Part 30 of The Poetry Pulse’s 100-part journey through Indian poetry.Gieve Patel’s poem “On Killing a Tree” is often read as a striking account of how difficult it is to destroy a living organism that has grown over years. Its plain, almost instructional voice creates an unsettling contrast with the violence of its subject. This discussion analyses the poem’s key images and phrasing without repro…
Part 20 of The Poetry Pulse’s 100-part journey through India’s poetic heritage.Toru Dutt’s “Our Casuarina Tree” is a deeply personal poem in which a familiar tree becomes a symbol of childhood, memory and the people who are no longer present. The poem moves from vivid description of the tree to reflections on time and loss. This article explores its imagery and emotional structure without reprodu…
Part 13 of The Poetry Pulse’s 100-part journey through India’s poetic heritage.Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” recounts a night when a mother is stung by a scorpion and the village gathers to respond. The poem observes the community’s explanations, rituals and the mother’s suffering with a mixture of affection, irony and restraint. It is a powerful example of Indian English poetry findin…
Part 11 of The Poetry Pulse’s 100-part journey through India’s poetic heritage.A.K. Ramanujan’s “Small-Scale Reflections on a Great House” examines a family home as a place where objects, habits and relationships accumulate across generations. The poem’s house is not merely a building. It becomes a system that absorbs people and things, preserving the past while exposing the strange ways families…
