Assertion  of  self  and  desire  for  an  identity  is  one  of the  stronger  themes  in  the  poetry  of  women  poets  of the post-independence  period  and  Rukmini  Bhaya  Nair is  not  exception  to  the  fact.  When  asked  about  the identity in one of the interviews Nair replied; “being a  woman  in  India  often  means  you  have  to  adjust minute-to-minute to somebody else’s notion of who you are” [1]. The poems of Nair present the second grade status given by the society to women. The sufferings of these  women  find  expression  the  poetry  of  Nair. Through  her  poetry  she  ridicules  and  attacks  the society in which women are treated as inferiors or marginalized who have no independent identity of their own.  The  poet  is  strongly  concerned  about  the treatment  a  female  child  gets  in  our   society.  The female child suffers the discrimination in the hands of society. Women have to continuously strive to establish their identity in the patriarchal society; “Being a woman in India often means you have to adjust minute-to-minute to somebody else’s notion of who you are. This constant calibration  of  who  you  are  sensitizes  you  to  what  you are not” (Text Matters 271). The poet expresses the condition of women in the society; “A woman is a thing apart/She is bracketed off, a/Comma, semi-colon, at most/A  lower-case  letter,  lost.”  (“Five  Uneasy  Pieces” 33-36) These lines explain that women in the society are marginalized and they are confined to limited space. She becomes an object for people; “In the literate circus/She is just a striptease/Artist” (37-38). Nair makes her women poet speak for herself and break the shackles of subjugation. Her woman poet revolts against all kinds of domination on her and “when she speaks/Her poems bite, ferocious” (39-40). Like other women poets Rukmini Nair also wants her women to be free and in command of herself. She writes; “She wants, she badly wants/… but a new language/In which to hold her own” (“Five Uneasy Pieces” 45-48). Through this poem the poet shifts the position of women from margins to mainstream in the fourth section “Margins, ma(i)nstream.

Loneliness

These modern poets reveal the solitariness of modern. The new life style has further aggravated the problem of loneliness. The new technologies and gadgets have further isolated people from each other. The theme of loneliness is treated by Nair in her unique style. In her poem the machines play the role of partners or lovers to give company to the modern man. “Between us a region of touch and silence/Lover’s clinch it takes loneliness to be/So intimate with a machine” (“Computer” 1-3). Nair says  that  when  someone  feels  the lonelinessthey way to overcome that loneliness is to write poetry. She as a poet writes; “Loneliness/Like dry strokes fading/In the inkwells of her heart/A woman/ Writes her epitaph” (“Reasons Ltd.” 9-13). 

A person always longs for a society where the existence is full of personal, familiar and cultural relationship. No one wishes to live a life of isolation or loneliness. It is very unfortunate that in today’s world modern man is face savior loneliness. The modern man suffering with an identity crisis and is in desperate search for roots. In search for job, settlement and to an alien place which eventually puts him in a position of no man’s land. This crisis is same for both a man or woman poet with a name for herself, strives for her native roots and search for a new tongue. “ I search for my tongue/…I must find my tongue” (“Search for My Tongue”, Brunizem12-58). Apart from female pattern of identity prevalent in many of her poems, Bhatt writes poems that convey her awareness of being the other (Ceicile 89). Living in the west reminds Sujata Bhatt of her “Unstable Cultural Identity” and she goes back to her Indian memories in a state of loneliness: People, friends, family, voices, sounds, smells, myths and stories – draw on them while she is making her creative move into the new environment” (89).

