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Indianism in Nissim Ezekiel:
A Study of Night of Scorpion, The Professor and
The Patriot
Dr.Omana Antony,
Asst.Professor,
Lingaya‟s University, Faridabad
Abstract
Nissim Ezekiel, the Indian born Nissim Ezekiel, the representative
Jewish poet is a renowned representative poet of Post Colonial India has a unique
of Post Independent Indo-Anglian position in Indo-Anglian Literature.
Literature. Though he was a Professor Though born in a Jewish family, Bombay,
career wise, he established himself as a and educated abroad, he was a pure Indian
literary man. Nissim’s popularity rests in thinking and expression. The highly
upon his collections of poems. He is renowned collections of poems of Nissim
appreciated the most for the naturalness are noticed for their unique qualities. The
with which he depicted Indian themes in dominating features of Ezekiel poems are
the foreign tongue. Even an average the quest for identity, Indianism,
Indian could enjoy his poems with ease. spirituality and the reality of Indian life. In
The irony, sarcasm and the Indianism of all his creative works he was very keen to
his poems were quite amusing for the select Indian situations and present them
readers. The credit for this appreciation with a purely Indian attitude. He was not
was due to the Indian English with which for idealism and romanticism, the soft and
Nissim described his themes and the Indian beautiful aspects of life. He highlighted the
backdrop and the Indianism that were reality of Indian life with its bitterness,
specific to his poems. The paper hypocrisy and bits of sweetness through
“Indianism in Nissim Ezekial: A Study of the lives of common people. The
Night of Scorpion, The Professor and The characters of his poems are from different
Patriot” is an attempt to analyse the walks of life but without a bit of
Indianism in Nissim through the study of exaggeration. We feel and experience the
selected poems.
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Indianness through each and every mantras and to do the other superstitious
character and situation in the poems. acts to rescue the mother.
The relationship, especially the human
Villages are the backbone of India. relationship is the strongest among the
Ezekiel‟s The Night of the Scorpion villagers. This is the most ideal
depicts a typical Indian village in flesh and humanitarian aspect of village life. The
blood. The poem is with a simple theme of feelings of oneness and belongingness are
a mother getting stung by a scorpion on a specific to the rustic people. Indian
rainy day and the consequent reactions and villagers are the model for the thick fellow
responses of the family members and the feelings with sympathy and empathy. It is
peasant neighbours of a true village. The unconditional and without expecting any
background, the characters and the actions reward. Ezekiel emphasizes this when he
of this poem are real life like. In fact says:
Ezekiel has breathed life to each and every “ The peasants came like swarms of flies
line of this poem to make us feel and smell and buzzed the name of God a hundred
and experience the essence of Indianism. times
The poem starts with the mother getting to paralyse the Evil One.”
stung by a scorpion and the scorpion … and they sat around
rushing out to the safety of rain through the on the floor with my mother in the centre,
sacks of grains. This it self gives the the peace of understanding on each face.”
picture of a typical village house with the The sincerity and true concern reflected in
stored sacks of rice or wheat or cereals. the above mentioned lines are specific to
The concern and care with which the the rustic people. For them relationship is
neighbours and the house hold people are the most cherished treasure. They are not
involved in helping the family is a rich financially but they are the richest in
remarkable feature of humanity typical to their mind with human love and readiness
the innocent people of villages. to help. There is no discrimination in the
Irrespective of the time , weather and name of status, creed or caste. The peasant
inconveniences, each one was ready to do community that represents the village is
whatever was possible by them to help the devoid of the inhuman traits like
mother get out of the so called evil effect selfishness, greed and narrow mindedness.
of the scorpion sting. It was a voluntary act Forgetting the time, the rain and all other
from each to rush to get hot water, to chant inconveniences they rushed to the house
where the mother was suffering. They
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rushed there not to be the passive viewers Nissim‟s description of the superstitious
or gossip mongers, but to partake the beliefs of the villagers is such a realistic
sufferings of their fellow being as best as one as though the poet himself was one of
they can. They involved physically, the witnesses. The frantic search to locate
mentally and spiritually for the well being the scorpion and to stop it in order to stop
of the victim who belongs to a better status the movement of its poison in the mother‟s
than that of theirs. They never tried to body is a superstitious belief with out any
show off. With a genuine interest and scientific proof. But it is the innocence of
concern they prayed and wished the these villagers that made them chant
immediate recovery of the mother. Each mantras and clip their tongues to stop the
one contributed to console the mother. It evil one. Ignorance is the root cause of
was with empathy they sat around the superstitious beliefs, yet it is the same
mother. This genuine fellow feeling can be ignorance that retains the innocence of this
seen only in the rustic background of India. peasant community. The more educated
Urbanization has made man selfish, greedy they are, the more selfish and narrow-
ad narrow-minded. The pleasure of human minded they become. Thus loses the
bonds is alien to those urbanized people. innocence of rustic life. Even the educated
For them visiting a suffering person is an people slip into the influence of
inconvenience, spending something for the superstition in exigencies. This natural
needy is an unwanted obligation and trend is highlighted when the educated
spending time with the needy is a big father himself poured paraffin and lit it as a
wastage. The same poet in his poem “The desperate act to destroy the evil effect of
Truth about Floods” describes the the scorpion poison.
