PAKISTANI CULTURE AND TRADITION IN TAUFIQ RAFAT POETRY

 The main motive of jotting down this document is to explore the cultural aspects in the writing. First of all we need to see that what is meant by culture in order to grasp the true gist of topic.

“Culture corresponds to the part of society created by man”

“Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people encompassing  language,  religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts”

Now let’s explore cultural and traditional elements prevalent in the poetry of Taufiq Raffat. 

TAUFIQ RAFFAT  

Taufiq Rafat (1927-1998) was a pioneer literary figure of Pakistan that had contributed a lot in English literature. He has left his influence on many other famous writers. Raffat is considered to be a pioneer figure in the field of English poetry that emerges from Pakistan. His poetry reflects emotions and sensibilities of Pakistani society. Moreover he had contributed a lot through his writings representing the true culture and tradition of Pakistani society.

REFLECTION OF SOCIETY IN WEDDING IN THE FLOOD: 

Taufiq Rafat’s flagship work “Wedding in the Flood” is a realistic depiction of the culture and tradition of Pakistani society. He in his work exposes the typical mentality or psychology of Pakistani social apparatus. Moreover in this poem, the poet has explicitly portrayed the economic constraints as well as some ironical situations to expose the evils of our society.

• SENTIMENTS OF MOTHER: 

At the start of poem we have an objective depiction of sentiments of a mother who is grieving over the marriage and departure of her beloved daughter.

“They are taking my girl away forever sobs the bride’s mother”

There can be many reasons behind the concern of a mother.

• Ø     Departure of daughter.
• Ø     How her daughter will adjust herself among strangers?

“How will she fare in that cold house, among these stranger?”

Here Taufiq Rafat has highlighted an important aspect of our society where in-laws of the daughter are usually referred to as strangers.

Well! We can say that the poem starts with a weak voice of a mother who is concerned and confused about his daughter. This attitude is a realistic depiction of psychology of Pakistani mother.

• MYTHS:

“The girl has been licking too many pots”

Unfortunately, in the rural settings of Pakistani society our people blindly believe in myths or omens without any logic and reasoning. This is partly because of the lack of education among masses.

Here Taufiq Rafat has unleashed a very important, yet ridiculous myth .i.e. if a bride is involved in licking pots then there are chances of heavy rain and thunder on the day of her marriage.

• DOWRY:

Dowry has become a part and parcel of our society. It is submerged in our social setup to extents that now we can’t control it. It is an evil that has spread like an epidemic in our traditional setup. Now a days dowry is associated with honor and respect in the society. Rafat has also criticized this menace of dowry in his work, because in Pakistan it has become an issue of concern for Pakistani women. This poem is a pungent criticism on self-conceited and greedy mindset where dowry and materialistic possessions are far more important than the humans.

“A cot, a looking glass, a tin trunk”

The description of articles is a clear depiction of a family living below poverty line, yet striving hard to arrange Dowry for their beloved daughter. Unfortunately, poor segments of the society have to face intense social pressure in this regard.

Even the Groom who is blessed with a wife is not happy with the dowry, instead he is putting some conditions as

“If her face matches her hands,

And she gives me no mother-in law problems

I’ll forgive her the cot and trunk”

Here owing to conditional doctrine groom has imposed certain conditions upon the acceptance of the dowry which makes this marriage merely an agreement.

Here Rafat has bitterly criticized an important and bitter reality of our society, where a male thinks that he has done a huge favour in marrying a girl so now his in-laws have to full fill his demands.

• FEARS OF BRIDE:

We all know that marriage is considered to be an important event in the life of an individual. People across the globe try their best to make their occasion memorable and happy. But in our culture bride on her marriage has a lot of fears in her mind and heart. The sentiments, fears, and concerns of a Pakistani bride are artistically portrayed in the following lines as:

“It is dark in the Plankeen, thinks the bride”

“Not a familiar face around me”

On her way to new home, the bride continuously thinks about her adjustment in new family setup. She silently prays to God for a good and kind hearted husband that will take her care in that new home.

“What sort of a man is my husband “

• PSYCHOLOGY OF FATHER IN LAW:

Greed and lust for materialistic gains or possessions has proved to be an important tragic flaw of our society. Here the perspective of groom’s father is explained in an impressive manner.

“They might have given a bullock and at least,

A couple of oxen would have come in handy at the next ploughing.

Instead we are landed with

A cot a tin trunk and a looking glass,

All the things that she will use!"

Our society is a combination of different attitudes and psychologies. Mostly it has been observed that a woman gets more respect if she brings a lot of dowry with her. The concept of dowry is very much related to the financial status of a family. Unfortunately in our society the standard of respect is financial status of an individual.

The above lines from text refers to materialistic and self-conceited mentality of our traditional social setup where a father in law is criticizing the dowry, although he has no right to do it so. The groom’s father is not happy with the dowry instead he prefers oxen and bullocks that would prove handy to him.

• GROOM’S PERSPECTIVE:

It is the earnest desire of a groom, that he wants his wife to be respectable to his family and especially mother in law

“And she gives me no mother in law problems”

Here we have a description of the demands associated with bride that gives us an insight about the intense social pressure on the bride. The love and care of the groom is conditional and expects woman to be respectable with his new family.

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, without any fear of contradiction it can be said that Pakistani poet Taufiq Raffat has beautifully portrayed Pakistani culture and tradition in his poem. Through the style, themes, and situations it can easily be interpreted that this poem is the epitome of Pakistani culture and society.