Summary and Analysis of Routine by Keki N Daruwalla

Keki N Daruwalla was born in Lahore in 1937. He is a poet of action and his poems feature predatory birds, beasts and soldiers. His poems are preoccupied with power and dominance. He narrates a world in which the jungle law of power rules and victims are shown least sympathy. He explores themes such as power, violence, lust and natural drives without any inhibitions.

Routine

This poem is taken from the collection Apparition in April(1971). The speaker of the poem is a police officer in uniform who is ordered to put down a riot. The poem begins by describing the 'putties'- a strip of clothe police man wears on their calves above their boots- of the police and the poet alludes this to the British raj. The speaker continues to describe the incompatibility of wearing colonial uniform in the hotter climate of India. This alien uniform keeps the police man repulsive, hot-tempered and  detached from the people of their own country. 

This comment can be developed further. So many colonial practices such as the police force are still in place in independent countries. They are the 'after-effect' of colonialism and the failure of the newly freed countries to reorganize these practices often leads to the emergence of the evils of colonialism.

Following the instructions, the police men march towards the angry crowd of young protestors - mostly students- and the latter call them abusive names. The police men do not bother as they are used to it. Karam Singh- a police officer with the same rank as that of the speaker- comments that these protesters are very young and he has children older to them. This shows both his consideration and contempt for the protestors, though nothing stops them from following their 'routine'. 

The violent protesters set fire to tramcars and turns their attention to the police men. The speaker fears that the rioters will burn their khaki skins. As expected, the police repeats their routine of warning the protesters which is lost in fiery slogans and then all the cops except the speaker point their gun at sky and pull the trigger. The speaker points his gun at the agitators and kills one of them. He executes a well rehearsed murder and the rioters disperse. The Salvage Squad takes the dead body to the autopsy room and moves the tram car away. The tension is relaxed and the cops return to their camp. The poem concludes with an ironic statement 'we are marching forward' made by one of the political leaders who might have professed the riot.

Analysis

Like other poems by Keki N Daruwalla, this poem too is a study on the inexplicable aspects of violence. The speaker of the poem offers various reasons for the perpetuation of violence by the police personnel. The uniform imposed on the cops is a lineage of the British raj and is incompatible with the climate of the country. The uniform includes putties, crack-helmet and boots and they are unbearable in summer heat of India. This make the police short tempered, restless and aggressive. The poem also questions the practice of following colonial systems by independent countries.

In another instance, the speaker justifies the act of violence with the aggressive nature of the protesters. The agitators burn tramcars and outnumber the cops. He also mentions that the police is also of the same folk but the crowd of protesters are not convinced of it. Here too the speaker tries to win the reader over to his side. 

In the next part, the speaker shoots at the protesters and one of the youth gets killed. Though he claims to bring the situation under control, it is very much clear that the murder committed by the speaker is rehearsed and intentional. None of his reasons are suffice to explain the cold blooded murder he has perpetuated under the guise of a police man. The speaker's indifference towards the student protesters is contrasted with the genuine concern of another police officer of the same rank, Karam Singh who can compare them with his own children.

The poem concludes with an ironic statement uttered by a political leader who may have professed and exploited the inexperienced student protesters. It is true that political leaders often do nothing for the progression of the country and that keep the country backward. It also true that police men are working under difficult circumstances and they are often deployed to manage violent mobs. None of this can explain the violent murder executed by the speaker and the poem exposes the psyche of a murderer. It is a study on the pathology of violence.