Nissin Ezekiel was a prolific India poet, playwright, translator, editor and critic, of Bene Jewish origin. He was a pioneer of Indian English poetry in postcolonial period and mentor to Dom Moraes, Adil Jussawalla and Gieve Patel. All of us (especially those from ICSE board, who had his poem in their English Literature) will certainly remember him for his iconic poem that is almost synonymous with his work – “The Night of The Scorpion” that was the epitome of what “Motherhood” stand for.
If there is one word to describe his brand of poetry it would be like R. K. Laxman’s quintessential simpleton “The Common Man” speaking. E.g read these lines from his poem “The Railway Clerk”
My job is such, no one is giving bribe, …
I wish I was bird…
I am doing my duty,
but who is appreciating?
Nobody, I am telling you…
The use of terse spoken “Indian English” to highlight the irony of the situation, established an immediate connect with the common middle class in India. E.g. these lines from “The Professor”
Every family must have black sheep.
Sarala and Tarala are married,
Their husbands are very nice boys.
You won’t believe but I have eleven grandchildren.
How many issues you have? Three?
His poetry talks about simple mundane and simple themes or situations or familial events like in “The Railway Clerk “or “Goodbye for Miss Pushpa T.S.” in a manner that manifests both cognitive profundities, as well as irony, in an unsentimental, realistic way. At times it reflects the individual angst and scepticism about the state of the societal (The Patriot, Soap).
Click on the titles below to read his poems.
Goodbye Party For Miss Pushpa T.S. Night of the Scorpion The Patriot The Professor The Railway Clerk What Frightens Me