An unknown girl
A traditional indian market scene, set in the evening, it was to hot to have markets in the day, lit up with neon lights
She tries to capture the moment, she is getting involved in the culture by having her hand hennad. It is a darker shade of your own skin, suttle.
She is watching this girl ‘icing my hand’(verb(icing)) ‘in the evening bazaar for a few rupees’ india money
Unknown girl refers to the lady who is hennaing her hand
Moniza alvi is writing about her experience in an india market, she is dscribing the girl who is hennaing her hand.
This is imagery (any descriptive writing is imagery)
‘an unknown girl’ mysterious, intriguing ‘in the evening bazaar’
peacock – exotic palatial places
‘colours leaving the streets’ because its night
ancient traditional art of henna contrasted with the western look in the shop wndows
‘I have new brown veins’ vivid imagery deftly means skillfully
she feels the culture of the place she is in and the culture surrounding her ‘I am clinging’ she has a sense of belonging and does not want to let go, sense of loss and miss.
‘now the furious streets are crushed’ night time, calmer
not many characters as the girl is referred to as unknown. ‘it will fade in a weak’ talking about her henna but also talking about her experience, as when she leaves it will fade and just become a memory.
‘reveal a soft snail trail’ suttle not vibrant, very discreet, looks like lace on her hand.
There is no anticipatyion like in electricity comes to cocoa bottom.
Electricity comes to c bottom
‘lamps filled with oil’ we don’t use oil lamps because we are a developed country
‘kling-klings’ – weird names for birds (almost as if it’s the noise they make)
‘the fireflies waited in shadows’ only exotic countries have fireflies, almost as if the fire flies are actors waiting in the wings of the