Indianness 

These women poets have travelled across the world and speak many languages but their heart beats for their Indianness. These poets have love and respect for their Indian mythology, society, landscape, culture, language, habits, customs, clothes, food, cities and everything that is Indian in spirit. Rukmini Bhaya Nair makes use of gods, goddesses and various places. She uses the names of Indian gods and goddesses Shiva, Ganesha, Kali, Chandi, Durga, Parvati in the poem “Kali”. She makes use of Indian mythology quite often like in the poem “The Third Eye” she refers to the divine dance of Shiva called as ‘Shiv Tandava’; “Shiva knows no Bhangra/Nor the Punjabi Rap!/But he’s divine dancer/Who never takes a nap!” (“The Third Eye” 1-4). The poem “Gomata” also deals with the Indian mythology. There are references to Indian legends and holy books in the poem like the Geeta. In her poem “Eight Verses to Bhavani” Nair’s refers to strong Indian belief system where one goes to goddess “Bhavani” when one has no solution to his problem, agony and pain. The poet writes “So to you I come, I come to you/The one and only Bhavani” (“Eight verses to Bhavani” 7-8). Similarly the poems like “Kali”, “The Third Eye”, “God from Bankura”, “Buddha” showcase the poet’s love for Indian mythology. Her poems have rich texture of various geographical places in India. As Nair has widely travelled across the country so her love for India settings is quite evident in her poems. Mountains, hills, landscape, cities, villages, cuisines, all present rich Indian colour in the poems of Nair. In the poem titled “Gargi’s Silence” Nair refers to the sagacious Indian woman Gargi, pupil of the sage Yagnavalkya is known as one of the few women with great intellectual yearning and wisdom. She appears in the Upanishads, where she is threatened with dire consequences by her guru for asking too many questions; “Stop Gargi! Stop! If you ask so much, for so much/Your head will fall off-or mine.” (Yellow Hibiscus 29-30). The poem “Shalagrama” is another beautiful poem showing Indian faith in the little stone shaligrama, believed to be the metamorphosis of of God Vishnu and Toolsee (Tulsi). This oval shaped stone is a sacred stone worshipped by the Hindus. Hindu mythology says that to possess the water in which the shalagrama has been washed is efficacious for the remission of sins; “It is pretty, I grant, /Admantinecircles, rose/ And dun, imprisoning/Of all things-water!” (“Shalagrama” 3-4). She celebrates the Indian  art  in  the  poem  “Miniature  Paintings,  Upper India” [2].

Nature

Love for nature shows the tender poetic hearts of poets in any language. These women poets are also sensitive towards their nature and various aspects of nature. The title poem of Nair’s collection Yellow Hibiscus is about beautiful luminous and phosphorescent flower portraying the beauty of nature. On one hand the poet is in all praise for human efforts to protect the flower but on the other hand there is also a fear that it is the same human being that  is  tempering  dangerously  with  nature’s  design; “The yellow hibiscus exists…/Symbol of inviolate perfection/Rising from a malodorous miasma/Human, as entirely human as we are” (“Yellow Hibiscus” 7-14) The expression of various emotions are shown related to different seasons in the poem “Reasons, Ltd.”. Poet describes the characteristic feature of every season of nature responsible for the birth of particular mood. The autumn season ignites the mood of the poet; “When the vagrant/Winds of autumn sweep/Into a woman’s mind” (Yellow Hibiscus 3-5) then “She writes/To surrender, she wants/To be met...” (6-8). Summer season is reflected in the mood of the poet; “Loneliness/Like dry strokes fading/In the inkwells of her heart” (9-11) then “A woman/Writes her epitaph/With slow regret/While summer’s green lustrefades/Into death unto death…” (12-15). The spring season is responsible for the delight of the poet; “Words delight her/For just one prancing spring/They flash/And burn and dance!” (17-20). Finally, the poem ends with the winter season where “The white flowers of winter/open very late/Under moist earth…” (25-27) then the poet “wait/For meanings to root and syllables/Germinate/And in the end a woman writes as/Nature dictates…” (28-32).

Love and Romanticism 

Love is very basic emotion of human life and the poetry of these young modern women poets present this emotion in a very distinctive and unique style. They portray love in multidimensional facets. Understanding of love is different for different people and its meaning changes at different levels. Rukmini Bhaya Nair has her own perception of love. The poem “Love” also portrays the emotion of love according to the perception of individuals. The poem begins with the narrator telling about his seven year old son talking about love. Narrator’s son tells about six of his friends talking about love in the school and his expression about love is; “They were talking about/Love./ Love? /My not-quite-seven son looks sheepish, then mulish/Yeah, love” (“Love” 20-24). The expression of love seems to be immature at the school days where children don’t understand the depth and seriousness of love, for some it’s a lonely business” (58) and for some “how primitive/ this thing is, how old/ what fires have burned for it/what fantailed dances it inspires” (60-63) and “Love/is not never having to say things/it is to say things, show things/over and over and over again” (90-93). Narrator’s son becomes mature with the years and now “he is brave/… he has become his fist self-/three thousand, twelve thousand/a billion years old. . .” (112-17).

