THE SCOURGE OF NATURE

 

        

                      

            

              

1.     Nature seems to unfold her mighty rage

 To remind man’s persistent follies;

  Man, ever destroying Nature with selfish craze

  How can he simply ruin useful plains and trees?

  How can he murder lovely creatures wild?

  Or cage them simply to feed his cruel pride

  Can he create lost treasures of Nature again?

  Can he re-fill the void and soothe her pain?

  Man’s monstrous deeds imprinted on eternal time

  Rebound with might to chastise his inhuman crimes.

 

2.      Seasons went out of tune and their ordained laws

  With unruly winds that confounds our technical brain;

  As if to strike back man’s repeated flaws

  As if they rebelled due to unbearable strain  

  Our reckless actions lead to total chaos.

  Punishing mankind with inestimable loss

  What folly have those dumb creatures done?

  Why should they face annihilation?

  What right man has to meddle with creation?

  What right man has to spread pollution? 

 

3.      The furious cyclone lashed many a place

  Pouncing like a wounded tiger without restraint;

  Winds whirled unbridled like stallions in a race

  The bridges and culverts down into deep waters went

  Housed trembled flooded with rain-waters knee-deep

  Tall trees and poles struck down by stormy sweep;

  Lawless encroachments did enormous harm

  Swelling drain-waters aggravated by storm

  Changed every roadway into a cesspool

  Gross negligence of planning and rules.

 

4.      Houses and shops full-drenched with flooding rains

  All furniture drowned and damaged beyond repair;

  All roads submerged, and cancelled all buses and trains;

  All public facilities went out of gear;

  People suffered a lot for want of water and bread

  Rains played havoc and left many a cattle dead

  Bare promises like distant mirages shone

  All their fruits of labour suddenly gone;

  Whom shall we blame for this grim catastrophe dire?

  Can man’s dry knowledge control mighty Nature’s ire? 

 

5.      Poor farmers’ crops washed off in torrential rain

  No proper storage provided to store their grain;

  Their year-long labour went down the drain;

  Can meagre compensation assuage their pain?

  Mere empty promises hang like barren clouds

  Famished and debt-ridden languish poor crowds;

  None can predict weather and vagaries of seasons;

  But can reduce loss with planning and vision.

  So many kill themselves in debt-trap caught

  Food grains in granaries go waste and rot.

 

6.    Help comes too late to relieve their pain

Nature exploited affects in several ways

Forests destroyed and burnt for selfish gain;

Rivers ravaged and diverted of their wonted ways;

We trade with Nature’s patience immense

Wiping out creatures and forests dense;

So many rare, useful species went extinct

Man lost his bond with Nature and human instincts;

Nature’s gifts with greed we grossly misuse

Vicious, destructive means we wrongly choose.

 

7.    Man’s grabbing nature, power and guile

Ruined most of Nature’s precious gifts;

His reckless, wasteful exploiting style

Sounded his own death-knell and created a rift;

The balancing forces he disturbed with brutal might

The gifts of science perverted with cruel delight

Caused this plight of facing extinction dire;

Nature’s forces rebelled against the world entire.

Still not realizing future disasters and gloom

He indulges in piling weapons of dreadful doom.

 

8.     We can’t create what we deliberately lost

Still, what is left we can at least protect;

 Let man live with Nature with humane heart

 Let not this world be a war-torn lifeless desert;

 Our so-called well-developed mind too shallow to see

 The adverse effects of wasting and polluting spree;

 Let us make use of our discerning brain

 Let us not fight like brutes in battles vain;

 Let us not waste our knowledge earned with so much strain

 Let us not throw our precious culture into the drain; 

