Ducks by Taufiq rafat

The ducks, bent like a boomerang, And the head for the tall grass
Huttle across the sky hiding us.
To a swampy exile in Pakistan; We carefully place our shots
And like a boomerang they return Among the confusion of brahimani, teal,
When winter is over Pintail and mallard.
To the dark recesses of Siberia. Five birds turn suddenly limp,
There they sit, running themselves, And are lowered by an invisible rope
On bare little islands – in the river. Straight down to the guarded river.
With heads tucked inside their wings, The survivors wheel sharply left
As if nothing mattered. (we guessed they would)
The hired man floats downstream pushing Making a bee-line for the sights
An empty boat is in front of him, Of the second party behind the ridge
And is now quite close. We lean back in contentment to see
At the right moment he shows himself. Two, three, four brahmani dangle
The birds rise noisily in panic From the unceremonious sky.

Summary:
During the winter the Siberia, the ducks head towards the Pakistan which feels like exile to them for a while. These ducks are
always in the shape of boomerang wherever they go, they enjoy the warm moderate evening of the Pakistan. Since these ducks
are very beautiful and foreign to Pakistan, they are such a pretty sight that they are looked at awe. They tuck their heads inside
their wings and roam around carefree. Sometimes, ducks while enjoying the warmth, do not realize the impending danger and
they cannot see the boat man waiting to catch them. There are hired people to catch these ducks. There are many kinds of
ducks, brahmani, teal, mallard and pintail, they stay altogether but when boat man appears to trap them, ducks react so
violently in confusion. Some of the birds become limp in struggle, while some are caught with rope. The rest which could not
get into the trap wither around to save themselves. As soon as the boatman disappear, the dangling limping ducks try to fly
back in the unceremonious and unwelcoming sky.

Themes:
Unwelcomed migrants
Temperate region of Pakistan
Pakistan is a blessed country but people of Pakistan need to be polite and ethically sound.

This blade of grass

This blade of grass, what is it?
It is myself, six feet under,
Breaking the silence.
I am rough to the touch
My edges are keen.
Those in a hurry
Will pull me out
At their peril.
In a strong wind, I am a dervish
Bringing ecstasy to your doorstep.

The author symbolizes blade of grass with his own personality, grass is breaking the silence in the wind though it is six feet
under the mud similarly author believes his personality is vibrant, braking silence even if it is hidden from visible eye. The
blades of grass are rough, the edges are sharp and those people who are in hurry or hasty, they try to pull the blades out of
mud with force but it hurts their own hands. The blade of grass, during torrents, is pious, patient, tolerant, stable, unwavering,
like a dervish, a blessed man of God and just the way the grass is grown in the courtyards for the beauty and greenery on the
doorstep of the house, it brings joy to the owner as it is a beautiful sight to look at, similarly, the grass feels happiness if it is
sown and grown and not mowed by its owner, gives beauty and delight to these soft blades of grass.

1
 The Stone-Chat By Taufiq Rafat
The beautiful is beautiful anyway,
So why embellish it with words.
The eye, too long used to green
And fruitful movement, is parched
For a desert beneficence, seeking
Subtleties where none seem to exist.
For instance, in Jhelum’s eroded hills
Where we have stopped for a moment
to
Relieve ourselves. They always remind
me
Of a village crone, too seamed and
bedridden
To be of value, yet somehow lingering
on,
Still spitting out the occasional proverb.
Surfeit has cloyed my vision. To
understand
This waste, I must try and know myself
As I must once have been, and become,
And become, why even be…even
If I have to become …that, that stone-
chat there,
Almost lost against the no-color
background.
I would have missed him, but for his tail
Vibrating with excitement. He hops up
the slope,
Held in place by a slab of sunlight,
To a ridiculous terrace of wheat
Which does not seem worth the tending.
Once there, to burst into song. Never
Was anything so eager to survive!
Intolerant of excuse, he calls
This place home, has learnt to
distinguish
Between the various shades of grey
Till the neighborhood is a riot of color,
And a ragged patch of wheat sufficient
Cause to be mellifluous about.

