A DIFFERENT HISTORY
- SUJATA BHATT
ABOUT THE POEM:
‘A Different History’ by Sujata Bhatt upholds the roots of Indian (particularly Hindu)
culture and revisits the nation’s colonial past.The poem begins with a reference to the ancient
Greek god Pan. In Indian Vedic mythology, Pushan is the counterpart of Pan. According to
the speaker, Pan settled permanently in India, where gods roam freely disguised as different
creatures. Nature is worshipped as a deity and knowledge is regarded as divine. This is why
Indians have to pay due respect to their books as well as the trees from which books are
made. In the next stanza, she poses some questions regarding English, the language of the
colonizers, and wonders how this “strange language” became so dear to the present
generation.
STANZA WISE SUMMARY:
STANZA 1
Great Pan is not dead;
he simply emigrated
to India.
Here, the gods roam freely
without disturbing Sarasvati,
without offending the tree
from whose wood the paper was made.
Sujata Bhatt’s poem ‘A Different History’ presents a revisionist glass to peek into
India’s cultural and political past. The poem sets off with a direct allusion to the mythical god
“Great Pan,” having a number of departments under his control that include nature, rustic
music, shepherds, etc. In the Hindu religion, Pushan is the counterpart of the Greek Pan (or
- SUJATA BHATT
ABOUT THE POEM:
‘A Different History’ by Sujata Bhatt upholds the roots of Indian (particularly Hindu)
culture and revisits the nation’s colonial past.The poem begins with a reference to the ancient
Greek god Pan. In Indian Vedic mythology, Pushan is the counterpart of Pan. According to
the speaker, Pan settled permanently in India, where gods roam freely disguised as different
creatures. Nature is worshipped as a deity and knowledge is regarded as divine. This is why
Indians have to pay due respect to their books as well as the trees from which books are
made. In the next stanza, she poses some questions regarding English, the language of the
colonizers, and wonders how this “strange language” became so dear to the present
generation.
STANZA WISE SUMMARY:
STANZA 1
Great Pan is not dead;
he simply emigrated
to India.
Here, the gods roam freely
without disturbing Sarasvati,
without offending the tree
from whose wood the paper was made.
Sujata Bhatt’s poem ‘A Different History’ presents a revisionist glass to peek into
India’s cultural and political past. The poem sets off with a direct allusion to the mythical god
“Great Pan,” having a number of departments under his control that include nature, rustic
music, shepherds, etc. In the Hindu religion, Pushan is the counterpart of the Greek Pan (or
