There is a terrible irony that the writing of the poem itself is in English – Bhatt is one of those "unborn grandchildren"communicating in the “wrong” language. Amid the changes and dynamism of language, and how the language itself changes identity (from unacceptable language of the oppressors to accepted language of the youth), the nature of one’s identity starts slipping away
Explore the ideas in the poem A Different History by Sujata Bhatt.
PART 1
Sujata Bhatt reflects and explores on the ideas of ‘culture, ‘values’, human struggle, religion combined with its beliefs and acquisition of foreign or strange language. Bhatt invites the readers and takes them through the culture of India and its religious beliefs that every life respects them there. There is enough vocabulary to understand this in the poem. She also expresses her bitterness and strong emotions towards the struggle and torture borne by the people ‘here’ in the past. She wonders and ponders on the issues of ‘tongue’ and ‘language’ She shows her amazement and expresses her inability to understand how people ‘here’ learn to love the ‘strange language’ that put to suffer the torture and struggle for identity.
The poem does not have a traditional structure in terms of stanzas or the rhyme scheme in it. The complex ideas of religion, beliefs, values, culture and loving foreign language might be the reasons for composing it with no rhyme and irregular parts. The first 18 lines run in religious and reverential tone but the poet immediately shifts to bitterness and wonder.
The first part begins with an introduction to the Nature god, Great Pan, who assumed to be dead to rest of the world. But Bhatt reminds the world that India welcomed this ‘immigrant’. The phrase,’Great Pan is not dead’, conveys the world that the culture of worshipping “Nature’ gets home in India. The word ‘emigrated’ shows us that this emigrant is neither dead nor has intensions to return to his country. Thus, she makes a point that the culture in India is unique with ‘A Different History’; a history which respects and worships the Nature and the environment around without somebody gives any awareness.
Part 2 Introducing the word ‘India’, she touches the living values and culture in this country. She tries to conjure the readers into understanding how the people ‘here’ believe in ‘snakes and monkeys as gods’. She explores on the values and beliefs of the people ‘here’. The word ‘sacred’ allows the readers understand the inherited values and beliefs here about worshipping ‘trees’. She brings out the picture of togetherness in animals and trees. The simile ‘disguised as snakes and monkeys’ provides us the clue to the belief of sacredness. Bhatt explains the fact that ‘sin’ doesn’t need to be a serious wrong act in ‘this culture’ but a small act can be ‘sin’. Bhatt uses three verbs that denote rudeness in behavior towards books. She uses ‘shove’ , ‘slam’, and ‘toss’ to explain how the culture ‘Here’ values knowledge. Though treating a book rudely is not an act of disrespect but an act of ‘sin’ here’; a serious connotation. Bhatt uses the word ‘sin’ three times to mean more than a wrong act in life. This throws light on the culture of ‘India’ and values observed here. Bhatt gives a hint of religious beliefs in her though not really enthusiastically to prevent the idea of negativity in her ideas. She introduces ‘Sarasvati’ to the readers of English as a ‘goddess of Arts’ – knowledge, painting and music. She conveys that the people( ‘soul’) enjoy endless freedom ‘here’ but they are bound to observe the beliefs of this culture. The line ‘You must………..disturbing Sarasvati’ highlights the idea the freedom is in respecting one’s culture and self but not enjoying oneself which is selfishness. There is a hint of dualism in 17th and 18th lines. These lines express the value system which is an ‘obligation’ in this culture. We can understand this with the word ‘must’ in the poem. Bhatt suddenly shifts her tone from reverential attitude to bitter and emotional tone in the second part of the poem. She questions all the histories in the world to recollect how different ‘oppressors’ and ‘conquerors’ left their ‘tongues’ to destroy other cultures. The metaphor ‘oppressor’s tongue’ and two rhetorical questions in the second part make the readers feel guilty of human history. It is a history of oppression which left dark chapters. The word ‘murder’ makes it very clear that the history of ‘oppressors’ is not very appreciable. She expresses her bitterness and shows aggressiveness for forcing the ‘tongue’ on ‘a different culture’.
