Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan By Moniza Alvi

Starter Many people live in a country that is not the one they were born in. It is a very common experience. Imagine (or use your own experience) you had to leave the country of your birth and travel to live in another country, leaving people like your grandparents, aunts and uncles behind. List some of the feelings you might have about the following:

Starter A). About you new homeland B). About the country you left behind Some of your feelings may be positive, others may be negative.

Writer’s Context Moniza Alvi was born in Lahore. Her ftaher was form Pakistan, and her mother was English. When she was only a few months old, she moved to England. ‘This poem is autobiographical: Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan was one of the first poems I wrote…when I wrote the poem I hadn’t actually been back to Pakistan. The girl in the poem would be me at the age of thirteen. The clothes seem to stick to her in an uncomfortable way…and she thinks things aren’t straightforward for her.’ Alvi has also said, ‘I never feel entirely at home in England, and of course I’m not part of the Asian community at all.’

Explorations and insights There are several different ways people could be expected to feel about having a place in two different cultures. Discuss the following attitudes to decide which of them most closely matches the ideas expressed by Moniza Alvi in Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan:

Explorations and Insights That one of the cultures is more important to them than the other That the one they have left behind is no longer important – it belongs to the past and it is time to move on That the original culture , the one they were born into, will always remain significant and should be treasured. That you become a blend of two cultures so that you don’t really feel you belong to either; you’re something new.

Explorations and Insights The poet leaves you with a picture at the end of the poem. In the picture are: ‘beggars, sweeper-girls’ (line 65), suggesting poverty in Pakistan ‘the Shalimar Gardens (line 69) suggesting the beauty of Pakistan The girl ‘staring through fretwork (line 68). ‘Staring’ suggests some kind fo attraction and ‘fretwork’ suggests a barrier, although one that you can’t see through. Consider these images. What do they tell you about the poet’s feelings on the country of her birth.