents brought on by Mother Nature. Further reading into this line of thought gives rise to the Stoic philosophy present throughout the course of the play, a theme that will be dealt with later on in the analysis.

First and foremost, before attempting to analyze the script, we must take a closer look at the history of the Irish, a recurring presence throughout the piece.

From prehistoric times up until the 11^th century, Ireland consisted of a patchwork of numerous territories, each controlled by Kings or Chieftains. Occasionally, rare as it was, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Thus, owing to the incredulously long time in which Ireland had little to no exposure to the outside world, Ireland developed an unbelievably rich history and culture. However in the early 1100’s, French warlords (Refered to here on as Normans), invaded England, overthrowing the local British warlords (Saxons), and establishing their own command. Under the Normans, large chunks of Ireland were distributed to warlords and governors. The king of England claimed sovereignty over this entire island, labeling the island as, “The Lordship of Ireland”. (Lordship, in this context, refers to a form of colony). Under the rule of Henry the Eighth in 1541 however, Ireland was changed from a Lordship to a full Kingdom, an extension of the British kingdom. However, due to the British’s attitude of haughty sovereignty and the way that they never treated the Irish as fellow beings resulted in loathing from the Irish and disdain, towards the Celts, from the British. 

As this play sympathizes extensively with the plight of the Irish, rather than merely mock them (as was the case with most British made plays at that time), it made a mark, gaining popularity with the lower class as well as the upper class Irish. Another important aspect of the play is the way that it portrays that, even in the face of overwhelming odds and seemingly unavoidable defeat, the Irish family in the script, manages to carry on with a sense of dignity; refuting the idea of Irish being sub-human and savage (as was the colonial view held by most British at that point of time).

Another important theme of the play is the ruthlessness of the sea in the dispatching of Maurya’s family members, primarily her husband and sons. As we can see by reading the play, the roles of Genders are rigid in the family depicted. Women tend to cooking and household chores, whereas men tend to fishing, trading and farming. The death of her last remaining son Bartley, ends the play on an incredulously depressing note, not just because of the bond of family and the grief of the survivors, but because there is little to no hope for the remaining family members: owing to the clear-cut gender roles in society, a family consisting fully of women would find it exceptionally hard to make a living.

The aspect of the language difference is an important one throughout the play. In stark contrast to the other contemporary plays, ‘Riders to the Sea’, is written (and intended to be enacted in) the Gaelic English style. Gaelic (or Irish), the traditional language of Ireland is entirely different from English and is spoken even today in much of Non-UK Ireland. (Clip of an Irish TV reporter):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR5YS7k9eL8

Thus, many of the so called ‘Irish Slangs’, are no more than colloquial Irish phrases having lost a substantial amount of their essence in translation. As can be seen by even a quick glance at the play, the difference in the English used is prominent. By styling the characters’ language after the traditional Gaelic tongue, the writer seeks to comment on the richness and beauty of, not only the Irish tongue, but also the people; a beauty callously ignored by the British for much of their rule.

The aspect of the supernatural in the play could be interpreted in a number of ways. One argument is that it is merely a ploy through which the author comments on the complex blend of pagan, catholic, and protestant cultures and religions in colonized Ireland. The British attempted, without much success, to convert Ireland to Protestantism, while under the rule of Henry the Eighth who converted the Country’s official faith to such. Later on attempts were made to catholicize the island, leading to the formation of the Angelican (Irish Catholic) church. The blend, of Christianity with the pagan religions and accompanying superstitions of the Irish, is visible throughout the play: emphasized by the contrast between the family’s relief for their son’s (Michael’s) Christian burial, and the visions of a pagan nature seen, and quickly believed, by the mother.

Another means of interpreting the supernatural element is by interpreting them as naturalistic concurrences. Men fishing on the open sea in small boats lead dangerous lives, and many often died. In the case of Maurya, and the sheer number of loved one’s that she has seen die in her lifetime, the inescapable helplessness and unavoidability, could be the cause for religion and superstition in her life, giving reason and logic to the incomprehensible forces of nature.

Further interpretations of the supernatural aspect in the play are given on the following sites:

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/aa44002bbd64783e09122bed.html

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/relationship-natural-supernatural-eliments-j-m-291892

Finally, as mentioned in the beginning, Maurya’s acceptance of fate, without unnecessary mourning, is indicative of a Stoic philosophy. In brief, a Stoic philosophy is an acceptance of fate made possible by the logic that, “What must happen will happen”. The unimaginable suffering Maurya’s endured throughout her life, has not numbed her to the pain of losing a loved one, as one might think by shallowly reading the text. Rather, the pain is still there, its cry stronger than before; but muffled by the pervasive blanket of helplessness and inability to change the past, a wall through which no tears can seep.