response of a group of urban students who Villagers are strictly god fearing folk.
visited a flood affected village for social They submit themselves to the will of God
service. They were more eager to get Almighty and believe that everything
photographed while distributing biscuits about them is decided and executed by that
for the hungry victims of flood. According supreme power. The priest is the
to Nissim, an individual loses root as he representative of God for them. In case of
/she gets cut off from the village, the an adversity or happiness this
cradle of tradition, values, morals and representative of God will be there as one
conventions. Ezekiel‟s depiction of the true among them. In Night of the Scorpion
Indian from the village is an incredible and also, Nissim brings the priest to execute
envious experience. the divine act of destroying the evil
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through rituals. Indian tradition is rich in the poet through just two lines that come as
spiritual myths and ideologies. The belief the concluding part of the poem:
in the previous birth and the next birth, and “My mother only said
the relevance of the „karma‟ and the Thank God the scorpion picked on me
consequent sufferings in the present life And spared my children”.
forms the basic concept of Hindu Her 10 hours sufferings, fear and anxiety
mythology in Indian background. It is this just vanished to the air at the thought that it
belief that warns humans to abstain from was she who fell the victim whereas her
evil. And this belief in its full strength is child was safe. With a heart full of
practiced among the villagers. gratitude, she thanks God Almighty. It is
May he sit still, they said the sacrificial love of a mother! The Indian
May the sins of your previous birth
motherhood is the embodiment of selfless
be burned away tonight, they said.
love and sacrifice. Here the mother thanks
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
God Almighty for giving the sufferings to
May the sum of all evil her sparing her child. It is a consistent
balanced in this unreal world prayer of a mother to spare her children
from all dangers offering her own life in
against the sum of good
exchange. The famous poetess Kamala Das
become diminished by your pain.
who was very fond of jwellary and luxury
May the poison purify your flesh
promised to abstain from all those
of desire, and your spirit of ambition, gaudiness in exchange of her son‟s health.
they said, and they sat around In Arundhati Roy‟s God of Small Things,
on the floor with my mother in the centre,
Ammu remained at home and underwent
the peace of understanding on each face.
all tortures and humiliations because of her
More candles, more lanterns, more
neighbours, children. She couldn‟t leave them and go
more insects, and the endless rain. to make her own life with the person
whom she likes even if she stood a better
An ideal Indian mother is an embodiment chance. The maternal tie holds her back to
of love, sacrifice and patience. She will be victimized more and more despite the
place her life, pleasures and desires in promised comfortable life within her reach.
exchange of the life health and welfare of Just by a moment‟s effort to ignore her
her children. The Indian concept of children would have enabled her to break
motherhood is very vividly expressed by the maternal tie. But she was a mother, an
Indian mother. She can never be
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indifferent or negligent or ignorant towards departure of his wife suggestive of his
her children unless and otherwise she is loneliness in the old age. With a vein of
abnormal. irony he comments at family planning
Night of the Scorpion stands as the best programme and how effectively people
example and the most appreciated work of practice it, the confined life of a retired
Nissim for its life like depiction of person who hardly goes out. Hence his
ordinary realities of Indian village life. wife is no more, he must be doing the role
Along with the intensity of Indian flavour of babysitter for his grandchildren in the
it blends the poet‟s ironical attitude also family, another burden of the retired
while he ends the poem by the mother parents. One can visualize a very ordinary
thanking God after the whole complexities reality of a retired person‟s life style,
of superstitious ritualism and sceptic aspirations and routine in the Professor. To
rationalism. However Nissim‟s another an aged man the things that matter are the
poem The Professor is more noted for its children who are doing well and settled
expression of Indian attitude in the Bazaar down well, grandchildren and the personal
English ie. in the pure Indian English. health. Here the professor is excited while
Indians are proud of their proficiency in boasting on his achievements as:
the use of English, but they never bother Are well settled in life.
