Keeping Quiet: Pablo Neruda

 

Keeping Quiet

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the Earth
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

 

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

कवि चाहता है कि जब तक वह बारह तक गिने, हम निश्चल रहें। एक बार के लिए आओ हम संसार की किसी भी भाषा में बातचीत न करें। वह हमे से कहता है कि एक क्षण के लिए हम अपनी भुजाओं को इतना अधिक हिलाना बन्द कर दें।

एक क्षण के लिए कोई हड़बड़ी अथवा जल्दबाजी न हो। इंजन तथा अन्य मशीनें एक क्षण के लिए रुक जायें। वह क्षण हम सब के लिए एक विलक्षण (मोहक) क्षण होगा। तब हम सब मिलकर उस क्षण की तात्कालिक विचित्रता का आनन्द लेंगे।

कवि चाहता है कि मछुआरे ध्रुवीय क्षेत्रों के ठण्डे समुद्र में व्हेल मछलियों को कोई हानि न पहुँचाएं। वह व्यक्ति भी जो अपने हाथों से नमक एकत्रित करता है, अपने घायल हाथों का अवश्य ध्यान रखे।

सभी प्रकार के युद्ध तुरन्त रोक दिए जाने चाहिए। पर्यावरण के विरुद्ध हरित युद्ध, विषैली गैसों के साथ युद्ध तथा आग्नेयास्त्रों के साथ युद्ध अभी रोक देने चाहिए। इन युद्धों में विजय अर्थहीन है क्योंकि युद्धों के उपरान्त कोई भी जीवित नहीं बचता। युद्ध लड़ने अथवा छेड़ने के बजाय लोगों को अपने सबसे बढ़िया वस्त्र पहनकर बाहर निकलना चाहिए। उन्हें अपने भाइयों के साथ सैर करने जाना चाहिए। उन्हें छायादार वृक्षों के नीचे घूमना चाहिए तथा कुछ भी न करने का आनन्द लेना चाहिए।

कवि यह नहीं चाहता कि हम ‘निश्चलता’ को ‘पूर्ण निष्क्रियता’ समझने की भूल करें। कुछ भी न करने का अर्थ होगा ‘मृत्यु’ कवि का मृत्यु के साथ कोई सम्बन्ध नहीं है। हम समझते हैं कि चलना ही जीवन है। हमें सदा चलते ही नहीं रहना चाहिए, थोड़ी देर के लिए हमें विश्राम भी करना चाहिए। एक लम्बी चुप्पी हमारा बहुत लाभ कर सकती है। मनुष्य तब उदास हो जाते हैं जब वे स्वयं को समझने में असफल रहते हैं। वे असहाय तब अनुभव करते हैं जब वे स्वयं को मृत्यु से डराना आरम्भ करते हैं। एक लम्बी चुप्पी हमारी भावनाओं को शान्त कर सकती है तथा इस उदासी को हटाने में हमारी सहायता कर सकती है।

कवि इस विचार को स्पष्ट करने के लिए एक उदाहरण देता है कि निश्चलता’ का अर्थ ‘पूर्ण निष्क्रियता’ नहीं होता। पृथ्वी हमें । शिक्षा दे सकती है। जब प्रत्येक चीज़ मृतप्राय प्रतीत होती है, पृथ्वी सजीव रहती है।
कवि हमें जब तक वह बारह तक न गिने, शान्त रहने को कहता है। फिर वह चला जाएगा।

Introduction: 

Keeping Quiet is a poem by Pablo Neruda. He is famous for using powerful imagery in his poetry. Presented poem tells us about silent introspection of our changing environment. The poet not only tries to raise environmental awareness but also inspires the readers to participate in restoring peace to the world. Along with imagery, the poet also uses a lot of symbolism that helps readers easily connect to the ideas presented in the poem. 

Explanation of poem

The poem begins with the poet urging everyone around to keep quiet. This poem is about self-introspection, and he believes staying still is the best way to do it. He offers to count till twelve to allow everyone some space and peace of mind. As discussed in the introduction, this poem uses a lot of imagery and symbolism. The poet suggests abstaining from speaking in any language or moving our arms at all. Languages unite people and are the basis of continuous growth in any aspect of life – culture, education, industrialization, diplomatic deals, etc. Moving arms symbolize work, which is an essential part of our lives. We strive to develop ourselves continuously, and the best way to attain success is through work. The poet asks us to stop all these for some time.

