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Soft Storm by Abhi Subedi
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Soft Storm by Abhi Subedi
MAIN SUMMARY
Soft Storm by Abhi Subedi
This poem "Soft Storm" is composed by Abhi Subedi, a prolific poet, playwright, and critic. In this poem, poet Abhi Subedi ponders the absurdities of tumultuous times with a touch of compassion. This poem is based on the observation and analysis of the keynote speaker or the poet. Here in this poem, we find nine different verses of irregular length where the word "I became soft" has formed a rhythmic melody. During his observation during the night, the speaker of the poem feels very sad to find the absurdity in his surroundings. He travels to different places in Kathmandu Valley and experiences various negativities, which have saddened him in a very soft and aggressive manner. He is not satisfied to find his dissatisfaction with the overall aspects of his place and all these absurdities of the tumultuous times. The speaker of this poem has presented the bitter truth of our country as well as those people's places where various negativities have affected the lives of the people. Here, the word "soft" is used in a variety of situations, indicating the speaker's sadness and aggression. The speaker of this poem has softened in various circumstances. He has put forth various situations like a tumult, mysterious silence, pointless gossip about politics, rituals, and reason, a barbarously uninterrupted city, the indifferent relationship between human beings, hunger, crying, the condition of children and mothers, crime, suffering, oppression, fake promises, e.t.c. The speaker of the poem has satirised all these worse aspects as well as the people of his place, where so-called law and order prevail. He has tried to present the bitter reality of his night here.
The speaker becomes soft (sad) to find the disorders in his surroundings. He expresses his fear of being part of the mysterious calmness in this lawless and barbaric city where crimes, as well as negativities, take place at any time.
The speaker says that his softness is by birth. He finds vast differences between the beautiful sky over this land, which grows like Irish flowers. He feels good, but the condition of this particular land under the sky isn't good at all. He finds flowers blooming over the stones. These flowers keep on growing taller, which isn't a good sign. This is the anarchism that he finds in this lawless land everywhere.
During the nighttime, he observes the activities of the moon and even hears its song against this ugly land where there is uselessness everywhere.
When the speaker observes the nighttime moon that skids down and its rays fall on the people's houses' walls, the beautiful rays of the moon even speak of the social negativity of people prevalent in society.
The moon seems dissatisfied to find people's uselessness in every place. People's lives are totally entangled in their so-called political aspects, promotional posters on walls, their variety of reasonings and rituals, etc. The speaker grows soft seeing all these social negativities among people in his place.
The speaker's softness (anger) grows like a light breeze that makes him feel mentally disturbed to find the environmental disorders in his place.
He feels mentally weary of seeing this lawless city with pollution everywhere. The moon even has a very bad expression that sings the story of old lampposts and odour gutters through its song in this lawless city.
The speaker experiences the miserable condition of homeless and hungry children in the fascinating city of Thamel. He hears the cries of hungry children under the bat-bearing trees of Kesharmahal. These poor children have been spending their miserable nights under those trees in Kesharmahal, where blood-sucking mammals are present. This scene makes the speaker so sad. The fascinating city of Kathmandu and its rich people seem quite indifferent towards these innocent and hungry children. The very concept of humanity is somewhat missing among these so-called rich people.
The speaker grows soft when he comes back from a confusing state (mele). He doesn't get an idea whether there is a celebration or hunger. He finds the ceremony in fascinating places where people dance with mad steps. He finds these mad steps in the unwedded garden of history. All these very mad steps have been growing around protruding rocks.
After this, the speaker softens again to look at human affairs. He has a variety of feelings about these discrepancies and tries to leave his deepest words on the pages of white sheets. He has a lot of ideas to bring about change, but his ideas are limited to white pages only. He finds the most negativity when he turns around and sees these people in his society alone. He writes his feelings on white sheets after seeing the bad activities of all the people. He doesn't get a proper place to express his soft storm except on the white sheets. This activity of the speaker reflects the dissatisfaction of most of the Nepalese people, who have immense feelings towards the negativity prevailing in Nepalese society.
