Hindi Varta Jul Sep

L A N G U A G E
D I S C O U R S E
W R I T I N G
Editor
Mamt a Kalia
Volume 4
J uly-Sept ember 20 0 9
Published by
Mahat ma Gandhi Int ernat ional Hindi Universit y
A J ournal of
Ma h a t m a Ga n d h i
An t a r r a s h t r i ya
H i n d i Vi s h wa vi d ya l a ya
Kku 'kka fr eS =kh
2 :: July-September 2009
H i n d i : La n gu a ge , Di s co u r s e , Wr i t i n g
A Quar t er ly J our nal of Mahat ma Gandhi Ant ar r asht r iya
Hindi Vishwavidyalaya
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July-September 2009 :: 3
L A N G U A G E
D I S C O U R S E
W R I T I N G
J uly-Sept ember 20 0 9
Co n t e n t s
H e r i t a ge
Dussahas Pr emchand 9
Nasha Pr emchand 1 7
Sh o r t St o r y
A Woman' s Feat s Sur yabala 23
Papa Dhir endr a Ast hana 28
Dhampur Meer a Kant 4 0
Coming Back Mushar r af Alam Zauqui 54
The Mist r ess of Phoolpur Pr at yaksha 7 2
P o e t r y
Six Poems Pr ayag Shukla 84
Thr ee Poems Asad Zaidi 89
Six Poems Anamika 94
Six Poems Dinesh Kumar Shukla 10 5
Tr a ve l o g u e
The Ear t hen Cup Asghar Wajahat 119
Di s c o u r s e
Pr emchand: As shor t st or y wr it er Bhishma Sahni 12 4
The sub-alt er n in Indian Lit er at ur e:
Some Reflect ions on Pr emchand and
his Godan P.C. J oshi 13 8
Godan: The Back St or y Kamal Kishor e Goyanka 15 5
Text and Cont ext : A Sociological
Analysis of Dalit Char act er s in
Pr emchand and ot her s Subhash Shar ma 16 2
The Tr ut h About 1857 Ramnika Gupt a 17 9
Me m o i r
Pr emchand: Ghar Mein Shivr ani Devi 19 0
I n t e r vi e w
Pr emchand: I nt er viewed by Pt . Banar asidas Chat ur vedi 19 8
F i l m s
A Celluloid J our ney t o I ndia:
Abdolhossein Sepant a and t he
Ear ly Ir anian Talkies Lalit J oshi 2 0 1
La n gu a ge
Hindi in Guyana Sat ishkumar Rohr a 2 12
Theat r ical per for mance and
Hindi t eaching:
My J apanese Exper ience Har jendr a Chaudhar y 2 18
P a ge s fr o m a n o ve l
T' TA Pr ofessor Manohar Shyam J oshi 2 2 1
Co n t r i b u t o r s Ad d r e s s e s 2 2 9
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2) I wish to congratulate you on relaunched hindi. Both the issues that have come
out so far, have been ably edited.
Being an author of high literary merit yourself, you are providing the literati with
an overview of eminent litterateurs including Phanishwar Nath Renu, Kunwarnarain,
Mridula Garg, Ravindra Kalia, Rajee Seth, Chitra Mudgal and Amarkant.
By running regular columns namely heritage, focus, conversation, poetry, films,
short story, discourse and language, you substantiate the parameters of Hindi.
The special attraction in your first issue (Jan-March 09) is the heartwarming
article on Kunwarnarain by his son Apurvanarain. He gets his fathers person
and poetry into perspective not only by giving us an intimate glimpse of his
flesh and blood but also by displaying his own power to gnaw into the sinew
of his fathers craft. His comments belong neither to a cuddled son nor a
captivated one. On the other hand, they are those of a discerning, erudite savant.
He also throws himself heart and soul into the translations of Kunwarjis poems
Deepak Sharma
B-35, SectorC, Aliganj, Lucknow
3) I was extremely impressed not only with the quality of the publication but also
its intellectual content. In fact, I was also very touched by the excellent views
expressed by the Vice Chancellor Shri Vibhuti Narain Rai.
Suchandra Chakraborti
Via email,
4) I dare say that this volume (April June 09) is not only well-edited, it, rather
comprehensively captures the scenario of contemporary Hindi writing well. Candidly
focus on Amarkant apart, the way you have highlighted the younger generation,
deserves hearty compliments. Really I am very happy that you have excellently
displayed editorial vision and insight in this issue.
Bharat Bhardwaj
11/A Hindustan Times Apartments
Mayur Vihar-I, Delhi.
Editor's Note
The trimester of July, August and September causes ripples in the main land
of Hindi because of several reasons. Katha-samrat Premchant was born on 31
st
July
1880. He lived a short life but packed it with his penmanship. He wrote more than
280 short stories, 12 novels, quite a few essays, editorials and book reviews that
are ever relevant to the cause of literature. The month of July brings back his contribution
to Hindi which the Hindi world commemorates in various ways like holding lectures,
seminars and conferences. We have devoted some pages to the doyen of Hindi fiction
by translating afresh two of his short stories nasha and dussahas. These stories
express Premchands social concern and point towards the maladies of his times.
No wonder that progressive writers and thinkers like Bhishma Sahni and P.C. Joshi
have written about his art and commitment. Another scholar Kamal Kishore Goyanka
reflects on Premchands craft and craftsmanship in Godan. When Premchand was
writing about the have-nots of society, there was no specific bracket of dalit thought
in literature. Modern day analysis has resulted in making this a whole area of social
concern. Subhash Sharma reflects on the dalit characters in four important novels.
Premchands wife, Shivrani Devi wrote an extremely vivid and readable biography of
her husband entitled Premchand: Ghar Mein. We carry a few pages that reveal
the live-wire dialogue between the husband and the wife.
The issue carries poems of four poets, each of whom holds a special place
in contemporary poetry. Prayag Shukla and Dinesh Kumar Shukla have a sensitive
apparatus for responding to nature and its surroundings whereas Asad Zaidi and Anamika
spark off at gender anomalies and contradictions.
Asghar Wajahat has this wander lust in him which takes him to far off places
and he comes back with a bagful of memories. We offer only a window-view of
his trip to Iran and Azerbajan.
Our short story section has five authors whose works of short fiction provide
a variety of expressions. Dhirendra Asthanas short story Papa is a two way outlet
of emotions for father and son of a new generation whereas Musharraf Alam Zaukis
short story Coming Back elaborates on present day e-romance. Senior writer Suryabala
has sarcasm reserved for husband-wife relationship whereas younger author Meerakant
gives a graphic account of a maladjusted womans agony. Pratyaksha is a new entrant
in Hindi and she experiments with a number of techniques.
The academics of cinema have always been of interest to men of letters. Professor
Lalit Joshi writes about the beginnings of Hindi cinema via Iranian movies. Satish
Kumar Rohra documents the hindi scene in neighbouring country Guyana and Ramnika
Gupta brings up a few queries about the historical unrest of 1857.
There was a tragi-comedy of errors in the previous issue when our translator
jumbled up a few poems. Vimal Kumars poem to see that beauty was a new
experience for the mirror was published to Nilesh Raghuvanshis credit thereby doubling
the confusion. Vimal Kumar and Nilesh Raghuvanshi are both award-winning fine poets.
Our apologies extend to both of them. We shall atone by presenting them with
better care next time.
O yes August is very close to all of us for we love our independence. September
caps it with a Hindi Day on September 14. Hindi gets a huge facelift from government
offices, universities, colleges and voluntary organizations. The two have a close knitted
history of struggle, development and achievements.
There has been an increase in the e-presence of Hindi. Our author vice chancellor
Mr. Vibhuti Narayan Rai, in a recent dialogue unfolded the Universitys project of
creating a website hindisamay.com to provide information of Hindi literature ranging
from Bhartendu, Ramchandra Bhukla, Premchand to Jaishankar Prasad. Its first phase
will comprise of works that are free from copyright. Mr. Rai hopes to make it a
prime network like classic reader.com and Gutenberg.org that serve their English readers.
DUSSAHAS
Premchand
Tr a n s l a t ed b y
Ravi Nandan Sinha
In t he Naubast a localit y of Lucknow, t her e lived one Munshi Maikulal
Mukht ar . He was a per fect gent leman, ext r emely gener ous and
kind. He had such pr ofessional exper t ise t hat t her e was har dly
a cour t case for which he was not hir ed by one or t he ot her
side. He also loved t he company of sadhus and wise men. Fr om
t hem he had picked up a cer t ain amount of knowledge of philosophy
and t he pr act ice of smoking ganja and charas. And for dr inking,
well, t hat was his family t r adit ion. Aft er dr inking, he could pr epar e
good legal document s; wine would light up his int ellect . Ganja
and charas impr oved his knowledge and wisdom. Aft er smoking
t he dr ug, he ent er ed int o a st at e of medit at ion and exper ienced
a sense of non-at t achment t o wor ldly t hings. People in his localit y
wer e impr essed by him, not by his legal exper t ise but by his
goodness bor n of gener osit y. Car r iage dr iver s, milkmen, kahars,
all wer e obedient t o him; t hey would leave t heir hundr ed t hings
t o do somet hing for him. His wine-gener at ed lar ge-hear t edness
impr essed ever yon e.
Ever yday when he came back fr om t he cour t , he t hr ew t wo
r upees befor e Algu kahar. He did not need t o say anyt hing; Algu
knew what t hat meant . Ever y evening a bot t le of liquor and some
ganja and charas would be placed befor e Munshi ji. And t hen,
t her e would be a par t y. Fr iends would ar r ive. On one side, t her e
would be his client s sit t ing in a r ow and on t he ot her his fr iends
would sit . The discussions cent r ed on spir it ualit y and non-at t achment .
Once in a while, he would also t alk t o his client s about a cour t
case. The par t y ended at t en in t he night . Apar t fr om his legal
pr ofession and t hose enlight ening discussions on spir it ualit y, Munshi
H
e
r
i
t
a
g
e
ji did not concer n himself wit h anyt hing
else. He had not hing t o do wit h any
movement , any meet ing, or any social
r efor m in t he count r y. In t his sense,
he was r eally above wor ldly t hings. The
par t i t i on of Ben gal t ook place, t h e
Sw a d es hi movemen t wa s l a u n ch ed ,
liber al and ext r emist gr oups wer e for med,
polit ical r efor ms began, aspir at ion for
independence was bor n, t he count r y r ang
wit h voices calling for defending t he
nat ion; but all t hat did not dist ur b t he
unbr oken peace in Munshi jis life even
one lit t le bit . Except for t he cour t -office
a n d h i s d r i n ki n g, h e con s i d er ed
ever yt hing else t o be may a; he had no
int er est in anyt hing else.
2
Lamps had been lit. Munshi jis party
was in place, the devotees had assembled
but the wine-goddess was nowhere to be
seen. Algu had not ret urned from t he
market. Again and again, people looked
towards the door with eagerness in their
eyes. One man stood in the veranda waiting;
two or three gentlemen were in the street
in order t o have advance informat ion.
But Algu was nowhere to be seen. That
was the first time in his life that Munshi
ji had to wait for such a long time for
his bottle. The expectation generated by
his waiting had taken the form of deep
meditation; he neither spoke to anyone,
nor looked at anyone. All his faculties
were focussed on the point of waiting.
Suddenly news came t hat Algu was
coming. Munshi ji woke up fr om his
t r ance, his fr iends bloomed wit h joy;
t hey sat up aler t , t heir eyes filled wit h
desir e. Delay coupled wit h hope incr eases
t he pleasur e of get t ing somet hing.
Soon Algu was st anding befor e t hem.
Munshi ji did not speak angr ily t o him
because it was his fir st mist ake; t her e
must have been some r eason for it . Wit h
half open eyes full of eager ness he looked
at Algus hands. Ther e was no bot t le
in t hem. That was unnat ur al, but he
di d n ot lose h i s t emper . He asked
sweet lyWher e is t he bot t le?
AlguI did not get it t oday.
MaikulalWhy?
AlguThe sw ar ajist s ar e blocking
bot h ends of t he st r eet . They ar e not
allowing anyone t o go near t he wine
shop.
Now Munshi ji was angr y, not wit h
Algu, but wit h t he swarajist s. What r ight
do t hey have t o st op my dr inking? He
cont inued wit h some annoyanceDidnt
you ment ion my name?
AlguYes, I did. I t r ied t o ar gue
wit h t hem, but who would list en t o me?
Ever yone was r et ur ning fr om t her e, so
I also came back.
MunshiDid you br ing t he charas?
AlguTher e t oo it was t he same st or y.
MunshiAr e you my ser vant or of
t he swarajist s?
AlguI have not become your ser vant
t o get my face blackened.
MunshiO, so t hose scoundr els wer e
blackening peoples faces also?
AlguThat I did not see for myself,
but ever yone was saying so.
MunshiAll r ight , Ill go myself. Let
me see, who has got t he gut s t o st op
me. Ill send each one of t hem t o jail.
Aft er all weve a gover nment her e, it s
not an anar chy. Was t her e no const able
post ed t her e?
AlguThe inspect or saheb himself was
t elling ever yonewhoever want s t o go
in, can go. Let him buy, or dr ink wine;
but no one was list ening t o him. Ever yone
was r et ur ning.
MunshiThe inspect or is my fr iend.
Come I du, will you come wit h me?
Rambali, Bechan, J hinku, let s all go
t oget her . Pick up an empt y bot t le, each
of you. Let me see, who can st op us.
Tomor r ow it self, Ill t each t hem a lesson.
3
When Munshi ji r eached t he st r eet leading
t o t he wine shop, t her e was a big cr owd
assembled t her e. In t he middle of t he
cr owd, st ood t wo ver y r espect able men.
One of t hem was Maulana J aamin, a well-
known r eligious man of t he t own. The
ot her per son was Swami Ghananand, who
was t he founder of t he Seva Samit i and
a gr eat well-wisher of t he people. Facing
t hem was t he inspect or wit h a number
of const ables. When he saw Munshi ji
and his fr iends, he said cheer ilyCome
Mukht ar Saheb, t oday you had t o come
your self. All t hese four people ar e wit h
you, ar ent t hey?
Munshi ji saidYes, I sent my man
fir st , but he r et ur ned empt y handed.
I hear d t hat t her e is a r uckus her e;
t he swarajist s ar e not allowing anyone
inside t he st r eet .
Inspect or Oh no, who can pr event
anyone fr om going in. You can go fr eely.
No one will say a wor d. Aft er all, what
am I her e for ?
Cast ing a glance full of pr ide on his
fr iends, Munshi ji ent er ed t he st r eet .
Maulana J aamin said t o Idu polit ely
Fr iend, it s t ime for your namaaz, how
come you ar e her e? Can we solve t he
Khilafat pr oblem wit h t his kind of fait h?
Idu felt as if ir on shackles held his
feet . Ashamed, he st ood t her e looking
down. He did not have t he cour age t o
t ake anot her st ep.
Swami Ghananand said t o Munshi ji
a n d h i s fr i en d s Son , t a ke t h i s
panchamrit , God will bless you. J hinku,
Ra mba l i a n d Bech a n a u t oma t i ca l l y
ext ended t heir hands t o r eceive t he
panchamrit and dr ank it . Munshi ji said
Dr ink t hat your self, I dont want it .
Swamiji st ood befor e him wit h joined
palms and said humblyPlease have
mer cy on t his mendicant , dont go t her e.
But Munshi caught hold of his hand
and pushing him aside ent er ed t he st r eet .
His t hr ee fr iends st ood wit h bowed heads
behind Swami ji.
MunshiRambali, J hinku, why ar ent
you coming? Who has t he power t o st op
us?
J hinkuWhy dont you come back?
We should list en t o holy men.
Mu n s h i So, i s t h i s t h e ki n d of
boldness wit h which you st ar t ed fr om
home?
RambaliI came her e t hinking t hat
if someone st ops us for cibly, we will
handle it . But did we come her e t o fight
wit h holy men?
MunshiIt s t r uly said, villager s ar e
r eally sheep.
BechanYou can act like a lion, we
ar e happy t o r emain sheep.
Wit h a show of gr eat ar r ogance Munshi
ji ent er ed t he wine shop. Ther e was no
act ivit y t her e. The wine-seller was dozing
in his seat . He sat up when he hear d
Munshi ji coming. He filled t he bot t le
and t hen began t o doze again.
When Munshi ji came back t o t he
end of t he st r eet , he did not find his
fr iends t her e. A cr owd gat her ed ar ound
h i m an d st ar t ed t aun t i n g h i m wi t h
insult ing wor ds.
One of t hem saidWhat a dr unkar d
he is!
Anot her saidShar mche kut t ist ki
peshe maradan bivavad (Shame cannot
face men).
A t hir d man saidHe must be a
confir med addict .
Meanwhile t he inspect or came and
disper sed t he cr owd. Munshi ji t hanked
him and set out for home. A const able
accompanied him for secur it y.
4
The four fr iends of Munshi ji t hr ew away
t heir bot t les and began t o walk home.
They began t o t alk among t hemselves.
J hinkuOnce when t hey caught my
hor se-car t for fr ee wor k, it was t his swami
ji who pleaded wit h t he peon and got
me r eleased.
RambaliLast year when my house
caught fir e, he came wit h t he Seva Samit i
wor ker s, ot her wise not hing would have
been saved in my house.
BechanWhat ar r ogance t his Mukht ar
has! If you have t o do somet hing bad,
do it secr et ly. On e shouldn t be so
shameless.
J hinku Br ot her , one should not
speak ill of anyone behind his back.
What ever else he is, he cer t ainly has
cour age. How boldly he ent er ed t hat
big cr owd!
RambaliThat is no boldness. If t he
inspect or had not been t her e, he would
have been t aught a lesson.
BechanI would not have set foot
in t he st r eet , even if I was offer ed fift y
r upees for it . I could not lift my head
for shame.
IduBy coming wit h him, I got int o
such t r ouble. Now wher ever Maulana
will see me, he would scold me. Why
should one act against r eligion t hat one
has t o be ashamed of it ? Today I felt
so mor t ified. I t ake a vow t oday never
t o dr ink again. Ill not even look at
wine.
RambaliThe vow of a dr unkar d is
never any st r onger t han a piece of weak
t hr ead.
IduIf you ever see me dr inking,
blacken my face.
BechanAll r ight , t hen fr om t oday,
I also give up dr inking. If now I dr ink,
let t hat be cows blood for me.
J hinkuThen am I t he only sinner
her e? Fr om now on if you ever find
me dr inking, make me sit in fr ont of
you and hit my head fift y t imes wit h
your shoe.
RambaliI dont believe you; even
now if Munshi ji calls you, you will go
t her e r unning like a dog.
J hinkuIf you ever see me sitting with
Munshi ji, beat me with your shoe a hundred
times. If a person is not true to his word,
he is not the son of his father.
RambaliThen fr iends, I also t ake
a vow t oday t hat I will never dr ink
if I have t o buy it . Yes, I dont mind
dr inking if someone offer s me.
BechanWhen have you ever paid
for your dr ink?
Meanwhile Munshiji was seen walking
hur r iedly t owar ds t hem. Alt hough he
had won t he bat t le, t her e was a cer t ain
look of embar r assment on his face. For
some hidden r eason, he was not able
t o enjoy t hat vict or y. Hiding in some
cor ner of his hear t , compunct ion was
mocking at him. He could not under st and
why but t hat act of misplaced cour age
was t or ment ing him.
Rambali saidCome Mukht ar Saheb,
you t ook a long t ime.
MushiYou ar e dunces, all of you;
you wer e misled by a mer e mendicant .
RambaliThese people have t aken a
vow t oday t hat t hey will never dr ink.
MunshiI have never seen a man
who, aft er being addict ed t o it once,
can escape fr om it s clut ches. Mer ely
t alking about giving up is anot her mat t er .
IduYou will see it happening, if
I live.
J hinkuOne cannot live wit hout food,
bu t ot h er t h i n gs you ca n gi ve u p
whenever you want . You only have t o
feel ashamed of it once. No one ever
dies for want of dr ugs or dr ink.
MunshiWell, Ill see how br ave you
ar e.
BechanWhat is t her e t o see? Giving
up dr inking is not a big t hing. The most
t hat can happen is t hat Ill feel dull
for a couple of days. Dur ing t he war ,
when t he Englishmen, who dr ink wine
like wat er , could give it up, it is not
ver y difficult for us.
Ta l ki n g l i ke t h i s , t h ey r ea ch ed
Mukht ar Sahebs house.
5
The living r oom was deser t ed. The client s
had all left . Algu was asleep in a cor ner .
Munshiji sat down on his seat on t he
floor and began t o t ake out t umbler s
fr om t he shelf. He st ill did not believe
t hat t he vows of his fr iends wer e genuine.
He was confident t hat when t hey saw
t he r edness of wine and smelt it s pleasant
scent , all t heir vows will vanish. I only
need t o encour age t hem a bit ; all of
t hem will join me and t her e will be a
par t y. But when Idu began t o leave aft er
saying goodbye t o him, and J hinku picked
up his st ick t o go, Munshi ji caught
t he hands of bot h of t hem and spoke
in ver y sweet wor dsFr iends, it s not
t he r ight t hing t o leave me alone like
t his. Come, t ast e t his a bit ; it s r eally
ver y good win e.
IduThe vow I have made t o myself
will st and.
MunshiO, come on, what is t her e
in t hese t hings?
IduDo enjoy your dr ink, but please
excuse me.
J hinkuGod willing, Ill never ever
go near it ; who want s t o be beat en wit h
shoes?
Saying t his, bot h of t hem fr eed t heir
hands and left . Then Mukht ar Saheb held
Bechans hand, who was going down t he
st air s of t he ver anda. He saidBechan,
will you also bet r ay me?
BechanI have taken a very big vow.
When once I have called it cows blood,
I cannot even look at it. I may be a
despicable, worthless fellow but I respect
cows blood. I say, you should also stop
drinking and spend some days in prayer.
Havent you been drinking for a long time?
Saying t his, he said goodbye and left .
Now only Rambali was left t her e. In
gr eat sor r ow Munshi ji said t o him
Rambali, see how all of t hem have
bet r ayed me! I never t hought t hese people
will be so faint hear t ed. Come, t oday let
only t he t wo of us shar e t he dr ink. Two
good fr iends ar e bet t er t han a dozen
such false ones. Come, sit down.
RambaliI am r eady, but I have t aken
a vow t hat I will never buy my dr ink.
MunshiAjee, as long as I am alive
why should you fear . Dr ink as much
as you want .
RambaliBut what when you die?
Wher e will I find such a gener ous man?
MunshiWell, t hat is st ill in fut ur e.
I am not dying t oday.
RambaliWho knows when a per son
will die? I am sur e you will die befor e
me. Then who will buy dr ink for me?
Then Ill not be able t o give it up.
It s bet t er t hat I am car eful r ight fr om
t od a y.
MunshiFr iend, dont t alk like t his
and disappoint me. Come, sit down, t ake
just a glass of it .
RambaliMukht ar Saheb, please dont
for ce me so much. When addict s like
Idu and J hinku, who sold t heir wives
or nament s for liquor and ar e complet e
dolt s, can give up dr inking, I am not
so shameless as t o r emain it s slave. Swami
ji has saved me fr om t ot al r uin. I can
never disobey him. Saying t his Rambali
also left .
6
Munshi ji put t he cup t o his lips, but
befor e he could fill t he second cup, his
desir e for dr inking disappear ed. It was
t he fir st t ime in his life t hat he had
t o dr ink alone as if it wer e a medicine.
Fir st , he felt ir r it at ed wit h his fr iends.
I must have spent hundr eds of r upees
on t hese t r ait or s and t oday t hey have
r un away on such a t r ivial mat t er . Now
her e I am, alone like a ghost ; t her e
is no one t o t alk t o. One should dr ink
in company. When t her e is no pleasur e
of friends company, what is the use of
drinking and then simply going to bed?
And how insult ed I felt t oday! When
I ent er ed t he st r eet , hundr eds of people
wer e looking at me wit h fir e in t heir
eyes. When I r et ur ned wit h t he wine,
t hey would have t or n me int o pieces,
if t hey wer e allowed t o. Had t he inspect or
not been t her e, r eaching home would
have been difficult . Why t his insult and
t his disgr ace? Is it not only for mer ely
making my mout h bit t er and bur ning
my hear t for a moment ? Ther e is no
one her e t o t alk t o or laugh wit h.
How wor t hless people consider t his
t hing t o be, only t oday I under st ood,
or else t hose who have been addict ed
t o dr inking for year s would not have
r eject ed my offer t hus, only because
a holy man gave t hem a slight hint t o
do so. It is t r ue t hat in t heir hear t s
people consider it t o be evil. When
milkmen, car t -dr iver s and kahars can
give it up, am I even wor se t han t hey
ar e? Aft er t his insult , t his going down
in peoples est imat ion, t his loss of r eput e
in t he ent ir e t own, t his infamy, if I get
int oxicat ed for some t ime, what gr eat
achievement will t hat be? Is it r ight
t o fall t his low for some addict ion? Those
four fellows must be speaking ill of me
at t his moment ; t hey must be t hinking
t hat I am a wicked man. I have fallen
in t he eyes of t hese fallen men. I cannot
st and t his. Today I will br ing t his passion
t o an end, I will end t his insult .
A moment lat er , a cr ashing sound
was hear d. St ar t led, Algu woke up and
saw t hat Munshi ji was st anding in t he
ver anda and t he bot t le was lying br oken
on t he gr ound.
Re f e r e n ce s :
Charas: an int oxicat ing dr ug.
Ganja: hemp.
Kahar: a cast e of palanquin bear er s.
May a: illusion.
Namaaz: pr ayer by a Muslim.
Panchamrit : a holy mixt ur e made
of milk and ot her t hings offer ed t o t he
devot ees aft er a Hindu wor ship cer emony.
Sadhu: Hindu holy men.
Swadeshi: t he Home-r ule movement
in t he Indian Fr eedom St r uggle.
Pr emch a n d ( 18 8 0 - 19 36 ) wa s b or n a t vi l l a ge La mh i i n Va r a n a s i . He
i s wi d el y kn own a s ka t h a s a mr a t or emp er or of fi ct i on i n Hi n d i . Hi s
r ea l n a me wa s Dh a n p a t Ra i . He s t a r t ed wr i t i n g i n Ur d u u n d er t h e
p en n a me Na wa b Ra i . La t er s wi t ch ed over t o Hi n d i u n d er t h e p en
n a me Pr emch a n d . Hi s s h or t s t or i es d ep i ct r u r a l a n d u r b a n p r e- i n d e-
p en d en ce s oci et y i n a l l i t s s h a d es . I n h i s memor a b l e n ovel God a n
Pr emch a n d p or t r a ys t h e p l i gh t of fa r mer s . He ga ve u p h i s gover n men t
s er vi ce t o become a fu l l t i me wr i t er . Hi s es s a ys l i ke Ma h a j a n i Sa bh ya t a
J eeva n Mei n Sa h i t ya Ka St h a n a r e r el eva n t t o t h i s d a y.
Dr . Ra vi Na n d a n Si n h a , ed i t s Th e Qu es t , a j ou r n a l of I n d i a n l i t er a t u r e
a n d cu l t u r e es t a b l i s h ed i n 19 8 7. Sa h i t ya Aka d emi a n d Na t i on a l Book
Tr u s t I n d i a h a ve p u b l i s h ed b ooks of Hi n d i p oet r y a n d fi ct i on t r a n s l a t ed
b y h i m. Pr es en t l y, Hea d , PG Dep t . of En gl i s h , St . Xa vi er s Col l ege,
R a n c h i .
NASHA
Premchand
Dhir aj Singh
Ishvar is fat her was a big shot . Mine, a mer e cler k. We wer ent
r ich and landed like he was. But we wer e good fr iends. Fr iends
whod ar gue all t he t ime. I didnt oft en have kind wor ds for people
like him. I called t hem blood-sucker s, compar ed t hem t o all sor t s
of lowly t hings like t he Amar bel, t he par asit e vine t hat gr ew on
t op of t r ees. He spoke up for people like himself, t hough he didnt
have much of an ar gument . Ther e isnt much you can say in
t heir defence now can you.
I never bought Ishvar is ar gument t hat equalit y bet ween men
was a myt h and t hat t her e wer e and always will be small men
and big men. How could one anyway pr ove his line of t hinking,
wit hout get t ing caught in a web of mor alit y and et hics. In t he
heat of t he moment Id oft en say some ver y nast y t hings t o him
but t o his cr edit Ishvar i always kept a cool head. I never saw
him even so much as r aise his voice.
Maybe he was only t oo awar e of t he holes in his case. But
one could never accuse him of not pr act ising what he pr eached.
He r ar ely had a kind wor d for his ser vant s. He had in him a
huge measur e of t hat special cont empt and lack of empat hy t he
r ich have for t hose below t hem. Small t hings like an unmade
bed, a glass of milk eit her t oo hot or t oo cold or a bicycle not
pr oper ly dust ed would see him in a solar st or m. A lazy ser vant
or one t hat answer ed back was anat hema t o him. But wit h fr iends
he was t he pict ur e of chumminess. And I was his best buddy.
Maybe if I was bor n in t he lap of luxur y I t oo wouldve t hought
H
e
r
i
t
a
g
e
like he did. I say t his because my own
posit ion was not based on any deep
convict ions about t he equalit y of men,
but came fr om t he hopelessness of my
sit uat ion. But in my hear t I knew Ishvar i
would st ill be r ich even if he was bor n
poor like me. That s because he was
deep inside a lover of all t hings beaut iful
and all t hings r ich.
Once dur ing t he Dussehr a holidays
I decided not t o go back home. I was
br oke and didnt want t o ask my folks
for t icket money. I knew t hey wer e anyway
st r et ching t hemselves beyond t heir means
get t ing me an educat ion. Plus, t her e was
t he added bur den of impending exams.
Ther e was so much left t o st udy and
I kn ew on ce at home I d n ever go
anywher e near my books. But I also
didnt want t o st ay back alone and haunt
t he host el. So when Ishvar i invit ed me
t o go wit h him t o his place I jumped
at t he offer . It was a godsend. Besides
we could r eally st udy t oget her . Despit e
his ot her failings, he was a good and
har d-wor king st udent .
However , t her e was one t hing he
want ed me t o guar d against . My r at her
vocal love for r ubbishing t he r ich! It
could, he said, land him in t r ouble. His
old-wor ld feudal family st ill r uled over
t heir fief as if it was t heir divine r ight .
But t he ot her side of t he st or y was t hat
t h e fi ef a l s o t h ou gh t s o. An d t h i s
equ i l i br i u m of t h ou gh t wa s ver y
impor t ant t o t heir co-exist ence.
This wasnt exact ly music t o my ear s.
Do you t hink Ill go t her e and st op
speaking my mind?
Yes, Id like t o t hink so
Then your e t hinking wr ong.
Ishvar i was wise not t o answer t hat .
He simply kept quiet and left t he mat t er
t o my obviously over -heat ed conscience.
He also must have known how st ubbor n
I was when it came t o our ar gument s
about class and equalit y.
This was a fir st for me. I had never
t r avelled second class. In fact , I hadnt
even t r avelled int er class. Ishvar i had
made second class t r avel possible for
me. The t r ain was t o ar r ive at 9 pm
but I was so excit ed about our jour ney
t hat Ishvar i and I wer e at st at ion soon
aft er sundown. We gener ally hung ar ound
at t he plat for m and t hen decided t o go
t o t he Refr eshment Room for dinner .
J ust by looking at us t he st aff t her e
didnt t ake long t o figur e out who was
Mr Moneybag and who was a hanger -
on. I was sur pr ised and angr y at myself
for bei n g s o over - s en s i t i ve t o t h e
defer ence t hey showed I shvar i while
t r eat ing me like t he hanger -on t hat I
was. Aft er all, Ishvar i was t he one foot ing
t he bill. I assumed t hat my fat her s
mont hly salar y was pr obably less t han
what t hese wait er s ear ned as t ips. Ishvar i
himself left t hem 8 annas. Was I wr ong
t o expect t hem t o show me t he same
cour t esy t hey wer e showing my fr iend?
Why was it t hat t hey jumped at his ever y
whim while my r equest s fell on deaf
ear s? Suddenly I didnt feel ver y hungr y.
The t r ain ar r ived and we left t he
Refr eshment Room. The wait er s did all
but kiss t he gr ound wher e Ishvar i walked.
They looked t hr ough me as if I wer e
his shadow. And t o add insult t o injur y,
Ishvar i obser ved: J ust look at t hese
people, how well behaved t hey ar e. And
t hen t her e ar e my ser vant s who know
not hing about not hing.
St ill smar t ing fr om t he slight I was
quick t o add: Maybe if you t ipped t hem
as gener ously t heyd be even mor e
well-behaved.
What do you t hink t hese people ar e
doing it for t he t ip?
No, not at all! Good behaviour and
gent ilit y r uns in t heir blood.
The t r ain st ar t ed. It was an expr ess
t r ain. Once it left Pr ayag it only st opped
at Pr at apgar h. One man opened our
compar t ment door t o peek in, and I
immediat ely shout ed, Dont you know
t his is a second class coach? He came
in and gave me a look one r eser ves
for t he ver y nave and ar r ogant . Your
humble ser vant knows t hat , Sir , he said
and sat on t he middle ber t h. I had never
been so embar r assed in my life.
We r each ed Mor adabad by ear ly
mor ning. Ther e was a whole cont ingent
wait ing t o welcome us at t he st at ion.
Ther e wer e t wo well-dr essed men and
five ot her s who looked like wor ker s. The
wor ker s picked up our luggage and st ar t ed
walking. The t wo ot her s st ar t ed t o walk
wit h us behind t he wor ker s. One of t hem
was Riyasat Ali, a Muslim and t he ot her
Ramhar akh, a Br ahmin. Bot h of t hem
wer e r egar ding me wit h eyes t hat said,
but Mr Cr ow, ar ent you t r ying t oo har d
t o be a swan.
Finally, Riyasat Ali asked I shvar i,
I s t his young sir your class mat e?
For Ishvar i t his was a signal t o st ar t
spinning his yar n. Yes and not only
t hat he is also my r oom mat e. In fact
you could say hes t he r eason I am
st ill st udying in Allahabad ot her wise Id
be dumped back in Lucknow long ago.
You dont know how much I had t o
beg him t o come wit h me. His folks
must have sent him at least a dozen
t elegr ams but I sent t hem back. The
last one t hey sent was Ur gent meaning
it cost four annas per wor d. But t hat
t oo I sent back.
They bot h looked at me sur pr ised.
As if t heyd been hit by t he news of
a flood. At last Riyasat Ali spoke up,
I must say t he young sir likes t o keep
it simple. Ishvar i had an answer for
t hat as well. Hes aft er all a Gandhi
follower doesnt wear anyt hing except
khadi. Act ually, he bur ned all his English
clot hes. You wont believe it but hes
a pr ince. Their st at es annual income
alone is t wo and half lakh r upees. But
look at him and youd pr obably t hink
Ive picked him up fr om an or phanage.
Now even Ramhar akh seemed excit ed
by I shvar is st or y. I t s r ar e t o find
someone so r ich do t hat I d never
have guessed looking at him.
But Riyasat Ali had seen bet t er . You
shouldve seen t he King of Changli. He
used t o walk ar ound t he mar ket place
in a cheap kur t a and coar se shoes. I
hear d he used t o wor k as labour er
somewher e and next I hear he had opened
a college wor t h 10 lakh r upees. I want ed
n o p a r t i n t h i s con ver s a t i on bu t
somewher e in t he dept hs of my hear t
I had alr eady begun t o like t he sound
of my quir ky r ichness. It was almost
as if wit h each line I was being pushed
closer t o my dr eam life and t he r iches
it cont ained.
When it comes t o hor ses I am no
cowboy and t hat is an under st at ement .
My only exper ience wit h t he four -legged
kind is hopping ar ound on mules as a
kid. Wait ing out side t he st at ion wer e
t wo st r appin g hor ses t o t ake us t o
Ishvar is house. I felt my knees wobble.
But I made sur e my face didnt bet r ay
any signs of t r epidat ion. I was now
complet ely at t he mer cy of my fr iend.
And I was glad Ishvar i played t he r ole
of a gent leman host t o t he hilt . Had
he r aced his hor se I t oo wouldve been
for ced t o keep up wit h him and wit hout
doubt Id be under my r ide in no t ime.
I was glad Ishvar i let me keep my head
high and did not hing t o pier ce my fast -
gr owing bubble.
His house was like a for t r ess. The
gat e it self was like t he Imambar a gat e,
out side which t her e wer e liver ied guar ds.
It s inside was t eeming wit h ser vant s.
An elephant was t ied in t he fr ont yar d.
I shvar i int r oduced me t o his fat her ,
mot her , uncles and aunt s wit h t he same
ent husiasm as hed shown at t he st at ion.
Meaning I was now not just a pr ince
in t he eyes of t he ser vant s but in pr et t y
much ever ybodys. Aft er all, t hese wer e
t he boon docks wher e even a police
const able would be t hought t o be an
officer . For many at Ishvar is house I
was someone who simply couldnt be
addr essed by name.
When I caught him alone I asked
him why he was so keen on t aking
my t r ip in fr ont of his family. But
I shvar i had his r easons. Wit hout t his
dr essing up t hey wouldnt even t alk
t o you .
J ust t hen befor e us mat er ialised a
masseur . My pr inces must be t ir ed
let me pr ess your feet , he said. Ishvar i
point ed t owar ds me. His fir st , he said.
I was on my bed, lying on my back
r eady t o be given a foot massage. This
was my fir st foot massage, an act t hat
I had many t imes in t he past cr ucified
my fr iend for , calling it names such as
t he kick of t he r ich, Big Foot massage,
opium of t he asses et c. et c. And now
her e I was get t ing myself one.
By t he t ime my debut was complet ed
in r ight ear nest t he clock st r uck t en,
which in t hese par t s is a good enough
t ime t o announce lunch. But t hat t oo
was not wit hout it s r it uals. We had
t o bat he fir st . Usually I wash my own
clot hes but her e I behaved exact ly like
a pr in ce an d dr opped off my dir t y
clot hes wher e I shvar i had dumped his.
This was anot her fir st for me. I felt
I couldnt be caught dead washing my
own clot h es.
In t he host els dining r oom we all
sat at t he t able wit h our shoes on but
her e t hings wer e done differ ent ly. A
ser vant st ood out side our r oom t o wash
our feet . Ishvar i went befor e me and
got his feet washed. I t oo did likewise.
In my head a t iny voice was beginning
t o r ing, bloody hypocr it e, it called me.
I had come her e expect ing t o pr epar e
for t he exams and her e I was whiling
away my t ime playing Big Pr ince. Our
days wer e eit her spent cr ossing t he r iver
on a r eed r aft or fishing or wat ching
t he wr est ler s or playing chess. Ot her
t imes wed be feast ing on omelet t es made
on a st ove in Ishvar is r oom. And I
was fur t her get t ing spoilt by t he bat t er y
of ser vant s t hat followed me ar ound like
baby chicken. All I had t o do was call
out and t hings would be done for me.
If I went t o t he well for a bat h, t her ed
be someone t o pour wat er over me.
If I lay down on t he bed a hand would
st ar t fanning me. The ir ony of t he sit uat ion
was t hat ever yone now called me The
Gandhi Pr ince. It s not as if I squir med
ever y t ime a ser vant came t o be of
assist ance t o me. I was enjoying ever y
bit of t he at t ent ion.
Theyd all follow me ar ound t o see
t hat my br eakfast was on t ime or t hat
my bed was made. I had in t his t ime
become mor e r ich t han t he r ich. Wher e
Ishvar i would somet imes make his own
bed, Id st ill be wait ing for mine t o be
made. As if making my own bed would
t ur n me back int o a fr og.
And one day I almost had it . Ishvar i
was upst air s t alking wit h his mot her .
And it was alr eady 10 pm. I could bar ely
keep my eyes open but just couldnt
br ing myself t o make my own bed. At
about 11.30 Mahr a came t o my r oom.
He was one of t he favour it e ser vant s
of t he family. That day poor chap must
have been out on some er r and. But what
was I t o do, I was aft er all r oyalt y.
So t hat day poor Mahr a r eceived fr om
me t he wor st t ongue lashing of his life.
Ishvar i, who was wit hin ear shot , came
inside and congr at ulat ed me for finally
having lear nt t he r ight way t o deal wit h
ser vant s. This is t he only way t hese
bugger s under st and.
Anot her day Ishvar i was invit ed out
for dinner and I was alone at home.
The sun had set and st ill no one had
come t o my r oom t o light t he lant er n.
I just sat t her e st ubbor nly st ar ing at
t he mat chbox and t he lant er n on t he
t able beside me. How could I, t he t wo-
and-half-lakh-r upee pr ince, light my own
lant er n. This imaginar y fact was bur ning
me up fr om inside. What s mor e, I was
dying t o r ead t he newspaper , but how
could I. J ust t hen t he family account ant
Riyasat Ali passed by and lo and behold
my anger er upt ed upon him like t he
Vesuvius. I dont know how you people
can manage wit h such ser vant s in my
house t heyd be kicked out immediat ely,
I t hunder ed. Finally it was Riyasat Ali
who lit my lant er n, shaken as he was
aft er my Vesuvius moment .
Thakur was anot her casual wor ker
at Ishvar is house. A loose canon of
a man but a har dcor e follower of Mahat ma
Gandhi, he held me in ver y high r egar d.
In fact , he could bar ely speak a full
sent ence in my pr esence. One day when
I was alone he came and st ood next
t o me wit h folded hands. My good sir
is a follower of Mahat ma Gandhi, isnt
it ? I have hear d some r umour s like
when wer e independent t her e would be
no big land owner s in t he count r y. Is
t hat t r ue?
Suddenly, as if by magic I was my
old self again. Of cour se, who needs
t hese land owner s anyway. Do you need
t hese blood-sucker s?
But Thakur was not convinced. You
mean, my good sir , all t heir land will
be t aken away?
Ther e ar e some, I said, wholl only
be t oo glad t o par t wit h t heir land. And
t hose who wont will obviously be for ced
t o give up t heir land. But you know
what weve been act ually wait ing t o
dist r ibut e our s among t he people of our
st at e.
Suddenly Thakur gr abbed my feet
and st ar t ed pr essing t hem. You ar e so
r ight , my lor d, t he landowner s her e ar e
t er r ible. Maybe, I could come and humbly
ser ve you in your st at e and per haps
get a small piece of land in r et ur n.
Right now, my fr iend, I dont have
t hat r ight . But when I do I will sur ely
call you over . Maybe I could t each you
how t o dr ive and you could be my dr iver .
Lat er , news came t o me t hat t hat
evening Thakur got dr unk and beat up
his wife. And as if t hat wasnt enough
he was also r eady t o bash up t he village
mon ey- len der .
This is how our holidays came t o
an end and we st ar t ed off for t he st at ion
once again. It almost seemed t he whole
village had come t o see us off. Thakur
in fact came wit h us t ill t he t r ain. I
t oo played my par t t o per fect ion. In
fact I was keen t o t ip t hem handsomely
t o leave t hem a t ast e of my wealt h and
br eed i n g. Bu t my s h a l l ow p ocket s
pr event ed me fr om doing t hat .
Wed a l r ea d y bou gh t ou r r et u r n
t icket s. All we had t o do was t o boar d
t h e t r a i n a n d s a y good bye t o t h e
boondocks. But t he damn t r ain came
packed like a sack of pot at oes. This was
t he Dur ga Puja r ush. Most people wer e
r et ur ning home aft er t he holidays. The
second class sect ion was packed t oo.
So you can imagine t he sit uat ion in t he
int er class. And t his was t he last t r ain
t o Allahabad. If we gave it a miss, wed
find none t ill t he next day. But our power
and pelf helped us get some place in
t he t hir d class. Somet hing t hat left me,
t he-t wo-and-a-half-lakh pr ince, r at her
upset . What an ant i-climax was t his t o
t he jour ney t o her e when we had whole
ber t hs t o our selves. Now we bar ely had
half a seat .
But t he t r ain was full of people. Ther e
wer e also people who had had an English
educat ion and saw no small vir t ue in
t he ways of t heir mast er s. One gent leman
was r at her vocal about his love for t he
Br it ish. When did we ever have a judicial
syst em like t heir s, wher e ever yone is
equal. Even t he king can be t aken t o
t ask if he wr ongs a peasant . Anot her
seconded t his claim. You ar e so r ight .
You could even sue t heir Emper or . Take
him t o cour t if you will.
Next t o me was a man who couldnt
get a place t o sit . So he r emained st anding,
a bi g cl ot h ba g h a n gi n g fr om h i s
shoulder s. I t hink he was going fur t her
east , t o Calcut t a. I guessed he chose
a place close t o t he door so t hat he
could get some fr esh air . But what he
pr obably did not r ealise was t hat he
was pr et t y much cut t ing off my shar e
of air . And t hen t her e was his big bag
t hat r ubbed on my face, once, t wice,
t hr ice and t hen I could t ake it no
mor e. I st ood up pushed him away and
landed t wo t ight slaps acr oss his cheeks.
The impact and suddenness of t he
act had made him angr y t oo. Why do
you hit me, man? I have also paid my
far e. This was enough t o send my pr incely
blood boiling and I got up once again
and fur t her r ewar ded him wit h sever al
mor e slaps. Suddenly it was as if t he
whole compar t ment had got int o act ion.
Ever yone st ar t ed r aining blows on me.
What man? If your e so t ouchy you
should t r avel fir st class.
He maybe a big shot in his place
but her e he dar e not act t oo r ich. Id
have t ur ned him int o a pulp had he
even t ouched me.
What was t he poor guys fault ? As
it is it s like a cat t le t r ain her e.
He was only st anding by t he door
and t his pr ince and a half felt insult ed.
The r ich, I t ell you, ar e not human.
See, t his is what your for eign r ule
does t o people.
An old t oot hless man also spoke up.
Not get t ing inside office but behaving
like an officer !
Ishvar i was t he last one t o scr eam
at me. What a bloody idiot you ar e, Bir !
I could suddenly feel my spell cr umble
t o a t housand pieces and r ealit y br eak
in ar ound me once again.
Dh i r a j Si n gh i s a s h or t - s t or y wr i t er , p oet a n d p a i n t er b a s ed i n Del h i .
An exh i b i t i on of h i s p a i n t i n gs wa s h el d a t Ar t s Ga l l er y, New Del h i
i n Au gu s t , 20 0 9 . He b l ogs a t h t t p : / / b od h i s h op . b l ogs p ot . com
A WOMANS FEATS
Sur yabala
Pooja Bir la
Im of aver age height and built , an almost -beaut iful woman; you
can call me a lady; well educat ed, cult ur ed and int elligent , per haps
can even say t hat Im int ellect ual. Im also mar r ied, t o an almost -
dignified, handsome and healt hy man of five feet eleven inches,
and am t he wife of a husband who is a man of few wor ds, and
even t hose - ut t er ed soft ly gent ly.
Kids? Of cour se, daught er and sons, bor n, for t unat ely, in a
t imely and convenient manner ; kids t hat have gr own int o pr ecocious
and obedient young adult s who complet e t heir homewor k on t ime.
For t unat ely, we have adequat e enough means t o ensur e t hat t his
lit t le car avan of one husband, t wo domest ic maids and t hr ee childr en
can skip along t he pat h of life, feeling happiness at ever y bounce.
In ot her wor ds, t he childr ens st udies, aft er -school classes and
ext r a cur r icular act ivit ies, midt er ms and finals, all t ake place in
a convenient and or ganized manner . That s us - convenient and
or ganized.
My husband gives me what I want t o r un t he house; he let s
me go wher ever I want t o go. He never int er fer es or st ops me,
doesnt even quest ion what I do. When I ask him t o accompany
me, he comes along; and doesnt when I dont ask him t o. Our
food is also always simple and wholesome. If, occasionally, I r epeat
dishes t oo oft en, I mur mur apologet ically, Sor r y, and he r esponds
ext r emely soft ly, I t s alr ight .
End of discussion.
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s
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In ot her homes, Ive seen enough
of calamit y-causing, seismic husbands
who have convulsions because eit her
t he salt is a lit t le less or t he chili, a
lit t le mor e. Fir st t her es t he ear t hquake
and t hen t he aft er shocks of mollified
offer ings. It t akes a good hour or t wo
t o deal wit h t he whole year s casualt y
calendar . But in my home, I swear , t his
hasnt happened even once, which is
why our fr iends and neighbor s say my
husband is no or dinar y man - hes a
saint .
We have one color ed TV, t wo phones
a n d get t h r ee n ews p a p er s . Th e
newspaper s ar e scanned befor e and aft er
office; t he TV is usually t ur ned on when
hes home. He has no favor it e channel
or show. Ir r espect ive of what is on, he
wat ches it ; what ever t he subject , he
doesnt get upset or change t he channel,
ever . Hes never in a dilemma of what
t o do wit h his t ime. It passes, on it s
own, comfor t ably enough; ot her wise most
p eop l e h a ve a fu l l - fl ed ged wor kou t
t hinking of how t o spend t ime, save t ime.
No such indecisiveness per vades my
husbands wor ld. He is t he ideal solut ion
of t hese pr oblems, which is exact ly why
ou r fr i en d s a n d n ei gh bor s s a y my
husband is no or dinar y man - hes a
saint .
Oh but what can I say about myself?
J ust t hinking about me is embar r assing.
I have no wisdom or quiet ude t o mat ch
his saint liness. The mor e angelic he get s,
t he mor e bent and misshapen I become.
If I laugh, I chor t le loudly, split t ing
my sides, and when I cr y, it s a monsoon
deluge, showing no sign of ceasing. I
funct ion on a shor t fuse; even t he smallest
t hing get s me fuming and fr ot hing, at
my saint -like husband, wit hout a syllable
being ut t er ed. Im well awar e on such
occasions t hat it s all my fault but he,
in his quiet and gent le way (wit hout
knowing, hear ing or under st anding why
Im fur ious), says, It s OK, or , So
sor r y Our neighbor s say t hat t o dat e
t hey havent hear d his voice r aised. It s
t r ue; when I havent hear d it inside t he
house, how can anyone sense it out side?
Take for inst ance, a Sunday; if I see
him leaving, no mat t er how har d I r esist ,
I cant help asking, Ar e you going
somewher e?
Yes .
Wher e?
Out .
Out , wher e?
I was t o meet someone
Who?
You dont know him.
OK. When will you r et ur n?
I may come back soon, or it may
t ake t ime.
See, didnt I t ell you ear lier soft
spoken, man of few wor ds. Tell me, is
t his any excuse t o fr et or hit t he r oof?
No, r ight ? But I dont miss t he oppor t unit y
t o st ar t an ar gument . To hell wit h his
equanimit y when I want t o squabble!
One t ime, I got down t o it pr et t y fast .
I said, You never even t alk t o me.
Al l t h e t i me, i t s n ews p a p er s , TV,
comput er , phones.
He kept t he newspaper s aside, t ur ned
off t he TV and said in mat ur ed, measur ed
t ones, Im sor r y. OK, t ell me what should
I t alk about ?
Tel l me, d on t you t h i n k h e i s
compliance per sonified? He is asking me
t o t ell him what he should t alk about
wit h me.
But wh en i t came t o suggest i n g
somet hin g, my min d dr ew a blan k.
Ner vously I t r ied t o come up wit h a
t opic I could int r oduce but no luck.
I got incr easingly anxious; he was wait ing
for me and I couldnt come up wit h
an yt hin g.
Falt er ing, I said, Ar ey, if t her es
not hing else, t ell me about your day
in office. So many big t hings must have
occur r ed. Tell me about t hem.
Yes, sur e, he said and t r ied t o r ecall.
Then, in an even t one, he began t elling
me as I pr epar ed t o list en at t ent ively.
When he r eached t he office in t he mor ning,
his peon, Pyar elal, had gone off, like
a l wa ys , t o get t oba cco l ea ves fr om
anot her peon, Kamt a. The woman at t he
swit chboar d came in lat e. By t en t hir t y,
t he packing depar t ment was on go slow
mode because of which t he consignment
t hat should have been loaded by t hr ee
t hir t y was st ill being loaded t ill five
t hir t y, in fact , five for t y-five. The t r ucks
had t o wait longer . Tensions bet ween
t he packing depar t ment and t he loading
people r emained high because of all t his.