          *********************************

     25th August, 2022                   Somaseshu Gutala

Note : The world loses almost six million hectares of forest each year due to deforestation. Nearly 64% of tropical rain forests in the world are destroyed. Over two lakh acres of rainforests are burned every day. Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Animals like black Rhinoceros, the Tasmanian tiger, the Malabar civet, the flightless bird, Dodo, the Asiatic cheetah are wiped out of existence due to man’s indiscriminate hunting. Many animals like the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, snow leopard, the Kashmiri red stag. The black buck, the great Indian bustard, the Nilgiri mountain goat and the one-horned rhinoceros are on the verge of extinction. Sea creatures like the sea otters, the blue whale, fur seals, the green sea turtle, Ridley Sea turtles are among the endangered species. Every year nearly one lakh marine mammals and sea turtles die when they are trapped in plastic nets or eat them. Due to the warming sea surface temperatures, fifty percent of the world’s coral reefs are now dead.  Micro-plastic pollution in the ocean are polluting everything by killing and destroying marine life. Water pollution is created due to contamination of water sources by letting out chemicals, drainage water, oil spill and throwing of rubbish. Deforestation, burning of coal, oil and gas, and emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, water vapor, nitrous oxide and ozone. This results in melting of glaciers, rising sea levels and unseasonal floods and draught.  So, man should take necessary precautions and protect Nature for his own survival and for the welfare of other living organisms. He should use organic fertilizers, bio-degradable material, reduce use of pollutants and utilize non-conventional energy sources like solar and wind power. He should lead a simple, and natural life without depending too much on machines and without overconsuming or wasting  resources keeping in view the well-being of future generations. He should curb overexploitation of natural resources and overuse of chemicals and fertilizers, and should not resort to unnatural means to increase production. He should reduce wasteful expenditure and should live in harmony with Nature. “The proper use of science is not to conquer Nature but to live in it.”-Barry Commoner.  As Leo Tolstoy wrote,” One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.”

                         ***************************

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AT THE RESORT

 

        

                             

                              

                              

.  1.The bright Neon lights sparkled with tempting eyes

   Soft lilting sounds reverberated from inside;

   The receptionist courtesied with winsome smile

   Our entry into this world so cosy and smooth;

   Our eyes caught with new charms ignoring the truth

   A heavy burden, yet our spirits felt agile

   We felt too happy and left our homely place

   Our days ran fast as if in a frantic race.

 

2.      We learnt so many things both good and bad

  We took keen interest almost crazy and mad

  Entangled in the web of worldly links we quite forgot

  About our home and destination, we little thought

  We shot beyond our bounds and cared naught

  We hurt ourselves and wounded many a heart

   We wandered like stormy gale and have little thought 

   Of future burdens we wilfully gripped and caught.

 

3.       The  coloured musical fountains of erotic kind

   Bright-lit with dancing hues captured our minds;

   The spacious swimming pools tinted crystal blue

   With pretty damsels dressed in flashy vibrant design;

   So many temptations with foaming wine

   Unmindful of passing time, like birds we flew;

   About our future we little thought but plunged headlong

   One among the flock submerged in sensuous song. 

 

4.       This merry pantomime how long it goes!  

    How long goes this spectacular show!

    Our lives wear out in same recurring routine

    We pass our days like sheep with no specific goal;

    Like puppets we play our role with no control

    Like breaking waves, events happen unseen

    When shall our evil acts and tendencies end?

    When shall our wasteful ways and idle thoughts we mend?

 

5.       Behind this scintillating sparkling scene

   A puzzling matrix of life-patterns seen

   Deceptive shady masquerading deals

   Illegal veiled intrigues hiding behind

   This whirling vortex beyond our grip to find;

   To fathom their motives, too dark to unveil

   Victims and culprits too intricate to reveal;

 

6.       Enough of this mind-boggling crazy game

   Enough of this vain run after wealth and fame;

   Enough of this vanishing bubbles and dreams;

   This whirling breathless time sapped our zeal at last

   Nothing left now; Flitting mirage of fleeting thoughts;

   Thanks to this treasure of treats that enriched our hearts;

   We have to go back home, left so many years before

Through paths unknown, through dark chambers and doors.

