Assignment
Submitted To Ma’am Abeera Wasim
Submitted By Group IV (Members)
Hassan Aziz
M. Aqib Shahzad
Noor Zahra
Haider Ali
Nazia Bibi
Subject South Asian Literature
Topic Poems by Alamgir Hashmi
(Pakistan Movement & Snow)
Department English
Class BS English (Semester VII)
University of Education Lahore, D.G. Khan Campus.
Alamgir Hashmi Biography:-
Alamgir Hashmi was born in Lahore on November 15,1951. His education is
from University of Punjab Lahore 1972 and University of Louisville in 1977. He
is also known as Aurangzeb Alamgir Hashmi. He is an English poet of
Pakistani origin. He received a certificate of merit of civil defence in 1966. He
married Beatrice’s störk in 1978, one daughter and two sons. He worked as
an instructor in English in 1971-72. He also worked as a tutor of English in
Government college of Lahore and lecturer in English in Forman Christian
College in 1973-74. He was a visiting lecturer in South Asian languages and
literature. He also worked in University of North Carolina in1974-75.
Inuniversity od Louisville he worked as a lecturer of English and in University
of Bahawalpur he worked as an assistant professor of English in 1979-80.
He is considered avant grand both in his early and later works were published
to universal critical acclaim and influence. He is a poet of English in Pakistani
origin .
Poem by Alamgir Hashmi “PAKISTAN MOVEMENT” :
The poem “Pakistan Movement” written by Alamgir Hashmi is divided into
three sections or parts.
• Part 1 deals with the bloody partition of the Sub-continent after the end of
Colonial rule.
• Part 2 deals with the structural coherence of movement and migration
through concurrent images of raising and falling energy, paradoxically without
any movement.
• Part 3 deals with the future of Pakistan and hopes of the nation.
Summary:-
Poet gives an insight into the scenario of the partition of sub-continent.
Thousands of people were migrating from one place to another, while some
were returning back and some others were confused. There were chaos and
confusion everywhere. The poet uses images from Collective Unconscious in
order to reconstruct the past history of the partition.The people were migrating
by foot in the hot summer days, some on bullock-carts while some on steam
trains in order to save their lives from the hooligans who were chasing them
for butchering the men, looting the possessions and kidnapping raping and
the women. Different opinions were prevailing regarding the partition. There
was a betrayal of England who made false promises to the people. The love
was murdered in the streets of communal violence. The cities were burning
and horror was prevailing everywhere. After explaining the horrors of partition,
Alamgir Hashmi makes us to think that this land was the beautiful land
imagined in the dream of the poet(Allama Iqbal) and even long before him,
conquered by Arabian Sailor (Muhammad bin Qasim) who was firm in his
belief and laid the foundation of Islam on it. The rule of Islam remained for
centuries. In the second part, Alamgir Hashmi says that he has witnessed
these incidents after reading some book though he was not there in reality.
He imagines himself standing on some strange shore that is fixed by the past
events and waits for the arrival of the boat. After riding his boat, and having
the oar blades, he begins his journey to the past from the present. Reaching
into the past, he considers his safety-significant on the land that has been
annexed by dull-looking marauders.
Hence he goes to some tall building and waits there for the passing of this
horror and violent night and coming of the dawn i.e the bright day that would
bring prosperity on the land. That dawn comes but does not last long. The
sealions (i.e. the mariners of USSR during the late 70s till 1991) who desired
to reach the warm waters of the Indian Ocean came from the North terrorising
the land) wanted to repeat the violence of summer (i.e. the time of partition).
Eyes, turning, liquid, green signify that they had reached quite near the warm
and green land of Pakistan. These communists had reached near the
frontiers of Pakistan and satisfied the neighbour countries against it.
Thus it was a big threat to the existence of Pakistan. However, a volcanic
disturbance appeared from the crust of earth unexpectedly. All the plans of
enemies failed. The enemy state splits into a number of princely states
(disintegration of USSR in 1991) and thus Pakistan was saved. Now, even
though this country is safe, yet the challenges are not over. In the 3rd section
of the poem, Alamgir Hashmi demonstrates that the future is worth investing
in and hoping for, by using metaphors like surging and slow-moving water,
sowing and reaping as well as topography and flora. For the poet, past is an
odd valley, the present full of intensity and only future is something where
hopes live for eternity. Here violent flows of the river mean revolution and
unending slow flow of the river means evolution. In the end, he gives a
message that one should sow the seeds of the good, communal harmony and
prosperity in the future for the betterment and development of Pakistan.