The after-effects of this phenomenon are visualized by the poet to be very serene and thought-provoking. He calls it an ‘exotic moment’. He makes the reader understand its intensity through the use of imagery. He predicts a ‘sudden strangeness’ when we all stop moving and the constant grunt of moving vehicles is paused. He is trying to refer to a moment of uneasy silence that might seem awkward in the beginning. But there are good consequences for this silence. It will help us reflect on ourselves and might make us realise how we are hurting ourselves as well as others. The poet here is trying to invoke some sense of humanity in his readers so that the earth is saved from the greed and ruthlessness we resort to in the name of creating civilisations.

He gives examples of how we are ruining everything around us. Fishermen in the sea kill whales for their personal gains even if the whales have not harmed the fishermen. A man gathering salt would understand how he is hurting himself if he looked at his injured hands. The first example shows how innocence is being attacked for personal advantages. The second example talks about how we ignore our health, happiness and relationships in pursuit of monetary fame and success. Wars are another destructive outcome of negativity in humans. The poet cites the types of wars – wars fought with gas or fire that harm the environment around us do no justice to us or the animals and other elements of nature around us. These wars have no meaning, according to the poet, as no one wins. It is humans who are harmed at the end of the day. The poet believes that keeping quiet will inspire both war-mongers and victims to see the goodness in each other, and they will discover feelings of brotherhood among themselves once again.

The poet warns readers not to confuse staying still with complete inactivity. He wants to clarify that his desire for a quiet world should not mean that we are not supposed to work or do anything at all. The poet only wants the cruelty, violence and destructive activities to stop. He wants us to appreciate nature and realise its role and value in our lives. We take all kinds of precautions to live longer and avoid death. This struggle for survival makes us unleash destruction and violence. Perhaps a little bit of introspection and silence could reveal how we understand so little about ourselves and are terrified by the idea of death.

Finally, he cites the example of nature itself – how the Earth teaches us about rebirth and regeneration of life. Various phenomena on earth like seasons or cycles of organic substances begin and end to repeat themselves all over again. Winter seems to freeze everything but is followed by spring which brings new life and harmony to earth. While summer symbolises the peak of growth and maturity, autumn comes to shed off all the old and unnecessary. Life does not stop here. Life is created again. It is a cycle that never ends, and life and death are part of it. There is no point in struggling or fighting for immortality. The poet leaves the reader here on a note of silent introspection that implicitly urges humanity to realise its mistakes and move towards a more humane future.

Conclusion of Keeping Quiet

Keeping Quiet is a poem that invokes us to reflect on our actions and their consequences. The poet believes that silence is the way to start this process of reflection. The poem is an appeal to understand the world, to seek peace and harmony in the world and to seek brotherhood for the betterment of all. The poem has a powerful message but conveys it through a very subtle and serene tone. 

Answers

1- What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?

Ans 1. Counting up to twelve and Keeping still give us a momentary pause to introspect and review the course of action. People in the world are involved in wars and are also damaging the environment in order to achieve their aims. It is generally observed that most of the ills and troubles of the world are caused by our rush or hurry. Violence is caused by anger. Keeping quiet and still will give us necessary respite and ensure peace.

Q2- Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?

Ans- No, the poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity and death. He clarifies this in his poem that he wants all the people to just stop for a while in order to analyze their activities and their consequences. He wants human beings not to support war and damage to the environment.

Q3- What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Ans- The sadness is the result of our own actions. According to the poet we all are in a hurry of achieving various goals in our life. This rush sometimes proves dangerous for us. As we don’t analyze our actions, so we land ourselves in a number of problems. These problems then become the reason for our sadness as referred to in the poem.

Q4- What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?
Ans- The poet takes the example of earth to prove that there can be life under apparent stillness. The earth never gets inactive. We experience the change in the seasons which brings so many different things with it. In winters, things come to a standstill as the water bodies freeze; the trees shed their leaves, etc. But as soon as the spring season comes, it brings with it the lovely flowers, flowing rivers and a new life is given to the nature. So, the poet wants to convey that we should stay calm but that doesn’t mean that it will bring total inactivity and stillness.