Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

 Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali

Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox,

my home a neat four by six inches.

I always loved neatness. Now I hold

the half-inch Himalayas in my hand.

This is home. And this the closest

I'll ever be to home. When I return,

the colors won't be so brilliant,

the Jhelum's waters so clean,

so ultramarine. My love

so overexposed.

And my memory will be a little

out of focus, in it

a giant negative, black

and white, still undeveloped.

INTRODUCTION -

Postcard from Kashmir is a memoir poem by Agha Shahid Ali. It was published in his collection Half-Inch Himalayas in 1987. Later a book of his was released under the same name in 1991. The poem is written in free rhyme and free verse. This poem defines the poet's homesickness. He resides in America and misses his country badly, especially his birthplace, Kashmir. Kashmir is the most volatile part between India and Pakistan. Due to the dispute, many native people of the region migrated from there. Kashmir is the heaven of the earth; still, they are away from their homeland. Through this poem, the poet tries to focus on the sentiment of the people of Kashmir. He receives a postcard from Kashmir, and the small picture on it drives him back the memory lane.

POET -

Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 - 8 December 2001) was an Indian-American Kashmiri poet. He was the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards and a finalist for the National Book Award. His poetry reflects his Hindu, Muslim, and Western heritages. His famous works include A Walk Through The Yellow Pages, The Half-Inch Himalayas, Rooms Are Never Finished, etc.

SUMMARY -

The poet starts his description by saying that Kashmir has shrunk into his mailbox. It has happened because of the postcard he has received from his home. The postcard contains the beauty, smell, and essence of Kashmir. It is a part of Kashmir itself. He even tells about the postcard's size, which is six by four inches; how this small package has made him nostalgic! The poet continues his description, saying that he loved neatness, and Kashmir is the best example. He is holding the postcard in his hand. It reminds him of Kashmir as his birthplace, his home. But he says that this is the closest he can be to Kashmir by holding a picture of it.

Now, as we are wondering why it is so, he eases our doubts. He says he remembers Kashmir as a pure, beautiful, and peaceful place. But he thinks now Kashmir is not the same. The Jhelum river that flows there and is very close to the poet's heart would have changed. Its water will not be as pure and blue as he remembers it. This sight will expose his love for Kashmir. His memory will also resemble a negative film of a picture with black and white colors in it. The beautiful town colors are lost to him because he is scared of the changes that have taken place. 

THEME -

• Nostalgia for the motherland: The poet's love for his homeland, Kashmir, stands out throughout the poem. It pains him that he is o far away from home but doesn't want to return. He is scared that the changes which took place will change his view of his home, and so, he accepts the past with tears.

END - 

The poem has been under crucial scrutiny as to why the poet has chosen words like undeveloped and negative. Do these represent the poet's thoughts or the situation of Kashmir? Whatever be why we can indeed say that Kashmir is not just a motherland for the poet; it is a part of his being. Though it holds no significance to the real place, a postcard is treated with high worth here as the poet considers it a part of Kashmir's beauty and essence. Overall we can say that the poem binds our mood with its emotions, and we can feel the poet's emotions too well.