Introduction of Taufeeq Rafat and his Works

Taufeeq Rafat is one of the most important, creative and versatile Pakistani Poet. He has been called an Asian Romantic by the critics because of abundant use
of romantic elements and imagery in his poetry. Taufeeq Rafat was born on August 7, 1927 in Sialkot and died on August 2, 1998 at the age of 71.His work
influenced other Pakistani Poets and he is credited with the introduction of the concept of a Pakistani Idiom in English Literature. He also conducted poetry
workshops which influenced other younger poets (Wikipedia). Nasreen Niyamat, a student of literature from Rifhah International University has quoted
Muneeza Shamsie who has talked about Pakistani poets in her essay Complexities of Home and Homeland in Pakistani English Poetry and Fiction. According
to her:
“The universal nature of Islamic philosophy has meant that many Pakistani English writers have perceived themselves in International terms, yet identified
with Pakistan. They are linked to trends in Anglo American Literature too. So, we have a body of work, created by myriad of influences. Perhaps that cultural
synthesis is identity. This cultural synthesis is also evident in Rafat’s poems” (256). Sajjad Hussain (2009) reported in The Nations Newspaper that how an
occasion of launching ceremony of a book by Taufeeq in Lahore, the creative writers and intellectual’s labeled the legendary poet Taufeeq Rafat as the second
Ezra Pound of Pakistani Poetry. The title is enough to justify the contribution of Rafat to Pakistani poetry in English.
Why the Poem “The Stone Chat”
Hence, the selected poem “The Stone Chat" by Taufiq Rafat...a founding father of Pakistani poetry is a poem from his selection of the poetry entitled Arrival of
the Moonsoon (1985). The basic theme of this poem is the search for lost identity and flow of time which does change everything beautiful in man’s life. As in
words of Amara Raza: “The poem examines the resilience of the local stone chat and the way it adapts to its surroundings as a metaphor for the poet’s search
of identity” (pg: 08). Besides, the poem also describes cultural erosion and importance of roots of culture in nation’s history. As further said by Shamsie: His
poems are full of cultural insight.
Taufiq Rafat (1927-1998) was a famous Pakistani poet and writer born in Sialkot, Pakistan.He was pioneer of English language poetry/writing in Pakistan.[1]
His work was included in several early anthologies. His own best known collection of poems was Arrival of the Monsoon (1984).[2] He also translated several
works of various Punjabi writers into English.
Rafat inspired and mentored many younger poets in the 1980s and 1990s.
Reflection of cultural ethos has always been the central idea of literature. No one can fully comprehend a work of literature without being studying the cultural
norms that underlie that piece. This is as true for Pakistani literature as it is for British, American, or Post-colonial or Indian literature. Taufiq Rafat has the credit
of being the first Pakistani poet to adopt this concept of culture-specific writing in Pakistani English Literature. He has employed various kind of imageries in his
poetry that reflect Pakistaniness in all aspects whether material, geographical, seasonal, cultural, traditional, or ideological.
Unlike India, in Pakistan, Poetic writing in English started later for English education reached this part of the Sub-Continent later than that of India where in
1827, they started writing poetry in English with the establishment of English education centers and missionary schools. After the partition, in Pakistan, when
English became the language of instructions and official use along with Urdu, writers like Ahmed Ali, Shahid Hossain, Zulfikar Ghose, who were later joined by
Maki Kureshi, Kaleem Omar, Salman Tarik Kureshi, and Daud Kamal, they started composing poetry in English language. In the early stages they also followed
the British English writers like Indian writers and took time to understand that they also have a distinct culture, tradition, and colors to fill their pictures
(Khwaja) This idea emerged with Taufiq Rafat in 1960s but became popular in 1970s. Taufiq Rafat introduced a distinctive idiom known as ‘Pakistani Idiom’
which became a standard for Pakistani poets to compose poetry in, that can reflect Pakistani Society, culture, tradition and ideology. This idea has been pointed
out by Daud Kamal in these words: Despite all manner of intellectual manifestoes, poetic credos. And such-like social cliff-hangers, Pakistani English poetry
remains a melange of Pakistani—or generally Asian—and Western forms and language resources (Hashmi). “According to Taufiq Rafat, poetry emanates from
the very land in which it is written. The cultural substratum that gives anchorage to its roots remains a variable source from which it gains nourishment and
defines the self of the poet” (Mansoor). The landscape, the seasons, the smells, the characters, these are all local and give the very essence of Pakistani society
and culture. “Pakistani literature claims to have its own idiom reflecting Pakistani culture, society and mannerism. It also has its own symbols, has emerged
more visibly in Pakistani poetry than fiction, and no other Pakistani poet has contributed more, in shaping a distinct Pakistani idiom, than, Taufiq Rafat.”(Awan
and Ahmed). The imagery of Taufiq Rafat reflects Pakistani society. His poetic style, imagery and symbolism are exactly related to the context of Pakistan, as
Carlo Coppola observes, “He heaps upon its plains and seaside (Coppola). He has not sacrificed his idea for the sake of rhyme scheme. Content is more important
for him than form. He has depicted the true picture of Pakistani society by using natural imagery like animals, flowers, grass, birds, insects, and seasons
(Rahman). Taufiq Rafat’s distinctive idiom can be observed in his collection of poems “Arrival of the Monsoon” comprising of 116 poems. The images of kites,
pigeons, gliding, rainy water, mud, clouds, all represent Pakistani culture. Many Pakistani poets follow his style and distinctive idiom. The most famous of his
poems are: Soil, The People, Raindrops, Rain, Seasons, Pigeons, Lights, Eid, Ramadan, Mango Trees, Grass, Loneliness, Family, Aunts Uncles and Cousins.
Regarding his distinctive style and language that show Pakistani culture, language, society, traditions and religion, he has been rightly called the Ezra Pound of
Pakistan by Imran Aslam, one of his disciples.
Discussion: Poetry is a powerful tool of expression in literature. Imagery is one of the most important elements of poetry. A poet always puts great efforts to
create images from his/her own society, because images have a very powerful impact on the reader’s mind. These images which the poet takes from the society
depict the culture of that society. Taufiq Rafat, in particular leaves no stone unturned to represent these images with great skills. The representation of these
images is one of the greatest achievements of Taufiq Rafat. That is why he is called—The Ezra Pound of Pakistan by Imran Aslam, one of his disciples.