Bhatt closes the poem with amazement in the last 7 lines. She uses enjambment to compose the complex idea of acquisition of ‘strange language’. She asks ‘how does it happen’ but continues to answer her own question with wonder and amazement. Bhatt feels that it is quiet difficult to understand how people love the language left by the ‘conquerors’ face’ after the ‘soul’ borne the torture. It becomes wonder for the poet to notice that the people here were left with ‘cropped soul’ but they stepped into future to love ‘the strange tongue’. English language must be the strange language that she refers in the poem. Maybe, people here welcome the change with time and life and they are kind to forgive or forget the past as it is no more important in the present. She uses ‘the unborn grandchildren’ which allows the readers to understand that the present generations are living in a different culture where everyone accepts other cultures.
Bhatt seems to be fearful to see the danger of forgetting the language of origin. Because the ‘strange language’ is lovable now, it may lead to the disappearance of mother tongue. She uses ‘unborn grandchildren’ to mean the generations who would come in this world. She also hints that these generations would accept and welcome all the cultures that they live in. Today, the world is not left with a culture that is purely not affected. So the poet thinks one might live and accept different cultures that affect them. The poet gives us the universal theme of ‘acceptance of all the cultures’. Though one would love his/her own culture, it also happens that people (souls) accept and begin to love other language(strange language).
In conclusion, I think that the poem explores the ideas from culture to values and oppression to loving strange language. Readers also understand the ideas of culture, religion, beliefs and ‘a history with difference’; where people are kind and modest to accept different culture and their language yet continue to have ‘a different history’ for themselves.
The vivid and exemplary portrayal of the idea of treating books with approbation and not forgetting the culture of the motherland creates a strong sense of patriotism in the readers minds. She brings to light the disrespect people have for the books in the Western world and its symbolism of being a hyperbolic "sin" in the culture of her sovereign state. She hence brings out the differences between her cultural country and the "oppressors" despite them leaving a germ in the poet's country, which is making the citizens of the poet's country learn and love the "strange language" which they left behind and not one of the many languages already present in the country, due to which her country is losing its cultural heritage, thus leading it onto the road for reform from the age-old traditions. This pains the readers and leads them to think that despite the "torture" faced by the ancestors of the country, a torture of the culture is still continuing, hence depicting the loss of language and the transition in culture.
The strong link to culture and mythology in coherence with the hyperbole of tragedy and cataclysm is brought about alluringly by Bhatt. By depicting a Greek god who has "emigrated" to India, history is shown to have been plagued by inaccuracies, which is in accordance with the hypothesis of "A Different History", as written by the learned "oppressors", determined to plant a disease in the culture which wipes out and replaces the native language by theirs, a characteristic that has been haunting the native stooges for a long time and is hence haunting the "unborn grandchildren.
The variety of cultures found in India is something to be appreciated, but Bhatt is also forced to recognize this double-edged blade. While she marvels at how the people accept ‘Pan’ seamlessly in their culture, allowing him to live in freedom, she brings out to the readers her concerns of how this acceptance may go too far as the people reject their own cultures, in favor of upholding that of their ‘oppressor’s’ when to her, the people’s original culture is more ‘free’ and value-filled than the ones who, as she rhetorically brings out, command their language to ‘murder’ others. The reader’s are seized by a sense of patriotism due to her ambiguous hints and feel a sense of indignancy and wish to stop getting so heavily influenced by those that have wronged them.
Great Pan had exceptionally portrayed her reverential attitude towards the culture of India and let the readers too have a glimpse of this culture through this poem. She is in awe how in India everyone's culture is taken into such positive light and is easily accepted. Bhatt familiarises the reader to 'Great Pan', who is 'not dead' just has left it's origin due to dissatisfaction as there is lack of respect for him; and thus has 'emigrated to India' where he will be respected and accepted.Readers are able to comprehend Bhatt's strong emotions towards India with her continuous praise for it.
