JAYANTA MAHAPATRA POEMS

Introduction to HUNGER

Hunger poem by Jayanta Mahapatra is about the idea of hunger that at the beginning of the poem is
that of sex and sexual desire but in the end, transforms into the hunger of stomach that leads the
people to do anything.

The poem consists of 4 stanzas having 5 lines each. There is no set rhyme scheme. The poet uses a
number of literary devices to describe the events that led from one hunger (sexual) to the other
(physical).

Stanza 1

The poet begins with the words It was hard to believe the flesh was heavy on my back. In the first
reading, we may think that the poet has a heavy load or luggage on his back. However, the
phrase hard to believe refers to something that is deep and profound.

The poet here says that he couldn’t believe that he had strong sexual desires at that time and was
striving for sex which he couldn’t believe. In the next line, we come to know that he is on a boat with
a fisherman who says to him, “Will you have her”.

Her here refers to the daughter of the fisherman whom he offers to the poet to have sex with her. It
is quite strange and impossible as no father ever offers his daughter to strangers for quenching their
sexual thirst.

While asking, the fisherman seems to be carelessly trailing his nets. But he was in no way careless.
His nerves were stretch and white bone thrashing his eyes meaning that he was quite curious for the
poet to say yes as he and his daughter have nothing to eat and are striving for food.

Thus he offers his daughter to the poet so that the latter may quench his sexual hunger while the
former two may quench their physical hunger. Note that his daughter’s consent is not taken. It is not
clear whether she wants to have sex or not.

Stanza 2

The poet then followed him across the sprawling (spread) sands. His mind was thumping in the
flesh’s sling meaning that the poet’s mind was throbbing and his skin was trying to support it like a
sling or the bandage used for supporting a broken arm.

The poet thought that his sin will be forgiven by burning the house that he lived in. The line shows
that the poet was feeling quite guilty because of what he was going to do out of sexual desire.

Then the silence of the poet was grabbing him and it seemed that the silence has gripped his
sleeves. It was perhaps his nerves that were stretching. The fisherman looked at his old nets which
had caught nothing but the foam from the sea.

This last phrase can be attributed to the poet as well if we go deeper into its meaning. The poet
imagines as if he had gathered nothing but sin by his sexual desires.

Stanza 3

The reached the fisherman’s hut which was quite dark and opened like a wound. This phrase depicts
the worst condition of their hut because of poverty. The wind here symbolizes storm which was
going into in the mind of the poet. Days and Nights means that it was happening all the time
without stopping.

While entering the hut, the leaves of the palm tree were scratching his skin. In the metaphorical
sense, they were stopping the poet from committing the sin. Inside the roughly built hut, the oil
lamp had confined and fastened the hours to the wall.

It probably means that the time has been stopped in the hut. There is no day, but only the night. The
night is not only in physical terms but also in the metaphorical sense because there is the darkness
of sorrows over the fisherman and his daughter.

The smoke coming from the lamp was filling his mind and he was feeling either dreamy or helpless.

Stanza 4

The poet hears the fisherman says, “My daughter, she’s just turned fifteen…Feel her. I’ll be back
soon, your bus leaves at nine“. Fifteen is the age when a girl is it her charm. Feel her means quench
your sexual hunger by having sex with her.

I‘ll back mean that the poet is now free to do with his daughter whatever he desires. The poverty
and extreme hunger make the fisherman pimp his own daughter in exchange for some money or
food.

The way fisherman persuades the poet to have sex with his own daughter makes the poet feel as if
the sky has fallen on him. The poet finds the girl who is young but malnutrioned due to poverty.
Seeing the poet, she opens her worm-like legs(as she is very weak and young) for the poet to make
her his sex slave.

At this stage, the poet knows for the first time about the other hunger that is opposite of his sexual
hunger and which comes from an empty stomach (fish slithering, turning inside depicts the churning
movement that happens inside the stomach when we feel hungry).

Summary Of Hunger
Mahapatra has written many poems on the themes of poverty, hunger, starvation, sexual
exploitation and male bestiality. Jayanta Mahapatra’s poem Hunger is a well-known poem written
on a unique theme. The poem speaks clearly of the need for food and the appetite for flesh and sex,
both animal desires. It reveals the plight of a fisherman who can’t make the two ends meet. We can
feel the father’s pain and anguish vividly. The poignancy of the situation is that Hunger imposes
tragic compulsions – a poor father kills his conscience and attracts clients to his daughter, who has
become a prostitute. This poem is a description of the plight of the fisherman.

