ENGLISH Answer the Questions [S.U.][2 MARKS]

The dictionary meaning of ‘diaspora’ is “the movement of people from any nation or group away from their own country”. The. narration, ‘The Ghat of the Only World’ describes many Indians living in the United States, away from their motherland. Shahid lived in Manhattan and later shifted to Brooklyn. His sister taught at the Pratt Institute. Amitav Ghosh lived a few blocks away. Though the narrator and Shahid lived in United States they loved Rogan Josh, Begum Akhtar and Kishore Kumar. Shahid had a passionate love for ’ Kashmir so that he wanted to go back to Kashmir to die.

Shahid spoke to the narrator about his approaching death for the first time on 25th April 2001. After a long conversation, Shahid wished that the narrator should write something on him. The narrator tried to console him that he would be fine soon, but the poet seemed to have accepted his fate with dignified grace. The narrator, at last, agreed to the poet’s request. Shahid never lost courage when the tests revealed that he had malignant tumour. He bore all the discomfort with fortitude even when he was about to undergo the surgery. He remained a fighter and preferred to walk rather than sitting on a wheel chair, in his last moments, he was at peace with himself and talked about meeting his mother in the life after death.

The author Amitav Ghosh’s write up on Shahid reveals that the poet was a multi-faceted personality. Even the dreadful disease of cancer could not break his spirit. He was a fighter and never lost courage in the face of misfortune. He refused to take the help of the wheelchair while in hospital and preferred to walk on his feet. He was an extremely gifted teacher as well. Shahid was a profound lover of good poetry, good music and good food. He, himself, was a good poet and always enjoyed the company of poets and writers. His wit and sense of humour were also unique. Basically, he was a secular man. The political situation and violence hurt him so much that his poem’s central theme became Kashmir. He was a gifted person, indeed.

‘Ghat’ is an Urdu word also used in Hindi which means the place at a riverbank from where boats sail off with passengers to the other side. Here ‘the only world’ is a symbol of man’s life on this earth and the ‘Ghat’ is the bank (point of death) from where a man departs for another world. Thus it is the only death which takes a man to the other side. ‘Ghat’ is simply used as a metaphor for death. Shahid dreamt he was at the ‘Ghat’ of the only world-the world of the gone. He was to bid adieu to the world of the living. Having gone past pangs of life he was cradling “in supreme consolation”, that is, “I love to think that I’ll meet my mother in the afterlife if there is an afterlife.”

Shahid faced his death with extraordinary courage. The dreadful disease of cancer could not break the spirit and never lost courage in the face of misfortune. He thought he was to meet with his mother after life. Once before his death, he was in hospital and escort came to him with a wheelchair. He refused to take help of a wheelchair and preferred to walk on his own. However, when he walked a few steps he could not proceed forward. The attendant was called again. A kind of joy came upon him, when the hospital orderly returned with the wheelchair, he gave him a smile and asked where he was from. The man said that he was from Ecuador. He clapped his hands and said at the top of his voice that he always wanted to learn Spanish in order to read Lorca.

Once Amitav Ghosh happened to accompany Iqbal, Shahid’s brother, and Hena, his sister, on a trip to fetch him home from hospital. By that time Shahid had already been through several unsuccessful operations. Now he was back in hospital to undergo a surgical procedure that was intended to relieve the pressure on his brain. His head was shaved and the shape of the tumour was visible upon his bare scalp, its edges outlined by metal sutures/stitches. When it was time to leave the ward a blue-uniformed hospital escort arrived with a wheelchair. Shahid waved him away, declaring that he was strong enough to walk out of the hospital on his own.

Shahid was secular in his outlook. He remained a firm believer in the separation of religion and politics. His outlook was all-inclusive. In his childhood, he wanted to create a small Hindu temple in his room in Shrinagar. His mother bought him the idols and other things. He hated fanaticism.

Shahid was quite witty. Once a lady security guard at Barcelona airport stopped him. She asked what he was doing in Spane. “writing poetry” he said. Finally, the woman asked if he was carrying anything that could be dangerous to other passengers. Shahid clapped a hand to his chest and cried; “only my heart.”

Shahid was very social. There was never an evening when there was not a party in his living room. There were always some half dozen or more people gathered inside. They included poets, students, writers and relatives. Someone would always be cooking or making tea in the kitchen. Almost to the very end, he was ‘endless mela of talk, laughter, food and of course, poetry.

Love for poetry and literature bound the narrator with Shahid. His work “The country Without a Post Office” made a deep impression on the narrator. They had common friends in Delhi as well as in America. Love for Rogan Josh, Roshanara Begam and Kishore Kumar further cemented their friendship. Both of them were fond of Bombay films and had a mutual indifference of Cricket.

The narrator tried to console Shahid that he would be fine again. Shahid ignored his assurance and cut him short. He requested the narrator to write something after his death. The narrator was shocked into silence. But Shahid insisted on extracting a promise. The narrator finally promised to write something after his death.

• Shahid Ali was a witty writer and person. Once when he was travelling, a lady security guard at the Barcelona airport stopped him. She asked him what he was doing in Spain. He said that he was writing poetry.
• She was puzzled so she bluntly asked him if he was carrying anything that could be dangerous to others passengers. Shahid clapped a hand to his chest and said that the only dangerous thing he was carrying was his heart.

• The word ‘diaspora’ means a migration of people and continuing with their language and culture in the new place thereby spreading it. With reference to lesson, ‘The Ghat of the only world’ we come across quite some Indian diaspora in the United States like Shahid Ali, the narrator Amitav Ghosh, Shahid’s family members, Suketu Mehta and others.
• These people lived far away from their motherland but were close to their roots. They shared a sense of unity and closeness which can be made out from their meeting each other on many occasions.