Cashier Bar uha ext ended his vacat ion
and sever al bills couldnt be r eimbur sed.
Makhija, t he assist ant at t he chemical
lab, was again caught st ealing some
cult ur es. Meanwhile t her e was a power
cut for an hour -and-a-halft he t anker
at Rehmat ganj br oke down. Ther e was
a budget meet ing fr om t hr ee t hir t y
and t hen I hear , Should I t alk mor e
or is t his enough?
His inquir ing t one wr enches me out
of my t or por . Uff! I had for got t en t hat
I had asked him t o t alk. He was giving
me t his long, fait hful account of his office
dr ama t o oblige me, wher eas, I had hear d
t he fir st t wo sent ences and t hen dr ift ed
off. Who knows, maybe I fell asleep.
I hadnt managed t o hear or under st and
mu ch . I s n t t h i s t h e l i mi t of my
impolit eness t hat fir st I at t ack him wit h
demands and quest ions and t hen yawn
and get dist r act ed while he t r ies t o
appease me wit h appr opr iat e answer s.
Now he was for ced t o ask if we should
t alk some mor e.
I felt deject ed and t o save t he sit uat ion
said, Let it be. You must be t ir ed. Ill
make some t ea. Should I?
He had t ur ned on t he TV once I
declined his offer of mor e conver sat ion,
and was wat ching it ser enely. He hadnt
hear d my quest ion for t ea. I wait ed for
a while and t hen asked again, Do you
want t ea?
OK, Ill dr ink some, he answer ed,
in a quiet voice.
I walked t owar ds t he kit chen like
a smar t and r esponsible wife; put t he
pot on t he st ove. Suddenly, out of a
place I didnt know exist ed, a wave of
exasper at ion r ose wit hin me, as if I was
having a fit ; as if all t he funct ioning
r at ionalit y was being exploded molecule
by molecule; a dest r uct ive bulldozer had
mat er ialized out of nowher e and was
det er mined t o t ear down and level all
t he buildings st anding in line like well-
behaved school childr en. It seemed t hat
I was cont r olling t his dest r uct ive for ce
and, at t he same t ime, also scr eaming,
all dist r aught , pleading for t he bulldozer
t o st op. Amidst t he int er nal st r ife, of
t he why and how, I could make out
some lit t le meaning
What does he mean, Ill dr ink some!
Is he doing me a favor ? Why cant he
be like ot her nor mal men and simply
say, Yeah, sur e, make t ea. Even I can
use some r ight now? Or he could have
said, Put ginger and black pepper t oo,
make it r eally st r ong and spicy, OK?
But t his line of t hinking was point less,
t he daydr eams obscene, unlawful even
t hese cast les I built in air had come
cr ashing down, wr ecked and r azed t o
t he gr ound. What was left , t acked t o
t he det r it us, was a sickening, depr essing
phr ase, Ill dr ink some.
This was t he mir age of my pr ivat e
wor ld. Out side, t he wat er on t he st ove
had begun t o boil; on t he t r ay, as is
our cust om, I had ar r anged t he cups
and saucer s, t he sugar and milk pot s.
Abr upt ly, once again, t he fit seized
me. This t ime t he wat er was boiling inside
me. The flame looked wild, leaping int o
t he air , scor ching and sear ing t hings
it t ouched. I had no cont r ol over my
mi n d or bod y, t h e ma d d en ed a n d
ma d d en i n g exa s p er a t i on h a d t a ken
char ge. I t r ied t o r est r ain myself but
t he delinquent par t t hr ew a spoonful
of powder ed black pepper int o t he boiling
wat er along wit h t he t ealeaves and gr ound
ginger .
As he t akes t he fir st sip, my hear t
is pounding inside my head and I for get
t o br eat he. Hes going t o say somet hing
nownownow. I cant wait any mor e.
My impat ience get s t he bet t er of me.
Wh a t ? Wh a t h a ppen ed? Too mu ch
p ep p er , r i gh t ? Sa y s a y i t s a y
somet hing!
Yes .
I will my hear t t o st op pounding
as I ask him, So?
It s all r ight .
What ?! I cant believe my ear s. Now
t h e i n t er n a l d emon i s l a wl es s ,
unmanageable. All r ight how is it all
r ight ? Why dont you just t ell me honest ly
t hat t he t ea is not just spiced wit h black
pepper but soaked in it ? It s a damned
black pepper soup and Ive made t his
fier y soup deliber at ely, so t hat t hese
gl a ci a l wa l l s bet ween you a n d me
cr umble; so t hat t he ice melt s and wat er
flows, and br ings in a wind t hat r uffles
even if it is t ur bulent ; wind, wat er , ice,
st or m, t hunder ous clouds and light ning
all t oget her . Enough of t his saint liness!
J ust a dash, but I want some madness,
an ir r at ionalit y, a r eact ion. I want t his
ar mor of pr ecious met als t o cr ack and
t h e r ea l , a l i ve, br ea t h i n g ma n t o
emer ge
I keep wait ing but t he st or m doesnt
come; no t hunder or light ning; no angr y
clouds or pelt ing r ain. I get up fr om
my seat , feeling r emor seful. I hear myself
say, Sor r y, I put t oo much pepper ,
Ill make it again, and I leave t he r oom
wit h t he t ea t r ay.
You dont believe me, do you? Even
I was wat chin g, st un n ed an d shell-
s h ocked , my a n gel i c h u s ba n d a n d
I , d r i n ki n g t e a t oge t h e r , q u i e t l y
pea cefully.
Suryabala, born 1944 at Varanasi, U.P. is a known author of short stories,
satires and novels. A number of her short stories have been adapted for
television. She lives in Mumbai.
Pooja Birla graduated from the University of Iowas Nonfiction Writing Program
in 2007 and has just received her second M.F.A. in Literary Translation.
She has some intentions of becoming a writer. She loves to gossip, do
the NYT crossword, and drink chai. She misses the monsoon rains of Bombay
but has developed a deep appreciation of Iowas clear blue skies.
PAPA
Dhirendra Ast hana
Eishit a Siddhar t h
APAN KA KYA HAI/ APAN UDD J AYENGE ARCHANA/ DHARTI KO
DHATA BATA KAR/ APAN TOH RAAH LENGE APNI/ PEECHHE CHHOOT
J AYEGI/ GRANA SE BHARI AUR SAMVEDNA SE KHALI/ IS SANSAR
KI KAHANI .
The lines of t he poem by Rahul Bajaj wer e cr eat ing a magical
hypnot ism in t he pin dr op silent confer ence hall of Air India.
Now, t he r eading of t he poem of Rahul bajaj was a har d t hing
t o find for t he cit y. Enlight ened people fr om far -fet ched subur bs
used t o come by local, aut o, bus, t axi and t heir per sonal car
t o be a wit ness t o t his moment . Rahul was t he pr ide of t he cit y.
All t he Indian lit er ar y awar ds confer r ed on him wer e splendidly
displayed in a pr oud splendor in Rahuls house. His st udy was
full wit h t he celebr at ed books fr om all ar ound t he wor ld. People
fr om t he newspaper s, magazines and T.V. channels used t o come
t o his house per sist ent ly for his int er view. His mobile phone had
t he number of t he CM, home minist er , gover nor , cult ur al secr et ar y,
police commissioner , page 3 celebr it ies and pr ominent jour nalist s.
He was being t aught at t he univer sit ies. He was being invit ed
t o Assam, Dar jeeling, Shimla, Nainit al, Dehr adun, Allahabad, Lucknow,
Bhopal, Chandigar h, J odhpur , J aipur , Pat na and Nagpur . He was
living cont ent edly in a comfor t able and luxur ious t wo r oom bedr oom
hall apar t ment in t he mir aculous cit yMumbai.
He t r avelled in mar ut i zen. He wor e Raymond and Black Ber r y
pant s, Par k Avenue and Van Heusen shir t s and Red Tape shoes.
S
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s
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He had cleaned and dest r oyed all t hat
was awful, discolor ed and ast r ingent
in t he past . But , do t hings get dest r oyed
t hat way!!!!
ATTITH KABHI DAURTA HAI ,HUMSE
AAGE/ BHAVISHYA KI TARAH/ KABHI
PEECHHE BHOOT KI TARAH LAG J ATA
HAI/ HUM ULTE LATKE HAIN AAG KE
ALLAV PAR/ AAG HI AAG HAI NASON
KE BI LKUL KAREEB/ AUR UNME
BAAROOD BHARA HAI.
It was his int imat e childhood fr iend
Bandhu who had st ar t ed wr it ing poems
wh i le i n college. An d st ood at t h e
confluence of t he naxal act ivit ies. But
befor e he could explode as a bomb he
was mer cilessly killed by some unknown
people in t he valleys of Dehr adun.
Rahul got scar ed. Not because he
saw deat h so closely for t he fir st t ime.
But t he 24 year old Bandhu was t he
school in t he life of t he 20 year old
Rahul. He looked up and all t he r oads
of t he cit y looked deser t ed and scar y
t o him. The beaut iful cit y had been
inhabit ed by some cur sed ghost s. He
was t ot ally alone and also unar med. He
wa s s p en d i n g h i s l i fe u n d er a
mon op ol i s t i c s h a d ow of h i s p r ou d ,
aut ocr at ic, omniscient fat her who was
t he owner of Git a Elect r icals wit h some
undone, unr ipe poems, some sor t of
r evolut ionar y ideas some mor al and pur e
d r ea ms a n d a p a s s cer t i fi ca t e of
int er mediat e. But it was all so lit t le and
oppr essive t hat Rahul lost his way. That
night he dr ank t ill lat e and came home
at midnight . He used t o dr ink befor e
also but t hen he used t o go t o Bandhus
place.
Rahul r emember ed , clear ly. His fat her
t hr ashed him wit h a cur t ain r od. He
came in t he por ch while he was beat en
and fell down aft er being knocked down
by t he hand pump. The big, long nail
t hat joins t he handle wit h t he hand pump,
passed t hr ough his st omach and slashed
it . This six inch black mar k on t he r ight
side of his st omach br ings back t he
memor ies of his fat her ever y mor ning
when he t akes a bat h. Siddhar t ha vanished
one night leaving his wife and son and
was called GAUTAMA BUDDHA. Rahul
had climbed on t he same hand pump
and had jumped fr om t he por ch t o t he
ot her side of t he r oof , in blood, while
his fat her , mot her and his t hr ee br ot her s
and sist er looked out fr om t he r ooms
window st ar ing hor r ified. Ther e was a
sea of fir e on t he ot her side and one
had t o swim t hr ough it . Maybe mot her
fell wit h gr ief aft er war ds.
I have car , bungalow and ser vant s.
What do you have? Amit abh Bachchan
is asking- wr iggling wit h ar r ogance. Shashi
Kapoor is quiet . Baking in t he war mt h
of affect ion. He said wit h a deep pr ide-
I have mot her . The ar r ogance of Amit abh
cr acked.
Rahul couldnt under st and. Why didnt
he have a mot her ? Rahul was also not
able t o under st and t hat why in t his wor ld
no son ever says full wit h pr ide t hat
he has a fat her . Why a fat her and a
son ar e always st anding at an unseen
st r and of conflict .
AB J ABKI UNGLIYON SE PHISAL
RAHA HAI J EEVAN/ AUR SHARI R
SHITHIL PAD RAHA HAI/ AAO APAN
PREM KAREN VAISHALI.
Rahul Bajajs poem was r esounding
in t he con fer en ce r oom of S. N. D. T.
Womens Univer sit y. He got sur r ounded
by young ladies aft er t he r ecit at ion.
It was t he confer ence hall of t he
Hi n d i d ep a r t men t of t h e Ku ma on
Univer sit y. Aft er a single poet ic r eading
t he head of t he depar t ment had sent
his most int elligent st udent t o t ake him
for a r ound t o see Nainit al. This st udent
had a sor t of an emot ional and int ellect ual
r elat ionship wit h Rahul t hr ough let t er s.
She used t o wr it e let t er s t o him aft er
r eading his poems in t he magazines.
Twent y year s befor e, on t he st r eet of
t he cold Mall Road t his gir l Ket ki Bisht
a st udent of M.A. Hindi had held Rahuls
hand and had asked suddenly- Will you
mar r y me?
Rahul was amazed. The t hr oat was
dr ied up fr om inside. In t his chilly Oct ober
of t he hills his for ehead was full wit h
t he dr ops of sweat . Ther e was an ocean
of sur pr ise in his eyes. Rahul at t hat
t ime held a r eput at ion of a young, gift ed
and quick t emper ed poet . He used t o
wor k in a weekly newspaper in Delhi.
But was t his enough for mar r iage? And
t hen he didnt know much about t he
gir l. Apar t fr om t he fact t hat she was
bubbling wit h some r ebellious kind of
not ions, t hat ,t he challenges of life filled
her wit h a desir e t o live. Her eyes wer e
br imming wit h int ense confidence.
Will I be able t o make my dr eams
st and on t heir legs while I walk on t his
lane of confidence? Rahul t hought and
peeped in Ket kis eyes. Yes!!Ket ki said
and st ar t ed smiling. Yes!! Rahul said
and kissed Ket kis for ehead. The near by
cr owd st ar t ed halt ing in ast onishment .
Twent y year s befor e it was a sur pr ising
t hing. Specially, in a small t own like
Na i n i t a l . Mr . Bi s h t s
d a u gh t er . . Mr . Bi s h t s
d a u gh t er . . r u mor s r a n
t hr ough t he air .
But t he next mor ning in t he pr esence
of t h e Bi sh t s an d t h e h ead of t h e
depar t ment Rahul and Ket ki became
husband and wife. The ver y same evening
Rahul and Ket ki came back t o Delhi-
t o st ar t t heir life in a small r ent ed r oom
in Sar ojini Nagar . Sit t ing in a chair in
t he confer ence hall of S.N.D.T aft er t he
aut ogr aph session Rahul could see his
past r unning ahead of him.
Rahul was coming down t he st air s
at t he Andher i st at ion. Vikas was climbing
t he st air s. He held a cigar et t e in his
finger s. Rahul held Vikas by his fist .
The cigar et t e dr opped on t he gr ound.
Rahul dr agged Vikas and t ook him out side
t he st at ion. Aft er r eaching a secur ed
cor ner he left Vikass fist and said pant ing-
I t old you, t o have your lifes fir st
peg and fir st cigar et t e wit h me. Didnt
I say so? Yes!! Vikass voice fell. t hen?
Rahul asked. Vikas lower ed his neck and
said slowly- Sor r y papa! It wont happen
again. Rahul smiled. Said You have
a fr iend like Papa. Appr eciat e it . and
t hen bot h of t hem went t heir r espect ive
ways.
Vikas was a fir st year st udent in t he
J J College of ar t s, Mumbai. Ket ki want ed
t o make him a doct or but Rahul saw
t he ar t ist ic inclinat ion of his son and
so aft er he did his high school wit h
science he gave him t he per mission t o
do int er in ar t s and t hen t ake admission
in J J . He want ed t o be a commer cial
ar t ist . In t hose days Rahul was an edit or
in a daily newspaper . It was his daily
r out ine t o come in t he midnight and
t hen sleep t ill lat e in t he mor ning.
One Sunday mor ning he asked Ket ki,
Vikas is nowher e t o be seen.
Finally , you r emember your son?
Ket ki was st anding holding a sat ir ic
t hr ead. but t he house is your s fr om
t h e ver y begi n n i n g. Rah ul r epli ed-
unaffect ed. This is not a home. Ket ki
was bit t er . Aft er a long t ime she got
a chance t o be a par t of a conver sat ion.
It s a guest house. And Im t he house
keeper . Only ,a house keeper .
Rahul was not in a mood t o be
involved. The CEO has ent r ust ed him
wit h a r esponsibilit y of making t he out line
of t he Pune edit ion. Aft er lunch in t he
aft er noon he want ed t o shut himself up
i n h i s s t u d y a n d d o t h e r equ i r ed
homewor k. He called up Vikass mobile.
Papa. it was Vikas on t he ot her
side.
Son wher e ar e you? Rahul was a
bit st er n.
Papa, I have a show in Rasber r y
in Bandr a next Monday. That s why Im
at my fr iend Kapils place since a week.
Rehear sals ar e going on.
Rehear sal? What show ?
Papa do you ever r emember anyt hing
except your self. It was only last mont h
t hat I t old you t hat I have joined a
r ock band.
Rehear sals can be done at home
also. Rahul was get t ing agit at ed like
t ypical fat her s.
Papa you for got even t his. A sor t
of sat ir e st ar t ed float ing in Vikass voice
t oo. Only few days befor e when I was
pr act ising at home you scolded me so
badly saying- it s home and not a place
for dancing and singing.
Shut up!!! Rahul swit ched off t he
mobile. He saw Ket ki was looking at
him sat ir ically. He lower ed his head.
He was going t o his st udy slowly. Ket ki
was following him.
What ??? Rahul asked and discover ed
t hat his voice was br eaking. This br eaking
cont ained a sor t of pain as if some
exp er i men t h a s been p r oved
unsuccessful.
You failed Rahul. Ket kis eyes had
t he year s old confidence.
You also t hink so Ket ki?? Rahul
t ook off his shir t and vest . Do you
want t hat Vikas should t hink of me like
I do for my fat her when I see t his mar k
on my st omach!
No.
Then? Rahul had pain in his voice-
I t r ied t o give Vikas a democr at ic
at mospher e. I want ed him t o t ake me
as his fr iend not as his fat her .
A fat her cannot be a fr iend Rahul.
He can behave like a fr iend but he is
a fat her aft er all. And he must be a
fat her . Ket ki complet ed her sent ence
swift ly and went out of t he st udy.
Rahul collapsed in his r est chair . When
he didnt get up t ill lat e t he next mor ning
Ket ki called t he family doct or . Doct or
t old- Blood pr essur e has made a hole
in his life.
Rahuls eyes wer e filled wit h sur pr ise.
He didn t smoke. He dr an k alcohol
occasionally. He never used t o eat fr ied
or oily food. He never used t o dr ink
even wat er out side his home.
Then how? he asked Ket ki.
But t ill t hen Ket ki had alr eady left
for t he mar ket t o pur chase t he medicines
pr escr ibed by t he doct or .
Aft er exa ct l y on e week of t h e
disast r ous collapse of t he wor ld t r ade
cent r e in Amer ica on 11
t h
. Sept ember
2001 Rahul Bajaj was r emember ed by
his son Vikas at eleven p.m. in t he night .
In t hose days Rahul used t o wor k in
a news channel as an input edit or and
lived in Delhi along wit h his wife. In
t his channels job leave aside Vikas ,
even Ket ki used t o spr ing up in his eyes
like some sor t of a for got t en memor y.
He had left Vikas all alone in his well
set t led home in Mumbai. Vikas had
st ar t ed wor king as a visualizer in a
mult inat ional companys Mumbai office.
Usually Vikass mobile used t o be not
r eachable. In fift een t went y days when
he r emember ed his mot her he used t o
call her on Delhis landline and chat t ed
wit h her . It was t hr ough Ket ki t hat Rahul
used t o know t hat Vikas is doing well.
His job is good and he has become a
r ising r ock singer . He used t o t ell his
mot her t hat t he house maint enance is
being given on t ime, and t hat t he bills
of t he landline and power ar e being duly
paid. The people at t he societ y miss
t hem and t hat he has pur chased a second
hand mot or cycle fr om one of his fr iends
in inst alment s. He used t o t ell t hat t he
cr owd in t he Mumbai locals is becoming
life t hr eat ening. Now it s difficult t o boar d
and de- boar d no mat t er what t he t ime
is. The t r ait s of a well t o do middle
income family wer e pr esent even her e.
and even t her e. Rahul was passing his
life. And so was Ket ki. Ket ki had st ar t ed
giving some t uit ions in Delhi t o be busy.
That s why t he call fr om Vikas had
moved Rahul.
Baapu Vikas was under t he
i n t oxi cat i on of affect i on , alcoh ol an d
fr eedom- Baapu, we also had our head
offi ce i n t h e wor l d t r a d e cen t r e.
Ever yt hing is finished. The office , and
t he boss. Madam has closed t he Mumbai
office by sending an e-mail.
Now? Rahul t r ied t o be in cont r ol-
Now what will you do?
What else Ill do, Ill st r uggle. For
t he t ime being I have a mont hs not ice
salar y wit h me. Aft er t hat we will see.
Vikas seemed r eassur ed.
You do one t hing, you lock t he house
and come t o Delhi. Ill fit you in my
channel. Aft er many days t her e sounded
a concer ned fat her in t he all t ime busy
and pr ofessional voice of Rahul.
What papa. maybe Vikas got
ir r it at ed- at t imes you t alk what t hings.
My ca r eer , my d es i r e, my p a s s i on
ever yt hing is her eyou want me
t o leave all t his and come t her e, wher e
ever ybody goes off t o sleep at eight
oclock. Wher e power comes scar cely.
Oh shit . I hat e t hat cit y.
Vikas was being deluded. mummy keeps
t elling me about t he pr oblems t her e.
Ill st ay her e. I love Mumbai, you know.
Next mont h Im going t o Pune wit h my
band for a show.
What ever you wish. Rahul gave up.
if t her es any pr oblem t hen do infor m.
Well done. Now t hat s like t ough
guys. Vikas gave a guffaw and said again-
Take car e. bye
Rahul was dishear t ened. He t r ied t o
gi ve h i ms el f con s ol a t i on . Aft er a l l
ever yt hing is t her e in Mumbais house.
T. V. , fr i dge, comput er , VCD player ,
wa s h i n g ma ch i n e, ga s , d ou bl e bed ,
war dr obe, sofa, bedding. Our son is
capable enough t o ear n his meals for
t wo t imes. He t r ied t o be at peace wit h
himself but somet hing was t her e t hat
was making a hole in his peace. He came
back home aft er some t ime. When he
was comi n g back h e called up t h e
secr et ar y of t he societ y and r equest ed
him t hat if t he maint enance is not r eceived
on t ime he should give him a missed
call. The money will be t r ansfer r ed in
t he societ ys account . He t hen r equest ed
t he societ ys secr et ar y t o t ake car e of
Vi ka s . Secr et a r y wa s a s i kh . Good
humor ed, he said- You dont wor r y.
Your son is fine. I see him some t imes
on bike saying BYE UNCLE.
Ket ki was ast onished when she saw
Rahul back home. It was only eleven
for t y five. Rahul never used t o come
befor e t wo.
It was Vikass call. Rahul t old
He has lost his job but t her es not hing
much t o wor r y.
Then!! Ket ki couldnt compr ehend
an yt hin g.
He was dr unk. Rahul lower ed his
head. His voice seemed so dist ant as
if coming fr om t he ot her side of a cent ur y.
Smear ed in ashes, dull and helpless. It
seemed as if one of t he coals spar ked
afr esh amongst t he dying coals inside
Ket ki. Maybe Rahuls voice pr ovided t he
needed air .
When we wer e coming t o Delhi, I
t old you not t o leave Vikas all alone
in Mumbai.
Ket ki dont t alk like fools. When
childr en gr ow up t hey go t o London,
Amer ica, Ger many and J apan. J obs come
and go. And t hen, we ar e st ill living.
Rahul sat on t he sofa and st ar t ed t aking
off his shoes. It s not a big issue t hat
he is dr unk. Aft er all he is a young
chap of t went y t wo.
So t hen!! Ket ki asked Why ar e you
looking wor r ied??
Am I wor r ied? Rahul t old a lie,
Vikas is facing an adver se sit uat ion for
t he t ime being. He is a t alent ed boy.
He will get anot her job. If he is not
going t o st r uggle now, when is he going
t o do t hat ? He needs t o gr ow up t hr ough
his own exper iences and r ealit y.
It s for you t o know. Ket ki t ook
a deep br eat h. Hope t hese beliefs do
n ot deceive you.
Dont wor r y. Im her e. Rahul smiled.
Then he went t o his bedr oom t o sleep.
Rahul used t o have his dinner in his
office. That night Rahul did only t wo
t hings. He r olled fr om r ight t o left and
fr om left t o r ight .
The mor ning was busy as usual.
Newspaper s, phone, news, news channel,
i n t er vi ew, a d mi n i s t r a t i ve p r obl ems ,
cont r over sy, mar ket ing st r at egy, bur eau
coor d i n a t i on , or d er , i n s t r u ct i on ,
t ar get a const ant chaos of
t went y four hour s was for ever pr esent .
In t his chaos t ime used t o fly like wind
and sensibilit ies melt away like wax.
Amongst all t hese pr e occupat ions t he
December of Delhi came. Shiver ing wit h
cold, fog and r ain. Vikas couldnt be
con t a ct ed a n yh ow. Th e p h on e kep t
r inging at home. When some special dish
was cooked at home his hear t skipped
a beat . Dont know what Vikas would
have eat en! The food declined t o go
down t he t hr oat . Ket ki used t o t ake shelt er
under Kumar Gandhar va and Bheemsen
J oshi. She used t o t r y Vikass mobile.
She used t o call t he wife of t he societ ys
secr et ar y and ask- How is Vikas? Ther e
used t o be a sole r eply- Havent seen
him since many days. Ill ask him and
call you. But she didnt call. When Ket ki
used t o look at Rahul wit h her dist r essed
eyes, he used t o say- No news is good
n ews.
What kind of a fat her ar e you? Ket ki
finally collapsed one night -Ther es no
news of our son since t hr ee mont hs and
you ar e enjoying.
Ket ki!! Rahul held her at her vit al
spot . I was t went y year s old when I
left my h ome an d r an away. Fr om
Deh r a d u n . Th en I ma r r i ed you . I
st r uggled and ear ned a posit ion for
myself. Of cour se you wer e always t her e
wit h me. We went fr om Dehr adun t o
Delhi, fr om Delhi t o Lucknow, fr om
Lucknow t o Gowahat i and fr om Gowahat i
t o Mumbai. And, again we ar e in Delhi.
Did it cr oss your mind for once t hat
even I had a fat her . That even I was
a son?
But wher e do I figur e in all t his
mat t er Rahul? Ket ki pr ot est ed. It was
bet ween you and your fat her . But Im
involved her e. Im Vikass mot her . My
hear t keeps whizzing all t he t ime. I t hink
I should go t o Mumbai for a few days.
Fine. Rahul got ser ious. Ill do
somet hing.
Ra h u l fl ew for Mu mba i by t h e
aft er noon flight of 12:35 on t he fir st
day of t he new year . He had t he keys
of t he house in his br iefcase and t he
debit and cr edit car ds of t hr ee banks
in his pur se.
The house seemed st r ikingly faded,
sad, anar chical and r uined. Rahuls house
which he had given t o Vikas as a keepsake.
The name plat e at t he door was obviously
in Rahuls name but inside it was cast ing
it s shadows like a handicapped house
keeper .
Slowly Rahul st ar t ed get t ing scar ed-
Im being made fr om t he ot her side
and being demolished fr om t his side.
Rahul t hought . The dar kness of t he t went y
fir st cent ur y was adamant for st aying
in his body like t he fut ur e. His beliefs,
his mor als, his t hought s in which t he
educat ed lot of t he count r y believed,
wer e lying scat t er ed in his ver y own
house amongst t he dir t y, filt hy clot hes
of Vikas. The book shelves in t he hall
wer e cover ed wit h spider webs and lizar ds
wer e r est ing in peace t her e.
He picked up t he r eceiver of t he
phone- it was dead. That means t he bell
used t o r ing in t he exchange office. The
p r eci ou s a n d exp en s i ve wor ks of
Nagar juna, Nir ala, and Mukt ibodh along
wit h t he collect ed wor ks of Kalidasa
seemed t o be pant ing under cent ur ies
old dust . An elect r onic guit ar was lying
lopsided on t he sofa. Ther e wer e t hr ee
asht r ays on t he T.V.,in which t her e was
not even a pinch of space for ash. Ther e
wer e empt y cigar et t e packet s lying in
t he cor ner along t he showcase. The shoes
wer e leaving t heir impr int s on t he floor
while moving.
Rahul came inside- wit h a st r ong
appr ehension. Ther e wer e many empt y
cans of 20 lit er s bisler y placed in a
r ow on t he kit chen plat for m- empt y,
wit hout cover . The cover - lid of t he
washing machine was open and it was
compl et el y fi l l ed wi t h Vi ka s s d i r t y
clot hes. Ther e wer e st ains of oil and
spices on t he cur t ains. Ther e wer e post er s
of some for eign singer s in foolish post ur es
st uck on t he door s of t he bat hr oom and
t oilet . Rahuls st udy r oom was closed.
The comput er and pr int er in t he bedr oom
was missing. Rahul opened t he door of
his st udy wit h t he key- it was dust y,
humid and damp but since it was closed
t he r oom was as it was- just t he way
Rahul had left it . This t ir ed, await ing
and sad r oom seemed t o be giving Rahul
a sor t of consolat ion t hat all was not
lost . Rahul sat in his r evolving chair
lying in fr ont of his wr it ing t able and
st ar t ed making a fut ile effor t of calling
Vikass mobile which t o his sur pr ise
st ar t ed r inging.
Hello, it was Vikas, sounding exact ly
like Rahul, vanished since t hr ee mont hs.
Papa, Vikas shout ed- How ar e you?
How is mom?
What do you car e?, Rahul got
ir r it at ed.
Papa, my mobile was dead, got
wor king just day befor e yest er day. I was
going t o t ell you. Good news! I got a
job just day befor e yest er day in Reliance
info com. Pay is fift een t housand. I was
going mad wit hout a job since t hr ee
mon t hs. I n bet ween I met wit h an
accident . I was in t he hospit al for fift een
days. Bike got damaged. Sold it as junk.
Vi kas was goi n g on t elli n g wi t h out
st opping, wit hout any gr ief, pain or guilt .
J ust like plain news.
You didn t in for m us about t he
accident , Rahul was suddenly seized by
st r ange melancholy.
What would have happened t hen?
Vikas was giving logic. Your blood
pr essur e would have r isen. You people
would have come her e r unning. But it s
t he medicines t hat would have cur ed
me event ually! Then, my fr iends wer e
her e. What use would t hese bast ar ds
be!!! You would have been t er r ified if
you had seen me papa. The left eye
was awful. It was complet ely bulging
out . Ther e wer e seven st it ches on t he
for ehead. Lip was slashed. Ever yt hing
is fine now.
Fr om wher e did t he money come?
Rahul asked.
Fr iends gave it . Had t o sell t he
comput er . Now Ill pay t hem slowly.
And for how long you have not been
h ome.
Maybe, since eight or t en days.
Vikas t old soot hingly.
And t he houses t elephone?
It s dead. Vikas said- Fr om wher e
would I pay t he r ent ? It was har d t o
manage food.
Even t he maint enance would not
have been paid?
Yes. Vikas said.
Dont you t hink you should have
t old all t his? Rahul got ir r it at ed. Is
t his t he way your gener at ion behaves
wit h mot her s and fat her s?
Papa, dont st ar t giving lect ur es.
Vikas also got ir r it at ed. Nobody is
st ealing t he house? Finally t her es a job,
Ill give ever yt hing. Now list en, let me
t alk t o mom.
Mom is in Delhi.
In Delhi? So wher e ar e you? Vikas
got a bit amazed.
In Mumbai. In my house. Rahul
said.
Ok bye. Ill come in t he evening.
Vikas disconnect ed t he phone. Ther e was
a st r eak of a vibr at ion in his voice for
t he fir st t ime. What is t he differ ence?
Rahul was asking himself. J ust like I
r an away fr om my home Vikas is away
fr om home- living and dying accor ding
t o his choice. In his own, par allel wor ld.
He was t ied wit h his mummy-papa by
some imper cept ible t hr ead, but even t his
t hr ead was missing in Rahuls wor ld.
When ,aft er seven year s papa died in
J odhpur wit h br ain cancer , mom br oke
her silence. On his mot her s or der s his
younger br ot her found out his addr ess
and sent him a t elegr am- Fat her is no
mor e. I f you want you can come.
He didnt go. If fat her was out of
his life, if mot her , wasnt able t o r emain
a mot her , if his br ot her s and sist er had
disowned him, so why would have Rahul
gone t o open t he door of a closed wor ld?
When he was jumping out of t he house,
immer sed in blood , couldnt his mot her
have come for war d and pr event ed his
exit . Did t his not ion ever cr oss t he mind
of his fat her how an int er pass t went y
year old boy is sur viving in t his wor ld?
Rahul Bajaj found t hat a t ear had
r olled down fr om his left eye ont o his
cheek. Maybe t he left eye is connect ed
t o t he hear t and t he r ight eye t o t he
mind. Rahul t hought and t hen smiled
at his finding.
Wit h t he help of t wo house maids
t he house was set in or der by evening.
The secr et ar y of t he societ y had changed.
The name of Rahul Bajaj was splendidly
wr it t en on t he not ice boar d in t he list
of all t hose who have not paid t he
maint enance. Rahul clear ed all t he ar r ear s
and gave post dat ed cheques for t he
coming t welve mont hs t o t he secr et ar y.
He also deposit ed a cheque of t hr ee
t h ou s a n d combi n i n g t h e p r evi ou s
four t een hundr ed and t he for t h-coming
s i xt een h u n d r ed i n t h e el ect r i ci t y
account . He also gave t he applicat ion
t o t he secr et ar y for t he sur r ender of
t he t elephone along wit h a cr oss cheque.
He sent all t he dir t y clot hes of Vikas
t o t he laundr y. He sold t he T.V., fr idge
and washing machine t o one of Ket kis
fr iends for a sum of t en t housand r upees.
He was invit ed by t his same fr iends
(Revat i) husband Lalit Tiwar i for dinner .
Vikas came at eight oclock in t he
night . He had bought a bot t le of Bag
Piper along wit h himself.
It s you who said, have t he fir st
peg wit h me. Vikas said. That didnt
happen but we will say cheer s t oget her
t o celebr at e my new job.
Agr eed!!!, Rahul was unchanged.
Im locking t he house and going out .
Will do, Vikas was not even a bit
wor r ied. My office is in Mar ol. It is
not possible anymor e t o cat ch a t r ain
fr om An dh er i for Meer a Road. I m
t hinking of becoming a paying guest
somewher e near my office.
Vikas didnt go t o Revat i and Lalit s
house for dinner . He or der ed a chicken
bir yani fr om Pushpak hot el for himself.
Next mor ning was Sunday. Vikas was
r eady when Rahul woke up. He had made
a double omelet for his fat her .
Wher e? Rahul asked.
I have my r ehear sal. Vikas said.
Today is my show in t he evening at
seven p.m. in Rasber r y at Bandr a.
Cant I come in t hat show? Rahul
asked.
Wh a t ? Vi ka s won der ed. Youll
come t o wat ch my show! But you and
mu mmy a r e t h e t yp es for Ku ma r
Gandhar va, Bheemsen J oshi!!
Aft er all, what you sing is also a
kind of music. Rahul int er vened.
Yes! he punched wit h his fist s in
t he air . Ill wait . Then he picked up
his guit ar and went down t he st air s.
For a long t ime Rahul was per plexed
wit h t he st uds which hung in Vikass
ear s and wit h his shor t , spiked color ed
hair . When Ket ki called up he was unable
t o figur e out as t o who he was wit h-
Vikas or himself. Ket ki was sur ely wit h
Vikas-When you have closed t he house
for him t hen why dont you ar r ange
for his funer al side by side. She was
cr ying. She was a mot her and possibly
she was wit h her son. Rahul doesnt know
what a mot her is. He was not even a
bit moved by Ket kis cr ying.
Rasber r y. A discot heque, for t he new
gener at ion boys and gir ls. Ther e wer e
post er s out side- NEW SENSATION OF
INDIAN ROCK SINGER Vikas Bajaj. Rahul
bought a t icket of t hr ee hundr ed and
went inside. Ther e was a cr owd of weir d
looking boys and gir ls. The air was filled
wit h t he smell of dr ugs. Beer was on
it s high. Yout h was int oxicat ing. Ther e
was a passion t o live for t he moment .
The cont our s of t he but t ocks wer e clear ly
visible fr om t he jeans of t he gir ls. Boys
wer e wear ing t ight t -shir t s. Their hair
wer e t ied up like plait s. Their muscles
wer e bulging out fr om t heir sleeveless
t -shir t s. The br east s of t he gir ls wer e
moving like t ennis balls inside t heir shir t s-
fr ee fr om t he clut ches of t heir br a. Maybe
Rahul was t he only adult t her e whom
t he cr owd of Rasber r y saw wit h cur ious
eyes fr om t ime t o t ime.
Aft er a shor t announcement Vikas
came ont o t he st age- along wit h his guit ar .
Bending his neck ont o his knees he st ar ed
singing some sor t of an ear deafening
song t hat filled t he hall wit h applause,
t he gir ls swayed and t he boys st ar t ed
dancing passionat ely.
This sor t of a boy has been made
out of him? Rahul t hought and was dr awn
int o a cor ner by t he const ant pushing
of t he boys and gir ls. The cr owd went
nost algic and st ar t ed shout ing Once
mor e for Vikas. Rahuls hear t was slashed
int o t wo. He called up Ket ki and said
slowly, Can you hear t he noise? It s
t he noise of Vikass success. I dont know
whet her Im happy or sad. For t he fir st
t ime a fat her is ver y uncer t ain Ket ki.
He disconnect ed t he phone and st ar t ed
looking at Vikas.
He came out aft er t he br eak. Vikas
also came out saying Hi guys! Hello
gir ls! he had a cigar et t e in his mout h.
He t ouched Rahuls feet and said Im
ver y happy t hat my fat her is shar ing
my happiness.
My child. Rahul embr aced Vikas,
Be happy wher ever you ar e. I have
t o go now. My flight is at t en fift een.
You will get all your ir oned clot hes fr om
Revat i aun t ys house. Rahul Bajajs
t hr oat had choked- Wher e will you st ay
fr om t omor r ow? Should I leave t he keys
of t he house..?
Befor e a fat her inside Rahul Bajaj
melt ed, Vikas was being called on st age.
He again t ouched Rahuls feet and said,
Dont wor r y about me papa! Im like
t his. You go. Best of jour ney. Sor r y.
Vikas waved his hand, I cant come
t o t he air por t . Give my love t o Maa.
Vikas went inside, amid t he cr owd, t he
fr enzy and t he noise.
It was ver y dar k out side. In t his
dar kness Rahul Bajaj was ver y lonely,
helpless and confused. He longed t o be
wit h ever ybody but he was wit h no one.
He had neit her fat her nor mot her . Now
he didnt have even his son. And aft er
r eaching Delhi even Ket ki was going t o
leave him. Rahul st opped a t axi, sat
in it and said, Sant acr uz air pot .
A song was being played in t he t axi-
BABUL MORA NAIHAR CHHOOTO HI
J AAYE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dhirendra Asthana, born 1956 is a creative writer and a journalist. Right
from his first collection of short stories log-hashiye par to his latest novel
desh nikala. Asthana has exuded a confidence of expression and experimentation.
He also writes for films.
Eishita Siddharth, born 1984, is pursuing a post graduate course in English
literature at Lucknow University. She has already completed her Diploma
in French. She is interested in literature and translates at will. Lives in
Lucknow.
DHAMPUR
Meer a Kant
Ranjana Kaul
Wonder why days and night s ar e an unalienable par t of life, just
like legends. They follow each ot her one aft er anot her , never
seeming t o end. Expending t heir lives pur suing each ot her . Does
t he night chase t he day, or is it t he day which wander s ar ound
looking for t he night s which succeed sor r owful evenings r et r eat ing
fr om daylight . The dar kness incr eases, swallowing t he door s and
windows of t he house whole, wit hout even st opping t o chew t hem
up. It is a hungr y beggar , Nit ya t hought t o her self as she t ur ned
over on t he bed. The r oot s of t he mind ar e also ver y dar k, ent angled
wit h one anot her . How can one see t hr ough such dar kness.! They
say t her e ar e seven subt er r anean wor lds below t he ear t h. How
many such wor lds lie below t he r ealm of t he mind!
How can Nit ya deal wit h t he t ur moil inside her ? All she can
do is t ur n r est lessly fr om side t o side like someone st ir r ing a
pot of boiling milk t o pr event it fr om spilling over . It seems
t his fir e and t his t umult will only ebb wit h t he dawn. Ever yone
await s t he gleam of daybr eak even if it is st r icken wit h fr ost .
She will also see a dawn t omor r ow. Time which is just a few
hour s away is also called t omor r ow but t hen what else can it
be called? J ust as her house is called a home because it is one.
So, t omor r ow she has t o go back home. Her own home.
She r emember s a t ime when t his wor d home was like a beaut iful
r ecur r ent dr eam in her mind. Home is an aspir at ion, a desir e,
and having one of your own is a pr ofound exper ience. This is
what she had wr it t en wit h a lipst ick on one of t he lar ge mir r or ed
S
h
o
r
t

s
t
o
r
y
door s of t he almir ah t hat day when she
had fir st decor at ed Chan dr amohan s
r oom in Ghaziabad and made it int o
a home. Today, why does t he same wor d
home bubble in her mind like boiling
r ice. Suddenly, she sat up and t old her self
not t o t hink about all t his. Tomor r ow
she has t o r et ur n home, her own home.
She had not ar t iculat ed t hese wor ds
in t he night , how would her ear s see
t hese wor ds in t he dar kness? So, her
ear s r emained oblivious just like her
mind. She picked up her pillow and came
out int o t he open. Per haps her mind
would be able t o br eat he mor e fr eely
her e. She spr ead out t he r ush mat
st anding against a wall of t he cour t yar d,
placed her pillow on it and t r ied t o
lie down. The moon, shining wit h t he
mild luminosit y of t he t hir t eent h day
of t he dar k half of t he lunar mont h,
seemed t o be looking at her . In t hat
dim light she felt as t hough she had
become an image of st one or an ancient
r uin which lives bot h in t he past and
in t he pr esent .
An old yellowed memor y float ed int o
her mind. Pr abha bua sit t ing on a st r ing
bed on t he r oof of t his ver y house
embr oider ing a pillowslip and young
Nit ya sit t ing wit h an open book in her
lap admir ing t he wor d Welcome and
t he r oses embr oider ed on t he pillow
cover . Pr abha bua was wor king on t he
gr een t hor ns ar ound t he r ose.
Bua how does one do such beaut iful
embr oider y?
How would I knowask t he needle.
Wr inkling up her nose in disgust Nit ya
bur ied her nose in t he book. Pr abha
bua was smiling. Pulling t he t hr ead
upwar ds wit h t he needle she asked- Ar e
you r eading a st or y? Is it good?
How would I knowask t he book!
Nit ya answer ed laughing so upr oar iously
at her own wit t hat Pr abha bua st opped
her wor k t o st ar e at her . And t hen her
laught er was no longer solit ar y.
Nit yas childhood was closely linked
t o Pr abha bua. What was Pr abha buas
r elat ionship wit h her , apar t fr om being
an aunt , her fat her s sist er ? She was
an elder sist er , a younger mot her , an
older fr iend, maybe ever yt hing or not hing
at all, because like t he ot her s even Nit ya
did not know wher e Pr abha bua.! Nit yas
t hought s abr upt ly shiver ed t o a halt .
She r emember ed t he let t er sent by Pr abha
bua many year s ago fr om Dhampur in
which she had wr it t en only one quot at ion
i n h er beaut i ful small h an dwr i t i n g-
Wit hin all of us lies an immeasur able
space which has not been mapped or
explor ed. If we want t o under st and t he
t ur bulence and t ur moil which exist inside
us we must pay at t ent ion t o t his immense
space as well.
At t he end she had wr it t en- I am
not wr it ing t he name of t he aut hor
because you dont have t o appear for
an exam nor does it make any differ ence.
She had not even signed her own name
at t he bot t om of t he let t er . Per haps t hat
was of no significance eit her !
The wor ld of t he mind is full of t he
clamour of images, event s and wor ds.
These fr equent ly bump int o each ot her
even as t hey at t empt t o avoid cont act .
Somet imes a wor d sear ches for an image
which sit s leaning it s head upon t he
shoulder s of an event , or an image pur sues
a happening which hides mot ionless in
t he shadow of a gr oup of wor ds.
Today, in t he dim light of t he moon,
r est ing her head upon t he pillow slip
embr oider ed by her aunt , Nit ya want s
t o r ecall all t hose moment s when she
r eally discover ed Pr abha bua. But wher e
can she find t hose lost moment s? The
moment s of t he pr esent smile feebly as
t h ou gh a p ol ogi zi n g for a l l t h os e
innumer able moment s which have alr eady
been massacr ed. Pr abha bua oft en used
t o say, Nit u, hist or y is not meant t o
be for got t en but t o be r epeat edly br ought
t o mi n d. Ni t u t r i ed t o follow t h e
memor ies of t he past just as one t r ies
t o chase t he sun in wint er .But t hen
how much of t he wint er sun does one
manage t o capt ur e!
The family of Pr abha buas fat her ,
Kalichar an, had moved fr om Hapur t o
Delhi aft er Kalichar ans elder sist er Pr ano
Devi was mar r ied t o Ambika Dut t . Bot h
t hese or phaned young childr en had been
br ough t up by t h ei r un cle. Th ough
Kalichar an was t wo year s younger t han
his sist er he was mar r ied off ear lier
because his aunt want ed him t o mar r y
her br ot her s daught er . However , it t ook
a while t o find a boy for Pr ano. Finally,
a pr oposal came fr om Ambika Dut t of
Delhi, a man who had alr eady lost t wo
wives. Their good luck lay in t he fact
t hat t he gent leman had alr eady r eceived
t wo lavish dowr ies but had no childr en.
This t ime he did not have much int er est
in dowr y, so Pr ano Devi, despit e being
an or phan, become a par t of t his well
t o do household.
Pr ano Devi was deeply at t ached t o
her younger br ot her , Kalichar an or Kali.
Soon, she managed t o per suade Ambika
Dut t t o invit e Kali and his family t o
live wit h her . At t his moment Kalichar ans
family consist ed of his wife and his son,
Dwar ka Pr asad. Ambika Dut t owned a
flour mill. The wor k was incr easing ever y
day and he ur gent ly needed someone
t o t ake over t he job of a manager if
he want ed t o save his life fr om being
disfigur ed by t he dust and chaff of t he
wh ea t . I n s u ch a s i t u a t i on , i t wa s
i mp os s i bl e for h i m t o get a mor e
t r ust wor t hy and r eliable manager t han
h i s br ot h er - i n - l a w. An d t h en , t h e
r elat ionship being what it was, Kali would
be obliged t o accept any salar y wit hout
quibbling. He would never have t he ner ve
t o ask for mor e and Pr ano Devi would
also r emain per pet ually indebt ed t o her
husband.
The r est of Kalichar ans t hr ee childr en,
Sar oj Bala, Pr ehlad Pr asad and Pr abha
Bala wer e bor n in t he envir ons of t he
flour mill in Delhi. Pr ano Devi r uled
vi gor ou s l y over t h e h ou s eh ol d a n d
Ambika Dut t gover ned t heir lives wit h
equal aut hor it y. Which child at t ended
which school or college, how much he
or she st udied, all t hese decisions wer e
ult imat ely t aken by Ambika Dut t . He
had only one son who did not bur den
him wit h t he necessit y of t aking any
such decisions on his behalf. The son
left school aft er t he eight h class and
t ook up t he r esponsibilit y of becoming
t he local bully. His behaviour pr ompt ed
Pr ano Devi t o speak t o her husband
and Ambika Dut t immediat ely decided
t o involve him in t he wor king of t he
mill. Keeping his nat ur e and disposit ion
in mind he was assigned t he t ask of
collect ing dues, a job which he cheer fully
accept ed. Gr adually he began t o cont r ol
all t he finances of t he ent er pr ise and
fill his own pocket s. His poor uncle
Kalichar an was left helplessly scr ut inizing
t he incomplet e pages of t he company
account s books. He cont inued t o dr aw
t he salar y decided upon many year s ago
which, like an old and t at t er ed cover ing,
bar ely fulfilled t he needs of his gr owing
family. One mont h Dwar ka Pr asad would
gr ow out of it and anot her mont h it
would be Pr ehlad Pr asad. However , life
pr ogr essed wit h r elat ive peace of mind
under t he shelt er of Pr ano Devis love
and affect ion.
The fir st voice of r evolt was r aised
by Pr ehlad Pr asad when he r efused t o
wor k in t he flour mill. He had decided
t o st udy for a B.Sc. in Physics. The t hought
of doing a B.A. in Account s like Dwar ka
Pr asad and dr eaming of t he mill day
aft er day was unbear able t o him. He
managed t o get his way as far as t he
B. Sc was concer ned but when he pushed
t o do his Mast er s Ambika Dut t decided
t o put his foot down. He decided t o
cut off all financial assist ance which t he
boy r eceived fr om t he family. Pr ehlad
now began t o suppor t his st udies by
doing t uit ions. Ther e was no r ancour
in his hear t , on t he cont r ar y, he was
quit e happy. He had never imagined t hat
he would be able t o escape fr om t he
mill so easily. His home lay wit hin t he
envir ons of t he mill but his wor ld lay
out side it .
The only member of t he family who
had access t o t his wor ld was Pr abha
Bala, t hat is, Nit yas Pr abha Bua. Pr abha
was only t hr ee year s younger t han her
br ot her Pr ehlad. She was good at st udies
but in keeping wit h t he wishes of Ambika
Dut t she had been enr olled in a t ailor ing
cour se aft er complet ing t he 11
t h
class.
She enjoyed embr oider y and st it ching
but her r eal int er est lay in t he books
she bor r owed fr om her br ot her Pr ehlad
bhai sahib. The fict ion and r omances
which Pr ehlad bhai sahib br ought home
wer e never r et ur ned unt il Pr abha had
r ead all of t hem. She had even visit ed
Delhi Univer sit y wit h her br ot her a few
t imes and t he libr ar y which was as big
as t he flour mill. She also enjoyed going
t o t he Delhi Public Libr ar y near t he
Railway st at ion wit h Pr ehlad bhai sahib.
Somet imes bhai sahib would go off
in anot her dir ect ion leaving her alone
near t he book shelves. Alone in t hat
vast r oom sur r ounded by innumer able
books! She would feel a st r ange ar id
fear . So many books, so many st or ies,
so much knowledge! Many ideas must
be r efut ing and challenging each ot her .
But t hey ar e all sit t ing her e quiet ly
wit hout even a shadow of dissent ion.
Isnt it st r ange t hat opposing ideas can
sit side by side mut ely in t he same r oom
wit hout any debat e or ar gument ? When
wor ds become silent , t hey alt er t heir
char act er , and t he opposit e is also t r ue,
for when silent wor ds speak up t hey
t oo change. Pr abha Bala gent ly car essed
one wor d aft er anot her , just t o det er mine
whet her t he wor ds would speak up when
t hey wer e t ouched. Pr abha bua t old Nit ya
all t his one day st anding in a silent
cor ner of t he Delhi Public libr ar y. At
t hat t ime Pr abha was not yet mar r ied.
Nit ya also knew t hat Pr ehlad chacha
would somet imes t ake Pr abha bua t o
Regal or Odeon or for a film fest ival
t o see a movie, pr et ending t hat t hey
wer e going t o t he libr ar y. Lat er Pr abha
bua would nar r at e t he ent ir e st or y of
t he film t o Nit ya when t hey wer e all
alone on t he r oof.
Pr ehlad chacha became a lect ur er
in a college wit hin a few year s. Pr abha
bua used t o car r y t his vict or y of his
ar ound wit h her like br ooch on a sar i.
He had been wor king for ar ound six
mont hs when t he fat eful day ar r ived.
He went t o Assam on a college t r ip.
One day one of t he boys suddenly slipped
and fell int o t he Lohit r iver . Pr ehlad
Pr asad also jumped in t o t r y and save
him. And t hen neit her of t hem was ever
found. A glimmer ing br ight window in
Pr abhas life was suddenly slammed shut
leaving her ber eft . Nit yas gr andmot her ,
t hat is Pr abhas mot her , could not bear
t he shock of her sons deat h and she
also passed away.
Dwa r ka Pr a s a d , Pr a bh a s el d er
br ot her , had t wo childr en by now, Mukesh
and Nit ya. Sar oj Bala, t he elder sist er
was mar r ied and had gone t o Bar eilly.
