Saturday, April 10, 2010

Bosom Friend - Hira Bansode (Additional English)

The poem “Bosom Friend” is a critical and a sarcastic remark against the hypocritical caste-ridden society. The poet here articulates the pain she has suffered at the hands of the upper class. The experience of constant subjugation, separation and marginalization are expressed in a tone which is both vehement and sarcastic.
The title of the poem has an ironic under tone since her guests do not in anyway live up to her expectations. The narrator in the poem plays the role of hostess to some upper-caste guests. Her treatment of the guests is unconditional and unpretentious. She appreciates her guests for their gesture of magnanimity since they have shed their feeling of cast superiority. She finds it surprising as the gap between low class and upper class was too large to be bridged. But the age old problem has been effortlessly remedied by her guests with the mind as large as the sky.
The devotion showed by the hostess has been compared to that of Shabari of the Ramayana. But unfortunately her devotion was short lived, when she started to serve. The feeling of caste- superiority suddenly found expression in her guests’ insolent remarks on the table etiquette of the hostess. One of them even says, “You folk will newer improve”.
The hostess is terribly offended and breaks in to a sense of nostalgia. She recalls her days of poverty and painfully expresses her impoverished circumstances when she had no access to milk or yoghurt. The expectations of the guests can not be fulfilled since the hostess has been brought up in utter poverty. Her only source of luxury was chutney on coarse bread. The hostess also says that shrikhand was not part of their language. The hostess who was so happy at the arrival of the guests now sounds like a liberated women and defends her ignorance of table etiquette since it was the society which made her.

29 comments:

  1. The text suggests that there was only one guest....

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  2. usefull stuff!!!!!

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  3. real usefull stuff!!!!!

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  4. its not psychotic or dramatic

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  5. great stuff,,helped a lot

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  6. THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED POEM .

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  7. Even trent protector wouldent hav described him so well...

    wat a noob stuff....

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  8. real useless explanation if a blog is opened the explanation should be perfect.....

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  9. i feel it wasn't quite complete as the last few lines weren't explained which would have provided the gist of the poem

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  10. bad explanation...it should b complete

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  11. It is one of the most extraordinary way of expressing ones experience and also to educate others about it as caste barriers still exist in this so called literate India.

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  12. there is only one guest...i.e. her close friend

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  13. It was of a little help as da explanation is quite incomplete n it dsnt explains da real deep feelings of poet.. Though a good attempt

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  14. Adding on, all the people during that little feast are educated, but the "so called high society people" showcase more illiteracy than the dalit women as education teaches us to treat everybody equally and that caste system are of no meaning and value. they blame the hostess of lacking table etiquette when they themselves do not follow etiquette that should be followed by a guest. no guest questions what they have been offered as they except invitation by their will. the end shows that there is limit to which people can take negativity cause after that its impossible not to errupt.
    we learn that in our society we only learn education but do not apply it.

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    1. Like it is said in the poem that the roots of the caste which is created by the society are deep inside the guest's mind.. And the same case happened in case of her, as usual she started talking about class issues.. Educariin, preferably moral education can change this discrimination

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    2. Like it is said in the poem that the roots of the caste which is created by the society are deep inside the guest's mind.. And the same case happened in case of her, as usual she started talking about class issues.. Educariin, preferably moral education can change this discrimination

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    3. I have a doubt here.
      The last lines of the poem,
      Are you going to tell me what mistakes I made?
      Are you going to tell me my mistakes?
      What is poet trying to express through these two questions?
      And what really does these questions mean.

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  15. awesome....!! i ws seaching for one poem summary but got all the additional english stuff here...lol..:) :)

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  16. nice attempt...but cud hv been better

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  17. Bosom Friend.

    Title refers to the painful realization of the deep chasm between the friends.

    1st stanza.

    To day you came to my home for having dinner with me,
    i am so excited, this is the first time you visit me.
    You are an upper cast WOMAN, woman cannot forget the tradition of inequality.
    Woman are more careful to keep such tradition like cast system.
    But you teared out all your cast feelings from your mind and you came to my home( the hut of lower a cast).
    I understand your mind is large as the sky is.unless you cannot come to my pocket size house. you lives in the paalce. You eats in the golden plate, you born into the silver spoon.
    I am excited,how could you forget the feelings of cast system ?

    Effective use of irony can be seen in the first stanza.


    tell me, is this analyse ok ???

    Can I proceed ??
    I am BA English student in calicut university, 1st year.

    http://analyseliterature.blogspot.com

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    1. Need improvement,man....Good attempt....anyway.

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    2. Ya, good. Try to summarise the following lines too

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  18. thank you for how much ever you posted. it helpd.NOT a useless material , or a FUCKED UP one at all.

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  19. good enough ! thank u :)

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  20. Do you know in which year this poem was written?
    Thanks

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  21. Shrikhand a language ??? Iol

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  22. Write a conversation between two friends where they discuss the caste atrocities met upon Dalits in public space.

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