               

Message in a Bottle - Amrita Baviskar

Message in a Bottle is an essay by Amita Baviskar; an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of environment and development. Her first book In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley (Oxford University Press) discussed the struggle for survival by adivasis (Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups considered the aboriginal population of India.) in central India against a large dam. Her subsequent work further explores the themes of resource rights, subaltern resistance and cultural identity. Such themes are present throughout the course of this short story.

                
            The story is set on a remote island on the Great Nicobar Island. Throughout the course of the story, the author speaks on the countless bounties provided by nature (demonstrated by the abundant lobsters, coconuts, and fish on the island) and simultaneously, the bounties from the sea swept up onto the shores of the island. Ravi, the protagonist’s guide, gives several examples of such in the following extract:

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He [Ravi] pointed to a large clothes basket. That came from the beach too. Ravi asked, would you like to have a bath? Rustam said why not. Ravi brought a bottle of shampoo, a foreign brand. And said that came from the beach. Then some aftershave. Also from the beach.

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The explanation for the above phenomenon, as provided by the story, is the frequency of travel occurring on the Great Nicobar Sea. Unbelievable amounts, as expertly shown in the story, of objects are swept overboard from freight ships, eventually deposited on the shores of the island by the unchanging tide.

The rest of the essay proceeds to give more and more examples of floating ‘junk’ deposited on the island’s shores. The blurred contrast between the poignantly described beauty of the island and the impact of humanity on it serves to provide a permeatin­g theme of environmental awareness and the need for such.

The final paragraph of the essay emphasizes the magnitude of humanity’s impact on nature by pollution and general apathy. The author speaks on how for hundreds of years, the members of tribes, indigenous to the island, have thrived on materials deposited by the sea, washed overboard from trade vessels. While on the surface this may seem like a positive occurrence, when we dig deeper, the severity of the situation occurs to us by means of the amount of time for which this ‘pollution’ has been occurring.  

Transports of Delight - Manjula Padmanabhan

                  Transports of Delight by Manjula Padmanabhan is a satirical essay which discusses the Rickshaw culture in India. She narrates funny incidences which involve her travelling from place to place in an auto rickshaw. She also describes the different types of auto rickshaws. Almost all of these are over exaggerated in their descriptions and seem very unrealistic and obviously are.

          Instead of ‘Auto rickshaw’, ‘TSR (Three Wheeled Scooter Rickshaw)’ has been used in the whole essay. This essay has a lot of dry humour which might make the reader bored after a bit of reading. She differentiates TSRs in different areas and different cities and also talks about the decorations on them. These decorations usually have symbolic meaning pertaining to religion or fictional characters or simply exist for cosmetic reasons.

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The following extracts would help you the grasp the main idea and help you get a clear understanding over this essay:-

(It would be helpful if you have the text side by side as you read these points)

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“In the jungle of urban traffic, it is the bumble bee.”

The Bumble Bee here refers to the TSR because of the similar black and yellow colour scheme. In the chaos that is the urban traffic the TSR moves with nonchalance like a bumblebee which would move past all obstacles to reach the destination.

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“Indian city streets is an example of the Survival of the Unfittest.”

Indian streets as we all know are not exactly commanded by the best drivers. On an average 14 traffic accidents happen in India per hour. Here, ‘Survival of the Unfittest’ crudely refers to the way Indian people drive. ‘Unfittest’ here, also refers to rickshaws considering they are the only ones who do not seem to get in many accidents compared to the other vehicles. And ironically they might as well be the least protected vehicles on the road.

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“A gas trap for poisonous fumes, unstable and flimsy…..as hammer blows to the passenger’s fragile sinews.”

This is a description of the TSR. It tells how dangerous TSRs are and how rashly the drivers drive the vehicle.

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“His chariot took a corner at Grand Prix Speeds.”

It’s called a chariot because of the regressive design and technology that goes into making a TSR. With all that it still manages to take sharp turns at high speeds.

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“In part, the secret of their success…….yet are fastidious enough to disdain the sweaty intimacies offered by a bus…….what they lack in volume.”