Analysis:-
This poem by Alamgir Hashmi is divided into three sections. The first part
deals with the bloody partition of the Sub-continent. Some horrible and
terrifying pictures of the migration are drawn. Pakistan Movement is
undoubtedly a moment that resulted in a wholesale migration of millions of
people from their home-lands. A number of horrible and heart-rending scenes
are still in the memory of the migrates. The houses left by them are set on
fire. The blistering journeys on foot, the grinding oxcart expeditions, the slow,
steamy railways and their marauders behind us. . . . . and 47’s burning cities
behind us. After portraying a picture of these horrible spectacles, the poet
advices us to bring it under our speculation that it was the land sublimely
beautiful dreamt by our poet philosopher, it was the land detected by the
Arabian sailor (Muhammad Bin Qasim) . After that Muslims ruled over there
for more than eight centuries. That was the height of Muslim rule in India.
After the partition, somewhere in 1979, the sea lions aspired to capture the
world. They desired to reach the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. It was a
big threat for the existence of Pakistan. After the partition, somewhere in
1979, the sea lions aspired to capture the world. Violent flow of rivers means
revolution whereas unending slow flow of rivers means evolution. The past is
astoundingly a beautiful valley. The poet ends the poem with the message
that we should do good to our men, to our nation. We should maintain
our freedom at any cost. The poet ends the poem with the message that we
should do good to our men, to our nation. The future is anyhow upon this
planet, a worth tending flower. It must be kept in view to enjoy its beauty and
fragrance upon permanent basis. The structure of the poem is complex and
complicated because the style of the poet is suggestive and reflective. The
readers must have some knowledge of history to pursue the poet’s ideas .
The above said incidents are not narrated in a traditional way rather they are
only hinted upon to put forward a justification for the creation of Pakistan and
they also urge us to stand for the freedom of our country and preserve its
ideology.
Conclusion:
However on a carefully study of the poem it has been found that there is a
thin subtle thread which runs throughout the poem of unity. The above and
gives it a sort said incidents are not narrated in a traditional way rather they
are only hinted upon to put forward a justification for a creation of Pakistan
they also urges to stand for the freedom of our country and preserve its
ideology.
Greek Chorus in Pakistani Literature poem, Snow
Snow
The blizzard overnight,
We wake up
to crazy things:
the pine trees rinsed in ice,
their glass twigs shattered below,
Our brains like eggs scrambled,
after dim sleep and snow.
What can one make of snow
this late,
ice-filled
chrysanthemums
pinned to the window?
No thought in winter would
burn
itself to fragrance,
or summer wit.
In this ghastly white,
when I want to say I am afraid
and wordless.
I cannot breathe my breath.
I have seen it happen.
Once stealthily
as in grey, white, off-white
hair in my father's beard
which the razor has never let
anyone see.
and the day
dazzled by the light of his commitment
he frowned--
it is not light
to be on the wrong side
of things--
he was already losing weight.
And two years later
two more wrinkles on the face
made him forever angry.
Overview
The poem Snow by Alamgir Hashmi is a modern poem that revolves around
different themes, issues, and ideas. The poem is a reflection of nature. The
poem has forty lines without any pattern and rhyming scheme. The poem is
written in a very simple language.
Summary
The poem opens with the description of snow. At night the sound of the storm
continues over and there and the poet listens to all the crazy things which are
happened. The beautiful green pine trees cover by snow from bottom to top
and rinse in ice. Glass twigs have fallen below due to the pressure of snow
and ice. Little branches break and there is destruction everywhere. In this
situation, the brains are not working and confused. Here the poet compares it
with the egg's breaking which leads to uncomfortable sleep. Due to the
ongoing results, he did not sleep well which is also responsible for his
scrambled brain.
chrysanthemum, a small flower uses by the poet as an image. The small
flower broke and pinned to the window. There are two images uses by poets,
the pines and small flowers.