The speaker was not able to believe when the fisherman offers his daughter to him. He seems to be
careless and inhuman. The speaker is having physical hunger. Fisherman requires money, due to
which he invites the young man to make the use of his daughter. He was taking back his net. He also
seemed to be very lean and weak.

The speaker followed the fisherman across the sprawling sand. He was eager to satisfy his physical
hunger. He was full of hopes. The fisherman moved forward dragging his old nets. The shack of the
fisherman was very small with a sloping roof. It rested on the wall of another building. The shack
seemed like a wound, filthy and hurting. As the speaker entered the shack he was shocked to see the
poor condition of the fisherman and his daughter. A small oil lamp was lighted. It showed the inner
wall.
The filthy interior of the shack disturbed his mind. While he was observing the realities of their life,
he heard the fisherman saying that she is just fifteen years old, use her. He will come back after
sometime. He reminded the speaker that his bus was at 9 O’clock. The poet wants to tell that the
father of the girl is caring for him but not for his daughter. The speaker felt as if the sky fell on him
and the father has lost his sense.

The girl was long and lean. She was as if lifeless and senseless. The hunger of the speaker went away
after observing the pitiful condition of the girl, the shack and their life. She was like a fish caught in
the net and about to die.

Questions and Answers

Question.1. Where does the speaker meet the fisherman at the beginning of the poem?

Ans. The speaker met the fisherman at the seashore. The speaker could not believe when the
fisherman carelessly offered his daughter. He spoke as if he was not at all wrong; he took the
speaker to the shack where he lived with his daughter. The shack brought forward their poverty.

Question.2. Picturise the fisherman and his daily life, as evident in the poem. Take the help of the
phrases and words from the poem.

Ans. The fisherman in the poem ‘Hunger’ is a very poor man. He makes both the ends meet with
much difficulty. He goes to the sea daily and catches fishes for his livelihood. But he is not able to
fulfil the needs of his family. Every day he drags hid old net and lives a very miserable life. His body
was so weak that his white bones thrash his eyes. His body clawed the old nets with much difficulty.
The poet found his shack in a very bad condition. It was the symbol of his poverty.

Question.3. Describe the setting and background of the poem.

Ans. The setting and the background of the poem is sea-shore. The poet meets the fisherman on this
sea-shore. Then the poet follows the fisherman across the sprawling sands. The fisherman has just
come out of the sea and he could hardly find any fish. His physical appearance shows his utter
poverty. He takes the poet toward his shack. The poet has very well described the shack which
symbolizes the poverty of the fisherman, which compelled him to sell his daughter.

Question.4. Why is the daughter compared to rubber? Is she compared to anything else in the
poem? Why?

Ans. The daughter in the poem is that of a very poor fisherman. Poverty has made her father stone-
hearted. So he compels her to the tragedy. Whatever she does in the poem is just under compulsion.
She is only fifteen years old. Therefore the poet has compared her to rubber. The cold rubber
denotes lifelessness and senselessness. She follows the instructions of her father, but without any
emotions. In the poem, the girl is also compared to a fish. Her condition is like a fish caught in the
net and she could only slide unsteadily.

Question.5. What has compelled the fisherman to make his daughter sell her body? Does the title
of the poem have any relevance to this? If so, what is the relevance?

Ans. The fisherman is a very poor man. He is so poor that his next meal is doubtful. He could not
fulfil the needs of his family. These all conditions compelled the fisherman to make his daughter to
sell her body. This is very tragic. No father could act in this way. He has lost all his moral values.

The title of the poem is very suitable. The cause of the tragedy is ‘Hunger’. The ‘Hunger’ is both of
stomach and body. This hunger compels to compromise our values and ethos. The speaker is
compelled by his hunger of body and the fisherman and his daughter are compelled by hunger of
their stomach.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Q.1 What is the theme of the poem “hunger”?Discuss in detail.

