“Father Returning Home” is a poignant depiction of the bittersweet realities of life and the passage of time. This summary delves into the evocative power of this poem, which captures the essence of a father’s journey home and the quiet reflections it invokes. Through its exploration, the summary invites readers to contemplate themes of aging, isolation, and the emotional complexities of familial relationships. Read More Class 12th English Summaries.
Father Returning Home Summary
Father Returning Home Introduction:
This poem has been taken from Dilip Chitre’s collection of poems. The title of the collection is ‘Travelling in a Cage’. It gives us the picture of a sad old man who travels to work by a local train every day in Mumbai. He does not feel comfortable in his environment. He feels lonely even in a crowd. His isolation is seen in his inability to have dialogue with his family or friends. He feels uneasy in his present. So the old man enters into the distant world of the past or into the world of his own dreams. The modern man seems to be alienated in a complex urban world.
Father Returning Home Summary in English
This poem gives us the picture of the poet’s father who is an old man. He goes to work by a local train. He stands in the compartment among silent daily travellers (commuters) in the yellow light. Suburbs of the city pass by and he does not see them. He has dim eyes. His shirt and trousers have become wet and soft. His black raincoat is dirty because of mud fallen on it. His bag is stuffed with books.
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The bag seems to be falling apart. His eyes are dim because of old age. Through the wet monsoon night, he is coming to his home. The poet sees his father getting off the train. He is coming alone. He looks like a word dropped from a long sentence. He walks quickly across the length of the grey platform. He then enters the lane where his house is situated. His chappals are sticky with mud. But he gogs on moving quickly.
He reaches his home. The poet sees his father drinking weak tea. He eats a stale chapati. He reads a book. Then he goes into the toilet to think over man’s disconnection from a man-made world. Old people feel that they are cut off from the rest of the world. He comes to the sink. He washes his hands. Some drops of water stick to the greying hair on his wrists. His bad-tempered children do not talk with him.
Summary of Father Returning Home
They have refused to share jokes and secrets with him. Now it is time for the old man to go to sleep. He listens to music on the radio. He dreams of his ancestors and grandchildren. He thinks of wandering tribes moving along with their animals from place to place. Probably the momads are entering a subcontinent through a narrow passage in the mountains.