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Nissim Ezekiel: a Poet of Social Conscience Mr www.galaxyimrj.com Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal ISSN 2278 – 9529 Nissim Ezekiel: A Poet of Social Conscience Mr. Suresh Pandurang Patil (Asst. Professor in English) Shri. Vijaysinha Yadav Arts & Science College, Peth Vadgaon Nissim Ezekiel was born in December 24, 1924 in Mumbai, India and died in January 9, 2004 in Mumbai. Born to Bane-Israel Jewish Parents, Ezekiel emerged as a founding father of Indian English Poetry who enriched it with affluent poetical works of an international standard. His outstanding anthology includes 'A Time to Change' (1952), 'Sixty Poems' (1953), 'The Third' (1959), 'The Unfinished Man' (1960), 'The Exact Name' (1965), 'Hymns in Darkness' (1976), and 'Latter-Day Psalms' (1982). Ezekiel's poetry bears the diverse influences that sharpened and disciplined his poetic art. As a professional, he brought a sense of discipline, self-criticism and mastery of words to Indian English Poetry. His theory of poetry is "that every poet knows what it is to be delighted with the poem he has written, while at the same time to feel the misery at the thought that a better poem was sacrificed to it". His new modern poetry is steeped with irony, sceptical attitude, restrained emotions, critical self-consciousness and with an intellectual purpose. His primary concern is not oriental India which abounds with the Maharajas, snake-charrmers, sadhus and magicians with supernatural powers but truly India. Though Jewish by birth, he never disclaims his linkage with India. He writes : "India is simply my environment, A man can do something for and in his environment by being fully what he is, by not withdrawing from it. I have not withdrawn from India." He represents the truly Indian with his deep involvement in spiritual and intellectual satisfaction by rooting himself in the physical and the social atmosphere. In his social growth, he could hardly keep himself aloof from the social problems. His commitment to India and his attachment with the environment seem to be the main source of his inspiration for writing poetry. Though Ezekiel was accused of being 'a poet of a local habitation and a name', of only being restricted to the city of Bombay, yet he seems to have broad and deep sympathy for the human race as a whole. His social conscience can be seen in his poetic cosmos which is full with the poor, the deprived, the oppressed, the down-trodden and the dregs of the society, suffering under different conditions and locations. His sympathetic approach carries him very close to the legacy of social reformer disguised as a poet. This type of reformative zeal, genuine sympathy for the impact ofGalaxy political philosophy of the Radical Democratic Party, which he joined at the age of eighteen. His poetry bears the stamps of Royist influence, its new humanism, blend of idealism and materialism, socialism and liberalism, sense of social justice, deep human concern and regard 1 Vol. I. Issue. II 1 April 2012 www.galaxyimrj.com Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal ISSN 2278 – 9529 for individual freedom, sceptic approach towards traditional beliefs. His poem 'A Morning Walk' manifests wretched and decomposed state of urban slum dwellers. Barbaric city sick with slums, Deprived of seasons, blessed with rains, Its hawkers, beggars, iron-lunged, A million purgatorial lanes, And child-like masses, many-tongued Whose wages are in words and crumbs. (C.P.,p.119) Ezekiel's Bombay is the microcosm of modern Indian Social structure which is characterized with the squalor, slums, heartlessness, brutality and destruction of human potential. He hardly averse himself from depicting the human beings who have ceased to be living creatures and minimized to wretched animals who gather in crowd to continue social circle. His living awareness compels him to indulge in the prevailing social life around him. It's complexity and rapidity come under the scrutiny of the poet who flashes its characteristics as the dizzying incongruities, inequalities, poverty and pretensions. We get the picture of it in a poem entitled 'In India' Always, in the sun's eye, Here among the beggars, Hawkers, pavements sleepers, Hutment dwellers, slums, Dead souls of men and gods.(C.P.,p.131) A note of sadness pervades as he encounters the degradation of the Indian masses that exist in the overcrowded, dirty and unhealthy environment of the city. It is social decomposition and rusting which upsets the mentor. Ezekiel is a deft artist who gives a new dimension to a single event. He blows the horn against the rampant poverty which is the root cause of many social ills. The poem 'The Truth about the Floods' gives grim picture of poverty. The predicament of the flood-affected victims of Bihar occupy his poetic canvas. The villagers ran to them. They slapped their bellies and whined : 'I have not eaten for three days.' 