[Reader-list] Surat: Entry in the city

[sadan at sarai.net]

"Surat? Ah yes,
Once only I stayed in Surat
with family members
of my uncle's very old friend,
his wife was cooking nicely...
that was long time ago..."
For the full poem see, http://audiopoetry.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/goodbye-party-for-miss-pushpa-ts

Like many other crucial functions, cities have been sites of memories too.
The memory of this city of Surat comes alive at the moment of departure of
Miss Pushpa, in this poem by Nissim Ezekiel.  It is a "good bye party for
miss Pushpa T.S." 'She is departing for foreign'. The poet writes,
"Miss Pushpa is coming
from very high family.
Her father was renowned advocate
in Bulsar or Surat,
I am not remembering now
which place".
As a history student, my immidiate impulsive responsibility is to find the
date when this poem was composed, at least date of of publication is
necessary. The geographical setting of this party, the social environment,
the literary form and the affective charge are some of the primary areas
needed to be attended by any researcher.
I am informed,
"Ezekiel( 24December 1924- 9 January 2004) belonged to Mumbai's tiny,
Marathi-speaking Bene Israel Jewish community, which never experienced
anti-semitism. They were descended from oil-pressers who sailed from
Galilee around 150BC, and, shipwrecked off the Indian subcontinent,
settled, intermarried and forgot their Hebrew, yet maintained the Sabbath.
There were 20,000 Bene Israel in India 60 years ago; now, only 5,000
remain". He stayed while his relatives left gradually for Israel. This same
Guardian article by Lawrence Joffe( 9March, 2004) that maps his life sketch
also informs that "Ezekiel's poetry described love, loneliness, lust,
creativity and political pomposity, human foibles and the "kindred clamour"
of urban dissonance".
 I want to know more on this poet and his poems. But I am more interested
to know about Bene Israel Jewish community in India, particulary in western
part of this country. The linkages between this community and the city of
Surat. However, before moving to a rapidly declining community and its
association with Surat, that boasts its multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
past ties, A brief pause at memory, literature and the city would be more
pertinant. This is not merely because we began thinking about Miss Pushpa
as a moment when the memory about the city came alive, memory of a visit to
Surat. This is also because the space of the city of Surat is grounded and
translated in and through the memories of specific experiences( i.e. visit
to a fmaily, nicely cooked food etc.) and figures (family members, uncle's
old friend, figure of a wife  through the act of cooking etc) and we come
face to face with the placeness about the city. This transition from the
space to place-ness is mediated here through the memory randered in specfic
literary form, poetry. The question that needs attention is how to
conceptualise this relation between the city, memory and literature in
general and with poetry in particular.
Any comment is welcome as the project is at its infant stage.
sadan.