Bhatt focuses on the dilemma of identity and the face of colonization- where one race forcefully occupies another and institutes their own alien culture over the one that previously existed. The ferociousness of the imagery reflects the aggression of the of the reinforced colonialism and the sadness of the unshakable deep rootedness. Bhatt’s tone is bitter, using metaphors such as “torture” to show that colonialism scars the conquered people
By the continuous emphasis of the nature,culture, and tradition of the people in India, Bhatt teaches the readers the great amount of reverence the people 'here' portray towards every petty thing. The readers observe how it is 'a sin' to be rude to a book and how it is considered disrespectful to 'shove' a book aside with your foot. The readers get a very clear perception of how the people 'here' see godliness in everything and hence understand that that's what has taught them to respect and love all other cultures.
Sir this is Prerna Sharma, I am posting from Neeharika Mittra as my account got deleted. Sujata Bhatt vividly portrays her ideas and benefits of culture and religion. She does this by mentioning some ethical values of Indians. This includes the belief that ‘sin to be rude to a book’. The poet uses informal words such as ‘shove’ and ‘slam’ to describe the actions of the one handling the object. The reference to ‘sarswati’ is made prominent to show the cultural beliefs of India. Thus by doing this she creates a strong stand amongst the readers on her idea. -Prerna Sharma
Sujata Bhatt emphasises on the changing cultures, connecting readers from the past when there were diverse languages to the present, where there is one universal language. Her use of 'language' refers to the rationality of each person and the traditions they maintain under the influence of their cultures. Thus the title, 'A Different History' evidently states the influence of the mentality of an 'oppressor' through 'language' as language does not have boundaries so it can either take over or remain supressed. Through this readers empathize with Bhatt and can relate to her disappointment towards the salvaged cultures.
Sujata Bhatt expresses her concern towards changes the world has gone through and how it is affecting the population. The world has become such that culture no longer plays an important role and people have forgotten the true meaning of culture. The things that people consider ignorant to follow have little teachings that play a big part in enhancing a person’s character. “A sin to slam books down”, “A sin to toss one carelessly” helps build the respect for everything, non-living or living. Thus, Sujata Bhatt by displaying these little petty things, unveils to readers the deeper meaning of culture and emphasises its worth and significance in a person’s life.
Bhatt expresses her concern towards culture; how people treat it and how it should be treated. Despite the fact that peoples mind set confirmed the death of 'Great Pan' and all in all their culture, we see its 'emigration', thus the shift and merge of two cultures in one place because of the respect attained there. The minutest of details are the ones shown to be respected the most to avoid any 'sin' to be committed on the basis of such rules. The emphasis of such ideas displays a striking image in the readers mind as to what is right and what is not
Bhat powerfully portrays the circumstances of the time in the history to find new arena for worship such as Greek god of nature, who finds a place in India. The poet describes how the nature god 'Great Pan' is not extinct as he is being worshiped in the culture of India by the people. The culture in India appreciates freedom as 'the gods roam freely' on this land. The great pan's incarnation in goat is also worshiped along with the 'snakes and monkeys' by the people in India. Thus, Bhat highlights the significance of the culture and the similarities between two cultures.
Essay I wrote on 'A Different History' for English Literature IGCSE
1. Explore how Bhatt critically conveys her ideas of language and culture in the poem A Different History.
Bhatt has very strong opinions on language and culture. She conveys this by the words she uses to describe certain actions. For example she says ‘it is a sin to be rude to a book’, and the usage of the word ‘sin’ here makes me feel like it is a crime almost to disrespect books. Bhatt uses the word ‘sin’ three times to describe different scenarios of how one could abuse a book. This repetition shows me that books and literature are very prominent in her religion and culture.