This excerpt says that, A TSR is an intermediate between a bus and a taxi. Money wise it is not as expensive as a taxi and not as cheap and crowded as a bus considering public transport.

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“Though we have reports from Outlook Magazine that women auto rickshaw drivers are flourishing in Kerala here in the wilds of the north it is hard to imagine such a development.”

Here we can see the clear distinction in culture and how the society in different places thinks about each gender and their line of work. In the south where gender discrimination is decreasing and the job diversity of women is slowly increasing, North India doesn’t seem to be progressing much in this sense.

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“Perhaps the reason they are generally very young is that…..warily, as if tensed for attack.”

This excerpt, in its satirical sense the writer tells us that many TSR drivers start their jobs at a young age which would be like 19 or 20 and don’t live long enough because of the danger to lives in their job.

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“The likelihood of finding a driver willing to travel….and desperation of one’s need.”

TSR drivers are very stubborn considering their cause many a times. Instead if the passenger being the boss, they act as the boss. This helps them extract more money out of the passengers and they are willing to pay more to get to their destination due to their yearning for shade and rest.

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“In Madras, TSR drivers consider it their privilege…..I’m a rascal I know it.”

Here the drivers have been shown in a bad light as it is told here that they always try and extort more money out of the passengers, relative to the meter. For this extra profit they charge unreasonable prices and then gradually come down to a not really reasonable but ok price point.

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“Some drivers swaddle the front and rear wheel guards with webs of metal tubes……of the latest film hits on request.”

The TSR drivers love decorating their rickshaws in the most unique way possible. But this differs from place to place as not all TSR drivers have enough money for decorations. Thus, the economic diversity can be seen from state to state delving into the cosmetic differences between these TSRs.

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“Delhi rickshaw owners seem to prefer verbal messages....…….’Love for Sale – 100% Discount.’”

The influence and the culture can be seen if one notices the different messages written on auto rickshaws around town. The traditionally influenced drivers with the Gazals quoted on the side skirts or the cheesy messages quoted on the influenced on the younger rickshaw walas all in relative from place to place.

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“There are standard ornaments in the form of 3D reliefs…….Mahavirs or Zoroasters, however!”

The different religious following can be seen through the hangings and the ornaments. The usual religious symbols of the Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims are seen. But for the others like Mahavir and Buddha are not seen. This tells us that the population following these religions are in a very tight minority which cannot be seen publicly like this.

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 “Tweeters have peevishly squawking electric horns…….voiced adolescent boys.”

This line and the paragraph it lies in talks about the differences and that all of them cannot be related to each other considering the amount of decorations and the different canopies being black or yellow or any other colour. Many of them also have cheap audio systems and overtly decorated insides.

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“With so much invention and creativity on view………..adventurous auto designer”

This is the ending to the description and the viewpoint embraced by the author of the TSR. This also prompts the start to the description of autos encountered by the author which were adventurous in design.

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Different types of auto rickshaws:-

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Bikaneri Phut Phut:-

These are the usual Rajasthani kind of autos that have been described here and which have been over exaggerated in terms of description.

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Autorustic

The over exaggerated satirical outlook on the village autos which aren’t taken care of properly have been described by this auto.

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God’s Rocket

The well-kept auto with a really good engine and usually looks good and is seen as a new auto is the auto discussed over here. There are a lot of ornaments pertaining to the faith of the driver in this auto.

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Baroque-on-wheels

This auto is literally art on wheels. These autos in reality are literally decorated a lot. But the description given in the textbook is far too exaggerated (again).

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Hell’s trishaw

Only a fool would believe that these autos would ply even if there was an artist who would work on this auto, autos like these would be banned and wouldn’t be allowed to ply.

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Auto-Ethnotic

Some autos used for competitions which make you drive an auto with your team across India have such exotic designs. These do not ply on a usual basis as they are only available during such circumstances of stake.

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Strato-Darter

This auto is definitely a fake but might portray those autos which travel to the destinations really fast.

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Road Rani

Similar to the Strato-Darter this example portray the autos which command the business and are customer satisfactory.

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The Pianist (2002 movie)

The Pianist is a historically based film highlighting the plight of the polish Jews during the Second World War. The director of the film, Roman Polanski, is himself a holocaust survivor, who had witnessed the execution of several women at a young age; being a Polish-French director, he had personal ties to the topic of the film.

