The Writer in Exile: As Seen Through "The Blessed Word: A Prologue"

We discussed in class a particular trait of a writer in exile: that he/she is a figure longing for home and in that desire he/she attempts to beautify that home. Agha Shahid Ali, in "The Blessed World: A Prologue" does precisely that: he empowers his homeland with a mythological aspect. He starts off by listing the different names through which one can refer to his homeland: "Kashmir, Kaschmir, Cashmere, ... Kerseymere?" This puts forward his homeland as an entity the true essence of which cannot be captured by the materialistic constructs one tries to describe things by: precisely this enhances that certain mythological aspect which Agha Shahid Ali is trying to empower his homeland with.

His narrative of the tragedy of Habba Khatun, a historical figure, furthers that aspect of mythology attached to the homeland. It also serves another purpose. Given the tragedies that existed in Kashmir at the time when he was writing this poem, the narrative of the tragedy of Habba Khatun serves to establish a smooth continuum between a historical tragedy and the ones that exist now. Precisely this can be viewed as an effort on the part of the exiled Agha Shahid Ali to view his tragedy as a continuation of a historical tragedy: something which can be easier to do considering that he has mythological-y empowered his lost home. In short, the narrative of Habba Khatun provides him with a lens through which he can view his own pain.

And this, even if it fails to provide hope for a solution, does bring solace to the exile because he/she knows that his/her home, even if it is being deviled by tragedy, will not lose that which makes it home: "the blessed women" will continue to sing songs, "create their rustic fuel for winter ... set fire to the leaves, sprinkle water on them as they burn, and transform them into fragile coals".