Write the substance and explanation of the poem entitled Baugma

Write the substance and explanation of the poem entitled Baugmaree.

Ans.

Substance of the Poem

The poet’s garden is surrounded with a sea of green verdure. But this greenness of her garden is different from that of European gardens. There was uniformity in the greenness of European gardens and so it looked dull and unattractive, but her own garden has the varied hues of the foliage. Hence, it does not produce dullness. There is seen light green shade of the leaves of tamarind trees and the dark green shade of mango groves. Here the palm trees stand like grey pillars and seemuls lean on the quiet pool. Bamboos growing to the eastward look most beautiful when the moon looks through their gaps. The white lotus looks like silver cup in the moonlit night. This beauty of the garden enamorus everyone.

Explanations

(1) A sea of foliage girds our garden round,

But not a sea of dull unvaried green,

Sharp contrasts of all colours here are seen;

The light-green graceful tamarinds abound

Amid the mangoes clumps of green profound,

And palms arise, like pillars gray, between;

And over the quiet pools the seemuls lean,

Red-red, and starling like a trumpet’s sound.

Reference to the Context: These lines form the octave of the sonnet, “Baugmaree’, composed by Toru Dutt.

The poet describes the beauty of her garden presenting a contrast to the gardens that she had seen in European countries.

Explanation: The poet says that her garden has a number of trees and so it looks to be surrounded with a sea of green leaves. But the greenness of her garden presents a contrast to the greenness of European garden. But greenness in her garden has varied hues of foliage. This makes a great different. The European garden because of its uniformity looked dull and unattractive. The varied hues have saved it from becoming dull and monotonous. In her garden may be seen graceful light green shade of tamarinds and the closely grown mango trees present the view of dark-green shade. Palms trees look like a gray pillars. Seemuls grow in between and lean over quiet pool. The shocking impact of the red flowers in the green surroundings works like the sound of a trumpet which is usually associated with the beginning of a battle, and here the reference to the sound of the trumpet breaks the peaceful beauty of the night emphasising the shocking impact of the flowers in the green surroundings.

Comments: These lines are remarkable for beautiful word picture and sensuousness.

(2) But nothing can be lovelier than the ranges

Of bamboos to the eastward, when the moon

Looks through their gaps, and the white lotus changes

Into a cup of silver. One might swoon

Druken with beauty then, or gaze and gaze

On a primeval Eden, in amze.

Reference to the Context: As above. Baugmaree is the name of the Dutt family’s garden on the outskirts of Calcutta. The poet describes the beauty of the garden specially in the moonlit night.

Explanation: The poet says that the whole of her garden looks beautiful as it presents the view of the varied hues of foliage, but specially looks very beautiful in the moonlit night when every flower and every tree seem to be bathed in moonlit. The bamboos growing to the eastward present the most captivating view when the moon looks through their gaps. The white lotus when bathed in silvery moonlight looks like a cup of silver. When someone looks at this beautiful sight, he is so much enamoured by its beauty that he feels a sort of drowsiness coming over him. He is hypnotized and keeps on looking at this fascinating sight in amazement. It looks like mythical garden of Eden.