The poem says:ĭrawn from the Buddhist text, Dhammapada, this thought can be traced back to Gautam Buddha, who suggests growing a Boddhi tree in his heart by becoming spiritually aware of his existence.

The first section, called The Burial of the Dead, talks about the rejuvenation of modern humanity with the drop of rainwater.

It also interweaves scenes from contemporary British life into the labyrinth of these myths and higher thoughts. In a true modernist style, the poem features abrupt changes of speakers, place and time, portraying the dissonance that is emblematic of its subject matter. It is no surprise then that the headings for two of the five sections of the poem are derived from Indian sources, alongside the symbolism of the Grail Legend and the Fisher King. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Eliot reckoned that such degradation borne of lust, greed and anger would lead to a state of annihilation. The title reflects the utter barrenness of the human condition that caused a spiritual fog in the post-World War world. To understand the alchemical congruence of the East and the West that went into this globally resounding poem, one has to understand the context of the times it was written in and that of the influences over the poet. Eliot’s The Waste Land: A Perspective on Indian Thoughts, Dr Rajani Sharma points out “the Indian sensibility with its Christian Intent” that makes this poem unique. But when we look closer, many allusions and inspirations are revealed in Eliot’s work that point to major influences from India and Indian spirituality. At the onset, we may not see an obvious correlation between these two monumental works written in completely different parts of the world. Only nine years before the Wasteland was first published, Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel prize for literature. Instantly, it found success, taking the world of literature by storm. Eliot’s The Wasteland first appeared in The Dial after winning the same magazine’s Poetry award. In 1922, exactly a hundred years ago, a literary landmark was born in the field of modern poetry.

INALIENABLE: REFLECTIONS ON INDEPENDENCE & BELONGING.

Voices Column: Desi Roots, Global Wings.

The waste land text