Ans: JayantMahapatra’s poems explore the influence of local realities in creating the depth of one’s
feeling and sensitivity. ‘Hunger’ is a poem about the degraded condition of people who live below
the poverty line. The poem explores the degradation of humanity in poverty when the next meal is
doubtful. Hunger can make one compromise on moral values, human relationships and
companionship. This is the underlying lesson of the poem.

The fisherman in the poem ‘Hunger’ is a very poor man. He makes both the ends meet with much
difficulty. He goes to the sea daily and catches fishes for his livelihood. But he is not able to fulfil the
needs of his family. Every day he drags hid old net and lives a very miserable life. His body was so
weak that his white bones thrash his eyes. These all conditions compelled the fisherman to make his
daughter to sell her body. This is very tragic. No father could act in this way. He has lost all his moral
values.

The title of the poem is very suitable. The cause of the tragedy is ‘Hunger’. The ‘Hunger’ is both of
stomach and body. This hunger compels to compromise our values and ethos. The speaker is
compelled by his hunger of body and the fisherman and his daughter are compelled by hunger of
their stomach.

Q. Write a short note on the dialogue between the Fisherman and the Speaker.

Ans. The speaker met the fisherman at the seashore. The speaker could not believe when the
fisherman carelessly offered his daughter. He spoke as if he was not at all wrong. His words, as if,
sanctified his poverty-ridden life. He took the speaker to the shack where he lived with his daughter.
The shack brought forward their poverty. As they entered the shack the speaker heard him saying
that his daughter is just fifteen. He carelessly told him to use her, as if his heart has turned to stone.
He said that he will be back soon and reminded the speaker that his bus leaves at nine. The poet has
brought forth the bitter reality that the father is not concerned with the agony of his daughter. He is
concerned about the bus of the speaker.

DAWN AT PURI
Summary
The poetic persona of “Dawn at Puri” shares what he sees at dawn on the Puri sea beach. Numerous
crows are gathering on the beach. Apart from the crows, he observes a human skull lying. The skull
reminds him of hunger and poverty prevalent in his state Odisha.

Then the poet shifts his view to somewhere else. He now looks at the “Great Temple” of Jagannath.
Pious old widows who are “past the centers (50 years) of their lives”, are waiting to enter the
temple.

The passive look in the widows’ eyes grabs his attention. He can find a similarity between their eyes
and the eyes of the fishes caught by the fishermen.
Mahapatra’s speaker looks back at the seashore. This time he observes some shells in the “frail early
light” of dawn. Again the similarity strikes him. He finds the image of the widows is reflected in those
motionless shells.

Suddenly the “smoky blaze” of cremation on the beach comes to his attention. The smoky smell
makes the speaker’s aging mother aware of her mortality.

In the last stanza, he refers to her mother’s wish. She wants to be cremated at her native place
which is undoubtedly the town of Puri.

Form, Meter, and Rhyme Scheme

Form

There is an interesting pattern in the poem’s structure. The stanzas reflect the waves. Readers have
to imagine the lines of the poem as seawater. They have to closely observe the first four stanzas of
the poem. These stanzas depict a wave hitting the shore.

The last two stanzas show that the water is receding back to the sea. In this way, Jayanta Mahapatra
depicts life and death visually through the poem’s structure.

This poem is all about life. Life is like seawater. It comes to the shore, stays temporarily, and returns
to the sea again. In between our feet what stays, are the remnants of life. Those formless artworks
on the sand are what human beings leave behind.

Whatsoever, “Dawn at Puri” is a free-verse lyric poem. It is told from the perspective of a first-
person speaker. The speaker is Mahapatra himself. He depicts what can be seen at dawn on the Puri
sea beach.

Meter

Scansion helps us to understand the sound pattern of a poem. It also suggests the mood of the
poem and how one should read the text. “Dawn at Puri” opens a package of metrical composition.
Those who have visited a beach and heard the sea’s sound will help understand the concept easily.

Read this line with attention to the sound:

End-less/ crow noi/-ses

It sounds like a wave is approaching. The falling rhythm imitates this sound.

Read the next line:

A skull/ in the ho/-ly sands

This time the wave is bigger than the previous one.

In the third line, the wave is receding.

tilts its/ emp-ty/ coun-try/ to-wards/ hung-er.

