This presentation was given as the semester-end presentation on the Indianness in Nissim Ezekiel's Poem ‘The Patriot’ for the paper 'Indian English Literature – Post-Independence 202' in the M.A. English Semester 3

1. ‘Indianness’
in
Nissim Ezekiel's Poem
‘The Patriot’
Paper no.202

2. Introduction
Presented By: Ghanshyam Katariya
Roll NO. : 07
Semester: 3
Paper NO. : 202
Paper Name: Indian English Literature – Post-Independence
Topic: Indianness in Nissim Ezekiel's Poem ‘The Patriot’
Submitted To: Smt. S. B. Gardi, Department of English
Email ID: gkatariya67@gmail.com
Date 17/10/2023

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
01
Poet’s
Introduction
02
Background
of Poet
03
Poem’s
Overview
04
Indianness 05
Indianness
in ‘The
Patriot’
06
Conclusion

4. 01 Poet’s Introduction
● Nissim Ezekiel, poet and scholar, born December 24, 1924.
● Belonged to Mumbai's tiny, Marathi-speaking Bene Israel Jewish
community, which never experienced anti-semitism.
● He "naturalized the language to the Indian situation, and breathed life
into the Indian English poetic tradition," wrote the Bangladeshi
academic Kaiser Haq. (Joffe)
● After dabbling as an advertising copywriter and manager of a picture
frame company (1954-59), he co-founded the literary monthly
Imprint, in 1961.
● He acted as a mentor to younger poets, such as Dom Moraes, Adil
Jussawalla, and Gieve Patel.
● Many of his poems, such as The Night Of The Scorpion, and that
supreme antidote to jingoism, The Patriot, are set-works in Indian and
British schools.
● Ezekiel received the Sahitya Akademi cultural award in 1983 and the
Padma-Shri, India's highest civilian honour, in 1988. (Joffe)

5. 02 Indian-Jew Background of the Poet.
● Born into a “modestly bourgeois Jewish family” on 16 December 1924, Ezekiel
belonged to the Marathi-speaking Bene Israel Jewish community in Bombay, which
at the time was 20,000 strong but in 2004, only 5,000 remained.
● Unlike a majority of Bene Israel Jews who returned to Israel following Partition and
Indian Independence, Ezekiel’s family stayed on.
● He did touch upon the alienation felt by his ancestors on settling down in the Indian
continent and struggling to find a place in the traditional caste-hierarchy. He wrote
in a poem called Background, Casually. (Krishnankutty)
“My ancestors, among the castes,
were aliens crushing seed for bread,”
“I have made my commitments now
This is one! to stay where I am,
As others choose to give themselves
In some remote and backward place.
My backward place is where I am. “(Ezekiel)

6. 03 What is Indianness?
● Indianness may be a very controversial term. It comprises of the cultural
pattern of India, together with deep rooted Indian ideas. These ideals and
ideologies play their respective role altogether styles of social scenarios.(Sut)
● Indianness is not only about national identity. It’s not only about traditions,
culture, and our wonderful civilisation. It’s not about the way we live and the
way we conduct ourselves. It’s not only about the best of the religions as well.
● So, what is Indianness? And what is that thing when we are specific to a certain
context – Indianness in Indian English literature?
● Indianness is an amalgam of all the things mentioned above. It’s an idea that
strikes one’s mind and compels the emotional outburst in a person to relate to
the elements involved in a particular event; in this case, it’s literary work.
● While Indianness, as an Idea, can be a perfect mixture of all the things
mentioned above, anything can constitute the simple idea of Indianness until it
connects the reader’s mind with India – India that is a thought, not merely a
nation. (Mishra)

7. 04 The Patriot summary
● In "The Patriot," the speaker engages in a
conversation with a visitor.
● He proclaims his commitment to peace and
non-violence, reflecting Mahatma Gandhi's
ideals.
● The speaker expresses disappointment in
people's continuous conflicts despite
Gandhi's teachings and laments the modern
generation's disregard for ancient Indian
wisdom.
“I am standing for peace and non-violence.
Why world is fighting fighting
Why all people of world
Are not following Mahatma Gandhi,
I am simply not understanding.”

