Text -an unknown girl-moniza alvi

Answer 1

I love this poem! I think the poem goes like this: A western girl is visiting India, and falls in love with the culture, and the place. The positive language, of India, such as "in the evening bazaar studded with neon" shows her fascination of it. "studded" is a word used for jewels, and for her to be describing the light like that to a market, well then the place must be really special to her. Then secondely, the "unknown girl" marks a special place in the speaker's heart. She is touched by her, and this is yet again seen through language like "she is icing my hand". "icing" is a baking metaphor so this is a quite intimite image showing care and attention. At the end of the poem, though she cannot really be Indian, and she can appreciate Indian culture, and the place, but she cannot however belong there. That is why her hennaid hand is going to be washed away, after a week. Her hanneid hand will fade away as her experience in India perhaps. India is symbolized by the tattoe. Her memories will fade away just as the temporalily tattoe will too. The poem ends with a yearning tone, the speaker's longing for a country she can lean on, but never be part of.

i do however have a little interpretation of my own. The unknown girl could symbolize herself, she is searching for her identity, but she cannot however find it.