Living Space

• Context for Living space :

  • Dharker born in Pakistan in 1954 - raised in Glasgow lives in London and Mumbai - aware of many cultures
  • Poem is written about slums in Mumbai - India's second largest city - 9 million out of 20 million live in slums as cannot afford houses
• Structure for Living Space :

  • Some lines are short to represent the small amount of space people are squeezed into
  • The tone is sarcastic to start but ends in a tone of admiration
• 1st quote: "Living Space"

  • Noun "space" could suggest slums are not a house or home - they are just a "space" to try and survive in
  • It could also suggest the "space" is "living" and has the potential to change and develop
• 2nd quote: "Nails clutch at open seams"

  • The verb "clutch" implies the slum is precariously (dangerously) held together and the structures are "open" conveying how unstable and dangerous they are
  • Could also symbolise how peoples lives are precarious as they fight for survival every day in dreadful conditions
  • "clutch" shows there determination to survive
• 3rd quote: "The whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous"

  • adverb "dangerously" emphasises how fragile the houses are
  • "miraculous" holds a religious tone
  • Perhaps Dharker suggests how we should be amazed at how people live this way - in poverty but in high spirit
• 4th quote: "Someone has squeezed a living space"

  • verb "squeezed" reinforces tiny amount of space there is but emphasises the ability to make something out of nothing
  • Stanza is only 3 lines long and squashed into the middle of the poem to symbolise the cramped conditions people endure
• Last quote: "Bright, thin walls of faith"

  • Poem ends with noun "faith" emphasising how important it is that the slum dwellers have faith otherwise they might not be able to survive
  • adjective "thin" conveys how precarious this can be and it is the sheer resilience of the people that makes sure it doesn't fall apart