'My husband has been washed away.' 'My parents have abandoned me.' 'My son is dying.' Galaxy 'I cannot find my daughter.'(C.P.,p.187) Ezekiel blatantly satirizes the Indian fatalism, the defects of bureaucracy, their apathy and indifference for the common people. The monkey showman in the poem 'Entertainment' 2 Vol. I. Issue. II 2 April 2012 www.galaxyimrj.com Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal ISSN 2278 – 9529 represents poor rural entertainer who sustains life in utter hardships. In search of money, he moves from one place to another. He entirely depends on the favour of the public. Inspite of public negligence the poverty-stricken master of ceremonies carries on the show. Naked to the waist, The Master of Ceremonies drums frenzy, cracks whip, calls the tricks to earn applause and copper coins.(C.P.,p.29) Ezekiel's poetic dogma doesn't escape him from the prevalent surrounding and its myriad problems. His sympathetic interest in the marginal man reflects his social self. His poetical work affirms the Augustan trait 'the proper study of mankind is man'. Obviously, his poetry is an exquisite meeting point of poetic faith and actual life. Like his contemporary English poets like Thomas Blackburn, Thom Gunn, and Philip Larking, Ezekiel hates the pretension. He grimly laughs at the Indian who give inferior position to women in society. The situation of women in society covers maximum area of his social concern. The exploitation of a woman in a male- dominated society emerges as a matter of deep concern for him. Enslavement and oppression of 'the second sex', the low status and discriminatory treatment meted out to them, find a place in his poem 'In India'. Burnt-out mothers, frightened, Virgins, wasted child And tortured animal, All in noisy silence Suffering the place and time.(C.P.,p.131) In his another poem 'Servant', Ezekiel poignantly illustrates the ill-treatment given by the husband to the poor servant that marry at an early age. At twelve or fourteen, married off to the usual brute, she has a child, and tells my mother every time her husband beats her for the fun of it.(C.P.,p.161) Ezekiel wants to sweep out the social ills for the better results. It is the plight of weaker section of society that engages the poet's attention to raise his voice against social injustice and domestic violence. His social plea compels him to expose the follies and faults of Indians. Ezekiel draws theGalaxy attention of his readers to the Indian mind-set that reflects their indifference to others needs, apathy for fellow humans and lack of humility. He doesn't target to debase Indian sensibility but with adverse reality put to shame all middle class Indians. His poems ponder over 3 Vol. I. Issue. II 3 April 2012 www.galaxyimrj.com Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal ISSN 2278 – 9529 the social issues such as the need of education, poverty, backwardness, superstition, degradation of women, corruption, slavish attitude etc. His poetical volume 'A Time to Change' (1962) becomes the manifesto of his social concern, social ideas and genuine sympathy for the tormented and suffering humanity. His voice becomes more stern, when he talks on the Indian oddities and failures in the walks of life. Ezekiel ironically exposes the fake healers and sadhus who are an intrinsic part of the Indian social life. In India, the people are eager about spiritual salvation. Quest for the right guru lead to the so-called god-men and quacks. Ezekiel has exposed such people with scrutinising eye in the poem 'Guru'. The complacent smugness and self-righteous stupor of guru is the result of his hollowness and double standards. But then we learn the saint is still a faithless friend, obstinate in argument, ungrateful for favours done, hard with servants and the poor, discourteous to disciples, especially men.(C.P.,p.191) The above dispersed examples from Ezekiel's poems confirm his secure place among the selected Indian English poets who paved the way for the mass poetry. As the champion of social reformation, his intense humanism is the defence disguised in a social cry. The wide range of his poems on social problems denote his genuine urge for social upliftment of the poor, a sincere effort to demolish the wide gap between the two poles of Indian society. His Jewishness hardly separates him from India. His well studied observation of Indian mind and environment trickles in his poems. He emerges as a lightening star in the sky of post colonial Indian English Poetry. His strong commitment with the environment and reformative zeal have made him a legend among the New Poets. Works Cited : King, Bruce, Three Indian Poets, Madras : Oxford University Press, 1994 Ezekiel, Nissim, Collected Poems 1952-1988, Delhi : Oxford University Press, 1989.Hereafter cited as C.P.
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