Enterprise by Nissim Ezekiel (Text & Summary)

 

Enterprise

by Nissim Ezekiel

(Text & Summary) 

Nissim Ezekiel (16 December 1924 – 9 January 2004) was an Indian Jewish poet, actor, playwright, editor and art critic. He was a foundational figure in postcolonial India's literary history, specifically for Indian Poetry in English.

He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his collection, "Latter-Day Psalms", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. Ezekiel has been applauded for his subtle, restrained and well-crafted diction, dealing with common and mundane (simple) themes in a manner that manifests both cognitive profundity, as well as an unsentimental, realistic sensibility, that has been influential on the course of succeeding Indian English poetry. Ezekiel enriched and established Indian English language poetry through his modernist innovations and techniques, which enlarged Indian English literature, moving it beyond purely spiritual and orientalist themes, to include a wider range of concerns and interests, including familial events, individual angst and skeptical societal introspection.

Enterprise

It started as a pilgrimage

Exalting minds and making all

The burdens light, The second stage

Explored but did not test the call.

The sun beat down to match our rage.

 

We stood it very well, I thought,

Observed and put down copious notes

On things the peasants sold and bought

The way of surpants and of goats.

Three cities where a sage had taught

 

But when the differences arose

On how to cross a desert patch,

We lost a friend whose stylish prose

Was quite the best of all our batch.

A shadow falls on us and grows.

 

Another phase was reached when we

Were twice attacked, and lost our way.

A section claimed its liberty

To leave the group. I tried to prey.

Our leader said he smelt the sea

 

We noticed nothing as we went,

A straggling crowd of little hope,

Ignoring what the thunder ment ,

Deprived of common needs like soap.

Some were broken , some merely bent.

 

When, finally, we reached the place,

We hardly know why we were there.

The trip had darkened every face,

Our deeds were neither great nor rare.

Home is where we have to gather grace.

Summary

At the very beginning of the poem, the poet confirms that, with a group of people he has started for a pilgrimage. At that time, their minds were full of ideas to reach their destination. Therefore, they started their journey with a lot of vigour and excitement, sure enough, that they can easily overcome all the difficulties that they face. All of them were so enthusiastic that, inconveniences seemed insignificant to them.

The poet has divided the journey into stages. The travelers were full of enthusiasm and reached the second stage of their journey. The second stage was somewhat different from the first one, since they faced the hostility of nature on the way. They confronted the adverse natural difficulties. The sun, symbolic of the hostility of nature, was radiating its scorching heat on them as if to match their spirit in intensity. But nothing could detain them from reaching their destination or take away their enthusiasm. Their passion to reach their destination was as hot as the blazing Sun above their heads. The heat of the sun is symbolic of Mother Nature being hostile towards human ambitions.

The more the human beings aspire, the more the nature tries to put up a hindrance to beat them down. Thus, the second stage gave them some tough moments, but that was not enough to test their keenness. In short, though nature tried to present some obstacles, it hardly succeeded to unnerve them or pose a real threat. All the members of the group were excited at the prospect of going out to a pilgrimage. The thought of a holy expedition elevated their minds and made all the burdens light. By the very nature of our minds when people are enthusiastic, the burdens seem to be lighter. That is why nothing could pose a challenge before them at that moment.

In the 2^nd stanza of the poem, the poet has satirically described what they were doing during their journey. He indicates to how people get distracted from the main mission. They were wasting their time and energy taking notes on various things the farmers were selling and buying, and on the ways of snakes and goats. They observed and took note on the cities without concerning themselves with what the sage had taught or what his message was.

The third stanza talks about the differences that cropped up among the members which made a hole in their unity as they continued their journey. As they reached a desert, differences arose among on the question of how to cross the challenging landscape. Some members didn’t agree with the others on crossing a patch of desert on the way. As a result, the best prose writer and intellectual person among them parted from the group. Therefore, a shadow of discord fell onto their enterprise and continued to grow. So, we see that a holy journey for a noble cause no longer holds its integrity. People are becoming egotistic and concentrating on trivial matters. Their main concern now is the way, not the ultimate aim. Even the seemingly intellectual did not bother to reconcile the differences and hold the members together. Ironically, he sought the easier way to part from the group. A shadow of friction and conflict befalls the enterprise and continues to grow. They now lacked the zeal with which they started.

The poet further describes the hindrances, that follow the enterprise. In the next stage of their journey, the travelers are attacked twice and while saving themselves they lose their ways and forget the noble ambitions which had motivated them to come so far. The enterprise slowly breaks into two. Some of the members, claiming their freedom, quit the journey and went their own ways. Possibly they were unhappy with the leadership. So, the disagreement continues. We human beings often face the opposition of fellow men on our way of life. Sometimes we lose our way by the hostility or misguidance of others. Moreover, when we find ourselves in trouble, we forget the larger perspective and run away to save our narrow interests. The poet feels helpless and upset at the breaking of the enterprise, looking at the disorganized lot of pilgrims, the only thing he could do was to pray. The act of praying implies seeking the help of a divine personality when human efforts go in vain.

There is still an assurance from the leader of the group. He assures them that the sea or the destination was at hand. But it is a false hope from the leader. As they progressed, they could see nothing. They now looked like a group of aimless and hopeless wanderers. It seems that they members have lost their enthusiasm and hope as they see nothing noticeable as they move forward. The pilgrims have now turned into a crowd of aimless wanderers instead of being bounded by a well-focused goal like before. They were not bothered about the roar of the thunder; some of them were too exhausted to stand erect. They are physically drained. Some members are not able to walk any more, and the others just bent down with pain.

The final stanza of Enterprise is a relief to the readers, as the poet tells us that they reached their destination in total disorder- exhausted and frustrated- and without any sense of satisfaction. Instead of bringing a sense of fulfillment and achievement, the journey has only brought them frustration. They now started to doubt the importance of their journey; they begin to find it futile and meaningless. They find nothing heroic in their achievements. They had a belief that their journey would be unparalleled and that its success would give them a place in history. So, was it disillusionment? They later realized that such a journey was already undertaken by others before them and would be repeated in the near future. This gave them a sense of disillusionment and they felt the journey was futile. In the end, they feel that staying back home would have been better than venturing out on such a dangerous journey with disastrous consequences.