She also had a daught er . Pr abha bala
who was younger t han Pr ehlad was quit e
few year s younger t han Dwar ka Pr asad
and Sar oj Bala. However ,she was near ly
t went y year s old and Pr ano devi became
ver y concer ned about t he mar r iage of
t his mot her less niece of her s. She spoke
t o Kali and made him pay mor e at t ent ion
t o t his mat t er . Somehow, it pr oved t o
be quit e difficult t o get a suit able gr oom
for Pr abha and if one was found t her e
was a ver y high demand for dowr y.
Ambika Pr asad was also becoming a lit t le
lax and was gr adually losing cont r ol over
t he mill. His son was r egular ly showing
a loss in t he financial r egist er s.
The door s of t he house would open
h op efu l l y t o a d mi t p r os p ect i ve
br idegr ooms and t heir families, and t hen
qu i ckl y cl os e beh i n d t h em a s t h ey
depar t ed. Somet imes, one opens a door
expect ing t o see a par t icular per son but
finds someone unexpect ed st anding t her e
i n s t ea d . Si mi l a r l y, on e d a y Sa r oj s
husband, Pr abha buas br ot her -in-law
Dushyant jijaji, ar r ived fr om Bar eilly.
He had been sent t o Delhi for six mont hs
for t r a i n i n g by h i s comp a n y. For
Kalichar an, t he absence of a young man
in t he house due t o Pr ehlads deat h was
now filled by Dushyant Kumar . He was
t all, well-built and had t he knack of
n a r r a t i n g ever y i n ci d en t l i ke a n
int er est ing st or y. The sea of silence which
had invaded Pr abha buas life was t hr own
int o t ur moil. She had t he r esponsibilit y
of looking aft er Dushyant , keeping his
likes and dislikes in mind. When her
br ot her in law or jijaji left home looking
dashing and handsome, her eyes would
follow him. At t hat moment she felt as
t hough she was looking at Pr ehlad not
at Dushyant . This was somet hing jijaji
could never under st and, neit her could
J anaki bhabi, who felt it was her dut y
t o war n her elder sist er -in-law, Sar oj.
She wr ot e t o her asking her t o come
t o Delhi.
J anaki bhabi point ed at Pr abha and
r emar ked t o Sar oj, Bibi, look aft er your
house. Men ar e so fickle. God knows
what kind of t r aining will happen her e
while you ar e in Bar eilly. Sar oj bala
became war y. Kalichar an was now quit e
old and was suffer ing fr om Diabet es. Sar oj
sought t he help of her elder br ot her
Dwar ka Pr asad and t he sear ch for a gr oom
for Pr abha acquir ed a new ur gency.
It was decided t hat it would be bet t er
for Pr abha t o be away fr om t he cit y,
so t hey looked for a boy out side Delhi.
Soon, Pr abha bua was engaged t o be
mar r ied t o Radheyshyam who was head
cler k in t he Income-Tax office in t he
small t own of Dhampur . Bot h sides wer e
equally anxious t o have an ear ly wedding.
When Pr abha bua was dr essed as a br ide
she examined her self in t he mir r or . Nit ya
not iced t he slight smile on her lips. She
pulled at t he edge of Pr abha buas sar i
and t old her affect ionat ely, Bua, you
ar e looking pr et t y. Pr abha bua answer ed
almost br azenly, That is t r ue. Nit ya
found her fr ankness a lit t le odd. She
want ed t o know what was going on in
her buas head, Bua, what ar e you
t h i n ki n g a bou t ? Not h i n g, I wa s
r emember ing my mot her . She used t o
say t hat t he wor st t hing t hat can happen
t o a gir l fr om Delhi,or a cow fr om Mat hur a
is t o be sent away fr om it s homet own.
Pr abha bua gave a shor t laugh,Do you
know she was fr om a village near Delhi
and went t o Hapur aft er her mar r iage.
Aft er a while she added gr avely, But
her luck changed and t he ent ir e family
came back t o Delhi.
Nit ya was shaken t o t he cor e. She
could not meet Pr abhas eyes but she
held on t o her hand and said, Papa
says Dhampur is a nice place look,
t he colour of your henna is so beaut iful.
J ust like Dhampur , Pr abha bua said
pulling her hand away as she walked
on ahead.
Even befor e Pr a bh a a r r i ved i n
Dhampur t o become a member of t he
head-cler ks ext ended family her ill-luck
had begun . The house alr eady cont ained
t wo elder br ot her s-in-law, t heir wives
and childr en. Ther e wer e also t wo sist er s-
in-law, one unmar r ied, t he ot her a young
widow. The sist er s-in-law wer e eit her
dedicat ed t o t he kit chen or t o jeweller y.
Pr abhas simple, handloom sar is, many
bought at t he Khadi Bhandar sale, and
her lack of ost ent at ious jeweller y, set
her apar t fr om t he ot her women of t he
household like a black car damom in a
yellow cur r y. Radheyshyam, t he head-
cler k was a t ypical small t own Romeo.
He was fond of having a good t ime and
saw ever y new movie wit hin a week of
it s r elease wit h his fr iends. When his
sist er s-in law t eased him saying, What
sor t of an ascet ic have you br ought
home? he would feel even mor e alienat ed
fr om Pr abha.
Pr a bh a wh o u s ed t o a ccomp a n y
Pr ehlad bhai sahib t o plays in Sapr u
House, or English movies like Ben Hur
which she did not fully under st and, could
not find any enjoyment in occasional
t r i p s t o t h e t yp i ca l l y s ma l l t own
Dhaampur bazaar . Ther e was only one
hope left t hat t he bir t h of a child would
help t o r econcile her t o life in Dhampur .
But t his hope did not mat er ialize for
qu i t e s ome t i me. Fi n a l l y, on e d a y
Radheyshyam babu t ook Pr abha t o Delhi
for a s er i es of med i ca l t es t s a n d
examinat ions. As soon as t he doct or s
ar r ived at t he conclusion t hat it was
not Pr abha but Radheyshyam who was
r esponsible for t he couples childless st at e,
Radheyshyam abandoned t he t est s and
r et ur ned t o Dhampur r ar ely showing his
face in Delhi or in t he house of his
in-laws t her eaft er .
In fact , Radheyshyams aver sion t o
his in-laws even ext ended t o Pr abha.
He seemed t o r ever t t o t he days of his
yout h, his moust ache aquir ed gr eat er
dimensions, and he at t empt ed t o asser t
his masculinit y by spending most of his
evenings away fr om home.
His r elat ionship wit h Pr abha was near
t he end of it s t et her but t he household
gen er a l l y p l a ced t h e bl a me on t h e
wife.Dur ing t his t ime one day when
Pr a bh a op en ed h er l i t t l e box s h e
discover ed t hat all her jeweller y was
missing. When t he news of t he t heft
r eached Delhi ever yone was st unned.
What t heft ? Ther e is bar ely any r oom
in t hat house. Thr ee small r ooms and
mor e people t han possessions. Ther e is
har dly any place t o put down your foot
when did t he t hief ent er t he house? He
must have given it t o some woman of
his said Kalichar an, wiping his mout h
wit h t he ends of his muffler as he lay
on t he bed he occupied in his old age.
J ijaji, Dushyant Kumar , had been
t r ansfer r ed t o Delhi and had set t led t her e
wit h his family. Pr abha Bala had been
mar r ied only five year s when she got
t he news t hat jijaji had died in an accident .
The shock of t his t r agedy coming aft er
t he deat h of Pr ehlad bhai sahib devast at ed
Pr abha. Aft er her mar r iage she had only
met her sist er Sar oj Bala occasionally
on fest ivals and t hat t oo gener ally amidst
a cr owd of r elat ives. Dur ing t he mour ning
for jijaji, when Pr abha moved t owar ds
Sar oj t o console her , Sar oj pushed her
aside wit h her elbow. Despit e Dushyant
Kumar s deat h, Sar oj had evident ly not
been able t o er ase t he old incident fr om
her mind, or per haps Dushyant had been
in t he habit of occasionally r efer r ing
t o Pr abha in glowing t er ms and t his had
wounded Sar oj. Dushyant s deat h had
pr ovided Pr abha wit h t he possibilit y of
mour ning for her br ot her once again
bu t n ow s h e h a d t o r et u r n h ome
discomfit ed, nur sing t he pain in her hear t .
These t wo t r agic incident s made her feel
even mor e det ached fr om life.
Sar oj Balas daught er went abr oad
aft er her mar r iage. Sar oj had Dushyant
Kumar s pension and his house but her
loneliness was not assuaged by t hese.
J anaki bhabi was not likely t o let such
an oppor t unit y slip by, t her efor e it was
decided t hat Sar oj Bala would live wit h
her and Dwar ka Pr asad and would give
t hem t he r ent she ear ned fr om her house
t o pay for her keep. Her husbands pension
was enough t o pay for Sar ojs needs.
In t his manner ,not only did J anaki Bhabis
financial sit uat ion impr ove consider ably
but sh e could also t r y t o con vi n ce
ever yon e about how suppor t ive an d
concer ned she and her husband wer e
about t heir widowed sist er .
Nit ya had finished her schooling and
want ed t o st udy a for eign language.
However , as she did not get admission
in a r egular college she st ar t ed doing
h er B. A. by cor r espon den ce besides
which ever y evening she at t ended t he
t hr ee year Ger man cour se in Max Mueller
Bhavan. She also st ar t ed lear ning music
fr om t he Sangeet Kala Kendr a.
Chandr amohan was a t alent ed young
man fr om t he int er ior of Bihar who came
wit h his t heat er gr oup t o Delhi for a
visit but t hen set t led down per manent ly
i n t h e ci t y. Ot h er boys fr om h i s
village,who wer e st udying in Delhi, had
t aken a r oom on r ent in Kat war ia Sar ai.
Chandr amohan also joined t hem. He had
a good gr asp of music so he soon st ar t ed
get t ing wor k pr oviding music for plays
and cult ur al pr ogr ammes.
Nit ya and Chandr amohan decided t o
get mar r ied aft er t hey had been fr iends
for near ly t wo year s. Nit ya fir st want ed
t o t est Pr abha buas r eact ion t o t he
decision befor e shar ing it wit h t he r est
of t he family. Ambika Dut t had passed
away near ly a year ago but she was
st unned at t he r esponse she got fr om
Pr abha, Look Neet u, Think car efully
befor e you say anyt hing at home. Uncle
has not yet depar t ed fr om t his house
nor is he going anywher et his house
belonged t o him and it will r emain his
I am afr aid
What ?
Im afr aid in t heir anger t hey may
mar r y you off in Dhampur as well. Then
aft er a while she added soft ly, God knows
how long babujis and ot her elder s like
him will r ule over households.
Nit yas decision st unned her fat her
Dwar ka Pr asad. Befor e J anaki could r eact ,
Sar oj Bala st ar t ed t ur ning t he beads of
her r osar y agit at edly, Neit her cast e nor
communit yand wor ks as an act or
couldnt she find anyone else in t he
wor ld!
Nit ya finished her Ger man cour se
ar ound t his t ime and st ar t ed get t ing wor k
as a t r anslat or . She would leave home
in t he mor ning, spend t he day in a libr ar y
and r et ur n home in t he evening. She
r equir ed no financial suppor t fr om her
family. In t hese cir cumst ances, at t he
ur ging of Mukesh, Nit ya was mar r ied
t o Chandr amohan despit e a complet e
lack of ent husiasm in t he family.
The t wo of t hem spent t he fir st fift een
or t went y days aft er t heir mar r iage in
t he r oom in Kat war ia Sar ai which had
been vacat ed by Chandr amohans fr iends,
who had t empor ar ily shift ed t o t he r ooms
of t heir fr iends in J .N.U. This ar r angement
cou l d n ot l a s t t oo l on g a n d s oon
Chandr amohan r ent ed a r oom for a
nominal amount in t he house of his fr iend
in Ghaziabad. Nit ya now shift ed fr om
Delhi t o her home in Ghaziabad.
Soon t he leaves began t o t ur n br own.
In Delhi spr ing is over t aken by aut umn
ver y quickly. Dur ing t he long melancholy
aft er noons one could hear only t he sound
of ones own foot st eps on t he leaves
scat t er ed on t he wide silent st r eet s of
Mandi house.
Chandr amohan was now quit e busy
wit h his t heat r e gr oups. Nit ya had st ar t ed
wor king in a pr ivat e company so she
had t o t r avel t o Delhi. Whenever she
was fr ee she would do her t r anslat ions.
Bot h of t hem wer e busy t r ying t o impr ove
t he financial sit uat ion of t he household.
Days, mont hs and year s passed like empt y
car r iages befor e t heir eyes. Nit ya now
had t he memor ies of Chandr amohans
companionship r at her t han Chandr a-
mohan himself for company.
Livin g wit h memor ies is just an
illusion. Whenever Nit ya spoke t o him
about st ar t ing a family Chandr amohan
avoided t he t opic. If Nit ya r efer r ed t o
t he mat t er mor e ser iously he would blow
on t he t endr ils of her hair and r emar k,
I am not in t he mood t o become a
fat her yet , my dear . If Nit ya maint ained
a st ony silence he would t r y t o per suade
h er ,
Let us fir st get set t led pr oper ly. We
havent been mar r ied ver y long dont
t hink about all t his concent r at e on
your job pay at t ent ion t o t he for eign
delegat ions do mor e t r anslat ionsyou
know dar ling, money... money is t he
r eal necessit y in life.
Once t he child is her e t he money
will also come.
Dont t alk r ubbisht hink bigwe can
always have childr enconcent r at e on
your wor k...on your wor k.
At s u ch momen t s s h e wou l d
r emember Pr abha bua. Once when she
had come fr om Dhampur she had t old
Nit ya ver y sadly, Nit u you didnt see
your gr andmot her ... do you know she
didnt have a nail on her for efinger ?
I used t o find t hat finger of her s ver y
st r ange. I would oft en ask her - Amma,
why doesnt t his finger have a nailis
it br oken? She would r eply, No it hasnt
been t her e since I was bor n.
Since bir t h? Nit ya had r emar ked
in amazement .
YesThen once I asked her why
is t he nail missing? And she answer ed,
Because I am a mot her . Anyone who
is a good mot her doesnt have a nail
on t his finger .
Why? Nit ya asked wit h childish
cur i osi t y.
I asked her t he same quest ion- why?
She r eplied-so t hat I can apply kajal
t o my childr ens eyes wit hout wor r ying.
If anyt hing get s st uck in t heir t hr oat s
I can quickly pull it out wit hout hur t ing
t hem. Nit ya list ened eager ly.
And do you know Nit uI t hought
what she said was t r ue. I would check
t he for efinger of ever y woman who visit ed
us ver y car efully. But ever yones nails
wer e int act and I felt ver y happy at
t he t hought t hat my mot her was t he
best mot her . Ther e was no one else like
her . Pr abha bua became silent . She
looked at t he nail on her for efinger ,
Look Nit u,my for finger has a nailbut
I could never even become a mot her ,
not bet t er or wor sejust not hing.
Nit ya felt t hat sediment of sor r ow
which seeped fr om Pr abha buas body
t o her mind had now passed on t o her .
She checked her own for efinger and t hen
t ur ned her eyes away, Who knew what
fat e had in st or e?
Chandr amohan oft en went out of Delhi
wit h t he t heat r e gr oups and whenever
t her e was less t r anslat ion wor k Nit ya
would go t o her par ent s house. Sar oj
Balas influence over J anaki had gr own
t o such an ext ent t hat even Nit ya was
silenced by t he changed envir onment
at home. Ther e was no one wit h whom
she could shar e her mar it al pr oblems
and in any case her mar r iage had been
her own decision. One day she over hear d
Sar oj Bua whisper ing, Bhabi, be car eful,
it doesnt seem r ight for Nit ya t o come
and st ay so oft en.
I a m s u r e ever yt h i n g i s fi n e
ot h er wi s e s h e wou l d h a ve s a i d
somet hing, J anaki had whisper ed back.
What can she say and how can she
complainbut t hese ar e not good signs.
One can under st and it if she is expect ing
or she is illbut I cannot under st and
why a mar r ied gir l should visit her par ent s
so fr equent ly.
Sar oj Bala used t o give her br ot her
Dwar ka Pr asad some money fr om her
pension if t he need ar ose. This was a
big suppor t for t he family. Aft er t he
deat h of Ambika Pr asad his son had
t aken over t he flour mill. Dwar ka Pr asad
h a d n ow been r ed u ced t o a mer e
employee. Kalichar an had also finally
left his bed and passed away. Mukesh
only managed t o hold a job for a few
mont hs, he had not yet been able t o
set t le in life or in employment .
Even befor e Nit yas mar r iage Sar oj
Ba l a s gr owi n g a s s er t i ven es s h a d
incr eased Pr abhas solit ude and sadness.
Aft er her mar r iage, despit e t he fact t hat
her br ot her and sist er -in-law wer e not
ver y welcoming, Pr abha would oft en come
on fest ivals and bir t hdays and t r y t o
build br idges of r elat ionships. When she
en t er ed t h e h ou s e s a yi n g, Ha p p y
Dussehr a, bhabi, J anaki would lower
her head under t he pr et ext of pulling
her sar i over it and mut t er under her
br eat h, Her e she is again .she will
be st uck her e for at least t hr ee or four
days. Then she would st and up and
embr ace Pr abha saying, Welcome bibi
you have come aft er so many days. Nit ya
is r eally fond of you she r emember s
you ver y oft en .
Aft er a day or t wo Pr abha bua would
t ell Nit ya, When I leave, just t ake out
a handloom sar i for meeven an old
one will do. Nit ya would always feel
ver y depr essed as she handed over t he
sar i. Anyhow t hese wer e all old memor ies.
Now Nit ya has alr eady been mar r ied
for five year s. Two year s ago she had
bought a blue, black and whit e sar i for
Pr abha, wit h t he int ent ion of giving it
t o her at t heir next meet ing, even befor e
bua had an oppor t unit y t o ask for one.,
Bua your sar i I have bought it wit h
my own salar y. They say t hat t hought s
follow one ar ound like ghost s but in
Nit yas case it was t he handloom sar i
which haunt ed her since she never saw
Pr abha bua again, nor for t hat mat t er
did anyone else.
The last t ime Nit ya met Pr abha she
was ast onished by what she saw. One
h ot s u mmer a ft er n oon . Pr a bh a h a d
ent er ed t he house wit h a clot h bag slung
over her shoulder . Nit ya was meet ing
her for t he fir st t ime aft er her own
wedding. Pr abhas skin had become r ough
and t anned. When ever yone disper sed
for a nap aft er lunch, Nit ya per suaded
Pr abha t o go wit h her t o t he bat hr oom
and gave her a bat h, scr ubbing her t o
peel off layer s of dir t . Ther e was so
much dir t t hat Nit ya had t o keep on
pour ing wat er over Pr abha. The dr ain
was flooded wit h soap scum and layer s
of dir t . Pr abha bua bur st out laughing
loudly, Look at t he flood of dir t It
looks as t hough Dhampur will get washed
away like t he wat er in t he dr ain.
Then she wor e an old sar i of Nit yas
and bot h of t hem sat under t he dr aft
of t he cooler . Gr adually she st r et ched
out her legs and r elaxed against t he
pillow. She closed her eyes and as her
mind wander ed off t o some unknown
dest inat ion she slowly called out t o Nit ya
who was lying down next t o her , Nit u.
Yes, bua.
Nit u, you know ever yone has a hear t
and t her e is a nameplat e on it . The
nameplat e on my hear t ... somet imes I
want t o t ur n it upside down r ever se
it .because it has sor r ow wr it t en on
it ... but t hen I dont do it . Nit yas sleep
had fled. She was lying on her side wit h
her eyes closed, feeling t he pr esence
of Pr abha bua. Her ear s hear d, Do you
know why? Because behind t he nameplat e
i s wr i t t en - h a p p i n es s . I f I t u r n t h e
nameplat e over t hen happiness will be
in fr ont and sor r ow will shift t o t he
back, clinging t o t he walls of my hear t ,
closer t han it was befor e.
Pr abha bua was not feeling sleepy.
Per haps she had become accust omed t o
t he sleeping pills which Radheyshyam
uncle used t o give her fr equent ly. It
must have been convenient for him t o
keep Pr abha in a st at e of somnolence.
Her body would r emain alive while t he
passions of her hear t would be st illed.
Nit ya t hought t his t o her self wit h a
sar cast ic smile on her lips. How would
he under st and t hat t he passions of t he
mind cannot be quiet ened? They can
just change dir ect ion somet imesmoving
t owa r d s a d ea d en d , a i ml es s a n d
unfocused.
In any case dir ect ionless pat hs wer e
becoming a par t of Pr abha buas life,
I like wander ing ar ound on t he r oads
Nit uI like it ver y much and I especially
like cr ying on t he r oads houses belong
t o p eop l e s ome h a ve on e, s ome
dont some have less, ot her s have mor e
but t h e r oa d belon gs t o ever yon e. .
equally..so it also belongs t o me.
Some day will she come acr oss a
weeping Prabha bua sitting by the side
of a road. Nitya remembered something
else Prabha had said, Do you know Nitu,
sometimes at home, when everyone else
is having their meals, I eat only fruits
because they are just like the roads.they
belong t o ever yone and no one.
Mukesh said t hat she oft en came away
fr om Dhampur wit hout infor ming anyone.
At such t imes he used t o escor t her
t o t he bus st op and put her on t he
bus t o Dhampur . Aft er a mont h or so
she would be back again. She would
leave her bag at home an d wan der
t hr ough t he st r eet s. When she was t ir ed
she would sit down and wat ch people
coming and going ar ound her , and r et ur n
home lat e at night . In t he mor ning Mukesh
would bundle her int o a t hr ee wheeler ,
t ake her t o t he bus st op and put her
on t he bus t o Dhampur .
Dhampur Nit ya r epeat ed t he wor d
wit h t ear s in her eyes and a t hin smile
on her t r embling face. What is t his
Dhampur ? Dham means a place t o st ay-
a home, and pur means a set t lement ,
also a place t o live a home. Bot h Dham
a n d p u r ?Home t wi ce over ? Ni t ya
r emember s how as a child one of t he
games she used t o play was house,
house. Lit t le gir ls oft en hear t heir fr iends
r epeat ing t he sent ence, Let s play house,
house, and t hen once t hey r each t he
t hr eshold of adult hood t he same sent ence
is r epeat ed by t heir par ent s and elder s-
come and play house, house. House
mea n i n g h ome, mea n i n g Dh a mp u r !
Somet hing which is not r eal but make-
believe, like any imaginar y game. An
i l l u s i on wh i ch con s t a n t l y gi ves t h e
impr ession of t r ut h, a r ealit y for which
and wit h t he suppor t of which, women
spend t heir ent ir e lives. An illusion for
which women have been sear ching for
cen t ur ies.
Ther e is anot her Dham which is t he
body in which t he soul r esides. It doesnt
have any pur at t ached t o it but it also
s l i p s a wa y gr a d u a l l y, a l mos t
imper cept ibly. Despit e our knowledge
t hat t his home, our body, is t r ansient
we t ake car e of it , live for it , suffer
for it . Though we beg God for deliver ance
fr om t he illusion t hat is life, yet how
difficult it is t o leave it !
The last t ime Pr abha bua came fr om
Dhampur , she r eached home at seven
in t he mor ning. She had eit her t r aveled
by t he night bus or had spent t he night
a t s ome r el i gi ou s gu es t h ou s e or
dhar amshala. As soon as she ent er ed
J anaki bhabi said ir r it ably, Bibi, why
cant you live in peace in your own
home... t her e ar e disagr eement s in ever y
house over one t hing or anot her .one
doesnt r un away ever y t ime one is upset .
No, bhabi, t her e hasnt been any
disagr eement . Who am I t o be upset
wit h anyone, Pr abha answer ed and t hen
added in a soft voice, I am gener ally
upset only wit h myself. I t r y t o calm
myself but .
What will phoophaji,uncle, t hink?
Mukesh r emar ked.
Son,bet a, he has a lot of t hings t o
t hink about . Dont wor r y about himI
am not st aying on.
Come, I will put you on t he busgo
back t o Dhampur , Mukesh said.
Ar r e, bet a, how many t imes will
you send me back t o Dhampur .now
my body is t ir edI dont feel like st aying.
Make ar r angement s for me in any place
of pilgr image. or if you know someone
in Har idwar . Pr abha bua said, as she
sank down exhaust ed on t he floor and
leant against t he wall clut ching her bundle
like bag.
List en, you make some t ea, Dwar ka
Pr asad inst r uct ed J anaki coming out of
his r oom, Give Pr abha some t ea and
r efr eshment st his t ime I will per sonally
escor t her t o Dhampur .
All right bhai sahib, it is fine, Prabha
said. Then she gathered her strength and
stood up, Bhaabi, make some tea, I will
just be back. she got ready to go out.
Ar r e, wher e ar e you going, Dwar ka
Pr asad said in a t hunder ous voice.
Nowher e, bhai sahib... I will go and
get some biscuit s of my choice fr om
t he mar ket at t he backbhabi,make some
t eaI will just be back wit h t he biscuit s.
Pr abha bua depar t ed in t he dir ect ion
of t he mar ket , wit h her bag slung over
her shoulder . But aft er t his she never
came back. She did not r each Dhampur ,
nor did anyone ever see her . Who knew
wher e Pr abha bua was lost , what had
happened t o her ? Maybe she was living
like a vagr ant in some dhar amshala or
wander ing ar ound t he st r eet s aimlessly.
How could one find out ? News paper s
do not publish det ails of all t he unclaimed
bodies t hat ar e found. Nit ya is wait ing
for her , even t oday, wit h t he blue whit e
a n d bl a ck h a n d l oom s a r i a n d a n
incr easingly cr ippled hope.
Nitya is also waiting since the evening
for the arrival of the morning. There is
a faint orange glow in the sky. Often this
light , t his sunshine halt s at t he ver y
threshold of the mind. Inside there are
glimmers of light and shades of darkness,
like at dusk. Nitya searches within her
mind in the light of memories of the past.
How long will this shadow war, this struggle
in the wings continue? All her life?
Ever y mor ning, she opens her eyes
t o a new day which is not her own
and she has t o live t hr ough t he alien-
ness of t his day. When she needs a
day of her own she cannot find it anywher e
near her . Per haps she is only fat ed t o
have as much of a day as t he t iny pinch
of salt one adds t o flour or somet imes
even for get s t o add.
And Pr abha bua? Even her night s
wer e scor ned, yet t hey must have seemed
h er own - d a r k n i gh t s j u s t l i ke h er
benight ed life. Did she ever consider
scr ubbing t hem, washing t hem t ill t hey
became br ight , making t hem her days?
What would she do wit h all t hose chaot ic
dr eams st or ed in t he alcoves of her
night s? Nit ya t hought , Pr abha bua would
t uck t hem away in her blouse. Ther e
t hey would be safely hidden fr om t he
day. In any case it must be year s since
anyone peeped in t her e.
The mor ning had ar r ived. Nit ya had
her br eakfast in a st r ange fr ame of mind.
Ever yone t hought she was anxious t o
r et ur n home. They helped her in her
wor k and she left for t he bus st op wit h
Mukesh, aft er saying goodbye. The bus
for Ghaziabad was st anding t her e and
some passanger s wer e alr eady seat ed
in it . The conduct or was st anding near
t he bus t r ying t o gat her some mor e
passenger s GhaziabadGhaziabad.
Nit ya walked swift ly in t hat dir ect ion
wit h Mukesh following her . The conduct or
saw her and got r eady t o give her a
t icket , One or t wo? Wher e do you want
t o go?
Mukesh had just put his hand in his
pocket t o pull out his wallet when Nit ya
gave t he conduct or t he fift y r upee not e
she had clut ched in her han d- On e
t icket Dhampur .
Mukesh st opped sear ching his pocket ,
Nit u? He st ar ed at her , for get t ing his
h a n d i n h i s pocket . Th e con duct or
r epeat ed in a sur pr ised t one of voice,
Dhampur ! But Nit ya t ook t he t icket
fr om his hand and,slinging her bag over
her shoulder , she boar ded t he bus wit hout
a ba ckwa r d gl a n ce. Th e con d u ct or
shr ugged his shoulder s and also got int o
t he bus. The dr iver st ar t ed t he engine
when he hear d t he whist le and t he bus
moved . t owa r d s Gh a zi a ba d or
Dhampur who knows?
Buses gen er ally t r avel t o
predetermined destinations and carry their
passenger s wher ever t hey want t o go.
But Nitya? Though she had boarded the
bus to go to her Dhampur she had no
idea whether it would take her to her
destination. She might even get off midway.
She would take the decision now that
she was in the bus. For the time being,
she had bid farewell to all those people
who always and in every circumst ance
ensured that the daughters of the house
were put on t he bus t o Dhampur.
Meer a Ka n t , b or n 19 58 , i s h i gh l y a wa r d ed for h er l i t er a r y wor ks l i ke
I h a m r i g a n d Nep a t h y a Ra a g , b ot h p l a ys . Sh e a l s o wr i t es s h or t s t or i es
a n d n ovel s . Sh e i s ed i t or a t NCERT, New Del h i .
Ran j an a Kaul, an Associ at e Pr ofessor at t h e College of Vocat i on al St udi es,
Del h i Un i ver s i t y, i s a r egu l a r con t r i b u t or t o Th e Book Rev i ew , s h e
h a s t r a n s l a t ed Thi s Ca p i t a l , a n a wa r d wi n n i n g col l ect i on of s h or t s t or i es
i n Ka s h mi r i b y H. K. Ka u l for t h e Sa h i t ya Aka d emi .
COMI NG BACK
Musharraf Alam Zauqui
Shyamji Mishr a
Would t hat love had t he t ongue so t hat t he cover s of lover s
would come undone. When t he t ongue unfolds t he secr ecies and
t he ways of love, t he heavens call out : O you, t he concealer
of love! Why do you conceal it ? The wool and t he cot t on possess
fir e. The mor e you conceal t hem t he mor e t hey manifest it .
Th e r e wa s n o co m p u t e r a t t h e t i m e
You have for got t en her ; no?
Cant say
But I can say confident ly. She hasnt been t her e anywher e
wit hin you for t he last five mont hs.
In t he dar k of night Tar anas voice felt icy-cold..
Why should you believe so?
She laughed out soft ly. For , t hat wor ld is only a make-believe
one a fair y land. And a fair y land is for childr en only. But
when men like you go t her e, you car r y along wit h a lot of suppr essed
desir es t hat you cant shar e wit h your wives even .She became
a bit ser ious But t o for get her just in five mont hs!? Sanyal,
at least you must keep fr om t aking aft er t he mould of ot her men.
The dar k over -power ed me. The dar k t hat , in spit e of my quiet ly
coming out ont o t he balcony, has over -power ed t he whole of
my exist ence. All t hat had happened all of a sudden, all t he
t hings. The whole wor ld ar ound me changed, and complet ely so.
Time t hat had been moving on like r ising waves, seemed t o have
S
h
o
r
t

s
t
o
r
y
acquir ed a magic wand in it s hand. Time
waved it . St op, you moving age! St op
t her e. No. Recede back. Sailing in his
middle age, on t he t hr eshold of his for t ies,
t he per son was a young man once again.
Time waved t he magic wand once again.
A ver y beaut iful young lady was st anding
t her e
Per haps no magic wand was needed
t her e. As soon as we ent er ed t hat wor ld,
we gr ew r omant ic. It was t he wor ld wher e
you just swit ched on a common elect r ic
but t on, t her e st ood open all t he door s
of int er net on t he comput er scr een
Ther e was no magic her e
No magic box her e.
No hor se of ageOnly a r iver flowing
along t he magical fair y land. Ther e was
t he bazaar of beaut y. And suddenly, like
a super nat ur al happening, t her e was a
gir l belonging t o any count r y, any r eligion,
any communit y; and she asked you,
Do you like r omant ic chat ?
A fancy of t he fair y land, emer ging
out of t he fair y land, would br ight en
up, wit h all it s elegance on t he CAM
or t he Net Camer a. I would set t he
micr ophone wir e in my ear s. The sweet
r omant ic sound of J alat ar ang andThe
flowing st r eam of t he gaining on age,
wit h all of it s images and beat s of by-
gone days would get oblit er at ed
Per haps, t he wor ld was not so shr unk
t henThe moon was shining in t he sky.
The sky was st ar spr inkled Far away,
on t he dar kling sky a couple of float ing
clouds wer e seen. But , t he car avans of
t he t winkling st ar s st r et ched t hose clouds
over t hemselves. And t hen leaving t he
moon and t hese car avans alone, t hose
clouds pr oceeded on.
The comput er did not exist t hen
No int er net was t her e
No mer maids wer e t her e
The age had it s own limit s. And t hose
limit s couldnt be moved for war d or
backwar d. But Love was t her e, even at
t hat t ime t he plat onic was per haps mor e
fr ee t hen t han it is now t he one t hat
would set t le down much deeper at hear t
t han st r ay ext er nally. The night s wer e
moon-lit t hen. Should I look back, 16
year s ago, some well defined cit ies of
t oday would look like villages or small
t owns. No r efr iger at or s, no t elephones.
Mobiles couldnt be t hought of. Despit e
t heir complexit ies and inconveniences
t he life in small t owns was beaut iful
and lovely. Love had it s own ident it y
t hen. Had it s own moods and manner s,
it s own swellings of t he sea. Like t he
r ain-emanat ed scent s of imaginat ion, love
looked like a far high st ar shining in
t he sky, and it was not possible for ever y
one t o t ouch or even t o see it .
But , per haps, at t he vulner able st age
of age, no sooner I befr iended lit er at ur e
t han t he meanings of love changed for
me. The keenly blowing wind t hat would
car r y you along wit h it self, and being
blown away you couldnt t hink, even
in t he least , what was happening t o you.
But your whole exist ence got submer ged
in t hat moment and felt t he t hr ill of
each and ever y moment .
And suddenly, in t he small t own,
in t he for m of Tar ana, I had t he chance
of feeling myself lucky. The deer -like
Tar ana. Wit h t he whole of her being,
she was made or wr it t en for me only.
Aft er a few br ief meet ings t he feeling
of air y flight speople wer e, per haps,
not so ver y cult ur ed in small cit ies t ill
t he t imeor , so ver y commer cial. Things
had begun t o t ake wings, t o get speed.
Fr om our college t o our homes, t he
t a l es a n d s t or i es wer e ga i n i n g
cir culat ion Sanyal Tar anaTar ana-
Sanyal.
But , as it seems, bot h of us wer e
full of r ebellion. Or , t he family member s
of bot h t he houses wer e quit e awar e
of t he r ebellion.
That day as Tar ana met me, our love,
gr a d u a l l y ga i n i n g momen t u m, wa s
pr epar ing it self t o cr eat e a new chapt er .
It was a small nar r ow st r eam t hat
we wer e st anding by. At some dist ance
t he keeper of a make-shift -shop was selling
onions and pot at oes. Two dir t y young
boys wer e laughing, looking at usTar ana
t ouched my hand: Why didnt you come
home? You ar e fr ight ened
No. Im not fr ight ened.
Dont t ell a lie. You ar e fr ight ened;
per haps because of t he st or ies t ouching
us ar e gaining cir culat ion. Do you know?
She t ight ened her gr ip on my hand. I
keep awake all t hr ough night s. The house,
door s, windows, all disappear , as if t hey
wer e par t s of a cast le made up of air y
not hing. The whole of my count enance
get s t r ansfor med int o a br oad smile only.
And you get t r ansfor med int o a beaut iful
psychic being. I hold your hand, kiss
you, soar away far and high; and I am
all an embodied joy a t r ance. Ther e
is an old well wit hin t he inner cour t yar d.
I come out st ealt hily and sit silent ly
on it s par apet . While t he whole house
is asleep, I keep looking at t he moon.
The moon set s and you What s t his
Sanyal?
The keeper of t he small make shift
shop called out , Pot at oes, ..Onions
Bot h t he lit t le dir t y boys wer e st ill looking
at us. Tar anas hand t ight ened on mine;
Tell me. What s t his?
Should I?
O yes, do.
Th e l evel s of Dop a m i n e a n d
Norepinecrin have gained in you.
What ? Tar ana was st ar t led. What
is it ?.... dopamine?
A chemical, dar ling, t hat pr oduces
t he feeling of pleasur e or joy in t he
mind?
Tar ana smiled, That means loveand
t hat ? and t hat ? .. Nove
Nor epinecr in
O yes, t hat ver yso you ar e Sanyal
What s t hat ?
That also is a chemical t hat pr oduces
commot ion and excit ement at hear t .?
Tar ana gave a st ar t , So your love
is just t his much?... t o wat ch t he levels
of dopamine and nor epinecr in? Only t his
much is love? an escape fr om lit er at ur e
t o t he wor ld of chemist r yand t hat
t hat happened t o me!? At mid-night I
opened t he door and quiet ly got out
of t he house, just t o look for you in
t he st r eet . But t hen, I became awar e
of what I was doing. When I r ecollect ed,
I got fr ight ened. The whole of t he st r eet
was deser t ed. Had people seen me at
t he t ime, who knows what t hey would
not t alk of me.
Not hing. This shows t he declining
level of ser ot onin only.
You mean?
The ur ge of sacr ificing oneself for
love t o t he ver ge of insanit y
Slap you I will Tar ana bur st out
laughing. The t wo boys t oo, looking at
us, pealed wit h laught er .
On t he balcony t he night was well-
lit . The st ar s wer e playing t he game of
hide and seek.
The emot ions of sixt een year s ago
wer e r eady t o fall in shower s, all at
once. That long ago, only one name
was t her e enshr ined at hear t and t he
mind Tar ana. And t hat name opened
t he door s of fr agr ance In a vulner able
moment of solit ude t he swift -foot ed wind
would ca us e a s ur ge of exci t emen t
t hr ough t he body, and t hen all my
senses would be t aken in t hr all by a
sent ence of Tar ana, I know t his much
only t hat I must possess t he object I
l ove.
It must be t hr ee oclock at noon
t hat day. As soon as I st epped on t he
t hr eshold of my home, I came t o know
t hat Tar ana was hospit alized. Passing on
t he news t o me my sist er -in-law looked
at my face moment ar ily. My fat her , who
was sit t ing silent ly on a cot , also shift ed
his glance ont o my face. I put my books
on t he t able st anding near by.
I am going. I might not get back
even at night . Having ut t er ed t his much
I got out of t he r oom. I t r ied t o, but
it was difficult for me t o guess t he ext ent
t o wh i ch t h e level of ch emi ca ls
dopamine and Nor epinecr in had shot
up, or t he level of ser ot onin gone down
br inging her almost t o a st at e of insanit y
leading t o her hospit alizat ion. Anyhow,
t he condit ion could not be nor mal. In
t he per vious week it self, t r ying t o get
dissolved int o ever y fibr e of my being,
she had shown t he sympt oms of t he
har d st r uggle t hat was under going wit hin
her . She had said:
My br eat hs ar e br eaking like t he
st r ings of past a, and get t ing disper sed
t oo. They want t o see you all t he t ime.
Why do you go away Sanyal? Why dont
you keep wit h me in t he way as st agnant
t ime lives wit h me in my r oom at t he
t ime when t hinking of you I get dissolved
in you.
Her palms wer e t he r ed-hot coal.
Recover i n g h er s el f s h e con t i n u ed .
Somet imes, somet hing like t he mist fills
up t he r oom, and t hen lot s and lot s
of t hings of t he wor ld seem t o r esound
in my r oom. You get lost in t he mist
and t hen it feels t he st r ing of br eat h
will get snappedDont go away please.
St ay by me Sanyal befor e t he st r ings
of br eat h get disper sed.
My feet moved fast . She was in t he
gener al war d. A couple of some ot her
pat ient s also wer e t her e besides her .
As small cit ies have t heir own sense
of hist or y and cour t esy, a number of
women fr om her localit y wer e also t her e
ar ound her . As she saw me, a st r ange
delight t hat over spr ead it self on her face
cannot be depict ed in wor ds. The next
moment , despit e t he pr esence of ot her
people and her own family member s also
in t he gener al war d, she was in my
ar msweak...sickly She was t r ying t o
t ell me t hat she could not speak, her
voice was gone. I pr essed her in my
passionat e embr ace. Tar ana was cr ying.
Holding her fir mly against myself, and
moving my finger s r ound her eyes ver y
lovingly, I was saying:
Assur edly I am her eyour Sanyal
your voice. Didnt you t ell me I had
t he finest voice on ear t h and t hat no
human voice could be sweet er t han mine?
At t he pr esent t ime you only have t o
list en t o me, for I am t he body, t he
voice and t he soul for my Tar anayour
voice. Ill put t he music of t his voice
on your lips, and your lips will be t hose
of t he most beaut iful gir l in t he wor ld.
When you will conver se wit h me in t une
wit h my voice, t he music cr eat ed t her e
by will be t he sweet est one in t he univer se.
But Tar ana, t oday I am only an echo
of your s. Feel my voice for get t ing your s
Tar ana gat her ed up closer . Her hands
felt fir mer on my back. My shir t was
get t ing soaked wit h sweat . As I lift ed
up her face, she was smiling a smile
t hat might be seen in a few of t he finest
mast er pieces ever cr eat ed.
I st ayed on t he bed next t o her s
in t he gener al war d t hat night . It is
known t o all t hat t he wind had waft ed
away t he whiff of our odor ous st or y
t hr ough t he small cit y. Now t his st or y
will t ake wings, disper sebut , per haps,
consider ing all t he possibilit ies of t he
fut ur e I r est ed r eassur ed.
The Net was not t her e at t he t ime;
mobiles also wer e not t her e. Even lit t le
common conveniences wer e far away
fr om t he gener al life. But t he magic of
love was t her e in all it s pr ofundit y, and
per haps deeper t han what it t oday is.
Out side, on t he balcony t he dance
of st ar s cont inued in t he milky shine
of t he moon. The young feeling t hat
was t her e, sixt een year s ago, st ood
r evi ved .
But as any st or y began in t he by-
gone days, t he st or ies t old by t he mat er nal
or pat er nal gr andmot her , a magic wor ld
would come alive in t he wonder st r uck
eyes of t he childr en lying on t heir beds
in t he moon-lit night under t he canopy
of t h e bl u e h ea ven s Th er e wa s a
kingTher e was a queen Ther e was
a demonTher e was a magician But ,
aft er sixt een year s, in t he moder n wor ld,
t he st or y will begin somet hing likeTher e
was a comput er . A lake-fair y swam out
on t he Net . But t her e was no magic.
Swimming on t he wat er t he fair y asked
you, Do you like r omant ic chat ?
Wh a t r ela t ion s d o you h a ve wit h h er ?
Tar ana came in my life. We became
a par t of t he r ush of t he cosmopolit an.
And t hen we begot a lit t le son t oo. Despit e
bei n g a p a r t of t h e r u s h of t h e
cosmopolit an, t he wr it er at my hear t
neit her died nor did he go int o oblivion,
for Tar ana did not let it fall int o a slumber
even for a moment . Her love was neit her
t r ansient nor false. Aft er our mar r iage
t oo, t o her eyes, her Sanyal was her
lover . I n my jour ney fr om lit er at ur e
t o ser ials, Tar ana had sacr ificed all t hat
could be called her s. If t her e had occur r ed
any change in her , it was t he physical
one; t he change t hat would co-occur
as t he mot her begot a novel for m of
her love, giving it a separ at e ent it y in
t he wor ld. The impr essions of fulfillment
in seeing t he child gr ow, changed t he
gir l in her int o a woman. But in most
of her essent ials she r emained Tar ana
only; t he same Tarana of sixteen years
ago. But one day:
A comput er ar r ived in t he house,
and t he Net connect ion t oo. And t her e
began a new st or y.
Is it t hat despit e your loving some
one ver y much, t her e r emains a void
a t h ea r t t o be fi l l ed u p ? or , a n
inconspicuous suppr essed desir e t o be
gr at ified? Is a per son seeking t o fill up
some nooks of his sexual ur ges wit h
t he help of t he Net , n ot a divided
per sonalit y, despit e his having a ver y
loving wife and equally dear childr en?
The wor ld of t he Net was t he wor ld
of desir es t hat lur ked at t he hear t s of
unsat iat ed young men, t he aged, and
t he adolescent wit h a dr eam t o feel
sat iat ed. Fr om Orkut t o High for war d,
Love Happensand t he Dr eam Comes
t o COM, t her e is a big r acket of boys
and gir ls wit h fict it ious names all over
t he wor ld, par t icipat ing in t he concer ns
of all fr om childr en t o t he aged.
But t her e was a sense of guilt t oo
at my hear t . Why should t his wor ld get
populat ed for me when Tar ana was t her e?
Aft er all, why should we cher ish a desir e
t o get acquaint ed wit h unknown gir ls?
And t hat t oo, not just one but a t housand
of t hem a vast wor ld of t hem t aking
i n i t s fol d s o ma n y cou n t r i es ,
communit ies, r eligions; t he vast wor ld
of t he int er net .
Is it a sin t o enjoy t he vast pleasur es,
and sat isfact ion t her efr om, t hat t his
magical elect r onic wor ld offer s? I ask
myself. One par t of my self answer s,
No har m. They all do it ; but t he ot her
par t caut ions me, The sat isfact ion is
false. They leave you mor e t hir st y t han
ot her wise.
Despit e t he immeasur able love of
home and r elat ions, t he new t echnology
has opened up a new fount ain head of
unlimit ed love. You can no mor e be
fully sat iat ed wit h t he homely love, for ,
you begin t o feel t he need of lot s and
lot s of it . The sex ur ge, t hat was er st while
checked by mor al and cult ur al codes,
h a s a t t a i n ed exp l os i vel y vi ol en t
dimensions. But , per haps t he wor ld
besides ugly faces, has nor mal and ver y
beaut iful faces also... In addit ion t o t he
evil t her e is much good t oo. In addit ion
t o t he sex t her e is an ur ge t o know
and under st and one anot her . And one
day suddenly
As soon as I opened t he Net I r eceived
a message on Yahoo scr een. And, dear
r eader s, t her e began t his st or y. The
message r ead: My name is Mahak. Mahak
Ahmad. A r esident of Lahor e. Aged 23.
Mot her expir ed when I was five only.
Ther eaft er I fell in t he habit of t wo
t hings r eading lit er at ur e and t elepat hy.
I r ead a st or y wr it t en by you. And t hen
had t o spend a mont h looking for your
e-mail ID. I dont have much t ime at
my disposal t o t ell you all. It seems
t he whole of t he syst em is poised t o
t ake a flight , t he fast est one. I fell in
l ove wi t h you wi t h ou t a n y p r e-
medit at ions, for I have been t ouched
by your st or y t o t he cor e of my hear t .
I would love you even if you wer e eight y
year s of age. Should you r eceive my
mail, please send a pr ompt r eply. And,
yes. I am put t ing in an ad on Yahoo
messenger for you. If possible, please
do come in t he evening. You know t her e
is a differ ence of t hir t y minut es bet ween
Pak and Indian t imings. Will you come?
Your s Mahak.
God knows how many t imes I r ead
t he message. J ust kept on r eading it .
In t he wor ld of lit er at ur e and ser ials
I had r eceived so many let t er s befor e
t his one, had come acr oss so many gir ls,
but t his e-mail made me feel flying in
t he air ; as if t he blood in my body
wer e r unning fast er Even if you wer e
eight y year s of age. The eyes went
t hr ough t he line again and again. I am
23. Was t her e pr esent wit hin me a man
wit h unsat isfied desir es? Or , t her e was
a man r eaching 40 who felt pamper ed
wit h t he t hought he could st ill be loved
by a gir l aged 22 or 23 I dont know
what t he moment was, or what sent iment s
had t aken possession of me, by t he t ime
I wr ot e Your s Sanyal, I had sent t he
e-mail.
That ver y evening, for t he fir st t ime,
she came on Yahoo messenger , and it
seemed as if t he wor ld, like some fair y
land, had opened it s door s for me
When you ar e in love, your love
need not be declar ed. It s fr agr ance, like
t hat of civet ; makes it self known. The
whole of your behaviour shows it . Many
a t ime, pr esent ing myself befor e Tar ana,
or while holding her in my ar ms I felt
like a t hief. But , as a man, I can t ell
you t r ut hfully and honest ly t hat at any
moment of my love t o Tar ana, Mahak
did never have her pr esence wit hin me.
Does t his mean t hat she was par t ially
pr esent in me while Tar ana was wholly;
or , was it because of Tar anas love t hat
alt hough Mahak t r ied t o occupy her place
in my life she couldnt ? Or , r emaining
t ied t o a family was a compulsion on
me? Or , in t his glamor ous wor ld of t he
Net wh en d o we meet p h ys i ca l l y?
Per haps, t his excuse put hear t in me,
t o some ext ent . But , alt hough it was
acr oss t he bor der , Mahak was pr esent
physically and of her pr esence I had
r ead in t he Net CAM, was it love? Had,
in any way, Tar anas love faded? And
was it because of t hat I had involunt ar ily
been t ur ned t o Mahak? Or , t he vir ilit y
of a man cr ossing for t y had been r evived
having gained t he company of a woman,
t he woman who not only loved him but
want ed t o get him wit h all his physicalit y.
But , per haps, it did n ot become
necessar y for me t o keep t he t r ut h hidden
fr om Tar anas eyes. Because, like t he
jungle st or m, one day she came t o know
t he whole t r ut h. She was silent for a
while.
Do you also love her ? Tar anas wor ds
wer e ice-cold.
I dont know.
Per haps you do She t ook a deep
br eat h but , t he ver y next moment her
eyes r egained t heir age-old love, t he
same fr enzy, t he same passion. Once
again she saved me fr om my ent er ing
t he slough of guilt . While depar t ing she
said only t his much, How would you
have felt had t her e been any boy in
my life?
Sanyal! passing t hr ough t he self
imposed or deal I asked myself, Sanyal,
what will you do? What will you do
t he next , Sanyal? Time is t r ying t o car r y
you alongwit h it s flow, but t her e is some
st r ong feeling t oo as your hear t det er s
you.
In t he evening as I set t he Net on,
Mahak Ahmad was t her e on t he line.
As AOA was on light she wr ot e, fir st
of all, AOA t he gr eet ing Assalam-
u-Allaikum. And t hen t he st r eam of wor ds
would open t he door s of new ut opia,
and at t he moment I was per haps in
some wor ld above t he ear t h, and wor ds
of Mahak wer e not hing but fr agr ance.
F r o m t h e c h a t - r o o m
She asked. She asked a lot . She asked,
which of t he t wo a bir d and a dr eam
is t he bet t er one. The answer was
t he bir d, because t hey br eat he and t hey
sing of love when it r ains, or when it
is savan: t he mont h of r ains and gr eener y
all ar ound. Dr eams ar e unfait hful. They
come; t hey vanish away t oo.
She asked, Why is it so t hat st ar ,
her favour it e st ar , shining in t he sky
sur passes t he moon?
She asked, Why ar ent you a r ose,
t he one t hat I should pluck and t hen
place by my hear t ; t hat you should
per vade, like t he fr agr ance, in my br eat h,
my hear t Why ar ent you a but t er fly,
t he one t hat in my for get fulness, having
been maddened by t he int oxicat ion of
pining for you, I should chase t hr ough
t he beds of r oses and having got my
finger pr icked should wr it e in blood:
love.
She asked, Why ar ent you a r ain-
dr op, t he fir st bor n of t he season, t hat
like a heavenly blessing should descend
on my open, uplift ed palm; and t hat
I should kiss it and t hen place it on
my head wit h a dr eam in my eyes
t he dr eam of get t ing evapor at ed, t o lose
my ident it y and be one wit h you, get t ing
lost t o t he wor ld.
She asked, Befor e you st epped in
my life, t he wor ld was not so ver y
beaut iful, or I had not per ceived it s
beaut y, why?
She asked, Why does a single moment
not cont ain a million of moment s wit hin
it ? And t hose millions could enclose us
and t hen for get t o pass on!
She said, My deat h, if co-occur r ed
wit h your s would be much mor e beaut iful
t han t his life is. Do come t aking my
t r embling hands in your s, close your
eyes for ever wit h t he sense of my
being wit h you. My body, swaying in
t he most beaut iful int oxicat ion of life;
my shining and singing eyes when
t hey open, t hey should open on an
uninhabit ed island wher e t her e should
be none but you, wher ever I should
cast my eyes.