This scheme with little alterations follows the next three stanzas.

The change of sound pattern occurs in the last two stanzas as the mood of the poem changes there.
For instance, the first line of the last stanza reflects a deep sound like the sea.

her last wish/ to be cre/-ma-ted here

It sounds like the waves are far from us and approaching slowly.

In the next line, the sound becomes lower as the line lacks a syllable.

twis-ting/ un-cer/ tain-ly/ like light

In the last line, the sound fades slowly.

on the shif-/ -ting sands.

The flow of the poem changes in this pattern. Mahapatra was not only writing this poem but he was
also giving it a body, a soul, a brain, and most importantly a heart! What an excellent piece of art!

Rhyme Scheme

This piece is written in free-verse. That’s why there is not any specific rhyme scheme. Mahapatra
uses internal rhyming in the lines. For this purpose, he uses repetition of similar consonant and
vowel sounds. As the lines are interconnected, the flow does not break in the middle.

Poetic Devices & Figures of Speech

Figures of speech are the abstract ornaments of any poem. Rhetorical devices adorn poetic thoughts
and make the poet’s imagination vibrant in readers’ minds. Let’s have a look at the poetic devices
used in “Dawn at Puri”.

Metaphor

• “White-clad” is a metaphor for the white saree worn by Hindu widowed women.

• “past the centers of their lives” is another metaphor. It means that the widows have passed
the age of fifty.

• The phrase “dawn’s shining strands of faith”, contains a metaphor. Here the sunlight at
dawn is compared to a ray of faith. The dawn is also a stock symbol of hope.

Personal Metaphor

• The phrase “leprous shells” is an example of a personal metaphor. The poet tries to compare
the old widows to the shells lying on the shore by this phrase.

• “sullen solitary pyre” contains the use of personification or readers can say it is an example
of a personal metaphor. Here the pyre is compared to a solitary person in a depressed
mood.

Simile

• In the line “stare like those caught in a net,” the poet compares the widows’ eyes to the eyes
of the fish caught in a net.

• Mahapatra compares the twisting of her mother to the “light on the shifting sands” in the
last stanza.

Metonymy

• The “skull” is a metonym for poverty and hunger. These problems still haunt the poor.
 • The phrase “empty country” is a metonym for the people living in India. Here the poor
people of India are hungry or their belly is empty. The variety of metonymy used here is
“container for the thing contained”.

• “Great Temple” is a symbol of religion. It is a reference to the Jagannath Dham of Odisha.

Enjambment

It occurs throughout the poem. In each tercet, the lines are enjambed. For example, in the first
tercet, the lines are connected and they form a single line. Mahapatra also uses this device to
connect the stanzas. For instance, let’s have a look at the last line of the fourth stanza and the first
line of the fifth stanza. These lines are enjambed. The poet uses it to maintain the flow throughout
the text.

Other Literary Devices

• Extended Metaphor: The phrase “a mass of crouched faces without names” is an extended
metaphor of the old widows.

• Synecdoche: The phrase “austere eyes” is an example of synecdoche. Here the poet
associates the widows with only their eyes.

• Personification: Mahapatra personifies the early light of the dawn and invests it with the
idea of catching.

• Hyperbole: “Endless crow noises” contains hyperbole.

Line-by-Line Analysis and Explanation

Lines 1-3

Endless crow noises

A skull in the holy sands

tilts its empty country towards hunger.

Mahapatra uses a set of images in every stanza and it proves that it is a perfect example of an
imagist poem. Let us decode each visual element available in the text.

In stanza one, the first image which appears in front of us is of numerous crows gathering at the
beach of Puri. At dawn, we can see the exact image. Why are the crows sitting there? The next line
has the answer. There is a human skull. As the crow is called the “scavenger of nature,” readers can
understand the rest.

This human skull doesn’t evoke fear in the poet’s mind rather it evokes a sense of despair.
Mahapatra thinks about the person who has died out of hunger. The problem of hunger among the
poor millions of India is not an issue occurring only in Odisha, it is a problem of the whole country. It
projects the reality behind the so-called development at that time.

