A Photograph by Shirley Toulson

 A Photograph by Shirley Toulson



             

The poetess looks at the cardboard on which there is a childhood photograph of her mother. In the photograph her mother had gone for a sea holiday with two her cousins Betty and Dolly for paddling. Their uncle took a photograph of them. Both the cousins were holding the hands of her mother who was the eldest among the girls. This was before the poetess was born. Her mother would look at the photograph after about twenty to thirty years and laugh nostalagically. Now for the poetess, her mother’s laughter and her sea holiday is a thing of the past. Because her mother died about 12 years ago. The silence of the photograph silences the poetess. She experiences great loss.


कवयित्री उस गत्ते (कार्डबोर्ड) को देखती है, जिस पर उसकी माँ के बचपन की एक तस्वीर लगी हुई है। उस तस्वीर में उसकी माँ अपने दो चचेरी बहनों, बेट्टी और डॉली के साथ समुद्र किनारे छुट्टियाँ मनाने गई हुई थी और वे पानी में खेल रही थीं। उनके मामा (अंकल) ने उनकी यह तस्वीर खींची थी। दोनों बहनें उसकी माँ का हाथ पकड़े हुए थीं, जो उन तीनों में सबसे बड़ी थी। यह सब उस समय की बात है जब कवयित्री का जन्म भी नहीं हुआ था।

लगभग बीस से तीस साल बाद उसकी माँ उस तस्वीर को देखती थी और पुरानी यादों में खोकर हँसती थी। लेकिन अब कवयित्री के लिए उसकी माँ की वह हँसी और समुद्र किनारे बिताया गया समय सिर्फ अतीत की बात बनकर रह गया है, क्योंकि उसकी माँ का लगभग 12 साल पहले निधन हो चुका है। तस्वीर की खामोशी कवयित्री को भी मौन कर देती है। वह गहरे दुःख और खोने का एहसास करती है।

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost

Image
  Dust of Snow ‘Dust of Snow’ is a beautiful short poem written by Robert Frost. This poem tells us the importance of simple moment. It contains a large significance. The poet has mentioned crow and hemlock tree in this poem. The poet was in depressed and sorrowful mood. A crow was sitting on a hemlock tree which is a poisonous tree. The crow shook the tree and dust of snow falls on the poet. It changed the poet's mood and he saved part of his day. Summary: Dust of Snow  The poem is set on a cold, snowy day. The poet, Robert Frost, is in a very sad, hopeless, and depressed mood. He mentions a Crow and a Hemlock tree . In literature, both are usually seen as negative symbols (a crow is often associated with bad luck, and a hemlock tree is poisonous).  While the poet is standing under the tree, a crow shakes the branch. This action causes fine particles of snow (the "dust of snow") to fall on the poet.  This sudden, tiny natural event instantly changes the poet’s inte...
Read more

The Black Aeroplane

Image
The Black Aeroplane “The Black Aeroplane” is a story about a pilot who is flying his old Dakota airplane DS 088 at night from Paris to London. He is happy because he wants to reach home and have a good breakfast with his family. The sky is clear at first, but soon he sees big dark storm clouds in front of him. He does not want to go back, so he decides to fly into the storm. Inside the storm, everything becomes dark and dangerous. The plane starts shaking, and the pilot cannot see anything. His compass stops working, and his fuel is almost finished. He becomes very afraid and thinks he will die. Suddenly, he sees another black aeroplane flying near him. The pilot of that plane signals him to follow. He follows the strange plane through the storm. After some time, he comes out of the clouds and safely lands at the airport. After landing, he asks about the other plane. But the woman in the control room tells him that no other plane was flying that night. The pilot is surprised and wonder...
Read more