Entertainment

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/7326/9/09_chapter%205.pdf

‘Entertainment’ shows an authentic Indian ness. It is a faithful description of a monkey-show which one can witness in any street corner of India. The reactions of the audiences are tellingly noted. They have an intuitive
fore-knowledge of the time to pay:

Anticipating time for payment
The crowd dissolves,
Some, in shame, part
With the smallest coin they have,
The show moves on.

And if it does not, the monkey and its master will have to starve to death. A usual roadside diversion provides the poet with an opportunity to offer his reflections on Indian social life at the meanest. Commenting on the poem, Dr. Shaila Mahan offers that, ‘Entertainment’ depicts the monkey show, which is a peculiar Indian street scene. The situation is typically Indian. We see the poor Indian society and the meanness of people. They watch the show but do not pay for it and slunk away after the show ends.” (Mahan, Shaila. The Poetry of Nissim Ezekiel. Jaipur: Classic Publications, 2001, p. 47) Reading this poem, it becomes clear that although Ezekiel avoids most of the time to talk about his Indianness, he expresses a particular Indian identity. As John Thieme narrates: “For the most part he avoids writing about his ‘Indian ness’, but in so doing he communicates a particular view of Indian identity.” ((Thieme, John. ‘Introduction’, Collected Poems of Nissim Ezekiel. Delhi: OUP, 2005, p. xxi) R. Parthasarathy shows this poem to mention the measure of Ezekiel’s Indianness by quoting the poet: “Any evaluation of Indian verse in English is usually bedeviled by the question of national identity… Ezekiel states his position honestly and without rhetoric: “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 I have not withdrawn from India.” In the poem, ‘Entertainment’, we see a measure of his involvement. Incidentally, he also encapsulates the ‘boring minutiae of suburban and urban existence’.” (Parthasarathy, R. Ten Twentieth Century Indian Poets. Delhi: OUP, 1976, p. 5.)


'Entertainment'

The monkey showman in the poem 'Entertainment' 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. In spite 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.

Taken form
www.galaxyimrj.com Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal ISSN 2278 – 9529