about the fact that their English called One is Sales Manager,
Indian English is farther away from the One is Bank Manager,
Native English. The poem is a simple Both have cars
conversation of a retired professor with Though the poet is highlighting the
one of his former students whom he exaggerated style in the talking of an
happened to meet on the way. The retired Indian, he also becomes satirical about the
professor was eager to inform the outsider social attitude towards the family status,
about his comfortable family status with marriage etc. The status of a family very
the well-settled children, reasonably good much depends upon the number of cars the
health without the luxuries of old age like family has. Similarly the parents consider
diabetis, blood pressure, cholesterol and so themselves fully relieved of their
on. He expresses his pride on the increase responsibilities towards their daughters
in the population of his family by the once when they are sent in marriage.
addition of eleven grandchildren. While Whatever the future or consequence,
sharing all achievements and happiness, marriage is the end of a girl‟s ties with her
with a throng of pain he shares the family. It is a style and matter of hollow
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pride to introduce the sons and daughters -You were so thin, like stick.
with their designations because that tells He resorts to the Indian mania of
about their position in the society. The poet comparing people to objects:
here mocks at the practices and ideals of You were so thin, like stick,
the society that showcases their children Now you are man of weight and
with their status. consequence.
In addition to this Nissim also brings the That is good joke.
topics like generation gap and the blending If you are coming again this side by
of the new and the old. A touch of humour chance,
and satire can be sensed when the Visit please my humble residence also.
Professor boasts on the number of cars, I am living just on opposite house's
daughters got married, no ailments of old backside.
age and so on which is quite an Indian The many phrases, words and usages in
mentality of a man of that age. the poem show the syntactical oddities of
English used by Indian speakers. A glance
Though the poem depicts the picture of a into the poem gives many examples like:
bereaved retired professor meeting a
former student on his way to a milk booth You won't believe but I have eleven
or to a grocery, the conversational grandchildren.
language exhibits the remarkable talent of How many issues you have? Three?
Nissim to Indianise this poem. The He makes a string of mistakes in grammar
professor neither proves to be strong one and usage as he states:
academically, nor a morally supportive Other also doing well, though not so well.
one, as he is an egocentric, bothered with Every family must have black sheep.
his own matters. The tendency of Indians Though he advocates family planning, he
to exaggerate in order to get more attention does not seem to adopt it.
or to impress is very apparent in the Indians are also obsessed with the use of
following usages: the present continuous tense instead of
-Now you are man of weight and simple present tense:
consequence. We are keeping up. Our progress is
-Everything is happening with leaps and progressing.
bounds. Old values are going, new values are
-Our progress is progressing. -This year I coming.
am sixty-nine.”
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Everything is happening with leaps and In addition to the humour, the grammatical
bounds. incorrectness is also a dominant factor. But
I am going out rarely, now and then the reader enjoys the fun and reads the
The poet yet again mocks at the academic poem with excitement due to the flow of
weakness of the professor at Indian the Indian thought. Hence the underlying
English when he says: humor of the Indian conditions is
You won't believe but I have eleven understood thoroughly by even an average
grandchildren. Indian and comment on them. Ezekiel is
How many issues you have? Three? therefore more than an Indian poet with
He makes a string of mistakes in grammar quaint language.
and usage as he states: Nissim‟s The Patriot is another marvelous
Other also doing well, though not so well. example of Indianess. The content of the
Every family must have black sheep. poem is the genuine interest of the poet to
Though he advocates family planning, he instill a true concern for Gandhian attitude
does not seem to adopt it. among the politically minded intellectuals
Though each line sounds to be humorous, of India. Though the theme is with genuine
they are the mere translation of the native concern, it is with an apt blend of
tongue into English with the same tone and patriotism and satire on the political
structure. Here the language is ineffectual, attitude of Indians. We celebrate
ungrammatical and unidiomatic. On the Gandhijayanti and preach a lot on
other hand, Nissim Ezekiel's use of "Indian Gandhian principles but never practice any
English" gives life to the characters, of the ideas which we preach a lot.
episodes, and attitudes of individuals and Though we swear on nonviolence and
communities, and goes well beyond peace, there is not even a single day passes
creating humorous situations. Ezekiel on without violence. The hypocrisy that is
excels not only in describing Indian highlighted with true concern is that
situations, but also in using irony as a Gandhiji is a person of action where as the
weapon of depicting characteristic Indian speaker in this poem is a man of only talks.
attitude by employing 'Babu Angrezi'. Hence this poem is an eye-opener to the
If you are coming again this side by generation that indulge only in preaching
chance, when action is the need of the hour. This
Visit please my humble residence also. genuine concern is depicted by Nissim in
I am living just on opposite house's pure Indian English. The structure and tone
backside. of the phrases and words used in it gives a
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humorous effect to the poem, But they by the poet. Words like „goonda‟,
reflect the easiness with which Nissim „Indirabehn‟, „lassi...are examples for
employs Indian English to describe the pidgins.
Indian attitude.
