Of Hypocrisy and Cheekbones

Last updated

"Of Hypocrisy and Cheekbones" is an Indian poem by the Indian English writer and translator Shahnaz Habib. The poem won First Prize in the Ninth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 2000. [1]

Shahnaz Habib is an Indian essayist, fiction writer, travel writer, and translator based in the United States of America. Her English translation of the novel Jasmine Days, from the Malayalam original by the author Benyamin, won the 2018 JCB Prize for Literature, which each year recognizes a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or translated fiction by an Indian writer. She teaches writing at Bay Path University and The New School, and works as a consultant for the United Nations.

The Poetry Society (India) was formed in July 1984 at New Delhi as a voluntary association to promote Indian poetry and to look after the interests of Indian Poets. The founding members included the Indian poets Keshav Malik, J P Das, H K Kaul and Lakshmi Kannan. The Society conducts seminars, creative writing workshops, reading and publication of poetry journal and anthologies. It also conducts All India Poetry Competitions, including competitions among school children.

Contents

Excerpts from the poem

Sometimes you see a man
With such irresistible cheekbones
You feel an urge to raise your hand
And touch them
Simply to know how they feel
To your skin.
And then he looks full in your face
And dazzles you with a reckless, innocent smile,
Not of invitation, merely inviting.
And then,
All those years of prudent upbringing,
Your religion, your values,
The stern concern of your father
The hushed chiding of your mother,
The sour wisdom of generations
The hardened core of civilisations
Rise in indignation within you
And quash the cave-woman
Mercilessly
So that you give him
A grim, ladylike glare
And turn your face away in disgust.
*****
And then,
The next day you take care
Without really thinking why,
Not to get into the same bus.

Comments and criticism

The poem has received critical acclaim since its first publication in 2000 in the book Emerging Voices [2] and has since been widely anthologised. [3] The poem has been frequently quoted in scholarly analysis of contemporary Indian English poetry. [4]

Indian English poetry is the oldest form of Indian English literature. Indian poets writing in English have succeeded to nativize or indianize English in order to reveal typical Indian situations. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio is considered the first poet in the lineage of Indian English poetry followed by Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt among others.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Award Winning Poems – AIPC 2000".
  2. ↑ Poetry India – Emerging Voices by H K Kaul, Virgo Publications, 1998
  3. ↑ Contemporary Indian Poets by Jeet Thayil, Fulcrum, Bloodaxe Books, 1996
  4. ↑ "Fourteen Contemporary Indian Poets – Rana Nayar in The Tribune".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Related Research Articles

Jayanta Mahapatra Indian writer

Jayanta Mahapatra is a major Indian English poet. He is the first Indian poet to win Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. He is the author of such popular poems as Indian Summer and Hunger, which are regarded as classics in modern Indian English literature. Jayanta Mahapatra was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in India in 2009.

Gopi Kottoor Indian writer

Gopikrishnan Kottoor is the pen name of Raghav G. Nair, an award-winning Indian English poet. He is best known for his internationally acclaimed poem "Father, Wake Us In Passing". He is also the founder editor of the quarterly poetry journal Poetry Chain. Kottoor presently lives in Trivandrum, Kerala India, where he works as a senior banker with Reserve Bank of India.

Kamala Surayya Indian author

Kamala Surayya, popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty and married name Kamala Das, was an Indian English poet as well as a leading Malayalam author from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography. She was also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, politics among others. She was born in a Hindu Nair (Nalapat) family having royal ancestry. She converted to conservative Islam on December 11, 1999, at the age of 65 and assumed the name Kamala Surayya.

Sitakant Mahapatra Indian writer from Odisha

Sitakant Mahapatra is an eminent Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He was in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) since 1961 until retiring in 1995, and has held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust, New Delhi since then.

Anju Makhija is a poet, playwright, translator and columnist, She has a M.A in Communications from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

"Madras Central" is an English poem and the best known work of Vijay Nambisan, the Indian poet, writer and journalist. The poem won First Prize in the inaugural All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1988. The poem is regarded as a modern classic and has received critical acclaim following its first publication in 1989.

"Siesta" is one of the best known poems of Shampa Sinha, the Indian born Australian poet. The poem won First Prize in the Fifth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1993. The poem was the second major award winning work of Shampa Sinha after she won the Best Young Poet award at the Third National Poetry Competition in 1991.

"A Writer's Prayer" is an English poem by the Indian poet and mystic Tarun Cherian. The poem won Second Prize in the Fifth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1993. The poem was the first major award winning work of Cherian, who went on to make a mark in mysticism, spirituality and visual art.

"A Farmer's Ghost" is a popular English poem by the Indian poet and writer Anju Makhija. The poem won First Prize in the Fifth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1994. The poem has been widely cited and anthologised in reputed journals and scholarly volumes on contemporary Indian poetry.

"Birds of North Europe" is a poem by Tabish Khair, the internationally acclaimed Indian English author and journalist. The poem won First Prize in the Sixth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1995. The poem brought the first major literary award for Tabish Khair, who is better known as a novelist of repute.

"Portrait of a Lady" is a poem by the Indian English poet and art critic Ranjit Hoskote. The poem won First Prize in the Seventh All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1995. The poem brought the second major literary award for Hoskote, who also won the Sanskriti Award for Literature in 1996 and the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for lifetime achievement in 2005.

"In Santacruz, Diagnosed Home Sick" is a poem by the Indian English poet and novelist K Srilata. The poem won First Prize in the Eighth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1998. This was the first major literary award for Srilata, who subsequently won the Unison British Council Award and Charles Wallace Fellowship for Poetry.

"I Would Know You Anywhere" is an award winning Indian poem on the popular Hindu god Ganesha by the Indian English poet Revathy Gopal. The poem won Second Prize in the Ninth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 2000. This was the second major literary award for Revathy, who had also won second prize in the eighth All India Poetry Competition.

"The Coffin Maker" is an award winning poem by the internationally acclaimed Indian English poet Gopi Krishnan Kottoor. The poem won Second Prize in the Sixth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1995. This was the first major literary award for Kottoor, who went on to win four more major poetry awards at All India Poetry Competition.

"Digging..." is a popular Indian poem by the internationally acclaimed Indian English poet Gopi Krishnan Kottoor. The poem won Second Prize in the Seventh All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1997. The renowned British poet Vicki Feaver was the Chairman of the award committee. This was the second major literary award for Kottoor, who went on to win four more major poetry awards at All India Poetry Competition.

"Punarnava" is a popular award-winning poem by the noted Indian English poet and literary critic Rajlukshmee Debee Bhattacharya. The poem won First Prize in the Third All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1991. The poem has been widely cited and anthologised in reputed journals and scholarly volumes on contemporary Indian poetry.

"Kali" is a popular award-winning poem by the eminent Indian writer, linguist and literary critic Rukmini Bhaya Nair. The poem won First Prize in the Second All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 1990. The poem has been widely cited and anthologised in reputed journals and scholarly volumes on contemporary Indian poetry.