Next, the speaker becomes soft again when he sees a small, deserted child in the corridors of violent history. He seems miserable and lonely. He is carrying a radio transistor around his neck and running here and there in search of his mother, who is missing in the lawless streets of violent history. The child is crying a lot to find his mother. This scene reflects the bitter reality of this barbaric land where mothers, sisters, etc. are obligated to indulge themselves in illegal activities. Many Nepali females are part of this particular lost world. They have become the victims of poverty or crime.
In the next stanza, the speaker again softens upon seeing an illegal act in his surroundings. He sees a man who is brutally thrashed by unknown criminals in front of his family members.
The speaker does not refer to this time as a sensible time when any crime can be committed fearlessly. The scene depicts this special, chaotic land where there is no guarantee of the safety of people's lives and criminals are fearlessly committing their crimes. The speaker feels very sad to see the barbaric acts of human beings against human beings.
After this, the speaker again presents the inhuman act. Seeing the bloodied shirt of the injured man on this barbaric and ungodly land under the moon in the far corner, the speaker becomes soft again. The man is seriously injured, and he is screaming for help with his cleft lips in the ear of this earth. His cry cannot be heard. He cries in pain and asks for help, but people are so indifferent. Nobody cares about him and his pain. This earth under the moon is the land of history and dreams, but people on this earth are far away from the concept of humanity. All people are ostentatious and selfish in living their so-called lives. Not all of them have feelings about the lives of others. They are playing hide-and-seek in these open museums (of various human inhabitants) of human times. Here, his time is called the human period, but there is no concept regarding humanity. Everyone is living a so-called human life wearing a fake mask of humanity.
After this, the speaker becomes soft on ignoring the words (promises) given in this country. It is a land of promises, where many promises are made for the welfare of the people. The speaker feels bad to find people who give kind words and forget to complete them. According to him, promises are made only to deceive the gullible. These words have not been heard and have always remained unfinished. The speaker threatens the acts of the so-called leaders and warns them of the consequences of their actions. He talks about the storm and its Leela.
Because of these fake promises and their acts, the speaker tells them about the storms and their Leela (a divine play) in this barbaric land of silent stones. This indicates the deceit of the so-called leaders towards the common Nepali people.
Next, the speaker talks about a storm (anger) that has turned from disproportionately optimistic aspects. This verse presents the speaker's inner storm and its transformation. Here, we look at some of the positive aspects of this land. According to him, he had seen crocuses on top of the stone on the previous moonlit night, when storms slowly moved through the narrow streets. At that time, he too thoughtfully walked alone in tears of rain. After this, he also saw a small form of the sun, which rose slightly in the sky and then melted and became a beautiful rainbow. These lines depict the tremendous concept of transformation from evil to good. Apart from all these problems prevailing in the land, there is hope for good aspects.
Later, the speaker talks about his storm (anger). He says that his storm continues to grow into violent, uncontrolled anger at various things that he has experienced in human courts. His anger rises against the silent pages that are worthless and are ruling this land, the silent stones where speechlessness has made humans dumb, the silent deserted shirts that carry memories of bloody wars, and the silent ruins of the gods. The abode where dance and song are helplessly buried under divine debris (ruins). All these things make the speaker very angry.
The speaker, while talking to the people of his place, said that softness is what they saw in the form of violence and disorder in their surroundings. He has a kind of respect for the moonlight of the people falling on this special land. They believe that the violence and disorder here in this land have been created by crazy times, which have fueled everything negatively. He describes time as a crazy time, which has created the worst situation for all. Because of this crazy time, everything we see and live with has become worse. In this country of vices, everything seems to be reversed. Here in this land, flowers are seen growing over the stone, the moon sings under the old lamppost and the history of the barren as well as the deforested land, the birds sing about the strange journeys on this warm land, rhododendrons are seen growing in winter, Mother Earth looks sad, and sad birds sing about eerie and mysterious stillness in songs. All these abnormalities have created this disorder here on this land.
In the final verse, the speaker wishes for himself and expresses his desire to be in these particularly difficult times. According to him, he wants to melt like a rainbow during this difficult time. He says that his gentle storm (inner rage) lingers in this little sky of the land of these people and even dances in an uneasy lake quite disturbingly. What he means here is that his gentle storm keeps seeing and criticising the faults of the people of this barbaric land.
