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How appropriate is the title of the poem "Father Returning Home" by Dilip Chitre?

The title “Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre is appropriate both literally and metaphorically.


In the poem, an elderly man, with his “unseeing eyes,” arrives home by way of the commuter train. The poet describes the evening as the train travels away from the city to the hometowns of its passengers. The man carries a well-worn bag, which contains his life’s work, and wears dirty clothing and muddy shoes. He hurries home but it is...

The title “Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre is appropriate both literally and metaphorically.


In the poem, an elderly man, with his “unseeing eyes,” arrives home by way of the commuter train. The poet describes the evening as the train travels away from the city to the hometowns of its passengers. The man carries a well-worn bag, which contains his life’s work, and wears dirty clothing and muddy shoes. He hurries home but it is evident that he is no longer relevant to his children; they do not interact with him.



A few droplets cling to the greying hairs on his wrists.


His sullen children have often refused to share



He goes to his slumber listening to the static of the radio thinking about the future, his grandchildren, and his past, his ancestors and their “nomadic wanderings.”


Metaphorically, the Father, his mind gone feeble, is returning to his past, his home. He is a man in the twilight of his life. There is a duality to the meaning of the poem’s words.



He will now go to sleep


Listening to the static on the radio, dreaming


Of his ancestors and grandchildren, thinking


Of nomads entering a subcontinent through a narrow pass.



Therefore, using evidence from the text, the title is appropriate for the poem. It addresses the Father’s current journey, and his journey home in his aged mind. There is nothing left for him to attain in this life. A man’s final journey is a solitary one and he "hurries onward."

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