The film begins with the beginning of the war, the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. The suffering of the people in the Warsaw Ghetto is also highlighted extensively throughout the film. The concept of State sponsored genocide, and the mass murder of Jews, is shown for the ridiculous xenophobic ideal that it is in the movie.

The protagonist of the film, Wladylaw Szpilman, was a Polish musician of Jewish decent; the film is based on his memoirs. The gradual mental deterioration of his character is shown extensively in the film. Owing to the general style in which the film is made, Wladylaw Szpilman is the only sustained character, and the only one who’s developed throughout the course of the movie.

Hosenfeld, a sympathetic Nazi who spares Szpilman’s life and gives him clothing and food, is a perfect example of how not all Nazis are anti-Semitic. Also, by showing the Jewish ghetto police beating other Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, along with a scene of a Jewish man stealing from an old lady in the ghetto, the film further attempts to undo polarization; showing not all Nazis were evil, and not all Jews were victims. 

The degradation and dehumanization of the Jews is an important theme of the movie. They are stripped of all humanity and are treated as contaminated objects by their German superiors.

Strangely, the film is less about the holocaust as it is about the protagonist’s never ending fight for survival. The power of music is highlighted in the film by a scene in which beautiful music, played by the protagonist, changes the mind of a Nazi officer who proceeds to spare his life.

The color and lighting of the film play an important role in symbolizing the gradual erosion of the protagonist’s hope, as all begins to look bleak. The film begins in a bright summer, and concludes in a bleak cold winter.

The aspects of luck and chance are incredulously present throughout the film. Despite being from a relatively wealthy family, Szpilman has no say over the events  that unfold, as he too, ends up in the ghetto.

The protagonist of the film is portrayed as being detached, and indifferent to some extent. Rather than standing up strong, he accepts German injustice in order to survive. When his friends organize the famous Warsaw uprising, he does nothing more than watch, resulting in the aforementioned event being shown from a third person perspective in the film.

The subplot of Szpilman’s love for music underplays the magnitude of the situation. The climax occurs when the Nazi officer finds the protagonist. There is a resurgence of hope in the viewer once the music is played.

Finally, the futility of the Jewish plight is expertly portrayed in the film by the dining room discussion in the beginning of the movie. The family discusses the newly passed law, ordering Jews to wear armbands, allowing them to be identified as such, when in public. The family, the older brother in particular, vehemently disagrees with the proposition, and, as a result of this, the family secedes and agrees to not wear the armbands. From this, the scene abruptly cuts to a shot of one of the family members walking down a road with the armband on. Such a contrast symbolizes the futility, and lack of ability to change anything, that the Jews were forced to endure.

The Election - Sitakant Mahapatra

The Election by Sidakant Mahapatra (a notable Indian poet and literary critic in Oriya as well as English) narrates a recurring episode which takes place at the time of every election. In short this episode is about the rally men of a certain politician who come to villages bearing gifts in exchange for votes. The morality and the ethical aspect of this movement fuelled by poverty and hunger are discussed in this poem.

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1.

Our jeep crawls to your village

Seeking strange melodies

From the roaring sun:

‘The common will’

From the criss-cross geometry

Of private agonies.

·         The first line here describes the arrival of the rally men or the promoters working under the politician.

·         Second, Third, Fourth Lines. Here the strange melodies are the chants roared by the supporters in the blasting heat of the sun. This suggests that it might be summer or it might be a drought hit village as at one point in time the government identified 10,000 drought hit villages in Orissa. Here, ‘the common will’ is nothing but necessities for the villages like food and water and other things.

·         Fifth, Sixth Lines. The fifth line suggests the plan (town-plan) of the village as a criss-cross geometry. The sixth line tells us about the lives of the people in the village. As the line suggests these lives of theirs are in agony and in the form of criss-cross geometries which also suggests that they are very confused and do not know what to do with their lives.

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2.

Our dark longings don’t ouch you,

Nor our trappings

Of posters, symbols, speeches, handbills,

For your grief outlives empires.

·         First Line. Here, ‘our’ refers to the rally men.  Dark longings here describe the time period for which the rallies do not take place. They are dark considering the situation of hunger and poverty the farmers in the villages live in. ‘Don’t ouch you’, quite simply means that they don’t hurt you. It doesn’t hurt them as whenever the rally men come bearing gifts in volumes and volumes that they last villages for months together.

·         Second, Third Lines. Trappings of advertisements here do not affect the villagers as that is the least they care about considering their state of rust in the village.