       *****************************************

    4th August, 2022                       Somaseshu Gutala

 

 

  

   

   

   

 

   

   

 

  

   

    

   

 

OUR PICNIC AT THE CLINIC

                                                             

                  

 

 

1.     People in large numbers, behold!

 Mostly aged persons, ailing persons old;

 As if all diseases congregated here;

 We too joined the crowd, our complaints to share;

 The doctors and nurses too busy their time to spare;

 The nurses moved too swift; none came to hear.

 A tiresome journey to prestigious clinics so far

 Life seemed- with diseases, a perpetual war. 

 

2.      In a long line they have to wait and wait

  A lot of time they have, to talk with mates;

  Stuck to their mobiles, they tend to forget

  Their waiting time so quickly spent;

  They share with others about their complaints

  A rare chance, mingling with strangers they met;

  A long list of medicines they learnt by heart

  From their chronic troubles, many lessons they got.

 

3.      Their sickly state brought them together to chat 

       About our various troubles as we patiently sat;

   A host of age-related diseases long

   Which play hide and seek and will never end

   To keep them under check, they are compelled to spend

   Their hard-earned wealth and prolong

   Their tender health with minimum complaints;

   To stay unconcerned about health, they are not saints.

 

4.       Some talked about their stiff limbs and pain

   Some limped slowly leaning on prop with strain; 

   Some fretted about their hypertension

   Some complained about their rising medical bills;

   Some spoke about pollution’s ills.

   Some about their diabetic state did mention

   Some spoke about their relatives abroad

   Their changed food habits, and manners odd.  

 

5.       Some recalled their youthful days and past

   About their stamina and prizes, they got;

   About how they ran with winged feet

   About how they defeated their rivals strong

   To see their physique perfect how people did throng;

   About their appetite for dishes sweet;

   And how they took keen meticulous care

   Of their habits, food, dressing and wear.

 

6.       Though age has dented their appearance pale

   Their hopes and desires did not seem to fail;

   They loved to dwell in past forgetting their pain

   Rich-laden memories voiced in humorous vein;

   Still, they loved to seek knowledge with interest keen;

   Still, they wish from others, some wisdom gain;

   No more can they travel and freely roam

   Mostly they stay confined to their home. 

 

7.       Though age has sapped their healthy glow

   Their inner spirit like fire in cinders shows

   Their bubbling wit and jovial shine

   Seasoned with maturity, one can spy

   Their natural traits that hardly die

   They radiate their mirth in spite of suffering pain

   They found a touch of intimacy indeed

   With sympathetic care they help others in need.

 

8.      They treat their lives as God-given lessons to know

  Of truths profound and restrain their passions’ flow;

  Age has taught them patience, fortitude and calm

  They have endured so many challenges dire

  Their words and deeds so many people did inspire

  They withstood many hurdles and storms;

  This friendly meet, chance has turned it into a picnic

   In happy bonding of their visits to various clinics.

 

               **********************************

 

   21 -07-2022                             Somaseshu Gutala

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Note on Whitman’s Poem “When Lilacs last…”

                       

                                

Abraham Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield, Illinois

                                            

Lilacs

This elegy to President Abraham Lincoln was written by Whitman in the summer of 1865 after president’s assassination on 14^th April, 1865. Whitman included this poem in his 1865 collection of “Drum-Taps”, a sequence of poems based on the experiences of his working as a nurse during the American Civil War. This is a long poem of 206 lines cast in pastoral elegy form. Whitman revised this poem many times from the time it was published. The final version was published in 1881 in “Leaves of Grass.”  This elegy is considered as one of the best elegies comparable with John Milton’s “Lycidas” (1637) and Shelley’s “Adonais” (1821).

