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A Different History

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Submitted By KAMINISALDANHA
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Explore how Bhatt powerfully communicates the culture of India and loss of language in the poem A Different History. Sujata Bhatt begins to communicate the loss of culture and language by separating her poem into two stanzas. She indents the second stanza to segregate them both and illustrate that there is a clear difference between the significance of each. She does this to show that the first stanza is a symbol of those unaffected by globalization and the Western society, those who have maintained their ‘original culture’. She then uses the second stanza to contradict this by making it about those who chose to migrate away from India and are bound or are in favour of International culture or Western culture. This makes her argument clear to the reader and shows her discontent of how India and its people are evolving. However, she wants to show the reader that along with man’s evolvement, their culture and language is getting lost. Sujata Bhatt also choses to write in a free verse. Her choice of no rhyming scheme can be significant because it demonstrates how the poem is completely free and is used to simply vent her opinions and views on the matter. However, it could also illustrate how globalization and westernization have had no effect or control on her. It shows that she is a strong believer in her culture and religion and will not let anyone or anything change her thoughts and opinions. It shows the reader how critical she is that India’s culture and language isn’t lost any further. Another interpretation could be that she is trying to demonstrate how globalization and westernization is something new humans have not experienced. Bhatt’s use of free verse and peculiar paragraphing could be her trying show that you can break down all conventions of a typical poem. She could be trying to illustrate to the reader that it isn’t impossible to break down all

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