It was Nissim Ezekiel who first went down this particular path. Born in December 1924 in a Marathi-speaking Jewish family of Bombay, Nissim Ezekiel not only casually depicted his background, but also added laughter to the scene. Some of his most celebrated poems are the ones titled 'Very Indian Poems in Indian English' -considered to be a satirized version of Gujarati-influenced English used in Bombay. In 'Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa, T.S', Miss Pushpa "is departing for the foreign/...smiling and smiling/ even for no reason" can be traced back to Bombay 's Bhindi Bazaar.

In 'The Professor' his invitation: "If you are coming again this side by chance, visit please my humble residence also I am living just on opposite house's backside" -can also be taken as a reminder of the insistence on speaking English as a sign of erudition in our part of the world. In 'Very Indian Poem in Indian English', he comes out at his best with "Ancient Indian Wisdom is 100% correct/….But modern generation is neglecting--/Too much going for fashion and foreign thing." At a time when Upamanyu Chatterjee in The Mammaries of the Welfare State chooses to ask: "Aap all right hain?" and then moves on with a bolder: "Why don't you translate into Hinglish or Benglish some of your favorite English poems? The Alphred Pruphrock-er LaabhSong? And Shalott ki Lady", at a time when Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is including 'aunti-ji' and 'uncle-ji,' 'freshie' (a new immigrant), 'filmi' (dramatic), 'gora' (White), 'yaar' (friend), and 'adda' (local joint), every subcontinental artist is busy contributing to the remarkable linguistic humor and word-play shared between the subcontinent and other parts of the British-influenced English-speaking world.

Kaiser Haq's latest book, Published in the Streets of Dhaka includes previously written 'Four Poems in Subcontinental English' that proves that sub-continental English is never far away from everyday usage and humor. Haq's humor is home grown and unlike Ezekiel, who overheard and borrowed from local scenes, Haq's journey in comedy has been on his own and has sprung from his own imagination.

Haq's first poem in sub-continental English is 'Welcome, Tourist Sahib', possibly inspired by an article in a Dhaka newspaper: 'Bangladesh Born to Tourism'. A guide honest enough to declare his "ambition for writing tourist handbook and printing-publishing in Big Uncle's printing press" is however someone we no longer know in our local scene. The references to tribal women being topless and the information of the East inventing "topless before West", the suggestion of going to Bangkok and not declaring all the currency at the airport, the advice of bribing the tourist's way in and then finally ending with: "So come. I believe in friendship also strongly" reflect our obsqueousness and flattery of foreigners. Haq has merely picked that up and has given it his own color in poetry. The next one, ' Civil Service Romance', composed in a letter form with the heading 'Improvement of Bilateral Ties' hints at a marriage proposal and has the flavor of a traditional romantic discourse that shies away from a direct modern day approach. It was indeed usual for a man in the 60's to instantly fall for a visitor from a distant land and in the process, try explaining the urgency of setting up a "bilateral" dialogue. The civil servant is seen portraying the perfect picture of the Bangladesh covering rivers, tigers, heritage, idols, mosques, guidebooks. The regular Eastern ways of "buttering of Boss without compromising situation, etc" is a reminder of our own inadequacies. The whining hero of 60's comes through with Haq's lines: "I am like everloving film hero, tossing and turning with pillow in lieu of beloved." He signs off as her "humble servant", while the woman composes a reply with a more direct heading: "Matrimonial" and signs off as "Your loving servant" instead. The third poem, 'Sahara Desert' is, once again, reflective of a general setting at New Market, the once-upon-a-time haunt for aspiring parents to showcase their eligible girl/boy for marriage prospects. A young executive of a commercial firm meets an insurance salesman and discusses life without a wife being as hostile as the Sahara. Television is "viewed" by this man, boys in the market are "miscreants...pinching and hijacking and giving us a bad name." This poem, too speaks of a common setting. The last one of this kind, ' Party Games' is one which is set against a contemporary social scene where the narrator and three of his friends, Ustad, Roy and Moody, are temporary bachelors attending a party hosted by a certain Bashir Bhai and a Baby Bhabi. The gathering, is, indeed very "cosmopolitan" as there are a "few foreigners" and "non-resident locals". The alcohol loosens them all up and they start stealing glances at women: "some slim, some not so slim, but very nice on the whole." The show's stolen by Mae West in a sari, referred to as "Mae East" in the narrator's mind. In no time, "somebody is entering magnetic field of Mae East and losing control of his fingers," whereby Mr. Mae East starts screaming and the gang "is down in all fours galloping to exit."

Typically humorous sub-continental scenes such as this bless the poetic landscape of both Haq and Ezekiel. Their styles allow roots to grow, and their national conscience is never violated. Alternativity, an overactive interrogation of identity, an inelegant celebration of 'un-belonging' and the stress to prove oneself, refreshingly, are not traits found in either Ezekiel or Haq.

Rubana is a poet pursuing higher studies at Jadavpur University.