In this resource, you’ll find an analysis of ‘3 November 1984’ by Sujata Bhatt.
It’s targeted specifically toward those studying the Cambridge A-Level (CAIE / CIE) syllabus, but it’s suitable for anyone studying the poet at any level. Bhatt’s poems are beautiful and complex, often ex...
I won’t buy
The New York Times today.
I can’t. I’m sorry.
But when I walk into the bookstore
I can’t help reading the front page
and I stare at the photographs
of dead men and women
I know I’ve seen alive.
Today I don’t want to think
of Hindus cutting open
Sikhs - and Sikhs cutting open
Hindus - and Hindus cutting open
Today I don’t want to think
of Amrit and Arun and Cunwant Singh,
nor of Falguni and Kalyan.
(Full poem unable to be reproduced to due to the copyright)
VOCABULARY
Hindus - Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world, and it originated in India.
People who practise Hinduism are called Hindus.
Sikhs - Sikhism is another religion in India, originating from the Punjab region. Sikhs
are people who practise Sikhism.
Annapurna - a mountain range in Nepal
Sherpa - nomadic people who live in the mountainous areas of Nepal
Imlee fronds - tamarind tree leaves
, STORY/SUMMARY
Stanza 1: I won’t buy the New York Times newspaper today. I’m sorry but I just can’t
- perhaps because I don’t have time to read it, or maybe because reading the news is
too upsetting for me to cope with today. But when I walk into the bookstore I can’t
help but notice the front page of the paper - I stare at images of dead men and
women that I know I’ve seen alive before.
Stanza 2: Today, I don’t want to think about Hindus attacking Sikhs - and Sikhs
cutting open Hindus - and Hindus doing the same back to them.
Stanza 3: Today, I don’t want to think about all these different people: Amrit and
Aron and Gunwant Singh, nor do I want to think of Falguni and Kalyan.
Stanza 4: I’ve decided: today I’ll write in ink the colour of peacocks and the sea, I’ll
write poems about everything else and avoid the news. I’ll think about those five
Americans who made it to the Annapurna mountains in Nepal without help or
guidance from local Sherpa people. I won’t think about bleeding trains, I’ll do my
writing homework instead.
Stanza 5: Now, instead of finishing the poem I’m writing, I draw tamarind tree leaves
all over the page, and I think of my friend Amrit when we were six, sitting beneath
the tamarind tree, we both had just washed our hair and mine and his were equally
long. Our mothers sent us outside in the sun to play, to dry our hair. Now instead of
completing this poem, I’m thinking about Amrit.
SPEAKER/VOICE
The speaker of the poem is certainly the poet herself, as she talks about her own
personal daily experiences while living in America, reflecting on the way in which her
life now is so disconnected from her life in her native India as a child. The process of
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