And t hen she asked, List en, why did
you get bor n so ver y ear ly? much
mor e ear ly t han meWhat a cr uel r evenge
is it of your s? Well, you wer e bor n alr ight ,
but why didnt you wait for me? Why
didnt you car e for my dr eams Why
didnt you hear my st eps? For , I was
always t her e in ever y par t icle of ear t h.
In so many past , glor ious year s I was
in no ot her for m but fr agr ance. I was
t her e, my soul. My shadow was t her e.
It was only t hat you couldnt per ceive
i t .
She asked, Why did you get mar r ied
befor e I came? Why didnt you wait for
me?
She asked, Who ar e t hey t hat know
you mor e t han I do?... My fr agr ance
should be t her e wit hin you mor e t han
t he impr ession of a flower , fr agr ance
or dr eam. I should see you mor e t han
t he wife, t he sun or t he moon does.
I should t ouch you mor e t han t he blowing
air does. I should descend upon your
being like a pleasant dr izzle t he one
t hat r an t hr ough life.
She said, The palanquin of our lives
be placed on t he bed of flower s in an
isolat ed islandand your ar ms like t ender
br anches, be spr ead over my body.
And t hen she said, Tell me t he t r ut h.
I s t her e any one ot her t han myself,
br eat hing wit hin you t his moment ? And
aft er a moment s hesit at ion asked, Your
wife?
Let it be t he dead silence or din,
each has a poet r y of it s own. The air
bear s it s own ver ses, fr agr ances, r hyt hm
and t unes of love. It was possible t hat
t his st or y would not have t aken bir t h.
And, t hat t oo for a per son like myself,
t hat is, a per son devot ed t o cr eat ion,
whose unper t ur bed st at e of being could
be compar ed t o t hat of t he st ill wat er s,
or t he waves on t he calm ocean.
But I beg your par don. The t ime
when t his st or y begins is ser ious. And
it is necessar y t hat t he pr esent t ime
and t he human r ight s associat ed wit h
it , be assigned t he funct ion of t he wit ness.
And much mor e necessar y is t he quest ion
ar ising at t he hear t of lover s, float ing
ambit iously over t he waves of love, t hat
why t hey ar e not bir ds or animals; and
also, t he wat chful eyes of t he Human
Right s t o wat ch if t he communit y of
menfolk is, in anyway, t hwar t ing t he
r ight s of t he womenfolk. But please,
excuse me, Her e t her e is no violat ion
of human r ight s. Cont r ar y t o it t her e
ent er s quiet ly a woman in t he life of
a man aged over for t y, and leading a
quiet mar r ied life. The woman was not
a wife but a lover aged 22 whose eyes
would t r ansfor m int o t he r ains, dr eams
and r ainbows fr om t ime t o t ime. Get t ing
aside, she demanded, Gr ant me my r ight s.
The answer given was, This r ight belongs
t o somebody else. Befor e she could
exclaim No, she was as violent as a
gr eat r iver in flood could be.
No?
If it wer e any ot her per sons r ight
you would not be her e. Tell me, why
you ar e her e. Why ar ent you t her e wit h
t he one who has t he r ight ?
Per haps she giggledbut she was st ill
asking and she asked Why do you
feel so ver y fr ight ened allowing me my
own r ight s? Would I be her e if you had
lost your r ight t o love? Near you? Near
your br eat h? In your movement sin your
r est lessness in your wor r iesand in
your finger st hat while t yping on t he
comput er get abst r act ed fr om t he wor d
t o love, and fr om t he wor d t o a passionat e
per sist ence fr om eyes t o t he dr eam,
and fr om lips t o t he song.
And t hen she said, List en t o me
Fl ood !. . . I fl y I s wi m. On d ewy
imaginat ions I weave t he webs of waves.
Time flies like lit t le but t er flies wit h t heir
colour ful wings ar ound me. Taking t hem
t o be t he feel of your s I t r y t o gr asp
t hem wit h my hands. Thr ough t he long
long days I have wings on my body
t o fly in t he r ainbow sky. Dur ing t he
night , as I am flying wit h but t er flies
wit h feeling of being wit h you, I gr asp
t he t ime wit h a feel of you, and t ying
it in a knot , conceal it in t he coils of
my hair
And t hen she asked, Does your son
know t hat some one, besides his mot her ,
has come int o your life?
This was t he t ime when t he hear t
of Venus t hr obbed, and t he planet known
as t he nint h one in our solar syst em,
Plut o, had been exiled.
I closed t he Net quiet ly. Anyhow,
for a lit t le while kept looking on at t he
blank scr een of t he comput er . The let t er s
wer e goneNo, t hey wer e shiningand
t he combinat ions of t hem was giving
shape t o t he face of a gir l having come
fr om some dr eamland. Eyes wer e lost
on t he island t hat was Salans eyesAll
t he wor ds on her flower -pet al lips wer e
for Salan onlyThe body t r embled. I
got up, opened t he side-door and began
t o feel t he wor ds t yped by Mahak. They
seemed t o peep fr om t he blue sky acr oss
t he balcony. I felt as if she wer e st anding
in fr ont of me asking, How much do
you love me?; t he wor ds t hat wer e
met eor shower ; as if an explosion had
occur r ed; as if a shiver r an t hr ough t he
spineShe, t oo, was looking at him wit h
a smile t hat expr essed pleasur e and
myst er y, bot h, simult aneously.
Why dont you speak? Tell me how
much you love me.
I dont do any. I t yped t he few
wor ds. She bur st out like t he t or r ent ial
r ain.
You do, but you dar e not Well, how
deeply does Tar ana love you?
Ver y.
Mor e t han I do?
Yes.
No. She cant do mor e. She seemed
r eassur ed.
No. None can love you mor e t han
I do not even t he hear t t hat beat s
in your body; not even t he eyes t hat
would st r ike up a melodious t une of
love just by cast ing a look ...andand
your lips t hat play wit h t he name can
love you t o t he ext ent t hat I do.
Mahak st opped. The conflict ar ising
at her hear t could be seen on t he CAP.
A t housand shadows ar ose and dr owned
in her eyesOnce again her finger s wer e
on t he t ype. My hear t t hr ob t ook a
leap because of a flood of unfamiliar
quest ions ar ising t her ein.
She said, Well, list enHow much has
Tar ana t ouched you? I t oo wish t o get
t r ansfor med int o Savan, int o t he r ains,
int o t he wind t hat should pass t ouching
youHow does Tar ana play on your body
wit h her finger s?...Ver y gent ly? Ver y
quiet ly? like t he dew dr ops falling
down t he leaves? How much has she
seen your body? How much has Tar ana
known? Isnt it only t hat much as much
a woman, bound t o t he r ole t hat she
has t o play as a wife, could know? Isnt
i t on l y t h a t mu ch a s t h e p a i n or
h u n ger t h er e i s a t a t i me i n t h e
bodywould war r ant ? Isnt it only t hat
much as much t her e is t he fever of
hunger and sex-ur ge t oget her in t he body
at a t ime? But how much does she see
you when t he t wo bodies ar e one? How
many dr eams can she visualize in ever y
hair on your body? How much can she
discover you in t he commot ions of your
br eat h? Does Tar ana see in you, or she
doesnt , a new flood in you? a new
song, a new dr eam and a new flood?...?
Mahak con t in ued t o t ype an d it
seemed as if I wer e bat hing in t he r ains
of wonder ever y moment . What is t his?
Why do I become so ver y helpless as
soon as Mahak comes. The cact i of
quest ions begin t o r aise t heir heads fr om
me wit hinYou have a son aged t welve,
on t he t hr eshold of becoming a full gr own
yout h. She is older by t en year s only.
Do you know t he meaning of having
cr ossed for t y year s of age if you ar e
bor n in an Indian family?
I t mea n s a gr a ve p er s on a l i t y
devot ed t o your family, t he one who
under st ood t he r esponsibilit ies t owar ds
childr en. Having r eached t his age you
emer ge a mat ur e per son who is looked
on by you r s oci et y wi t h r ever en ce
because t he societ y knows t his per son
is an invaluable symbol of our ideal
societ y, is a r epr esent at ive. This per son
cannot love. And, t o him, t hinking of
any ext r amar it al love is not hing less
t han his get t ing doomed. Her e t her e is
no r oom for any unexpect ed occur r ences.
Even t hen Mahak had got in t hr ough
t he back door t hat had r emained open,
only god knows how. She had come in,
and was asking for her full r ight t o love.
Ta r a n a a n d q u e s t i o n
Love is et er nal.
The t ales of global and geogr aphical
changes also ar e t r ue. In t he r ace of
pr ogr ess and development , t her e is also
a r ow of myst er ious happenings st anding
along wit h our wor ldly r ace; fr om mir acles
t o invent ions, fr om t he syst em of down-
loading a mans br ain t o t he cloning
of t he human being. In t his wor ld of
invent ions and mir acles t he hear t of
Venus ceased t o t hr ob long long ago.
On ly God kn ows how lon g ago t he
h ea ven l y s t a r , t h a t wa s l ove, got
eliminat ed fr om it s or bit , got shat t er ed
int o innumer able number of pieces and
was disper sed t hr ough t he solar syst em.
Plat o, t he symbol of t r ust was also exiled
by t he obser ver s of t he celest ial bodies.
But t he splint er s of t he st ar t hat was
love get t ing at t ached and det ached
wit h t he masses of ice, seemed t o be
posing quest ions befor e mankind, why
d i d l ove get l os t ? Wh er e d i d l ove
evapor at e? Why did you ar r ive on t he
land of hundr eds of t housand year s ago
wher e t her e would be no life, t he sun
sans it s fir e just a cool spher ical body,
and t he lifeless ear t h? At t hat t ime
t her e shone a spar k, and emer ged out
a r ay fr om t he st ar t hat was love it self.
And aft er cent ur ies a love st or y t ook
bir t hin t he age of invent ions, myst er ies
and t he J ur assicin t he for m of Tar ana,
in t he for m of Sailaan, or in t he for m
of Mahak Ahmad.
Well, what did you t hink? Tar anas
eyes wer e peeping int o mine.
Dont know.
Ther e is an honest y in you t hat you
did not fail t o disclose t o me t hat you
t oo love Mahak
I r emained emot ionless wit h my down
cast eyes.
Well, t ell me; do you have r omant ic
t alks t oo wit h her ?
Yes.
Ver y much?
Per haps.
Per haps you would hold her hand
t oo if she wer e in fr ont of you Tar anas
t one was icy.
Per haps.
No. Not per haps. You would. Or ,
possibly mor e t han t hat , she checked
her self in t he mid-sent ence.
Sanyal! she cont inued, Didnt you
r emember me, even for a moment while
t alking t o Mahak?...
Suppose you spent t hr ee hour s wit h
her in a day, it comes t o 90 hour s
in a mont h, yes? Dont you r emember
Sanyal Tar ana held my hands. Swayed
by t he t ender r ecollect ions of t he by-
gone days her eyes wer e mist y. Dont
you r emember ? you used t o say a man
who met a woman ot her t han his wife
but wit h t he same fer vour of love may
be deemed as having dismember ed a
par t of his body. A per son who met
some ot her one again and again, is as
good as t he one who has dismember ed
all his body par t s. Didnt you say t hat ?
And you also said how such a per son
can t ake his wife or his childr en in his
ar ms if he has alr eady lost his limbs.
Tar ana looked at him, smiled, I hope
you ar e int act Sanyal, for me and my
childr en
At my hear t , my own shr iek, smear ed
wit h blood, lay loaded wit h slabs of ice.
In a moment , fight ing against my own
desper at ion, I t ook a decision.
That s t he t r ut h of t he Net , not of
t he body
Oh, Tar ana laughed out amiably.
They all Net , Wher e is t he per son
who doesnt do?
An d p eop l e d on t s h a r e t h ei r
exper iences wit h t heir wives even.
I dont know t he people, my love.
I know Sanyal only Ther e was not
t he least r esent ment in Tar anas voice.
You said t hat was t he t r ut h of t he Net .
Had you had r omant ic chat wit h her ?
Yes.
Took her hand in your s?
Yes.
Kiss?
Per haps.
Not per haps; say yes.
Yes.
On t he lips?
Yes
Well, let it be on t he lips, t he eyes
or as you like for it is not easy t o
put int o wor ds how int ense love is at
a given moment , but suppose you
wer e befor e her would you do all
t hat Sanyal?
But t he condit ion is, if I wer e befor e
her
You would t ur n int o a Tsunami. Isnt
it ? Dont get fr ight ened Sanyal. Somet imes
I feel like t alking about pet t y t hings.
Yest er day I kept t hinking for a long
t ime. Aft er all wher e had I blunder ed?
Wher e did I leave a void wit hin you
in t he past sixt een year s? Wher e Sanyal?
Tell me. But dont t hink Ill hinder you.
Ill just t r y t o make you under st and
for I have loved you. I have loved you
int ensely. It went all t hr ough my t ender
age. I wont keep you fr om . I will
convince myself t hat my luck had only
t his much for me in st or e. Wher e love
falls under compulsion, is r est r ained,
d oes n t r ema i n l ove a n y l on ger
selfishness comes in t her e
Then?
Tell me what you have t hought
about
My wor ds got st uck t o my t hr oat .
Mahak want s t o mar r y me
So
She says she will come t o India
Ask her t o come. Tar ana t ook my
hands in her s gent ly. Ask Mahak t o
come.
And you?
Tar ana smiled mildly. You know your
Tar ana. Never liked divisions ever since
my childhood placing Mahaks hand
in your s, Ill quit quiet ly. She t ur ned
away her face.
I fel t p on d er ou s t h u n d er cl a p s
oper at ing at my hear t . And dur ing t he
moment s t hat followed, t her e came befor e
my eyes ever y a s p ect of Ta r a n a s
beaut eous face, her ador nment s t he
sixt een year old Tar ana. I felt , it was
easy t o slip int o make-believe wor ld,
but ver y difficult t o t r ead on t he st ony
pat h of r ealit y. While I was lost in my
dr eamy r eflect ions. I felt as if I hear d
t he soft musical sound of Tar anas anklet
wit h bells, and in an inst ant , t her e was
Tar ana and Tar ana only in my eyes,
saying Then, do call her I dont
know t he r eason why in t he hist or y of
t ales, t ill now, t he wife is not t he her oine.
How is it t hat only t he second or t he
t hir d woman t hat comes in t he life of
a man is t he her oine? Is it because offer ing
her spr ings and dr eams t o her husband
t hr ough t he year s of her yout h, she get s
lost somewher e? But , act ually, having
had her shar e in t he hist or y of t he
pleasur es and pains of t he household,
she, in all her splendour , st ands on t he
pedest al of t he her oine supr eme, having
been obs er ved a n d wei gh ed ever y
moment . She is t he fair y of t he flower s.
What is needed is t he eyes t hat should
r ecognize t his flower -fair y. I was not
in any sor t of doubt s. Det ached fr om
t he wat er falls and r ains of love, I was
t r ying t o st udy all t he colour s of t his
flower -fair y. And on t hat day, per haps,
my t hought s and sent iment s r eached
Mahak. She asked me for t he last t ime:
Tell me. Should I come t o Delhi?
I shall not be a bur den on you, Sanyal,
n ot even fi n a n ci a l l y. I n eed you r
company only, t he feel of your pr esence
only. Yes or no, I demand your answer
t his ver y moment .
Ther e was no echo wit hin me, neit her
t hat of a fir e-wor k nor t hat of a blast .
Giving much t hought t o it , I t yped quiet ly,
No.
Mahak signed out . She didnt meet
a ga i n . Momen t s r olled on t o cover
mont hs, unawar es. Per haps five mont hs
passed.
To d i e i n yo u r t o wn
And aft er t he five mont hs
Per haps, t his was t he t ime when I
was alar med t o see a met eor t ur n int o
a long line of br ight ness t o get lost only.
But , per haps, such a void gives bir t h
t o an elegy. Or , such a love, once again,
gives t o t he wor ld such a mast er piece
as t he Taj Mahal. But per haps, at t hat
t ime I had no idea t hat t he visualizat ion
of such images as an elegiac composit ion
or t he Taj Mahal by seeing a shoot ing
st ar could dist ur b me t o such an ext ent
in t he fut ur e.
Tar ana would ask, you for got her .
No?
Per haps.
Should she r eally have come, t hen?
I dont know.
You ar e t elling a lie Her eyes would
gr ow mischievous by t he t ouch of love.
Had she come you wouldnt have been
able t o exer cise any cont r ol on your self.
I cant say.
Wh y d oes i t h a p p en s o? Wh en
ever yt hing is going on smoot hly in life,
t her e ent er s some one quiet ly? She
hesit at ed moment ar ily and t hen added,
Ther e was no shor t fall anywher e, in any
for m. Per haps, we had not left anywher e
any void, even such a one as could
be nat ur al in t he life of a mar r ied couple,
like an unat t ended door , or a gap t hr ough
which any one could jump in t o r each
you. But , per haps, a life t hat has been
gr ant ed for once only
Ther e is a fr ee sheet of paper also.
A per son feels no guilt or r emor se wr it ing
t he name of any ot her per son on it .
Because it is t he most exclusive r oad
lying in bet ween t he per son and his soul,
t he r oad t hat your wife and your childr en
ar e not allowed t o walk along.
Tar ana t ur ned t o him. Well, suppose
she should come suddenly and st and
befor e you, t hen? What will you do Sanyal?
Will you deny her ? Will you ask her
t o t ur n back? Or , say, t hat you have
no r elat ions wit h her . Or , t ell me.
So many missiles cont inued t o be
shot int o t he sky, simult aneously
List en t o what t he flut e says.
I t complains of our separ at ion
(Fr om t he ver ses of
Maulana Roomi)
I t was a mor ning as usual. But ,
per haps, not quit e as usual. It couldnt
be as usual as ot her mor nings for Sanyal
in par t icular . J ust a night ago t her e was
a Ma ha l k e k ho j a n e k a t a z k er a .
Ever yt hing was nor mal a night ago. Aft er
high waves in t he ocean t her e wer e deep
whir lpools but t her e was quiet aft er it .
The waves wer e calm. And suddenly on
t hat br ight mor ning so many st ones had
been hur dled int o t he wat er , and so
many webs of t he waves wer e for med
in t he r iver .
A knock at t he door at 7 in t he
mor ning.
The door bell seemed t o have br ought
in an unexpect ed st or m. The boy who
opened t he door was looking wonder fully
at t he woman st anding befor e him. Dusky
face, sky- blue kameez an d a salwar
mat ching in colour . A dupat t a hanging
down t he shoulder s.
You ar e Asif, ar ent you?
And as Tar ana came, she embr aced
her and cr ied as a sist er would.
And you ar e Tar ana? I am Mahak.
Fr om Pakist an. Came last night . Wher e
is Sanyal?
The r oom seemed t o have been caught
by a t r emendous ear t hquake. The son,
nonplussed, looked at her . Tar anas eyes
st ill innocent , or concealing t heir t r ut h
wer e looking at her . As I came out t he
t wo impat ient eyes wer e t r ansfor med
int o t he eyes of a st one image t hat emer ges
out in myst er y st or ies. She was point ing
t owar ds me wit h her finger . Wor ds wer e
lost t o her . The feelings or sent iment s
had t r ansfor med t he face and t he body
int o a book, such as no human soul
had been able t o behold as yet
The voice of Mahak t r embled. Tar ana,
could t he t wo of us be in seclusion for
t wo minut esCould we t alk?
The son, somewhat fr ight ened, was
in his mot her s ar ms. Tar ana, smiling
vaguely, seemed t o be saying O, yes;
why not ?
But , per haps, Tar ana was not able
t o look int o my eyes. Or , I could not
must er up t he cour age t o look at Tar ana
or t he son. When and how she came
and st ood close t o me, I couldnt per ceive.
Which r oom is your s? Her voice
was cool. To my mind t he fr agr ance
fr om Pakist ani gar ment s was not differ ent
fr om t he I ndian ones.
The r oom was t r ansfor med int o an
object quit e st r ange t o t he wor ld. Deep
wit hin me t her e r ose t he waves of fir e
t hat seemed t o bur n my ver y exist ence,
t r ying t o t ur n ever yt hing t o ashes. The
wor ds wer e lost , disappear ed int o a
channel or a cave. It was difficult t o
conjur e up my t hought s about my son
or Tar ana st anding out side t he r oom.
A cold wave had t aken t he r oom in
it s folds.
She was t ouching me : ever y joint
of t he finger , t he nails, my clot hes, my
body, my soul, or t he soul of my souls.
You ar e Sanyal. No? How can I believe
myself. No. I cant be so ver y for t unat e.
Youso closeso ver y closeNo. Dont
st op me let me t ouch you. These ar e
your finger st hese your gar ment sI can
see you, t ouch you. I am so close t o
you andhow is it t hat I am st ill alive
seeing you.. Sanyal? Would t hat deat h
capt ur e me, t his ver y inst ant while I
am seeing, feeling and living t he t hought
of you. You never t hought t hat Mahak
could come her e t oo. Isnt it ? To
your count r y, t o your cit y, int o your
house. I n t he fr enzy of my br eat hs,
st ealt hily, I had made an enclosur e and
put you t her ein. I never gave a t hought
t o t he inconvenience you may incur by
t his act of mine. Ar ent you all r ight ?...
Why dont you speak Sanyal?
How did you come? came in a
low t one, as some voice had r esounded
t he valley of Kakeshiy an mount ains, as
all t he fr eshness of t he air car r ied along
wit h t he blood and cir culat ing t hr ough
t he body had begun t o inaudibly call
out her name, for get t ing all t he t hings
in t he wor ld
Sponsor ed by t he univer sit y a gr oup
of t went y, boys and gir ls, has come t o
visit t he ancient monument s and buildings
in Delhi. We ar r ived her e last night .
Ever y momen t of t h e n i gh t wa s
t r ansfor med int o a br eat hing por t r ait
of your name. The whole night I was
in t he st at e of wor shipping you and in
t he mor ning as t he fir st r ay of t he sun
t ouch ed t h e ear t h , I con cluded my
pr ayer s wit h t he final bow and wit hout
t elling any body
Didnt you t ell anybody?
No.
Suppose someone set out in sear ch
of you.
Th i s was t h e fi r st sh ock of t h e
ear t hquake. I nnocent ly, she was st ill
t ouching my finger s. Hina knows about
you, but not much.
Who is Hina?
A fr iend of mine, she spoke gent ly.
This mor ning at t en we have t o r epor t
t o t he police headquar t er s just t o obser ve
some for malit ies. But I am quit e unable
t o go. She was shudder ing. Her eyes
wer e closed. I want t o absor b wit hin
myself t he feel of your pr esence. And
t hen she added in a ver y low voice,
The pur pose of my having opened my
eyes in t he wor ld will have been fulfilled
Like a child she t ur ned t owar ds me,
and t hen she began t o invest igat e t he
t hings in t he r oom. Isnt t his your bed?
You must be t her e in t he cr eases of
t he sheet , isnt it Sanyal? They bear your
t ouches of t he pr ivat e hour s t oo. I need
have all t he feel of your t ouches. Speak
t o me; wont you?
She pr ompt ly advanced and lay down
on t he bed. For a moment she closed
her eyes t hen got up adjust ed her
dupat t a. She was laughing. No; she was
cr ying. Well, I visit ed my home t oo.
Lay in bed t oo, saw my r oom also. Make
me st ay her e wit h you please. Dont
let me go..
Somewher e, far away, t he t une of
Maulana Roomis flut e was t her e in t he
air , List en t o what t he flut e says The
flut e had t ur ned t hese moment s int o
d i s a s t r ou s momen t s . My fa ce wa s
t r ansfor med int o a st one image. Thinking
of Tar ana and t he son out side, I felt
myself t o be over cast by t he dar k clouds
of misgivings; and Mahak wit h her eyes
almost closed, r est ing her head on my
ch es t , wa s l os t i n s ome a l i en
wor ldper haps I was t r embling. As I
gent ly r eached my t r embling hand ont o
her back, she seemed t o get lost int o
my chest , my br eat hs. But misgivings
wer e t her e, holding t heir quest ion-spear s,
If Mahak did not depar t ?... How should
I ask Mahak t o go? Her not going back
may cr eat e a disast r ous scene. The mat t er
is concer ned wit h a gir l, come fr om
Pakist an, and now missing. And, t hen?
The r ecollect ion of so many st or ies,
r anging fr om t er r or ist act ivit ies t o suicide
bombing, deeply dist ur bed me dur ing
t hose et er nal seconds. But , pr obably,
it was not possible t o t ell anyt hing t o
Mahak. And, t he fact is I did not
want t hat Mahak should separ at e her self
fr om my body. Her love, elevat ing it self
fr om just an int oxicat ion t o t he level
of wor ship, was get t ing dissolved int o
my ver y exist ence. And t hen t ime came
t o a st and st illIn a flash Mahak st ood
apar t fr om me, t ur ned t o me wit h a
st r eam of t ear s r unning t hr ough her st ony
eyes .
I am going away. Ill t r ouble you
no mor e. I cant even see my love wor r ied.
But it was necessar y t o see you once,
t o t ouch you, t o pr eser ve t he feel of
your t ouch at my hear t .
Her face bor e a st r ange smile Dont
ask me t o st ay And yes, dont have
a misconcept ion t hat I shall get back
t o Pakist an. She smiled gent ly, If I cant
live in your cit y, I can die her e at least .
Coming for war d she pr essed her hot
lips on mine, and t hen swift ly got out
of t he r oom. And befor e I was able
t o compr ehend anyt hing, I felt t he ear t h
shake under my feet . The not es of t he
flut e wer e near er
Since you have made me dr unk,
dont impose confines on me. Codes
of r eligion ar e not oper at ive on t he
insane.
(A ver se fr om Maulana Roomi)
I t seemed as if she had left her
ever last ing pr esence in t he r oom. She
seemed t o be br eat hing st ill on t he bed,
in t he gar ment s, on ever y joint in t he
finger . I was shiver ing all t hr ough. Her
depar t ing wor ds st ill r ang in my ear s:
I may not live in your cit y,
But I can die her e, at least .
Musharraf Alam Zauqui describes himself as an obsessive, compulsive writer
in Hindi and Urdu. He has written numerous short stories and a novel
bayaan which centres round the tragedy of the Babri Masjids fall. He
is also involved with television and cinema. He lives in Delhi.
Shyamji Mishra, a teacher by profession, translates from Hindi to English.
THE MI STRESS OF
P HOOLP UR
Pr at yaksha
The Aut hor
She squat t ed down. Her saar i cr ushed bet ween her t highs and
calves. Her feet wer e ver y fair , br oad wit h small finger s. The
nails wer e cut deep and shor t and t her e was a br oad band of
aalt a
1
along t he soles miming t he st r ap of a slipper wit h a t hr ee
leaf clover in t he cent r e, t hen t wo st r aight lines and at t he end
t hr ee r ed dot s, dot in t he cent r e announcing t he complet ion of
t he aalt a design.
Befor e she ar r ived t he women pr esent t her e, hummed
- Oh! who does she deck her self for ? Her husband has left
her , gone, God knows when, wher e?
The humming caught fr om one end t o t he ot her , slit her ing
like a snake befor e disappear ing.
- If it had been any ot her woman Misr aaeen is a st one
hear t ed woman, see how she laughs all t he t ime.
All eyes widened in disbelief. The women pulled t heir pallus
over t heir head, held it in place bet ween t heir t eet h and smot her ed
t heir low laughs. Befor e any ot her juicy r evelat ion could occur ,
Misr aaeen ar r ived and immediat ely t he gossip changed cour se.
- Hey Nanku, hey lad, come give me t he basket . Now, you
can go, sit in t he shade t her e.
Nanku aft er handing over t he basket went t owar ds t he shade
S
h
o
r
t

s
t
o
r
y
t o play mar bles and aft er somet ime
slipped int o slumber .
Fr om t he basket t oday, came out
cr ochet t e. Whit e fine lace, God knows
how many met er s. The women assessed
t he weight of t he lace by holding t he
bundle in t heir hands and t heir pr aise
r ose in t he air like a song.
In wint er s t he women would knit
sweat er s wit h color ed wool and needles,
i n s u mmer i t wou l d be U- pi n a n d
cr ochet t e. Ever y wint er Misr aaeen would
make innumer able sweat er s, when one
could see t hat t her e was no one at home
t o wear t hem. She had woven met er s
and met er s of lace, dozens and dozens
of p i l l ow cover s , ma d e n eed l ewor k
designs on bed cover s, cr oss st it ch on
mat t y t ableclot hs, sat in st it ch and lazy
d a i zy d a i n t y t i n y fl ower s , cu r vi n g
cr eeper s on sar ee bor der s, smiling ducks
and chicks on childr ens smocks.
The fast er t heir hands moved over
t he cr ochet t e needle, fast er t heir gossip
wor ked it self int o a juicy fr enzy. The
women would t ouch her sar ee, give
envious sighs over her cor set blouse
wit h puffed sleeve. It was t he t ailor who
lived in t he cit y away fr om t heir small
t own wh o could st i t ch such st yli sh
blouses. Phulwar ia Misr aeen would admit
wit h pr ide t hat t he t ailor char ged t went y
r upees mor e for t he st ylish blouse over
t he or dinar y one. She would t ake out
t he paandaan and cut t he bet elnut int o
delicat e sliver s. Then t he lime, kat t ha
and t he delicious ar omat ic spices. Ever y
mout hful of t he bet el would spice up
t he gossip. The cackle of women would
double up in malicious laught er . They
would widen t heir eyes in disbelief. A
small ger m of a gossip would be built
up. Somet hin g would be added an d
r emoved. The t hings hidden deep inside
t he st omach would ar ise and fer ment
and become sour . In t hat hour or so,
in fact , t hey would discuss t he whole
wor ld, t he wor ld t hat t hey wer e awar e
of and t hus ener gized t hey would t r udge
back home. It would be t he t ime for
t heir childr en t o come back fr om school.
Th ei r h u s ba n d s wh o wor ked a s
insignificant cler ks in t his small t own,
who t r aded war es, and at t ended cour t s
as pet t y munsifs and peshkaar s, r et ur ned
home in t he dusky t wilight , bur dened
wit h basket s of veget ables and t heir day
l on g t i r ed n es s a n d t r a n s for med
t hemselves effor t lessly int o monar chs
immediat ely upon set t ing foot inside t heir
homes. Their women would t hen st and
on t heir t oes pander ing t o t heir needs
as if in awe of t heir nobler dut y of ear ning
t he br ead for t heir families.
Phulwar ia t hough didnt have any
husband. Meaning now. No, no, even
t his is not cor r ect . She had had someone
t agged as husband. Only now, he had
disappear ed in some godaweful cor ner
of t he wor ld and Phulwar ia had no
awar eness of his wher eabout s.
- Re Nanku, come!
She would hand over t he basket t o
Nanku, t ake car e of her pur se and get
up. The gr oup would disassemble. Her
whit e spiky clean laced pet t icoat would
show a bit under neat h her flower pr int ed
saar i. The clean whit e br a st r ap would
peep fr om t he deep neck of her blouse.
Not like ot her s who wor e beaut iful saar is
but t he under clot hes would be so dir t y,
t he edges so filt hy wit h dir t and gr ime
t hat you could almost puke.
Nanku would r un ahead like a lit t le
sahib in his old shoes. Near t he cor ner
bet elshop, t he loafer s of t he t own would
be gat her ed in lazy gr oups. Punt ur e
is made her e. The signboar d boast ed.
And under neat h t he boar d, wear ing a
checked lungi and kur t a,t he must achio-
ed guy pr esided over t he lumpen cr owd.
Ever y t ime he saw Phulwar ia pass by
he would st ar t singing wit hout fail.
- badan pe sit ar e lapet e hue.. ai jaane
t amanna kidhar jaa r ahi ho (wher e do
you go t he love of my year nings, wear ing
all t hese st ar s on your body)
Phulwar ia would pull t he pallu over
her head pr imly, hold it in place by
clenching t he edge bet ween her t eet h
and begin t o incr ease her pace. But if
a naught y wind swept away her pallu
at t hat ver y inst ant , if not t he whole
wor ld t hen at least t he must achio-ed
guy could see t hat t he song br ought
a smile t hat hover ed on her face. But
sadly it had been year s since any such
naught y wind blew acr oss t he lanes of
t hat small dust y t own. So t he must achio-
ed complet ed t he opening st anza of t he
song, t hen befor e Phulwar ia disappear ed
complet ely fr om his vision, finished t he
last lines. Then, wit h t he pr ide of having
done some noble wor k t o sat isfact ion
p r oceed ed wi t h s col d i n g t h e l a d s
r epair ing t he punct ur es befor e lolling
down lazily on t he bench. In t he meant ime
t he boy fr om t he near by dhaba, showing
all his t eet h in glee, ar r ived punct ually,
car r ying a wir e mesh basket holding six
glasses of st r ong special spiced t ea. By
t he t ime t he lads would fin ish t ea,
Phulwar ia would be r eaching home.
In t he out er por t ion of her home
was a pr ovision st or e and next t o it ,
cover ed by an asbest os sheet was a shed.
In fr ont of t he shed a boar d displayed
in bold let t er s
Flour is milled her e.
So many t imes she had t hought t o
get t he sign boar d cor r ect ed, t o r eplace
flour wit h wheat , but t hese small chor es
just eluded get t ing done. Beneat h t his
boar d t her e was a smaller har d boar d
displaying t he milling r at es of wheat ,
black gr am, pulses et c. Phulwar ia and
her fat her in law t ook t ur ns t o r un t he
pr ovision shop. The milling wor k was
t aken car e of by Ajmer i.
Aj mer i s s t or y wa s a ls o s t r a n ge.
Hamidan and Mukht ar had a good income.
Cows, hens, ducks and some far ms t oo.
By t he gr ace of God, t he cr ops t illed
wer e abundant . It had been long year s
since t hey mar r ied but Hamidans womb
r emained bar r en. The cows would bear
calves, t he fir st milk would be dist r ibut ed
as per cust om in t he neighbour hood.
The hens and ducks would pr oduce t heir
chicks and t he cour t yar d would fill wit h
t iny wool balls of cloud. Even a handfull
of seeds t hr own casually in t he wet soil
of t he cour t yar d would flower int o st ur dy
plant s. But her body r emained dr y, bar r en
and not hing spr ang out of her body,
not a seed not a flower .
Her sist er who lived in Ajmer , asked
her t o come, pay obeisance at t he Dar gah.
The Peer would fulfill all wishes. Hamidan
st ayed t her e for a mont h. While r et ur ning
she fell sick. So much nausea, so much
vomit ing. Her head r eeled. By t he t ime,
she r eached home she was dr ained of
all ener gy.
Nadimans husband was t he local
hakim. She sent for some yunani medicine
but not hing helped. Her healt h t ook a
t ur n for t he wor se. Even a seasoning
of asafoet ida, nor mally used in cooking,
would induce a sense of int ense panic
in her . The mut t on,she cooked t ur ned
i n t o a s h a n d Mu kh t a r wh o n ever
comp l a i n ed a bou t a n yt h i n g wou l d
suddenly r ise up in anger ,
What bibi? The mut t on you cook
is like weeds and gr ass, no t ast e at all.
The plat es would r emain unt ouched
and fleas would hover over t he left over s
in hungr y swar ms.
Th e ot h er day sh e h ad gon e t o
Nadimans place t o collect t he medicine
and t he sight of fr ied papad filled her
mout h wit h an unexpect ed bur st of saliva.
Swallowing her sudden gr eed she asked,
Baji, t he papad looks delicious.
Why I had got it fr om your house
only somet ime back.
She at e one, t hen anot her . Ten, one
by one. Nadiman had seen all her life,
childr en being conceived and pr egnancies
being car r ied t o full t er m, infant s being
bor n, as a r out ine way of life ever since
her childhood. But , her e was a bar r en
land of t welve year s. She hesit at ed in
saying anyt hing pr emat ur e. A sense of
appr ehension kept her mut e.
Aft er a mont h, t he sit uat ion became
so cr it ical t hat Hamidan would go a lit t le
bit ber ser k even at t he sight of t he kit chen
st ove clay. The edges of her t inselled
laced dupat t a would be const ant ly soiled
by t he smoky clay kept safe in t he folds
of t he knot s for any such hear t wr enching
year nings. The smoke filled t ast e of bur nt
s t ove cl a y h el d s u ch a mys t er y of
unexplained hanker ings.
For inst ance, t he ot her day she had
gone t o buy some pr ovisions and near by,
next t o a bench, Badkus mot her had
set up her t empor ar y t hr ee st ove eat er y.
Since mor ning a huge ket t le would be
boiling mer r ily over t he fir e. Heaps of
boiled r ice, cooked pulses and fr ied
pot at oes wit h r oughly cut t hick slices
of onion and gr een chillies ador ned t he
shop. The r ice would r ise in a sloped
cair n on a shiney br ass plat t er . Wit h
all available ar t ist r y summoned t o her
disposal, t he four fat slices of onion
and t hen a cur ved beak of a huge fat
r ed gr een chilli would declar e wit h gr eat
p r i d e t h e won d er fu l l y d el i ci ou s
wholesomeness of t his simple meal.
This sight ar oused such an int ense
longing of hunger in her t hr oat . It was
like a snake uncoiling it self fr om t he
pit of her st omach wit h a light ning speed
and lodging deep inside her chest . Her
whole body shiver ed wit h year ning, wit h
hunger , wit h ant icipat ion. She clasped
t ight ly, t he Peer babas t alisman, t hr eaded
wit h black t hr ead ar ound her t hr oat ,
and r an back home. She at e yest er days
left over r ice wit h t he help of onion and
gr een chillies wit h such hast e and t ast e
t hat her whole body set t led down in
a st upor of sat iet y. Her ver y soul r ose
above her body r elishing t his st upor .
Lying flat on t he cot , looking at t he
beams suppor t ing t he r oof, her palms
car essed her st omach and suddenly her
t ummy heaved as if a fist hit her . Her
hear t st opped a fr act ion t hen beat a
fast t at t oo as r ealizat ion finally dawned.
Her s t oma ch wa s h ea vi n g i n l i gh t
undulat ions. Ther e was no space for doubt
anymor e. She held t he t alisman t o her
closed eyelids wit h r ever ence, t hanked
Allah and t hen began cooking a meal,
aft er a long long t ime for Mukht ar , a
meal ent ir ely of his choice.
In t he night , shar ing a mor sel t oget her
in t he dim yellow light of t he lant er n,
t he couple once again t hanked t he Lor d
for t his long await ed bount y.
Ha mi d a n wh o h a d a l wa ys been
slender , st ar t ed t o fill out now. Not only
her belly, but her hands, her feet , her
face, ever yt hing. And as her body swelled,
in t he same pr opor t ion t he house and
ot her t hings ar ound st ar t ed diminishing.
This season t he cr op failed. Then, t he
hens began dying one aft er anot her . Some
st r ange epidemic swept acr oss. Wit h gr eat
difficult y half a dozen chicks could be
saved. St ill t he long await ed ar r ival of
t he child was celebr at ion enough t o t ide
over t hese small mishaps. Mukht ar asked
his aunt t o come and t ake car e of Hamidan
dur ing her confinement . The aunt was
a childless widow. Her eyes r immed wit h
kohl, her t eet h st ained wit h bet eljuice
and her hooked nose highlight ing t he
huge mole beneat h t hem, all cont r ived
t o make her look like an eagle or a
shar p eyed falcon. However , inspit e of
her har sh appear ance, she was a kind
hear t ed per son and now t hat she got
a place wher e she could pass t he r est
of her life in consider able secur it y, she
put all her ener gy and compassion in
t aking car e of Hamidan.
A few mont hs lat er Ajmer i was bor n.
Since t he name had alr eady been decided
upon, soon aft er t he child was deliver ed
khala came out and declar ed t o Mukht ar
t hat Ajmer i had come int o t his wor ld.
Mu kh t a r , t h e for ever s i mp l et on
Mukht ar , was so delir ious wit h happiness
t hat it never even ocur r ed t o ask whet her
t he child bor n was a gir l or a boy.
The boy began t o gr ow older and
as t ime passed it became incr easingly
clear t hat he neit her r esembled Mukht ar
nor Hamidan. It is said t hat God has
cr eat ed ever y per son so unique t hat no
t wo people, in t his whole wor ld look
alike. But st r angely anot her boy exact ly
like Ajmer i, r oamed t he st r eet s of Ajmer
wit h kohl r immed eyes and skull cap
a dor n ed h ea d. An d a s da ys pa s s ed
Ajmer is face mor e and mor e r esembled
t h e boys i n Aj mer . An d a s t h e
r esemblance gr ew, t he dr y yellow sand
of t he far away place cr ept insidiously
int o t his small east er n village t r espassing
sur r ept iously, cr eat ing havoc in a place
which was alr eady on t he r oad t o evolving
int o a t own. A lit t le bit like a child
walking helt er -skelt er wear ing over size
slipper s of some one elder . The village
would t r ansfor m int o a t own when t he
t ime or dain ed but in t he mean t ime
Mukht ar Mian fell vict im t o a debilit at ing
at t ack of par alysis and t ook t o bed.
By t his t ime, t he fer t ile land had
t ur ned int o a bar r en hillock. All t he
cows and buffaloes had died one by one.
Half a dozen hens sur vived and t he eggs
laid by t hem wer e ar r anged car efully
in t he aluminium wir e mesh basket , t o
be sold in t he neighbour ing houses by
Ajmer i. The cour t yar d would be filled
wit h t he dr oppings of t he goat s, t he t or n
feat her s of t he hens and t he painful gr oans
of Mukht ar Mian.
Par alysis had affect ed Mukht ar Mians
face in such a manner t hat it appear ed
as if an ear t hquake had r aised one par t
of t he ear t h. The ent ir e symmet r y of
t he face was dist ur bed. Half por t ion of
t he lip was r aised above t he ot her . Saliva
const ant ly dr ipped fr om t he dr ooping
cor ner of t he lip. Wit h unblinking eyes
Mukht ar Mian would look at Ajmer i and
compar e his face wit h all his known
unknown fr iends and foes.
Confined t o bed, t his was t he only
past i me h e i n dulged i n . Hi s h ealt h
cont inued t o det er ior at e. It was or dained
for him t o go but like t hose funny quir ks
of fat e, it was Hamidan who went fir st ,
due t o a snake bit e. She was found near
t he t r ees at t he backyar d pond. She had
gone in sear ch of some mushr ooms,
planning a spicy meal. A bunch of r ot t en
bundle of mushr ooms wer e r et r ieved
fr om t he knot s of her dupat t a much
lat er by khala.
A few da ys la t er Mukh t a r Mi a n
followed suit . He went away wit hout
knowing for sur e whet her Ajmer i was
his own flesh and blood. The lad r oaming
t he st r eet s of Ajmer was one of t he
good Lor ds st r ange mir acles. God also
commit s one of t hose r ar e er r or s once
in a while. But , t his was not known eit her
t o Hamidan or Mukht ar or even Ajmer i.
In t hat haunt ed r uined dilapidat ed
house, only t wo people r emained now,
khala and Ajmer i. The r est of t he sur viving
animals also per ished and so did Khala,
one night , peacefully in her sleep. So,
t he unt old t heme of t hat house t hat eit her
t he cr ops, t he cows, goat s, hens and
ducks would flour ish or t he child bor ne
by Adam and Eve, was r einfor ced. So
in t he beginning t he cr ops wer e r ich,
t he cows and goat s and chicks and ducks
wer e a plent y and wit h t hem, wit h t his
bount y, flour ished Mukht ar and Hamidan.
Then, Ajmer i ar r ived and t he r est went .
The ear t h swallowed t he r uins of t he
house so gr eedily and so fast t hat some
t er mit e and wood louse infest ed br oken
walls and misshapen r oof beams wer e
t he only r emains of t he once pr oud house.
But , how was Ajmer i t o be blamed for
all t his? Had he ever want ed t o set foot
in t his wor ld?
The night Khala passed away, t he
same night Ajmer i t oo disappear ed fr om
t he village. A week lat er , he was found
fast asleep on t he out er ver andah of
Ramavt ar Misir s house in Phoolpur . At
t he cr ack of dawn, Misr aeen, meaning
Phoolwar ia saw him for t he fir st t ime.
Ramavt ar Misir was a wr est ler t ype
of man . He had a passion for wr est lin g
a n d for t h i ck cr ea my mi l k. Gi vi n g
a mp l e p r o o f o f h i s wi s d o m a n d
f a r s i gh t e d n e s s , h i s f a t h e r wh i l e
con t i n u i n g wi t h t h e a n ces t r a l wor k
of p r i e s t h ood , h a d a l s o op e n e d a
gr ocer y st or e. The Phoolpur gr ocer y
st or e. The shop r an efficien t ly, makin g
a decen t in come. The r eligious pr iest ly
wor k was super bumper . Mon ey flowed
i n t h e h ou s e fr om a l l d i r ect i on s .
Ramavt ar was t he only son. Ther e
had been t hr ee ot her s ear lier but befor e
t hey could t ake t heir fir st br eat h, t hey
had depar t ed t o t he next wor ld. Then
a ft er va r i ou s vows a n d p r a yer s ,
innumer able r eligious r it uals t o appease
t he deit ies, Ramavat ar was bor n, a boon
fr om t he Gods. And, aft er him as if t he
dam br oke and in quick succession, a
gir l Savit r i followed, t hen t he t wins Rajju
and Bijju and anot her , Binnu and Mannu.
But , again, t he har dy sur vivor s wer e
only t wo, Ramavt ar and Rajju. Maybe
some ser ious lapse had occur r ed while
p er for mi n g t h e r i t u a l s , s o t h ou gh t
Misr aeen, t he fir st .
As Ramavt ar cont inued t o gr ow int o
a handsome yout h, Misr aeen felt a pr ide
r ise in her chest . And as Rajju gr ew,
i t a l s o s i mu l t a n eou s l y beca me
incr easingly clear t hat , however , old Rajju
gr ew he would ult imat ely r emain t he
six year old Rajju only.
Clasping Rajjus sor r ow like a bundle,
t ight inside her chest , t he fir st Misr aeen
depar t ed unt imely fr om t his wor ld.
Who would look aft er t he household
now? Ther e wer e only t wo opt ions. Eit her
Misir mar r ies for t he second t ime or
Ramavt ar get s mar r ied.
Ramavt ar s penchant for wr est ling,
his par t icipat ion in t hem, his being a
devot ee of Lor d Hanuman, his emphasis
on celibacy, all t hese fact or s point ed
t owar ds t he pr udence of t ying him down
by mat r imony. This despit e t he secr et
year ning of t he elder Misir for a r enewal
of mar it al bliss t hr ough second mar r iage.
So when t he mediat or br ought Phulwar ias
hor oscope, t he similar it y of t he gir ls
name and t he name of t he gr ocer y st or e
indicat ed a divine int er vent ion and Misir
i mmed i a t el y ga ve con s en t for t h e
mar r iage. Misir had pr epar ed himself for
s p en d i n g con s i d er a bl e en er gy over
per suading his son for mar r iage but
cont r ar y t o t his, not only Ramavt ar
abashedly agr eed immediat ely but also
began t o pr epar e for t he for t hcoming
cer emony and specially for t he wedding
night by eat ing ever y mor ning almonds
a n d n u t s s oa ked over n i gh t . Th e
myr t yr edom of for saking a second chance
of mar it al bliss going wast e disjoint ed
t he equanimit y of Misir but not hing could
be done now. So, he began pr epar ing
for t he wedding and a mont h lat er ,
r ealizin g t he delicat e sit uat ion of a
homest ead wit hout a housewife, t he
br ides family ar r anged for t he gauna
immediat ely aft er t he mar r iage and t hus
Phulwar ia of Khusr upur came t o Phoolpur
as Ramavt ar s newly wedded wife.
The wedding night came and Ramavt ar
Misir lost his senses at t he sight of his
pale, fair as a banana st em, wife. He
was in such a condit ion t hat a woman
of even ver y aver age looks would have
pleased him. His year ning for a wife
was so int ense t hat not hing, neit her looks
nor behaviour , nor at t r ibut es, t hat is
lack of t hem would have come int o his
way. But , t o his amazement t he new
wi fes d oe eyed bea u t y ma d e h i m
delir ious. Fr om beneat h t he bor der of
t he sar ee peeped her flat br oad fair feet .
The sight of feet evoked such a t hr ill
of ant icipat ion which even a slender
shapely feet would not have. The hint
of her r ounded gr aceful ar ms was killing
him.
In fr ont of him was his woman, his
newly wedded wife sit t ing hunched up
in br idal finer y and her e was Ramavat ar s
well nour ished wr est ler s body, his manic
delir ium, his r est less impat ience, his
ar dor , his madness, his passion and his
amat eur ish ignor ance. He lunged over
his wife, his r ounded wife, his r ipe as
a fr uit , fair as a flower wife. Phulwar ia
was sit t ing coyly under her veil, a lit t le
abashed but filled wit h st r ange year nings.
She had wit nessed many such wedding
night scenes in t he only cinema hall
of Khusr upur wit h her mot her and sist er
in law. Her sist er in law had loaded
her wit h many naught y wedding night
t ips, her mar r ied fr iends had whisper ed
man y juicy det ails but n ot hin g had
p r ep a r ed h er for t h i s a t t a ck. Her
husbands r ough amor ous advances filled
her wit h a moment ar y panic. Then, a
fier ce pain br oke int o her body. A sur ge
of nausea r ose high fr om wit hin, br inging
along wit h it a shr ill scr eam. Ramavt ar
clasped her mout h, st ifled her scr eam
wit h his huge calloused palms and fulfilled
himself. Two shar p t eet h mar ks on his
palm, however , bor e wit ness t o t his
physical int r usion.
In his amat eur ish awkwar dness and
ignor ance, misguided by his fr iends,
Ramavt ar lost t he t ender connect ion wit h
his wife. And aft er t hat night whenever
he came near her , she became st iff as
a log. Ramavt ar was in r ealit y a soft
hear t ed per son and any physical coer cion
and for ce was not in his inher ent nat ur e.
He gr adually began t o wit hdr aw fr om
her . Dur ing t hat t ime, a Swamiji had
ar r ived in t he t own. It was said t hat
Ramavt ar could be seen in t he Swamijis
encampment day and night paying homage
t o him wit h all his hear t .
It is hear say t hat Swamiji asked him
t o r emain away fr om female cont act .
Ramavat ar placed himself complet ely in
Swa mi j i s h a n d s . Swa mi j i s fi n ger s
car essed his head. The next day, t he
encampment was disbanded. Ever since
t hen no body ever saw Ramavt ar in
Phoolpur .
Aft er bei n g a ba n d on ed by h er
husband, Phulwar ia t ur ned her at t ent ion
t owar ds her home. She began t o look
aft er t he household, t o look aft er t he
fift een year old Rajju who was ment ally
only six year old, t o look aft er her fat her
in law and t o look aft er t he Phoolpur
Gr ocer y st or e. Not only she handled
all t hese but also handled t hem well.
And when dur ing t hose days t he vagabond
Ajmer i landed up, she t ook good car e
of him as well.
Rajjus hair would be oiled daily and
Phulwar ia would make t wo t ight plait s,
pulling all t he hair back t ight ly and t ie
t he ends wit h r ed r ibbon bow. Rajju
ador ed r ed colour . The plait s would be
folded, wound up above t he ear s in a
t ight wr eat h r ound t he head and finally
t he r ibbon would end up in a flower ed
bow. Rajju would look at her self in t he
small mir r or held in her hands, make
happy faces, laugh an d simper an d
gener ally be happy while her hair was
being made up t hus. Rajju liked her sist er
in law. She liked her because once in
a while bhaujai
2
would hand over her
vanit y case t o her and Rajju could spend
hour s playing wit h bangles and bindis.
Phulwar ia had st it ched dar k colour ed
salwar kur t as for Rajju. Dur in g her
menst r ual per iods, Rajju had no sense
t o t ake car e of her self. Despit e all car e
she would st ain clot hes and t o pr event
t his, Phoolwar ia invent ed a way. She
would not let Rajju out of house dur ing
t hose five days. To keep her occupied
indoor s, she would woo Rajju wit h small
dolls, t iny ut ensils, lace, t r inket s, color ed
mar bles.