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POEMS IMPORTANT QUESTIONS' SOLUTION PACK
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Soft Storm by Abhi Subedi
BEFORE READING
Answer the following questions.
a. Have you ever grown sad/happy observing things around you?
Answer:
Yes, I have grown happy as well as sad observing things around me. It depends on the conditions, which direct my emotions in different ways.
b. Point out three things you are not happy about within your surroundings.
Answer:
Following are the three things I'm not happy about in my surroundings:
1. Seeing people waste their time on useless gossip about politics.
2. Seeing protests by people and vandalism in the city.
3. Finding miserable conditions for poor people in different places.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Answer the following questions.
a. When does the speaker grow soft? Enlist the occasions when he grows soft.
Answer:
The speaker grows soft on various occasions. Following are some of the occasions when he grows soft:
1. After he hears the tumult and crashes into the mysterious stillness,
2. When the sky grows like the flowers over the stones and grows five inches taller.
3. When the moon skids down the walls, speaking the language of posters, politics, rituals, and reasons.
4. When the moon sings of lampposts and gutters in the seamless city.
5. When he sees homeless children crying with hunger,.
6. When he sees ceremony dances with mad steps on the unwedded gardens of history,.
7. When he tries to express his dissatisfaction in words on the white sheets,.
8. When he observes a helpless child running and crying to find his mother in a violent environment,.
9. When he sees a man being beaten mercilessly without any reason in hard times,.
10. When he sees a blood-stained shirt in this lawless land of history and dreams,.
11. When people's words are ignored.
b. What do you understand by ‘this seamless city’?
Answer:
"This seamless city" means the city where there is no interruption. This is the kind of city where everything is moving or exchanged in the trade without any entrances. This seamless city might also signify the city of Kathmandu, where plenty of disorders are prevalent. Here we can find illegal activities, pollution, the pain of poor people, so-called rituals and reasons, useless posters, political gossip, etc.
c. Describe the poor children portrayed in the poem.
Answer:
The speaker has mentioned the poor children in the second and third stanzas of the poem. Here, poor children have been portrayed in their miserable conditions in the fascinating city of Kathmandu. These children are homeless and parentless. They have been portrayed crying with hunger and poverty under the bat-bearing trees of Kesharmahal in Thamel. These children seem deprived of the fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution. The trees have been presented with blood-sucking mammals and bats just above the heads of poor and hungry kids. The city of ceremonies, mad steps of dance, and romance is quite indifferent towards these poor children. Here, a small, poor boy has been presented running around crying to find his mother in the corridors of violent history.
d. What do you understand by ‘the unwedded gardens of history’?
Answer:
The poet often expresses deep sympathy for the chaotic and nostalgic society existing in the various suburbs of Kathmandu city and symbolically depicts the unwedded gardens of history. Continually, the Kathmandu valley has been wrapped around its cultural authority without embellishing it as a wedding or a bride. Flowers grown on the fertile lands of these gardens have been plucked and destroyed. Their fight is not centred, but they are broken and scattered, so the unmarried women suffer. The crazy steps are dancing to monstrous and demonic rhythms. The unmarried garden refers to the chaotic country valley without any authority of its own.
Answer in Short:
By 'unwedded gardens of history' we understand the unaffected past events of the society, which literally means the state of anarchy created by social and political hegemony in Nepalese society.
e. Why was the forlorn child wailing?
Answer:
The forlorn (poor) child was wailing (crying) because his mother was lost, and he was wandering around to find his mother, who was suffering in the corridors of violent history. The poet indirectly talks about the storm over the women and girls who may be around the Thamel, or Unmarried Gardens of History.
Answer in short:
A forlorn child was crying because he found his mother and other relatives and loved ones missing in contemporary society.
f. What do you understand by ‘soft storm’?
Answer:
The storm moves violently or furiously, but the poet produces a soft storm that calms down, and the magma that is suppressed to erect is volcanic lava. Such a soft storm is an internally consolidated feeling of revolution and oppression due to a chaotic and behaviorless society. The poet dislikes situations, so the ocean of the poet's heart is rising with a stormy temperature, but it has not exploded.
Alternative Answer:
By 'soft storm', we understand the inner turbulent feelings of the speaker in an environment of chaotic society and chaos. Storm simply means bad weather, but to associate soft with it means turbulent times, which the poet sees in contemporary society.
g. Why does the speaker call our time ‘mad time’?