In the poem The Patriot we find the The Patriot is a typical poem of Nissim
ample instances of the excessive use of where he presents the contemporary
present participle. This becomes evident in political situations by the reference of
the second line of the second stanza: Indira Gandhi and the Emergency as a
“Everyday I’m reading Times of India political strategy used by the then Prime
To improve my English Language” Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi to suppress
Instead of using “I read” he uses “I am her political rivals. The contemporary
reading”. Another example of this feature political unrest was well projected through
we find in the fifth line of this first stanza; the lines
“I am simply not understanding”. Lend me the ears.
We find the omission of linking verbs in Everything is coming -
this poem. In the second line and third line Regeneration, Remuneration,
of the fourth stanza we find that linking Contraception.
verb has been omitted: Be patiently, brothers and sisters.
“Pakistan behaving like this
China behaving like that” With a perfect blend of patriotism and
In both the lines „is‟ (to be verb) is satire on the then political set up, Nissim
missing. Another example of this feature reveals his genuine concern for the
we find in the fifth line of the same Gandhian principles and attitude.
paragraph:
“Really, most harassing me” I am standing for peace and non-violence.
In the second line of the first paragraph Why world is fighting fighting
we find the use of reduplication: Why all people of world
“Why world is fighting fighting” Are not following Mahatma Gandhi,
Here the word „fighting‟ has been used I am simply not understanding.
twice. It is used perhaps to emphasize the Ancient Indian Wisdom is 100% correct,
intensity of the problem. I should say even 200% correct,
Except these features, there are many other But modern generation is neglecting-
features adopted by Ezekiel in this poem. Too much going for fashion and foreign
In this poem pidgins are very skilfully used thing.
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2. "modern generation is neglecting" -
Though the entire conversation is assumed another common mistake, the omission of
to be by an ongoing pedestrian, the the object of a transitive verb.
discussion points to the essence of 3. "Too much going for fashion" - 'too
Indianism like Unity in Diversity, the much' is by way of being a universal
political unrest, Indo-China-Pak friction modifier in Indian English;
and so on. India is a land of several 4."Other day I'm reading newspaper" -
religions, culture, language and races –a Hindi doesn't have articles; hence either
huge mix of so many components, - most their complete omission as in this sentence,
of which speak different languages, wear 5."You want one glass lassi?". the
different clothes ...The easy expression of replacement of article by numbers
the common man‟s opinion about the 6."To improve my English Language" -
contemporary political turmoil is brought the use of the phrase 'English Language',
out by Nissim through Indian English where just 'English' will do.
which is described as the Babu‟s aggrezi. 7. "One goonda fellow" - Nouns are often
As in the case of The Professor, there is a used as adjectives, as also in "student
direct translation of the ideas and views unrest fellow".
and attitude from mother tongue to English 8. "Lend me the ears" - when articles _are_
with the same structure and tone. used, they should be used correctly, as also
I am simply not understanding. in "Not that I am ever tasting the wine".
Ancient Indian Wisdom is 100% correct, 9. "All men are brothers, no?" - The
I should say even 200% correct, interrogative 'no?' at the end of the
But modern generation is neglecting- sentence
Too much going for fashion and foreign is common to many non-native speakers of
thing. English.
Ezekiel‟s greatness is at his brilliance with
which he could blend the essence of
The direct translation of ideas, episodes, language with the humour and to present
characters and attitude results a lot of the purely Indian episodes and situations
grammatical errors as follow: with a strong Indian flavour.
1. "I am simply not understanding" - the
misuse of the continuous tense Nissim Ezekiel stands apart from other
contemporaries due to his
easiness with which he wrote poems on
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very ordinary situations in India in a very
comfortable Indian English blending the
essence of the language with fun, irony and
satire. The new use of English was as the
use of their everyday speech. This enabled
an average Indian enjoy an English poem
with the satisfaction of enjoying a poem in
the mother tongue. They could look at
each folly of the Indian as a harmless joke
though there was a sting of sarcasm. The
above analysis holds an index to the fact
that the high popularity of Nissim
Ezekiel‟s poems is due to its closeness to
Indian life and its expression in Indian
English which even an average Indian can
enjoy with full satisfaction. Here lies the
true merit of Nissim Ezekiel.
Reference:
- R.Raj Rao. Nissim Ezekiel: the
authorised biography (N.D:
Penguin Books India, 2000), New
Delhi.
- Thorat, K.Sandeep, Characteristic
Indian Attitude in Nissim Ezekiel’s
Poetry, Language in India,
Vol.1X, ISSN:1930-2940
- Indernath Kher,”The Message from
Another shore: The Esthetic Vision
of Nissim Ezekiel, Contemporary
Indian English Verse,
ed.Chiranthan Kulshreshtha (Delhi:
Arnold Heinemann, 1950).
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