The moot point was t hat Misr aeen
second t ook bet t er car e of Rajju t han
even Misar een, fir st who was Rajjus
mot her . On t he ot her hand, Misir had
suddenly aged aft er t he depar t ur e of
his son. His face wit h a t wo day black
and whit e st ubble, looked hollow and
sick. The br oken fr ont t eet h also added
t o t he emaciat ed look. When he opened
his mout h t o t alk t he air would pass
t hr ough wit h a hiss. He was gr adually
losing his appet it e, par t ly because of
his son and par t ly because of t he br oken
t eet h. He would eat sloppily a few r ot is
soaked in milk in a big br ass bowl, and
sit languidly in t he shop. It was his
dut y t o t ake car e of t he shop in t he
mor ning. Then, t he sales would be slow.
Aft er t h r ee i n t h e aft er n oon , wh en
Phulwar ia t ook char ge t he sales would
pick up and become so br isk t hat t he
income pour ed in much mor e t han in
ear lier year s.
Ajmer i lived in t he small r oom behind
t he milling shed. He had gr own int o
a st ur dy young man by now. He would
t ake car e of t he milling wor k and keep
an eye on Phulwar ia who sat in t he
shop. He would oft en declar e boldly,
I am t he boss!
So, for all pr act ical pur pose life
wit hout Ramavt ar was not t oo t ough.
Phulwar ia was st ill r ipe and her yout h
was at it s peak. The loafer s of t he
neighbour hood heaved a lust full sigh at
her sight , passed fr ivolous pr ovocat ive
comment s. Not paying any at t ent ion t o
all t his, Phulwar ia would t ake car e t o
get r eady, meet her fr iends, have a good
t ime. When somet imes dur ing t he long
lonely hour s of night , t he t hought of
Ramavt ar ever came int o her mind, her
face would bur n at t he humiliat ion of
t hat fat eful night , at t he memor y of her
shar p t eet h mar ks on his palms. But
despit e t his somet imes, dur ing t he hot
humid night s, lying flat on her back,
she would r emove her aanchal and some
cat er pillar cr awled below her navel. The
l u s t fu l commen t s of s t r eet l oa fer s
car essed her body, t he song which t he
must achio-ed sang beat a dr um beat on
her chest . Dur ing t hese long hot year nful
night s, she st ayed awake cr aving for
sat isfact ion of her body like a female
snake shedding her skin.
And dur ing t he passage of such hot
cold night s, one day an accident t ook
place, as if dest ined t o be so. It had
t o happen and so it happened. The dest iny
which ever yon e for ekn ew. An d on ce
again, t he medium for t his happening
was Phulwar ia just as she was for t he
depat ur e of Ramavt ar . It so happened
t hat for Rajju it was t he t ime of t he
mont h when she was not allowed t o go
out . The same was followed t his mont h
t oo. But t his t ime for no r hyme or r eason,
Rajju was not t he quiet Rajju, t he obedient
Rajju, t he ador able sist er in law of a
loving bhaabhi. What made her br oode,
no body knew. She vent ur ed out , came
back i n . A woman fr om t h e h ouse
next door , caught hold of her and br ought
her back. Her clot hes wer e soiled, her
salwar st ained, her kur t a dir t y. She was
a d mon i s h ed . I n t h e even i n g, s h e
disappear ed once again. And t his t ime,
she so disappear ed t hat t wo t or t ur ous
days passed wit hout any sign of her .
Elder Misir went ber ser k wit h gr ief.
Phoolwar ia cr ied her eyes r ed. At last ,
t he police was infor med. People gossiped,
t hey expr essed gr ief, bit ched about ,
looked down upon Phulwar ia, quest ioned
her handling, her int ent ions. In shor t ,
did ever yt hin g t hat ot her s do. But ,
n ot h i n g r i gh t ed t h e wr on g an d t h e
vanished gir l r emained lost in some
unfat homable invisible r ealms. Two days
passed and t hen her body was discover ed.
It was said t hat somet hing t er r ibly bad
had been done t o her . That , her body
was naked and t hat most likely it was
t he wor k of someone known.
What ever happened was, however ,
t oo t er r ible t o for get . Once upon a t ime,
t he yellow fine dust of t he sand had
cr eeped i n Aj mer i s h ouse. Now, i t
happened in Phoolpur . The Phoolpur
gr ocer y st or e came on t he ver ge of
closur e. It was not as if people did not
come t o t he shop for pr ovisions. People
came even now but Misir , who had become
t he aged Misir now became t he cr azy
old Misir . He would const ant ly whisper
loose insane t hings t o himself, weigh
t he pr ovisions for t he cust omer s all wr ong
an d ch at t er i n cessan t ly mean i n gless
t hings t o t he four walls of t he shop.
Phulwar ia, on t he ot her hand, st opped
moving out of t he house. When t his
st opped, t he lust ful songs and lewd
comment s fr om t he good for not hing
mot ley cr owd t oo st opped. And when
all t his st opped, her life it self st opped.
In t he st r ange oppr essive loneliness of
t he house, lying all alone beneat h t he
slow moving fan, she felt as if her life
was over . She did not feel like sit t ing
in t he shop. It was not because she
was so fond of Rajju, but it was because
she had seen her dead face. And now,
whenever she looked at her self in t he
mir r or while combing her hair or applying
bindi, Rajjus poor lit t le br oken dead
face loomed over her s, t hr owing her
in an unimaginable st at e of t er r or . A
year ning for pushing her face close t o
a mans chest , hit her .
Looking at her woebegone lost face,
Ajmer i would st ar e at her har d. His
muscles shiver ed and his eyes closed
t hin and shar p int o slit s. The dr eams
which had filled his night s t hese past
mont hs began t o t ake concr et e shape
and colour . He cr aved t o bur y his head
deep int o t he r ipe bosom of Phulwar ia,
t o fill his nost r ils wit h her wild fr uit
smell, t o become t ipsy wit h t he r aw
local wine. He wait ed for t he r ight t ime.
He wait ed for t he dr eam t o become r eal,
t he dr eam of r eplacing t he old boar d
of Phoolpur gr ocer y shop wit h br ight
mar igold decor at ed boar d of Ajmer i
Phoolwar ia pr ovision st or e, of sit t ing
in t he shop wit h Phoolwar ia like a king
wit h his consor t .
Bu t , h ow cou l d t h er e be a n y
comp a r i s on bet ween Ph u l wa r i a a n d
Ajmer i? Phulwar ia Misr aeen, who was
a Br ahmin woman, who was t he owner
of Phoolpur gr ocer y st or e, who was
neit her mar r ied nor a widow and was
t he owner of t his house and t his st or e.
And, wher e was Ajmer i? Ar isen fr om
t he effect s of t he wishes and pr ayer s
fr om t he mosque of Ajmer , wit h neit her
mot her nor fat her , wit h neit her family
nor house. A ser vant only, a ser vant
always. St ill, t he fine golden hair on
t he br oad wr ist s capt ur ed Phulwar ias
hear t . His br oad chest , t he mole on t he
black t hr eaded t alisman ador ned t hr oat
made her hear t go insane. His masculine
smell and line of sweat beat a cr azy
t at t oo in her hear t .
The small t own called Phoolpur , which
in many ways slumber ed uncoiled in
peoples hear t and mind like an over
fed, sat iat ed fat pyt hon in st upor , which
hung like a dr op of sweat fr om t he br ows,
neit her falling nor r emaining, held so
in a point of t ime, t r embling and holding,
a small t own st eeped in unconsciouness
of awar eness, and amidst all t his Phulwar ia
st ood at t he cent r e of t he most impor t ant
decision of her life, her hand cat ching
t he er r at ic beat of her hear t , her mout h
agape at t his cour age wit hin her , her
eyes wide and unseeing. A flut t er in
t ime.
Ever yt hing st ood st ill. The t ime st ood
st ill. The sky and t he ear t h st ood st ill.
As if life it self st ood st ill and wit h it
Phoolpur st ood st ill.
Paulo Coelho has said t hat when
y ou know what y ou want t hen t he whole
world conspires wit h y ou t o achieve
it . God knows Phulwarias dream and
Ajmeris dream were fulfilled or not .
Whet her Phoolpur saw for t he first t ime
a woman forsaken by her husband, get
married again or not , whet her for t he
first t ime a woman sought t he company
of a much y ounger man or not , whet her
for t he first t ime a Brahmin Pandit ay in
sought t he pleasure of a Muslim mans
company or not , whet her for t he first
t ime a woman t hought of herself, of
her phy sical and emot ional needs or
not ? Such t hings have happened in ot her
places all t he t ime, but in Phoolpur?
No.. t his has y et t o happen in a place
like Phoolpur, which is st ill held in some
t imewarp, like a but t erfly frozen in a
pulse of t ime.
We will laugh, we will go through
the newspaper, sip a cup of tea slowly
relishing it and be engrossed completely
in the humdrum banality of our daily
lives. And in this very timeframe, in this
very geographical spaceframe, in some
other Phoolpur some other Phoolwaria
and Ajmeri will stand aghast at their
courage, eyes opened wide in awe, held
capt i v e i n t hat par t i cular m om en t
wait ing Wait ing for t he right t ime.
Pr a t ya ks h a , b or n 19 6 3, i s wor ki n g i n Power Gr i d Cor p or a t i on of I n d i a
Lt d a s Ch i ef Ma n a ger Fi n a n ce, cu r r en t l y b a s ed i n Gu r ga on . Wr i t i n g
s t or i es a n d p oems i n Hi n d i s i n ce 2 0 0 6 , p u b l i s h ed i n l ea d i n g Hi n d i
l i t er a r y ma ga zi n es . A s h or t s t or y col l ect i on J u n gl e ka J a d oo t i l t i l
h a s b een p u b l i s h ed b y J n a n p i t h i n Feb r u a r y 2 0 0 8 . Ha s b een wr i t i n g
a bl og i n h i n d i . I n t er es t ed i n cl a s s i ca l mu s i c, p a i n t i n g a n d p h ot ogr a p h y.
1
a a l t a - r ed pa i n t wor n by ma r r i ed women on t h ei r feet
2
bh aujai - si st er - i n - law
SI X P OEMS
Pr ayag Shukla
Gir idhar Rat hi
I n De l h i
Even in Delhi
Cuckoos call
Leaves fall
Ant s cr awl up t he t r ee.
In Delhi, t oo
Spar r ows fly
Squir r els hie
And r ed becomes t he sky.
Even in Delhi
Rise t he st ar s.
Even in Delhi
The but t er fly dar t s.
These t oo,
Yes t hese t oo,
In Delhi.
P
o
e
t
r
y
Th e wa ys o f c o o k i n g
I n memor y of poet Raghuv ir Sahay
Sever al ar e t he ways of cooking,
Sever al t he dishes,
And sever al t he t ast es of dishes aplent y.
A dish may st ill dodge
The ways of cooking,
And t ur n it sweet or sour .
A mir acle t his?
We could even say it s a myst er y.
The t ouch of t he per fect cook, of cour se,
Does count . Though
Gr eat er yet is t he hear t
That cooks.
And it s invisible.
The palat e can make out
The way t he hear t lay
While t he dish was cooked.
And, as for t he ingr edient s,
They, t oo, count .
For whoever hear d of a dish
Wit hout t hem! Though
We must know how t hey ar e acquir ed.
The t ast e goes t he way t hey ar e acquir ed.
That is: Ingr edient s,
The hear t ,
The dish,
And t he Ways of Cooking.
We we r e n o t a wa r e
Unawar e, t hat we had t o meet some day,
We meet and feel t his is how
I t had t o be.
We sit t oget her ,
Silent ,
Even r est less. We,
That is, a flight of st eps, t r ees, hills,
somet imes even t he sky and t he sun and t he t er r ace,
and t he sounds of t he day and t he night ,
and myself.
whenever we meet ,
we meet and feel t his is how
I t had t o be.
Th e l o s t t h i n g
The lost t hing is unt r aceable.
I t s vague r esemblance in ot her t hings
and a glimpse in t he dar k eludes us.
We even pick and t r y t o weigh up
a number of ot her t hings,
as we go on looking for t he lost t hing.
Year s pass, yet t he lost t hing
keeps playing hide-and-seek
in our own homes,
in t he st r eet s.
And whenever one hear s people t alk of lost t hings,
t hat one pr icks our memor y,
t he most .
Be t we e n o n e p o e m a n d a n o t h e r
Bet ween my one poem and anot her
Ther e is all t hat
t hey could not cont ain.
You might glimpse it
in t he st illness at dusk,
in solit ude,
in a fr iends let t er you r eceived
aft er a long br eak,
in a dr eam of t he house
in which you had lived,
or , in t he t hick
of t he daily gr ind.
Somet imes it st r ikes you numb,
And at ot her t imes
I t leaves you gaping at a t r ee
As if t o pr ompt you t o go ahead
And gr asp it .
As t h e s h a d o ws o f e ve n i n g gr o w
As t he shadows of evening gr ow
along a wall,
spar r ows dangle
like fr uit s on a t r ee.
You hear a t r ain whist ling out .
The body wakes up
Aft er a nap in t he sun.
Roads, plat for ms. Buses.
Small st at ions.
Dwellings beneat h t he br idges.
Monkeys wit h t he juggler s.
Maids
Going home aft er washing t he ut ensils.
Tour ist s emer ging slowly
fr om t he ancient for t .
Elephant s. And t he gar dens mesmer ized.
Playful noisy kids. Peasant s
In fields. Boat s in r iver .
Tea st alls.
Days at home wit hin homes.
Rising smoke
The gr ass
t ouching t he hear t of t he ear t h.
A poem engr ossed
In sear ch of t he lost .
Pr a ya g Sh u kl a , b or n 19 4 0 , i s a p oet , es s a yi s t a n d a n a r t cr i t i c. Hi s
n ot a b l e col l ect i on s of p oet r y a r e yeh j o h a r a h a i a n d ya h a n ka h a n
t h i ch h a ya . Ha s p u b l i s h ed h i s l i t er a r y es s a ys i n vol u mes l i ke s u r ga on
b a n j a r i , s a j h a s a ma y a n d a r d h vi r a m. He ed i t s a t h ea t r e j ou r n a l
r a n g p r a s a n g for Na t i on a l Sch ool of Dr a ma a n d l i ves i n Noi d a , U. P.
THREE POEMS
Asad Zaidi
Rajesh Kumar Shar ma
Al m i r a h
(Almari)
In t he upper shelves of t he almir ah
t her e was, as ever , pat ience.
And silence t oo.
Below, so much lay scat t er ed.
The t hings in sear ch of which I had ar r ived
in t his cit y,
I could find no t r ace of.
I went on put t ing
on fly leaves of books, inside shir t pocket s,
in t he st it ch of sweat er s
my name, t he r oom number , t he names of host els,
addr esses of t he houses I had r ent ed,
hoping for a for m t o emer ge,
like t he t er mit e sensing t he pr esence of wood,
or like t he cor pse get t ing ident ified by a washer mans mar ker .
When you open t his almir ah,
t he door , somewhat wobbly, lur ches t o a side.
P
o
e
t
r
y
Ther e is so much t hat is no longer in memor y.
I t is no longer her e eit her .
What ever r emains
looks like some dead mans last will.
I under st and t hat t he t hings you gaze long and at t ent ively at begin
t o r et ur n your gaze.
When you have held t he scissor s for a long t ime,
you do begin t o feel t he ur ge t o r un t hem t hr ough somet hing.
I n Th e s e Wo r d s
(In Shabdon Mein)
Ther e is no mor e any for m in t hese wor ds.
Ther e was once might have been.
Mer e cold let t er s t hey ar e now
t hat do not even say what t hey want .
Time was
when I had wr it t en ox in t hese wor ds,
I would t hink it wasnt any ox.
Now it seems t o have been an ox only.
I used t o speak cer t ain t r ut hs in t hese wor ds
- such t hat it would have been bet t er t o pull my hair
t han speak t hose t r ut hs.
The Sun shines
wor ds of such indicat ion have long since been put out .
Wor ds did not have t he longevit y of hills.
Many did not have t he dur abilit y of socks and chappals even.
I used t o t hink t hat t he only way was t o speak t hem,
and I could speak.
Si s t e r s
(Behnen)
we have been r educed t o coal said t he sist er s sinking int o sand
cover us up now if you want we shall st op her e you may go
t he sist er s kept visit ing us dur ing day changing appear ances
we had fever in evenings
visit ing even mor e heat upon our bur ning eyes t he sist er s would come like
cur ses int o our delir ious r aving lives on r oads over flowing wit h t r affic
would hover over our heads like t r oubles
consoled t he sist er s would somet imes sit
t he sist er s st ood guar d in our wives dar k pr egnancies
t he sist er s would cur se t he t hieves who t ake us by sur pr ise st ealing onions
in t he dar kness at t he back of hear t hs
t he sist er s wer e pleased t o see t he possibilit ies br imming wit h our happily
going jobs
t he sist er s t old t he t ales of fair ies and der vishes t o childr en
t he sist er s br ought for est s and beast s int o t heir imaginat ion
t he sist er s augment ed what t hey had not seen
wit h gr adual accr et ions of t heir wealt h of ignor ance.
if anyone says t his fuel wood will not cat ch fire we shall not t ake it kindly
what for aft er all ar e we gir ls
how t he fuel wood cat ches fir e we know you know
we ar e fuel wood we gir ls
we shall give out smoke as long as we ar e wet
but what can we do about t his? we ar e
t he cooking pot s of your home, br ot her fat her
mot her look we ar e t he cooking pot s
our soot will be washed off
if it is not we shall become soot and gr ow, st uffing flaky t at t er s int o our bodies
as long as wet ness and t ast e do not go
we shall dr y only at our own pace
we shall wit her we shall make flut t er ing noises in t he st illness of t he ear t h
in wind-holes on hear t hs dur ing noons
we shall beat our bowls
do you kindly fill our bowls
wat er one can dr ink fr om dr ains you our people know
but gr ain one cannot find in cat t le-dung heaps
do please fill our bowls
we shall be as mer e spider s in your wor ld
we shall be spider s
we shall lie in any for got t en cor ner of t he house wit h our webs pulled over us
we shall be spider s of dust -filled cor ner s
we shall be dust
we shall be t er mit es in t he cr acks of door s
we shall manage t o live at t he bot t oms of boxes
we shall live on neem and lot us seeds
we shall chir p like cr icket s dur ing night s
pr opping up t he sleep of our people we shall be t he cr icket s.
we have become mer e coal
said t he sist er s sinking int o sand
become mer e coal
said beat en wit h shoes
coa l
sighing
t he sist er s sigh, we ar e ashes
ashes we ar e t he dust having r isen shall set t le on ever y for ehead
layer s of guilt shall cake in your eyes
on your neck a film of oil shall gat her ,
just see
t he sist er s shall become gr ime one day
one day t hey will be r emoved fr om memor ies washed out wit h soap
except fr om knees and elbows
yet die t hey will not , but linger for cent ur ies in homes
t r ampling on t he sist er s t he wor ld passes on
acr oss lifes cr eaking br idge
t r ying t o suppr ess somehow wit h downcast faces t he scr eaming hor ns of families
and gloat ing over t heir blist er s
one day when blood will be t r ickling down our noses
sinking int o t he ear t h
t he salt ish bodies of t he lost sist er s will r ise fr om ear t hs folds
wit h t heir anchals dir t ied wit h t he mud of t oil t he sist er s will come t o st and
ar ound us
will want t o save us wit h t heir dr y r oughened hands
many year s will pass
so many t hat we will not be saved.
As a d Za i d i , b or n 19 52 , i s a cr ea t i ve wr i t er a s wel l a s a j ou r n a l i s t .
Ha s b een con s u l t a n t of Na t i on a l Li t er a cy Mi s s i on . Reci p i en t of Sa n s kr i t i
a wa r d . Ha s a n u mb er of p u b l i s h ed wor ks . To n a me a few b eh n en
a u r a n ya ka vi t a yen a n d ka vi t a ka j i va n . He h a s a l s o ed i t ed yeh
a i s a s a ma y h a i . He l i ves i n Del h i .
Ra j es h Ku ma r Sh a r ma , i s p r ofes s or of En gl i s h a t Pu n j a b i Un i ver s i t y,
Pa t i a l a a n d h a s t r a n s l a t ed s ever a l i mp or t a n t p oet s . He l i ves i n Pa t i a l a .
SI X P OEMS
Anamika
Tr n s l a t ed b y
Usha Mishr a / Ar lene Zide
Le t t e r Wr i t i n g Wo m a n
It is said about women t hat t hey
Pen let t er s ceaselessly, spr ead over sever al sessions.
Ther e is a wor ld wit hin t hem-
Collect ed over cent ur ies.
Their out pour ings inexhaust ible, as if bewit ched
By t he demons fabled pigt ail.
And t heir let t er s ext end int er minably,
Like Dr aupadis sar ee.
A let t er -wr it ing woman is
Like PC Sar kar s magic.
A woman has t he blessed capacit y
To medit at e amidst chaos,
In a bus, or sit t ing cr ouching on a bench at a r ailway plat for m,
She can suddenly shudder and squat
And picking up a paper cone, news paper , cir cular
Can wr it e anyt hing, as
I miss you lot s, please come over .
P
o
e
t
r
y
Dont know which lit t le gir l comes over and
Rolls chapat t is, so big t hat it hangs out of t he hot plat e
And is quickly kissed by t he lolling flames
In t he chest of t he night t hunder s t he solit ude
And a shiver r esonat es
Of dead leaves and flut t er ing pages
As if t he t eliy a masan
1
t ime says
Tur n ar ound
Cant you hear it , st upid, t ur n ar ound and see.
Women ar e not scar ed
I n r elat ing anyt hing over
They ar e not ashamed t o accept
That t hey bear wit hin t hem bot h wat er and ear t h
And bot h t hese ar e sans all beginnings and ends.
Women wr it e incessant ly as a r esult .
Ear t h and wat er ar e aft er all a non-ending let t er fr om God
Addr essed t o all...
Mo t h e r t o n gu e
Like ancest r al jeweller y and ant ique br onze
Mot her t r easur es my sphinx r iddles,
A few funny moment s of my ear ly year s
And some obsolet e wor ds of mot her t ongue
Mot her s dont only nur se babies
They also nur t ur e ur chin wor ds
Wor ds never ensconced in a t hesaur us
Mot her s make languages mot her t ongues
And each mot her t ongue smells of mot her s milk
Mot her s conser ve mot her t ongues
Imagine my Hindi wit hout my mum!!
Oft en I r esolve, t o wr it e her a let t er as big as t he ear t h
But t he comput er lacks Hindi font s
I left Hindi in t he eight h gr ade
And cheer fully adopt ed
A language br anded wit h
my god, hit -shit , shut -up, yes sir -yes me lor d, hir e and fir e, t hanks,
held-up
Get out , hello, hi, sor r y,
Language apt for pet it ions and submissions
Resume and applicat ions,
But a let t er t o mum,
Needs a language of dr eams and memor ies
In t he no-mans land fenced wit h yes and no
The language st ood dr aped in dew,
Gr een and elegant
This language for me, could only be Hindi
Hindi? Can I handle?
Mot her wor ked har d on my spellings
Would now blow her t op off
If I misspelt
Thanks t o feminism, I dar e not mix gender s
But wor ds escape me and I chase t hem
Like a child chasing a but t er fly!!
Alas, wor ds like hor ses need t o be r ear ed!!!
Wo m e n
We wer e r ead
like t he t or n pages of childr ens not ebooks
made int o cones t o hold war m chanajorgaram
We wer e looked at
t he way gr umpily you squint at your wr ist wat ch
aft er t he alar m goes off in t he mor ning.
We wer e list ened t o
dist r act edly
t he way filmsongs assail your ear s
spilling fr om cheap casset t es on a cr owded bus
They sensed us
t he way you sense t he suffer ings of a dist ant r elat ive
One day we said
wer e human t oo.
Read us car efully
one let t er at a t ime
t he way af t er y our BA, y oud read a job ad.
Look at us
t he way, shiver ing,
youd gaze at t he flames of a dist ant fir e
List en t o us
as you would t he unst r uck music of t he void
and underst and t he way y oud underst and a newly -learned Langauge
The moment t hey hear d t his
fr om an invisible br anch suspended in limbo
like a swar m of gnat s
wild r umor s went scr eeching
Women wit hout char act er
wild vines dr aining t he sap
fr om t heir host s
well-fed, bor ed wit h affluence
t hese women
point lessly on edge
indulging in t he luxur y of wr it ing
t hese st or ies and poems
not ev en t heir ow n
They said, amused.
The r est of t he st or ies dismissed wit h a wink
Hey, blessed Fat her s
you blessed men
spar e us
spar e us
t his sor t of
at t ent ion.
Un e m p l o ye d
These days I m r eading only ancient scr ipt s
Can manage t o make out even t he Har appan scr ipt
Ever y language is a langauge of pain
ever since I under st ood
I could r ead a message even
in t he most obscur e of langauges
In my own infinit e empt iness
t his is t he only t hing Ive done
I ve lear ned t he t ot t er ing not at ion of music
in ever y t one of pain.
Ther es a fir e in me
t o wr it e somet hing on t he pages of t he wind
and t hen cr umple t hem up and t oss t hem under t he br oken charpoy
Unfolding t hese cr umpled scr aps,
my mot her r eads t hem
and her glasses fog up.
This is wher e my fir e get s t r ansfor med int o wat er .
My bound hands ar e r est less
t hey want t o do somet hing.
Ther es st r engt h in t hem st ill.
Milk, t hey can dr aw fr om t he br east s of t he mount ain
What if only a mouse t ur ns up
when youve dug it all up?
My bound hands ar e r ough and cold
t heyve never had t he chance t o sweep up t he sweet ness of t he ear t h
Never has a t at t er ed dupat t a been held spr ead out bet ween t hese hands
and laughingly begged t hose ber r ies.
The moon is no longer t hat pale
Ther es a layer of dir t on it s yellowness
it s as gr ungy as t he gr eyed pages of a miser ly banias ledger
The sunlight slowly fading,
like t he t ir ed, dust y beaut y of an unwed elder sist er
Hey, but t er fly, t ell me
how far is t he last sigh fr om infinit e desir e.
This should, what kind of a bir d is t his?
Has it ever alight ed in your cour t yar d?
per ched on your hand?
So how can t hey say
a bir d in hand is wor t h mor e
t han t wo in t he bush?
Wr inging my hands, I oft en wonder
ar e my hands t wo flint s
will t hey ever t r igger fir e?
I never get a wink of sleep
My life is t he chaos at a call-cent er
t hat might close down any moment , who knows?
To Be o r No t t o Be
My marriage bed is abov e t he noose Mir abai
This much English I lear ned t o under st and
t he meaning of t his line
but wish I couldve lear ned Englishness well enough
t o t ie a knot in a noose, a t ie,
my shoelaces t oo,
I cant even t ie r ibbons on r ight
again and again on my way t o school t hey came undone
t he r ed r ibbons at t he end of my br aids!
Really annoyed, my poor br ot her
each t ime he had t o t ie t hem back on
And now when it s my t ur n t o t ie a noose
it comes loose, opens up
like t he amulet of folksongs.
To be... or not t o be... Shakespear e r eminds us
It s a whole r it ual, t ur ning your sar i
int o a noose on t he fan
It s not so easy t o t ie it on
Ther es a t hick layer of dust on t he fanblades
Befor e I hang myself, should I wipe it away wit h my anchal?
To be dust , or wipe it away, t hat s t he quest ion
Wher e ar e Bir bal and Vidushak of t he Sanskr it plays
The wise fools of Shakespear e, wher e ar e t hey?
Wher e is t he sky wit of Telani Raman and Gonu J ha?
I met you in dust y folds of t he st or ies my fat her t old me
Come, get up and see me off!
Come, let s giggle and gossip ar ound t he village fir e
Let s light t he flames, t her es a chill in her e
My skins not enough;
will t hey wr ap me up
my own war m ashes?
Inside my st iff bones bur ns a slow fir e,
t he sweet pot at oes on it , will t hey sat isfy my hunger ?
Will lye and phenyl quench my t hir st ?
To be or not t o be...
Tir ed out , bot h my kids lie sleeping
In t he mor ning, will t hey be shocked?
The lit t le one cant even comb his hair
and t he big one, even wor se
cant t ell t he r ight side of a sock fr om t he wr ong.
Theyll get up, t r y t o wake me up,
Missed t he schoolbus and t he milkman gone home
Ever yone has gone back home, shouldnt I ?
St r ange ar e t he ways of t his kings cour t
One sepoy holds me back by t he wr ist s
while anot her s r eady t o banish me for ever
Yes, Shakespear e, I under st and
Under st and t his whole r igmar ole
of To Be or Not t o Be.
Th e 17 Ye a r o l d Exa m i n e e
Child, when t he milk fir st flows down
Fr om t he mot her s br east
She shiver s wit h milk fever
That milk isnt ver y delicious
But t he doct or s say
If t he child suckles
Then t he baby will sur vive all diseases
The t ast e of fir st failur e is like t hat
What ever happens, it doesnt mat t er
(No dead-ends)
What ever you lose, doesnt mat t er
Ther es no full st op in life
The desir e t o go beyond desir e
Too is a desir e
The pr ocess doesnt st op, t he r oad doesnt br eak apar t
They t wine
Ar ound your feet like a liana
And when you come back home and t ake off your shoes
Ther ell be t r aces of t hem clinging t o your socks
Sor r y about t his st r ange wor ld youve inher it ed
For give me if you can
No one act ually list ens t o t he sound of flower s bur st ing open
No one sees wit h what skill and pat ience each pet al unfolds
This is t he fr uit mar ket , child
Fr uit ful and fr uit less
I wish you could have inher it ed a wor ld
Wher e no one would have an ident it y divided and t or n int o differ ent r ows
Ever y flower is beaut iful in it s own way
And beaut y is beyond compet it ion
You st ay up all night in your chair
All your wor k on your desk
Wat ching t he shr ew on it s cat walk
As you doze off you have a night mar e
A shr ew wit h an ounce
Of jasmine oil on it s head
And a buffalo
Someones playing a pipe t o
All falling on deaf ear s a silk pur se for sows...
And ever yt hing out of whack
And at br eak of dawn, a t r uck
Loaded wit h br icks.
When t he br icks fall
The night mare comes t o an end.
They make you sit up
And t hen you ask:
Ma, why t his sor r ow
What is it ?
What t o do wit h it ?
These shr iveled br east s of mine ar e wet ,
Not wit h milk
But wit h sweat
I m not Mahamaya
Nor is he Buddha
But t he quest ion r emains
As it is
In an old film song
Ther e r an a line in It alian
Che Sara, Sara?
What will be, will be
Dont ask what comes next
What ever happens will happen for t he best .
I sing out of t une and he br eaks int o laught er
Enough, mama, enough
I r emember t he r est of it
This fr ee laught er
In t he dead of night
Falls on t he leaves like dew
His fat her , wor r ied about t he fut ur e
Smiles vaguely in his sleep
This half-smile of his get s t he super ser ious house in a fest ive mood!
An amika, bor n 1961, wr it es poet r y an d pr ose. She is r ecipien t of n umer ous
l i t er a r y a wa r d s i n cl u d i n g t h e r ecen t Ked a r Sa mma n , Sa vi r i Ba i Ph u l e
Sa mma n , b efor e wh i ch s h e a l r ea d y ea r n ed Bh a r a t Bh u s h a n Pu r a s ka r ,
Gi r i j a Km. Ma t h u r Sa mma n a n d Pa r a mp a r a Sa mma n . Sh e t ea ch es
En gl i s h l i t er a t u r e a t a col l ege i n Del h i Un i ver s i t y.
Ar l en e Zi d e, b or n 19 4 0 i s a p oet , l i n gu i s t a n d t r a n s l a t or . Sh e ed i t ed
a n d t r a n s l a t ed Pen gu i n s Book of I n d i a n Women Poet s I n Th ei r Own
Voi ce. Sh e t ea ch es a t Ha r ol d Wa s h i n gt on Col l ege, Ch i ca go, U. S. A.
Us h a Mi s h r a i s a s en i or con s u l t a n t wi t h Un i t ed Na t i on s wh o r et a i n s
h er l ove for good p oet r y. Sh e l i ves i n Lon d on , U. K.
P
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SI X P OEMS
Dinesh Kumar Shukla
Tr n s l a t ed b y
The Poet
A Dr u m i n t h e Sk y
A dr um beat
deep in t he sky
Cont inent s adr ift
Mount ains r ising
A kit e chur ned
t he liquid of sun
At my defeat he laughed
And became a ser pent
And cr ept t hr ough t he spine of ear t h
He hissed now t he r ichest man
A will of ir on
melt ed in it s own lat ent -heat
A dr um beat
deep in t he sky
Infinit e and unfat homable
Was t he high-noon
A cr eat ion of Gods
ent angled in t he web of pain
t r ied t o br eak fr ee in vain,
Const ellat ions bur ned,
J uices oozed fr om t he fr uit s of hope
The weaver weaved on
unconcer ned
A dr umming r oar ed in t he sky
I n t he cor e of a t ear -dr op
exploded a new univer se
The t hr oat was on fir e
Speech in flames and yet
The voice of wat er
r ever ber at ed inside ever yt hing
The Ear t h sighed
And t he waves of solid r ock
r olled acr oss must ar d fields
Yellow was t he sound
of high-noon
A dr um beat
deep in t he sky
The wor ld was flooded by
a t wilight of r esonance
And you, t he half r hyt hm of my song
began t o for m but t o fade,
You t he fr agr ance of t he gr eat void
seeped int o ever yt hing,
Then ever yt hing vanished
flowing back int o void,
As if in a pr ot est
A neem t r ee st ood alive
engr aved in my memor y
The t r ee
sways and sways and sways on
wit hout a whiff of wind,
In it s luxur iant shade
t he high-noon sweat ed and slept
A dr um beat s in my hear t and
t he sky r ever ber at es.
A s u r ge
Suddenly all..
All came t o a gr inding halt
Bir t h
Deat h
Laught er
The wail..
The mundane r hyt hm
of r out ine
dr owned by a silence
so abr upt !
Oh
I t was you!
Now become a moon,
r ising behind t he fence
of your nupt ial r oof
A pr imor dial sound
sur ged
t hr ough all t he exist ence.
A Li c e n c e f o r Th o u gh t
Cause knowledge is your s
So science is your s.
Cause God is your s
So Sat an is your s
Your Owner ship!
Mount ains of money
You spent on r esear ch,
So r ight ly you own
t he r ise and fall of sun
and waning and waxing of moon
Now you ar e t he owner of t he air
of all biospher e.
For sur e, wit hout your medicines
We who commit sins
Shall soon get our unwieldy populat ions
Cont r olled and t hr own in dust bins
The flower s now bloom
I f you please
At your command t hunder
st r ikes t he disobedient
The facult ies of t hought
shall wor k not
wit hout a licence fr om you
Aft er all t hought is also a weapon
-a gun
Now none is allowed t o clean
his filt hy t eet h
wit h t he neem-t wig anymor e
No mor e t ur mer ic shall
beaut ify t he br ides
because you now own
all pat ent s
on neem and t ur mer ic andso...
Your exalt ed Owner ship!
What should I say mor e
You ar e now sole lor d of t he mor nings
wit h exclusive r ight s
on all t he night s galor e!
Sh a n k h a p u s h p i *
We,
t he t wo r iver s in spat e
r olled t owar ds each ot her ,
Effor t less
t he same sent ence
r olled down fr om our lips,
Even t he weight of bot h voices
was exact ly t he same
down t o a milli-milligr am,
We laughed
r esigned t o t he spont aneous symmet r ies
of love
Then
an endless sequence called day
kept on passing and passing
in fr ont of us
Not a single bir d or a cloud
or a kit e
not hing
not hing appear ed on t he sky of our hear t s
The r ising t ide of day
had spent it s fur y
on r oads of t he met r opolis
and ebbed back int o t he veins
of t he body-polit ic
Gar dener s finished
fir st shift of t he day
Four eyes of t he fawns
living in t he solit ude
of Nehr u Par k
dr ank t o t heir fill
t he for bidden nect ar of a day
in t he lifes aft er noon
In t he shallows of t he r ocks of love
a lit t le pool of wat er
was st ill alive wit h r ippling waves
-t he wat er fr om a r ain of long ago
On t he whit e pet als of shankhpushpi
t he blue of a clear sky
Now r eflect ed
Now faded
Now shimmer ed..
________________________________________
*a wi ld flower
Th e Be l l y Da n c e r
Bor n in t he r uins
of t he cit y of Bamako
t o t he par ent s
fr om t he line of dispossessed Kings
I
lear nt t he t ast e of bone-mar r ow
fr om decaying br east s of my mom,,
In her fading hear t -beat s I lear nt t o r ecognize
foot st eps of deat h
I became an addict t o life
while st ill an infant .
Br ought up on r oyal diet
of dr ied gr ass, cact ii, r oot s and ber r ies
I lear nt t o r oast and eat t he mambas,
Salt of my blood came fr om r ocks
Bones for med fr om t he phosphat es of Sahar a
O mer chant of bone-manur es
Dont dr ill t hr ough me
wit h your blind st ar es
Slaver y was abolished
t hey say
aeons ago
and Afr ica is fr ee t hey say
But I know how t o count and r ead
O mer chant s of cr ude!
Why is t her e so much of fir e
in your eyes
blazing t hr ough our wor ld.
Dr owning me in t he smoke of cigar s
ar e you not afr aid of
t he r evenge of my br ot her s.
No gazelle can beat me
in a r ace of gr ace
I dazzle t he light ning ever yday
wit h flashes of my dance
Like a t igr ess I can t ear you apar t
An d yet
Your blind eyes keep on t r ying
t o disr obe me
You per haps dont put much pr ice on your life
O mer chant of civilizat ions!
How!
Tell me how you gr ew so obst inat e!
Cr ossing t he bor der s
one aft er anot her
Ravaging t he ear t h and women alike
Leer ing at my pulsat ing flesh,
t he dancing muscles of a t ir ed belly
A belly dancing
t o fill t he belly,
My r ippling muscles ar e fishes
hooked by hunger of deat h,
hook t hr ust ing deep wit h ever y jer k
blood spilling
t he dancing st age filled wit h gor e and slush.
Wit h such delicacies of r evulsion
who else could have an appet it e
except in g you
O mer chant of fir e and flesh!
A Sc r a m b l e d No c t u r n e
The night , an ocean of fir e-flies
Submer ged in t he night we moved
And cr ossed t he bor der s of body and soul
and jumped
t he bar bed-fence hidden in a gr een hedge
We r eaped wheat of heaven
St ole t he nect ar of t he Gods
At e t he for bidden fr uit s
An d played
on t he br anches of t he immor t al t r ee
In t he light of t he
bur ning st ar s
We saw t he Dar k hor se
moving wit h a r egal cant er
Gr ief wear ing a golden cr own
r ode t he hor se inst at e
We glimpsed t he face
of t he King, t he Chief, t he Supr eme..
a Kaleidoscope of Deceit ,
We discover ed and r ediscover ed
The sour ce of kings st r engt h
hidden as Fear r ight in our innar ds
A falcon per ched
On t he gloved hands of Power
t or e t he flesh of might
in t he night s blood we soaked
Along t he wall of t he hor izon
t he dir ect ions scamper ed
hiding in blue black cloaks
t r ying t o escape t he mar auder s
We jumped t he bail of t ime-space
We br oke t hr ough t he gat es of t he ear t h
We wer e joined by fellow inmat es
Chased by a hail of bullet s
fir ed by guar ds of t he invisible pr ison
We r an on pavement s of fr eedom
Along wit h us r an a t housand eyes
Leaping and bounding like living mar bles
The eyes-sover eign and fr ee
fr om bonds of t he body,
The eyes- full of hopes and visions,
Childr en
ebullient as galaxies
danced wit h t he dynamics of t hat night
The milk-bowl of t he celest ial dome
was upt ur ned by a Cat
We saw t he Cat smiling
and hiding behind t he moon
We want ed t o feel t he t ime
t her e was no t ime but only our hear t beat s
Ther e was no night
but only a shadow of our being
A shr iek pier ced t he deafness of t he age
People now suffer ed only fr om
per sonal pain,
Speech was ber eft of nouns
t he ver bs all passive
t he language wounded by
hyphens and dot s and dashes
Now only t he wails and cr ies
filled meaning in t he wor ds
Eyelids heavy wit h load
of night mar es,
Eyes enclosed us in t heir cusp
and r olled down an endless slope.
Mot her s car r ying infant s
descending fr om t er r ace
t o cour t yar d,
A cascade of sweet mor ning dr eams
A st r ing of lit t le blue lakes
t he eyes of mot her ear t h spar kled
We float ed like lot use
In t he ocean of an infinit e night
A fear less innocence
swimming in t he gr eat deluge
What a night of night s
woven fine like a fabr ic of living yar n,
In t hat illusive fog
We saw t he omnivor ous beast
of wealt h and gr eed
At t he foot of mount ains of gr ain
Hunger was gulping down all living beings
We saw killer r eligions
Celebr at ing massacr es
wit h pr ayer s and t hanks giving
laughing and ullulat ing
in or gasmic ecst asies,
We saw t he boat of Manu sinking
We saw
mot her s pr aying and
weeping in silence
Illusion and Realit y all r olled int o one
That moment of difficult t r ut hs
was in a gr eat hur r y
It was t ur ning t he ear t h
fast er and fast er like a pot t er s wheel
I t want ed t o cr eat e
one impossible and yet immor t al shape
impossible and yet indelible colour s
impossible but et er nal
mat t er , life, love, language.
I n a dit ch near by
Deat h shar pened it s knife
on t he r ock of dar kness
lay in wait
t aut like a cr ossed bow
r eady t o leap and shoot
Then,
As if out of nowher e st ar t ed
Rever ber at ions of
sounds yet unhear d,
A pr ocession of r eflect ions of
t hings yet unseen,
A pr ocession of t he Unbor n
t r ying t o discover t he or iginal seed,
A wave of uncer t ain amplit udes -
A huge ship t hr ust ing ahead
unhindr edbr eaking t he iceber gs
A t ide r ose sweeping away t he hallucinat ions
of a false night
On t he r ocks in t he foaming wat er s
t he bow was float ing br oken
t he br oken swor d
shone dull at t he bot t om of t he sea
t he anaconda of deat h
was lying cr ushed all along t he coast
The fir st r ays had yet t o br eak
and East was yet t o be r ed
The fir st sea-bir d awakened by it s
int er nal impulse
r ose in t he mor ning br eeze
and float ed away int o t he east
t o acceler at e t he sun
Di n es h Ku ma r Sh u kl a , b or n 19 50 , i s a p oet a n d s ch ol a r wi t h va r i ed
i n t er es t s . Ha s p u b l i s h ed s ever a l vol u mes of p oet r y, t h e l a t es t b ei n g
a kh a r a r a t h fr om Bh a r a t i ya J n a n p i t h . Ha s b een h on ou r ed wi t h Ked a r
Sa mma n 2 0 0 8 for h i s p oet i c wor k l a l - mu n i ya ki d u n i ya . He i s eq u a l l y
a t h ome wi t h t r a n s l a t i on . He wor ks a t I I FCO a n d l i ves i n Gu r ga on .
THE EARTHEN CUP
Asghar Wajahat
Dhir aj Singh
Tr eeless and bar r en hills st ar ed at us fr om bot h sides. The desolat ion
was so hopeless and complet e t hat even t he t uft s of gr ass on
t hese hills had dr ied up wait ing in t he sun. The r oad like an
asphalt snake cour sed pur posefully t hr ough t his bar r enness. It
had br ought me fr om Isfahan t o Shir az and now 60 kilomet r es
ahead of me lay t he ancient cit y of Per sepolis or Takht -e-J amshed
(lit er ally, Seat of J amshed) t hat I was most cur ious t o see. At
Shir az I was t old t hat one could t ake a savari (meaning r ide;
much like t he similar Hindi wor d) t axi t o Takht -e-J amshed. But
her e a savari t axi also meant a full vehicle wher e each passenger
paid an individual far e. This also meant t hat t he r ide would be
much cheaper t han a pr ivat e t axi. I had come t o t he bus st at ion
in Shir az in sear ch of a savari but was convinced ot her wise t o
t ake a pr ivat e t axi by a wily t axi-dr iver . I was t old a savari
t o Takht -e-J amshed would cost five people 5000 r ial each but
since I was t he only man t r avelling t he dr iver was expect ing
t o ext r act four ot her passenger far es fr om me. Aft er a jour ney
of over an hour we wer e at t he par king lot of Takht -e-J amshed.
As far as t he eye could see, spr ead t he columns of Per sepolis,
as if it wer e one big bir t hday cake left over fr om a par t y.
About 700 year s befor e Chr ist a t r ibe t hat consider ed it self
of Ar yan descent laid t he foundat ion of what was t o become a
might y empir e. An empir e t hat spr ead fr om t he Indus in t he
east t o t he Danube in t he west and fr om t he Ar al lake in t he
nor t h t o t he Per sian Gulf in t he sout h. In hist or y books t hese
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e
l
o
g
u
e
people wer e known as t he Achaemenids.
Not only was t heir empir e a for ce t o
r eckon wit h in it s own t ime but it has
cont inued t o fascinat e gener at ions wit h
it s ext r emely pr ogr essive ideas about
gover nance. One of it s most impor t ant
r uler s was Dar ius I (549 t o 485 BC)
whose human r ight s char t er was in 1971
t aken up by t he UN t o be t r anslat ed
int o t he languages of member nat ions
a n d d i s t r i bu t ed a mon g t h em. Th i s
document was found in t he for m of
cylindr ical baked clay t ablet s. Dar ius had
issued t his edit aft er he had conquer ed
Babylon. It is believed t hat Dar ius human
r ight s char t er was even mor e pr ogr essive
t h a n t h e ma n i fes t o of t h e Fr en ch
Revolut ion (1789-1799). It is int er est ing
t o not e t he per sonal t one of t he Dar ius
edict , one por t ion begins like t his: Now
I (Dar ius) who wear s t he cr own of Per sia,
Babylon and t he four dir ect ions of t he
winds and on whose head r est s t he hand
of Ah u r a Ma zd a ( t h e God of t h e
Zor oast r ians) declar e t hat for as long
as I live I and t he sat r aps of my dominion
will r espect all r eligions, t r adit ions and
ways of life t hat for m par t of my vast
empir e. I will not impose my suzer aint y
on any kingdom. All people ar e fr ee
t o accept my dominion or r eject it . Those
who r eject it I pr omise not t o go t o
war wit h t hem. As long as I wear t he
cr own of Per sia, Babylon and t he four
dir ect ions of t he winds, I will not let
anyone exploit anyone and if t hat happens
I will be on t he side of t he wr onged
and punish t he wr ong-doer . As long as
I am Emper or I will ensur e t hat no
land or pr oper t y is bought wit hout pr oper
r emuner at ion. As long as I am alive
I will not allow labour t o be misused
or go unpaid. On t his day I declar e
t hat ever y man is fr ee t o choose his
own r eligious pat h. People of my empir e
ar e fr ee t o live wher ever t hey wish t o
and t ake up what ever pr ofession t hey
ch oos e p r ovi d ed i t d oes n ot h a r m
anot her s r ight t o such fr eedom. No one
will be punished for cr imes commit t ed
by someone r elat ed t o him by blood
or mar r iage. I also abolish slaver y in
my dominion and ur ge my sat r aps t o
ensur e t hat t he t r ade of men, women
and childr en for t he pur pose of slaver y
is complet ely st opped not only in t he
Empir e but t hr ough Ahur a Mazdas wide
wor ld. I also seek His blessing so t hat
I may succeed in deliver ing all pr omises
I have made in t his edict .
About 50 0 year s befor e t he bir t h
of Chr ist , Dar ius t he Gr eat was of cour se
much ahead of his t imes r unning his
Emp i r e on a fed er a l s ys t em of
gover nance. Sat r apis or gover nor at es had
full r ight s t o det er mine local, r egion-
specific policy while a laissez fair e cent r e
en s u r ed t h a t t h i s bi gger vi s i on of
humanit y and human r ight s was t aken
t o t he cor ner s of ear t h. The biggest sour ce
of t r easur y income was commer cial t ax,
a consider able par t of which went int o
pr oviding secur it y t o t r aveller s on t r ade
r out es. Dar ius also const r uct ed a massive
2500 mile long highway t hat connect ed
t he t wo far ends of his Empir e. Accor ding
t o hist or ians t he post al syst em of t hat
t ime was so efficient t hat missives would
t ake not mor e t han a for t night t o r each
fr om a n ywh er e t o a n ywh er e i n t h e
Empir e.
But for cent ur ies Dar ius t he Gr eat s
capit al cit y of Takht -e-J amshed lay bur ied
under t he r ubble of t ime. It is built
on what is now known as Koh-e-Rahmat
which t r anslat es as t he Mount ain of
Mer cy. Bet ween 1931 and 1934 sever al
Amer ican univer sit ies got t oget her and
con ver t ed t h i s a r ea i n t o a h u ge
ar chaeological dig br inging t o light t he
glor y of Dar ius capit al.
The pr esen t I r an ian dispen sat ion
t hough not t oo keen about t our ism has
not been able t o do much in r educing
t he glamour of Takht -e-J amshed. Ther e
is a big t our ist cent r e her e as well as
ot her amenit ies for visit or s t hat flock
h er e fr om a r ou n d t h e wor l d . Not
sur pr ising, because t he capit al of one
of hist or ys gr eat est leader s belongs t o
t he wor ld not just Ir an.
Befor e Id seen Takht -e-J amshed Id
oft en hear d how r uins t ell t he st or y of
t heir lost gr eat ness; aft er seeing it I
r ealised Id had a vision of an epic.
One t hat has on one side a giant colonnade
of ir r egular pillar s and on t he ot her
equally huge st at ues car ved out of t he
mount ainside.
A long st r et ch of st air s br ought me
t o t he nucleus of t his univer se of st one.
Sur r ounded by massive columns t his was
t he cour t of Dar ius t he Gr eat . In it s
complet e for m t his hall must have been
huge; in compar ison t he Diwan-e-Aam
(Cour t of Commons) at Delhis Red For t
seems like a childs playpen. If not mor e
t he columns her e ar e at least t hr ee t imes
t he size of t hose at t he Diwan-e-Aam.
In size t oo t he cour t of Dar ius is at
least 6 t o 7 t imes t he size of Shah J ahans
cour t in Delhi. But what left me wonder ing
was how t he acoust ics of t he hall wor ked
when t housands at t ended t he cour t
how did Dar ius or his minist er s get
t hemselves hear d!
Da r i u s bega n wor k on Ta kh t - e-
J amshed known in t he ancient Gr eek
wor ld as Per sepolis in about 518 BC
and it t ook anot her hundr ed year s t o
complet e. The Emper or had not mer ely
planned a palace or a for t r ess her e but
a seat of imper ial power t hat t he wor ld
had not seen befor e. He want ed t his
place t o be a t ableau of his Empir es
power , glor y, wealt h and int ellect ual and
aest het ic super ior it y: an ar chit ect ur al
equ i va l en t of h i s va s t a n d d i ver s e
dominion. Dar ius dr eam was only t o
be complet ed by his son Xer xes (518-
465 BC) whose inscr ipt ionI pr omise
t o complet e t hat which my fat her began
can st ill be seen on t he walls her e.
Above me was an unr elent ing sun
and befor e me was st r et ched a cit y of
r uins t hat held wit hin it s walls many
myst er ies, many st or ies. Though t he place
was cr amming wit h t our ist s, in t he vast
expanse of t he cit y t hey seemed like
bir dfeed scat t er ed on t he gr ound. In
t he far dist ant , some who had scaled
t he height s of Koh-e-Rahmat t o look at
it s giant r elief st at ues seemed like ant s.
Behind t he cour t complex cont inued a
for mat ion of r uins, buildings t hat once
st r et ched r ight up t ill t he caves of Koh-
e-Rahmat . It is impossible t o see all
t his in a day, especially when t he giant
r eliefs befor e you beckon wit h st or ies
of imper ial gr andeur of kings and t he
gods who helped t hem r ule.
A few kilomet r es away fr om Takht -
e-J amshed is Naqsh-e-Rust am (lit er ally
image of Rust am). Rust am is a Per sian
her o who is immor t alised in t he 10
t h
cen t ur y epic, Shahn am eh. Fir dausis
Shahnameh is a wor k of gr eat myt hic
imaginat ion and humanit y. Rust am is
a br ave war r ior and a r omant ic, a dut iful
fat her and a char act er in a t r agedy t hat
r ivals in pat hos it s Gr eek pr edecessor s.
