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What the poem is mainly about It is the internal struggle of the persona between her own heritage and how she adopted the language of her heritage’s enemy. Main Literary… Read More
Jun 19, 2023 · "A Different History" by Sujata Bhatt is a thought-provoking poem that delves into themes of cultural identity, language, and the impact of colonization. The poem presents a contrasting view of religious and cultural practices, particularly through the figure of Pan and the gods in India.
- Summary
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Themes
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‘A Different History’ by Sujata Bhatt upholds the roots of Indian (particularly Hindu) culture and revisits the nation’s colonial past. The poem begins with a reference to the ancient Greek god Pan. In Indian Vedic mythology, Pushan is the counterpart of Pan. According to the speaker, Pan settled permanently in India, where gods roam freely disguis...
Stanza One
Sujata Bhatt’s poem ‘A Different History’ presents a revisionist glass to peek into India’s cultural and political past. The poem sets off with a direct allusionto the mythical god “Great Pan,” who has a number of departments under his control, including nature, rustic music, shepherds, etc. In the Hindu religion, Pushan is the counterpart of the Greek Pan (or Roman Faunus). In Vedic mythology, Pushan is the son of goddess Aditi, brother of popular gods Indra and Vishnu. Pushan is responsible...
Stanza Two
The second stanza of ‘A Different History’ begins with a set of two questions regarding language. Bhatt asks if anyone can point out one language that does not belong to the oppressor. In this way, she changes the dynamic of viewing a particular language from the post-colonial perspective. She implies that there is nothing wrong with the language itself, but it depends on who the user is. The second question projects “language” as a human being able to murder someone. Here, the point she trie...
‘A Different History’ consists of two sections. The first stanza comprises 18 lines, and the second stanza has a total of 11 lines. There is no regular rhyming pattern or meter in the poem. The poem is written in free verse from the third-person point of view. Bhatt uses this aloof personato hint at her own background. She left India and settled fi...
In ‘A Different History,’ Bhatt implements the following literary devices: 1. Allusion: The poem begins with an allusion to the Greek god of nature and common folks, Pan: “Great Pan is not dead.” By the lines, “he simply emigrated/ to India,” Bhatt hints at the counterpart of Pan, Pushan, one of the Adityas in Hinduism. There is an allusion to the ...
In ‘A Different History,’ Bhatt makes use of the themes of colonial history, language, culture, and loss of one’s values. This poem revisits the colonial past of India from an objective narrator’s point of view. Ironically, the narrator (Sujata Bhatt) is Indian herself. She tries to present history from the post-colonial perspective without dispara...
The following poems explore the themes present in Bhatt’s poem ‘A Different History.’ You can also read more poems by Sujata Bhatt. 1. ‘Checking Out Me History’ by John Agard— This poem is made up of colonial history and features some influential historical figures whose contributions are long forgotten. 2. ‘Answer’ by Chinua Achebe— This poem port...
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'Which language/ has not been the oppressor's tongue? /.... And how does it happen /... [that] .. .grandchildren / grow to love that strange language' ('A Different History'). She reconciles English and Gujarati in one of her most memorable poems, 'Search for My Tongue'.
- Niranjan Mohanty, Sujata Bhatt
- India
- 2002
- Carcanet Press Ltd
The Poems of Sujata Bhatt study guide contains a biography of Sujata Bhatt, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. About The Poems of Sujata Bhatt. Poem Text. The Poems of Sujata Bhatt Summary. Character List.
Sep 24, 2010 · Which language has not been the oppressor’s tongue? Which language truly meant to murder someone? And how does it happen that after the torture, after the soul has been cropped with the long scythe swooping out of the conqueror’s face – the unborn grandchildren grow to love that strange language.
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For Bhatt, language is synonymous with the tongue, the physical act of speaking. She has described Gujarati and the Indian childhood it connects her to as “the deepest layer of my identity”. However, English has become the language she speaks every day and which she, largely, chooses to write in.