The last stanza of this poem is dedicated to how we should respect our language. Bhatt uses strong alliteration, ‘with a long scythe swooping out of the conquerors face’ when describing how she doesn’t understand why people would love a different language to the one they grew up speaking. Since Bhatt seems to be very strongly opinionated when it comes to language and maintaining one’s original culture, I find it ironic how she writes this poem in English, when her homeland is India, therefore traditionally her father tongue would be Hindu or Gujarati. I think Bhatt may have done this on purpose as a subtle reminder to the reader that society doesn’t respect tradition as highly as we did once, when the Great Pan walked the earth. That we all bow down to the pressure of society, and that she has written her poem in the most commonly spoken tongue to show this.
Another thing that Bhatt does throughout this poem is remind the reader that everything comes from something. She reminds us that paper comes from wood, which comes from trees, so we must respect the pages of a book as not to offend the tree. I imagine that it trees are of great importance to the Indian people, as she mentions that we must not offend them, and also that ‘every tree is sacred’. This is, I believe, why she makes it very clear in the first stanza that it is a ‘sin to be rude to a book’ as books originate from trees.
Bhatt also mentions a god and a goddess, the Great Pan, who is the greek god or nature, and the goddess Sarasvati, who is the hindu goddess of the arts. She mentiosn the Greek God pan to emphasise the fact that the culture still exists, and has not disappeared, but instead has moved throughout the world. I think Bhatt also wants to show the similarity between the cultures of the east and west.
These are the main ways in which I think Bhatt had communicated her thoughts on language and culture.
There is a terrible irony that the writing of the poem itself is in English – Bhatt is one of those "unborn grandchildren"communicating in the “wrong” language. Amid the changes and dynamism of language, and how the language itself changes identity (from unacceptable language of the oppressors to accepted language of the youth), the nature of one’s identity starts slipping away
ReplyDeleteExplore the ideas in the poem A Different History by Sujata Bhatt.
ReplyDeletePART 1
Sujata Bhatt reflects and explores on the ideas of ‘culture, ‘values’, human struggle, religion combined with its beliefs and acquisition of foreign or strange language. Bhatt invites the readers and takes them through the culture of India and its religious beliefs that every life respects them there. There is enough vocabulary to understand this in the poem. She also expresses her bitterness and strong emotions towards the struggle and torture borne by the people ‘here’ in the past. She wonders and ponders on the issues of ‘tongue’ and ‘language’ She shows her amazement and expresses her inability to understand how people ‘here’ learn to love the ‘strange language’ that put to suffer the torture and struggle for identity.
The poem does not have a traditional structure in terms of stanzas or the rhyme scheme in it. The complex ideas of religion, beliefs, values, culture and loving foreign language might be the reasons for composing it with no rhyme and irregular parts. The first 18 lines run in religious and reverential tone but the poet immediately shifts to bitterness and wonder.
The first part begins with an introduction to the Nature god, Great Pan, who assumed to be dead to rest of the world. But Bhatt reminds the world that India welcomed this ‘immigrant’. The phrase,’Great Pan is not dead’, conveys the world that the culture of worshipping “Nature’ gets home in India. The word ‘emigrated’ shows us that this emigrant is neither dead nor has intensions to return to his country. Thus, she makes a point that the culture in India is unique with ‘A Different History’; a history which respects and worships the Nature and the environment around without somebody gives any awareness.
End of Part 1
Part 2
ReplyDeleteIntroducing the word ‘India’, she touches the living values and culture in this country. She tries to conjure the readers into understanding how the people ‘here’ believe in ‘snakes and monkeys as gods’. She explores on the values and beliefs of the people ‘here’. The word ‘sacred’ allows the readers understand the inherited values and beliefs here about worshipping ‘trees’. She brings out the picture of togetherness in animals and trees. The simile ‘disguised as snakes and monkeys’ provides us the clue to the belief of sacredness.