Naqsh-e-Rust am is a flat st r et ch of land
on t h e h i l l . I t i s bel i eved Ru s t a m
per for med a dance her e which is why
t he hill flat t ened t o even gr ound. The
hill of Naqsh-e-Rust am is like a galler y
of kings. Not only is it a place wher e
Achaemenian (or Hakhamanesh) r uler s
car ved t heir vict or ies in st one but also
lat er dynast s fr om fur t her nor t h such
as t he Sassanids used it for t he same
pur pose. Like t he Egypt ian Valley of t he
Kings t his t oo is t he final r est ing place
of many r uler s of t he Per sian peninsula.
Naqsh-e-Rust am is also home t o t he
famous st one r elief por t r aying Roman
Emper or Valer ian in chains kneeling
befor e t he equest r ian figur e of Sassanian
King Shapur I (241-272 BC). Sever al
ver sions of t his hist or ic Per sian vict or y
over Rome (260 BC) have it t hat Shapur
I had insist ed on Valer ian cr awling on
all four all t he way t o his cour t . Whet her
t his was t r ue or not it had t he effect
of st r iking t er r or in t he hear t of Rome
for cent ur ies t o come.
At Naqsh-e-Rust am I hear d a guide
point t o a wall and t ell his gr oup of
t our ist s t hat t her e was a t ime when it
used t o be so vigor ously polished t hat
people could see t heir r eflect ions in it .
Naqsh-e-Rust am is t he place for such
inst ant myt hologising. It is also believed
t hat anot her Per sian myt hic her o J amshed
h ad a magi c ch ali ce called J am- e-
J amshed in which he could see bot h
t h e pa s t a n d t h e fut ur e. Fi r da us i s
Sha hn a m eh h a s a l s o t a l ked a bou t
J amshed and his magic cup.
Abou t 20 0 yea r s a ft er Ta kh t - e-
J amshed was r eady, t he Achaemenian
dynast y (550-330 BC) saw it s end at
t he hands of anot her wor ld conquer or ,
Alexander t he Macedon (323 BC). Not
on l y di d Al exa n der bu r n down t h e
glor ious Achaemenid capit al of Per sepolis
but also sent home it s immense wealt h
on t he backs of over 5000 camels and
20 ,0 0 0 mules. Per haps Mir za Ghalib
could see in his minds eye t he scale
of Per sepolis desecr at ion when he wr ot e:
Jam-e-jum se t oh mera jam-e-siphal
accha hai,
Aur le ay enge bazaar se gar t oot
gay a.
Or
As gh a r Wa j a h a t , b or n 19 4 6 , i s a r ema r ka b l e a u t h or wh o h a s i n h i s
r ep er t oi r e n ovel s , s h or t s t or i es , p l a ys , t r a vel ogu es , es s a ys a n d memoi r s .
Th i s i s t h e fi r s t ch a p t er of As gh a r s t r a vel ogu e ch a l t e t oh a ch h a t h a
a b ou t h i s j ou r n ey t h r ou gh I r a n a n d Azer b a j a n . Hi s mos t n ot a b l e wor k
i s a p l a y i n h i n d i J i n La h or e n a h i d ekh ya woh j a n mya h i n a h i n ,
h e h a s b een h on ou r ed wi t h K. K. Bi r l a Fou n d a t i on s Vya s a Sa mma n .
He i s i n vol ved wi t h ci n ema a n d p a i n t i n g. He l i ves i n Del h i .
My ear t hen cup is so much bet t er
t han J amsheds magic chalice,
I can always get a new one if it
br eaks t o pieces.
PREMCHAND: AS SHORT STORY WRI TER
Bhishma Sahni
Nobody knows for cer t ain t he exact number of shor t -st or ies t hat
Pr emchand wr ot e. Pr emchands own account has been t he least
r eliable on t his scor e. His own est imat e is said t o have been
r oundabout 20 0 shor t st or ies. He was t oo pr olific a wr it er t o
have kept count of all t he st or ies t hat he wr ot e. Resear ches aft er
his deat h have r evealed t hat t he number comes up t o above 280.
In t he collect ions available t oday, 203 st or ies ar e found in t he
eight volumes of Man Sar ovar , anot her 14 in anot her collect ion
t it led Kafan and ot her st or ies, and 56 mor e st or ies have been
discover ed t hr ough t he painst aking effor t s of Amr it r ai, Pr emchands
illust r ious son, and published in t he t wo volumes t it led Gupt a
Dhan. This makes a t ot al of 273 shor t st or ies, available in book-
for m. But scholar s maint ain t hat some st or ies, published in jour nals
and per iodicals have yet t o be included in t he ant hologies. Giving
all allowances, it is safe t o put t he figur e at 280 .
Of t hese 280 st or ies, t he number of st or ies wr it t en or iginally
in Ur du (which ar e found in his fift een collect ions of Ur du shor t
st or ies) sum up t o 194. Pr emchand began wr it ing st or ies in 1907
and it is well known, t hat dur ing t he fir st nine year s he wr ot e
exclusively in Ur du and his st or ies appear ed in t he well-known
Ur du jour nals of t he t ime, Adib, Bahar ist an, Al Asr a, Kahakashan
Naqad, Sabad-i-Ur du et c.
His cont r ibut ion t o bot h t he languages has won for him t he
posit ion of a pioneer in shor t st or y wr it ing in bot h t he languages.
All discussions on t he shor t st or y in Hindi and Ur du began wit h
Pr emchand. The Hindi shor t st or y befor e t he advent of Pr emchand
was r at her a juvenile affair . A good deal had been wr it t en befor e
D
i
s
c
o
u
r
s
e
him, no doubt Kishor ilal Goswami, one
of Pr emchands pr edecessor s, alone had
wr it t en 68 novelet t esbut most of t hese
s t or i es wer e s t or i es of ma gi c a n d
r omance and moved in t he spher e of
fant ast ic sit uat ions. The popular r eading
dur ing t he t wo or t hr ee decades befor e
t he appear ance of Pr emchand on t he
scene, consist ed of such st uff as t he
Ar abian Night s, Tales of Sindbad t he
Sailor , Bait al Pacisi, Singhasana Bat t isi,
Gu l Ba ka vl i , Tot a - Ma i n a , Ti l i s m- i -
Hoshr uba, et c. or st or ies of love-int r igue
wit h manipulat ed plot s and concoct ed
sit uat ions. In such st or ies for inst ance,
adopt ed daught er s of pr ost it ut es t ur ned
out in t he end t o be pr incesses and
old door -keeper s t ur ned out t o be kings.
In one of t he r omances of Kishor ilal
Goswami, Tar una Tapasvini by name,
t he body of a gir l is car r ied away fr om
a cr emat ion gr ound by a howling lion;
t he lion lat er on t ur ns out t o be a gir l
in disguise, and it also t ur ns out t hat
t he dead per son was not r eally dead.
This kind of wr it ing had begun t o
be disliked even befor e Pr emchand came
on t he scene, and voices had begun t o
be hear d asking for a bet t er and mor e
wholesome lit er at ur e. As far back as
1884, in one of his famous addr esses,
Bhar at endu had said,
Br ot her s, it is t ime we woke up fr om
ou r l on g s l eep . Hel p you r cou n t r y
pr ogr ess in ever y way. Read t he book
which cont r ibut es t o your mor al well-
being. Do not r ely on for eign ar t icles
and for eign language, make pr ogr ess in
your own language.
In t he same addr ess, he exhor t ed
t he par ent s,
Give up t he old. Do not r uin your
boys by placing in t heir hands Mir Hasans
Masnavi and Indr a SabhaAdopt t hat
which is in t he int er est s of t he count r y
and t he nat ion
This was a new voice of social concer n,
hear d at t hat t ime. Small novelet t es and
st or ies wr it t en wit h t he conscious pur pose
of impar t ing mor al inst r uct ion had begun
t o appear dur ing t he last t wo decades
of t h e n i n et een t h cen t u r y. Th ey
s pot l i gh t ed s oci a l evi l s i gn or a n ce,
let har gy, sensual indulgence, pr ost it ut ion
and t he like, and laid st r ess on per sonal
int egr it y of char act er , efficiency, honest y
of pur pose et c. The her oes of t hese
n ovel et t es wer e p r es en t ed a s
embod i men t s of good con d u ct . As
lit er at ur e, however , t hey wer e r at her
dull and insipid. Lit t le effor t was made
t o go int o t he complexit ies of human
nat ur e or of t he social sit uat ions, and
t he plot s wer e invar iably cont r ived, and
t her e was a st r ong t endency t o ser monize
i n t h em. Never t h el es s , t h ey cl ea r l y
r eflect ed a t ur n t owar ds social r ealit y
in Hindi st or y wr it ing. This social
or ient at ion had been st imulat ed by t he
impact of t he r efor m movement s of t he
last cent ur y, not ably t he Ar ya Samaja
and t he Br ahmo Samaja in nor t her n India
and t he gr owing nat ional consciousness
leading t o t he for mat ion of t he Indian
Nat ional Congr ess in 1880 .
Pr emchan d picked up t hese ver y
t hr eads fr om his pr edecessor ssense of
concer n wit h social r efor ms and gr owing
n at ion al con sciousn essbut gave his
st or ies a dynamism not known befor e
as also r ange and r ichness. He was a
cr usader fr om t he ver y st ar t , and t ill
t he en d of his days he wr ot e wit h
missionar y zeal and fer vor .
The fir st phase of his wr it ing which
cover ed t he year s r oughly bet ween 1907
a n d 19 20 , r evea l s , bes i d es i n t en s e
pat r iot ic fer vor , a r oman t ic impulse
which seeks expr ession in imaginar y
sit uat ions, and plot s t o suit his needs,
but t he st r ess is invar iably on ser vice
of t he nat ion.
Duniya ka sab se anmol r at an (1907)
(The Most Pr iceless J ewel of t he Wor ld)
was t he fir st st or y he wr ot e. A lover ,
Dilfigar by name, is asked by his beloved,
Queen Dilfar eb t o br ing t o her t he most
valuable t hing in t he wor ld, if he want s
t o be accept ed as her lover . He fir st
br ings t o her a t ear -dr op of a mur der er
about t o be hanged, who sees a young
child befor e him. But t he queen declines
it . He t hen br ings t o her a handful of
ashes of a beaut iful woman who had
sacr ificed her life on t he funer al pyr e
of her husband. This t oo is not r egar ded
as t he most beaut iful t hing in t he wor ld,
by t he queen. At last t he lover meet s
a dying pat r iot who has shed his blood
for his mot her land, and t akes a dr op
of t he mar t yr s blood t o t he queen and
is gladly accept ed as her lover .
The st or y is char ged wit h pat r iot ic
fer vor , which was t o inspir e much of
his lat er wr it ing. The wr it er seeks t o
expr ess it t hr ough t he imaginat ive for m
of a par able, t her eby linking int ense
p a t r i ot i c feel i n g wi t h h i s r oma n t i c
impulse. Similar sent iment s ar e expr essed
in ot her st or ies t oo wr it t en at t hat t ime.
In a st or y t it led Yehi Mer a Wat an Hai
a 90 -year old I ndian r et ur ns t o his
count r y aft er having lived for sixt y long
year s in Amer ica, wit h t he only wish
t hat he should die in his mot her land
and have his ashes consigned t o t he
Ganges.
In some ot her st or ies of t he same
per iod we find Pr emchand weaving an
elabor at e plot an d con t r i vi n g man y
incident s, some of t hem quit e incr edible,
ver y much in t he vein of his pr edecessor s,
but wit h a view t o br inging out some
idea r elat ed t o nat ional emancipat ion
or t he glor ificat ion of his count r ys past .
Ther e is also a st or y wr it t en about
Mazzini, t he It alian pat r iot , t hr owing light
on his pr ivat ions and his plat onic love
for Magdeline.
Sair -i-Dar ivesha, wr it t en at t he same
t ime, also highlight s t he fidelit y of an
I n dian woman . A globe- t r ot t er fr om
Ber lin, while t our ing t he Himalayas comes
upon an Indian lady, Pr iyamvada, whose
husband, Sher Singh, has been t ur ned
int o a lion, under t he influence of a
cu r s e p r on ou n ced by Pr i ya mva d a s
fr iend, Vidyadhar i. The cur se had been
pr on ou n ced u n d er a mi s con cept i on .
While helpin g bot h Pr iyamvada an d
Vidyadhar i t o get on t o a swing, Sher
Singhs body had t ouched Vidyadhar i,
and t he lat t er believed t hat it had been
done int ent ionally wit h an evil mot ive.
Pr iyamvada ser ves h er lion - h usban d
devot edly and under goes suffer ing. An
int r icat e plot follows in which Pr iyamvada
saves her fr iends husband t wice fr om
t he jaws of deat h; she also saves a pr ince
fr om t he clut ches of her own lion-husband,
as a r ewar d for which she inher it s half
t he pr inces kingdom, and begins t o r ule
over it in t he spir it of selfless ser vice,
h el p i n g t h e p oor a n d t h e n eed y.
Event ually t he cur se is lift ed and t he
lion again becomes a man. In t he end,
t he globet r ot t er exclaims. Chast it y is
a gr eat spir it ual for ce and if you wish
t o know t he mir acles it can wor k, visit
I ndia.
Such wer e t he st or ies being wr it t en
by Pr emchand in t he fir st phase of his
wr it ing. On t he one hand, his mind was
afir e wit h nat ional aspir at ions, on t he
ot her , he was gr oping for a for m suit ed
t o t he expr ession of t hese aspir at ions.
He was having r ecour se t o par ables or
wea vi n g i ma gi n a r y p l ot s a n d
manipulat ing sit uat ions. He had as yet
not found his r eal genr e.
His fir st collect ion of st or ies, Soz-
i-Wat an appear ed in 190 8 -190 9 and
cont ained t he five st or ies ment ioned
above. The book point ed clear ly t o t he
dir ect ion in which he was t o wr it e. As
we know, t he book was consider ed a
sedit ious wor k and it s young aut hor was
asked t o deliver all t he volumes t o t he
gover nment , and also t o submit , what ever
he wr ot e aft er war ds, t o t he gover nment
for scr ut iny befor e it was given for
publicat ion. It was t hen t hat t he aut hor
adopt ed a pen-name of Pr emchand and
st opped wr it ing under his own name
of Dhanpat r ai. The fact t hat he adopt ed
a pen-name in or der t o be able t o cont inue
wr it ing in his own vein, and did not
deviat e fr om his own pat h, shows his
deep sense of commit ment t o t he cause
of his count r y.
Soon enough, Pr emchand t ur ned t o
legend and hist or y in sear ch of suit able
plot s for his st or ies. The impulse was
t he same, only he was seeking a mor e
concr et e habit at ion for his ideas. And
Rajput hist or y came in most handy for
t his pur pose. Her e wer e gr and exploit s
in t he cause of t he mot her land per for med
by her oes and her oines of Rajput hist or y.
Seized by pat r iot ic fer vor he sought
illust r at ions for t he glor ificat ion of Indias
past , t he valour of it s people who wer e
shown t o be capable of offer ing supr eme
sacr ifice, it s cult ur al values, it s self-
sacr ificing women and t he like. One of
t he pet t hemes in t hose days was t he
pr esent at ion of t he cont r ast bet ween
west er n cult ur e which was said t o be
acquisit ive and t he mat er ialist ic and
Indian cult ur e which was r egar ded as
alt r uist ic and spir it ual and t he Indian
woman was pr esent ed as embodiment
of t his alt r uist ic cult ur e. Rani Sar andha
was fir st such st or y, in which t he Rani
offer s supr eme sacr ifice in t he cause
of fr eedom. The plot of t he st or y is
elabor at e and not alt oget her unified, but
it is char ged wit h int ense feeling and
synchr onizes wit h t he emot ional t emper
of t he t imes.
Soon enough, however , Pr emchand
found his r eal domain which was t o r emain
for t he r est of his life, t he r ichest
inspir at ion of his wor k, viz. t he life of
t he village. Inst ead of weaving st or ies
r ound imaginar y sit uat ions, and r oving
i n t h e n ebulous wor ld of r oman ce,
Pr emchand t ur ned t owar ds t he act ualit ies
of life ar ound him. In t he pr evailing
at mospher e of t hose days while on t he
one hand t her e was glor ificat ion of t he
past , on t he ot her , t he ur ge for nat ional
emancipat ion t ur ned t he at t ent ion of t he
wr it er t owar ds t he degr adat ion in social
life which must be r emoved in or der
t hat India might pr ogr ess. Social evils
like t he cast e snobber y, degr aded posit ion
of women, t he plight of widows, illit er acy,
t he quest ion of child-br ides and dowr y,
r el i gi ou s fa n a t i ci s m a n d n a r r ow-
mi n dedn es s et c. dr ew h i s a t t en t i on
incr easingly and became an int egr al par t
of his nat ional per spect ive. Her e he found
t he oper at ion of a cr uel social syst em,
side by side wit h pover t y and hunger
br ou gh t a bou t by a n u n j u s t , a l i en
gover nment . To cast igat e t hese evils of
societ y was a par t and par cel of t he
s t r u ggl e for n a t i on a l fr eed om a n d
emancipat ion. Her e he found a fascinat ing
galler y of char act er s fr om t he life of
t he common people and t he int er play
of diver se per sonalit iest he zamindar ,
t he money-lender , t he Br ahmin-pr iest ,
t he peasant , t he cit y-folk, t he cler k, t he
gover n men t offi cer , t h e s a d h u , t h e
t r ickst er et c. which wer e t o pr ovide
en d l es s va r i et y a n d col ou r . An d i t
pr ovided him wit h a r ich r eser voir of
plot s for his st or ies.
Ther e was t hus a clear evolut ion
t owar ds r ealism in his wr it ing. A new
phase began in his cr eat ive wor k which
cover s, r oughly, t he decade bet ween
1920 and 1930, and which can be called
t he middle per iod of his wr it ing. Dur ing
t his phase he became ver y close t o t he
n a t i on a l s t r u ggl e l ed by Ga n d h i j i ,
Pr emchand himself has ment ioned t hat
on 8t h Febr uar y 1921, Gandhiji visit ed
Gor a kh p u r wh er e, a t t h a t t i me,
Pr emchand was wor king as a schoolmast er
in t he Gor akhpur Gover nment Nor mal
School. So deep was t he effect of t his
visit on Pr emchand t hat wit hin a week,
on 16t h Febr uar y Pr emchand r esigned
fr om ser vice in which he had wor ked
for about t went y year s and decided t o
devot e his t ime t o nat ional wor k. For
a t ime he set up a shop for t he sale
of spinning wheels which was an impor t ant
par t of t he con st r uct ive pr ogr amme
init iat ed by Gandhiji.
It was t her efor e t he ver y nat ur e of
t he cause which Pr emchand espoused
which compelled him t o go closer t o
life and t o social r ealit y. Many of his
st or ies deal wit h t he immediat e issues
of t he nat ional st r uggle for fr eedom.
Ther e ar e st or ies r elat ing t o t he picket ing
of liquor shops (Dussahas) et c. t o t he
r eh a bi l i t a t i on of I n d i a n s wh o h a d
r emained fait hful t o t he Br it ish (Lal Fit a,
Vichit r a Holi et c.) a dozen st or ies on
t he boycot t of Br it ish clot h, numer ous
st or ies r elat ing t o t he much-needed social
r efor ms. Dur ing t his middle per iod, he
wr ot e about 150 st or ies, and mor e t han
half of t hem dealt wit h t he pr oblems
of woment yr anny of husbands, child-
br ides, dowr y et c. (Uddhar , Nair ashya,
Bet on wali Vidhawa, Dhikkar , et c.). Ther e
ar e st or ies r elat ing t o t he quest ion of
unt ouchabilit y (Thakur ka kuan et c.)
as also t hose r elat in g t o commun al
har monyMandir aur Masjid, Gupt a
Dhan, Baur an, Kshama et c. The social
r efor ms wer e r egar ded as a par t of t he
st r uggle for nat ional independence.
These st or ies dealing wit h almost
ever y aspect of social and nat ional life
const it ut e a social document . I n t he
wor ds of Rober t OSwan:
Sent ence by sent ence and st ory by
story Premchand created a fictional
I ndian Nat ionalist movement so
comprehensive that the reader finally
feels he has seen almost as much happen
in almost as many situations to almost
as many individuals as happened in
all of Uttar Pradesh from 1920 to 1932.
I t i s s a i d t h a t Pr emch a n d wa s
pr opagat ing in fict ion what Gandhiji was
doing in polit ics. This is t r ue only t o
t he ext ent t hat he was deeply impr essed
by Ga n d h i j i s t ea ch i n gs a n d h i s
p r ogr a mme of a ct i on . At t i mes h e
deviat ed fr om Gandhijis line, as for
inst ance when, in lat er year s he lost
fai t h i n t h e effi cacy of n on - vi olen t
sat yagr aha and almost advocat ed dir ect
con fr on t a t i on wi t h t h e Br i t i s h
Gover n men t . Bu t s t i l l t h e a r ea of
agr eement was lar ge. Deep down however
it was mor e a mat t er of Pr emchands
own vision. He had, hear t and soul,
ident ified himself wit h t he nat ional cause
and r egar ded his pen as an inst r ument
in t he ser vice of t hat cause.
I have only one ambit ion and t hat
is t hat my count r y should become fr ee.
Befor e I die, I would like t o wr it e some
good books but t heir aim t oo should
be t he I ndependence of t he count r y.
(Let t er t o Banar sidas Chat ur vedi)
This is t he bedr ock on which his
ent ir e lit er ar y out put st ands. His concer n
i s s oci a l j u s t i ce a n d n a t i on a l
independence and his wor ks confor m
t o t hat mot ive.
Amon g t h e s oci a l pr obl ems , t h e
p r obl ems of commu n a l h a r mon y,
unt ouchabilit y and t he posit ion of women,
occupied his at t ent ion most .
In t he wor ds, again, of Rober t OSwan:
Pr emchand, dur ing t his per iod and t o
t he end of his life, fought t he bat t le
of communal unit y wit h t he ar gument
t hat wit hout it t her e could be no nat ional
unit y, and wit hout nat ional unit y t her e
could be no independence. Thr ough t he
year s he r emained consist ent .
Pr emchand himself, expr essing his
int ense indignat ion at communal hat r ed,
said in an ar t icle published in t he Zamana
of Kanpur :
...To-day wher e is t he Hindu who
is giving his hear t and soul for Hindu-
Muslim unit y, who r ealizes it as t he most
vit al pr oblem of Hindust an, who knows
t hat unit y is t he fundament al st ipulat ion
of I ndependence.
(Vividha Pr asanga I I , p.352)
Ther e had been a wave of communal
r iot s in India dur ing 1922-1927, lar gely
engineer ed by t he Br it ish Gover nment ,
of wh i ch Pr emch a n d h a s l eft vi vi d
descr ipt ion s in man y of h is st or ies
(Mandir aur Masjidet c.)
Li kewi s e h e ca s t i ga t ed r el i gi ou s
fanat icism and hypocr isy. While dealing
wi t h h yp ocr i s y a n d s el fi s h n es s ,
Pr emchand is shar p and r ut hless. In Dudh
ka Dam (Pr ice of Milk) he exposes t he
h ear t lessn ess of a Zami n dar i n h i s
t r eat ment of his sweeper s. Similar ly in
Ser vant of t he People, an acclaimed
leader pr oclaims equalit y for all, but
when his own daught er want s t o mar r y
a man of low cast e t his Ser vant of t he
people looks at her wit h eyes of doom
and t ur ns away. But when Pr emchand
is dealing wit h t he suffer ings of t he down-
t r od d en , h e h a s a l l s ymp a t h y a n d
compassion. His compassion however is
not t he pit y t hat a well-placed per son
best ows on a poor man. Since Pr emchand
had seen suffer ing himself, his compassion
is full of fellow-feeling, at once st er n
a n d wh ol es ome. Not on l y t h a t , h e
pr esent s t hem as people whom a life
of suffer ing, has impar t ed under st anding
and wisdom, a wisdom of love and
sacr ifice, of devot ion and ser vice.
Somewhat similar is his appr oach in
r espect of Indian Women. Their life of
suffer ing under t he sever e r est r ict ions
imposed by societ y, t oget her wit h t heir
selfless ser vice, love and affect ion have
en d owed t h em wi t h l oft y, s p i r i t u a l
qualit ies, which make t hem dist inct ly
super ior t o men. In many of his st or ies
d ea l i n g wi t h women , t h e women
char act er s face t he difficult sit uat ions
in which t hey have been placed wit h
equanimit y in t he spir it of self-denial
a n d p a t i en t s er vi ce, a n d i n va r i a bl y
sur mount t hem. While dr awing a cont r ast
bet ween t hose women who copy west er n
ways and t hose who have imbibed Indian
cu l t u r a l va l u es , a p et t h eme wi t h
Pr emchand,t he aut hor invar iably shows
his pr efer ence for t he lat t er and pr esent
t h em a s gen t l e, a n d s el f- d en yi n g.
Never t heless t hese gent le women ar e not
shown as weak. Pr emchands women
char act er s ar e invar iably fear less, wit h
a keen sense of mor al values and social
just ice. In st or ies dealing wit h t he t heme
of social just ice, it is invar iably t he voice
of t he woman which r ises in pr ot est
against t yr anny.
Thus in t his second phase, t he st or y
t eller of t he Independence movement ,
wor ks on a ver y lar ge canvas. Ther e
is har dly a facet of life which does not
come in his pur view. It is a big wor ld
of wh i ch h e wr i t es , t eemi n g wi t h
char act er s and all kinds of sit uat ions
and incident s, comic, t r agic, ir onical,
gr ot esque, but r ich and var ied, aut hent ic
and convincing. I t seems as t hough
not hing escapes his at t ent ion, be it a
t iny lit t le ir onical incident or a major
calamit y. His under st anding of human
p s ych ol ogy, p a r t i cu l a r l y of p ea s a n t
psychology becomes deeper and sur er .
His ever pr esent humour , which always
enlivens t he nar r at ive, plays not only
on our emot ions but also t aps at our
minds, our t hinking facult ies. The saga
of Mot e Ram Sast r i, for inst ance, pr ovides
fun and social comment t oget her . St or ies
ar e wr it t en wit h candour and sincer it y.
He was now dr awing ent ir ely fr om
life. He saw in t he incident s and char act er s
t he r eflect ion of his cher ished beliefs,
and he dr amat ised t hem. He did not
now have t o weave imaginar y plot s t o
illust r at e his beliefs. This was a big change.
The or der had r ever sed. Ear lier , for t he
expr ession of his st r ongly felt emot ions
and ideas he had r ecour se t o cont r ived
plot s and concoct ed sit uat ions or t o
legend and hist or y. Now life it self was
pr oviding t he necessar y sit uat ions in r ich
abundance. He would now see t he seed
of a st or y in some incident or some
per sonal exper ience and be st ipulat ed
t o give it a st or ys dr amat ic r ender ing.
My st or ies ar e oft en based on some
exper ience or somet hing t hat t ouches
my fancy. I t r y t o give it a dr amat ic
or ient at ion. But I never wr it e st or ies
mer ely t o descr ibe incident s. I want
t o r eveal, t hr ough a st or y some
philosophical or emot ional t r ut h. As
long as such a base does not exist ,
I do not pick up my pen.
In anot her let t er , addr essed t o Vinoda
Shankar Vyas, he wr ot e: What I want
is t hat t he subst ance of st or ies should
be t aken fr om life and t hat t hey should
seek t o solve lifes pr oblems...
Happily enough, he had t aken t o
wr it ing in a language which was lively,
r ich wit h idiom and t ur n of phr ase and
close t o t he spoken language of t he people.
In his ear ly year s when Pr emchand had
been a vor acious r eader he had fed himself
on books like Fasana-i-Azad by Rat an
Nat h Sar shar , Chandr akant a Sant at i and
so on. Under t he influence of t his r eading
he had adopt ed a st yle, which t hough
s omewh a t cl os e t o r h et or i c a n d
jour nalist ic flair , yet was ver y colour ful
and idiomat ic, highly suit able for t he
expr ession of deeply felt emot ions. Thus,
fr om t he ver y beginning Pr emchand was
gift ed wit h a vit alit y of nar r at ion, which
car r ied t he r eader along even wher e t he
plot and char act er or even t he subst ance
of t he st or y wer e not st r ong enough
t o st and on t heir own. In r espect of
language, he r emar ked once t hat t hose
who love t he people will also love t he
language of t he people. He believed t hat
l i t er a t u r e ca n be h el p fu l i n s oci a l
t r ansfor mat ion only when it does not
s u ffer fr om t h e p r obl em of
communicabilit y, and t he wr it er , t hr ough
t he medium of his language can put
acr oss his ideas t o t he maximum number
of people. In one of his let t er s wr it t en
t o Ramachandr a Tandon, Pr emchand
wr ot e:
I believe t hat lit er ar y expr ession
should go as close as possible t o t he
spoken language of t he people. At least
dr ama, shor t st or y and novel can be
wr it t en in t he or dinar y spoken language.
We can include wit h t hem biogr aphy
and t r avelogue also...
And fur t her quot es a cer t ain scholar
Gar co da Tassi, who had said, It is
as fut ile t o dr ag Hindi back t o it s old
basis, as it is t o for ce t he cur r ent of
a r iver back t o it s sour ce.
Pr emch a n d con t i n u ed t o d r a w,
t her efor e, on t he inexhaust ible fund of
humble met aphor s of spoken speech,
wh i ch ma d e h i s wr i t i n g a t on ce
meaningful, colour ful and also a sour ce
of int ense delight . And wit h it went his
humour , ext r emely buoyant and playful,
as of one who loves humanit y and is
bot h a spect at or and a par t icipant in
lifes dr ama.
The st or ies of t his per iod ar e st ill
lar gely wr it t en in nar r at ive st yle. Ther e
is plent y of ser monizing and edit or ial
comment in t hem, and t her e is also much
t hat can be said t o be r edundant . But
t his t endency decr eases gr adually and
t he best st or ies of lat e t went ies and
t hir t ies ar e fr ee fr om it .
Though Pr emchand r egar ded wr it ing
as an inst r ument for t he t r ansmission
of ideas, yet he was ext r emely conscious
of t he impor t ance of it s for m. He was
const ant ly lear ning fr om ot her s. Wr it ing
about Russian wr it er s he once wr ot e:
Chekhov is t he king of shor t st or ies.
Ther e is gr eat pat hos in Tur genevs
wr it ings. Gor ki is t he wr it er of wor ker s
and peasant s. But Tolst oy is above all,
like an emper or .
Wit h t he passage of t ime, despit e his
pr eoccupat ion wit h social pr oblems t he
t on e a n d t ech n i que of h i s wr i t i n gs
becomes simpler , mor e aust er e, and what
one cr it ic has called, mor e Chekhovian.
Th er e i s l es s of commen t , l es s of
melodr ama and mor al t hesis, and t he
r eader is br ought face t o face wit h st ar k
r ealit y. Wit h his mat ur ing as a wr it er ,
h i s n a r r a t i on becomes i n cr ea s i n gl y
dr amat ic, and object ive (at least on t he
sur face) and t he pr esent at ion of char act er
immeasur ably subt ler t han in t he ear ly
wor ks. In his r ange t oo he goes beyond
t he village and t akes cognizance of t he
wor ld at lar ge, wit h all it s flux and change.
The st or ies of t he last phase of his
wr it ing, ar e t her efor e simple and dir ect
an d r eflect t he t r agi- comedy of life
wi t h ou t a n y r h et or i ca l fr i l l s or
ser monizing. Alt hough such st or ies have
appear ed now and t hen in t he ear lier
phases t oo, but in t his last phase t hey
become a par t of his conscious st yle.
The r eader is st r uck by anot her fact or
t oo while r eading t he st or ies of t his lat er
per iod. Pr emchand cent r es some of his
st or ies r ound t he bar est necessit ies of
life, a glass of wat er , in t he case of
one, a couple of pot at oes in t he case
of anot her . And t he poor ar e denied
even t his. Pr emchands compassion and
pain, when confr ont ed wit h t his st ar k
r ealit y, st r ike a not e of deep anguish
and t r agedy.
In Thakur ka Kuan a man r et ur ns
home t hir st y and asks his wife for a
glass of wat er . The wat er she br ings
smells st ale; per haps some animal had
fallen int o t he well and been dr owned.
Ther e is only one well in t he village
and t hat belongs t o t he high-cast e Thakur ,
and t he couple belonging t o t he low
cast e cannot dr aw wat er fr om it . But
t he woman picks up cour age and goes
t o t he well under cover of dar kness.
The well is locat ed opposit e t he house
of t he Thakur . It is when guest s have
depar t ed fr om t he Thakur s house, and
t he door s ar e shut t hat t he woman slowly
cr eeps up t o t he well, and lower s t he
bucket int o it . All goes well t ill she pulls
up t he bucket , when suddenly t he door
of t he Thakur s house opens and t he
Thakur shout s in t he dar kness. Ter r or -
st r icken, t he woman t hr ows t he bucket
and r uns for her life.
Si mi l a r l y i n Ka fa n , Gh i s u a n d
Madhava, fat her and son, ar e sit t ing
out side t heir hut , pulling out r oast ed
pot at oes fr om t he lit t le fir e, in fr ont
t hem. Inside t he hut , t he sons wife is
in t he t r avails of child-bir t h. Neit her
of t hem goes in t o at t end on her . Each
is afr aid t hat t he ot her one would eat
up t he r emaining pot at oes. The woman
dies. Ther e ar e loud lament at ions and
br east -beat ing on t he par t of bot h t he
men and soon enough, bot h fat her and
son ar e on t heir way t o t he mar ket t o
beg for some money in or der t hat t hey
can give t he woman a bur ial. They succeed
in collect ing five r upees. As t hey ar e
r et ur ning home t he t empt at ion t o fill
t h ei r bel l i es wi t h food a n d d r i n k
over power s all ot her consider at ions and
t hey ent er a dr inking-shop fr om wher e
t hey r et ur n home dead dr unk, wit h all
t he money spent .
In Pus ki Rat (One Wint er Night ),
it is t he bit ing J anuar y wind at night ,
fr om which Halku, t he chowkidar of a
far mer s cr op, does not have anyt hing
t o pr ot ect himself. He is doing wat chmans
dut y on t he landlor ds field. He does
not have anyt hing t o cover his body.
Bot h he and his dog ar e shiver ing. He
clasps t he dog in or der t o get some
war mt h fr om t he dogs body, but it is
of no avail. It doesnt wor k. At last ,
t hinking a way out , Halku goes int o t he
neighbour ing field, gat her s a heap of
wit her ed leaves and gr ass and light s a
fir e. The fir e sends a glow and a war mt h,
unbelievably comfor t ing. And alt hough
it does not last long, it war ms his body
and br ings on dr owsiness. And Halku
goes t o sleep. While he is sleeping havoc
is wr ought in his mast er s field by t he
int r usion of st r ay pigs, and no amount
of shout ing on t he par t of his wife can
wake up Halku fr om his blissful slumber .
Hunger and cold, in t heir element al
fer ocit y, t ur n upon human beings and
seek t o dest r oy what ever humanit y is
left in t hem. The poor est of t he poor
ar e shown in t he ext r emit y of t heir
condit ion, beyond which t her e ar e only
t er r or s a wa i t i n g t h em. Th e s t a r k
simplicit y of t hese st or ies pr esent s t heir
condit ion in all nakedness. They r equir e
n o commen t , n o s er mon i zi n g, n o
r het or ical embellishment s. They speak
for t hemselves. And t hey ar e t he pr oduct s
not so much of t he anger and r esent ment
t hat t he aut hor feels about t he human
sit uat ion, but of deep anguish.
Thus Pr emchand t r avels a long way
fr om h i s ea r l y s t or i es of r oma n t i c
evocat ions and concoct ed plot s t o t he
lit t le mast er -pieces exquisit e in t heir
ar t ist ic excellence, shor n of all comment
and embellishment and char ged wit h deep
emot ion and meaning. His ideals and
aspir at ions st ill r emain t he same, his
hear t st ill as full of compassion for
suffer ing humanit y and r esent ful of all
kinds of injust ice, but his ar t has gained
a mat ur it y and an excellence unsur passed
by anyone eit her dur ing his life t ime
or since his deat h. His whole car eer
r efl ect s con s t a n t gr owt h a n d
development , bot h as an ar t ist and as
t hinker , and r eveals a mind, r espect ive
t o influences, as also full of zest and
eager cur iousit y. Ther e was a t ime when
he believed in t he change of hear t of
t he oppr essor . Lat er , he fell under t he
spell of Gandhian philosophy and st r essed
t he need for non-violent Sat yagr aha and
subscr i bed t o Gan dh i j i s t r ust eesh i p
t heor y. It was said t hat Pr emchand was
pr opagat ing in fict ion what Gandhi was
doing in polit ics. St ill lat er , sensing t he
limit at ions of t his philosophy Pr emchand
vouched for dir ect confr ont at ion wit h
t he oppr essor wit h t he aim of est ablishing
a just societ y, fr ee fr om exploit at ion.
He was an admir er of Oct ober Revolut ion
in Russia, about which he had said, The
foundat ion of a new wor ld is being laid
t her e, t he wor ld of communism, t he wor ld
of br ot her hood, of comr adeship in which
nobody will fat t en at t he cost of t he
poor ...t he air is r esonant wit h song of
fr eedom! The sun of fr eedom is shining
which gives bot h light and war mt h. The
days of oppr ession ar e over !; and again
in a let t er addr essed t o Daya Nar ain
Nigam, I have almost come t o believe
in socialist pr inciples. Thus, t hough his
ba s i c commi t men t t o t h e ca u s e of
Independence r emained t he same, he
was never r igid in his views as t o how
best t hat object ive can be at t ained.
As in spher e of t hought , so also in
t he spher e of his st yle, and in his mode
of t r eat ment of his subject mat t er , he
was always lear ning, always adopt ing and
exper iment ing.
He was a commit t ed wr it er . He did
not believe in t he dict um of ar t for
ar t s sake.
He said in one of his pr esident ial
addr esses:
I would not hesit at e t o say t hat I
weigh ar t also, like ot her t hings on t he
scales of ut ilit y. We shall have t o change
our cr it er ion of beaut y. Ar t was, and
st ill is, t he name of nar r ow for m-wor ship.
I n a n ot h er p r es i d en t i a l a d d r es s
deliver ed on t he occasion of t he 1st
Nat ional Confer ence of t he Pr ogr essive
Wr it er s Associat ion in 1936 elabor at ing
t his ver y point fur t her he says:
The lit er at ur e which does not r ouse
ou r good t a s t e, wh i ch does n ot
pr ovi de u s s pi r i t u a l a n d men t a l
sat isfact ion, does not pr oduce in us
act ivit y and st r engt h, which does not
awaken our love of t he beaut iful,
which does not kindle in us t he fir e
of r esolut ion and t he det er minat ion
t o sur mount our difficult iesis useless
t oday; it does not deser ve t o be called
lit er at ur e.
And in one of his let t er s addr essed
t o Vinoda Shankar Vyas, he wr ot e:
In my view...lit er at ur e has t hr ee aims
vi z. ca t h a r s i s , en t er t a i n men t a n d
r evel a t i on bu t en t er t a i n men t a n d
r evelat ion also ar e cover ed by cat har sis.
The ent er t ainment pr ovided by t he wr it er
is not like t he ent er t ainment pr ovided
by an acr obat or a mimic. Cat har sis
lies hidden in it . Revelat ion t oo t akes
place wit h t he aim of cat har sis. We do
not show t he inner ment al st at es, not
beca u s e we h a ve t o p r es en t a
philosophical t r eat ise but because we
want t o show t he beaut iful as mor e
beaut iful and t he ugly as mor e ugly.
Numer ous weakn esses h ave been
p oi n t ed ou t by s ome cr i t i cs i n
Pr emchands wr it ing, par t icular ly his
wr it ing of t he ear ly and middle per iods.
The st or ies, it is said, ar e mor e of a
s oci a l d ocu men t mer el y r ea l i s t i c
document at ion of event s wit h Gandhian
r ecommen dat i on s for t h ei r solut i on .
Fur t her , t hat t he wr it er does not t ake
us int o t he inner wor ld of his char act er s.
A good char act er is not so much
per sonally good as he is socially good.
An evil char act er is all evil and t her e
is no indicat ion why. All st r ong human
ur ges ar e sublimat ed t o t he pr esent at ion
of Pr emchands ideals for societ y. Love
cont ains no sex. It is Gandhis conquest
and sublimat ion of t he sex passion, and
sex is fict ionally ignor ed. In place of
di alogue of r eal lover s t h er e i s an
exposit ion of ideal love...all his char act er s
seem t o exist pr imar ily t o show love
of count r y or communal unit y of polit ical
independence or a social r efor m... et c.
et c.
ROBERT OSWAN
The cr it icism is on ly par t ly an d
super ficially t r ue. It is t r ue t hat a st or y
must speak for it self t hat t hough ar t
always communicat es ideas and adds t o
t he r eader s awar eness, it must not appear
t o have been wr it t en wit h t he aim of
put t ing acr oss ideas. But when you ar e
dealing wit h societ y as an ent it y and
individuals appear not only in t heir
i n d i vi d u a l r ol es bu t a l s o a s
r epr esent at ives of social gr oups, it is
pr ecisely t heir social r ole which will have
pr e-eminence. The aim is not t o show
individuals as an independent ent it y,
exclusive of societ y, but as t hose who
ar e an int egr al par t of societ y, and ar e
affect ed by what happens in societ y.
When you ar e dealing wit h a common
social pr oblem, you cannot but show
individuals in t heir social r ole. The dowr y
syst em affect s t he Hindu woman in a
par t icular way. Ther e is lot of scope
for t he individualizat ion of char act er but
t he wr it er has t o confor m t o t he br oader
fr amewor k of t ypes in societ y, because
his social r ole has gr eat er r elevance her e.
An individual t her efor e cannot be viewed
as a separ at e, independent ent it y. Hence
a cr i t er i on i s bei n g a p p l i ed t o
Pr emch a n d s s t or i es wh i ch i s n ot
war r ant ed by t he ver y nat ur e of his
wr it ing. Wher e t he act ions of an individual
only affect him and his dest iny, going
deep int o t he inner wor ld of t he char act er
is all-impor t ant . But wher e his dest iny
is made by t he social for ces oper at ing
out side him, and he can be effect ive
only t o a limit ed ext ent in det er mining
his dest iny, and wher e again, t he wr it er s
aim is t o highlight t he dominant r ole
of t hose social for ces, t he wr it er can
go int o t he inner wor ld of char act er
only t o t he ext ent t hat is r equir ed for
his subject mat t er .
Be it as it may, what Pr emchand
gave t o our lit er at ur e is somet hing unique.
Despit e all t he blemishes t hat t he cr it ics
may find in his wr it ing, Pr emchand is
st ill t he most loved and most widely
r ead wr it er in Hindi. He cont inues t o
st imulat e and inspir e a vast body of
r eader s, and t hat in it self is a good
enough t est imony for t hose r emar kable
feat ur es of his wr it ing which far out weigh
t he blemishes t hat ar e point ed out .
Pr emchand wr ot e wit h a hear t t hat
was full. Wit h his deep love for humanit y
and fait h in life, he impar t ed a r adiance
t o his wr it ing which is highly sat isfying.
He always wr ot e wit h an int ensit y of
feeling, and whet her it expr essed it self
t hr ough angr y pr ot est , sat ir e, ir ony as
in his ear lier st or ies, or t hr ough deep
anguish and sadness, as in his lat er st or ies,
t he sour ce was always t he same, deep
comp a s s i on a n d l ove for s u ffer i n g
h u ma n i t y a n d a s en s e of t ot a l
ident ificat ion wit h it . That t oo gave him
a r ange and a br eadt h of out look not
easy t o find elsewher e. His st or ies ar e
lit er ally t eeming wit h char act er s fr om
all walks of life, r ich, colour ful and var ied,
at once aut hent ic and t r ue t o life. Wit h
t hat per pet ual glin t of humour an d
compassi on i n h i s eyes, Pr emch an d
sur veyed lifes dr ama and por t r ayed all
t hat he saw, somet imes under lining it
with his comments, at others, leaving it
t o speak for it self. Ther e is a r ing of
sincer it y and candour in all t hat he wr ot e,
which comes of t he deep involvement
of any aut hor wit h t he life and dest iny
of his people. His act ive int er est in t he
day-t o-day development of t he st r uggle
against an alien gover nment , gave t o
h i s wr i t i n g a con t emp or a r i et y a n d
t opicalit y, so t hat a vivid, gr aphic and
expansive pict ur e of his t imes emer ges
fr om his wr it ings. And we love him for
t hat all-per vasive human war mt h t hat
emanat es fr om ever y st or y t hat he wr ot e.
Pr emchand is all of a piece. The man
and t he ar t ist ar e one; t he pr ivat e and
t he public ar e inext r icably fused in his
per sonalit y and in his wr it ing.
Per h a p s wh a t ga ve h i m u t mos t
s t r en gt h a n d r el ea s ed h i s cr ea t i ve
ener gies t o t he ut most was his int ense
involvement wit h quest ions of social
just ice and mor alit y. As it happened in
t he case of Tolst oy, so it did wit h
Pr emchand also. His pr eoccupat ion wit h
t h es e qu es t i on s of s oci a l mor a l i t y,
br ought him closer and st ill closer t o
lifes r ealit y, impar t ed all t he t ension
t o his wr it ing, t ension and dr ama and
an all-per vading ser iousness and dignit y.
The incident s and char act er s may be
illust r at ive of t he mor al values in which
t he aut hor believed, and her e and t her e,
t hey may appear t o have been br ought
for war d t o pr ove a point , never t heless,
t hey ar e aut hent ic and t r ue t o life. And
as t ime passed, st anding on t he bedr ock
of r ealit y, Pr emchand was able t o shed
off many of his ear lier idealist ic t r appings,
and he was able t o go deeper int o t he
psyche of his char act er s, par t icular ly
peasant char act er s. The st or ies of his
mat ur er year s ar e simple and dir ect , his
nar r at ion becomes incr easingly mor e
dramatic, and the presentation of character
immeasur ably subt ler t han befor e.
Anot her fact which makes his st or ies
r ead t oday wit h avid int er est is t heir
r el eva n ce t o ou r t i mes . Th e s oci a l
pr oblems which he highlight edpover t y
and hunger , illit er acy, t he low posit ion
of women, t he plight of t he widows, t he
ca s t e s n obber y, r u r a l i n d ebt ed n es s ,
unt ouchabilit y and communal bigot r y,
all kinds of social inequalit ies and so
oncont inue t o bedevil our social and
polit ical life even t oday. Only we do
not have t he pen t hat would deal wit h
t hem in t hat for ceful and dist inguished
manner in which Pr emchand did.
Comment ing on pr esent day wr it ings
in compar ison wit h Pr emchands wor k,
David Rubin wrote The present day writing
t en ds mor e t owar ds a psychological
lit er at ur e, mor e r efined (and alas, mor e
ch i c) i n n ua n ce a n d la n gua ge, a n d
consequent ly less vigor ous... language
cleansed of Pr emchands inexhaust ible
fund of humble met aphor s and pr over bs,
similar ly t he subject mat t er t ends t o
be t he r est r ict ed wor ld of psyche of
t he wr it er himself, t ur ned inwar d, away
fr om t he epic hor izons of Pr emchands
mult ifar ious wor ld. Pr emchand makes
many of t he pr esent gener at ion of wr it er s
look ver y small.
From The World of Premchand
Bh i s h ma Sa h n i ( 19 15- 2 0 0 3) wa s a p r omi n en t p r ogr es s i ve n ovel i s t a n d
s h or t s t or y wr i t er i n Hi n d i . Some of h i s fa mou s b ooks a r e Ta ma s .
Ma yya d a s ki ma d h i , Ba s a n t i . Hi s s h or t s t or i es l i ke ch i ef ki d a va t a n d
Amr i t s a r a a ga ya h a i a r e con s i d er ed h i s ma s t er p i eces . He wa s p r ofes s or
of En gl i s h a t Za ki r Hu s s a i n Col l ege, Del h i . He r ecei ved ma n y l i t er a r y
h on ou r s e. g. Sovi et La n d Neh r u a wa r d , Sa h i t ya Aka d emi Sa mma n .
He l i ved i n Del h i .
THE SUB-ALTERN I N I NDI AN
LI TERATURE: SOME REFLECTI ONS
ON PREMCH AND AND H I S GODAN
P.C. J oshi
The t r aumat ic social upheavals accompanying t he br eak-up of t he
pr e-indust r ial societ y and t he emer gence of t he indust r ial societ y
st imulat ed cr eat ivit y as much in t he field of hist or y and social
science as in t he field of lit er at ur e. The wr it ings, t o t ake only
a few names, of Car lyle, Mar x Weber , Mar ch Bloc, E.H. Car r or
Er ic Hobsbawnm illuminat e t he object ive side of t his Gr eat Social
Tr ansfor mat ion wit h t heir keen analyt ical power s. But t he subject ive
side of t his gr eat Human Dr amat he human t or ment s and t r agedies
ar ising fr om t he pr ot r act ed bir t h pangs of t he moder n societ y
ar e capt ur ed wit h ext r aor dinar y sensit iveness and insight in t he
immor t al Eur opean classics of, say, Balzac, Dickens, Tolst oy and
Maxim Gor ky.
It must be r emember ed t hat in West er n Eur ope t he t r ansit ion
t o t he moder n societ y necessit at ed as it s pr incipal condit ion t he
annihilat ion of t he small peasant (Kar l Mar x), t he for midable bulwar k
of t he t r adit ional societ y. In Asia t his t r ansit ion t o moder n societ y
was t hwar t ed. What was subst it ut ed for genuine moder nizat ion,
t he pr incipal vict im of which was t he Indian Peasant . In bot h
West Eur ope and Asia t he peasant was t ur ned int o a hist or ical
figur e capt ur ing t he at t ent ion of social and economic t hinker s as
well as cr eat ive wr it er s. But t her e exist ed a qualit at ive differ ence
in t he appr oach t o t he peasant in t he Asian cont ext as cont r ast ed
wit h West -Eur opean cont ext .
An impor t ant dist inct ion bet ween Eur opean and Asian social
D
i
s
c
o
u
r
s
e
t hinker s and cr eat ive wr it er s on t he Gr eat
Tr an sfor mat ion lies in t heir shar ply
cont r ast ing appr oach t o t he sub-alt er n
t o t he peasant as r epr esent ing a hist or ical
for m of social exist ence and a mode
of p r od u ct i on . Wh i l e t h e Eu r op ea n
t hinker s and wr it er s focus on t he peasant
as r epr esent ing a hist or ically out moded
for m of social exist ence of pr oduct ion,
t he Asian t hinker s and wr it er s appr oach
t h e p ea s a n t a s r ep r es en t i n g a
civilizat ional for m which has t he seed
of qualit at ive t r ansfor mat ion int o an
alt er n at i ve soci al exi st en ce for m t o
capit alism. The t ypical r epr esent at ive of
t he Eur opean wor ld-view on t he peasant
is Kar l Mar x who in his well-known
obser vat ions in t he Eight eent h Br umair
of Louis Bonapar t s t r eat ed t he small
holding peasant as a vast mass and
t he Fr ench nat ion composing t his mass
being for med by simple addit ion of
homologous magnit udes, such as pot at oes
in a sack for m a sack of pot at oes. In
a similar way in his Ar t icles on India
Ma r x r ega r d ed t h e i d yl l i c p ea s a n t
commu n i t i es a s r ep r es en t i n g a n
undignified, st agnat or y and veget at ive
life and fr om t his per spect ive saw Br it ish
r ule as an unconscious t ool of hist or y
in so far it was an inst r ument of dissolut ion
of t hese communit ies and a pr omot er
of a fundament al r evolut ion in t he social
st at e of Asia.
In t his backgr ound it is per haps not
wr ong t o gener alize t hat in t he West er n
Set t ing we find lit er at ur e of t he per iod
of indust r ializat ion, wit h few opt ions,
focused mor e and mor e on t he t own
and t he cit y and it s condit ions and
cont r adict ions t han on t he count r yside
and it s bulwar k, t he small peasant which
was t ur ning int o a hist or ical r esidue or
anachr onism.
