COMSATS

Wedding in the flood

Pakistani literature
Submitted by: Arooj Fatima
Submitted to: Dr Mubina Talat
WEDDING IN THE FLOOD

Taufiq Rafat was born in Sialkot Pakistan; he was educated in Dehra Dun, Aligarh. He is the

first Pakistani poet to adopt and naturalize English to express Pakistani experience. He was

perhaps greatest and most ignored English language poet of Pakistan. Raft’s poems are freighted

with cultural insight. Wedding in the flood is one of his finest poems which deliver a very

peppery and shared truth.

Wedding in the Flood is a free verse poem. When we look at the title it seems that a marriage is

happening in the flood season, present tense is used to show the sense of closeness. Nature plays

an excessive role in which monsoon rain has ruined the whole wedding because nature is

unconcerned to everything. Different characters are present with different judgments on bride,

wedding and dowry. Everyone looks confused; bride, groom, bride’s mother, groom’s father and

ferryman. We will see satire on traditional marriages in Pakistan for which people have shaped

certain concepts, ideas and they are totally emerged with them. Actually, it mimics traditional

Pakistani weddings.

They are taking my girl forever

Poem starts with a tender and weak voice of bride’s mother, who is confused and worried about

her daughter to whom she is sending in a different house with different residents, to her which is

a cold house among strangers and she don’t know how they will treat her, will she live happy or

torture? But she cannot do anything as it is a natural phenomenon.

This girl has been licking too many pots

This poem strikingly depicts our classic conservative thinking who blame bride if there is

raining on their wedding day for this natural uninvited guest. They don’t even think that women

are not the fault every time; no one can think that how woman could be responsible for such

TAUFIQ RAFAT
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things. In Pakistan dowry is the principal issue for woman, this poem clearly portrays people

desire for heavy dowry, even groom who is already going to be blessed with a wife, a partner or

we can say a woman thinks that she is beautiful then I might forgive her a dowry. Along these

disputes the issue of heavy rain is also there to create more sprints for bride to face on that day of

leaving home.

They might have given a bullock at least

In this ruthless situation groom’s father still care about dowry and thinks that they had specified

everything just for her use only a cot, a tiny trunk and a looking-glass. It is true that our people

desire to get something purposeful which may give them more wealth. Besides he is blaming

bride for all hurdles happening there. Our society doesn’t bother that a full-fledged lady is going

to be their family member, she will serve them, she will give them generation, and she will obey

them and will manage their house a beautiful home to live. But they needs objective things to full

their houses which is sorrowful situation and strictly against our religion.

Come back before three, the ferryman said

Another major problem of our people is their fixed ideas about incidents, they never bother time

in our marriages; they think that no one should care about time during these occasions, whatever

the situation is. But nature never thinks about anyone it is very uncertain. In this poem they have

to cross the river and weather is warning them when they were coming to get groom and

ferryman was alarming them to come back soon but they didn’t bother and while crossing river

water seeps into boat and bride has to face this to without any complain with mouth closed.

Because in our culture it is very disgraceful if bride claims or even laugh, coy bride is truly

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bedded at last, Bride has to stay quiet even if she is hungry, she is jumbled, she is crying, she is

upset and leaving her every close relationship one step behind.

TAUFIQ RAFAT