"An Old Woman by Arun Kolatkar- Explanation

"An Old Woman" is one of the best poem by Arun Kolatkar, an eminent Indian poet known for his ability to capture the complexities of Indian life through simple yet evocative language.

This poem is part of Kolatkar’s collection "Jejuri," which explores various aspects of life in a small town known for its religious significance.

About 'Arun Kolatkar'

Arun Kolatkar (b. 1938) was educated in Mumbai where he works as a graphic artist. A winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, Kolatkar has contributed to Kavi, Opinion Literary Review, New Writing in India and The Shell and the Rain. He is a bilingual poet and has translated the Marathi poets, especially Tukaram, into English. His long poem 'The Boatride" was published in the magazine, Damn You. Jejuri appeared in 1976 Jejuri, Kolatkar's most controversial book, is commonly viewed as a quest poem: a presentation of an encounter between modern consciousness and ancient religious tradition. In fact, the poem oscillates between faith and scepticism. In his flat and colloquial tone Kolatkar ironically treats the parallel scenario reinforcing it with concrete imagery.

'An Old Woman', selected from Jejuri, is a graphic picture of a beggar- woman. Having lost the promises of her past, she is reduced to her present state. Annoyed and irritated, the speaker-tourist refuses to pay her a fifty paise coin though she offers to take him to a horseshoe shrine. And when he decides to 'end the farce' of her pestering the beggar-woman reveals her abject condition. As the speaker views her squarely, he, in a sort of 'revelation' becomes aware of the decay which has set in in her person and which is extended to the decaying tradition symbolised by the hills and the temples. In a kind of paradoxical turn of events, the speaker finds himself covered and reduced to a worthless existence before the 'shatter proof dignity of the woman. Kolatkar's use of concrete imagery, subtle irony and symbolism reinforces the central theme of alienation and perception.

'An Old Woman' Poem

An old woman grabs

hold of your sleeve

and tags along.

She wants a fifty paise coin.

She says she will take you

to the horseshoe shrine.

You've seen it already.

She hobbles along anyway

and tightens her grip on your shirt.

She won't let you go.

You know how old women arc.

They stick to you like a burr.

You turn around and face her

with an air of finality.

You want to end the farce.

When you hear her say,

What else can an old woman do

on hills as wretched as these?'

You look right at the sky.

Clear through the bullet holes

she has for her eyes.

And as you look on,

the cracks that begin around her eyes

spread beyond her skin.

And the hills crack,

And the temples crack,

And the sky falls

With a plateglass clatter

around the shatter proof crone

who stands alone.

And you are reduced

to so much small change

in her hand.

Glossary

Line 1. grab hold tightly

Line 3. tag follow closely (after)

Line 8. hobble walk as when lame or when the feet or legs are hurt

Line 12. burr (plant with a) seed case or a flower head that clings to the hair or fur of animals; something or somebody that sticks like a burr, especially a person who forces his/her company on others and is hard to shake off

Line 28 clatter long, dull, confused noise (as of hard things falling or knocking together)

Lime 29. crone old woman

Explanatory Notes

Stanza 1. The old woman's holding of the narrator's sleeve is indicative of her being a typical beggar or pest

Stanza 2. horseshoe shrine: the legend goes that Khandoba carried Banai from her father's house on a blue horse, the horse leapt across the hill and hit the ground so hard that the horseshoe dug into the side of the hill; also a shrine at Jejuri

Stanza 3. The determined woman's desperate effort to extricate the fifty paise coin from hum.

Stanza 4. The old woman's resolve not to let the narrator escape her. Her 'sticky' nature speaks for her clan. Also, note the colloquial tone of the narrator.

Stanza 5. What in reality is an imposed mode of existence for the old woman is, ironically, 'farcical' to the narrator.

Stanza 6. The old woman's predicament: begging and pestering people remains the only means of survival for her. Note how her life is reduced to the animal level and the 'wretched' hills underline the stark realism.

Stanza 7. Her eyes' are used as a telescope as the narrator looks at the outer universe through them. Also, note the metaphoric use of 'bullet holes' for eyes conveying the hollowness and the emptiness.

Stanza 8. The 'cracks' around her eyes look like the splintered glass (of the telescope). Also note the extension of the 'cracks' the decaying process

Stanza 9. The decay extends to the hills and the temples. The speaker feels the sky has fallen. This suggests the fall of tradition itself.

Stanza 10. The clatter caused by the falling sky But the withered woman, (by a miracle as it were) turns shatter proof, unbending and continues to stand firmly.

Stanza 11. As against the old woman's stature, attained by her sense of dignity, the narrator is reduced to a worthless state like the 'small change in her hand-perhaps, because of his utter lack of compassion

Conclusion

"An Old Woman" by Arun Kolatkar is a powerful and evocative poem that uses a simple encounter to explore deep themes of poverty, societal neglect, and human dignity.

So overall this was a great poem of Indian literature by a great Indian poet Arun Kolatkar, hope you enjoyed this poem and thanks for visiting.