 

This elegy is a first-person monologue with sixteen stanzas or strophes. The range of each stanza varies in length from five to fifty-three lines. The length of each line also varies from seven syllables to twenty syllables. It does not have consistent metrical pattern. He achieves a coherent structure and beauty through “the internal patterns of sound, diction, specific word choice and effect of association.” The use of literary devices like repetition, cataloguing, and parallelism, long flowing lines gives a pattern of unity and incantatory quality to this poem.

 According to Kathy Rugoff “the poem …has a broad scope and incorporates a strongly characterized speaker, a complex narrative action and an array of highly lyrical images.” According to another critic, Helen Vendler, the poem reaches its most lyrical pitch in 14^th strophe, reaches its moral climax in fifteenth and ends with a note of reconciliation in sixteenth strophe. This elegy does not mention Lincoln by name or the circumstances surrounding his death.

 

This is a pastoral elegy written in free verse. Whitman wrote two other elegies “O captain! My captain!” and “Hushed be the camps today”. But this elegy is grander and more touching than the other two elegies in structure and content. Though it does not follow the conventions strictly, it is considered as a pastoral elegy in which the deceased person and the poet are depicted as shepherds. In one sense Lincoln was the shepherd of the American people in wartime and his loss left the north in the position of a flock without a leader. As in traditional elegies, Nature mourns Lincoln’s death along with people.

 

 This poem also makes reference to the problems of modern times in its brief shadowy depictions of civil war. Though this is a public poem with private symbols, Whitman tried to determine the best way to mourn the loss of a great leader in the modern world. Unlike classical elegies this poem is simple and modern without too many allusions. Similarly, there is a shift in language. In the first few stanzas the language is formal, even archaic filled with exhortations and rhetorical devices. By the end, much of the ceremoniousness has been stripped away. Eventually the poet simply leaves behind a sprig of lilac and ceases from song with philosophical resignation.

 

 Though the form is elegiac, it also contains elements found in Operatic music. Nature’s mourning the death of a great leader is seen when Lincoln’s body was sent from Washington to Spring field. Not only men and women but natural objects salute the departed leader.

 This poem shows Whitman’s love Abraham Lincoln and his deep grief over the death of soldiers in American Civil War. The poet used three private or personal symbols with complex meanings to reveal his feelings and thoughts. Private symbols are those whose significance the writers generate for themselves. Whitman’s symbols are mostly private and personal. The lilac symbolizes reverence for the memory of Lincoln. Whitman’s symbols are unique which are meant for all people of all times and which evoke emotions and feelings for understanding the significance of his poetry.

 

The green heart-shaped green leaves reveal the unadulterated feelings which come out from the heart of man. The season of spring symbolizes recurrence of every existence after its temporary extinction. It indicates recurring memory of Lincoln and the immortality of the great soul. The Western Star, Venus, is a complex symbol which symbolizes a lofty leader, Lincoln. It also represents a heavenly body having a mystic relationship with terrestrial beings. The hermit-thrush is shy and withdrawn and pours out melodious songs from the recesses of the swamp.  The bird symbolizes the poet and the bird’s song tallies with the voice of the poet’s spirit.

 

The funeral procession of Lincoln’s corpse symbolizes a spiritual journey towards understanding death. It begins in sorrow and gloom and ends in joy and serenity of spirit and acceptance of death as the happy ending of life. Grass, a recurring symbol in Whitman’s poetry, symbolizes democracy and the miracle and mystery of the life and nature. The word “I” in Whitman’s poetry symbolizes the whole of humanity at large, human beings of all places and beings. This poem is published in the volume “Drum-taps”. The very title evokes the American war scene associated with the sounds of drums, bombs, clatter of weapons and bloodshed.

 

This elegy was divided into four cycles:  the first cycle contains first four stanzas. The second cycle has stanzas from fifth to ninth. The third cycle has stanzas from tenth to thirteenth. The fourth cycle has stanzas from fourteenth to sixteenth. 

