1. An Unknown Girl by Moniza Alvi
page 23

2. Overview
The poem describes the poet’s visit to India and the time she had her hand hennaed by a girl in the market place. It has proved to be an experience she has never forgotten.

3. Themes There are a number of themes covered in this poem:
cultural identity
sense of belonging
loss
relationship between the familiar and the unknown

4. Vocabulary
Check your understanding of the language used in the poem. Write a definition in your anthology for anything you are unsure about.

5. In the evening bazaar studded with neon an unknown girl is hennaing my hand.
An Indian market place
a temporary colouring of the skin

6. She squeezes a wet brown line from a nozzle
She squeezes a wet brown line from a nozzle. She is icing my hand which she steadies with hers on her satin-peach knee.
Baking metaphor used – shows the cultural contrasts
intimate image – shows care and attention

7. In the evening bazaar for a few rupees an unknown girl is hennaing my hand
repetition of first stanza – emphasises the alienation, also gives the poem a chorus-like simplicity

8. she is absorbing part of the culture
As a little air catches my shadow-stitched kameez a peacock spreads its lines across my palm.
the tattoo comes alive
she is absorbing part of the culture
a loose fitting Indian tunic

9. Colours leave the street float up in balloons
Colours leave the street float up in balloons. Dummies in shop-fronts tilt and stare with their Western perms.
personification
vivid imagery – Alzi uses these images to create a sense of wonder and delight. The dummies show irony – why are they not Indian?

10. alien to the culture – Western influence
Banners for Miss India for curtain cloth and sofa cloth canopy me.
alien to the culture – Western influence
she feels covered by these things – suffocated and uncomfortable, or at home and welcome? In the shade or visible?

11. this is an important line – dual meaning
I have new brown veins.
this is an important line – dual meaning
a metaphor for the tattoo she has just received but also feels as if she has assimilated some of the culture of India – it is now ‘running through her veins’

12. In the evening bazaar very deftly an unknown girl is hennaing my hand.
repetition – however, notice the extra detail ‘very deftly’
as the narrator is observing all that is going on around her, the ‘unknown girl’ is taking extra care and is an expert

13. simile – she wants to hold on to these memories
I am clinging to these firm peacock lines like people who cling to the sides of a train.
simile – she wants to hold on to these memories

14. Now the furious streets are hushed
Now the furious streets are hushed. I’ll scrape off the dry brown lines before I sleep. reveal soft as a snail trail the amber bird beneath. It will fade in a week.
the streets were harsh and angry – note how the tone changes – becomes quiet with night – clever juxtaposition using personification
‘scrape’ – a harsh verb which contrasts with the amber bird – she is scraping off the excess
gentle simile
she thinks the tattoo will fade like her memories and the India ‘in her’

15. India is represented by the tattoo
When India appears and reappears I’ll lean across a country with my hands outstretched longing for the unknown girl in the neon bazaar
India is represented by the tattoo
Her memories will go just as the tattoo will gradually fade – it is not permanent, yet the process can be repeated
Ends in a yearning tone.

16. A Few Key Facts Moniza Alvi is a Pakistani-British poet
She was born in Lahore in 1954 and moved to England as a child
She taught in a secondary school in London for many years
She now lives in South West London

17. Linked Poems
This is a poem about a vivid, memorable experience from the past.
It links with ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’, ‘Mid-Term Break’ and ‘The Barn’

18. Questions
How many times does Alvi use the phrase ‘an unknown girl’? Why is this repeated so often?
What do the colours in this poem signify?
The poem is laid out unusually and has no pattern or obvious rhythm. What could you write about this?