Weak Tea And The Archetype Of Alienation

The squalid geriatric man is the archetype of the individual who faces alienation in society. The last stanza of the poem inexorably explores the life of a man who is constantly neglected by his family. Chitre in the last stanza uses powerful imagery to convey the father’s isolation. ‘Weak tea’ and the ‘stale chappati’ are symbolic of the aging and decrepit physicality of the persona’s father. The proclamation which refers to his ‘going to the toilet to contemplate’ puts forth a multitude of emotions as this is the archetype of solitude melancholy. Chitre, continually accentuates the problematical life that fazes the aged as well as ‘man’s estrangement from a man made world’. Chitre axiomatically illustrates the gloom of the father and the
words ‘static on the radio’ is a metaphorical phrase that symbolises his unconnected life. His dreams of ‘ancestors’ showcases his exuberant past and his ‘grandchildren’ expresses his hope in witnessing the same exuberance of the past. The missing theme of the “present” in this line expresses his distaste in his lifestyle and neglect as he struggles to find happiness. Thereby, through this stanza, Chitre wittingly and dramatically portrays the father’s dismal isolation in the poem making it so moving.