In the third stanza 'The municipal pipe bursts...' and because they are so short of water, this is described as 'the sudden rush of fortune' and they suddenly feel so lucky that they have this precious substance. The poet writes how 'From huts, a congregation; every man woman child for streets around butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands...' this expresses further the poverty and the shortage of water by describing how everyone, no matter who they are, is needed to help gather the silver blessing. In this quote the word 'congregation' is used, this shows the people gathering together as one, all with the same interest.
Since this poem is essentially about water and how precious it is, it is only natural that there would be many descriptions for the substance. On line 9 it is described as 'silver', and on line 19 as 'liquid sun', when we imagine the sun, rich gold shades come to mind, and silver and gold are precious just as the water is very precious. However these two descriptions are complete opposites, which shows how versatile water can be, and how it is unpredictable. The second stanza describes the different sounds of water, all of which are soft and gentle. 'The small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god'. this description lets the reader form a clear image of small, silver droplets spilling softly, into an old battered tin mug.
The poem then goes from this gentle description to the sudden, frantic efforts of all the town’s people trying to collect the water coming from the burst pipe. This act has been written in the poem using no punctuation except for occasional commas. 'Every man woman child from streets around buts in, with pots, brass…'. This lack of punctuation means the poem is read quickly and erratically, just as the people are collecting the water in such a way, as they feel that soon their water may be gone if they do not hurry in it's collection.
The third stanza describes the young children playing and celebrating in the water. On line 20 alliteration is used, 'their highlights polished to perfection' which emphasises the descriptions of the children's glowing skin and glossy hair. Assonance is then used on the final two lines of the poem, 'as the blessing sings over their small bones' this gives the poem a soft and serene ending because the repeated 's' is a delicate sound.
Dharker conveys a distinct sense of community in the poem. She does this by using phrases, and words, such as 'the municipal pipe bursts', showing that, not only is the community poor and can only afford one water pump, but also the whole town has to share the small amount that they have. The town's people are also referred to as 'a congregation' which suggests that they are joined together with one common purpose-to give thanks for the water they have, and to help save it, and let none go to waste. It also suggests that there is closeness felt between them, just like when a congregation goes to church. This sense of a close community has been conveyed again on lines 12-13, 'Every man woman child…' This shows how every person in the town is working together to collect the precious water.
The second poem 'An Old Woman' by Arun Kolatkar was chosen because it is similar in setting and themes to the 'Blessing'. It is set in Pakistan, and we are given the impression that 'Blessing' is also set in a similar country. It is about a persistent beggar woman trying to earn some money to be able to live. The themes of the poem are poverty and contradictions in cultures.
The poem describes an old beggar woman trying to gain a pitiful amount of money from a tourist. She grabs his shirt, and offers to take him “to the horseshoe shrine” which he has already seen. She does not let go and the tourist starts to get annoyed and wants “to end the farce” because he does not approve and looks upon begging as the lowest form of living. However, when he turns round to stop her, she says “what else can an old woman do on hills as wretched as these?” This old woman has no other way of making money and staying alive, except for depending on the pity of tourists.
As she says this, the tourist looks “right at the sky. Clear through the bullet holes she has for eyes”, and he begins to understand and empathise with her. The tourist realises that “the cracks that begin round her eyes spread beyond her skin”, and the world around him starts to crack, and fall apart as he feels sorry for her. With this sudden realisation of her situation, the woman becomes his only focus and he is “reduced to so much small change in her hand.” The beggar has managed to manipulate the man’s feelings to make him give her the money, and he feels like he is in her hand with her controlling him.
As you read through “An Old Woman” strong images are placed in your mind as to what is happening. These graphic images are made by developing descriptions using similes, alliteration, assonance and other linguistic techniques. By describing the beggar as 'tagging on', and 'she hobbles along anyway and tightens her grip on your shirt', the reader can start to imagine a tired, old woman bent over forward with bad posture clinging on desperately to a tourist.
Kolatkar then starts to describe her face, which has hollow, empty “bullet holes for eyes”, and cracks begin round them from the dry, dusty climate of India. From this description the woman sounds weak and feeble yet, she is then described in lines 29-30 as “ the shatter-proof crone, who stands alone”. This sentence changes the reader’s opinion of the woman because it makes her appear as though she doesn’t need anyone to help her and she is strong, but still, she is alone, and isolated with nothing to hold to her name. These are also the only two lines in the poem that rhyme, and I think the poet has done this to make them stand out, just as in this part of the poem the beggar woman stands out to the tourist, and is his only focus.
Repetition is used effectively in lines 25-27 “And the hills crack. And the temples crack. And the sky falls” because the reader can imagine the cracks spreading out across the landscape as the world around falls apart. Onomatopoeia is used in line 28 “with a plate-glass clatter” to describe the tourists realisation of the beggars situation. “Clatter” is a strong and definite word and therefor describes his realisation as sudden and unexpected.
Kolatkar describes the extreme poverty of the beggar, and he brings out the idea that begging is accepted in this culture. Elderly people are not looked after in India as they are in England and most western countries, they are left to live on the streets and earn money for themselves. When the tourist sees this woman, he sees her as an annoyance and does not feel that begging in order to earn a living should be allowed because although he knows that it happens, he does not agree with it.
I think that both ‘Blessing’ and ‘An Old Woman’ describe cultures and lives that are completely alien to what is known in England. We live in a country where water shortage is not a problem and where begging is not accepted, and therefor it is hard to relate to such cultures.
The community in ‘Blessing’ has such a close relationship, where everyone is equal, and everyone is needed and valued. No one is more important than anyone else, and they are all needed to help gather the precious water that they value so highly. Despite the fact that the poem is set in a poverty-stricken country, where “there is never enough water”, the friendship shared by the villagers makes the reader feel as though they are content and happy with the life that they live.
However, in ‘An Old Woman’ this impression is not given. The beggar does not appear to be content with her way of life and is worn and tired as a result of it. I think her discontentment is conveyed in line 20-21 “bullet holes she has for eyes”. I believe this, because she has to hide her true feelings from the outside to prevent anyone knowing what she really feels, and therefor her eyes seem to just glaze over and hold no feelings. I think she does this so that she can concentrate on trying to earn a living to stay alive, in doing this though, all her feelings are trapped inside and she is unable to overcome them. In doing this, it appears that she has no feelings and is completely isolated from the rest of the community. This is illustrated in line 29-30 “round the shatter-proof crone who stands alone”.
