PRE-READING
Class between cultures creates frictions and tensions.if generation gap too joins the scene, it adds fuel to fire. it needs a lot of understanding, maturity, and persuasive skills to minimize the friction. she how an elderly woman placed in an alien culture expression her feelings and eagerness to go back to her native culture.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The poem compares ones native culture with that of the developed/modern society. it also highlights the difficulties elderly persons face when placed in such a situation. The poet is at her artistic height in opening the poem with a rhetorical question. she uses poetic devices like irony and repetition to present her viewpoint. The use of simple style to present profound ideas in a subtle way makes the poet's skill and poem remarkable. The poem brings out the difference in the lifestyles of two different generations and possible friction arising out of it. The reader is at once compelled to think about it- preferably to find a way out.The mother of a well-settled son in a foreign land pours out her feelings here. The culture here is shockingly different from the one she was born and has grown up in. she is surprised to see that the windows and doors are always closed. she loves to listen to the sounds of birds, wind, and rain. But the sounds that trouble her here are the drone of a furanace fan, the hiss of hot blasts and the whoosh of washing machines. cooking to her is an everyday affair wears it is a Sunday business here. Men and women easily shaking hands with one another are difficult for her to accept. stale smells suffocate her. the absence of welcoming rangoli in the porch also upsets her. in spite of all this, she says she is happy to see her son prosper. she appreciates him for bringing her all the to his place. yet she longs to go back to her usual sights and sounds.