In shar p cont r ast , in t he disciplines
of hist or y, social science, lit er at ur e and
polit ics in colonial India t her e was an
out bur st of new cr eat ivit y t hr ough t he
discover y of t he village and t he peasant .
Not as t he hist or ical r esidues of an old
civilizat ion but , as t he embr yo of a new
civilisat ional for m having t he pot ent ialit y
of being an alt er nat ive t o capit alism.
If Gandhi was t he aut hor of t his wor ld-
view in polit ics an d if Radhakamal
Mukher ji, as t he expon en t of Asian
Communalism, (in Commular ianism) saw
in t he peasant and t he ar t isan an agent
of a new civilisat ional r egener at ion, Pr em
Chands genius flower ed t hr ough t he
discover y of t he peasant as t he her oic,
t hough t r agic figur e, of t he new novel
dealing wit h Indian social dr ama having
epic dimensions. All t he t hr ee Gandhi,
Mukher ji and Pr em Chandwer e t hus
t he t r ue for er unner s of t he moder n idea
of t he aut onomy of sub-alt er n in polit ics,
social science and novel as a new cr eat ive
for m.
Pr em Chands gr eat ness lies in t he
fact t hat he t r anscends t he const r aint s
of vision and concept ion char act er izing
Balzac, t he aut hor of The Peasant s and
Tolst oy about whom Lenin wr ot e as
follows:-
Tolst oy had a sur passing knowledge
of r ur al Russia, t he mode of life of t he
landlor ds and t he peasant s. In his ar t ist ic
pr oduct ions he gave descr ipt ions of t his
life t hat ar e number ed among t he best
pr oduct ions of wor ld lit er at ur eTolst oy
belonged t o t he highest landed nobilit y
in Russia but he br oke wit h all t he
cust omar y views of his envir onment and
in his lat er wor ks at t acked wit h fier ce
cr it icism all t he cont empor ar y St at e,
Chur ch, social and r eligious inst it ut ions
which wer e based on t he enslavement
of t he masses, on t heir pover t y, on t he
r uin of t he peasant s, and t he pet t y
pr opr iet or s in gener al, on t he coer cion
a n d h ypocr i s y wh i ch per mea t ed a l l
cont empor ar y life fr om t op t o bot t om.
Tolst oy said not hing new but he expr essed
wit h a power possessed only by t he
ar t ist es of genius, t he r adical change
in t he views of t he br oadest masses of
t he people in t he Russia of t his per iod,
namely r ur al peasant Russia. (V.I. Lenin)
In t he cont ext of t his ver y per cept ive
analysis by Lenin of Tolst oy as t he gr eat
ar t ist depict ing r ur al peasant Russia, one
can under st and why Tolst oy and his wor k
had such pr ofound influence on Pr em
Chand, t he pioneer novelist of r ur al
peasant I ndia.
In t his paper we discuss Pr em Chand
wh os e wor k h a s t h e s a me h i s t or i c
significance for India as t hat of Dickens
for England, Balzac for Fr ance and Tolst oy
and Maxim Gor ky for Russia. But being
t he pr oduct of a hist or ical er a which
looked beyond capit alism, Pr em Chand
sur passes all of t hem in his social vision
in so far as for him t he peasant is not
just t he vict im of t he hist or ical pr ocess;
he is also beginning t o emer ge as t he
agent of r ever sing hist or y in his favour .
The novels of Pr em Chand mir r or no
doubt t he har sh r ealit ies of r ur al peasant
I n d i a u n d er col on i a l a n d feu d a l
oppr ession. But t hey do much mor e.
Th ey ca p t u r e r ea l i s t i ca l l y wh a t
Radhakamal Muker jee char act er ized in
1933 as t he faint r umblings of peasant
class consciousness and in which he
ident ified t he seeds of challenge t o t he
colonial and feudal r egimes.
I n on e of h i s mos t mea n i n gfu l
gener alizat ions on t he colonial impact
on India, Kar l Mar x discer ned t he sour ce
of Indias t r agedy in t he fact t hat England
had br oken down t he ent ir e fr amewor k
of Indian societ y wit hout any sympt oms
of r econst it ut ion yet appear ing. In Kar l
Mar xs view t his loss of his old wor ld,
wit h no gain of a new, impar t s a par t icular
kind of melancholy t o t he pr esent miser y
of t he Hindus and separ at es Hindust an,
r uled by Br it ish, fr om all it s ancient
t r adit ions, and fr om t he whole of it s
past hist or y. In t he wor ks of Pr em Chand
is t o be found t he best por t r ayals of
t his par t icular kin d of melan choly
ar ising fr om t he loss of t he old wor ld
wit h no gain of a new one as exper ienced
by millions of living human beings in
flesh and blood at a point of Indias
hist or y. The t r agedy of t he Indian peasant
upr oot ed fr om t he age-old village syst em
i s ca p t u r ed by Pr em Ch a n d wi t h
poignancy, dept h and int ensit y of feeling
unequalled by any hist or ical wr it ing. The
colonial peasant emer ges as a dr amat ic
per sonae in Pr em Chands wr it ings on
account of his deep hist or ical insight
int o t he cir cumst ances of colonial India
on t he one hand and his except ional
gift s of lit er ar y imaginat ion on t he ot her .
These t wo qualit iessense of hist or y and
lit er ar y sensibilit ycombine t o cr eat e
t he immor t al but t r agic char act er of Hor i
in Pr em Chands Godan as t he living
per sonificat ion of t he colonial peasant .
Her e is an unfor get t able char act er which
combi n es i n h i s per s on t h e I n di a n
peasant s t enacious will for sur vival wit h
his sense of ut t er hopelessness wit hin
t he colonial economic or der .
In or der t o compr ehend t he dept h
of t he miser y of t he colonial peasant
it was necessar y for a wr it er like Pr em
Chand t o t r anscend t he class out look
and t he emot ions of semi-feudal landed
gent r y and t he colonial middle class.
Thus, in or der t o view it in all it s
complexit y fr om out side, it was necessar y
t o out gr ow t he ideologies which emer ged
eit her in defence of t he colonial and
t he semi feudal syst em or in r eact ion
t o it . Thus one had t o out gr ow t he out look
of unhist or ical Rur alism which idealised
I n d i a s ol d vi l l a ge commu n i t y. By
cont r ast ing t he Ram Rajya of t he past
wit h t he Sat anic r ule of Br it ish colonialism,
t his ideology called for a r et ur n t o Ram
Rajya. One had t hus t o t r anscend t he
out look of pat er nalist ic landlor dism
which glor ified t he good old landlor d
as an alt er nat ive t o t he r apacious now
landlor d gr owing st r onger under t he
impet us of t he money economy. One
had also t o out gr ow t he out look of
peasant ism which obscur ed t he fast -
gr owing t r end of pr olet ar ianisat ion of
t he peasant and t hus pr ovided sust enance
t o t he myt h of t he Renewable Peasant
Commu n i t y. I n ot h er wor d s , t h e
cat egor ies of village communit y, good
vs. bad landlor d, village vs. t he t own
and t he peasant vs. t he wor ker wer e
for midable ment al blocks hamper ing t he
full under st anding of t he colonial peasant
who was always on t he ver ge of t ot al
d ep ea s a n t i s a t i on or p a u p er i s a t i on
wit hout pr olet ar ianisat ion. The colonial
peasant would not , t her efor e, secur e,
his emancipat ion wit hout ident ifying not
t he bad landlor d but t he whole colonial
and semi-feudal syst em as t he sour ce
of his miser y; and he could not become
a social for ce capable of challenging t his
syst em wit hout out gr owing t he myt hs
of villagism, pat er nal landlor dism, and
nar r ow peasant ism and wit hout mer ging
wit h t he for ces of ant i-colonial and ant i-
feudal social, economic and polit ical
t r ansfor mat ion out side t he village.
Fr om Pr em Chands example one can
see why lit er ar y r epr esent at ion by t he
mast er s of t he cr aft goes beyond mer e
delineat ion of social r ealit y; it develops
int o a cr it ique of t his r ealit y. It is obvious
t hat wit hout a cr it ical at t it ude t o r ealit y,
Pr em Chand would have failed t o capt ur e
t he miser y of t he colonial peasant who
was exploit ed not only t hr ough economic
and polit ical means but also by means
of false consciousness. It is when Pr em
Chand t ur ns t owar ds a cr it ique of t his
false consciousness per pet uat ed by t he
upper cast es and classes pr ivileged wit hin
t he colonial and semi-feudal social or der
t hat his wr it ing r eaches a high level
of social per cept ion and of cr it ical social
consciousness as in Godan.
The endur ing significance of t he shor t -
st or ies and novels of Pr em Chand lies
not just in t he fact t hat t hey mir r or
t he social r ealit ies of a colonial and semi-
feudal I ndia. I t is t he r evolut ionar y
qu a l i t y wh i ch Pr em Ch a n d s n ovel s
acquir e in his mat ur e phase by impar t ing
a cr i t i ca l - r ea l i s t ed ge t o l i t er a r y
r epr esent at ion t hat gives him t he st at us
of a pioneer of fict ion as social cr it ique
and pr ot est in India. It is Pr em Chands
cr it ique of t he colonial and semi-feudal
social or der t hr ough t he medium of t he
novel which makes him an epoch-making
figur e not only in Indian lit er at ur e but
also in Indian cult ur al hist or y. No wonder
t hen t hat gener at ions of pat r iot ic and
r evolut ionar y fight er s against t he colonial
and semi-feudal r egime r eceived t heir
cr it ical or ient at ion int o t he Indian social
r ealit y t hr ough t he novels and shor t -
st or ies of Munshi Pr em Chand. Her e is
t hen t he novel developed int o an ar t -
for m which not only illumines social
r ealit y and awakens human sensibilit y
but also ar ouses t he conscious will t o
t r a n s for m s oci a l r ea l i t y. Su ch a
t r ansfor mat ion of t he novel involves a
cr eat ive t ension bet ween t he wr it er s
philosophical out look and his lit er ar y
sensibilit y.
In t he case of Pr em Chand we find
a fuller r elease of his power s of social
per cept ion associat ed wit h his ment al
br eak fr om t he out look of ear ly Gandhism
which colour ed his insight int o social
r ea l i t y i n h i s ea r l i er wr i t i n gs l i ke
Kar mabhoomi and Pr emashr am. These
novels t ypify t he compr omise effect ed
by Pr em Chand bet ween t he demands
of lit er ar y sensibilit y and t hose of ear ly
Gandhian out look on t he ot her . The
cent r al figur e in t hese novels is not t he
peasant but t he r efor med landlor d who
pr esides over a compassionat e societ y
wher e t he landlor d is t he t r ust ee of t he
peasant . In Godan, Pr em Chand pr esent s
t he fr uit of an enr iched and uninhabit ed
sensibilit y which has been r eleased fr om
const r ains of t he ear ly Gandhian out look.
The her o of Godan is t he pauper ized
peasant , Hor i whose t r agic end shat t er s
all dr eams and illusions of r efor ming
t h e s emi - feu d a l s ys t em. Th e t ot a l
hopelessness of Hor i shows t he limit s
of t he syst em and t he fut ilit y of all schemes
for r elief t o t he peasant t hr ough r efor m
of t he syst em.
We have so far t r ied t o for mulat e
t he t hesis t hat Pr em Chand not only
r eflect ed t he consciousness of his t imes;
he also moved t owar ds an out look of
r emoulding t his consciousness and giving
it a new dir ect ion. The int er pr et at ion
of Pr em Chands wor k as t he r eflect or
of t he et hos of his t imes finds suppor t
in his at t empt t o expr ess and affir m
t hr ough his wr it ings t he ant i-colonial
consciousness and aspir at ions of t he
Gandhi er a. Pr em Chand, however , goes
beyond t he limit s of t his er a insofar
a s t r a n s cen d s i n h i s wr i t i n gs t h e
const r aint s on per cept ion of social r ealit y
i mp os ed by t h e Ga n d h i a n s oci a l
philosophy. Having put int o t he cent r e
of Indian cr eat ive wr it ing t he t heme of
t he Indian village in r esponse t o t he
et hos of t he Gandhian er a, Pr em Chand
did not allow himself t o become a pr isoner
of backwar d-looking idealizat ion of t he
village and t he denigr at ion of t he t own.
Nor did Gandhis non-class concept s of
village communit y, of change of hear t
on t he par t of pr oper t ied classes and
of r efor med and good landlor ds as
t r u s t ees of t h e p ea s a n t s become
per manent ingr edient s of Pr em Chands
social out look.
Wit h t he r obust sense of r ealit ies
der ived fr om his r ur al backgr ound on
t he one hand and his penet r at ing lit er ar y
sensibilit y on t he ot her , Pr em Chand
per ceived ver y soon t he vast gulf bet ween
Ga n d h i s i d ea l i s t i c a n d u t op i a n
concept ions on t he one hand and t he
br ut al r ealit ies of Indias village societ y
on t he ot her .
Befor e we explain wher e Pr em Chands
view of special r ealit y ult imat ely depar t ed
fr om t he dominant concept s of t he Gandhi
er a, it is fir st necessar y t o r ecognise
t he cont r adict or y and complex char act er
of Gandhis wor ld view. It is also necessar y
t o r ecognise t he t r emendous advance
r epr esent ed by t he insight s of t he Gandhi
er ainsight s which wer e fully imbibed
and affir med by Pr em Chand in and
t hr ough his wr it ings. It must be not ed
t hat t he novels and shor t st or ies of
Munshi Pr em Chand achieved in t he
fi el d of I n di a n l i t er a t u r e t h e s a me
br ea kt h r ou gh a s Ma h a t a ma Ga n d h i
achieved in t he r ealm of Indian polit ics.
If Gandhi play ed an epoch-making role
in Indian hist ory t hrough his discovery
of t he village as an unt apped source
of social energy and polit ical power,
Mu n s hi Pr em Cha n d i n i t i a t ed a
renaissance in Indian lit erat ure t hrough
hi s di scov er y of t he v i llage as an
unt apped fount ainhead of new t hemes,
my t hs, and char act er -t y pes.
In t his cont ext , t he emer gence of
Munshi Pr em Chand on t he Indian scene
has t he same significance for t he hist or y
of Indian lit er at ur e as t he emer gence
of Mahat ma Gandhi t o t he for efr ont as
for t he hist or y pr ocesses which favour ed
t he r ise of a Gandhi on t he polit ical
ar ena also favour ed t he r ise of a Pr em
Chand on t he lit er ar y fir mament . The
need of Indian nat ionalism t o shift it s
base fr om t he t own t o t he village and
fr om t he t own-dwelling upper middle
classes t o t he village-dwelling peasant r y
finds polit ical expr ession in t he r ise of
a Ga n d h i wh i l e i t fou n d cu l t u r a l
expr ession in t he r ise of a Pr em Chand.
It is no wonder , t her efor e, t hat we find
not only t he same quest ions of t he colonial
village and t he colonial peasant occupying
Gandhi on t he polit ical and Pr em Chand
on t he lit er ar y plane. We also discer n
in t his phase t hat t he ideological t one
a n d ch a r a ct er of Pr em Ch a n d s
char act er izat ion and por t r ayal of t he
village is condit ioned t o a ver y lar ge
ext ent by Gandhis social philosophy in
gener al and his per spect ive on t he village
in par t icular . A br ief comment on t he
n at ur e of t h e i deologi cal i mpact of
Ga n d h i s m on Pr em Ch a n d i s ver y
appr opr iat e in t his backgr ound.
It should be not ed at t he ver y out set
t hat even in t he ear lier phases when
Pr em Chand was most r esponsive t o t he
Gan dhian per spect ive, Pr em Chan ds
lit er ar y sensibilit y as r eflect ed in his
per cept ions of social r ealit y oft en r ises
above and goes beyond t he ideological
limit s of Gandhism. Never t heless, it is
useful t o dist inguish bet ween t he Pr em
Chand of Kar ambhoomi and Pr emashr am
on t he one hand and t he Pr em Chand
of Godan on t he ot her . The ear lier novels
r eflect and t ypify t he compr omise effect ed
by Pr em Chand bet ween t he demands
of lit er ar y sensibilit y on t he one hand
and t he compulsions of adher ence t o
a Gandhian out look on t he ot her . In
his last and fully mat ur e novel, Godan,
Pr em Ch a n d s h ei gh t en ed l i t er a r y
sen sibilit y is able t o sh ake off t h e
const r aint s of t he Gandhian social out look
a n d t o ca p t u r e a l l t h e ma j or
cont r adict ions of t he village r ealit y. Pr em
Chands per cept ion in Godan encompasses
not mer ely t he ant i-colonial cont r adict ion
(t he village vs. t he t own conflict ) but
mor e fu n d a men t a l l y t h e a n t i - feu d a l
con t r a d i ct i on ( t h e p ea s a n t vs . t h e
landlor d-money-lender -t r ader conflict on
t he one hand and t he peasant vs. t he
pr iest , t he blood-sucking gover nment
officials, t he exact ing Bir adar i and t he
oppr essive and divisive cast hier ar chy
conflict on t he ot her . In Godan t he focus
is simult aneously on t he human agent s
of colonial and feudal oppr ession as well
as on t heir vict ims in t he vast count r y
side.
Befor e we el a bor a t e t h i s p oi n t
concer ning t he shift of focus in Pr em
Chands novels, it is necessar y t o make
a few obser vat ions on t he cont r adict ion
bet ween t h e u p p er cl a s s l i mi t s of
Gandhism on t he one hand and t he
oppr essed class or ient at ion of Gandhi
as a mobiliser of t he vast masses on
t he ot her . If in t he class limit s and
char act er of his ideology Gandhi comes
close t o Tolst oy, in his r ole as a r adical
mobiliser of t he masses for ant i-colonial
movemen t s, Gan dhi comes closer t o
Lenin. It is significant t hat t he Gandhian
per spect ive at on ce illumin at ed an d
obscur ed Indias colonial social r ealit y.
But t he social for ces r eleased by Gandhi
wer e inst r ument al in t aking t he peasant
far beyond t he limit s of Gandhis own
ideology and social philosophy. In t he
l i t er a r y s p h er e we fi n d t h e s a me
cont r adict ion in Pr em Chand who is closer
t o Tolst oy at one and t o Maxim Gor ky
at anot her end.
Let us fir st indicat e how Gandhis
t hought gave an insight int o t he colonial
societ y. I t is impor t ant t o not e t hat
Gandhi put int o t he cent r e of t he st age
t he t own-village conflict as r eflect ing t he
basic ant agonism bet ween t he Indian
nat ional and t he Br it ish colonial int er est ,
bet ween t he t own as t he base of t he
par asit ic colonial economy and t he village
as t he base of t he pr oduct ive nat ional
economy. The t own-village conflict also
ep i t omi zed for Ga n d h i t h e con fl i ct
bet ween t he Indust ir al and Ur banised
England (which had r educed India int o
t he agr icult ur al hint er land of t he Br it ish
empir e) and t he Rur alised India wher e
lay t he pr incipal vict ims of t he colonial
r egime and, consequent ly, t he major
s ou r ces of a n t i - col on i a l r es i s t a n ce.
Ga n d h i s a w i n t h e t own - vi l l a ge
confr ont at ion t he major expr ession of
ir r econcilable cleavage bet ween Indian
nat ionalism and Br it ish colonialism. His
classic obser vat ions on t his cleavage
wh i ch l eft a s h a r p i mp r es s on a l l
t hought ful Indians of t he Gandhi er a
including Pr em Chand ar e found in Hind-
Swar aj (1908). We r epr oduce t he following
passage wr it t en in 1922 which gives a
clear for mulat ion of t his ingr edient of
t he Gandhian per spect ive.
Lit t le do t own-dweller s know how
t he semi-st ar ved masses of India
ar e slowly sinking t o life-lessness.
Lit t le do t hey know t hat t heir
miser able comfor t r epr esent s t he
br oker age t hey get for t he wor k
t hey do for t he for eign exploit er ,
t hat t he pr ofit s and t he br oker age
ar e sucked fr om t he masses. Lit t le
d o t h ey r ea l i ze t h a t t h e
gover nment est ablished by law
in Br it ish India is car r ied on for
t he exploit at ion of t he masses.
No s oph i s t r y, n o j u ggl er y i n
fi gur es can explai n away t h e
evidence t hat t he skelet ons in
many villages pr esent t o t he naked
eye. I have no doubt what soever
t hat bot h England and t he t own-
dweller s of India will have t o
answer if t her e is a God above
for t his cr ime against humanit y
which is per haps unequalled in
h i st or y.
(N.K. Bose, 1957).
The Gandhian per spect ive had gr eat
illuminat ing power in so far as it gave
a penet r at ing insight int o t he par asit ic
nat ur e of t he colonial r egime; it also
illuminat ed wit h t he t ouch of a genius
t he nat ur e of par asit ism char act er ist ic
of t he colonial syst em as r epr esent ed
by t he t own-village cleavage. Par asit ism
of t he colonial t ype as expr essed in t he
one-sided exploit at ion of t he village by
t he t own t hus emer ged as t he cent r al
t heme not only in t he polit ics of Gandhi
er a but also in t he Cr eat ive wr it ing of
t his per iod. Per haps all of Pr em Chands
out st anding novels like Rangabhoomi,
Kar mbhoomi, Pr emashr am and Godan
and many of his shor t st or ies r evolve
r ound t he t heme of t he t own-village
cleavage and r ound t he quest ion of t he
conflict bet ween ur ban par asit es and
r ur al pr oducer s which was cent r al t o
t he colonial syst em in t he Br it ish per iod.
In most of his cr eat ive wr it ing Pr em
Chand is at his best when he shar ply
por t r ays t he glar ing cont r ast bet ween
t he affluence of ur ban upper classes
wh os e wea l t h a n d p r op er t y h a ve
or igin at ed t hr ough var ious for ms of
economic par asit ism like speculat ion,
t r ade, usur y and absent ee landlor dism.
He also por t r ays ver y effect ively t he
par asit ism of t he har d-hear t ed (a la
Gandhi) educat ed classes who as officials
of t he gover nment or t he Zamindar s,
as lawyer s, doct or s, polit icians and ot her
t ypes of pr ofessionals, t hr ive on t he
ignor ance, illit er acy, and socio-cult ur al
backwar dness of t he r ur al masses.
The following passage in Pr emashr am
pr esent s a classical por t r ayal of t he
peasan t masses by hor des of ur ban
exploit er s who descend on t he village
ever y now and t hen exact ly like nat ur al
disast er s and calamit ies:
J ust as aft er sunset special t ypes
of living beings which ar e neit her bir ds
nor animals cover t he ent ir e sky.
Wit h t heir long r ows in sear ch of
t heir livelihood, in t he same manner
wit h t he onset of t he mont h of Kar t ik
anot her t ype of cr eat ur es descend on
t he count r yside and wit h t heir t ent s
spr eading far and wide st ir up t he ent ir e
r ur al ar ea. Befor e t he onset of r ains
t her e is an over gr owt h of r oyal kit es
and insect s and aft er t he close of r ains
t her e is t he over gr owt h of commer cial
kit es and insect s, t her e is a vir t ual
ear t hquake in t he villages and t he village
people r ush hit her and t hit her t o save
t heir lives.
Is t heir any doubt t hat t hese t our s
by t he officials of t he count r yside ar e
inspir ed by good wishes and int ent ions.
Their pur pose is t o ascer t ain infor mat ion
on t he r eal condit ion of t he people, t o
t ake just ice t o t he ver y door of t he
per sons seeking just ice, t o assess t heir
needs and t heir har dships, and t o know
t heir r eal feelings and t hought s. If t hese
pur poses wer e r ealized, t hese t our s would
have been mor e life giving t han t he spr ing,
and people would have welcomed t hem
wit h Veena and Pakhawaj and wit h Dhol
and Majeer a. But just as t he r ays of
t he Sun get r efr act ed and t wist ed when
t hey pass t hr ough wat er , in t he same
manner good int ent ions also t ur n int o
evil when t hey come int o t ouch wit h
human fr ailt ies. Tr ut h and just ice ar e
t r a mp l ed u n d er foot , Gr eed a n d
selfishness t r iumph over kindness and
goodness. The officials and t heir ser vant s
wait for t hese t our s of t he village as
t he beloved wait s for union wit h t he
lover . They ar e ineffect ive in t he t owns
or ar e less effect ive in r ealising t heir
selfish aims. In t he t owns t hey have
t o spend fr om t heir own pocket s for
ever yt hing t hey want . But in t he village
t heir hands ar e not in t heir pocket s but
on t heir canes wit h which t hey t er r or ise
t he village folk and t hen wr ing t heir
necks. The ghee, milk, veget ables, meat
and fish for which t hey long in vain
i n t h e t own s , t h ey h a ve t h es e i n
abundance only for t he asking in t he
villages. They eat as much as t hey want
and what t hey cant consume is sent
for t heir families in t he t owns. Tins
over fl owi n g wi t h gh ee, p i t ch er s
over flowing wit h milk, fuel and cowdung,
car t s over laden wit h gr ass and fodder
can be seen being shift ed fr om t he village
t o t he t owns. The family member s of
t hese officials ar e full of joy and t hank
t heir st ar s for all t hese windfalls which
denot e t he end of scar cit y and t he coming
of pr osper it y. For t he village gr eener y
comes aft er t he r ains. But for t hese
for t un at e t own smen , gr een er y comes
befor e t he r ains. For t he village folk
t hese ar e har d days. They ar e under
const ant anxiet y and t ension. They ar e,
however , bullied, beat en and br uised.
The bullies fr om t he t owns not only
t ake out t he food fr om t heir mout hs
but also t he last vest ige of dignit y fr om
t h ei r s ou l s t h r ou gh for ced l a bou r ,
bondage and ser fdom. (Pr emashr am, pp.
54- 55) .
This descr ipt ion of t he plight of t he
Indian village under colonial r ule echoes
t he same sent iment s and feelings as
depict ed by Gandhi in t he passage quot ed
ear lier which has become immor t al.
Ther e is t hus an unmist akable ident it y
of out look her e bet ween Gandhis view
of t he par asit ic r ole of t he ur ban classes
and Pr em Chands insight int o t heir
exp l oi t a t i ve ch a r a ct er . I t i s a l s o
impor t ant t o not e t hat in t he ear lier
novels like Pr emashr am, Pr em Chand
pr esent s feudal exploit at ion by t he landed
class as an ext ension of t he t own-village
conflict insofar as t he focus is on semi-
feudal, absent ee landlor dism r at her t han
on t he differ ent iat ion bet ween t he land-
owning and landless peasant s t hemselves.
Mor eover , in depict ing and evaluat ing
t he r ole of t he landed gent r y Pr em Chand
like Gandhi is inclined t o t r eat t hem
as vict ims of colonialism t hemselves t han
as exclusive lor ds of t he count r yside
and pr incipal agent s of exploit at ion. Bot h
Gandhi and Pr em Chand focus at t ent ion
on t he colonial r uler s who have cor r upt ed
t he nat ive ar ist or cr acy, who have r educed
t he nat ive r uling class t o a posit ion of
impot ence and cr eat ed vast hiat us and
t ension bet ween t he landed elit e and
t he peasant masses. This int er pr et at ion
der ives suppor t fr om t he self-indict ment
of t he landed class as ar t iculat ed by
Gyanshankar s fat her -in-law, Rai Saheb
Kamlanand in Pr emashr am. In Rai Sahabs
wor ds Zamindar i is neit her pr oper t y
nor an est at e in t he st r ict sense of t he
t er m. I t i s mer e br oker a ge Th e
Zamindar s have been cr eat ed by t he
Br it ish mer ely t o act as agent s of r evenue
collect ion or as Kar indas of t he Br it ish
Empir e. To call us t he mast er s of land
is a t r avest y of fact s. If it is all a fr aud,
t hen why dont we r enounce it ? This
is a legit imat e quest ion. But t he Zamindar i
has condemned us t o indolence, self-
indulgence and social impot ence. We have
been cr ippled for ever by a par asit ic
exist en ce.
The same t ype of self-indict ment is
ar t iculat ed by Rai Saheb Amar Pal Singh
in Godan. He r emar ks: People imagine
t hat we (Zamindar s) ar e in gr eat comfor t .
But he who has neit her pr ide nor r espect
is doomedHe who licks t he boot s of
mast er s above him and oppr esses t he
ma s s es bel ow h i m h a s l os t a l l
manhoodPar asit ism has cr ippled us.
We ar e only adept in t he ar t of flat t er ing
our Br it ish mast er s and t er r or izing our
subject sThis Zamindar i has become a
noose r ound our neck, (Godan, 15).
It is clear t hat in his wor ks like
Pr emashr am an d Ran gbhoomi, Pr em
Chand per ceives t he dominant feat ur e
of t he social r ealit y in t er ms of t he
cl ea va ge bet ween t h e p a r a s i t i c a n d
aggr essive t own-dweller s on t he one hand
and t he passive and t oiling r ur al masses
on t he ot her . We give below a few mor e
illust r at ions fr om Pr em Chands ear lier
novels t o confir m t his gener alisat ion:
In t he novel, Rangabhoomi, we ar e
int r oduced at t he ver y beginning t o t he
t own-village cleavage in t he following
wor ds:
The t own is t he abode of t he
r ich and t he cent r e of buying
and selling. The out lying ar ea of
t he t own is t he place for t heir
r ecr eat ion and r elaxat ion. In it s
cen t r a l p a r t a r e l oca t ed t h e
inst it ut ions for t he educat ion of
t heir childr en and t he seat s of
lit igat ion wher e in t he name of
just ice t he poor ar e cont inually
h a r a s s ed a n d per s ecu t ed . On
r emot e out skir t s of t he t owns ar e
t he dwelling places of t he pover t y-
st r icken masses. Her e we have
neit her t he light of t he ur ban
lamps nor t he ur ban sanit at ion
nor t he r ush of ur ban cr owds.
( p. 31)
Shar p cont r ast t o t his pict ur e of t he
t own t o which gr avit at e t he affluent upper
and middle classes is pr ovided by t he
pict ur e of t he village wher e live most ly
t he impover ished masses. The following
descr ipt ions of t he village by Pr em Chand
in one of his ear ly wr it ings called J alwaye
Issar (1912) r eminds one of t he classical
descr ipt ion of t he r uined colonial village
by Mahat ma Gandhi. The her oine of t he
st or y conveys her e feelings about t he
condit ions of t he village in wor ds as
follows:
Oh God! What I had been t old
about t he village and what I see
wit h my own eyes! That ched hut s,
mud walls, and mount ains of
gar bage lying uncover ed befor e
t he hut s, buffaloes sunk deep in
mud an d filt h an d emaciat ed
cows I feel like r unning away
fr om her e. Look at t he pit iable
condit ion of men and women who
h a ve been r ed u ced t o mer e
s kel et on s . Th es e a r e t h e
embodiment s of misfor t une and
p a u p er i s a t i oi n . Not on e h a s
gar ment s which ar e not t or n:
Not one of t he unfor t unat e beings
get s a full meal aft er sweat ing for day
and night Her e we have in plent y neit her
gods nor goddesses but only ghost s
( Amr it r ai 1976: 113- 114) .
In t he following moving wor ds of
Kadir , a t ypical wor king peasant , we have
an ar t iculat ion of what t he peasant s t hink
of t heir own pit iable condit ion:
Oh, if t he Almight y wishes t o make
us r espect able, why should he have made
us Kasht kar s? Would not he have made
us a Zamindar or a peon or a const able
in t he police st at ion issuing or der s for
ot her s t o car r y out , while comfor t ably
r eclining on his chair ? Consider our
plight . We eat what we have ear ned wit h
our own labour . Why should t hen we
be har assed by whosoever passes our
way. We have t o slave for ever yone:
The zamindar , t he gover nment and it s
officialsall fr own on us and even God
above is not sympat het ic t o us. Ot her wise
ar e not we human beings or is ever yone
super ior t o us in int elligence? But what
is t he use of cr ying? Who list ens t o us?
(Pr emashr am: 187)
This acut e self-pit y of t he colonial
peasant is pr esent ed in much bolder
st r okes in Pr em Chands Godan. I t s
immor t al char act er Hor i, per sonifying
t he hopelessness of t he colonial peasant ,
expr esses t his sent iment of self-pit y in
r inging wor ds as follows:
Who says you and I bot h ar e also
humans. Wher e is our humanness? He
alone is human who has wealt h, power
and skills. We ar e like bullocks who have
been bor n only t o be yoked t o t he plough
and t o slave for ot her s, (p.22).
Pr em Chand depict s ver y poignant ly
how t he Kisan whose t iny holding keeps
him per ennially st ar ving is close t o t he
ill-paid majoor const it ut ing t he t oiling
masses. He is kept in pover t y and bondage
by a minor it y of exploit er s living on
t he fr uit s of labour of t his voiceless mass.
The unenviable condit ions of bot h t he
kisan and t he majoor ar e capt ur ed by
Pr em Chand in t he following dialogue
bet ween t hem in Kar mabhoomi.
Payag who is a poor peasant t ells
Kashi who is a poor majoor :
O br ot her , never t ake up cult ivat ion
which is not hing but a gr eat bot her at ion.
Whet her your fields yield anyt hing or
not , you must meet t he r ent al demand
of t he landlod. It is flood now and dr ought
lat er . One misfor t une or t he ot her is
always on your head. On t op of it if
your bullock dies, or your har vest cat ches
fir e, t hen ever yt hing is lost . Majoor i is
t he best . Take your khur pi in t he mor ning
for cut t ing t he gr ass and r et ur n by t he
aft er noon, (p. 153)
In r eply t o t his Kashi t ells his
own t ale:
How can Kisani be compar ed t o
majoor i. Majoor i may ear n mor e
but he will be called majoor . He
car r ies loads of gr ass bundles on
his head. Someone shout s fr om
t his side and someone fr om t hat
side: O gr ass seller ! If you happen
t o cut gr ass fr om t he boundar y
of someone, he will offer not hing
but abuses t o you. Kisani aft er
all is a r espect able occupat ion,
not like Majoor i! (p. 153).
I t i s cl ea r fr om t h e bu n ch of
quot at ions t hat in Pr em Chands novels
we find an int ensely humanised por t r ayal
of some of t he basic insight s of Gandhi
int o t he colonial village. As an illust r at ion
of t his conver gence of Gandhis int uit ive
i n s i gh t wi t h Pr em Ch a n d s a r t i s t i c
per cept ion of t he basic conflict s of t he
colonial sit uat ion, we r epr oduce below
anot her key passage fr om Gandhi. It
confir ms Gandhis view on t he oppr essive
ur ban st r anglehold over r ur al life:
We may not be deceived by t he
wealt h t o be seen in t he cit ies
of India. It does not come fr om
England or Amer ica. I t comes
fr om t he blood of t he poor est .
Ther e ar e said t o be seven lakhs
of village in India. No one has
any r ecor d of t hese t housands
who have died of st ar vat ion and
disease in Bengal, Kar nat aka and
el s ewh er e. Th e gover n men t
r egist er s can give no idea of what
t he village folk ar e going t hr ough.
But being a villager myself, I know
t he condit ion in t he villages. I
know village economics. I t ell you
t hat t he pr essur e fr om t he t op
cr ushes t hose at t he bot t om. All
t hat is necessar y is t o get off
t heir backs, (N.K. Bose 1957:48).
In Kar mabhoomi and Pr emashr am
Pr em Chand as a t r ue disciple of Gandhi
cont r ast s t he benevolent landlor ds of
t he old t ype like Pr abhashankar wit h
t he gr eedy and r apacious landlor ds of
t he new t ype like Gyanshankar . While
t he for mer r espect t he demands of cust om
and Mar yada (ar ist ocr at e t r adit ion), t he
lat t er r egar d cust om as a depar t ur e fr om
econ omi c r at i on ali t y an d asser t t h e
legit imacy of t he pur suit of naked self-
i n t er es t . Bot h i n Ra n gbh oomi a n d
Pr emashr am Pr em Chand depict s how
t he commer cial mot ivat ion of t he new
class cr eat ed by Pax Br it anica comes
int o shar p conflict wit h communit y r ight s
of t he masses. In Rangbhoomi t he conflict
er upt s over Soor dass land used for
gr azing cat t le by t he people and being
acquir ed by J ohn Sevak, a Chr ist ian
businessman, for set t ing up a cigar et t e
fact or y. I n Pr emashr am also violen t
conflict er upt s and leads t o t he mur der
of t he village officials by one of t he
peasant s as a sequel t o t he ban on t he
use of t he communit y gr azing gr ound
for gr azing cat t le by t he peasant s. In
t hese novels, however , Pr em Chand does
not t r eat t hese conflict s as ir r econcilable
wit hin t he given syst em. He shows a
way out by t hr owing up, as an enlight ened
landlor d of t he new t ype who lives in
peace and har mony wit h his t anant s.
Mor eover , Pr em Chand also highlight s
t h e fu t i l i t y of p ea s a n t r es i s t a n ce
especially in t he for m of in dividual
t er r or ism by depict ing t he suicide of
Manohar , t he assassin of Gaus Khan, who
per sonifies t he oppr essive Kar inda of
t he new t ype of landlor d. This pat h of
r efor m r at her t han of r esist ance pr esent ed
appr ovingly by Pr em Chand as t he way
out has much in common wit h Gandhis
social out look.
This br ing us finally t o Pr em Chands
classic, Godan, in which Pr em Chand
makes no ideological compr omise in
por t r ayal of r ealit ies; he gives up t he
at t empt t o pr ovide a way out of t he
peasant pr oblem wit hin t he given syst em
t hr ough change of hear t of t he pr oper t ied
and power -wielding classes. The focus
shift s her e fr om t he enlight ened landlor d
t o t he peasant awakening t o a higher
l evel of con s ci ou s n es s . I t ma y be
r emember ed t hat dur ing his last days
Gandhi himself was t r ying t o move beyond
t he const r aint s of ear ly Gandhism and
placing mor e emphasis on building t he
t oiler s will for r esist ance t han on t he
change of hear t of t he pr oper t ied classes.
He even envisaged seizur e of land by
t he peasant s aft er fr eedom was won as
r evealed by his famous int er view wit h
Louis Fisher .
Coming back t o Pr em Chand, Godan
is t he st or y of Hor i, a peasant cult ivat ing
five bighas of lan d an d per en n ially
oscillat ing bet ween kisan and majoor
st at us on account of unbear able bur dens
of r ent , int er est , t axes and Begar . Hor is
only ambit ion is t o possess a small plot
of land and a cow and he makes all
t he compr omises necessar y t o r ealize
his Small Peasant Ut opia. But his Ut opia
r emains unr ealized; nay it is shat t er ed
by t he br ut e for ces of a colonial syst em
and a class societ y:
Pr em Chand is no longer sat isfied
wit h t he focus on t he enemy out side
t he villaget he absent ee landlor d, t he
t r ader , t he lawyer and t he gover nment
official invading t he village like locust s
fr om t ime t o t ime. In Godan Pr em Chand
put s in t he cent r e of t he pict ur e t he
enemy insidet he Gr am Panchayat , t he
Bir adar i and t he pr iest s oper at ing on
behalf of t he r ich peasant s, t he village
mon eyl en d er a n d t h e vi l l a ge- ba s ed
Ka r i n d a s of t h e l a n d l or d a n d t h e
Kar machar is of t he gover nment . Pr em
Chand also put s in t he cent r e of t he
st age t he peasant s own fat alism, his
submissiveness and his pr oneness t o
compr omise and t o make peace wit h
his oppr essor s. Godan epit omizes t he
t r agic finale of t he pat h of compr omise
and submission as depict ed in t he last
out bur st of Hor i, t he her o of Godan,
in t he following wor ds:
Hor i could not ut t er even a single
wor d. He felt as if he was sinking
deep in t he bot t om-less pit of
unbear able humiliat ion. Today
aft er fight ing t enaciously for t hir t y
year s for life, he felt t ot ally
defeat ed and cr ushed. He felt he
had been made t o st and on t he
gat e of t he t own and whoever
passed t hat way spat on his face.
He felt as if he was scr eaming
aloud saying: Br ot her s! Have pit y
on me. I did not car e for t he
scor ching sun of J et h nor for
t he heavy shower s of Magh. If
you pier ce t his bodyyou will
find it injur ed beyond r epair and
cr ushed and debilit at ed. Ask it
whet her it has a moment s r est .
On t op of it t hen t his humiliat ion.
Oh you ar e st ill alive, O cowar d,
O wr et ched being!
Hor is fait h which having become
deep had r ender ed him blind and
blunt ed his sensibilit ies for all
t hese year s, had been shat t er ed
t oday and dest r oyed for ever .
(Godan: 295).
The deat h of Hor i symbolises t he
t ot al collapse of t he Peasant Ut opia and
of t h e p a t h of s u bmi s s i ven es s a n d
compr omise. The oust ing of Hor is family
fr om t he peasant way of life and t he
exit of his son Gobar t o t he t own for
li veli h ood ar e also symboli c of t h e
i n h er en t vu l n er a bi l i t y of t h e s ma l l
pr oducer s, of t he ult imat e fat e of villagism
and peasant ism and of t he ult imat e
t r iumph of t he cash nexus over t he old
societ y. The deat h of t he peasant of t he
old t ype is, in ot her wor ds, symbolic
of t he deat h of t he old societ y which
could not be r efor med fr om wit hin.
The penet r at ing and moving insight
int o t he deep and insoluble cr isis of
t he small peasant pr oducer wit hin t he
colonial fr amewor k which Pr em Chand
offer s in Godan wr it t en in 1935-36 br oadly
cor r esponds wit h t he diagnosis which
Radhakamal Muker jee pr esent ed in his
monument al wor k, Land Pr oblems in
India, in 1933. What t he wr it er capt ur es
t hr ough his int uit ion and imaginat ion,
in fact , far excels in int ensit y and dept h
of per cept ion what t he social scient ist
is able t o gr asp t hr ough painst aking
invest igat ion and analysis. Summing up
t he cr isis of t he small peasant in ear ly
t hir t ies Radhakamal Muker jee wr ot e as
follows:
The economic posit ion of t he
small holder has det er ior at ed,
while t he cont r ast bet ween t he
incr easing class of r ent -r eceiver s
and t he t oiling agr icult ur al ser fs,
bet okens a cr it ical st age in our
agr icult ur al hist or y (p.4).
Muker jee also discer ned t he faint
r umblings of class consciousness among
peasant s condemned so far t o a life of
one single meal, t hin gr uel and a loin
clot h. The implicat ions of t his gr im
economic sit uat ion of t he peasant in
t er ms of h u ma n t r a ged y of va s t
pr opor t ions ar e t o be found not in t he
elegant t r eat ises of t he economist s but
in t he novels of wr it er s of t he st at ur e
of Pr em Chand.
Comment ing on t he fat e of t he poor
peasant in England under t he impact
of t h e I n d u s t r i a l Revol u t i on , Er i c
Hobsbawm in his The Age of Revolut ion
(1973) wr it es as follows:
Thr ee possibilit ies wer e t her efor e
open t o such of t he poor as found
t h ems el ves i n t h e p a t h of
bour geois societ y, and no longer
effect i vel y s h el t er ed i n
inaccessible r egions of t r adit ional
soci et y. Th ey could st r i ve t o
become bour geois; t hey could
allow t hemselves t o be gr ound
down or t hey could r ebel, (p.245)
Wit hin t he colonial fr amewor k t he
fir st possibilit y of upwar d mobilit y was
open t o only a small and t hin st r at um
of t he peasant r y. The small peasant
pr oducer , t he dominant for ce of t he
colonial agr ar ian st r uct ur e, had only t he
lat t er t wo possibilit ies open and not t he
fir st ; he could eit her allow himself t o
be gr ound down or he could r ebel. The
Hor i of Godan epit omizes t he gr eat t r agedy
inher ent in t he second possibilit y of
annihilat ion as a peasant pr oducer and
of t ot al alienat ion fr om land. Being a
r ealist , however , Pr em Chand does not
mi s s t h e fa i n t r u mbl i n gs of cl a s s
consciousness among colonial peasant s,
t hough t his consciousness does not yet
hold pr omise of fr uct ifying int o a full-
blown peasant r evolut ion. The demand
of li t er a r y r ea li s m i t s elf, t h er efor e,
compels Pr em Chand t o conclude Godan
on a not e of despair and defeat and
not of Hope and Tr iumph.
In Godan Pr em Chand r ises t o height s
of cr eat ive achievement fr om t he point
of view of cr it ical r ealism. He emer ges
as a gr eat wr it er of t he st at ur e of Balzac
and Tolst oy. Godan in t his r espect is
compa r a ble t o Ba lza cs cla s s i c, Th e
Peasant s (1844). Comment ing on t his
n ovel wh i ch r evea ls t h e s our ces of
Balzacs gr eat ness as a wr it er , Geor ge
Lukacs apt ly obser ves:
In t his novel, t he most impor t ant
of his mat ur it y, Balzac want ed
t o wr it e t he t r agedy of t he landed
ar ist ocr acy of Fr an ce. I t was
int ended t o be t he keyst one of
t h e s er i es i n wh i ch Ba l za c
d es cr i bed t h e d es t r u ct i on of
Fr ench ar ist ocr at ic cult ur e by t he
gr owt h of capit alismYet for all
his painst aking pr epar at ion and
car eful plan n in g, what Balzac
r eally did in his novel was t he
exact opposit e of what he had
set out t o : What he depict ed
wa s n ot t h e t r a ged y of t h e
ar ist ocr at ic est at e but of peasant
small landholding. It is pr ecisely
t h i s d i s cr ep a n cy bet ween
i n t en t i on a n d p er for ma n ce,
bet ween Ba l za c t h e p ol i t i ca l
t hinker and Balzac t he aut hor of
La Comed i e Hu ma i n e t h a t
con s t i t u t es Ba l za cs h i s t or i ca l
gr eat ness What makes Balzac a
gr ea t ma n i s t h e i n exor a bl e
ver acit y wit h which he depict ed
r ealit y even if t hat r ealit y r an
cou n t er t o h i s own per s on a l
opinions, hopes and wishes.
The gr eat ness of Tolst oy as a wr it er
of wor ld st at ur e is der ived fr om t he
same sour cet he r ut hless object ivit y,
t he deep insight and int ensit y of feeling
wit h which Tolst oy capt ur es t he social
cont r adict ions and r ealit ies of r ur al
p ea s a n t Ru s s i a , a n d t h e mer ci l es s
manner in which, while depict ing social
r ealit ies r elat ing t o t he landlor d and t he
Mujhik. Tolst oy was able t o t r anscend
his own ar ist ocr at ic social backgr ound,
a n d h i s p h i l os op h i ca l bel i efs . Hi s
t r enchant social cr it ique of pat r iar chal
Russia caught in t he t hr oes of t r ansit ion
t o capit alism became a valuable legacy
for lat er r evolut i on ar i es as well as
wr it er s wor king for Russias socialist
fut ur e.
Pr em Chands wor ks immor t alize t he
agonies and t or ment s of t he I ndian
peasant , who is cr ushed by t he colonial
syst em and t he human agent s of colonial
exp l oi t a t i on a n d op p r es s i on . Th ey
r epr esent a most pr ecious her it age and
a n u n fa i l i n g s ou r ce of i n s i gh t a n d
inspir at ion for wr it er s and socio-polit ical
wor ker s of post -independence India who
ar e looking for a new fut ur e for t he
I n d i a n p ea s a n t . Tod a ys a wa ken ed
peasant can himself t ur n t o Pr em Chand
for deeper insight s int o t he hist or ical
and st r uct ur al r oot s of his exploit at ion
and oppr ession.
Re f e r e n c e s
0 1. Amr i t a r a i , Ka l a m Ka Si p a h i , Ha n s Pr a ka s h a n , Al l a h a ba d , 19 76 .
0 2 . Honor e De Balzac, The Peasant , The Caxt on Publishing Company Lt d., London,
18 9 9 .
0 3 . N.K. Bose, Select ions fr om Gandhi, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad,
19 5 7 .
0 4 . Pr em Ch a n d , Sa h i t ya Ka Ud d es h ya , Ha n s Pr a ka s h a n , Al l a h a ba d , 19 6 7.
0 5. Pr em Ch a n d , Pr ema s h r a m, Ha n s Pr a ka s h a n , Al l a h a bd , 19 79 .
0 6 . Pr em Ch a n d , Ka r a ma bh oomi , Ha n s Pr a ka s h n , Al l a h a ba d , 19 73.
0 7. Pr em Ch a n d , Ra n ga bh oomi , Sa r a s wa t i Pr es s , Al l a h a ba d , 1974.
0 8 . Pr em Ch a n d , God a n , Sa r a s wa t i Pr es s , Al l a h a ba d , 1979.
0 9 . Er ic Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolut ion, Eur ope, 1789-1848, Car dinal, 1973.
10 . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , Pr i mi t i ve Rebels, Man ch est or Un i ver si t y Pr ess, 1959.
1 1 . V.I . Lenin, Collect ed Wor ks, Vol. 16, For eign Languages Publishing House,
19 6 3 .
12 . Geor ge Lukacs, St udies in Eur opean Realism, The Mer lin Pr ess, London, 1950.
P. C. J os h i , a n emi n en t s ch ol a r a n d i n t el l ect u a l of t wen t i et h cen t u r y
wh o i s s t i l l con t r i b u t i n g t o t h e ca u s e of a r t , cu l t u r e, l i t er a t u r e a n d
poli t i cal i delogy, h as t r an slat ed Gan dh i ji s wor ks i n t o En gli sh . Hi s memoi r s
i n Ta d b h a v h a ve b een wi d el y r ea d a n d a p p r eci a t ed .
GODAN: TH E BACK STORY
Kamal Kishore Goyanka
Dhir aj Singh
Even t hough Godan is count ed among t he classics ever t o be
wr it t en in any language anywher e in t he wor ld, it s st or y of cr eat ion
has yet t o evoke int er est among lit er ar y cr it ics in India. Those
among Pr emchands fans, especially t hose eager t o claim him as
a left ist t hinker have given lit t le t hought t o t he pr ocesses t hat
made t he man and his wor k. Per haps it st ems fr om a cer t ain
ar r ogance of having under st ood him complet ely. But t her e ar e
sever al t hings st ill unknown about t he pr ocess of Pr emchands
cr eat ivit y. Such is t he impor t of t hese unknown fact s t hat t hey
could immensely benefit our under st anding of t he wr it er t o a
gr eat ext ent . One such fact is t hat befor e get t ing down t o wr it ing
a novel or a shor t st or y or even an essay Pr emchand would
wr it e it s br ief out line in English. Aft er t he out line he would get
down t o wr it ing t he piece in eit her Hindi or Ur du. The final wor k
he would t hen t r anslat e int o Hindi or Ur du depending on t he
language of t he or iginal. Such an example of a wr it er s ease wit h
t hr ee differ ent languages is indeed r ar e among wr it er s of Hindi
lit er at ur e. In t he light of t his fact it is r at her unfor t unat e t hat
Pr emchands cr eat ivit y has not been adequat ely admir ed or even
assessed in t he year s gone by.
Godan, like his ot her wor ks, was also fir st out lined in English.
But only t he last t wo pages of t his t hr ee-page document sur vive
t oday. These t wo pages cont ain t he out lines of chapt er s beginning
fr om 3 t hr ough t o 12. The fir st t wo chapt er s ar e now lost t o
us wit h t he missing fir st page. The highlight s of t he r emaining
D
i
s
c
o
u
r
s
e
eight chapt er s: t he char act er isat ion and
a summar y of t he plot is found in t he
t wo sur viving pages. The following is
what has sur vived as t he out line of
chapt er s 3 t o 12 of t he famous novel:
Ch a p t e r 3
Hor i buys a cow. The whole village t ur ns
up t o see it . Soma is sad but Hir a is
mad wit h jealousy. He t r ies t o poison
t he cow. Hor i sees him doing t hat but
does not r epor t t he mat t er t o t he police.
Ch a p t e r 4
The whole village comes t o t he Zamindar s
place t o celebr at e Dussehr a. Hor i sells
off h i s ba r l ey cr op t o ma ke h i s
cont r ibut ion (shagun). He can bar ely
fa ce ot h er p eop l e ( es p eci a l l y t h e
Za mi n d a r Goya n ka ) a n d t h er e a r e
r umour s ( st ar t ed by t he Zamin dar
Goyanka) t o incr ease land t axes. Hence,
it is impor t ant t hat t he Zamindar is
impr essed enough t o change his mind.
