Dawn at Puri is poem written by Indian poet Jayanta Mahapatra. The poem is divided into six stanzas and every stanzas contains three lines. The story of poem revolves around a city called Puri which is located in Orissa.
Dawn at Puri Poem By Jayanta Mahapatra
Summary of Dawn at Puri By Jayanta Mahapatra
The “Puri” is a city located in Orissa which is a very important Holy place in Hindu religion. There is one famous temple of Lord Jagannath is situated in city, Puri. The poem’s title “Dawn at Puri” means morning in Puri and what happens there in the morning.
The poem story begins with poet who says that the endless noise of crows is coming. There is one skull on the holy sand of temple, it is here because one dead body was burned there but it doesn’t burned properly. Maybe that person was from poor family and his family does not have much money to perform his last rites.
The poet is trying to tell us that how much poverty is in India and still people waste their money to perform rituals but does not able to perform completely because of lack of money. Crows are probably making so much noise because of that skull lying on sand.
The poet says there are few white-clad widowed women who are waiting to enter in Great Temple at Suri. These woman’s husband are no more, they have moved on abandoning their wishes. These widowed women are left to do only two things in their life which is to worship God and stay in the shelter of God at temple.
Our society is like this where after husband’s death, women are compelled to live as widow, they have to turn their back from worldly pleasures. The widow women eyes which has no dream and hope yearns for freedom same like trapped bird who yearns for freedom in a net.
The morning light brings them a hope of a better future through which they are living. These widow women have a hope that they may find heaven after death as they are spending last moments of their life in praying god.
The writer says it is a morning time, beggars and lower caste people who are not allowed to enter in temple are standing in a group in front of temple. We don’t know who are these crouched people. The poet is trying to tell us that how beggars and lower caste people are not allowed to enter inside of temples in India.
Then, suddenly smoke catches author’s attention which is coming from burning pyre. That is author’s mother burning pyre which has catches author attention. The poet here is burning his mother’s dead body. The poet’s mother last wish was that her funeral should be held at Jagganath temple in Suri.
And now the smoke from author’s mother’s burning pyre is changing its direction. Maybe that smoke is author’s mother’s soul who wants to go to get peace & freedom but unable to go because of the bad situation in temple.
Throughout the poem, poet has taught us about life of Indian society and especially about the hollowness in Hindu religion. Like, how they doesn’t not allowed widow women to live their life with their own wish and how they discriminate on the basis of caste and religion.
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