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The Criterion: An International Journal in English

ISSN 0976-8165

Nativism, Love and Sorrow in Nissim Ezekiels Night of the Scorpion

Md. Sahidul Islam Research Scholar Department of English Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh-202002, U.P. India. Nativism is a term for desire to return to indigenous practices and cultural forms as they existed in pre-colonial society (Ashcroft 159). This radical concept of nativism, which was commonly found in the Indian writings during the pre-colonial India, in fact, was not fully explored by the Indian writers during the reign of the British Empire in India due to utter confusion. The postcolonial Indian writers have pursued it and become successful to a great extent in fulfilling their commitments in restoring the Indian values. As a result the Indian English Literature is sated with nativistic images so far as postcolonial writings are concerned. Great affinity of the contemporary Indian writers towards nativism and their ceaseless attempt to return to the roots are evident in their works. However the doctrine of innate ideas (Fowler 789) myth and fable as well as oral traditions are echoed in the writings of the postcolonial writer Nissim Ezekiel. The author has depicted the nativistic images and incorporated the common theme of love and sorrow in his poem Night of the Scorpion. However, the main problem with nativism is that it is, almost by definition, an oppositional category (Paranjape 168). A visionary man of numerous talents, Nissim Ezekiel (19242004) is considered as the father of post-independence Indian-English verse. His ability in presenting the various themes in conversational style is not only impressive but also surpasses the other contemporary poets of his time in this regard. Nissim Ezekiels poem Night of the Scorpion was published in the poetry collection entitled The Exact Name in 1965. A peasant is a speaker in this poem who narrates how a scorpion stung his mother one night and what happened after that in an unusually informative manner. Like that of Rabindranath Tagores assignment in his Broken Song, Nissim Ezekiels Night of the Scorpion too replete with nativistic images. For instance, the poet has successfully revived the dogma of inherent ideas through the behaviour and practice of a holy man (Ezekiel 22) when the peasants mother was stung ((Ezekiel 21) by a scorpion. In fact, the holy man is brought to tame the venom with a mantra and he has done his job well:

The behaviours of the peasant, his mother and his neighbours are also notable in this regard as they have shown their favour for such a traditional practice to save the life of the peasants scoipion-stung mother. It is evident from the fact that all of them have opted for prayer and incantation for quick recovery of the victim. The peasants father, who is rationalist, however has opted for both the scientific as well as traditional methods of treatment, and tried both medicine and mantra for the purpose: My father, sceptic, rationalist,

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After twenty hours it lost its sting (Ezekiel, 22)

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The Criterion: An International Journal in English

ISSN 0976-8165

trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, harb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin Upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. (Ezekiel, 22) In his poem Night of the Scorpion, Nissim Ezekiel makes an effort to convey an important message to the readers pertaining to the building of an universal brotherhood among the people through the outlooks of the neighbours of the peasant whose mother was stung by scorpion. As soon as the neighbours come to know about the said incident, they have left their home behind and rushed towards the home of the victim enchanting the name of God repeatedly. It reflects their love for the speakers mother. Their love is so strong that they have readily faced the difficulties pertaining to the continuous rain and the darkness of the night on their way to the destination. With the help of lanterns and the candle light they start searching the scorpion to paralise the Evil one because: With every movement that the scorpion made his poison moved in Mothers blood, they said. May he sit still, they said.

May the sins of your previous birth

be burned away tonight, they said. (Ezekiel, 21) In Night of the Scorpion, Nissim Ezekiel has conveyed another vital message to the readers that is a mothers selfless love for her children surpasses the love of any other person in this world. Despite being bitten by a scorpion and narrowly escaping death, the peasants mother is grateful that the scorpion did not sting her children:

The exclamation of the peasants mother through the above quoted lines have earn the Ezekiel him lots of praise from the critics for his Indian sensibility. The neighbours have not only shown their love to the peasants mother but also felt sorrow for her. They have accompanied her during that critical juncture. Their prayer brings out their true anxiety for the suffering of the peasants mother. They sit on the floor with the mother in the centre and make effort to alleviate her with words based on values: May your suffering decrease the misfortunes of your next birth, they said. May the sum of evil balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good

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Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children. (Ezekiel, 22)

My mother only said

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The Criterion: An International Journal in English

ISSN 0976-8165

become diminished by your pain. May the poison purify your flesh of desire, and your spirit of ambition, they said.... (Ezekiel, 21) One fact to be established is that the innocence of the rural people enables them to stick to the dictate of God. They believe firmly that if they utter the Name of God a hundred times" (Ezekiel, 21), their prayer would not go in vain. It will reduce the pain of the peasants mother. However, their beliefs regarding the movement of the scorpion which, according to them is directly proportional to the flow of the blood in the mothers body questions the rationality of the people of the peasants hamlet. Night of the Scorpion reflects that Ezekiel is totally committed to India and is through about the practices of the people of the country. His sense of being Indian is quite clear in the poem of which the author cannot get rid of. After a thorough study of the poem Night of the Scorpion it becomes quite clear that the Nissim Ezekiel has emphasised on the archetypal Indian condition rather than paying any attention to the romantic and ideal aspects usually dealt with by earlier poets. His presentation of the Indian way of life style mixed with rationality and superstition gives an authentic insight to the readers regarding its aptness of the social milieu of India. His style is very impressive. The use of humour and irony suits his manner of presenting the content against the social background of India. Works Cited

Fowler, H.W, F.G. Fowler, and R.E. Allen, eds. "Nativism", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Eighth Edition ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990. Print. Paranjape, Makarand. Beyond Nativism: Towards a Contemporary Indian Tradition in Criticism. Nativism: Essays in Criticism. Ed. Makarand Paranjape. Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1997. 153-176. Print.

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Ezekiel, Nissim. Night of the Scorpion. A Pageant of Poems. Ed. H.N. Kashyap. New Delhi: Selina Publishers, 1996. 21-22. Print.

Ashcraft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. Postcolonial Studies: The Key Concepts. London and New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.

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