Read our detailed study guide on the poem Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S. by Nissim Ezekiel. Our study guide covers Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa TS summary, themes, and analysis.

Introduction

The poem Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa TS written by Nissim Ezekiel is a satire on the way Indians use the English Language. As English is the second language, there remains a lot of impact of Hindustani when individuals try to talk in English and somehow the cultural and traditional habits are also quite visible in their dialect. Nissim Ezekiel in this poem narrates an incident when a woman in particular Miss Pushpa is supposed to leave India and her colleagues have masterminded a “Goodbye Party” for her. The narrator who is likely a man uses Babu English which is quite interesting as he uses the Hindustani dialect and manners in it.

Summary of Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.

Lines 1-7

Friends,
our dear sister
is departing for foreign
in two three days,
and
we are meeting today
to wish her bon voyage.

The speaker addresses the colleagues and subordinates as friends in a party to bid goodbye to a subordinate He tells them that their dear sister, Miss Pushpa is leaving for a foreign country and they all wish her happy journey.

Lines 8-14

You are all knowing, friends,
What sweetness is in Miss Pushpa.
I don’t mean only external sweetness
but internal sweetness.
Miss Pushpa is smiling and smiling
even for no reason but simply because
she is feeling.

In these lines the speaker reminds the friends of Miss Pushpa’s sweetness which is both internal and external. He tells of Miss Pushpa’s good and amicable nature. She always puts on a smiling face. It is obvious that Nissim Ezekiel is ridiculing the habitual use of the continuous tense even where it is ungrammatical and inappropriate.

Lines 15-19

Miss Pushpa is coming
from very high family.
Her father was renowned advocate
in Bulsar or Surat,
I am not remembering now which place.

The speaker continues his address at the Goodbye Party and tells the audience that Miss Pushpa belongs to rich family. Her father was a famous advocate in Bulsar and Surat but he does not remember the correct place.

Lines 20-25

Surat? Ah, yes,
once only I stayed in Surat
with family members
of my uncle’s very old friend-
his wife was cooking nicely…
that was long time ago.

In these lines the fun is made of the wayward mind of the speaker who forgets the occasion and starts talking about his days in Surat with the family of his uncle’s old friend. The speaker is informed by someone in audience that the place was Surat and he remembers and talks about his experience in Surat. The speaker’s digression to Miss Pushpa’s father, and hanging on it, the speaker’s connection to Surat and then to his/her uncle’s very old friend and his wife there—are typical of the unprepared, spontaneous speech, characteristic of many Indians who lack propriety in such grave formal functions.

Lines 26-28

Coming back to Miss Pushpa
she is most popular lady
with men also and ladies also.

After diversion from topic of his speech, the speaker goes back to Miss Pushpa. He says that she is very popular with both men and women. It is obvious in the lines that Nissim Ezekiel is ridiculing the amusing, ungrammatical speech of Indians and their sentimental, exaggerated way of speaking.

Lines 29-34

Whenever I asked her to do anything,
she was saying, ‘Just now only
I will do it.’ That is showing
good spirit. I am always
appreciating the good spirit.
Pushpa Miss is never saying no.

Praising his subordinate, Miss Pushpa, the speaker goes ahead and praises her good nature. She would never say no to the work assigned to her. This shows that she has a good spirit and her readiness to do any work. She is a willing worker. The unnecessary use of ‘just’ and ‘only’ exhibits the speaker’s ignorance of the usage of English words, creating laughter and fun.

Lines 35-42

Whatever I or anybody is asking
she is always saying yes,
and today she is going
to improve her prospect
and we are wishing her bon voyage.
Now I ask other speakers to speak
and afterwards Miss Pushpa
will do summing up.

In the concluding lines, the speaker says that she was always ready to help whenever asked by him or any other colleague. Today the speaker and the other colleagues have gatherd to wish her happy journey as she is going abroad to improve her prospects. After this speech is over, the speaker asks other speakers to speak and says that Miss Pushpa will sum up, after the colleagues’ speech.

Miss. Pushpa is portrayed as a satisfying identity. Towards the start of the poem, the speaker clarifies that Miss Pushpa is heading off to another nation and states that she is a sweet individual. He clarifies that the lady originates from a conspicuous family and gets diverted his own particular recollections.

Amidst the poem the poet discusses Miss Pushpa`s dad and his activity appears as immaterial and comprises of parcel of redirection from thoughts. The tone of the poem is hilarious however mocking is destitute. The speaker calls her as sister and demonstrates that she is in respectable position in office.

From this poem, it is clear that she is excellent both internally and externally in appearance and attitude. There is an absence of clearness in this poem in view of insignificant points of interest yet the poet talks about the Indian English with clarity. Subsequent to straying, the speaker expresses that Miss Pushpa is a well-known individual who is thoughtful and continually eager to help other people. He then tells that she comes from a reputed family. Her father is a renowned advocate. The narrator doesn’t remember the place and guesses that it could be Bulsar or Surat.

