Question

What was his wife’s name? What happened to the house standing before them?

Answer 1

Hint: The above question is based on a poem by Vikram Seth that was first published in 1990. Vikram Seth is an Indian poet and novelist and has won many awards including ‘Padma Shri’ and ‘Sahitya Akademi Award’.

Complete answer:
The above question refers to the poem ‘A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945’ by the Indian poet Vikram Seth. The poem is an anti-war poem and was written to shed light on the aftermath of the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war in 1945.

The ‘his’ in the question refers to the doctor and his wife’s name was ‘Yecko-San’.The journal entry describes the day of the bombing from the doctor’s perspective. It tells us how it began as just another normal day for the doctor when he saw flashes of light and chaos breaking outside the window of his house. Further along in the poem, he goes on to tell how his wife and he witnessed what happened to the house standing before them. They saw the house tilt, sway, topple and crash right before them due to the explosion. There was a fire that sprang up and about the house and was spread by the wind causing the horrific sight.

The poem portrays damage caused to mental and physical health due to the second world war. It draws a picture of the dreadful scenes of the nuclear bombing.

Note: The poem has no stanzas and a rhyming scheme. It has a free-flowing pattern exactly like that of a journal and the poet uses irony, imagery and symbolism to convey his message.