The first section of the poem comprising four stanzas present the setting of the poem. As the spring returns the lilacs blossom and the planet Venus drooped in the western sky. The powerful Western Star was covered by black murk in the tearful night. The poet mourns “The loss of him I love.” He is powerless and helpless because the cloud around him “will not free my soul”. The poet breaks off a small branch of lilac bush with heart-shaped leaves. The solitary thrush like a secluded hermit sings a song of its inmost grief. It sings “death’s outlet song of life” The first section introduces three principal symbols of the poem-the lilac, the star and the bird. They are woven into a poetic and dramatic pattern. Lilacs are associated with recurring spring, a symbolic resurrection. Its heart-shaped leaves indicate love. The everblooming lilacs bring out the memories of Lincoln and the western star hidden in dark clouds portended some future tragic event and made the poet feel sad and helpless. The bird is the symbol of reconciliation with death and is its song is the soul’s voice. The bird’s tragic song of death,” the song of the bleeding throat” represents the poet’s own mourning of Lincoln’s death.  The phrase “Death’s outlet song of life” indicates that out of death will come renewed life. Lilac’s purple color is a symbol of crucifixion or sacrifice and violent ending of Lincoln’s life.

The second section from fifth to ninth stanzas describe the journey of Lincoln’s coffin through natural scenery and industrial cities representing the diverse facets of American life. The thrush’s song in section four is a prelude to the journey of the coffin which will “pass over the breast of the spring”, through wheat fields, orchards, woods and through cities. But “in the midst of life we are in death” as the Book of Common Prayer says. The cities are draped in black and the “crape-veiled women” mourn and salute the dead. Somber faces, solemn voices and mournful dirges and dim-lit churches with tolling bells mark the progress of the journey. The land seems dark and covered with dark clouds.

 The poet brings forth blossoms not for Lincoln alone but for all men who sacrificed their lives in the civil war. He chants a song “for you, O sane and sacred death” and offers flowers to “the coffins all of you, O death”. The poet addresses the star, “Now I know what you must have meant”. Whitman imagines that the star is full of woe until it vanished “in the netherward black of night.” The poet thinks that the dim western star foretold him about the impending death of Lincoln in advance as the star disappeared behind the dark enveloping cloud. The poet’s soul sank with grief on seeing the star.

Whitman calls upon bird to continue singing. The poet lingered on held by the evening star, “my departing comrade.” The star is identified with Lincoln and the poet is under the influence of his personal grief for his beloved dead leader and is not able to perceive the spiritual existence of Lincoln after death. The song of the thrush makes the poet aware of the deathless and spiritual existence of Lincoln.

In the third cycle of the poem from 10^th to 13^th stanzas, the poet wonders about how he shall sing “for the large sweet soul that has gone.” And how he shall compose his tribute” for the dead one I loved.” In a poetic way he says that the sea winds from East and West meeting on the prairies along with the poet’s song will “perfume the grave of him I love.”  Later he wishes to decorate the walls of Lincoln’s burial chamber with natural and diverse scenes of American landscape like pictures of growing spring, the sunset glories of April, the pale green leaves of the trees, fresh sweet grass, the flowing river with wind-swept waves, the distant hill ranges, and with city dense with dwellings and chimney stacks, busy workshops, and workmen returning home ward. The gentle purple morn with soft breeze, the summer afternoon and the star-lit night shining over cities reveal the pictures of the urban landscape.  In short “all the scenes of life.” The body and soul of America will be painted on the tomb such as the beauties of Manhattan spires as well as the shores of Ohio and Missouri rivers and “all the varied and ample land.” This shows Lincoln’s love for American landscape and American people. The poet admires the natural as well as the crowded urban landscape if America which made that country a democratic, prosperous and developed nation.