He then starts talking about himself. According to him long ago he had stayed in Surat with his Uncle’s friends’ family. His wife used to cook very delicious food.

Toward the end of the poem, the speaker asks the others at the gathering to give their own particular sppeches about the gathering’s honoree. The poem is considered as mellow assault on Indian English Speakers. The poem may be straightforward one yet it talks about a genuine subject. The author uncovers the befuddle between Indian musings and English culture. The artist utilizes Pidgin or Colloquial English as it satisfies the requirement for an exceptional dialect in a bilingual circumstance and the artist could likewise mirror the idiolect highlights of English utilized by the speakers of various local dialects.

The poem starts with present continuous tense as to the ridiculing of Indian Speakers, which can be seen throughout the poem. The poem additionally alludes to sensational incongruity if the peruser deduces that the speaker’s gathering of people at the goodbye party doesn’t realize that his English is linguistically wrong.

The artist ridicules the manner by which semi-taught Indians talk or compose the English dialect. He disparages the blunders in sentence structure, linguistic structure and expressions which numerous Indians confer while communicating in English. The poem is very interesting and the writer impersonates the Indian method for communicating in English with such a significant number of deficiencies.

Themes

Human Foibles

The principle theme in the “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.” isn’t the loss of a companion – it’s human foibles, or character faults. As indicated by Dominic, this is a prominent theme among Ezekiel’s works. The sonnet offers a satirical take a gander at how some individuals in India speak English, a gadget that the poet presumably used to get an Indian peruser to giggle at himself. The sonnet misuses the present continuous tense and uses turns of phrases and syntax found in the Indian dialect, similar to when Ezekiel writes, “Whatever I or anyone is asking/She is always saying yes.” The lyric also hints at dramatic incongruity if the peruser infers that the speaker’s crowd at the goodbye party doesn’t realize that his English is grammatically incorrect.

Satire on Indian English

Ezekiel satirizes the way in which Indians speak in English through this poem. This is noticeable in the use of present continuous tense where simple present tense should be the norm. Ezekiel is masterful in observing these peculiarities of Indian English and transferring them effortlessly into his poetry. They make his poems humorous and enjoyable to read.

Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S. Literary Analysis

    • Goodbye Party For Miss Pushpa T.S is a satirical poem by Nissim Ezekiel.
    • Nissim Ezekiel satirizes certain Indian customs, traditions and manners in the poem Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.
    • It is in the form of dramatic monologue.
    • The poem is in free verse, typical of modern poetry.
    • The speaker stands for every speaker in Indian context.
    • He uses free and broken language to share the views and emotions.
    • The poet mocks at literal translation. For example “two three days”, is the literal translation of a vernacular expression. Another example of literal translation, “with men also and ladies also”, is an unacceptable collocation used in literal translation of a vernacular expression.
    • Another way of unfolding parody is the way of not using indefinite articles. For example “very high family”,” renowned advocate”, there is the absence of the indefinite article “a”. The phrase should be like “a very high family”, “a renowned advocate”.  Miss Pushpa is laughed at and laughs at all the people.
    • “Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S.” is a social satire on speech which is delivered on an occasion when all praise the good natured, helpful and sacrificial attitude, and leadership qualities etc. of the person.
    • He describes the internal as well as the external beauty of Miss Pushpa in “Babu Angrezi”.
    • Nissim Ezekiel has not given a definite identity of the speaker. We do not know whether it is male of female speaker.
    • Nissim Ezekiel by hiding the identity of the speaker renders the mistakes to every Indian in general.
      To conclude the poem is a parody of an Indian speech. It is a satirical of the manners of Indian educated people. The whole poem is comic in nature. The speaker’s words make us laugh. The parody includes irony, vague speech, and literal translation, the use of present progressive tense and Babu English in the poem.

The Use of Language in the Poem:

The poem right from its first stanza makes fun at the way we speak English. In the first stanza the speaker says that Miss Pushpa will depart in “two three days” instead of “two or three days.”

Instead of saying that Miss Pushpa is kindhearted and gentle woman the speaker says that she is sweet both ‘internal’ and ‘external’. In the same stanza the speaker instead of saying that Miss Pushpa is a pleasant looking woman he says that she is “smiling and smiling even for no reason.”

While giving her family background the speaker says that she come from a ‘high family’ for saying ‘rich family’. The speaker’s deviation while talking about Surat shows the Indianism. He remembers his past, when he went to Surat to stay with one of his uncle’s friend.

“Just now only I will do”, is again a mistake committed by the speaker, when he attempts to say that Miss Pushpa would do things within minutes.