2. About the poet...
Sujata Bhatt's multicultural
perspectives on language, culture, art
and history surely originate in her
own life experiences.
Born in India in 1956, her mother
tongue Gujerati, she has studied in
Britain and the USA (at the famed
Iowa Writers Workshop), taught in
Canada, travelled widely, and now
lives and works in Germany.
3. Brief Context
“A Different History” explores the relationship
between
cultural identity and language. Bhatt was born in India
in 1956, studied in the United Kingdom and United
States, and lives now in Germany.
4. Listen to the audio recitation of “ A
Different History”.
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/
different-history
Think of the following questions:
What is being compared in the poem?
What is the attitudes towards books?
Is there a change of mood in the
poem?
5. Discussion
What is being compared in the poem?
• Comparison is made between Greek and Indian gods:
‘[Pan] simply emigrated / to India’, and ‘Here [in India],
the gods roam freely’.
What is the attitudes towards books?
• Next the poem focuses on the reverential attitude
towards books in a country where ‘every tree is sacred’.
Is there a change of mood in the poem?
• A clear shift in mood comes at the start of the second
section with the first rhetorical question which takes us to
the heart of what the poem is about: ‘Which language /
has not been the oppressor’s tongue?’
6. Your task...
• Read the poem and underline any
words that you find difficult or are
unfamiliar with.
• Consult a dictionary to find the
meaning.
• This will help you to further understand
the poem.
7. The goddess plays a particularly
significant role in the first stanza
Greek God
Pan
Hindu God
Sarasvati
8. Tone
Listen to the poem again...
Do you feel that a particular point has been
clarified by the tone of voice in which Bhatt
reads the poem?
9. Language
Look more closely at the language of the first
section (up until ‘from whose wood the paper
was made’).
How does Bhatt use words and phrases to
convey how sacred trees and books are?
10. Poetic Techniques
In pairs, try to find as many poetic techniques as
you can in the poem.
You have 5 minutes.
11. Repetition / Rhetorical
Question
• In pairs, read the poem again.
• Consider the effects of the repetition of ‘a sin’ and
‘without’ in the first section
• and of the rhetorical flourish ‘Which language…’ in
the second section.
12. Mood / Tone
• Consider more closely the different mood of the
second section, exploring the precise effects of
particular words that you find striking.
• How do you think these lines should be read? Is the
tone bitter or sad? Does the tone of voice change
at any stage – and, if it does, why?
13. Metaphors
• Consider the following metaphors: ‘tongue’ for
language, and the soul ‘cropped / with a long
scythe swooping out / of the conqueror’s face’.
• Probe closely the meanings and effects of the
underlined words.
• How effective do you find the final two lines of the
poem? Do you find anything amusing in the poem?
14. Themes
What do you think are the common ideas found
within this poem?
• Identity and language
• Time
• Religion
15. Your Task...
First: Write a short poem about your culture and
Identity.
Second: Compare and contrast your culture
and Identity to that of Sujata Bhatts.
The poems will be judged by teachers and the
best poem will win a prize and be presented in
Assembly.
