Comprehensive Study Notes: Sampurna Chattarji, 'Boxes' (Songs of Ourselves Volume 2)

Welcome! This set of notes will help you master Sampurna Chattarji's vivid poem, 'Boxes'. Set in the densely populated metropolis of Mumbai, the poem explores themes of urbanisation, confinement, human resilience, and the loss of the natural world.

1. Overview and Context (AO1: Knowledge)

Did You Know? The Poet

Sampurna Chattarji is an Indian poet, novelist, and translator known for capturing the complex realities of contemporary urban life. In 'Boxes', she examines the compression of human living spaces in Mumbai and the relentless rise of modern skyscrapers.

What is the Poem About?

The poem presents a vignette of everyday life inside a tiny, cramped one-room apartment. The speaker observes small details of domestic survival—such as an orchid smuggled from Singapore on the balcony, cooking dal, stacks of quilts, and looking out towards train tracks, a dump, and towering new construction projects that shut out the light.

Key Takeaway

The title 'Boxes' refers to the claustrophobic apartments and high-rises of modern city life, highlighting the tension between cramped human domestic spaces and unstoppable urban sprawl.

2. Structure and Form (AO3: Methods)

A. Form and Stanza Structure
  • The poem is written in free verse without a regular meter or rhyme scheme, mirroring the fragmented, unpredictable rhythm of modern urban living.
  • The poem is structured into short stanzas and deliberate line breaks rather than a rigid traditional form, creating pauses that emphasize spatial confinement.
B. Pacing and Spatial Movement

The poem moves from the micro-level of intimate interior space (the few steps within the room) outwards to the macro-level of the city skyline and encroaching development.

3. Themes and Ideas (AO2: Understanding)

Theme 1: Claustrophobia and Urban Compression

Living in a crowded megacity forces inhabitants into increasingly tight quarters ('The boxes grow smaller'). The speaker conveys a deep sense of spatial anxiety and confinement within the domestic sphere.

Theme 2: Relentless Modernisation and Urban Sprawl

The cityscape is constantly being rebuilt and expanded. Giant high-rises advance across the landscape, cutting residents off from the natural environment and altering historical geography.

Theme 3: Survival, Adaptation, and Resilience

Despite the oppressive physical limitations, human life and nature persist. Everyday rituals like cooking dal and nurturing an orchid clinging to the balcony air illustrate resilience amidst cramped conditions.

4. Language and Poetic Devices (AO3: Methods)

1. Metaphor and Zoomorphic Imagery

The speaker compares herself to a 'giant insect fretting in a jar', conveying entrapment, agitation, and extreme confinement within a tiny living space.

2. Personification

Urban development is personified menacingly: 'The sky strides inland on giant stilts, unstoppable, shutting out the light.' The skyscrapers become giant, domineering figures encroaching upon the sky and blocking out natural sunlight.

3. Contrast and Juxtaposition

The poem juxtaposes delicate vitality (the smuggled orchid) with harsh urban reality (pigs on a dump, train tracks, iron cooking pans), illustrating the harsh contrasts of city existence.

5. Key Quotations and Analysis (AO1 & AO4)

Quote 1: "Her balcony bears an orchid smuggled in a duffle bag"

Analysis: The orchid represents a fragile connection to nature, beauty, and foreign memory within a sterile, confined concrete environment.

Quote 2: "Nine steps from door to balcony and already she is a giant insect fretting in a jar"

Analysis: Chattarji precisely measures the apartment's tiny dimensions ('nine steps') to emphasize physical limitation. The simile/metaphor of an insect trapped in glass highlights acute psychological claustrophobia.

Quote 3: "The sea becomes a distant memory of lashing wave / and neon, siren to seven islands, once."

Analysis: This reflects Mumbai's geographical history as seven original islands, mourning how massive urban reclamation and development sever the city's connection to the sea.

Quote 4: "The sky strides / inland on giant stilts, unstoppable, shutting out the light."

Analysis: The closing image personifies skyscrapers as towering figures on stilts, capturing the relentless, overwhelming pace of urban expansion that physically and metaphorically eclipses natural light.

6. Exam Focus: Common Mistakes and Study Tips

Common Mistake to Avoid!

Do not treat 'Boxes' as a poem about literal gift boxes or generic metaphors. Always root your analysis in the specific setting of contemporary urban Mumbai and the physical reality of high-rise apartment living.

How to Structure Your Response (AO4: Personal Response)
  1. Introduction: Introduce the poem's depiction of urban compression in Mumbai and explain how Chattarji uses the central concept of 'boxes' to explore confinement.
  2. Body Paragraph 1 (AO2/AO3): Analyze the internal domestic setting—the nine steps, the insect-in-a-jar metaphor, and daily survival routines.
  3. Body Paragraph 2 (AO2/AO3): Explore the external urban landscape—the train tracks, the dump, and the contrast between nature and concrete.
  4. Body Paragraph 3 (AO3): Discuss the closing imagery of the 'giant stilts' and the unstoppable march of modernisation blocking out the light.
  5. Conclusion: Summarize Chattarji's powerful commentary on human resilience and vulnerability within the modern megacity.