 Th gray brown bird is singing from the swamps its “loud human song of woe”. The song has a liberating effect on the poet’s soul although the star still holds him as does the mastering odor of the lilac. In this cycle the description of natural objects and phenomena indicates the breadth of Lincoln’s vision- the purple dawn, delicious eve, and welcome night- suggest the continuous cycle of the day which in turn symbolizes Lincoln’s immortality. The language is quite lyrical, poetic and emotional.

Stanzas from 14 to 16 comprise a re-instatement of the earlier themes and symbols of the poem in a perspective of immortality. The poet remembers how “a cloud with a long black trail” appeared one evening and suddenly made him aware of death. He walked between “the knowledge of death and the thought of death”. He listened to the bird’s song of “the carol of death” which praises Death as lovely, soothing and delicate. The fathomless universe is adored for “life and joy” and “sweet love”. Amidst this spectacle throbbing with life and joy he looks upon death as an integral part of creation. Death is described as a “dark mother” always gliding near with soft feet. To her the bird sings a song of “fullest welcome”. Death is a strong deliveress to whom “the body gratefully nestles”.

 

 The bird’s song is the spiritual ally of the poet. As the bird sings the poet sees a vision of the battle, corpses and “debris of all slain soldiers”. These dead soldiers are happy in their resting places but their parents and relatives continue to suffer because they have lost them. The suffering is not of the dead but of the living. The coffin has now reached the end of its journey. It passes the visions “the song of the hermit bird” and the “tallying song of the poet’s soul”. Death’s outlet song is heard sinking and yet bursting with joy. The joyful psalm fills the earth and heaven with joy. As the coffin passes the poet salutes it reminding himself that the lilac blooming in the dooryard will return every spring. The coffin has reached its resting place in “the fragrant pines and the cedars dark and dim”. The star, the bird and the lilac join with the poet as he bids good-bye to Lincoln, “his comrade, the dead I loved so well”. 

The poet’s realization of immortality of the soul through the emotional conflict of personal loss is the principal theme of this great poem, which is a symbolic dramatization of the poet’s grief and his ultimate reconciliation with the truths of life and death. It also deals with persistence of life in spite of pains and sufferings. The images of bustling cities such as “the sun”, “the stars” and “the hermit bird” remind us of life’s continuance. Just like in other elegies this ends with a sense of reconciliation and spiritual understanding of death as an integral part of life.

    8th July, 2022                                   Somaseshu Gutala

A Note on Whitman’s poem “Passage to India”

 

                    

                                  

  

Whitman wrote this poem in 1871 and was included in the collection “Leaves of Grass” of 1871, 1872 and 1876 editions and after some revision in 1881 edition. Like John Masefield’s poem “Sea-Fever” and Whitman’s “Song of the open road”, this poem is about a journey to an undefined destination. In “Questions of Travel” (1965), Elizabeth Bishop argues with herself about the pros and cons of travelling.

 In this poem the poet commemorates the modern scientific marvels that enabled mankind to communicate and travel without any difficulty. In 1869 the laying of the American Transcontinental Railroad connected the country from East to West.  Six months later the Suez Canal was opened to join the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea to facilitate transportation and trade between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa.  Whitman saw the opening of the Suez Canal as both a reason for celebrating and also as an opportunity to connect with spiritual traditions of the faraway lands.  This poem was divided into nine sections of varying lengths. The poet celebrates the scientific achievements that made the Canal possible and also the esoteric wisdom that could imagine such possibilities and the new era of worldliness and peace that might come of it.  Inspired by this poem E.M.Forster wrote his novel “A Passage to India” in 1924.