·         Fourth line. This line, strongly puts forward the condition of the villagers. As this line is narrated by the rally men, the poet is also trying to tell us that all the politicians know the state of villages in India right now and how they are exploited.

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3.

The cold grandchildren awaken in your heart

As you discern muted allegories

On our ashen faces.

·         First, Second, Third Lines. The dead grandchildren who died out of hunger are remembered by the villagers, as they understand the hidden purposes of these men from their faces.

·         This extract suggests the understanding of the villagers in what the rally men are really doing. Waiting for the rally men to come with food have costed the lives of grandchildren to these villagers. The ashen faces suggests the dark faces of the rally men which look like faces covered in ashes, suggesting that they brought death to all the innocent people there.

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4.

Here the great persuaders are little things and not so hidden:

Cheap plastic, cheaper nylon,

Dark glasses to blot out the Sun.

·         First, Second Lines. The poet tries to tell us that humans in general find happiness in small things. Here, the villagers are entranced at the sight of plastic and nylon utensils.

·         Third line. These glasses might have been worn by the rally men. Relating this line to the second point in the first stanza, these rally men are shown as being protected by ‘the common will’ suggesting that they are being paid handsomely for this task.

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5.

With one foot in hunger

And the other in the soul,

You make your decision:

The anguish of choice.

·         First, Second, Third Line. The villager here has too choices, to do what is needed or to do what is right. These decisions are contrasting considering the livelihood of the family opposing the right vote to be given to the right person which might lead to the death of the particular family.

·         Fourth line. The anguish of choice being doing what is needed instead of doing what is right so as to support the family. This anguish is brought upon as it is fairly understood that one must do what is right instead of what is needed as it is only human to do so.

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A Corpse in the Well - Shankarrao Kharat

A Corpse in the Well is an extract from the book Taral Antaral, an autobiography by Shankar Ramchandra Kharat, an established Dalit writer in the post independence Indian literature scene. The story’s primary themes seem to be on emphasizing the difference in power that exists in villages, and how the Mahars, or Dalits, are treated cruelly and in an almost sub-human fashion. The unfair method in which they are bossed around serves to highlight a broken system and ideology.

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               In the story, the boy’s father, referred to only by the title ‘Anna’, is performing his village duties. A corpse had been found recently in the well, and the Mahar on duty (Anna) was assigned to guard it until the police arrive. Anna had been waiting at the well for the entire night, when his son, the narrator, arrives to give him some food. The father, in an exemplary display of loyalty towards his duty, refuses, saying that he’ll only eat once relieved of his duties. At this point of time, the police arrived, and ordered Anna to fetch the body from the well.

                Anna refuses initially, but, noticing the policeman’s flaring temper, he enters the well. A snake in the well’s shallow water causes a fright in both the son and the father, but eventually the body and Anna are successfully drawn up from the well. As the son heads home, he reflects on the injustice and the deadly work involved in village duty.

                The head constable, or the policeman, is depicted in quite a negative light throughout the story. The fact that he, a police officer, a supposed implementer of the law, resorts to such primeval means of discrimination to get his job done, induces a sick sort of irony in the reader.

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                The theme of injustice is one that permeates the entire story. The Mahars and Ramoshis loyally and whole heartedly serve their village, as is shown in numerous examples throughout the story. Anna’s refusal to eat while on duty is one; another could be his risking of life to recover the body from the well, and yet another is the respect that the Ramoshis and Mahars show the constable; when the latter arrives, the Mahars have laid out a manger of grass and a pail of freshwater to sate the horse’s thirst. Thus, when the Mahars behave in such a fashion, the reader feels greatly shocked and appalled by the way that the policeman responds to such bravery and loyalty towards duty. He abuses them and threatens to beat them. This obvious abuse of power, combined with the father’s air of surrender present throughout the story; such as his giving into pressure from the policeman, coupled with a line in which he says,

                                               “Who cares if a Mahar lives or dies”,

serves to but strengthen the theme of injustice, rife throughout the story.

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When the constable begins to threaten Anna, pressuring him to retrieve the body from the well, the surrounding village elders respond by saying,

                                            “Sarkar (government official), you will go away from here! You will leave this poor Mahar to his fate! We want to go on living in this village!”