Lines 3-6

White-clad widowed Women

past the centers of their lives

are waiting to enter the Great Temple

In the second stanza, the poet presents another image. Now he shifts his view from the seashore to
the “Great Temple”. Some old widows waiting to enter the temple particularly come to the poet’s
attention. They are waiting to get a glance of the deity. Those women are past their centers of life. It
means they are above fifty. There is nothing left in their heart except hope and faith. It is not a
worldly hope or desire, it is the yearning for “Moksha” or salvation.

The first line of this tercet “White-clad widowed Women” contains an alliteration of the “w” sound.
This repetition of similar sounds creates an internal rhyming. Mahapatra uses enjambment to
internally connect the lines. Besides, he capitalizes the first letter of “Women” for the sake of
emphasis.

Lines 7-9

Their austere eyes

stare like those caught in a net

hanging by the dawn’s shining strands of faith.

The poet is touched by the thought of the widows. He goes on to portray their condition in the
mentioned stanzas. There is also a reason behind that. It will be clear to the readers in the fifth
stanza.

In the third stanza, the emotional eyes of the widows make the poet sad. He thinks they are “caught
in a net” and hanging. To describe their condition, Mahapatra uses a simile of the fishes caught by a
fishing net. He can find a similarity between their eyes. They want freedom from the “net” of life.
This net symbolizes the rigid customs of Hinduism and at the same time poverty and helplessness.

In this same stanza, there is a metaphor of the seashore. It is used to ironically portray the condition
of the widows. A new day is beginning. But, “by the dawn’s shining strands of faith”, those poor
creatures are suffering in their hopeless state.

Lines 10-12

The fail early light catches

ruined, leprous shells leaning against one another,

a mass of crouched faces without names,

In the next stanza, the poetic persona finds some shells on the beach. He thinks that they are like “a
mass of crouched faces without names.” These faces are of the widows sitting outside the temple.
They do not have names. Reality has driven them into such a condition that their suffering has
become identical but the representation differs from person to person.

There is an interesting point to note here. Why does the poet use the image of “shells”? The
mollusks leave their shells when they mature. What happens to those shells? They are left behind
carelessly on the shore. The condition of the poor widows is similar to the shells.

Lines 13-15

and suddenly breaks out of my hide

into the smoky blaze of a sullen solitary pyre

that fills my aging mother:

In this section of the poem, Mahapatra suddenly shifts the mood towards something solemn and
sincere. It is death, the finale of human life.

The “smoky blaze” of a cremation ceremony catches the poet’s attention. The pyre seems to the
poet as a “sullen solitary” figure. It is not solitary. But the dead person who is being cremated is
lonely.

The sound of burning woods makes the poet imagine that the personified “pyre” is in a bad temper.
His mother is lying beside her. She has also seen the smoke. In the following section, Mahapatra
focuses on her thoughts.

Lines 16-18

her last wish to be cremated here

twisting uncertainly like light

on the shifting sands.

In the last stanza of the poem, the poet’s mother’s attitude towards death is remarkable. The smoke
of the pyre makes his mother aware of her mortality. But she is not afraid at all. She wishes to die at
her native land, Puri, and desires to transcend into eternity like the “light on the shifting sands.” The
reason is very simple. She has a long and deep relationship with Puri. For this love, she doesn’t want
to leave the place even at the time of her death. Such attachment keeps her bound to the place that
nourished her throughout her life.

Themes
The poem “Dawn at Puri” consists of various themes. Each theme is closely associated with Indian
culture and most importantly with Puri. The major themes of the poem are easily accessible and
understandable. Let us have a look at the themes which play a major role in this piece.

Hunger and Poverty

The theme of hunger and poverty is one of the major themes of the poem. The first few lines depict
a sense of morbidity. In the first tercet, the “skull” is nothing but a manifestation of the country.
What does the skull signify?

A skull provides mechanical support to the brain. It acts as a shield and protects the sensitive part.
Without having anything inside, it becomes a useless thing. The condition of India appears to the
poet as a mere structure just protecting the countrymen. The essential nourishment for survival is
absent in the country. That’s why the suffering of the poor is symbolically portrayed through the
image of the skull. The issue of hunger is closely associated with it.