Marriage and Man Woman Relationship

Man woman relationship finds expression in the poems of these modern Indian women poets. They have their own techniques of portraying the relationship in the modern times. Sometimes the relationship is quite obvious but at times they have to be understood on the psychological ground. Marriage is also one of the important themes in the poetry of these women poets because of modern approach of people in their relationship in marriage has given new meaning to this form of social institution. It is rightly remarked tha; “Women poets treat love, growing up, tradition and rituals, sexuality and marriage and professional life in terms of the violence they inflict upon women” [3]

Women in the poetry of Rukmini Bhaya Nair are not eremophobic creature where they are stricken by the phobia of loneliness. These women are self-assured, confident, independent and for them relationship with men is a matter of choice and not a compulsion. This makes the man-woman relationship in them an equal equation. Her woman has different agenda altogether; “Not a fresh lover, strong man/Or clown but a new language/In which to hold her own”. The woman in Nair’s poetry has the mot; “Tears are not our style, erudition says it better”. In this way the poet breaks the myth of the superiority of man over woman and throws a strong challenge to Shankara, a eighth century philosopher and social reformer when she writes; “We have wrung poems from our household tasks/Carrying water child sorrow can you do as much”. In this way the poet subverts the myth of the superiority of male God; “Every man has memories of being a woman/And women know they have been gods,/At one time or another… /Ardhanarishwara”.

Death 

The poetic output of these selected post-independence Indian women poet in English have covered a wide range of themes, 'death' is also one of the prominent theme in their poetry. Sujata Bhatt’s poems like “Reincarnation” “The Difference Between Being and Becoming” draw readers attention and concern by her sense of spirituality where she writes on the aspects like death, rebirth, soul and the concept of existentialism. In the poem “Reincarnation” she writes “The wise old men/of India say/there are certain rules” (“Reincarnation”, Brunizem1-3). She further writes that the belief in Indian philosophy is that of rebirth or reincarnation: “For example, if you loved / your dog too much / in your next life you will be a dog” (4-6). In this way Bhatt immortalize the soul saying “they will be reborn, giving a second chance Bhatt through her writing comments on and poses some question on existentialism her poem “The Difference Between Being and Becoming” Sujataspeaks of the clear dichotomy posited by Post Socratic philosophy between the body and soul. This philosophy of body and soul is expressed in the following lines;

• Where does the body house the soul? 

• Locked in the attic,

• wings whirring against glass?

• No.

• These doors and windows are always are open

Sense of spirituality and Moral Values

The high virtues of poetry are to convey the message of spirituality. A poet is a torch bearer to the society showing the path of love, peace, humanity, non-violence and optimism. There are many interpretations to different aspects of spirituality in the poems of these women poets. Every poet aspires to makes the reader more sensitive towards human values, love of living beings and nature and world peace. High moral values are key to make the world a better place to live. Rukmini Bhaya Nair is very concerned for the peaceful human existence removed from all kinds of hatred and fanaticism. Her poem “FUN, FUN, FUNDA MENTAL!” is written for and with schoolchildren after the communal frenzy in Gujarat in 2002 where she strongly call those who are involved in the politics of hatred as “mental cases” (“FUN, FUN, FUNDA MENTAL!”1). Her poem is an attack for those who believe that fundamentalism are remedy to all problems; “WE ARE THE MENTAL CASES/AND WE ARE GOING PLACES!/FOR CAN’T YOU SEE, WE ARE-THE FUNDAMENTALISTS” (24-28). Her poem gives the message that there cannot be a better reply than love to all hatred in the world. The real value of human existence is not to hurt any creature. Rukmini Bhaya Nair conveys the message of humanism through her poem “Agitprop Verses: The Fundamentals” where she attacks those who forget their sensitivity and hurt the poor and weak creatures for their fun; “FUN, FUN, FUN!/Wonderful fun!/ To tie a tin can to a puppy’s tail/And see it turn, turn, turn!” (“Agitprop Verses: The Fundamentals” 1-4). Inorder to make fun and enjoy one hurts the animals and human beings; “To drive a dumb creature from her tattered home/make her run, run, run!/To hide a blind man’s stick, to set our books alight /Watch how they burn!” (5-8). She conveys a strong message that just like us every living creature in this universe deserves to live and be happy.

1. Nair, Rukmini Bhaya. Yellow Hibiscus: New and Selected Poems. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2004. Print.

2. Nair, Rukmini Bhaya. “‘This Is for You’: Emotions, Language and Postcolonialism.” Interview by Dorota Filipczak. Text Matters, vol. 3, no. 3, 2013, p. 271. Web. December 2018. https://doi.org/10.2478/texmat-2013-0042.

3. Nayar, P.K. Contemporary Indian Poetry in English: A Miscellany. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2010. Print.