In the above line, the author is conveying to the reader, the threat of communal violence. Neighboring villages, from whence the corpse in the well may have come, would not respond positively to their kinsman being touched by members of a lower caste, and thus, the Mahars in the community are responding not out of empathy and pity for the Mahar on duty, but more so out of fear of attack; serving to reinforce the aforementioned concept of injustice.

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Toba Tek Singh - Sadat Hasan Manto

“Toba Tek Singh” was written in Urdu, Pakistan’s national language, by Sadat Hasan Manto, a Kashmiri who left his home in the month January 1948 and moved to Karachi, Pakistan’s capital. The story recounts the effects of partition on a very particular portion of the population.

The protagonist of the story is a Sikh inmate named Bishan Singh who, fifteen years earlier, had gone mad and was committed by his family. Everyone in the asylum calls him Toba Tek Singh, the name of his village. Almost bald, his legs swollen because he seemed to be standing all the time, he also has the habit of speaking this nonsensical phrase, “Upri gur gur di annexe di be-dhiyana o di mung di daal of di lalteen.”

Family members, who used to visit him, now no longer come. He repeatedly asks his fellow inmates whether Toba Tek Singh, his old town, is in India or Pakistan, but nobody seems to know. One day Fazaludin, an old Muslim friend from his village, visits Bishan Singh, who doesn’t recognize the man. Fazaudin brings word that Singh’s family has safely gone to India. Fazaludin speaks of the water buffalos left behind and the calves they have produced. Singh asks him, “Where is Toba Tek Singh?” To which his old friend replies, “In India … no, in Pakistan.”

The transfer of inmates takes place on a cold winter evening. Hindu and Sikh lunatics are placed on buses and taken to the border. When Bishan Singh steps from the bus and is asked to register, he asks the official, “Where is Toba Tek Singh? In India or Pakistan?” The official tells him it is in Pakistan, the place Singh is leaving. “Bishan Singh tried to run, but was overpowered by the Pakistani guards who tried to push him across the dividing line towards India. However, he wouldn’t move.”

The story concludes as follows:

                “After fifteen years on his feet, he was lying face down on the ground. India was on one side behind a barbed wire fence. Pakistan was another side behind another barbed fence. Toba tek Singh lay in the middle, on a piece of land that had no name.”

In the story there were five lunatic types which stood out:

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1.

“There was one Muslim lunatic who had read the fire eating Newspaper…”

When asked where Pakistan was, he said “It’s a place in India where they make cut throat razors.” This is a pretty stereotypical Pakistani description considering it’s taken as a place which makes blades. Here ‘cut throat’ is used carefully suggesting murder, and shedding light on death. This can be interpreted as the way the people already saw Pakistan as a place where they would make equipment of murder.

2.

                “One lunatic got so involved in this India/Pakistan question …..Told him to come down, he climbed higher.”

               

                This lunatic here symbolizes the wish the people had during this partition. Many people didn’t want the partition to happen and during the partition the society was so tensed that they would feel not like being part of any country and just sit on a tree for the rest of the life.

3.

                “One man held an MS Degree and had been a radio engineer. He kept apart from…. All over the grounds”

               

                This lunatic is a symbol mirroring all the educated people who are brilliant and have received really good education and are still insane. Their acts are disapproved at time but they are left to their own demise as they are considered educated and the know all.

4.

                “In the European Ward there were two Anglo Indian lunatics… Indian chapattis instead of bread? “

               

                This paragraph recites to us the condition of the English lunatics in the ward. They were worried to hear that the English had granted independence and left the country, now they would have to eat bloody Indian chapattis. This tells us that the English people in India hated the country and the food here. Just like the probable disappearance of the European ward, it was thought that India would now have no ties with the Britain anymore after all this. Contrasting that India is still part of the common wealth.

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The theme of lunatics in this story is a predominant one. How everyone else but the lunatics are insane is pointed out here. During this partition process almost no one seems to have an idea of where India is and where Pakistan is. The lunatics being lunatic know that this shouldn’t have happened and opposed this even if they had selfish reasons of not moving to some other place. The story portrays lunatics as psychological elements in human minds. Even after the lunatic transfer it has been shown that nothing has changed and everything is still the same. Humans who are supposed to be sane are acting up against each other like lunatics. The lunatics seemed to have a better idea of what is going on and if we were to follow the lunatics instead of the ‘sane’ humans the product would have been different of course, even slightly better.

The last line of the story brings out the essence of the partition within.

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References:
http://www.choices.edu/resources/documents/Partition_literature.pdf