"An Old Woman" by Arun Kolatkar is a poem that reflects on the passage of time and the effects it has on people's lives. The poem is narrated by a young man who sees an old woman walking on the street and is struck by the changes that age has brought upon her.
The old woman is described as "wrinkled and bent," with a "face like a map of a country I don't know." Her eyes are "clouded with cataracts" and her "feet dragged heavily on the ground." The narrator observes that the old woman is struggling to walk, and wonders how she manages to get by on her own.
Despite her physical frailties, the old woman is depicted as a survivor. She is "tough as old leather," with a "fierce determination" that keeps her going. The narrator is moved by the old woman's resilience and wonders about her life story. He imagines the hardships and challenges that she must have faced and how she has managed to overcome them.
The poem also touches upon the theme of memory and how it is affected by age. The old woman's face is described as a "map of a country," implying that it holds the history and experiences of her life. However, the cataracts in her eyes suggest that her vision of the past may be clouded and distorted. The narrator wonders what the old woman remembers and what she has forgotten, and how her memories have changed over time.
Overall, "An Old Woman" is a poignant and thought-provoking poem that highlights the human experience of aging and its impact on our bodies, minds, and memories. It serves as a reminder of the resilience and determination that allow us to weather the passage of time and the challenges that come with it.
'An Old Woman' by Arun Kolatkar and 'Nothing's Changed' by...
What it frustrates the Western tourists and visitors is the heat and dust, the scorching sun of summer, what it bewilders them is the poverty and hunger of the people and above all, the beggars crowding the temple space and it is true of that as and when we go through the lines. The man will note that as he looks at the woman, and the cracks around her eyes, the cracks will seem to spread to the landscape around her: to the hills, the temples and even the sky. The pilgrim feels as unimportant as the small coins which the old woman has collected from other pilgrims and which she is holding in her hand. And the temples crack. Why do we force them to take to the footpaths? Eventually the business began stagnant where expansion increased cost with sales not increasing in the ice cream. The rhythm is irregular compared to that An Old Woman. An Old Woman Summary At Jejuri, an old woman catches hold of a pilgrim in order to extract some money from him.
An Old Woman · Poem by Arun Kolatkar on childhealthpolicy.vumc.org
Will her life end in begging, seeking alms for? Remember is about a person who is dying and is pleading for remembrance. How did we exploit them as for sacred faith and soothsaying? The woman is very much like that of the persona waiting to enter the Great Temple at Puri, as it is in Jayanta Mahapatra's Dawn at Puri. In An Old Woman Kolatkar relies on the use of imagery to paint a detailed picture on the mind of the audience. Had we been following our traditions of family values, respect and care of elders, this old woman would have had a family, people to care for her and a home to go to. Age is an important factor.
Poem: An Old Woman by Arun Kolatkar
And as you look on, the cracks that begin around her eyes spread beyond her skin. Scapegoats Premium Morality Ethics Human Old Age and Wise Indian Woman attitude. This connotes that everything else is so awful that the weeds look good. In a moment of realization, the narrator finds himself reduced in his self-esteem. The poet here is talking about the c racks in the fabric of our society , our religious beliefs and our traditions. You want to end the farce.