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LET’S EXPLORE Presents From My Aunts in Pakistan by Moniza Alvi

Read the following information from your hand out. Moniza Alvi was born in Lahore in Pakistan. She had a Pakistani father and an English mother. She moved to Hatfield in England when she was a few months old. She didn't revisit Pakistan until after her first book of poems was published which was 'The Country over my Shoulder' this poem comes from that collection. The poet said that "Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan’’ was one of the first poems she wrote. In the poem the girl describes the gifts sent from her Aunts who live in Pakistan and her reactions to them. The poem is autobiographical, the girl in the poem is the poet during her teens. She feels uncomfortably caught between two cultures as she is growing up.

What themes do you think the poet is going to explore in this poem? isolation being caught between two cultures the pain of growing up… finding out who you really are wanting to know more about her background and family isolation

Now read the poem.

The first thing you notice about the poem is the poet’s use of colourful and vibrant images.

‘peacock-blue,’ ‘glistening like an orange split open’

‘gold and black’

‘candy-striped’ ‘apple-green’

There are a few images that you may not recognise… ‘salwar kameez’ ‘embossed slippers …points curling’ ‘sari’ traditional attire of Pakistani women. a garment worn by Hindu women, consisting of a long piece of cotton or silk wrapped around the body with one end draped over the head or over one shoulder.

‘Candy-striped glass bangles snapped, drew blood.’ Bangles are part of traditional Pakistan jewellry. They are usually worn in pairs, one or more on each arm. Most women prefer wearing either gold or glass bangles or a combination of both. Bangles made of glass are still preferred at traditional functions such as marriages and at festivals.

Given that the traditional glass bangles are part of the culture of Pakistan; why might it be significant that the bangle breaks and injures the girl? ‘Candy-striped glass bangles snapped, drew blood.’

alien alien alien Perhaps the girl feels like a stranger to the culture of her relatives. What does the girl mean by ‘alien’?

never be as lovely Perhaps she feels inadequate, not beautiful enough to wear the stunning fabrics; like all teenagers she feels self conscious about her appearance. Why does the girl feel this way?

‘I longed for’ Why didn’t the poet use ‘I wanted to change back into…’ or ‘I wanted to put on…’? What is the effect of using a line break to create a pause in this phrase?

‘My costume’ Where do you usually wear a costume? What might the use of this word tell us about the girl’s feelings?

‘clung’ What does this word suggest about how the girl feels in the clothes? Uncomfortable? Embarrassed? Ill at ease?

‘aflame’ This word certainly adds to the feeling that the girl is perhaps embarrassed or upset by the way she feels in the clothes. ‘couldn't rise up out of its fire’ This line reminds us of the myth of the phoenix…

...a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes fresh, young and full of hope. The Phoenix The girl says she ‘couldn’t rise up’, what does this connection suggest about how the girl feels?

‘from camel to shade’ Although the lamp is beautiful ‘like stained glass’, there is something ‘cruel’ about the ‘transformation’. How does this image help us to understand how the girl feels?

‘stolen from our car.’ Filigree - delicate jewellery made with twisted threads usually of gold and silver. ‘Indian gold, dangling, filigree’

‘tried to glimpse myself in the miniature glass circles’ The girl searches for some part of her identity in the clothes, however small. myselfglimpse myself glimpse

This leads her to thinking about, the story of her journey to England, her past and the land that is part of her cultural identity. ‘…how the three of us sailed to England.’

Prickly heat Prickly heat is a highly irritating prickly red rash. It most commonly occurs in hot weather. It is caused by bacteria or dead skin cells blocking sweat glands.

We, like the girl, are given glimpses of her Pakistani culture.

‘…conflict, a fractured land throbbing through newsprint’.

‘there were beggars’

‘sweeper-girls’

‘of no fixed nationality’ This is obviously something that troubles the girl in the poem as she tries to imagine herself in the images she has of life in Pakistan.

‘staring through fretwork at the Shalimar Gardens.’

What feelings does this picture produce? Frustration because you want to see the whole picture? Anger because you can’t see the whole picture? A lack of interest because these are images of a place you don’t really know anyway? You’d rather be looking at pictures of the people and places you are familiar with? How do you think the poet feels about only having glimpses of her Pakistani roots?

The poem is full of contrasts and conflicts Contrasts and conflicts are part of every teenager’s life as they struggle to define their own identity. Is it perhaps more difficult when the teenager is of ‘no fixed nationality’? What do you think? salwar kameez peacock-blue glistening Candy-striped silver-bordered satin-silken marvel like stained glass clung cruelty stolen screaming alone conflict fractured didn't impress What associations do you make with each word? cherished filigree radiant admired cardigans denim & corduroy drew blood alien