An Unknown Girl
"An unknown girl"
"evening bazaar"
"studded with neon'
"an unknown girl
is hennaing my hand"
"she squeezes a wet brown line"
"she is icing my hand
which she steadies with hers"
"few rupees"
"as a little air catches"
"a peacock spreads its lines"
"an" - universal, reflects broader story
"unknown" - hidden from the media, the
rich countries of most people and
misunderstood - 
'face' doesn't matter memory +experience
does
"girl" = young and innocent
trapped between cultures, neither day or
night
"bazaar" = chaotic buying and selling which
typifies big cities/modern life
harsh, bright light = metaphor for the cruel
exposure to commercialisation and
modernisation
OR warm colour is eye-catching = pleasant
memory
repeated structure, highlights the
significance of the experience as she
continues thinking back to it + alliteration
emphasises on the fact that the girl
represents the 'working' culture of the
bazaar and how child labour is prevalent
alliteration/sibilance is soothing and shows
her comfort in this environment
visual + tactile imagery suggests a physical
bonding to cultural act / Indian life
metaphor - shows how delicate and
talented the girl was. "icing" suggests
precision and care and creation of a piece
of art worthy of 'consumption'. Western
allusion suggests combining of cultures
"steadies" Alvi with comfort and stability
understatement highlights how she's not
well paid but works hard. The poet puts
high value on experience which costs very
little – priceless
disturbance = emotional unease
accentuated by personification of
atmosphere around Alvi
personification
"peacock" - multiples significance in
cultures = royalty, grace, pride, beauty,
eternity and freedom
"spreads" - verb suggests that it is trying to
take off symbolising the persistence of

"curtain cloth  soft fabrics = comfort that comes with
and sofa cloth"
"i have new brown veins"
I'll scrape off the dry brown lines before I
sleep
"longing for the unknown girl in the neon
bazaar"
Now the furious streets are hushed.
'She squeezes a wet brown line from a
nozzle. She is icing my hand...'
'Colors leave the street / float up in
balloons.'
'... like people who cling to the sides of a
train'
Indian culture, its urge to seek freedom
experience = she feels secure
metaphor
"veins" - network that keep you alive,
integral -life giving
shows that she is connected to roots and
Indian culture is running through her;
reinforces deep connection
"dry" - dying no longer giving her life
"scrape" desperately getting rid of it;
sensual description is muted as the day
draws to an end = personification
"the" - no longer an - she might be the
unknown girl, oblivious of her roots or
specific one from her experience
"bazaar" - significant as happens in fixed
setting; highlights her feeling of loss of the
Indian Culture due to the fact that the
poem ends with the phrase 'neon bazaar',
not 'evening bazaar'
Paradox/oxymoron represents the
dichotomy between hidden rage and
passion for life which burns out each day or
is suppressed.
This shows the writer's connections to the
West since the word 'icing' is used linking to
cakes which are an important part of British
culture, she's relating this to home
nostalgic but solemn; reflective but
yearning.
The colours represents hopes, dreams
always leaving us. This line conveys
personification of the colors emerging from
the bazaar and creates a magical and
whimsical energy; metaphorically
disappears - as the daylight fades but also
leaving the bazaar and entering 'heaven' -
connotations of darkness and street being
left dull and boring
simile reflects desperate desire to hold
onto memory - chaotic + visual. This simile
shows her connections to India since this
scene is common there. Its also not a usual
image to associate with cling, suggesting
she has a more emotional connection to
India.
'Dummies in shop-fronts / tilt and stare /
with their Western perms.'
'It will fade in a week.'
'I'll lean across a country with my hands
outstretched longing...'
artificial + fake compared to current
surrounding = battle between cultures
"dummies" = shell of "Western" consumer
culture based on "perms", shallow
appearances and deadened senses. This is
another example to how the write relates
what she sees in India to the West and her
new British heritage
"will" modal - memory doesn't last -
contrast with bright imagery
short sentence conveys sadness as she
doesn't want to lose this culture. This refers
to the henna but suggests that maybe
other memories or connections will fade as
well, creating a gloomy tone.
hyperbole - extent to which she will go to
get back the memory and retrieve this part
of her. She feels the pull of India and
eastern heritage even in England. Here the
writer uses a metaphor to show the extents
she will go to return to India and how she's
sad to leave, also shows a sense of urgency
to come back before she even left.