Introduction of the Poem: According to M.K. Naik, “Mahapatra’s poetry is redolent of the Orissa scene and the Jagannath temple at Puri figures quite often in it.” Dawn at Puri depicts the early morning scene on the sandy sea beach at Puri, known for its famous Jagannath Temple. The annual festival held to honour the … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: This poem may be classified as a dramatic monologue, that is, a poem in which somebody is speaking to somebody else, with the latter remaining silent throughout. Here the speaker is obviously a man who is speaking to a woman with whom he is in love. Of course, we are ourselves … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: This is a very short extract from a much longer poem the title of which has been given above. The poet is here writing ironically about the twenty fifth anniversary of the establishment of the republic of India. The country achieved its independence in 1947; but it became a republic (with … Read more
Critical Summary: Here we have an extract from Mahapatra’s long poem Relationship. The poem consists of many sections of which only one has here been supplied by the anthologist. Mahapatra intended this long poem to be a kind of epic based on the ancient history of Orissa to which he belongs by birth, by breeding, … Read more
Critical Summary: This poem too depicts a scene. The use of the word “Again” in the title shows that the poet or the protagonist has already had an experience of the kind which he describes in this poem. As in an Imagist poem, here also we get a series of pictures though at the end … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: In “The Abandoned British Cemetery at Balasore,” which appears in his Selected Poems, Jayanta Mahapatra reflects over the deaths of young British citizens of cholera a hundred and fifty years ago, who are buried in the cemetery at Balasore. This is a poignant and heart rending poem about “the forgotten dead”. … Read more
Summary of the Poem: This poem describes the state of affairs in the town of Puri on the 16th February 1980 when a total solar eclipse had occurred. The day became absolutely dark. The sun’s loss of its light and radiance seemed to show that the sun had become meek and humble. It was the … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “The Moon Moments” is another philosophical poem by Mahapatra. Although the word “moon” could here be interpreted as the beloved, yet it would be perhaps nearer the facts of the case to interpret it as meaning an ideal. The title, namely The Moon Moments means those moments when a human being … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: “The Exile” is one of Mahapatra’s philosophical poems. The protagonist in the poem regards himself as an exile. This imagist poem is deeply personal as the protagonist reveals to us his own innermost thoughts. He tries to penetrate the depths of his own mind, besides depicting the scenes around him. … Read more
Introduction of the Poem: This poem shows the dilemma of a person who is invited to visit a brothel. While he wants to find out how a prostitute behaves or how the mind of a prostitute works, the woman immediately gets down to “business” to please him as a “passionless tool” so that she can … Read more