8. * Continue…
● He humorously contrasts his intention to improve his English with
his frequent use of inappropriate language.
Other day I'm reading newspaper
(Every day I'm reading Times of India
To improve my English Language)
● The poem shifts between discussing political matters, lassi (a
traditional Indian drink), and the speaker's concerns about India's
relations with Pakistan and China.
● The poem ends with the speaker emphasizing brotherhood in India,
where diverse people coexist in tolerance, awaiting a peaceful future.

9. 05 Indianness in the poem ‘The Patriot
● His poem “The Patriot”, in which Ezekiel expresses his deep concern for the contemporary
problems that India faces and again the use of “Indian English” shows Ezekiel‟s grip on the
working of the Indian mind:
“Pakistan behaving like this,
China behaving like that,
It is making me very sad, I am telling you.”
● And the use of typically Hindi words like “Rama Rajya”, “Lassi”, “Aashram”, “Guru”,
“Chapati”, “Paan” further add the Indian flavour to the English language. (Kumar)
● Even the language of Ezekiel‟s poems contains a large amount of “Indian” English. The
colloquial language and the frequent use of present tense features the use of “Indian
English” by the native Indians. The two are the very prominent features of Indianness in
Ezekiel‟s poetry. His poems like “Very Indian Poems in Indian English”, “The Patriot”,
“The Professor” and many other such poems work as a subtle comment on English and the
way it is used for communication in Indian society. (Kumar)

10. Another poems of Ezekiel
● Ezekiel‟s poem “Entertainment” is one of the best examples of the
perfection in his art of observation of the Indian society.
● He seems to be the master in penetrating the selfish aspect of the
gathered crowd which gets dispersed by the time of its “anticipated
payment” to the street show, they have recently enjoyed. (Kumar)
● On the other hand, he penetrates the hardships of the life of the
performers, who do not have even a single line on their faces but
ironically, the monkey is sad for its performance has remained
unpaid. (Kumar)
“Anticipating time for payment,
the crowd dissolves.
Some, in shame, part
With the smallest coin they have.
The show moves on.”

11. 06 Conclusion
● M. K. Naik, in his book Indian English Poetry, reminds the readers of
Longfellow’s wonderful idea – nationality in literature is good, but
universality is better.
● an Indian will read the book because of the connect, that the English
language often usurps and a foreigner will read the book because of
something new that he can learn and the language further simplifies
that learning adventure. (Mishra)

12. 01 References
Ezekiel, Nissim, and Shashank Chander. “Background, Casually by Nissim Ezekiel - a poem by Shashank Chander.”
All Poetry, 2015, https://allpoetry.com/poem/12161324-Background--Casually-by-Nissim-Ezekiel-by-
Shashank-Chander . Accessed 17 October 2023.
Joffe, Lawrence. “Nissim Ezekiel | India.” The Guardian, 9 March 2004,
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/mar/09/guardianobituaries.india . Accessed 17 October 2023.
Krishnankutty, Pia. “Nissim Ezekiel, a pioneer of Indian-English poetry, was bound by layers of his identity.”
ThePrint, 16 December 2019, https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/nissim-ezekiel-a-pioneer-of-indian-english-
poetry-was-bound-by-layers-of-his-identity/334326/ . Accessed 16 October 2023.

13. Kumar, Ashok. “INDIANNESS IN THE POETRY OF NISSIM EZEKIEL.” International Journal of
Research in Engineering, IT & Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 8, August 2014. Indusedu.org,
https://www.indusedu.org/pdfs/IJREISS/IJREISS_507_32179.pdf . Accessed 16 October
2023.
Mishra, Alok. “Indianness in Indian English Literature – Definition, Concept & Examples.” English
Literature, 9 April 2020, https://englishliterature.education/articles/guides/indianness-in-indian-
english-literature-definition-concept-examples/ . Accessed 16 October 2023.
Sut, Nitul. "INDIANNESS AND ALIENATION IN THE POETRY OF NISSIM EZEKIEL." International
Journal of Management (IJM) 12.1 (2021).
https://shorturl.at/acefB Accessed 17 October 2023.

14. Thank
You