Bhatt explains the fact that ‘sin’ doesn’t need to be a serious wrong act in ‘this culture’ but a small act can be ‘sin’. Bhatt uses three verbs that denote rudeness in behavior towards books. She uses ‘shove’ , ‘slam’, and ‘toss’ to explain how the culture ‘Here’ values knowledge. Though treating a book rudely is not an act of disrespect but an act of ‘sin’ here’; a serious connotation. Bhatt uses the word ‘sin’ three times to mean more than a wrong act in life. This throws light on the culture of ‘India’ and values observed here.
Bhatt gives a hint of religious beliefs in her though not really enthusiastically to prevent the idea of negativity in her ideas. She introduces ‘Sarasvati’ to the readers of English as a ‘goddess of Arts’ – knowledge, painting and music. She conveys that the people( ‘soul’) enjoy endless freedom ‘here’ but they are bound to observe the beliefs of this culture. The line ‘You must………..disturbing Sarasvati’ highlights the idea the freedom is in respecting one’s culture and self but not enjoying oneself which is selfishness. There is a hint of dualism in 17th and 18th lines. These lines express the value system which is an ‘obligation’ in this culture. We can understand this with the word ‘must’ in the poem.
Bhatt suddenly shifts her tone from reverential attitude to bitter and emotional tone in the second part of the poem. She questions all the histories in the world to recollect how different ‘oppressors’ and ‘conquerors’ left their ‘tongues’ to destroy other cultures. The metaphor ‘oppressor’s tongue’ and two rhetorical questions in the second part make the readers feel guilty of human history. It is a history of oppression which left dark chapters. The word ‘murder’ makes it very clear that the history of ‘oppressors’ is not very appreciable. She expresses her bitterness and shows aggressiveness for forcing the ‘tongue’ on ‘a different culture’.
End of Part 2
Part 3
ReplyDeleteBhatt closes the poem with amazement in the last 7 lines. She uses enjambment to compose the complex idea of acquisition of ‘strange language’. She asks ‘how does it happen’ but continues to answer her own question with wonder and amazement. Bhatt feels that it is quiet difficult to understand how people love the language left by the ‘conquerors’ face’ after the ‘soul’ borne the torture. It becomes wonder for the poet to notice that the people here were left with ‘cropped soul’ but they stepped into future to love ‘the strange tongue’. English language must be the strange language that she refers in the poem. Maybe, people here welcome the change with time and life and they are kind to forgive or forget the past as it is no more important in the present. She uses ‘the unborn grandchildren’ which allows the readers to understand that the present generations are living in a different culture where everyone accepts other cultures.
Bhatt seems to be fearful to see the danger of forgetting the language of origin. Because the ‘strange language’ is lovable now, it may lead to the disappearance of mother tongue. She uses ‘unborn grandchildren’ to mean the generations who would come in this world. She also hints that these generations would accept and welcome all the cultures that they live in. Today, the world is not left with a culture that is purely not affected. So the poet thinks one might live and accept different cultures that affect them. The poet gives us the universal theme of ‘acceptance of all the cultures’. Though one would love his/her own culture, it also happens that people (souls) accept and begin to love other language(strange language).
In conclusion, I think that the poem explores the ideas from culture to values and oppression to loving strange language. Readers also understand the ideas of culture, religion, beliefs and ‘a history with difference’; where people are kind and modest to accept different culture and their language yet continue to have ‘a different history’ for themselves.
By Subrahmanyam Atchula
End of Part 3
The vivid and exemplary portrayal of the idea of treating books with approbation and not forgetting the culture of the motherland creates a strong sense of patriotism in the readers minds. She brings to light the disrespect people have for the books in the Western world and its symbolism of being a hyperbolic "sin" in the culture of her sovereign state. She hence brings out the differences between her cultural country and the "oppressors" despite them leaving a germ in the poet's country, which is making the citizens of the poet's country learn and love the "strange language" which they left behind and not one of the many languages already present in the country, due to which her country is losing its cultural heritage, thus leading it onto the road for reform from the age-old traditions. This pains the readers and leads them to think that despite the "torture" faced by the ancestors of the country, a torture of the culture is still continuing, hence depicting the loss of language and the transition in culture.