In winter no thoughts like fragrance, flowers, and greenery are expected to
happen. The Winter season is the cruelest in one way or another. The poet
says ice covers everywhere and I am afraid to say anything. It is not a good
time for him to enjoy the beauty. Basically, he memorizes the scene of snow
which is destructive for tiny plants and flowers but it can be enjoyed.
Snow used to come into the beard of his father also. His father shows the
symbol of grey, white and off-white. As the father continues to shave his face
so they can't see this whiteness.
It’s kind of conflict with nature is shown here.
The age and style are changing which is inevitable. Aging is a natural
process. Wrinkles are shown and it shows the oldness. Youth changes into
old. It reflects the age of his father. These wrinkles show his father's
impression which becomes permanent.
He is sitting in the room and takes breakfast first, but he is also eating up his
own thoughts. It is a kind of haze in his head. It is the morning time but his
brain not working properly. He is feeling some kind of shock and imagination
coming to his mind which are very strong. It’s a snowy condition in the poem.
Analysis
Snow has different symbols but most of the critics believe that it can be
symbolized as the lacking of the warmth of life. The snow in this poem reflects
the old-age and the reducing strength of someone.
Punctuation has been regularly used with question marks and commas to
show contrast and comparison. Different adjectives have been used and they
represent renaissance poetry.
Our brains like eggs scrambled,
as in grey, white, off-white
The poem revolves around the philosophical theme, inevitable aging. The
poem provokes some kind of thoughts in the mind of people that how they can
keep on living in that way. It is an imaginative poem.
Greek Chorus in Pakistani Literature poem, Snow
Alamgir Hashmi is a prominent name in Pakistani literature. His poems focus
on traditions, cultural aspect, and revolves around old times. Snow is one of
his well known poem that is rich, psychologically and in imagination. In the
poem ‘Snow’, the poet has mentioned the allusion of Greek chorus, which is
an entire topic in itself with the significance in the literature world.
What is Greek Chorus?
Greek chorus was the collective group of individuals in the ancient theatre
plays of comedy, tragedy, etc. The chorus members used to conceal their
faces and provide a background summary or information about the ongoing
performance as a narrator. They also used to do commentary on the actions.
The allusion of Greek Chorus used by poet Alamgir Hashmi in hisPakistani
literature poem, Snow, depicts the reality of the people around us. While
looking at the society, its inhabitants consider it obligatory to comment on the
life of others. No matter if they know the other person or not, they are still
going to talk about him around.
Greek chorus as in Pakistani Literature, Snow:
Hashmi has said, “Here people talk like a Greek Chorus”. The presence of
‘like’ here has also given it the properties of simile. Here, the author could be
referring to the ‘Gossip Culture’amongst our society as well. He is comparing
the act of people with the chorus actors. These were the actors with veiled
faces just like the people who speak behind our backs and whom we are
unable to recognise.
Title
The title of this famous Pakistani Literature poem also refers to the
emotionless and an uncaring attitude of people just like snow. Snow, that is so
cold that it turns everything numb. When there is ‘blizzard’ as the poet
mentioned, the outcome of this blizzard is destruction. Likewise, the
comments of impassive people for no apparent reason can bring destruction
to anyone’s life.
The irony is that these people who have no visible identity, remark about
others that could turn their peaceful life into a chaos. All this occurs, when
they are expecting it the least. As the poet has mentioned these
‘chrysanthemums’ flowers who are present when there was a snow storm. It
means the storm happened out of season. This is how, the life of people is
affected when they are happy in their moment. Other people shows up and
give unnecessary comments that put us into depression.
When poet mentions his father’s grey hairs, he might be telling us that he has
seen his father been through this. Also, it is happening since the times of his
father that now he is aging, it continues.
Closing Lines of Snow
In the closing lines of thePakistani literature poem, the poet, maybe pointing
out the fact that this act of people is still permanent. While he is having his
breakfast with these thoughts in mind. He is also aware that some unkind,
unknown person has talked about him behind his back. It has hurt him to the
core that it made his eyes wet.
With the imagery of ‘snow’ in his work, Alamgir Hashmi has described the
deeds of people via backbiting in the most cold, cruel and, damaging way.
This was the part of society decades ago and it has still continued in our
present times.
