Reflection on Inequity Exposed in "Blessing" by Imtiaz Dharker

Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker How does Dharker incite us to reflect upon the inequity experienced within the world?

Imtiaz Imtiaz Dharker Dharker. . Imtiaz Dharker was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to Pakistani parents. When she was less than a year old, her parents moved to Glasgow where she was brought up. She writes poetry, as well as producing documentaries and films. She now lives in both Britain and Mumbai, India, feeling a strong affinity with both countries and cultures. The poem describes the dry season in India when temperatures reach 40 degrees centigrade and there is no rain. At these times, the people who live in the slums of Mumbai suffer terribly from a lack of water. Dharker s poem describes events in the slums during a drought when a water pipe bursts. (Blessing Revision Notes: JP)

Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker 1 2 The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. 3 4 5 6 Imagine the drip of it, The small splash, echo In a tin mug, The voice of a kindly god. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Sometimes, the sudden rush Of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, Silver crashes to the ground And the flow has found A roar of tongues. From the huts, A congregation: every man woman Child for streets around Butts in, with pots, Brass, copper, aluminum, Plastic buckets, Frantic hands, 18 19 20 21 22 23 And naked children Screaming in the liquid sun, Their highlights polished to perfection, Flashing light, As the blessing sings Over their small bones.

To incite means tostirup orcall to action (cobuild) to make people think or encourage them to take action in response to something. How does Dharker incite us to reflect upon the inequity experienced within the world? Inequity If you refer to theinequityof something, you arecriticizingit because it is unfair or unjust. In Blessing the inequity is people s access to water depending on where they are in the world. Within the world the point being that people s access to clean, readily available water is dependent upon where they live and this shouldn t be the case.

1. Firstly, we are presented with the consequences when there is a lack of water. Declarative There never is enough water A bold, dramatic sentence intended to have an impact on the reader. It presents the position clearly to make the reader think about the lack of something that they might have readily- available access to. Simile The skin cracks liked a pod We immediately see the impact of a lack of water. People s skin is dry. The simile, comparing the skin to a pod a pea pod bursting open clearly provides the reader with an image of what this is like for the people. 1 2 The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. Adverb never Implication that this isn t a once off. This is a continual situation whereby people do not have access to the water they need. When combined with enough the implication is that there is a short supply that isn t sufficient.

2. Dharker appeals to the readers directly. Noun phrase The small splash When combined with the noun drip the scarcity of water is really being emphasized. The sibilance of small splash also draws out the pace of the words to slow it down which evokes a sense of longing. Imperative Imagine Dharker is positioning the reader and wants them to develop their understanding / empathy to consider what it might be like to live without water. 3 4 5 6 Imagine the drip of it, The small splash, echo In a tin mug, The voice of a kindly god. Enjambment echo/in a tin mug The enjambment is beautiful echo is left hanging until the next line to reinforce the distance between a noise being made and the echo being heard. Again, this reinforces the scarcity of water but also the desperate longing, even for a drip of it. Metaphor the voice of a kindly god The water dripping being compared to the sounds being made by a god. The adjective kindly suggesting that the god is looking down favorably to provide the people with some water. Intimation towards the start of a blessing with religious undertones. Noun phrase tin mug Potentially reinforces the poverty of the people

3. Dharker reinforces the importance of water to the community. Clause The municipal pipe bursts accidental not normal so it is a blessing rather than a provision 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Sometimes, the sudden rush Of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, Silvercrashes to the ground And the flow has found A roar of tongues. From the huts, A congregation: every man woman Child for streets around Butts in, with pots, Brass, copper, aluminum, Plastic buckets, Frantic hands, Noun phrase sudden rush opportune moments where the water becomes free- flowing. Onomatopoeia crashes sounds of water free-flowing dramatic verbs to emphasise the dramatic nature of the situation Metaphor fortune silver water being described as fortune and silver because it is as precious to them Metaphor a roar of tongues The community s noisy reaction to the event their excitement by water, their desperation to get water, their calling out to each other to get water Listing, lack of punctuation every man woman / child Lack of punctuation implies the desperate rush of everyone to get some of the water. Verb phrase: butts in suggests everyone is pushing against each other to get their share. Listing pots, brass, copper, aluminum, plastic buckets, frantic hands people are grabbing anything they can get their hands on to collect water. Quality of what they grab declines as list continues suggesting anything will do and they become more desperate just to capture any water they can by any means how. Religious imagery a congregation the community Colon : the community has been described as a congregation prior to colon. Post-colon, listing who the congregation comprises of

3. Dharker reinforces the importance of water to the community but also offers a stark warning that they cannot rely on blessings Verb screaming joy that the water brings Metaphor liquid sun to describe the water the sun provides nutrition and nourishment which is exactly what the water is doing for the people within this community. 18 19 20 21 22 23 And naked children Screaming in the liquid sun, Their highlights polished to perfection, Flashing light, As the blessingsings Over their small bones. Religious imagery blessing this is a blessing rather than a normative experience Verb phrase polished to perfection that the nutrition from the water is restoring the children to their former healthy state. When you polish something you restore its appearance and this is what is happening here as the children get the water on them. Personification sings it is a joyous moment a moment to celebrate Noun phrase small bones the joy associated with the singing is then contrasted immediately with the imagery of the children s small bones a result of the lack of nourishment they have been receiving. This image being placed as the final words of the poem ensures the poem ends in a dramatic way to reach out to the reader and to make them consider how the community can t rely on blessings, they need regular access to water to ensure they maintain their health.

Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker How does Dharker incite us to reflect upon the inequity experienced within the world?