Postcard from Kashmir

- by Agha Shahid Ali

About the Poem
The poem titled ‘Postcard from Kashmir’  is a prologue poem in Agha Shahid Ali’s
anthology, “Half Inch Himalayas” which was published in 1987. The poem expresses the
poet’s sentimental feelings for his motherland. It shows how moved he was when he received
a photograph postcard from Kashmir in America. The poem establishes the volume’s theme
by demonstrating the poet’s strong affection for and nostalgia for his homeland. The poems
in this collection are about his longing for his homeland, his memories of it, and his exile. His
homeland plagues his imagination, and he longs to experience and talk about it in this poetry.
Although the poem includes 14 lines, it cannot be classified as a sonnet since it lacks the
stanza form, metre, and rhyme that are essential to sonnets.
Summary of Postcard from Kashmir
The speaker in the poem expresses his sentiments after getting a postcard from Kashmir, an
area of the Indian subcontinent. place. The postcard features a snapshot of Kashmir, which
the speaker claims to be his home. The speaker, who lives in a western country and is
geographically remote from Kashmir, looks lovingly at this four-by-six-inch photograph.
The speaker asserts that he has always admired neatness, a quality he associates with
Kashmir in his childhood days. The irony of the situation is encapsulated in his claim that he
now has the half-inch Himalayas in his hand. The vast and gigantic mountain range is
reduced to a compact, clean picture, which the poet dislikes.
The most ambiguous sentence in the poem is “here is home,” which can refer to the poet’s
incapability to leave the location where he lives or to the poet’s sacrifice of it for his
homeland.
It is apparent that the poem’s ultimate goal is to reflect the poet’s boundless patriotic love for
Kashmir, the region he is happy to call home.
Analysis of Postcard from Kashmir

The poem ‘Postcard from Kashmir’ reflects the poet’s feelings about his homeland Kashmir.
It juxtaposes the poet’s remembrance of his home with a photograph of some Kashmiri
scenery. He is reminded of his home in India when he receives the postcard. Obviously, he is
not at home and is in a distant place.

- Summary & Analysis

Did you find the first two lines of the poem difficult to understand? How can Kashmir be
contained in a mailbox? However, when you know that ‘Kashmir’ here refers to a photo
postcard depicting a scene in Kashmir, you see that the word has been employed in a
different context. The postcard measures four inches by six inches, according to the second
line. Why did he use the adjective ‘neat’ in the second line? It is most likely meant to imply
that, while the scene from Kashmir is printed on a well-defined, rectangular sheet of paper,
the poet’s memory of that region is not so well-defined. It’s murky and overlapping, and it’s
tinged with conflicting emotions.
The poet tells us about himself in the next two lines. He prefers neat and well-organized
things. But there’s a ring of ironic remorse in his voice as well. You’ll notice that the lines are
ironic. They are saying the exact opposite of what they are saying.
The poet appears to be stating that he, who once prided himself on his clarity of thought, is
now perplexed about what his home means to him. He is now looking at an image of the
Himalayas on a half-inch stamp affixed to a postcard, but he is unable to describe properly
what the mountains mean to him now, or what memories that picture evokes in him.
As you read on, you discover that the poet’s experience is multifaceted. For example, the
word “home” can be interpreted in several ways. Is ‘home’ Kashmir or the area in America
where he currently resides? If the place he is presently living in his home, why does he miss
Kashmir, where he was born and spent his childhood? Continuing the poem’s
intrinsic ambiguity and duality, the poet writes that when he visits Kashmir, the place will not
be as colourful as the picture postcard. Similarly, Jhelum’s water will not be as vividly blue.
The postcard then serves as a metaphor for his recollections of his homeland. He has a
romanticised image of his homeland in his thoughts. It is thought that distance makes things
appear more beautiful than they are. His memories of Kashmir are more colourful than the
real Kashmir.
Why does the speaker claim that his love would not be ‘overexposed’ in Kashmir? The term
‘overexposed’ has been used herein the manner that it is used in photography. When more
light than necessary is allowed to fall on a negative, it is said to be overexposed. When this
happens, the positive that is printed from the negative plate becomes fuzzy. His passion for
his motherland is overexposed in America because it is tinged with too much longing and
nostalgia, making it impossible to comprehend.
Style

