A Different History by Sujata Bhatt
Great Pan is not dead;
he simply emigrated
to India.
Here, the gods roam freely,
disguised as snakes or monkeys;
every tree is sacred
and it is a sin
to be rude to a book.
It is a sin to shove a book aside
with your foot,
a sin to slam books down
hard on a table,
a sin to toss one carelessly
across a room.
You must learn how to turn the pages gently
without disturbing Sarasvati,
without offending the treefrom whose wood the paper was made.
What is Bhatt's purpose in this first section?
She introduces Pan the Greek God and encourages us to believe that his spirit is very much alive possibly disguised as an animal. See line 5. By line 6 onwards she comments on Hindu beliefs of what is sacred and how respect should be shown towards a book. She repeats the notion of sin so there must be a reason why she wants us to remember this. She uses modern language with emigrated in line 2. During the time of the Ancient Greeks when Pan was alive I am sure they wouldn't have used the word. If you feel the poet is using humour then comment on it.
Also, she uses slang, colloquial expressions. Informal language is used such as shove in line 9. She uses three verbs, all monosyllabic: shove, slam and toss-simple language to get her message across of showing respect. Her simple language is emphatic: it is in lines 7 and 9 so there is no disagreeing with the poet!
From lines 15-18 she directs her comments to her audience: "You must learn..." She uses gently which contrasts sharply with the harsher words used: shove, slam and toss. At this point she introduces Sarasvati (and there are different spellings of her name). Remember she was a Hindu Goddess (not Greek) to link her comments of respect with a book which originally came from a tree which will have been chopped down. Her tone is dictatorial, she wants to teach us about her religion.
Lineation.
The rhythm is very jerky and the lines are uneven. Some lines are end-stopped which simply means that some form of punctuation has been used at the end of each line. Others are run-on lines which is known as enjambment (French word). It is best to describe the way the poem is presented as an example of (modern) free verse where lines do not have to contain a set number of syllables (represented by feet or meter) or a particular rhyme scheme used. The poet makes up the rules, that's the beauty of poetry!
Interpretation.
Remember that poetry is open to interpretation. Anything is valid as long as you support your comments by quoting from the poem. I believe that Bhatt would like to believe that Great Pan is alive today, that his spirit is still roaming around and can be worshipped now as he was then. He is a part of history. Perhaps the word different in the title is suggesting how Bhatt would like to change this aspect of history by reinventing him as emigrating to her homeland-India.
Also, she is trying to stress the importance of sacred and respect on her audience and also what sin is, through her eyes. When she talks about her own Hindu Goddess, she is more dictatorial and possessive in stating:"You must...." It is commanding and informative.
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To be continued in Part 2...................................................................................................................
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