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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal ISSN 2278-9529
Indianness in Ezekiel’s Hymns in Darkness
Pastapure Dileep
Assistant Professor
Dhunda Maharaj College,
Degloor.
The present paper analyse poets use of Indian ethos in his collection of poems
“Hymns in Darkness”. Ezekiel discusses the social, cultural picture of India. He portrays
contemporary social situation and case studies. He uses Indian English by using present
continuous tense. Ezekiel takes recourse to humour, irony and satire and thus to grapple
with the problem.
Nissim Ezekiel is one of the most notable Indian poets in English today. He was born in
Bombay in 1924.He is Jew by birth but he had made India his home. He is well aware of the all
circumstances, culture, tradition and language in India. It is poetry deals with the ordinary human
relationship and social circumstances. Ezekiel’s has been consciously Indian is his sensibility.
Ezekias’s Hymns in darkness was published in 1976. He desire to achieve complete identity with
self. Family and society and god, several of his poems, reveal his increased awareness of Indian
social milieu and Ezekiel is seen to be Avery Indian poet in English. Fake healers Sadhu saints
all are intrinsic part of Indian social life and these are treated ironically and satirically in number
of poems in Hymns in darkness.
As for the native sensibility is concern It refers to direct rapport with life and thing
around and to the knowledge of the response to long established National traditions and customs
and indeed to whole way of life that is called culture. Indianness in Indian writing in English is
concerns V. A. Sahane thinks that.
“The Indians of creative writing in English will have to judge by awareness of
author of certain specified characteristics of societies and culture pattern in India”1
K. R.S. Iyenger believes that,
“It stands to reason that what makes Indo Anglian literature an Indian Literature. And not just a
ramshackle out house of English literature is the quality of its indianness in the choice of subjects
in the texture of thought and play of sentiment in the organisation of material and creative
language”2.
It is to the credit of Ezekiel that in his poem he has reflected not only what mony Indian think but
also the way teey think in English Ezekiel clarifies his relationship with India.
“I am not a Hindu, and my background makes me natural outsider circumstances to a conscious
decision relate me to India”.3
Vol. II. Issue. III 1 May 2013
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal ISSN 2278-9529
Seem to agree that Ezekiel poetry is a personal guest for identity, communal and
harmony of life. Most of the Ezekiel’s poetry use to analyse Indian culture. In Railway clerk he
portrays the status of the clerk who complains.
Money, money where to get money
My job is such, no one is giving bribe
While other clerks are in fortune position
And no promotion even because I am not graduate
(The RaiwayChank)
The poet also portray the of office where the clerk is working
My desk is too smalls
The far is net repaired for two monthly
Three men the
(The railway clerk)
In Good bye party of Miss Pushpa T. S. the poet use to analyse the for well speech
because missPushpa is departing for foreign. Ezekiel tries to parody such speeches which are
usually rumbling even the logical connectives between ideas are missing. In the following lines
he expresses a typical Indian thought processed in Indian English.
Miss pushpa is coming
Form very high family,
Her father was renowned advocate
In Bulsor or Surat
I am not remember now which place
Surat? Ah yes
Once only I stayed in surat
With family members
Of my uncle’s very old friend
His wife was cooking nicely
that was long time ago.
(Good bye party of
Ms.Pushpa T. S.)
The speaker goes for away from main subject without bothering about it is a
characteristically undisciplined Indian way and as a characteristic of Indian crase he remembers
much later that Miss Pushpa is going to foreign country to improve her prospect. This is a good
dia for those Indian who suffer from xenophilia.
Ezekiel is a very Indian poet. It can be seen from the way the poet described the flood in
Bihar in the Truth about the floods. Is based on a report published in the Indian express,sept, 25,
1967 by V.K. Dixit. In the initial lines Ezekiel create the atmosphere of flood affected areas.
Vol. II. Issue. III 2 May 2013
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal ISSN 2278-9529
For a visitor
To the Flood affected areas.
Of Balasure, Mayurbhanj and Cuttack
In North Bihar
In is a job to get at the truth.
Meet any official.
He will claim, his distinct
Sub-division or block
Is the worst hit’
And pass on a hand out
with statistics of relief work.
(The Truth about the flood)
In this way he create the authentic atmosphere of paddy fields with knee deep water and
now all the hose had collapsed. He also evokes a grim picture of poverty in following lines.
The villagers ran to them
They slapped their bellies.
And whined
I have not eaten for three day”
(The Truth about the flood)
It is characteristic of India fatalism that the entire fault is put on nature and yet the poor
Reporter is asked to report truth. .
The district authorities
At balasore
Admitted they had failed,
But they claimed they could not have done better
Nature, they said
Write the truths they said.
in your report
(The Truth about the flood)
.
In guru the poet portrait Indian saint
The saint we are told
Once live a life of sirr
(Guru)
Guru was unkind towards poor discourteous towards his made disciples, but meticulous
in examining the account of the hermitage living in luxury he became very fat it never exercise
any restrain on his senses yet he was worshipped as guru.
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Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research journal ISSN 2278-9529
If saints are like this
What hope is there for use?
(Guru)
In Entertainment the poet use to putty’s tee Indian peoples who entertain without cost
Anticipating time for pay meat
The crowd dissolves
Some in shame port
With the smaller coin they have
(Entertainment)
Night and scorpion poem has its setting attender family situation. The theme of the poem
is poet’s mother study by scorpion. Villagers gather at the poet home to saw his mother people
superstition were discussed as.
May the sin of your previous birth
Be burned away tonight they said
May your suffering decret
The misfortune of your next birth they said
May the sum of evil
Balanced in this unreal world
Against the sum of good
Become diminished by our pain
May the poison purity your flesh.
(Night and scorpion)
This is contrasted with the world of science as represented by his sceptic, retionalistfature, who
in contradistinction to the holy man tries power mixture herb and hybrid.
The poem end with a fine climax when after the hectic drama of twenty hours the mother only
says than god the scorpion picked on me and spared my children.
Thus the Ezekiel uses to portray the Indianness throughout his poems. He discusses the
social milieu by using Indian English.
Works Cited:
1. Shahane.V.A “An Artists experience of India: Ruth PrawarJhabvala’s fiction” The
Criterion XII, nov23 (1970) p-62, print.
2. Iyengar K.R.S. “Indian writing in English prospect and retrospect”,Indian writing in
English ed. Ramesh Mohan, orient Longman, Bombay, p-8, print.
3. Patel Gieve, “Collected Poems 1952-1988”. Oxford university press, 1989, p-190 print.
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