ReplyDeleteThe strong link to culture and mythology in coherence with the hyperbole of tragedy and cataclysm is brought about alluringly by Bhatt. By depicting a Greek god who has "emigrated" to India, history is shown to have been plagued by inaccuracies, which is in accordance with the hypothesis of "A Different History", as written by the learned "oppressors", determined to plant a disease in the culture which wipes out and replaces the native language by theirs, a characteristic that has been haunting the native stooges for a long time and is hence haunting the "unborn grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteA good effort to bring in original ideas to the poem by Bhatt
ReplyDeleteThe variety of cultures found in India is something to be appreciated, but Bhatt is also forced to recognize this double-edged blade. While she marvels at how the people accept ‘Pan’ seamlessly in their culture, allowing him to live in freedom, she brings out to the readers her concerns of how this acceptance may go too far as the people reject their own cultures, in favor of upholding that of their ‘oppressor’s’ when to her, the people’s original culture is more ‘free’ and value-filled than the ones who, as she rhetorically brings out, command their language to ‘murder’ others. The reader’s are seized by a sense of patriotism due to her ambiguous hints and feel a sense of indignancy and wish to stop getting so heavily influenced by those that have wronged them.
ReplyDeleteBand 2
DeleteGreat Pan had exceptionally portrayed her reverential attitude towards the culture of India and let the readers too have a glimpse of this culture through this poem. She is in awe how in India everyone's culture is taken into such positive light and is easily accepted. Bhatt familiarises the reader to 'Great Pan', who is 'not dead' just has left it's origin due to dissatisfaction as there is lack of respect for him; and thus has 'emigrated to India' where he will be respected and accepted.Readers are able to comprehend Bhatt's strong emotions towards India with her continuous praise for it.
ReplyDeletedue to dissatisfaction as there is lack of respect for him; and thus has 'emigrated to India' ----- Avoid this idea, rest is fine. Band 3
DeleteBhatt focuses on the dilemma of identity and the face of colonization- where one race forcefully occupies another and institutes their own alien culture over the one that previously existed. The ferociousness of the imagery reflects the aggression of the of the reinforced colonialism and the sadness of the unshakable deep rootedness. Bhatt’s tone is bitter, using metaphors such as “torture” to show that colonialism scars the conquered people
ReplyDeleteBy the continuous emphasis of the nature,culture, and tradition of the people in India, Bhatt teaches the readers the great amount of reverence the people 'here' portray towards every petty thing. The readers observe how it is 'a sin' to be rude to a book and how it is considered disrespectful to 'shove' a book aside with your foot. The readers get a very clear perception of how the people 'here' see godliness in everything and hence understand that that's what has taught them to respect and love all other cultures.
ReplyDeleteSir this is Prerna Sharma, I am posting from Neeharika Mittra as my account got deleted.
ReplyDeleteSujata Bhatt vividly portrays her ideas and benefits of culture and religion. She does this by mentioning some ethical values of Indians. This includes the belief that ‘sin to be rude to a book’. The poet uses informal words such as ‘shove’ and ‘slam’ to describe the actions of the one handling the object. The reference to ‘sarswati’ is made prominent to show the cultural beliefs of India. Thus by doing this she creates a strong stand amongst the readers on her idea.
-Prerna Sharma
Multiple views are mixed up in one PEEP. Try to take one view at a time and explain sufficiently. Band 3
DeleteSujata Bhatt emphasises on the changing cultures, connecting readers from the past when there were diverse languages to the present, where there is one universal language. Her use of 'language' refers to the rationality of each person and the traditions they maintain under the influence of their cultures. Thus the title, 'A Different History' evidently states the influence of the mentality of an 'oppressor' through 'language' as language does not have boundaries so it can either take over or remain supressed. Through this readers empathize with Bhatt and can relate to her disappointment towards the salvaged cultures.
