Analysis on Another History

In A Different History, the author emphasized the importance of mother tongue and expressed her resent towards cultural imperialism. The whole poem is written like a warning to many groups of people as well as disagreement towards the colonists.

In the first three lines of stanza one, the author seems to be clearing out a misconception for the crowd. In the forth and fifth line, the writer points out that gods are disguised as animals, therefore any animal out there could be the god. This sets the foundation for the following lines that criticize people for not respecting nature where god could be anywhere.

The narrator speaks against certain behavior with the repetition of the phrase “a sin” to emphasize how wrongful the acts in lines 7-14 are. These behaviors are most likely associated with the western colonists which hold a different mind-set from the Indians. Westerners believe human are separated from nature and may have failed to understand or respect the Indian culture and religion. Further more, oppressors may deliberately upset the local people just to show off their power. With repeating the phrase, Bhatt manages to reinforce the intensified the critical tone of the poem with each sin described. What is also to be recognized is how the narrator does not specify who she is addressing, but still communicates a sense of tension towards other cultures that have disrespected Indian culture.

One of the key aspects of the poem is Bhatt’s notable efforts to not disturb identities such as “Sarasvati”, due to her extreme importance to the Indian culture. The narrator writes “without offending the tree/from whose wood the paper is made” using personification, so that the non human object is acknowledged as a figure which deserves respect just as an individual.

Towards the end of the poem, comes the rhetorical questioning of the cross cultural issue. The narrator provocatively asks, “Which language has not been the oppressor’s tongue? Which language truly meant to murder someone?” The questions show how the Indian culture has been part of the damaged cultures and tongues that have been lost due to colonialism. The final paragraph suggested the outcome is that the traditions, culture and language will fade into the words of other foreign language. The final two lines indicated a cultural rape. It implies that the oppressors have already impregnated the language in India.

Through a well selected series of language and literary techniques/terms, Bhatt achieves to produce a poem which discusses the mistake made after the collision of very different cultures. The narrator incorporated her own emotion of revere towards the Indian culture, and introduces the readers to it. This makes the poem interesting to read as it reveals the narrator’s enthusiasm towards her own culture and rage towards those who disrespects them. In the process of this discussion, the narrator also resolved the intense emotions they once had, by accepting that cross-cultural consequences such as colonialism do not ruin a history, but creates a different one.