The poet speaks the poem in a tone that suggests he is talking to himself. You’ll see that the
poet builds on ideas of light and darkness. The ‘ultramarine’ in line 9 contrasts with the
‘black/and white’ in lines 13 and 14. As a result, we might conclude that the poet uses visual
images to describe his love for his birthplace. You’ll also observe that when the poet
describes the reallocation, he uses expressions like ‘four by six inches,’ ‘half-inch
Himalayas,’ ‘Jhelum,’ and ‘waters,’ all of which have a specific meaning and can be
visualised. But when he talks about his feelings, he uses terms like “home” and “love,” which
are difficult to visualise. He accomplishes this contrasting effect in the poem by balancing
concrete and abstract words.

- Summary and Questions

Q. How has Kashmir ‘shrunk’ into the poet’s mailbox?
Ans: The poet, actually receives a mail with a photograph of his homeland called Kashmir.
Being, geographically distant, he is overwhelmed by the photograph of the land he cherishes
and wishes to return. Moreover, he wishes to return.
Moreover, the short and small photograph cannot represent a region which is massive in area.
He is not certain whether he can ever return to his native land and claims that this is home-
Which either can mean that he has to satisfy himself with photograph only or the foreign
place, which he has compromised into his home now.

Q. Explain the ironic effect of the line “Now I hold the half. Inch Himalayas in my
hand”.
Ans: Agha Shahid in many of his poems describes his nostalgic feelings about his homeland.
The childhood memories of his native land are in his mind and he tries to imprint them while
looking at the photograph received by him through a postcard. He expects Kashmir to be the
same neat and clean but the lost beauty of his dreamland can be traced from the line:” Now I
hold half-inch Himalayas in my hand”, the half-inch Himalayas are Ironical to the extreme
that the vast and massive geographic area has shrunk and lost is neat and clean attitude. In
addition, the Irony of not ever returning to the birthplace finds a poor substitute in four by
six-inch postcard with a photograph in it.

Q. Why does the poet use the word ‘overexposed while describing his love for Kashmir?
Ans: The photograph of the native land received through a postcard has been symbolically
used by the poet. The photograph presents a micro picture of the land, he cherishes and
desires to return. At the same time, the poet feels it impossible to leave the place he works.
So, the running ultramarine waters of Jehlum, the massive mountain range of the Himalayas
make the poets’ love for this land overexposed. The irreducible gap between reality and
aspiration make the poet overemotional and he cherished the photograph that works a link
between the land he can’t return and the land he cherishes. The poet even vaguely contrasts
the beauty and brilliance of the cherished homeland with the Kashmir he might visit in future.

Q. Why is Kashmir compared to a giant negative, black and white skill undeveloped at
the end of the poem?
Ans:  The speaker of the poem assumes that the real sights of Kashmir will be different than
the images of the native land formed during the poet’s childhood. Living in a distant land he
is not sure about the current beauty and atmosphere of his native land. The photograph
presents a poor substitute for the same the words giant negative black and white still
underdeveloped present the contrast between the actual beauty of the land and the scenic
view in the photograph. It can never carry the same spirit and brilliance of the land. Since his
native land is divided between India Pakistan and China, the place never can develop
properly. In short, the photograph fails to satiate the poet’s love for his homeland. 

Q. How does the poet’s sense of nostalgia get reflected in the poem?
Agha Shahid Ali spent his childhood in Kashmir. After early education, he moved to Delhi
and then to the U.S for further education.  While making a career by teaching in the U.S, he
often wrote poems depicting the beauty, love and brilliance of his home. 
Q.  Explain the various poetic techniques that the poet uses to emphasise the beauty of
hishomeland?
Ans:  Like T.S Eliot, Agha Shahid experimented with the diction, metre and overall structure
of his poems frequently. Agha shahid not only introduced the Ghazal genre in English But
brought innovations in the translation world. The poem in question Post Card from Kashmir
is a fine example of experimentation with poetic techniques to get the desired aims. 