This poem describes an imaginary journey that the speaker wants to take into fabled India. This poem begins with the description of the new marvels of the modern world- the Suez Canal and the great American Railway and Transatlantic cable. He looks upon India as a mysterious and fabled place that rejuvenates his soul. He will return to the birthplace of mankind and feel renewed for the rest of his life. Whitman celebrates the scientific achievements that made the Suez Canal possible and the new era of worldliness and peace that might come of it. He attributes the canal to both science (proud truths of the world) and myth (fables of the old). Though it is a feat of engineering, it is also a triumph of the human imagination. The facts of modern science are not enough to explain the project’s completion. He expresses admiration for both “proud truths of science” and “fables of the eld” and “far darting beams of the spirit”, “deep diving bibles and legends” and “the daring plots of the poets.” He extends praise to Eastern and African Bibles, religious places and temples as much as the Western ones. In his view every perspective is worth celebrating and he wishes to convey a sense of inclusiveness everywhere.

 

To him India is a metaphor for the larger possibilities that opens up humanity to expand and explore the mysteries of divinity and Nature. He is interested in the future as well as in the past. He also speaks about the value of myths and fables which are as important as science. He thinks that modern inventions and technology will help in bringing mankind together and foster a sense of brotherhood and unity. There will be a unity between nature and man. There has to be “a marriage of continents, climates and oceans.”

 

The passage to India is not an easy one. Many have died on the way. But it will not deter him from undertaking the voyage. The pull of exploration is like a current running through human race and he is a part of it and he wants to feel connectivity of the earth. The speaker also takes time to mourn the death of the downfall of men like Columbus who ended their lives unhappily. He imagines that he is on this important journey with his soul and the two of them are circumnavigating the earth together. While the voyage might seem to be terrifying, he is protected by God.

 

 In the first section the poet highlights the achievements of the present time. At the same time, he admires the myths and fables and the daring plots of the ancient poets. “For what is the present after all but a growth out of the past?”

In the second section the poet celebrates the past. It is described as the teeming gulf and the infinite greatness. The poet praises the ancient fables, the daring plots of the poets, myths, temples and dazzling towers burnished with gold. Behind these present and past wonders, the poet sees God’s purpose in bringing together different races together.  The poet praises the engineers, architects and voyagers who made these technological marvels a reality. He worships them for their works and for the way in which they have helped to complete God’s plan. 

 

In the third section he describes the activities and technological exploration in digging the Suez Canal, launching of steam ships, dredging machines and laying of Transcontinental Rail Road in connecting “the Eastern to the Western Sea” and “the road between Europe and Asia”. The oceans are meant to be crossed and the distant lands to be brought nearer. He describes the opening of the Suez Canal and the Pacific Road (which joins Union Pacific and Central Pacific Rail Road) and the Transatlantic Cable which connects various countries for transportation and communication. In this context, he remembers the tragic death of Columbus, the sailor from Geneva, who dreamt of exploring new lands. The falsehoods talked about him by others led to his poverty, dejection and death.

 In the fourth section he describes the journey on the Suez Canal on a steamship. From deck he can see Egypt and the workmen who are still building the gigantic machines that were used to dredge the canal. In another tableau he describes the Pacific Railroad and the locomotives crossing the deserts, meadows, plains and farms and mountains in the distance.  He remembers the valiant adventures of voyagers like Vasco De Gama who discovered new lands and gave knowledge about those new territories. He praises him as the rondure (star) of the world who accomplished a noble purpose. He wants all types of people to intermingle, marry and become neighbours.

In the fifth section the speaker tells exploration runs like a rivulet through time. It sinks and rises but it is always there. Knowledge will be gained, new lands found and new nations born as America was. He praises scientists, inventors, explorer and poets who tried to satisfy the human thirst for knowledge and justify the divine purpose of bringing people together. “Nature and man shall be disjoined and diffused no more”/ “The true son of God shall absolutely fuse them.”

 In the sixth section he elaborates his imaginary journey through world from Europe to Asia and Africa”. “Year of the purpose accomplished/ Year of the marriage of continents and oceans”. He refers to the digging of the Suez Canal (1869) and laying of Transatlantic Undersea Cable (1866) and construction of Transcontinental Railway Line(1869) which changed the means of communication and transport. He refers to ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, China and India and exploits of ancient historical leaders like Alexander, Tamerlane, Aurangzeb and travellers like Marco Polo and Columbus. The poet sees the East as a return to “the soothing cradle of man” where everything began. There are doubts to be solved and blanks to be filled and men will never rest.

