Letter
to dear friend is a heart touching poem where poet nostalgically portrays the
doleful recklessness done to the native land by the people ‘off ‘/‘of’ the land
.The poet has used irony and vivid imagery throughout to describe the nature‘s
blemishes and the innocent people’s tribute/gratitude to/for the native
land. The poet inevitably touches upon
postcolonial/neo-colonial issues towards its conclusion and portrays a society
devoid of sensitivity and humanity.
Dear
friend, your letter lies on
My
table, and now this reply, this
Calling
to mind, your softness for
This
land
The
poet is replying to the last letter written by his friend who asked about his
people, his land.
Here,
I am well, I am older,
Sadder,
perhaps, at the seasons longing
Us
another day. Our limbs and
Songs
are getting weary all the time
In response,
The poet tells he is getting older with shades of days and night and passing of
springs and autumns, in the succeeding lines the poet has used personification
to mark the idea that with passage of time our songs, our ancientness, our
culture are getting as drowsy and old as the limbs of an old man which are in
lurch of rest every time. For this he thanks to the westernisation followed by ‘our’
people.
But I
am grateful for strong mercies
A
stark sarcasm for the following lines
You
ask about our hills- well,
They
are still there, - the stones
And
rivers too—they are being
Pimped
for tourists and lately,
In
many places disembowelled
Mercilessly.
Their clothes are carried
Away
to the lowlands and
Their
names are sometimes being
Changed.
In
this section the poet talks about the nature and the surroundings, how they
hereby mountains, hills, have been eviscerated and how mankind have intermitted
with the natural courses of rivers just to welcome overseas people and keep
them happy. Foreign people are not behind in the race of devastation they are
the one who have mercilessly removed the clothes of nature and welcomed the
aura exhaustive industrialisation.
Tell
me good friend, is it
Possible
to change the nature
Of a
mountain spirit
Or
the course of a river?
The
Poet has a doubt and the mystified meaning says it is possible to alter with
the outer appearance but the essence and the bliss that we get from the place
is hard to change.
About
my people, nothing much has
Changed.
Fools parading as leaders
Distribute
words to the hungry and
The
rich have started importing
Dreams
from the west
The
poet tries to stigmatise the post and pre-colonial ruling of so called white
collared officials and bureaucrats who in name of democracy are ruling since
independence but their methods of ruling has been same even after 65 years of
independence. They have been tagged as’ imprudent’/ ‘profligate’ who just have
job of money minting and are playing a chase game. The rich and the elite class
are aping westernisation and are trying to bring revolution and reincarnate the
whole land
They
are peculiar breed, the leaders
They
have an eel for tongue
A
mint for brain
Peculiar
means a clumsy / weird people. ‘eel for tongue’ poet tries to bring the tool of
anthropomorphism whereby animating men’s tongue with eel which is a fish with
elongated tongue who feeds on preys
called predators similarly these leaders they are good in manipulating things
by window dressing and alluring people to get into their rattrap with the power
of word. Mint of brain signifies as mint is strong in nature so are the clever
brains of such ‘peculiar’ cluster.
Since
you asked, I mention these
Things.
When you write next,
I may
have interesting things to
Report
– may be about advent
Of
acid rain or even the disappearance of
Some
villages for mining a rare mineral.
Please
keep in touch, you shall hear
From
me, this record of bitter things.
Closing
the chapter of doleful verses the poet puts sarcasm and casts the reality that
future is going to be a much sadder tale with the invention of life killing
activities and invasion of human brains to incept new inventions.
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