Apart from physical poverty, the poet also touches on mental poverty. Hopelessness in the eyes of
the widows and the void inside their souls signify their mental poverty. Most Indians belonging to
the lower section of the society feel hollow inside their heart. They move on with hope. In reality,
nothing has changed in their lives. What remains, prolongs their suffering. Unfortunately, they pass
it from generation to generation.
Hinduism and Faith

Another important theme of the poem is religion and faith. There is no doubt that the poet talks
about Hinduism. Another component is faith which has a global reach. Boundaries cannot stop
people from believing or having faith in the omnipotent.

The old women sitting outside the temple have the same ray of hope in their eyes. The string of
Hinduism keeps them together. When they have nothing to lose or nothing to gain at this stage of
their lives, the only source of nourishment is getting salvation.

The “Great Temple” has significance in this discussion. It is a source of divine inspiration. Its
existence helps their souls to thrive. They thrive each day for a glance of Lord Jagannath. He is one of
the deities in the Hindu religion but for them, he is the only source of hope. Their faith is centered
on Jagannath only. His sole presence makes them believe that they have to walk a long way before
the metaphorical night of life.

The essence of religious faith in this way becomes a uniting factor in the poem. It is needless to say,
religion binds Indians together. That’s why there is “unity in diversity”.

The Struggle of Life

In “Dawn at Puri,” Mahapatra portrays the struggle of life in an innovative manner. He associates the
idea by using a simile of the “fishes caught in a net”. They have the desire to live. In their eyes, there
is hope. Like these poor creatures, the widows are also caught in a net. This net is invisible. It is the
chain of life.

Society, poverty, and loneliness hold them in this chain. They do not dare to break the shackles. It
also seems that they do not have the energy to do so.

However, they know how to unburden themselves at the feet of Jagannath. Their eyes reflect an
urge. The depth in those eyeballs says much more than mortal eyes can see. Mahapatra depicts their
struggle to keep themselves alive.

Swargadwara, the Seashore at Puri

The importance of the sea beach of Puri is immense. Mahapatra uses it as a replica of human life. It
is not a unique symbol but the idea of Indianness is novel. He portrays the sea beach as a
representation of life.

The crow cawing at dawn. Beside them, the skull lies nowhere but on the beach. The reason is
simple. For the poet, the sandy shores reflect a borderline between life and death. The vast and
unending sea symbolizes life after the death that mortals are unaware of.

In between the city and the massive water body lies the “Swargadwara” of human life, the eternal
seashore. It is a place where everyone is destined to come one day. What remains is the crouching
seashells, symbolizing our bodies. The soul leaves the bodily shell and starts a new journey shown by
the sea. In this way, the sea is transformed into a gateway to heaven.

Death

This theme is present from the beginning to the end. Each image associated with the theme of death
reveals interesting ideas. For example, the skull at the beginning can be of a person who died of
hunger. This image depicts the ruthlessness of life.
Thereafter the fishes caught within a net foreshadows death. The fishes are compared to humans
and how they are also caught in the net of worldliness.

The empty seashells reflect another idea. This image reflects the lifeless human bodies. The idea of
the soul leaving the old clothes and getting new ones is present there. The shells also reflect the
condition of the widows.

Eternity

The theme of eternity is present in the last few lines of “Dawn at Puri”. Here, the speaker’s mother
wishes to be cremated on the shore. Her wish reflects how much she loves her native place. Besides,
the seashore at Puri is seen as a gateway to heaven. That’s why she wishes to die there.

The image of cremation hints at the cycle of life. It is eternal and timeless. It reflects how a soul
leaves the body. Like the “shifting sands”, human life is also transient. The soul leaves its physical
house or the body without anyone’s notice. Then it sets out for eternity.

The sea is a symbolic representation of life after death. Nobody knows how wide the sea is. None
can calculate its depths. Similarly, there is no way to know what is there after death.

At the shore, land meets the sea. Therefore it symbolizes the juncture between life and death. In
popular beliefs, the shore is the place where the soul seeks “Nirvana” or salvation. Thereafter it is
permitted to heaven. Now it can be understood why the speaker’s mother wishes to die there.

Imagery

“Dawn at Puri” is vivid in imagery and spontaneous in diction. Let’s explore the imagery used in this
poem.