 

 In the seventh section he addresses his soul to prepare for exploring the East, the land of wisdom’s. In the seventh section he is hoping to see not only lands but also a clear freshness of mind. He wants to mellow his young mind with “the realms of budding bibles”. It is a voyage of the mind seeking to return where it came from” back to wisdom’s birth.” 

 In the eighth section he reiterates his wish to sail on “trackless seas” where he and others can sing of their “song of God.” While travelling the sailors will laugh and kiss while others left on the shore will be stuck in “sin, remorse and humiliation.” Exploration is ingrained in humankind. He addresses the nations who lost that zest for exploration. He calls them “sad shades”. “The sunset of splendour of chivalry declining”.

 During his voyage he will gain wisdom and pleasure from his soul and contemplate on “Time, space and death.” His spirit will search for God (the Comrade perfect who is the motive of this whole universe and vast space. He identifies his soul greater than stars and suns and encourages his soul to cross the unknown seas and melt in the arms of the Elder Brother (God) with love and friendship. His spirit will be bathed in God and his soul will be lifted to God-like proportions. He imagines a time in the future that after his travels, he will be able to help others. He will be filled with friendship like an elder brother. that after his travels.

 

 In the ninth section he questions his readiness to undertake such a voyage. He is pining for the danger that awaits on new lands and on waters in which many were unable to pass. He reiterates the emotional and spiritual reasons for his travelling to India. It is a passage to more than India. He wishes to explore the mysteries of unknown lands, seas, creeks, rivers, woods and mountains, stars, sun and moon. He has stood long enough like a tree in a static state. He is too much engaged in earthly activities. “Have we not grovelled here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?” It is time to forget about the books and to sail forth. Like the explorers of the olden times, he is bound for places that have never been visited. No matter how far they go, the voyage will be safe as it is conducted on the seas of God.

 

 Thus, Whitman here blends transcendentalism with realistic elements. His journey is not mere a physical journey. It is a symbolic spiritual journey to India which represents esoteric knowledge, mythical fables, and philosophical lore that helps in bringing mankind together. He also appreciates the advancement in technology which serves the same purpose for bringing unity and brotherhood.

 

In this poem Whitman used long rhythmic, unmetered and unrhymed lines with the cadence of natural speech. It is communicated with loftiness and reverence. Each line ends with an exclamation mark to build up excitement and to express joy. He used repetition for emphasis. Just as the Suez Canal links the distant parts of the world, Whitman’s poem links religions and modern technology and engineering. In doing so he encourages us to see a bright future for mankind. He uses diction which includes foreign words and archaic vocabulary here and there to indicate that he transcends the barriers of time and space. “O vast Rondure, swimming in space.” (Rondure means spherical or round in shape). “But myths and tables of eld, Asia’s and Africa’s fables” (Eld, an archaism for old). “Eclaircise the myths Asiatic, the primitive fables”. (Eclaircise means reveal obscure facts).

 According to David Reynolds, “Passage to India” can be seen as a questioning of the materialistic values of the gilded age. Whitman in his later poems extolled the virtues of industry and workforce though he was not entirely comfortable with America’s growing materialism. According to Stanley Coffman, Whitman uses the images of passage to connect the past with the present, the present with the future and project a metamorphosis from earthly experience to that of spiritual level. Betsey Erkkila sees the repudiation of materialistic values and an aspiring towards spiritual transcendence. According to her Whitman found his ideal merger of the explorer of the physical world and the religious prophet in the figure of Columbus. “The poet becomes the spiritual heir of Columbus. As the poet-explorer, he could praise both individualism and national unity.”

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          22nd June, 2022                        Somaseshu Gutala