“The Gift in Wartime” by Tran Mong
The poem “The Gift in Wartime” by Tran Mong highlights the
inhuman (अमानवीय) aspects of war. The poetess has presented dark facets (पक्ष) of war. The poem carries the message that war
is good for nothing. It just invites separation (बिछोड), loss, and destruction. The speaker,
by presenting the inhuman aspects of war, shows the gloomy (भयानक) picture of war.
In the poem, the poetess is addressing (सम्बोधन गर्दै) her loved one. Though the addressee (व्यक्ति सम्बोधन गरिएको) looks anonymous (अज्ञात), the speaker’s expression is such
that the person (addressee) is identified as the speaker’s husband. The person
who is speaking cannot hear what the speaker is saying because the addressee (पाउने व्यक्ति) is
dead. The speaker’s beloved has lost his life in the war leaving the speaker
all alone.
In the first stanza, the speaker is offering roses and a
wedding gown to her husband’s grave. The first stanza suggests that her (the
speaker’s) husband has just been killed. By offering her wedding gown (लेहेङ्गा) she means to say that her life is
incomplete and useless beside him. So, the wedding gown (लेहेङ्गा) has no significance (महत्व) in her life.
In the second stanza, the speaker tells how the dead soldiers
return motionlessly with bright medals and silver stars. The shining medals (चम्किलो पदकहरू) and silver stars are of no use to
their beloved. It suggests that their bravery (बहादुरी) and heroism (पराक्रम) for their relative is painful (दुःखदायी).
In the third stanza too, the speaker continues her offerings.
She offers her youth. This offering values more than what he has offered in
return. The speaker says that her youth is of no use once she heard about her
husband’s death.
The fourth stanza is about her husband’s offering to the
speaker. He has gifted her a smell of blood in his uniform which is terrifying
and unbearable (असहनीय).
The sixth stanza is about the complaints (गुनासो) the speaker has made. She complains
that her offerings seem worthless (मूल्यहीन). In return for her offerings, she
received lips with no smile, arms without tenderness (कोमलता), eyes with no sight, and a dead
body. All these offerings are useless and valueless (मूल्यहीन) to the
speaker.
In the final stanza, the speaker apologizes (क्षमा माग्नु) for the complaints she has made. She
expresses her deeper love. She promises to meet him in the next life. She will
keep the shrapnel (बमको टुक्रा) as a token which will help them to
know each other.