Auditory Imagery: The poem begins with the use of auditory imagery. In the first line, the poet
depicts the noise of the crows. Moving on to the last few lines, he depicts the sound of the solitary
pyre and the sea waves.

Visual Imagery: This poem is filled with several visual images. It portrays what one can see on the
seashore at dawn. The poet depicts crows, a skull, the “Great Temple”, a group of widows, a
cremation pyre, etc.

Organic Imagery: It can be found in the following lines: “stare like those caught in a net/ hanging by
the dawn’s shining strands of faith.” Here, the poet describes how the dawn evokes faith in his
heart.

Olfactory Imagery: The line “into the smoky blaze of a sullen solitary pyre” contains an image
related to smell.

Kinetic Imagery: This device is present in the last two lines of the poem. Here, the poet describes the
movement of light on the shifting sands.

Questions and Answers

Is “Dawn at Puri” an imagist poem?

“Dawn at Puri” is an imagist poem as it contains a variety of imagery. Firstly, it begins with auditory
and visual imagery to depict the scene. Thereafter, he goes on to present a set of visual images to
describe various ideas related to life, death, and suffering.
What does the “Endless crow noises” signify in “Dawn at Puri”?

The line “Endless crow noises” contains onomatopoeia. This line depicts what one can see on the
shores of Puri at dawn. Mahapatra uses the hyperbolic expression “Endless” to signify that the
ceaseless sound the crows make.

What is the central idea of the poem “Dawn at Puri”?

The central idea or theme of this piece concerns the cycle of life and death. It also beautifully
describes the scenes that can be seen at dawn on the Puri seashore.

What is “her last wish” in “Dawn at Puri”?

In the last verse of “Dawn at Puri,” Mahapatra says that his mother’s last wish is to be cremated on
the shores of Puri. She is going to die like the uncertain light, on the shifting sands.

When was the poem “Dawn at Puri” published?

Jayanta Mahapatra’s “Dawn at Puri” was published in his book of poetry A Rain of Rites in 1976.

How many stanzas are there in “Dawn at Puri”?

The poem consists of six tercets or three-line stanzas.

Who wants to be cremated by the holy shores of Puri?

The poet’s mother wants to be cremated by the holy shores of Puri.

Structure of Dawn at Puri

The structure of ‘Dawn at Puri’ by Jayanta Mahapatra closely connects to the theme of the poem. It
is suggestive at the same time illustrative. The six stanza poem has an evenness in its structure. It
has three visually descriptive lines imitating the waves of seawater on the sandy shore. The falling
waves in the structure of the poem come into attention from stanza four. The metrical structure of
the poem imitates the rhythm of the sea. A mixture of trochaic, iambic, and anapaestic meter helps
the poet to achieve this sound effect.

There is not any specific rhyme scheme in the poem. Instead of that, the poem is metrical and
rhythmic for the equal distribution of foot in each stanza. The majority of the foot contains
anapaestic meter. An anapaest is a metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables
followed by one long or stressed syllable.

Dawn at Puri Summary

The Endless Sound of the Cawing of Crows; a Skull on the Beach

This poem depicts the morning scene on the sandy sea-beach at Puri (in Orissa). The first item in the
picture is the endless cawing of the crows. The next item is a skull which the speaker in the poem
notices on the holy sea-beach where dead bodies are cremated. To the speaker, the sight of this
skull brings the idea of the extreme poverty and penury of the people of Orissa; (and Orissa may
here be taken as representing the entire country of India).

A Crowd of Elderly Widows, Waiting to Enter a Temple

The speaker then observes a large number of widows, wearing white garments, waiting to enter the
Great Temple in order to offer their daily worship and to perform the holy rites. All these widows
have passed their middle age and are therefore elderly women. There is an expression of solemnity
in the eyes of these women. In fact, their eyes are full of despair like the eyes of creatures which
have been caught in a net. The only thing that sustains these women is their religious faith and the
hope which is born of it. They all stand in a group, looking timid and having no confidence in
themselves.

The Last Wish of the Speaker’s Ageing Mother

At this moment a sudden thought occurs to the speaker in this poem. His mother, who is getting old,
had said that her last desire in life is that after her death she should be cremated here (that is, on
the sandy sea-beach where all pious people wish to be cremated).