Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S. by Nissim Ezekiel

Summary of Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S

Goodbye party for Miss Pushpa T. S. is a humorous poem of 42 lines written by the famous Indian poet Nissim Ezekiel. This poem appears in his book ‘Very Indian Poems’ in Indian English. This poem is written in typical Indian English popularly known as Babu English. The poet has tried to Indianise the English language at the creative level. This English is different from classical British English. It has deviated from the rules of grammar and syntax. It is because it is the form of British English created by the intermediate level non-native speakers of English. In this poem, the speaker delivers a speech in honour of This Pushpa T.S. who is going abroad to improve her prospects in life. We can notice no. of deviations from the rules of grammar in the speaker’s address. Excessive use of continuous tense, omission of articles, inappropriate use of adverbs and adjectives and word to word translation method bring humour in this poem. There are no of cases where we can notice the continuous use of verbs of perception like ‘she is feeling’, ‘I am always appreciating, ‘I am not remembering, These deviations create laughter in the poem. Similarly, omission of articles e.g. ‘a’ very high family, ‘a’ renowned advocate, ‘the’ most popular lady, is completely is different from the standard English. Use and positioning of adverbs and adjectives are also noticeable in this poem. Examples like ‘only external sweetness’, ‘now which place’ illustrate the deviations of Babu English. The inconsistencies of life and language are matters of humour in this poem.

Central Idea of Poem.
The Poem ‘Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.’ has been composed by the Sahitya Academy award winner poet Nissim Ezekiel. This poem is included in his book ‘Very Indian Poems in Indian English’. It is an attempt to Indianise the English language at the creative level. The poet calls this Indian English as Babu English. This typical English was created and used by the people of clerk grade who were not highly qualified but needed to use English for office works. This Babu English is a deviation from the British educated English in terms of rules of grammar and syntax. The poem is an address given by the speaker at a farewell party in honour of Miss Pushpa T.S. who is going to some foreign country to improve her prospects in life. The speaker shares his work experience with all his colleagues. He says that Miss Pushpa is a polite, helpful lady who never denied to help anyone. She belongs to a good family and has a jolly nature. She always keeps a smile on her face. This entire speech of the speaker is given in Babu English and we can notice deviations like excessive use of continuous tense, omission of articles, inappropriate use of adverbs and adjectives and word-to-word translation throughout the poem. These deviations create humour in this poem.

Questions and Answers

Q.1 What qualities of Miss Pushpa T.S. are evident from the speaker’s address?
Ans. The speaker in this poem delivers a speech in honour of Miss Pushpa T.S. because she is departing to some foreign country to improve her prospects in life. He appreciates Miss Pushpa for many of her qualities. He says that Miss Pushpa has a jolly nature and she always keeps a smile on her face. She belongs to a reputed family and possesses a sweet nature. The speaker admires her for her helping spirit. He says that she is always ready to help her colleagues. Whenever the speaker or any other colleague asks for help, she never denies. She always says yes for any work. So the speaker wishes her a happy journey and a good future.

Q.2 What was Miss Pushpa T.S. popular with?
Ans. The speaker appreciates the of the good spirit of Miss Pushpa because she is very helpful in nature. All her colleagues appreciate Miss Pushpa for her good qualities. The speaker says that she is popular with all her officemates. All the men and ladies admire her for her helping spirit.

Q.3 What does the speaker mention about Miss Pushpa doing in the end?
Ans. A farewell party has been arranged in honour of Miss Pushpa because she is departing to some foreign country to Improve her prospects in life. The speaker addresses all his officemates and appreciates Miss Pushpa for many of her qualities. At the end of this speech, he wishes her qualities. I happy journey. Then he invites other speakers to come forward. After that Miss Pushpa will do the summing up she will come forward to give everyone vote of thanks.

Q.4 In what ways does Miss Pushpa show her good spirit?
Ans. The speaker appreciates Miss Pushpa for her good spirit in his speech. He says that she always shows her good spirit by her helping nature. She is very helpful to all her colleagues. Whenever somebody asks her for any kind of help, she is always ready to do that. The speaker says that she never refused to help anybody whenever she was asked to anything.

Q.5 What inspires laughter in the poem?
Ans. The poem Goodbye party for Miss. Pushpa T.S. has been written by the prominent Indian poet in English Nissim Ezekiel. This is a humorous poem in which the poet has used typical Indian English popularly known as Babu English. This Babu English inspires laughter in this poem. The poet has used humour in highlighting the problem that comes in the way of assimilating foreign language. There are no deviations in Babu English from the rules of grammar and syntax of British Educated English. These deviations like excessive use of progressive tens inappropriate use of adverbs and adjectives and omission of articles are common in Babu English.
These deviations inspire laughter in the Poem.