ReplyDeleteBand 2 response
DeleteSujata Bhatt expresses her concern towards changes the world has gone through and how it is affecting the population. The world has become such that culture no longer plays an important role and people have forgotten the true meaning of culture. The things that people consider ignorant to follow have little teachings that play a big part in enhancing a person’s character. “A sin to slam books down”, “A sin to toss one carelessly” helps build the respect for everything, non-living or living. Thus, Sujata Bhatt by displaying these little petty things, unveils to readers the deeper meaning of culture and emphasises its worth and significance in a person’s life.
ReplyDeleteBand 2 response
DeleteBhatt expresses her concern towards culture; how people treat it and how it should be treated. Despite the fact that peoples mind set confirmed the death of 'Great Pan' and all in all their culture, we see its 'emigration', thus the shift and merge of two cultures in one place because of the respect attained there. The minutest of details are the ones shown to be respected the most to avoid any 'sin' to be committed on the basis of such rules. The emphasis of such ideas displays a striking image in the readers mind as to what is right and what is not
ReplyDeleteBand 3. Need to refine the view.
DeleteBand 3 response
ReplyDeleteBhat powerfully portrays the circumstances of the time in the history to find new arena for worship such as Greek god of nature, who finds a place in India. The poet describes how the nature god 'Great Pan' is not extinct as he is being worshiped in the culture of India by the people. The culture in India appreciates freedom as 'the gods roam freely' on this land. The great pan's incarnation in goat is also worshiped along with the 'snakes and monkeys' by the people in India. Thus, Bhat highlights the significance of the culture and the similarities between two cultures.
ReplyDeleteEssay I wrote on 'A Different History' for English Literature IGCSE
ReplyDelete1. Explore how Bhatt critically conveys her ideas of language and culture in the poem A Different History.
Bhatt has very strong opinions on language and culture. She conveys this by the words she uses to describe certain actions. For example she says ‘it is a sin to be rude to a book’, and the usage of the word ‘sin’ here makes me feel like it is a crime almost to disrespect books. Bhatt uses the word ‘sin’ three times to describe different scenarios of how one could abuse a book. This repetition shows me that books and literature are very prominent in her religion and culture.
The last stanza of this poem is dedicated to how we should respect our language. Bhatt uses strong alliteration, ‘with a long scythe swooping out of the conquerors face’ when describing how she doesn’t understand why people would love a different language to the one they grew up speaking. Since Bhatt seems to be very strongly opinionated when it comes to language and maintaining one’s original culture, I find it ironic how she writes this poem in English, when her homeland is India, therefore traditionally her father tongue would be Hindu or Gujarati. I think Bhatt may have done this on purpose as a subtle reminder to the reader that society doesn’t respect tradition as highly as we did once, when the Great Pan walked the earth. That we all bow down to the pressure of society, and that she has written her poem in the most commonly spoken tongue to show this.
Another thing that Bhatt does throughout this poem is remind the reader that everything comes from something. She reminds us that paper comes from wood, which comes from trees, so we must respect the pages of a book as not to offend the tree. I imagine that it trees are of great importance to the Indian people, as she mentions that we must not offend them, and also that ‘every tree is sacred’. This is, I believe, why she makes it very clear in the first stanza that it is a ‘sin to be rude to a book’ as books originate from trees.
Bhatt also mentions a god and a goddess, the Great Pan, who is the greek god or nature, and the goddess Sarasvati, who is the hindu goddess of the arts. She mentiosn the Greek God pan to emphasise the fact that the culture still exists, and has not disappeared, but instead has moved throughout the world. I think Bhatt also wants to show the similarity between the cultures of the east and west.
These are the main ways in which I think Bhatt had communicated her thoughts on language and culture.