4. When some day in distant parts she dwells
Where what the people be like! I know not,
Will they awaken her on gentle, mellow sounds?
Or, will they, I misgive, snatch her sleep away?
10
Answers
Answer:
Explanation: For the 'Gil Child' we come across a mother's overwhelming concern for her daughter who is still to become a women. The mother worries that her little girl who is at present full of life, spontaneity and happiness will soon be forced by society to follow suffocating customary practices. These customs will require the child to marry and become an obedient ad unquestioning wife and daughter in law who will have no choice but to do what her in-law ask her to do. The mother prays that her daughter will be looked after in he husband's home which will be in a strange land with unfamiliar customs. This poem grieves over the inescapable loss of the girl's spontaneity, freedom and carefree ways.
Answer:
When some day in distant parts she dwells
Where what the people be like! I know not,
Will they awaken her on gentle, mellow sounds?
Or, will they, I misgive, snatch her sleep away?
Explanation:
The given lines are from a lyrical poem
‘Solitude - for the Girl Child’ by Naseem Shafai. It is a touching lyric, musical and full of startling
images. It is a mother’s prayer for her daughter. The mother feels her heart ripping
at the thought that her child will have to one day live with and among unfamiliar
people who may not value her uniqueness. You know for sure that all parents
treasure their children. Have you noticed how protective they are towards their
girl child and wondered why it is so? Let’s ask ourselves what makes parents,
especially mothers worry over their girls. Don’t you think it has to do with the
way women are brought up and treated? Well, think again if you disagree! Mothers
want their children to never have bad experiences. But a mother in traditional
Indian society feels helpless when her daughter gets married as after her marriage,
the daughter becomes part of her husband’s family where her parents can only
be visitors. The mother in the poem is agitated by the thought that her daughter
may receive indifferent treatment in her marital home where lack of love and
concern would make her restless and sleepless. The poem expresses a mother’s
overwhelming sorrow for her precious daughter’s uncertain future where she
could forever remain deprived of tender, loving care. The poem’s title is her
desperate desire to let her daughter be herself. The word solitude conveys a
sense of comfort where a person is not disturbed but comfortable and happy with
his/her identity. Girl-child suggests a pre-puberty girlhood, which is significant
since once the child grows into a young girl, society will not leave her alone. The
mother wants her daughter to have a carefree childhood without any tension
because she is afraid that her life could be chaotic in the future.
The poem is composed as a prayer to all those who care to hear. Do you see how
beautifully the poem begins? “Gently rouse her” tells us that the girl-child is fast
asleep. We are asked to gently awaken her. The poet deliberately uses the word
rouse as it is not only a synonym for awaken, but suggests awareness. The poem
uses the image of a sleeping girl-child to portray innocence but who will sooner
than later be made aware of the real world where kindness and consideration for
a young girl is much wanting. The mother knows that her girl-child is just a
child: completely trusting. She sleeps without a care, “her eyes half open.” The
“half open”eyes create a picture of a child who is full of energy and curiosity,
and like every other child, wary of unfamiliar faces. The girl’s attractive looks
and innocent nature worry the mother even though she knows that the girl has
done nothing wrong – is pure and blameless. Why? The next stanza subtly leads
us to the answer after we are made to understand the society in which the family
lives and their social status/ standing. The mother confesses that their daughter
is her husband’s pride just like a cap or turban or pagdi is the symbol of a clan’shonour.The entire clan is insulted if the pagdi Naseem Shafaie: Poems is handled casually. Similarly, the
father feels very strongly about his daughter’s dignity, and the slightest possibility
that his daughter may be disrespected upsets him. The poet describes the mother’s
heart as a box or a chest that has cracks. Like the stored objects in a cracked box
are not completely safe, the mother’s emotions are vulnerable because her heart
– her case – has cracks of concern that her daughter may be abused. Worry keeps
“smuggling” into her heart – consciously or subconsciously she remains anxious
about her daughter and what can happen to her.