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Pratibha Saha

Dr.Susan Thomas

Indian Writing in English

13 February 2017

It is not often that a poet is able to blend the lyrical mode with the political; we see such a rare

blending in Robin S.Ngangoms work. Do you agree? Explain with reference to the poems you

have read.

Robin S.Ngangom is a bilingual poet who writes in English and Manipuri. Ngangom

describes his poetry as mostly autobiographical, written with the hope of enthusing readers

with my communal or carnal life-the life of a politically discriminated against, historically

overlooked individual from the nook of a third world country. Ngangoms reactionary poetry to

the bludgeoning violence of his times makes his poetry, to use Tabir Alis words, the poetry of

conflict. Robin S.Ngangoms poetry abounds in the maladies of humanity in the contemporary

era which he juxtaposes with his own experiences of guilt and lamentation for abandoning his

homeland.

A Poem for Mother is a fairly personal poem about the poets life experiences. It deals
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with Ngangoms childhood, growing up in Manipur and then abandoning his homeland to escape

the tense socio-political environment informing the public sphere .This is a direct call-out to the

government about the political chaos and unrest it has engendered leading to his migration to

Shillong.The figure of the son, abandoning his homeland becomes an emblem of a dilapidating

social environment (Kaur 8 ).The poet in the last stanza of the poem laments not being able to

improve his fortune even after leaving home. Im sorry, Palem/I only turned out to be a small

man/with small dreams and living a small life.(Lines 37-43, Ngangom) This can also be

understood to possess political resonances: At the same time, despite the smallness of his

pursuits outside Manipur, the alien land is more covetable. The corruption and misuse of funds

by the government leaving a dearth of economic opportunities; and the state history of Manipur

that continues to be in conflict leading to terror campaigns (Kaur 9).

The poet attempts to draw a parallel between his mother and motherland: ....your lips

couldnt blossom into smile/lines have furrowed your dear face and/the first signs of snow are on

your hair.(Lines 27-29, Ngangom) Yet, he refuses to accord his mother the scope of

regeneration and rejuvenation typical within a nature framework invoking the familiar sentiment

of how the political turmoil and the rule of the gun denies that regeneration and rejuvenation to

the motherland.

The Strange Affair of Robin S.Ngangom is a deeply ambitious and political poem

sketching the narrative of an individual desiring freedom. The political crisis affects the private

sphere deeply, invoking and adding a new dimension to the modern day aphorism of The
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Personal is Political. The breakdown in conventional relationships and expectations mirrors the

loss of control in the society. He attempts to draw a parallel between his inability to rekindle his

love relationship with his beloved and the ravishing of his motherland. He believes that the

abuse of women has become a normative aspect of the society; their existence shrouded under

the threat of rape, assault and molestation.

A possible comparison could be made with one of Ngangoms other poems Childhood

which attempts to portray the childhood of all children growing up in the face of political strife

and conflict:Childhood took place took place/free from manly fears/When I had only my

mothers love/to protect me from knives/from fire and death by water/.childhood took

place/before your friend worshipped a gun/to become a widowmaker.Both the poems are

autobiographical to a certain extent. There is a lot of self-referencing in the narratives rendering

it a post-modern framework. His works also include a lot of descriptions of nature talking about

the scenic hills, plains, rivers, flora and fauna.

Works cited
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Kaur, Tanveer. Discipline Courses-1, Delhi University Press

Kaur, Tanveer. Discipline Courses-1, Delhi University Press

Ngangom, S.Robin. A Poem for Mother. Interventions, edited by Anand Prakash,

Worldview Publications, 2016, Kolkata

Ngangom, S.Robin. The Strange Affair of Robin S.Ngangom. Interventions, edited by

Anand Prakash, Worldview Publications, 2016, Kolkata