Answer:
The speaker calls our time'mad time' because here at this time he feels so bad to see so many inhuman activities around. For those people who do not have power, the situation has been brutal. They may be buried under divine debris or various natural calamities. The speaker finds that the man has been brutally beaten for no reason, hence creating a chaotic, merciless, and grim culture everywhere during this time. This time is so disastrous because the speaker experiences unusual changes in his surroundings. He finds flowers over the stones, moon sings of so-called aspects of the valley, mad steps of people, cries of hunger and pain, lawlessness, barbarism, rhododendron in winter, violence etc.
Alternative Answer:
The speaker calls our time'mad time' in the sense that this time is not under the control of the constitution or the law of the nation. He sees corruption everywhere in society, favouritism, political and social injustice among people, animal laws in practice, and degradation of nature.
h. What does the speaker want to do in “hard times”?
Answer:
In "hard times," the speaker wants to end his soft storm in one's little sky and on his feet. He wants it to melt like a rainbow, and he wants to turn his aggressive thoughts into a creative, beautiful natural dance. He wants to turn it into an atmosphere of love and flow in the waves of someone on his lake so that someone becomes generous.
Alternative Answer:
The speaker wants to melt like a rainbow in "hard times" because he is soft-hearted by nature.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. The poet uses the word ‘soft’ with the words like ‘storm’ and ‘gale’, which generally refer to disorder and violence. What effect does the poet achieve through the use of such anomalous expressions?
Answer:
By anomalous expressions, we mean those sentences that are well-formed syntactically but are meaningless from the point of view of meanings. The most famous examples in poetry are soft storms' and 'tenderness rose like a gale, which are normal or expected but contradictory. Through this, the poet achieves psychological, social, political, and environmental influences. He combines two contrasting ideas to express his inner experiences, which he feels in a contemporary, oppressed society.
b. What is the speaker's attitude towards the time mentioned in the poem?
Answer:
Here in this poem, we find the observation and analysis of the speaker during the night. He seems to be travelling under the moon and experiencing lots of unexpected and unusual things in his valley. Here, we find his negative attitude towards the time. He finds mad time in a seamless city where most of the things are moving and happening in a very lawless manner. He finds societies, people, things, etc. going in the wrong direction. His attitude towards the time makes him feel so bad. He experiences hard times everywhere in his city due to disorder and lawlessness.
c. What is the speaker like? Is he a rebel? Why? Why not?
Answer:
The speaker looks like a rebel. He seems quite dissatisfied to find his city out of control. He experiences unusual things happening in his surroundings. As he experiences the things around him, he starts analysing the situations and becoming a rebel. He seems completely dissatisfied, and he expresses his anger through his words. We can find his rebellious nature in the lines of the poem. He seems to go against all these unusual things happening in his surroundings. Here, his rebellious nature is not presented in radical form; rather, it is presented in a soft and suppressed form.
d. Explain the stanza below in your own words:
I became soft
when I saw
a blood-stained shirt
speaking in the earth’s ears
with bruised human lips
in the far corner
under the moon
of history and dreams
playing hide and seek
in open museums
of human times.
Answer:
Explanation:
These lines have been taken from Abhi Subedi's poem "Soft Storm". Here, in the fourth stanza of the poem, the speaker is expressing his feelings, which he has experienced in his city during the nighttime.
Here we find the use of different images by the speaker, which makes him feel so bad about his place and the people in complete disorder. The speaker expresses his uneasy feelings when he sees a person in a miserable condition during the night. The speaker experiences softness when he sees a person in pain with a blood-stained shirt. The person is lying on the ground under the moon. The man with his bruised lips tries to call out for help, but the land of history and dreams under the moon and its people seem quite indifferent towards the victim. The play of hide and seek is seen among people where there is no place for humanity. The open museum of human time refers to the lawless time where people are quite indifferent and self-centred.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. Write an essay, highlighting your dissatisfaction towards social, cultural, economic and political issues prevailing in Nepal at present.
