It was hard to believe the flesh was heavy on my back.
The fisherman said: Will you have her, carelessly,
trailing his nets and his nerves, as though his words
sanctified the purpose with which he faced himself.
I saw his white bone thrash his eyes.
I followed him across the sprawling sands,
my mind thumping in the flesh’s sling.
Hope lay perhaps in burning the house I lived in.
Silence gripped my sleeves; his body clawed at the froth
his old nets had only dragged up from the seas.
In the flickering dark his hut opened like a wound.
The wind was I, and the days and nights before.
Palm fronds scratched my skin. Inside the shack
an oil lamp splayed the hours bunched to those walls.
Over and over the sticky soot crossed the space of my mind.
I heard him say: My daughter, she’s just turned fifteen…
Feel her. I’ll be back soon, your bus leaves at nine.
The sky fell on me, and a father’s exhausted wile.
Long and lean, her years were cold as rubber.
She opened her wormy legs wide. I felt the hunger there,
the other one, the fish slithering, turning inside.
About the Poet
Jayanta Mahapatra (1928–2023) is one of India’s most celebrated contemporary poets, known for his poignant and deeply introspective works. A pioneering Indian poet writing in English, he was the first Indian poet to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry. His poetry often explores themes of existential crisis, human suffering, sexuality, history, and social issues. A physicist by profession, Mahapatra’s poetic style blends scientific precision with lyrical intensity, creating hauntingly evocative images. His major poetry collections include Close the Sky, Ten by Ten (1971), Relationship (1980), and The False Start (1980).
Background of the Poem
“Hunger” is one of Jayanta Mahapatra’s most powerful and unsettling poems, reflecting on themes of poverty, exploitation, and human desire. The poem presents a stark contrast between physical hunger (poverty) and sexual hunger (desire), exposing the grim realities of the marginalized sections of Indian society. Set in the backdrop of a coastal village, the poem narrates an encounter between the speaker and a fisherman who offers his own daughter for money, underscoring the brutal intersection of survival and morality. Mahapatra uses simple yet profound imagery to highlight the inescapable cycle of deprivation.
Summary of the Poem
The poem “Hunger” follows a first-person narrator who describes an encounter with a fisherman in a coastal village. The fisherman, desperate for survival, offers his daughter to the narrator in exchange for money. As the narrator follows the fisherman’s instructions, he comes face to face with the horrifying reality of poverty—where hunger forces people into acts of desperation. The girl, seemingly passive, represents the commodification of human bodies when survival is at stake. Through this deeply disturbing transaction, the poem draws attention to the dehumanizing effects of poverty and the complex nature of human hunger—both physical and sexual.
Main Themes
- Poverty and Exploitation – The poem highlights the extreme conditions of poverty that force individuals into dehumanizing acts.
- The Dual Nature of Hunger – Mahapatra juxtaposes physical hunger (for food) with sexual hunger (desire), showing how both are primal needs that drive human behavior.
- Loss of Innocence and Human Degradation – The young girl in the poem becomes a symbol of lost innocence, illustrating how economic desperation leads to moral decay.
- Social Injustice and Inequality – The poem criticizes the systemic issues that perpetuate exploitation, emphasizing the gap between the privileged and the oppressed.
- Guilt and Moral Dilemma – The narrator’s experience reflects the moral complexity of desire and survival, raising questions about complicity in societal exploitation.
Poetic Devices Used in the Poem
- Imagery – Vivid sensory details evoke the bleak coastal setting, the girl’s lifeless expressions, and the narrator’s internal turmoil.
- Juxtaposition – The contrast between physical hunger (poverty) and sexual hunger (desire) enhances the poem’s thematic depth.
- Symbolism – The fisherman’s daughter symbolizes innocence lost to economic desperation, while the sea represents the vast, indifferent force of fate.
- Enjambment – The continuation of sentences across lines reflects the uninterrupted flow of suffering and hunger.
- Irony – The irony of hunger—both sexual and physical—driving human actions highlights the tragic nature of existence.
- Metaphor – The girl is metaphorically depicted as an object of survival, reflecting the commodification of human life in poverty.
Essay Questions for Further Exploration
- How does Jayanta Mahapatra use imagery in “Hunger” to emphasize the themes of poverty and exploitation?
- Discuss the significance of the title “Hunger.” How does it reflect both physical and emotional aspects of human existence?
- Analyze the moral dilemmas presented in the poem. How does the narrator’s experience challenge traditional notions of right and wrong?
- Compare and contrast “Hunger” with another poem that explores social injustice and economic disparity.
- How does Mahapatra’s use of poetic structure (enjambment, symbolism, and contrast) enhance the emotional impact of the poem?
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
- What is the central theme of “Hunger”? a) Love and romance
b) Social injustice and poverty
c) The beauty of nature
d) Religious devotion
Answer: b) Social injustice and poverty - What does the fisherman in the poem offer the speaker? a) A meal
b) His fishing net
c) His daughter
d) Shelter for the night
Answer: c) His daughter - What literary device is used when the poem contrasts physical hunger with sexual hunger? a) Hyperbole
b) Juxtaposition
c) Alliteration
d) Personification
Answer: b) Juxtaposition - How does Mahapatra create a sense of unease in the poem? a) Through the use of humor
b) Through vivid and unsettling imagery
c) Through a romanticized description of the sea
d) By focusing on an uplifting ending
Answer: b) Through vivid and unsettling imagery - What does the sea symbolize in the poem? a) Hope and renewal
b) Freedom and adventure
c) The indifferent, endless cycle of suffering
d) A boundary between life and death
Answer: c) The indifferent, endless cycle of suffering - What is the significance of the fisherman’s daughter in the poem? a) She represents innocence and the tragedy of survival
b) She symbolizes rebellion against patriarchy
c) She is a metaphor for wealth and prosperity
d) She represents divine intervention
Answer: a) She represents innocence and the tragedy of survival - What emotion does the narrator experience at the end of the poem? a) Joy
b) Satisfaction
c) Guilt and discomfort
d) Anger
Answer: c) Guilt and discomfort - What does the poem critique about society? a) The importance of tradition
b) The inequalities and moral compromises caused by poverty
c) The power of religious faith
d) The beauty of rural life
Answer: b) The inequalities and moral compromises caused by poverty