The poem comprises of 14 lines but cannot be called a sonnet since it lacks both the content
and form of traditional sonnets. There is no fixed stanza structure, metre and rhyme
prerequisite of traditional sonnets. 

Irony has been employed in this poem tilted Post Card from Kashmir, the word home either
can mean Kashmir and the U.S where the poet presently resides.

The speaker mentions that he is a great lover of neatness. The irony is found in the fact that
he can now hold half inch Himalayas in his hand. The massive and enormous mountain range
reducing to half-inch Himalayas surely brings Irony with it. It signifies that one of the most
impressive aspects of his homeland has been shrunk and made to seem far less unimpressive
and insignificant. Although the postcard lies in the speaker’s hand he has lost touch with the
very reality of his homeland. The technique of ambiguity is also used in the poem. The most
intriguing line is “This is home” which either can be the place depicted in the photograph
“or” the place where he currently resides. The line emphasises the fact that the poet is unable
to return to his native land. 
There is ambiguity towards the end of the poem, as the poet reveals that he is out of focus and
believes the giant negative she lies underdeveloped. 

 Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox,

my home a neat four by six inches.

I always loved neatness. Now I hold

the half-inch Himalayas in my hand.

This is home. And this the closest

I'll ever be to home. When I return,
the colors won't be so brilliant,
the Jhelum's waters so clean,
so ultramarine. My love
so overexposed.

And my memory will be a little

out of focus, in it
a giant negative, black
and white, still undeveloped.
INTRODUCTION -

Postcard from Kashmir is a memoir poem by Agha Shahid Ali. It was published in his
collection Half-Inch Himalayas in 1987. Later a book of his was released under the same
name in 1991. The poem is written in free rhyme and free verse. This poem defines the
poet's homesickness. He resides in America and misses his country badly, especially his
birthplace, Kashmir. Kashmir is the most volatile part between India and Pakistan. Due
to the dispute, many native people of the region migrated from there. Kashmir is the
heaven of the earth; still, they are away from their homeland. Through this poem, the
poet tries to focus on the sentiment of the people of Kashmir. He receives a postcard
from Kashmir, and the small picture on it drives him back the memory lane.

POET -

Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 - 8 December 2001) was an Indian-American

Kashmiri poet. He was the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards and a finalist
for the National Book Award. His poetry reflects his Hindu, Muslim, and Western
heritages. His famous works include A Walk Through The Yellow Pages, The Half-Inch
Himalayas, Rooms Are Never Finished, etc.
SUMMARY -

The poet starts his description by saying that Kashmir has shrunk into his mailbox. It
has happened because of the postcard he has received from his home. The postcard
contains the beauty, smell, and essence of Kashmir. It is a part of Kashmir itself. He
even tells about the postcard's size, which is six by four inches; how this small package
has made him nostalgic! The poet continues his description, saying that he loved
neatness, and Kashmir is the best example. He is holding the postcard in his hand. It
reminds him of Kashmir as his birthplace, his home. But he says that this is the closest
he can be to Kashmir by holding a picture of it.

Now, as we are wondering why it is so, he eases our doubts. He says he remembers
Kashmir as a pure, beautiful, and peaceful place. But he thinks now Kashmir is not the
same. The Jhelum river that flows there and is very close to the poet's heart would have
changed. Its water will not be as pure and blue as he remembers it. This sight will
expose his love for Kashmir. His memory will also resemble a negative film of a picture
with black and white colors in it. The beautiful town colors are lost to him because he is
scared of the changes that have taken place. 

THEME -

 Nostalgia for the motherland: The poet's love for his homeland, Kashmir, stands
out throughout the poem. It pains him that he is o far away from home but
doesn't want to return. He is scared that the changes which took place will
change his view of his home, and so, he accepts the past with tears.
END - 

The poem has been under crucial scrutiny as to why the poet has chosen words like
undeveloped and negative. Do these represent the poet's thoughts or the situation of
Kashmir? Whatever be why we can indeed say that Kashmir is not just a motherland
for the poet; it is a part of his being. Though it holds no significance to the real place, a
postcard is treated with high worth here as the poet considers it a part of Kashmir's
beauty and essence. Overall we can say that the poem binds our mood with its emotions,
and we can feel the poet's emotions too well.