Answer:
My Dissatisfaction towards various Issues Prevailing in Nepal at Present
My name is Suraj Bhatt. I'm a teacher by profession. I'm a citizen of Nepal. Nepal is a small but beautiful country. I feel proud to be a citizen of this beautiful country. Various issues are prevailing in Nepal at present, which makes me feel so bad. Different people with different mentalities have their own likes and dislikes. In the present time, I'm really very disappointed to find social, cultural, economic, and political issues moving on the wrong track and against the people. Everywhere, there is corruption and greed among people. There is no concept regarding humanity and welfare. We find disorders and lawlessness in the present time. People are quite indifferent towards each other. Selfishness has blinded people in the very worst way. I feel quite bad to see these varieties of issues in my surroundings. Following are the issues that I oppose all the time.
Social issue:
A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. I'm quite against communalism, casteism, regionalism, poverty, gender discrimination, etc. These problems are destroying our country each day.
Cultural issue:
A cultural issue is a problem that occurs when culture conflicts with systems, goals, or other cultures. Most of the cases in Nepal are connected to cultural issues. People of different cultural groups are seen struggling for their cultural identities. They seem much more concerned about their cultural identities than with the concept of nationalism. Due to this issue, Nepal is facing an unexpected crisis most of the time.
Economic issue:
In Nepal, the economic issue is one of the major problems. The government of Nepal is facing this issue most of the time. This issue has always been part of Nepal's economic degradation. Political instability, widespread corruption, landlocked locations, difficult topography, poor infrastructure, a poorly trained and educated workforce, and a weak policy and regulatory environment have been some of the key hindrances to economic growth. I oppose all these leaders of Nepal for the bad economic status of Nepal, where the poor have miserable lives.
Political issue:
This is one of the worst problems in Nepal, due to which the government of Nepal has been facing lots of problems for many years. It is the major cause behind all the crises in Nepal. Here in this country, those who don't know about politics are leading ignorant people. Everywhere, there is gossip related to politics and parties. Politics and its fields have become the source of income for all. People are living with so-called political faith. Money plays a very vital role in this dirty game of politics. The election system, votes for candidates, etc. depend on monetary power. Due to this political issue, the whole country is facing more problems each day.
b. Suppose you are a rebel, wants to change the society by eliminating malpractices and anomalies prevailing in society. Draft a speech outlining your vision for change.
Answer:
Good morning, everyone.
Respected chief guests, ladies and gentlemen, and my dear friends. I am Suraj Bhatt. I would like to welcome you all to this programme. I would like to thank all the members of our society who are present here in a united effort to fight against all the malpractices and anomalies prevalent in our society. The development of society is directly connected with the development of the entire nation. When societies get developed, the nation itself moves ahead on the path of progress. In the present time, talking about most societies in Nepal, there are varieties of malpractices and anomalies prevalent in our societies. These bad aspects of society have made our societies so weak and backward. These malpractices and anomalies are the major factors that hinder the development of our society as well as our country. Our country, Nepal, is facing many social problems at present. There are varieties of problems, such as the caste system, child labour, child marriage, alcoholism, illiteracy, gender inequality, superstition, religious conflict, and so on. Most Nepalese societies oppose all these bad aspects, but these aspects have moved ahead at a great and unbelievable pace. It's time to raise our voices against all these malpractices and anomalies. We should be united to root out all these bad aspects of our societies. In the context of our society, we have seen all these bad aspects in front of our eyes. We have seen the young generation of our society addicted to alcoholism. If we can't control this bad aspect in time, we will have to face the dark future of our society. Still, there is biassed behaviour among people in the matter of caste class. People are still discriminated against in the name of lower castes. In the 21st century, people are still struggling for their identities. We have seen the problems of child labour and child marriage in our society. Our constitution has mentioned the rights of children in various acts. Small kids are the future of the nation. It is our social responsibility to care for our society's children, whether they are moving to school or obligated to labour. We should be united to protest child marriage. Kids are not for labour as well as marriage. They should be encouraged to study. We should always try our best to eliminate these malpractices from our society. We should always be ready to inform illiterate people. Education should be given preference all the time. Problems like gender inequality, superstition, and religious conflict are quite fatal problems that cause upheavals in our society. Society never progresses if these evils exist in it. We have to be serious about these problems and act against them to have an ideal society. At last, I would like to request all my society's members once again to act against all these malpractices and anomalies prevalent in our society. Thank you very much.
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