The par t y at t he Zamindar s include a
play, a demonst r at ion (?) and a fir e
offer ing (dhart i y ajna). The Zamindar
is a kind and gener ous man. He t ells
his st or y. He is also a member of t he
Dist r ict Boar d. (He is also a candidat e
for t he Chair mans post , t his par t is
missingGoyanka). He is known t o t hr ow
par t ies and do a lot of char it y t o impr ess
t he Dist r ict Boar d officials. The villager s
r et ur n home sat isfied. J hunia also goes
t o t he demonst r at ion. Gobar pr oposes
t o her . He is not mar r ied. He needs
money t o get mar r ied. J hunia is disar med
by his fr ankness and agr ees t o mar r y
him.
Ch a p t e r 5
J hunia gives bir t h t o a daught er (son).
Gobar r uns away t o Calcut t a. The village
panchayat imposes a heavy penalt y on
him. Hor i is or der ed t o go away on
a pi lgr i mage. Hi s an cest r al lan d i s
mor t gaged. He is unable t o pay t he
int er est . Gobar does not r et ur n. Sona
is t o get mar r ied but he has no land.
He is a daily wage labour er wher e women
wor k shoulder t o shoulder wit h him.
This has a big impact on his way of thinking.
Ch a p t e r 6
The pr oper t y has t o be r ecover ed fr om
t he mor t gage. The daught er (is sold off,
t his par t is missingGoyanka) is mar r ied
off. The pr oper t y is r ecover ed. Things
(income fr om land especially) impr ove.
Hor i fight s wit h his br ot her s because
of Mahua. Hor i is beat en up. He files
a case against his br ot her s in cour t .
Hor i wi n s a n d t h e br ot h er s fa ce
punishment . Hor i (has t o get it back,
t his par t is missingGoyanka) finds
happiness but in t he end t akes on t he
r esponsibilit ies of his family.
Ch a p t e r 7
Bholas sons go their separate ways. J hunia
dies. She is survived by her daughter.
Bhola begins t o t ake car e of J hunias
daughter. He gives his share to his sons
(and becomes a sannyasi, this part is
missingGoyanka). J hunias daughter is
now under t he car e of t he Zamindar .
Ch a p t e r 8
The Zamindar s elder son is a lawyer ,
a member of t he Council. He has been
excommunicat ed fr om t he cast e by his
family. He is a social wor ker whom t he
far mer s gr eat ly r espect .
Ch a p t e r 9
Hor is youngest daught er is sold off. The
har vest is only enough t o pay t he t axes.
What ever s left goes t o feed t he livest ock,
t he family and himself. What is he t o
do? He is also physically weak. J hinki
also wor ks har d t o ear n a living. So
Hor i decides t o sell off his daught er
wit hout t elling his wife. He makes up
a st or y t o cover his shame.
Ch a p t e r 10
Gobar r et ur ns a changed man. He shar es
his exper iences of cit y life wit h ever yone.
He has for got t en J hunia. He has ear ned
a lot of money t hr ough quest ionable
means and has suddenly developed an
int er est in spir it ual mat t er s. His fat her
is on his deat h bed but he doesnt allow
Gobar t o come back home. Gobar st ar t s
living wit h J hunia again.
Ch a p t e r 11
Bhola r et ur ns wit h a ver y young br ide
whos alr eady been a widow. He want s
t o live wit h Hor i. A separ at e hut is er ect ed
for him. He st ar t s t o indulge in pet t y
st ealing because he is unable t o get a
job. J ungi is at t r act ed t o his wife and
t hey st ar t meet ing on t he sly. Finally
one day Bholas wife leaves him and
r uns away wit h J ungi. (Bhola is filled
wit h sadn ess, t his par t is missin g
Goyanka) but his wife is shameless and
cont inues t o live wit h J ungi. One day
his wife (not clear which oneGoyanka)
has an ar gument wit h him and beat s
him up wit h a br oomst ick. Bhola dies.
Ch a p t e r 12
A t ir ed and defeat ed Hor i cont inues t o
fight for sur vival. Gobar t r ies t o help
him t hr ough his mot her , who r emains
a devot ed wife t o Hor i. But in t he end
Hor i dies. Gobar does t he godan (cow
donat ion) on his behalf. *** Also t o be
included: agr icult ur al fair s, development ,
l i t er a r y movemen t s , s u ga r mi l l s ,
cooper at ive movemen t s.
This out line of Godan br ings t o light
many aspect s of t he cr eat ive pr ocess
of t he wr it er . It also pr ovides a glimpse
of t he plot of t he novel t hat was t aking
shape in Pr emchands mind. What s mor e,
it t ells of t he st r ands wit hin t he st or y
t hat t he aut hor decides t o build upon
as well as t hose t hat he decides t o discar d
dur ing t he wr it ing of t he act ual novel.
This is a significant r evelat ion because
t her e is a near consensus among scholar s
t hat Pr emchand was a st ickler for his
out li n es an d t h at h e made t h em a
foundat ion for t he st anding st r uct ur e
of his wor ks. But Godans out line not
only r ubbishes t his t heor y it also por t r ays
a t r uer pict ur e of Pr emchands cr eat ivit y:
t hat he was no slave t o t he out line but
gave enough leeway t o t he st or y t o have
it s own nat ur al pr ogr ession. It is indeed
r ar e for a lit er ar y wor k t o assume t he
man t le of gr eat n ess followin g a set
for mulaic r ecipe. A compar at ive st udy
of t his out line and t he final wor k t hat
it was t o become lat er pr oves t his point
wit hout a doubt . However t o fur t her
elucidat e t his claim it is impor t ant t o
see how much of t he out line plot and
char act er isat ion was r et ained by t he
aut hor and how much of it was given
a new t wist in t he final wor k.
3 . Chapt er 3 in t he out line closely
r esembles t he final chapt er 3 of t he novel.
Hor i buys a cow and t he whole village
t ur ns up t o see it . However his t wo
br ot her sSoma and Hir ahave differ ent
r eact ions. They dont come t o see t he
cow. In Godan, t he novel, Pr emchand
r epor t s t his t ension t hus: The whole
village came t o see t he cow. The only
ones who dont ar e Soma and Hir a, his
br ot her s... Hir a who is filled wit h jealousy
finally poisons t he cow. In bot h t he
out line and t he novel Hor i sees Hir a
give poison t o his cow but does not
r epor t t he mat t er t o t he police. This
is an example of wher e t he aut hor makes
no changes in t he out lined plot and
char act er isat ion and t he final chapt er .
4 . I n chapt er 4 Pr emchand uses
cer t ain plot st r ands while leaving out
some ot her s fr om t he final chapt er in
t he novel. Accor ding t o t he out line t he
chapt er has a Dussehr a celebr at ion at
t he Zamindar s place wher e Hor i comes
wit h his cont r ibut ion (shagun) for a fir e-
sacr ifice (dhart i-y ajna). Wher e in t he
out line Hor i get s t his money fr om selling
his bar ley cr op in t he novel he get s
it by selling his bamboo st ock. Again,
wh er e i n t h e out li n e t h e Zami n dar
addr esses t he whole village collect ed at
his place, in t he novel he confides in
Hor i alone, t elling him about his financial
difficult ies. Secondly, what s also missing
in t he novel is t he issue of incr eased
t axes and Hor is shamefacedness over
it . Besides t his J hun ia an d Gobar s
meet ing is also missing fr om t he novel.
In fact J hunia and Gobar ar e not even
pr esent at t he Zamindar s celebr at ions.
This par t of t he chapt er is t ot ally changed
in t he novel. Gobar and J hunia meet
for t he fir st t ime while get t ing t he cow.
This is wher e he pr oposes t o her and
she agr ees.
5. In chapt er 5 most of t he plot
out lines have been left out . Neit her does
J hunia have a daught er (she has a son
who is named MangalGoyanka) nor does
Goba r l ea ve for Ca l cu t t a a ft er t h e
panchayat ver dict . Inst ead, Hor i is faced
wit h excommunicat ion fr om his cast e
for keeping J hunia at his place. Unlike
t he out line, Hor i neit her goes away on
a pilgr image nor mor t gages his ancest r al
land. However , he does become a daily-
wage labour er t hough not at t he t ime
he does in t he out line but t owar ds t he
end of t he novel. In t he novel Gobar
flees t o Lucknow inst ead of Calcut t a.
Sonas mar r iage finds ment ion in bot h
t he out line and t he novel.
6 . The st or y of chapt er 6 is also
missing fr om t he final chapt er 6 of t he
novel. In fact it seems t he ent ir e chapt er
out line is st illbor n, hence missing fr om
t he chapt er as it finally appear s. In t he
novel Hor i doesnt make enough money
t o get his land out of mor t gage. He also
doesnt fight wit h his br ot her s because
of Mahua. It seems t he aut hor t hought
ot her wise t han t o include in t he novel
par t s wher e Hor i get s beat en up, fight s
his br ot her s in cour t , sees t hem lose
t h e ca s e a n d t h en exp er i en ces a n
unchar act er ist ic t r iumph at his vict or y.
Per haps Pr emchand t hought t he event s
t oo out of char act er for t he kind of
man he want ed t o por t r ay. Or maybe
he didnt want t o show Hor i in such
a r ealist (yat har t hvadi) light .
7. The st or y of J hunias deat h and
t he subsequent adopt ion of her daught er
by t he Zamindar ar e also missing fr om
t he final chapt er 7 of t he novel. In Godan,
t he novel, J hunia neit her dies nor is
her daught er (son) t aken up by t he
Zaminder . In t he novel J hunia is alive
t ill t he end and her son, Mangal, is br ought
up by bot h his fat her and his gr andfat her .
These changes ar e in no way cosmet ic
shift s but go on t o affect t he ent ir e
char act er of t he novel.
8 . Chapt er 8 of t he out line also comes
out r at her differ ent in t he final for m.
In t he novel t he Zamindar does not have
t wo sons and neit her does his son mar r y
J hunias daught er . Inst ead his only son
Rudr apal mar r ies Malt is younger sist er ,
Sar oj, and goes t o England. This is wher e
Rudr apals char act er like in t he out line
is excluded fr om fur t her development .
He is neit her a municipal employee, nor
a nat ionalist leader nor a social wor ker
admir ed by t he far mer s. Inst ead he slaps
a case of Rs 10 lakh against his fat her .
This is act ually a t ot al depar t ur e fr om
t he out lined char act er of t he Zamindar s
son .
9 . Wher e in chapt er 9 Hor i decides
t o sell off his youngest daught er wit hout
t he consent or knowledge of his wife
he doesnt do so in t he novel. Bot h Hor i
and his wife, Dhania, agr ee t o sell t heir
daught er , Rupa, for Rs 200 in t he novel.
Th e fi n a l ch a p t er 9 a l s o r evea l s
Pr emchands change of hear t about Hor is
wifes name. In t he out line shes called
J hinki but in t he novel J hinki becomes
Dhania.
10 . Chapt er 10 act ually includes a
lot fr om t he aut hor s or iginal out line.
Like t he r et ur n of Gobar , who comes
back a changed man! Though unlike t he
out line he doesnt come back spir it ually-
inclined but as a cunning man about
t own. The novel doesnt even ment ion
his spir it ual side and cur iously enough
neit her does it ment ion his quest ionable
accumulat ion of wealt h. Hor i, t oo is not
shown as a man on his deat hbed.
11. Chapt er 11 does in fact t ell Bholas
st or y but not in t he way it s been out lined.
Like in t he out line, Bhola does get mar r ied
a second t ime and faces t he consequences
of t he mar r iage. But he does not live
wit h Hor i and does not r esor t t o st ealing
in t he absence of a job. The scandalous
r elat ionship bet ween Bholas young wife,
Nohr i, and his son, J ungi, is also missing
fr om t he novel. This change is at t r ibut ed
t o t he illicit r elat ionship t hat in t he novel
develops bet ween Nokher am and Nohr i.
This int er est ing shift fr om a scandalous
st ep-mot her -son r elat ionship t o an out -
of-t he-family ext r a-mar it al affair could
be beca u s e of Pr emch a n d s n a t u r a l
r esist ance t o por t r aying base r ealism
(yat har t hvad). In bot h t he out line and
t he novel Bhola is beat en up by his
wife but his final end is missing fr om
t he novel.
12 . Chapt er 12 wit nesses t he deat h
of Hor i. In t he out line Hor i is a t ir ed
and defeat ed old man wait ing for t he
end of his sad life. But what t he out line
does not ment ion is Hor i becoming a
daily wage labour er and finally dying
of a heat -st r oke. The novel on t he ot her
hand doesnt ment ion Gobar t r ying t o
help his fat her t hr ough his mot her . In
t he out line at t he deat h of his fat her
Gobar car r ies out t he godan but in t he
novel it is his mot her , Dhania, who does
it for her husband wit h a mer e 20 annas.
And it is wit h t his act , which is bot h
r evolut ionar y and sacr eligious, t hat t he
aut hor cr eat es a power ful sense of t r agedy
and ir ony in t he novel. If on t he ot her
hand had t he godan been car r ied out
by Gobar t he novel would have lacked
it s r evolut ionar y appeal and t he t ower ing
p os i t i on i t n ow occu p i es i n wor l d
lit er at ur e.
I d ea s s u ch a s a gr i cu l t u r a l fa i r s ,
development , lit er ar y movement s, sugar
mills and cooper at ive movement s t hat
Pr emchand ment ions in t he out line ar e
also missing fr om t he final novel. Per haps
wit h t he not -so-not able except ion of
sugar mills which ar e ment ioned in passing
in t he novel.
Co n cl u s i o n : The or iginal out line of
Godan, t he novel, opens up an awesome
window t o t he hit her t o unknown cr eat ive
pr ocesses of Pr emchand, t he wr it er . It
not only has an hist or ical significance
as a document ar y pr oof of t he wr it er s
facilit y wit h languages it also opens up
aspect s of t he Hindi novel-in-pr ogr ess
t hat would be of immense int er est t o
r esear cher s and scholar s. Fr om t his point
of view t he English out line of t he Hindi
n ovel, Goda n , i s a n i mpor t a n t a n d
invaluable document in t ime.
Kamal Kishor e Goyan ka, a scholar an d academician who has don e ext en sive
r es ea r ch on Pr em Ch a n d . He h a s d ocu men t ed s ome fi n d i n gs t h a t wer e
h i t h er t o u n kn own t o r ea d er s of Pr em Ch a n d . He l i ves i n Del h i .
Note: Premchands notes on Godan Courtesy K.K.G.
TEXT AND CONTEXT: A SOCI OLOGI CAL
ANALYSI S OF DALI T CHARACTERS I N
PREMCH AND AND OTH ERS
Subhash Sharma
The Aut hor
Any lit er ar y piece is t o be seen in t er ms of bot h t ext and cont ext
as it is set in a specific t ime, place and social backgr ound and
has a pur pose. Unlike t he post -moder nist s who pr opound t hat
t her e is no univer sal t r ut h, no gr and nar r at ive, no one meaning
and, t her efor e, t hey deconst r uct t he t ext , it is imper at ive t o r elat e
t he t ext in a specific cont ext and t o r econst r uct it in or der
t o gr asp t he r eal meaning. Hence, for a social-cult ur al under st anding
of a lit er at ur e one is r equir ed t o sociologically analyse a lit er ar y
piece. Her e we select four Hindi novels fir st t wo wr it t en in
pr e- in depen den ce per iod an d t he lat t er t wo wr it t en in post -
independence per iod, viz., Rangbhumi by Pr emchand, Budhua Ki
Bet i by Pandeya Bechan Shar ma Ugr a, Par ishisht a by Gir ir aj
Kishor , and Dhar at i Dhan Na Apna by J agdish Chandr a.
This sociological analysis of char act er izat ion of dalit s in Hindi
novels is car r ied out in t er ms of following par amet er s:
a) Socio-cult ur al base of Dalit char act er s.
b) Dalit and non-Dalit int er act ion.
c) Do Dalit s pr ot est or not ?
d) Novelist s backgr ound and vision.
e) Which sor t of r ealism wor ks in t he mind of t he aut hor ?
The message conveyed by each novel.
D
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s
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s
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[ I ] Ra n gb h u m i ( P r e m c h a n d )
A. So c i o -c u l t u r a l Ba s e : The socio-
cult ur al base of t he novel Rangbhumi
is r ur al. It s t heme is t he beginning of
t he pr ocess of indust r ializat ion dur ing
Br it ish per iod-est ablishment of a fact or y
in a village Pandepur (near Benar as,
east er n U.P.) by acquir ing t he house
sit es as well as t he ent ir e land of t he
village. Differ ent cast es such as Brahman
(Naik Ram Panda) and Rajput (K. Bhar at
Singh, Mahendr a Kumar , et c.) as Upper
Cast es, Ahir (Bajr angi), Bania (J agdhar )
and Tamoli (Thakur din) as backwar d
cast es, Chamar (Sur das, Mit hua) and Pasi
(Bhair o, Subhagi) as lower cast es (dalit s)
ar e depict ed in t his novel. In t er ms of
r eligion, t hr ee major r eligions of India:
Hinduism, Islam and Chr ist ianit y ar e well
r epr esent ed her e. I n t er ms of r acial
backgr ound, English officials (Mr . Clar k)
and Indians ar e depict ed in t his novel.
As far as gender is concer ned, bot h male
and female char act er s ar e por t r ayed. The
r ange of t he novel expands fr om a village,
namely Pandepur , t o t he cit y of Benar as
an d t h en t o Raj put an a ( Raj ast h an ) ,
Punjab, Gar hwal and Poona.
B. I n t e r a ct i o n : Ther e ar e bot h int r a-
dalit and dalit -non-dalit int er act ions in
t his novel. On t he one hand, wit hin t he
Da l i t commu n i t y t h er e i s bot h co-
oper at ion and conflict . For example,
Sur das (belonging t o a Chamar -dalit -
Cast e) is har assed by anot her dalit ,
Bh air o, belon gin g t o Pasi cast e, by
commit t ing t heft in t he hut of t he for mer
and, by accusing him of having illicit
r elat ion ship wit h his ( lat t er s) wife,
Subh agi an d even t ually get t i n g h i m
punished by t he Honor ar y Magist r at e.
On t he cont r ar y, despit e such at t empt s
for his char act er assassinat ion, Sur das
gives shelt er t o t he oust ed Subhagi as
his sist er . Ther e is an int er -cast e conflict
in t er ms of at t empt ing t o out r age t he
mod es t y of Su bh a gi by t wo you t h s
bel on gi n g t o ba ckwa r d commu n i t y
(Vidyadhar and Ghisu). On t his issue,
Sur das does not compr omise despit e t he
pr essur e fr om t he societ y. He get s t hem
punished, so t hat nobody would dar e
t o ou t r a ge t h e mod es t y of women .
Fur t her , unlike t he t r adit ional r ur al social
st r uct ur e in India, in Pandepur t her e
ar e no separ at e set t lement s for differ ent
cast es, especially for dalit s. Mor eover ,
all t he villager s of differ ent cast es t ake
par t in social and r eligious funct ions
like singing of devot ional songs (bhajans)
wher ein t he r ole of blind Sur das is ver y
significant . Anot her dalit Bhair o also
par t icipat es in such funct ions. Sur das
is appr eciat ed by all t he village per sons
including Naik Ram Panda, belonging t o
t he highest Br ahmin cast e. Sur das also
t akes milk, et c. fr om differ ent villager s
(especially fr om Bajr angi) fr ee of cost
for his n ephew, Mit hua. Her e cast e
divisions exist but wit hout conflict . Thus,
Sur das even t hough he belongs t o dalit
commu n i t y, d oes n ot fa ce ca s t e
pr ejudices. Ther efor e, socially he is in
t he cor e gr oup of t he societ y, not on
t he mar gin. In r ealit y, on t he basis of
achievement of qualit ies like sacr ifice,
t r ut hfulness, helpfulness, et c. (inst ead
of ascr ipt ion), Sur das get s mor e r espect
fr om one and all. Even J ohn Sewak,
capit alist - in dust r ialist , again st whom
Sur das had fought a long-dr awn st r uggle
due t o t he acquisit ion of his land by
him by for ce, goes t o t he hospit al (wher e
Sur das is admit t ed) and begs par don
for his inhuman conduct . Not only t his,
Sop h i a , d a u gh t er of J oh n Sewa k,
a p p r eci a t ed Su r d a s fr om t h e ver y
beginning because of his many mor al
qualit ies. Even t he t ough and dict at or -
like dist r ict Collect or , Mr . Clar k, is also
afr aid of good per sons like Sur das and
r epent s t hat he had t aken coer cive act ion
against such per sons whose Eur opean
count er par t s commanded his r espect . At
t he deat h of Sur das, Mr Clar k says t o
Mahendr a Kumar : I fear not per sons
like you, but such per sons (as Sur das)
who r ule peoples hear t s. It is a r epent ance
of r uling her e t hat in t his count r y (India)
we kill t hose per sons whom we would
have t hought as god-like (P.523). Thus,
non-dalit s r espect him mor e t han even
dalit s do.
C. P r o t e s t : Dalit s have pr ot est ed in t his
novel against t heir exploit at ion. The
cen t r a l da li t ch a r a ct er , Sur da s, h a s
pr ot est ed t ime and again when his land
as well as house sit e wer e acquir ed by
a capit alist , namely, J ohn Sevak, t hr ough
t he dist r ict administ r at ion. Ther e in t he
pr ot est it self, he is killed by t he bullet
of t he Collect or . Sur das pr ot est ed t he
land acquisit ion by for ce and wit hout
due payment on following gr ounds:
a) It is his ancest r al pr oper t y t o
be pr eser ved, not t o be disposed off;
b) It is an open land used as past ur e
for t he village animals;
c) It cannot be disposed off wit hout
t he consent of t he villager s;
d) He also want ed t o const r uct a
dr inking well t her e for t he use of passer s-
by and villager s.
Secon d l y, Su bh a gi , a n ot h er d a l i t
char act er , and Sur das caught hold of
t wo village yout hs (Vidyadhar and Ghisu)
when t he lat t er t r ied t o out r age her
modest y at night in t he house of Sur das,
wher e she had t aken shelt er . Fur t her
despit e r equest by t he villager s t o excuse
t he t wo accused boys, Sur das r efused
out r ight and got t hem punished under
t he r ule of law. Thir dly, Bhair o accuses
Sur das of having illicit r elat ionship wit h
his wife Subhagi and complains t o t he
Honor ar y Magist r at e, Raja Mahendr a
Kumar , who wit hout making an impar t ial
inquir y punishes bot h Sur das and Subhagi
by fining t hem. But Sur das pr ot est against
t his injust ice befor e t he cour t it self. Then
a lar ge number of people gat her over
t h er e a n d t h ey s u p p or t Su r d a s
economically and mor ally. They collect
s u bs cr i p t i on vol u n t a r i l y a n d ma ke
payment of t he fine imposed.
However , in t hese t hr ee event s t hough
t he vict ims ar e fr om t he dalit communit y,
t he fact r emains t hat t hey ar e vict imized
not simply because t hey ar e dalit s. In
t he fir st event , Sur dass land is for cibly
acquir ed along wit h ot her villager s lands
for i n d u s t r i a l i za t i on es p eci a l l y for
con s t r u ct i on of a ci ga r et t e fa ct or y.
Second event t akes place when t he t wo
yout hs, fr om backwar d communit y, find
it easy t o exploit Subhagi when she was
alone because Sur das, being a blind man,
wa s n ot p er cei ved t o be a r ea l
obst r uct ion. In t he t hir d event , Bhair o
himself is a dalit and accuses anot her
dalit for allegedly exploit ing his wife.
Fur t her it is not able t hat Sur das is himself
a leader , not a follower . He is capable
of or ganizing a st r ong movement against
t he land acquisit ion and also against
t he par t ial judgement of t he honor ar y
magist r at e, due t o his st r ong will power .
This fir m det er minat ion is seen when
his hut is bur nt by some ant i-social
element s and his nephew Mit hua asks
r epeat edly as t o what will happen if such
element s bur nt his hut one lakh t imes,
Sur das coolly r eplies t hat he would
r ebuild t he hut one lakh t imes. Thus,
his pr ot est is or ganized, ar t iculat e and
fir mly det er mined due t o his st r ong desir e
t o pr ot est against t he injust ice in a
con s t r u ct i ve Ga n d h i a n wa y of n on -
vi ol en ce.
D. No v e l i s t s Ba c k g r o u n d a n d
Vi s i o n : Pr emchand was bor n in a
lower -middle class family of Kayast ha
cast e (an upper cast e in Hindu cast e
syst em) in a village called Lamahi in
Benar as in 1880. He was educat ed upt o
gr aduat e level (B.A.) and was wor king
as a t eacher and Deput y Inspect or of
Schools under t he Br it ish Gover nment .
This novel was wr it t en by him dur ing
1922-1924. This was t he per iod when
I n d i a n Na t i on a l Con gr es s h a d t h e
leader ship of Mahat ma Gandhi, who
t ur ned t he one-dimensional movement ,
limit ed t o ur ban ar eas and t he educat ed
class only, t o t he masses in t he vast
r ur al ar eas. He also int r oduced new
t echniques of pr ot est non-violence, civil
disobedience, demonst r at ion, boycot t of
for eign goods, gover n men t jobs an d
gover nment or ganizat ions like schools.
He visit ed differ ent par t s of t he count r y
for act ively involving t he people at lar ge.
One such visit was t o Gor akhpur (U.P.)
on t he 8
t h
of Febr uar y, 1921, wher e
Gandhiji deliver ed a passionat e pat r iot ic
speech which impr essed t he wr it er Pr em
Chand ver y much. Ther efor e, on t he 15
t h
of Febr uar y, 1921, he r esigned fr om t he
gover nment job aft er ser ving for about
21 year s under t he Br it ish r ule. Befor e
t his, his one collect ion of st or ies namely
Soz-e-wat an, published in Ur du, was
seized by t he Br it ish Collect or alleging
it t o be ant i-gover nment in spir it . Since
t hen Pr em Chand st ar t ed wr it ing in Hindi
and changed his name fr om Nawab Rai
t o Pr em Chand t o avoid gover nment s
wr at h. To him, lit er at ur e always had a
pu r pos e ( s oci a l , econ omi c, cu l t u r a l ,
polit ical).
As far as his vision is concer ned,
he had a clear vision about t he liber at ion
of India fr om t he Br it ish r ule in gener al
and t hat of masses fr om Zamindar s and
capit alist s in par t icular . In t his novel
Ra n g bhu m i t h e cen t r a l ch a r a ct er ,
Su r d a s , s eems t o be i n s p i r ed a n d
influenced by Mahat ma Gandhi who st ood
for t he common people of t he villages
and was against t he Br it ish Gover nment .
Sur das is one of t he most common
char act er s who is economically poor ,
a peasant by occupat ion, belonging t o
t h e l ower ca s t e of ch a ma r ( d a l i t ) ,
physically handicapped (blind), illit er at e
and a beggar . However , despit e being
weak he has ext r a-or dinar y qualit ies such
as having consider at ion for ot her s, st r ong
willpower , mor al values, et c. He applies
non-violence as a legit imat e means for
legit imat e ends, does not t ell a lie, and
has a lot of slef-confidence and cour age.
On analysis of t he novel, following
point s r egar ding his vision emer ge:
a) Pr em Chand is not bound by t he
middle class syndr ome. Ther efor e, he
t r a n s cen d s h i s s oci a l , cu l t u r a l a n d
economic backgr ound and makes a man
fr om lower cast e and class as t he cent r al
char act er of t hen novel.
b) His vision goes beyond t he limit ed
ar ea of t own t o t he vast ar eas of villages.
c) He t akes t he side of women like
Subhagi who ar e exploit ed by t heir
husband under par t r iar chy. Thus, he
st ands for womens r ight s.
d) Thr ough Sur das, Pr em Chand has
depi ct ed t h e t h en n at i on al fr eedom
st r uggle against t he Br it ish r ule. Like
in Indian Nat ional Congr ess t her e ar e
bot h liber als and r adicals in t his novel
wh o op p os e t h e Br i t i s h p ol i cy of
I n d u s t r i a l i s a t i on a t t h e cos t of
d i s p l a cemen t a n d evi ct i on of t h e
villager s.
e) Pr em Chand has shown t he nexus
bet ween t he capit alist class (J ohn Sevak),
Zamindar class (Kunwar Bhar at Singh,
Mahendr a Kumar ) and t he colonial power
(Mr . Clar k). Pr em Chand has also been
successful in pr esent ing inst ances of
t r anscendence of class; for example,
Sophia moves her self fr om t he capit alist
class and Vinay fr om t he zamindar class.
Thus, t hey declass t hemselves. Fur t her ,
Sophia, A Chr ist ian, shows her liking
for fr eedom t o choose one of many gods
in Hinduism.
E. Typ e o f Re a l i s m a n d Me s s a ge :
Her e t he r ealism depict ed by Pr em Chand
is neit her socialist r ealism nor a pur e
cr it ical r ealism. He was impr essed by
Gandhiji and Ar ya Samaj in his r eal life
and in t his novel Pr em Chand appear s
wit h his voice of a t r ue nat ionalist
and a t r ue wr it er of Indias nat ional
fr eedom st r uggle. He has not depict ed
r ealism in st at us quo and naked for m,
i.e., nat ur alism because he found differ ent
shades of r ealit y exist ing side by side
as well as t he pot ent ialit ies of change.
He br ought aut hent icit y by depict ing
d i ffer en t d i men s i on s of d i ffer en t
char act er s in Rangbhumi. He has not
ma d e Su r d a s a n a bs ol u t e h er o
deliber at ely by showing some of his
weaknesses also t hough his st r engt h is
mor e highlight ed t han his weaknesses.
For inst ance, Sur das owns 10 bighas of
land and can get sufficient food for his
living by giving t his land on adhiya t o
someone in t he village but he is not
shown t o do so, r at her he ear ns his
living by begging. Secondly, t hough his
nephew Mit hua is in bad company, he
has bur nt Bhair os shop and also does
not car e for Sur das, yet while admit t ed
in t he hospit al and lying on his deat h
bed, he asked Mit hua whet her he would
per for m all t he r it uals for him or not
because he was t he only heir fr om his
family and cast e. Thus, he is t ill conscious
of his family and cast e t ies. Thir dly,
Sur das is ver y much anxious t o go t o
Gaya for t ar pan (salvat ion) of his
ancest or s. This concer n for t he dead,
t he past , t hat is , hist or y, of an element
of Indian t r adit ion which has been quit e
r ealist ically pr esent ed by Pr em Chand.
Pr em Chands r ealism seems t o be
close t o cr it ical r ealism. Pr em Chands
Rangbhumi has peasant s, unt ouchables
and women as gr oups. Ther efor e, gr oup
char act er is significant but at t he same
t i me t h e ch a r a ct a r of Su r d a s i s
p r omi n en t l y d ep i ct ed wi t h va r i ou s
posit ive qualit ies of a her o (t hough he
may not be called a her o, he is cer t ainly
a cent r al char act er ). Sur das r allies gr oups
an d in dividuals again st t he colon ial
design. Ther efor e, Pr em Chands r ealism
ma y be ca l l ed h u ma n i s t i c cr i t i ca l
r ealism.
One finds following messages fr om
Rangbhumi:
a) Indust r ialisat ion is not t he panacea
for a l l p r obl ems l i ke p over t y,
u n emp l oymen t , et c. beca u s e t h e
pr omot er s of indust r ializat ion int end t o
open only t hose fact or ies (like a cigar et t e
fact or y her e) which ar e mor e and mor e
pr ofit -or ient ed ir r espect ive of t he fact
wh et h er t h ey gen er a t e en ou gh
employment or not .
b) One finds a st r uggle for pr ot ect ing
womens dignit y fr om t he clut ches of
wi cked p er s on s . I t i s n ot women s
liber at ion of west er n t ype wher e women
ar e in t ot al opposit ion t o t he males.
Rat her her e Pr em Chand depict s womens
emancipat ion t hr ough male (Sur das)-
fema l e ( Su bh a gi ) p a r t n er s h i p . Th i s
i n ci si ve i n si gh t i s ver y appr eci able,
especially dur ing t he fir st quar t er of 20
t h
cen t ur y.
c) Nat ional fr eedom st r uggle (depict ed
in t he act ivit ies of Seva Samit i) is t he
most impor t ant for all t he cast es and
communit ies and t hough t he novels main
focus is cent er ed in Benar as, t he st r uggle
ext ends t o Rajput ana, Punjab, Gar hwal
and Poona.
d) One finds a br oad r epr esent at ion
of Indian social r ealit y in t his novel
in t er ms of a lar ge number of char act er s
fr om d i ffer en t ba ckgr ou n d s s oci a l ,
econ omi c, ed u ca t i on a l , p ol i t i ca l ,
r eligious, et c.
e) Though her o is not ver y essent ial
in a novel, yet t he cent r al char act er
mat t er s in t er ms of his or her qualit ies
of achievement and especially his or
her vision of t he societ y.
f) The novel depict s social life in
a complicat ed and complex way, t her e
for e, r ea l i s m of t h i s n ovel i s a l s o
comp l i ca t ed , comp l ex a n d mu l t i -
dimensional. In shor t , a novel cannot
be a shor t -cut genr e of r ealism as human
life is never shor t -cut . In t er ms of bot h
r ange and dept h, t her efor e, Rangbhumi
is a major novel. However , t o be mor e
specific, it s r an ge also cover s some
insignificant event s such as Tahir Alis
family affair s, closeness of Sophia and
Clar k leading t o t heir visit t o Udaipur
wit hout being mar r ied. Similar ly, in or der
t o show his pat r iot ism, event s such as
suicide by Vinay Singh, coincidence of
t he meet ing of Vinay and Sophia in t he
r ailway compar t ment while r et ur ning
fr om Udaipur , Vinay and Sophia st aying
in a t r ibal village in Rajput ana maint aining
ch a s t i t y d es p i t e t h e u s e of s ome
indigenous medicines for hypnot izing
Sophia by Vinay seem t o be unr ealist ic.
g) Pr em Chand seems t o st and for
t he liber at ion of all depr ived sect ions
li ke pea s a n t s , women , u n t ou ch a bles
(dalit s), and illit er at es in t heir fight
against t he nexus of t he capit alist s,
zamindar s and imper ialist s.
h) Finally, Pr em Chand st ands for
a pr ogr essive and scient ific vision by
op p os i n g s u p er s i t i t i on s , commu n a l
p r ej u d i ces , ca s t e bi a s es a n d ot h er
par ochial and pr imor dial t ies.
[ I I ] BUDH UA KI BETI
A. So c i o - c u l t u r a l Ba s e : The novel
Budhua Ki bet i is based on t he ur ban
societ y of Benar as in U.P. Differ ent cast es
l i ke Br a h ma n ( Agh or i ) , Ra j p u t
(Ghanshyam), Kayast ha as well as dalit s
(Bhangis like Budhua) figur e in t his novel.
As far as r eligions ar e concer ned, t hr ee
major r eligions of IndiaHinduism, Islam
and Chr ist ianit y ar e ver y well depict ed
t her e. Even in t er ms of r ace, English
officials like Mr . Young (Dist r ict J udge)
and his wife, Mr s. Young, as well as
ot her Eur opean char act er s ar e depict ed.
Si mi l a r l y, bot h ma l e a n d fema l e
char act er s, lit er at e and illit er at e, young
and old ones ar e depict ed. Though t he
novel begins and cent r es ar ound Benar as
cit y, it ends wit h t he depar t ur e of one
main female char act er , Radha, t o Eur ope
along wit h Mr . Young as his heir ess.
dalit and dalit -non-dalit int er act ions in
t he novel. Radha, being a dalit gir l, is
sexually exploit ed by an upper cast e
man, Ghanshyam (Rajput ) while Aghor i
Manushyanand, belonging t o anot her
h i gh er ca s t e ( Br a h ma n ) , i s wh ol e-
h ea r t ed l y h el pi n g t h e u n t ou ch a bl es
liber at ion as a cat alyst agent . He openly
d efi es ol d t r a d i t i on a l cu s t oms a n d
sanct ions against t he unt ouchables. The
messiah of t he dalit s, B.R. Ambedkar ,
became act ive on t he nat ional scene for
launching a movement of dalit s t emple
ent r y in 1930 for t he fir st t ime in Indian
hist or y. But , befor e t hat in 1928 it self
novelist Ugr a allowed dalit s ent r y t o
Vishwanat h t emple in Benar as in his novel
Budhua Ki bet i under t he inspir at ion
of a cen t r a l ch a r a ct er Agh or i
Manushyanand. That shows t hat as an
aut hor , Ugr a was much ahead of his
t imes. Fur t her , about fift y volunt eer s
inspir ed by Aghor i Baba wor ked t ir elessly
for t he emancipat ion of dalit s t hough
t hey hailed fr om upper cast e and middle
class backgr ound. Fur t her mor e, t her e is
close int er act ion bet ween Hindus and
Chr ist ians as shown in t he char act er s
such as Aghor i Baba and t he pr iest of
t he Chur ch, Fat her J ohnson, Aghor i Baba
and Mr . Young (Dist r ict J udge). Fur t her ,
Liakat Hussain and Rahman fr om Muslim
communit y have negat ive int er act ion and
t hey sexually exploit Budhuas wife, Sukli,
on t he pr et ext of blessing her wit h a
son t hr ough t he angels. But int er est ingly,
Budhuas daught er helps and car es when
Liakat Hussain suffer s fr om illness and
st ar vat ion lat er in advanced age. She
and Aghor i Baba give him shelt er in
Ashr am. Fur t her wit hin dalit s t hemselves,
t h er e a r e d i ffer en t op i n i on s ol d
gener at ion of dalit s, mor e oft en, want
a peaceful compr omise while t he young
gener at ion is in a mood t o r evolt against
t he syst em it self. While t he old gener at ion
of non-dalit s is mor e st at us quoit s, t he
young gener at ion of t heir volunt eer s is
r eady t o give a bet t er space for dalit s
in t he pr evailing r elat ionship.
C. P r o t e s t : In t his novel, sweeper s wer e
or ganized by t he inspir at ion of Aghor i
Baba and under t he leader ship of Budhua
fr om amongst t hemselves t o fight against
t h e s oci a l , econ omi c a n d cu l t u r a l
oppr ession by t he upper cast es. Fir st
t hey make symbolic pr ot est and lat er
t hey go on st r ike and do not clean
individual and public lat r ines, dr ains,
r oads, et c. The administ r at ionbot h civil
and policefails in negot iat ion wit h t hem.
They lat er r et ur n t o wor k only when
t heir demands of building new houses,
enhancement of wages, const r uct ion of
a new t emple, opening of a new school,
and impar t ing new t echnical skills t o
t heir yout h ar e accept ed wit h dignit y.
Th u s , t h ei r d ema n d s a r e mu l t i -
d i men s i on a l ; s oci a l , econ omi c a n d
cult ur al. But , it is int er est ing t o not e
t hat in t he beginning when a Vaidya
and allopat hic doct or s r efused t o t r eat
Budhuas fir st wife on t he gr ound of
unt ouchabilit y (social cause)and also
because of his pover t y (economic cause),
Budh ua deci ded t o make i n di vi dual
pr ot est by declar ing not t o clean t he
lat r ines of any Vaidya or doct or even
if he has t o clean t he excr et a of dogs.
This individual pr ot est lat er get s mor e
or ganized and collect ive mobilizat ion
t akes t he for m of social pr ot est t hat
is inspir ed and or ganized by Aghor i Baba
but led by Budhua himself. The dalit
masses join in it . The success of t heir
collect ive st r ike, a dir ect conflict , clear ly
shows t he way for fut ur e act ion.
Vi s i o n : Ugr a was bor n on t he 29
t h
of December , 1900, in Mir zapur (U.P.)
and died in 1967. He was bor n in a
Br ahman family wit h lower middle class
back gr ound in a r ur al ar ea. While
st udying he had composed a poem on
Mahat ma Gandhi. Fur t her , he wr ot e a
st or y Gandhi Ashram. That shows t he
influence of Gandhism on him. He also
joined nat ional fr eedom st r uggle and went
t o j a i l . However , l a t er h e beca me
disillusioned wit h Gandhian liber alism
in 1923-1924 and t alked of even violent
means for nat ions liber at ion. His st or ies
Swadesh Ke Liy e (1923), Woh Din and
Sundari Hinsa (1924) wer e in t his spir it ,
and t hese wer e a cr it ique of Gandhian
philosophy of non-violence. He used t o
wr it e r evolut ionar y st or ies as he was
ver y much impr essed by t he Soviet
Revolut ion of 1917. However , he did
n ot j oi n a n y s oci a l i s t p ol i t i ca l
or ganizat ion. He joined Mat wala gr oup
of non-confor mist wr it er s in Kolkat a. His
fir st ant hology of r evolut ionar y st or ies,
namely Chingariy an, was published in
1926. Out of t welve st or ies of t his
collect ion, six wer e concer ned wit h t he
backgr ound of Soviet Revolut ion while
t he r emaining six wer e based on Indian
fr eedom st r uggle. But because of it s
r evolut ionar y appeal, it was seized by
t he Br it ish Gover nment on 26 May, 1928
1
.
Ugr a r emained unmar r ied and, t her efor e,
believed in unr est r ict ed sexulit y, even
t o t he ext ent of pr ost it ut ion. In childhood,
he used t o t ake par t in Ramlila bot h
as Lakshman and Sit a.
Ugr a was moder at ely educat ed and
he gave due space t o pover t y, sexual
exploit at ion and unt ouchabilit y in his
wr it ings. When he edit ed Vijay a issue
of Swadesh in Oct ober , 1924, it was
seized and a case was inst it ut ed against
him and ot her s for waging a war against
t he St at e and t hen he was punished wit h
9 mont hs impr isonment
2
. Ugr a had joined
act ive jour nalism and his ideal was V.V.
Par adkar , t he edit or of Aaj. He did not
believe in t he t heor y of ar t for ar t sake
r at her his lit er at ur e had a r evolut ionar y
et hos against Br it ish r uler s, exploit er s
of women and t he cast e syst em. His
mult i-dimensional vision is r eflect ed in
Budhua Ki Bet i which is a cr eat ive wor k
of bot h dalit s discouse and womens
discour se. Though Pr emchand had wr it t en
Rangbhumi ear lier in 1925 depict ing
a dalit blind man, namely Sur das, as
cent r al char act er , yet dalit s discour se
per se was not t he t heme of t hat novel.
On t he ot her hand, Budhua Ki Bet i is
pur ely a dalit discour se, by a non-dalit
wr it er who, despit e havin g n o self-
exp er i en ce, h a s been s u cces s fu l i n
depict ing dalit s and womens exploit at ion
simult aneously by having empat hy, in
wor d and deed. One of his main char act er s,
Aghor i Baba t r anscends his middle class
and upper cast e (Br ahman) backgr ound
while inspir ing t he exploit ed dalit masses
as a cat alyst . Ugr a sincer ely r ealized
t hat cast e syst em was ver y complex,
t her efor e, t o br eak it he cr eat ed t he
char act er of Aghor i Baba who, being
Aghori, did not believe in unt ouchabilit y.
Thus, Ugr a t hr ough Aghor i Baba, has
been successful in his novel t o liber at e
t h e l owes t s weep er ca s t e i n t h e
hier ar chised Hindu social or der .
Ugr a has been accused of nat ur alism
and naked depict ion by many cr it ics
i n Hi n d i l i t er a t u r e l i ke Ba n a r s i d a s
Chat ur vedi
3
, Nalin V. Shar ma
4
and ot her s.
However , it is not t r ue at least in t he
novel of Budhua Ki Bet i because he
has just not phot ogr aphed t he social
r ealit y as it exist s in naked for m r at her
he also shows t he pot ent ialit ies and
p os s i bi l i t i es of t h e d own - t r od d en
unt ouchables and women. In fact , he
was an act ivist wr it er who par t icipat ed
in t he movement of fr eedom st r uggle
as well as lit er ar y movement for social
change. His novel is explosive and ahead
of his t ime and, t her efor e, many of his
collea gues a n d con t empor a r y cr i t i cs
could not digest his r ebel wr it ings like
Budhua Ki Bet i. Dur ing 1920s, nat ional
movement of fr eedom st r uggle had t wo
st r eams of act ion-liber al and r adical. Ugr a
highlight ed t he r adical side of social
r ealit y in or der t o br ing st r uct ur al social
changes in t he syst em. He had cr eat ive
ener gy t o diagnose t he exist ing social
p r obl ems vi vi d l y a n d mi n u t el y.
Ther efor e, he has gone int o t he dept h
of social sit uat ion of unt ouchabilit y. His
novels r ange is not ver y lar ge, but it s
d ep t h i s cer t a i n l y con s i d er a bl e.
Ther efor e, his novel Budhua Ki Bet i,
and ot her wr it ings had a lar ge number
of r eader s and his wr it ing had many
edit ions. He t r anscended his high cast e
backgr ound and capt ur ed t he delicat e
a n d mi n u t e s h a d es of r ea l i t y by
empat hizing wit h t he unt ouchables and
women. Though he had no dir ect self-
exper ience, he had a for war d-looking
vision. The t ype of r ealism depict ed t her e
is subalt er n r ealism. The messages of
t he novel ar e as following:
(a) The upper cast es have t o give
due space t o t he down-t r odden dalit s
in a dignified way.
(b) Dalit s liber at ion demands a mult i-
dimensional st r at egy (social, economic,
polit ical and cult ur al) simult aneously so
t hat t he exploit er s may not t ake undue
advant age of t heir subor dinat e posit ion
in a societ y in one way or ot her .
(c) Women are as much down-trodden
as unt ouchables; t her efor e, t hey deser ve
a similar kind of liber at ion. Fur t her ,
dalit women suffer fr om social, economic
and gender discr iminat ion t hus a t r iple
cur se becomes t he dest iny of dalit women.
(d) Chr ist ianit y does not believe in
unt ouchabilit y as Hinduism and Islam
do in pr act ice in India. Though, accor ding
t o t he novelist , Chr ist ian Missionar ies
may be appr eciat ed for having a posit ive
view t owar ds unt ouchables as far as
appr opr iat e int er act ion is concer ned, yet
t hey have also a n ar r ow mot ive of
con ver s i on of t h e d own - t r od d en
unt ouchables. Ther efor e, in t he ult imat e
analysis, t hey ar e also not t r ue and
genuine fr iends of dalit s.
( e) Dalit s ar e so much oppr essed t hat
t he leader ship for social change does
not aut omat ically emer ge on it s own
r at her it r equir es a cat alyst agent fr om
out side in or der t o inspir e and mobilize
t hem in such a way t hat aft er somet ime
when t he movement get s moment um
a genuine leader ship may emer ge fr om
amongst t hemselves.
[ I I I ] P a r i s h i s h t a
A. So c i o - c u l t u r a l Ba s e : The novel
Par ishisht a was published in 1984. It
is based in a village in west er n U.P.
but ext ends t o an ur ban ar ea in west er n
U.P. wher e Bawan Ram is wor king in
a fact or y. Lat er , it ext ends t o Delhi wher e
t h er e i s a n I . I . T. wh er ei n cen t r a l
ch a r a ct er , An u ku l Ra m, t a kes h i s
admission t o Engineer ing cour se of st udy.
In t his novel t her e ar e sever al dalit s-
Anukul Ram, his fat her Bawan Ram,
Par vat i (mot her of Anukul), Ram Ujagir ,
h i s fa t h er Su va r a n Ch ou d h a r y a n d
Babur am and upper cast es like Rajendr a
Singh (M.P.), Khanna, Nilamma, Pr of.
Malkani as well as backwar ds like Mr .
Ch audh ar y ( Member of Par li amen t ) .
Bawan Ram is educat ed only upt o eigt h
st andar d but Par vat i is illit er at e.
B. I n t e r a c t i o n : Th e n ovel i s t h a s
depict ed int r a-dalit and dalit -non-dalit
int er act ion ver y vividly. Dalit char act er s
such as Ram Ujagir and Anukul fight
for t he cause of dalit whole-hear t edly
bu t a n ot h er d a l i t , a Ba l mi ki boy,
( Ba bu r a m) i s u n a bl e t o fi gh t t h e
exploi t at i on an d ult i mat ely escapes.
Though Nilamma and Pr of. Malkani belong
t o upper cast es, t hey have t r ue empat hy
for dalit s. However , Bawan Ram, because
of less educat ion and r ur al socializat ion,
suspect s Nilamma of influencing his son
Anukul for making love. Similar ly, Ram
Ujagir s mot her , sist er -in-law and ot her
family member s as well as villager s also
suspect her of influencing him for making
love. But t he t r ut h is ot her wise. Ther efor e,
Nilamma clar ifies her posit ion st r ongly
at bot h places. She r epr esent s womens
cat egor y as far as exploit at ion under
pat r iar chy (wher e a dalit male t hinks
himself super ior t o an upper cast e female)
is concer ned but at t he same t ime she
t r a n s cen d s h er ca s t e ba ckgr ou n d
(Br ahmin) and t akes t he side of dalit s
Ram Ujagir and Anukul. She fight s for
t he accommodat ion for Anukuls fat her
wit h t he est ablishment . Thus she ident ifies
her cause of women wit h t hat of dalit s
for a u n i t ed s t r u ggl e a ga i n s t t h e
exploit at ion of cast e and par t r iar chy.
Similar ly, Pr of. Malkani, a non-dalit ,
suppor t s Ram Ujagir . On t he ot her hand,
upper cast e st udent s like Khanna and
aut hor it ies discr iminat e against dalit s.
C. P r o t e s t : In t his novel dalit st udent s
pr ot est when t hey ar e t aunt ed in t he
host el and campus by t he upper cast e
st uden t s who r emin d t hem of t heir
for efat her s t r adit ional dir t y occupat ions
of leat her wor ks, et c. Fur t her , t hey also
p r ot es t wh en t h ey a r e a bu s ed a n d
assault ed by Khanna and his t eam. When
t he administ r at ion of t he Inst it ut e t r ies
t o ignor e t he deat h of Ram Ujagir , a
dalit st udent , t he dalit st udent s and t heir
par ent s, wit h t he suppor t of some non-
dalit st udent s like Nilamma and non-
dalit t eacher s like Pr of. Malkani, pr ot est
against t hem and declar e it as a deat h
for ced by societ y against it s syst em.
Ram Ujagir pr ot est s wit h a zeal against
t he exploit at ive syst em in his daily life
but ult imat ely he sur r ender s due t o t he
p r es s u r e of a d ver s e ci r cu ms t a n ces
imposed by t he Inst it ut e in t er ms of
not allowing his r eadmission. Differ ence
bet ween t he pr ot est by Anukul and Ram
Ujagir is expr essed in t he let t er t hat
Ram Ujagir wr ot e befor e his deat h; I
was st r uggling wit h ent husiasm while you
ar e st r uggling wit h an under st anding
You have r est lessness t o change, not
hat r ed against your cir cumst ances. You
have wit hin your self a longdr awn st r uggle,
not a r evolt of a spar k. By change
you mean t o change fr om wit hin while
I t hought on ly t he out er chan ge is
change
5
. Thus it is clear t hat Ram Ujagir
was t he fir st dalit t o sacr ifice for t he
cause of t he ent ir e communit y and t hat
cause is st ill pur sued by Anukul in a
mor e sust ained st r uggle.
Vi s i o n : The novelist Gir ir aj Kishor
was bor n in an Agr awal (t r ader ) family
in Muzaffar nagar (U.P.). He t ook higher
educat ion and got a job at I.I.T. Kanpur
( a s Di r ect or , Cr ea t i ve Wr i t i n g a n d
Publicat ion Cent r e). He hailed fr om a
middle cast e and class. He believes:
Ther e is not hing like Scheduled Cast e,
r at her t her e is a scheduled ment ailt y,
whosoever is pushed aside by t he elit e
class which has hegemony, becomes t he
scheduled one
6
. He t r anscends his middle
ca s t e a n d cl a s s ba ckgr ou n d a n d
empat hises wit h t he dalit s. Accor ding
t o him, it is not necessar y t hat for wr it ing
on d a l i t s con s ci ou s n es s , on e h a s
necessar ily t o be a dalit by bir t h, r at her
it is enough if one put s oneself in t hat
sit uat ion and r ealises t he pangs of t he
syst em minut ely. The novelist has a
fu t u r i s t i c vi s i on t o h i gh l i gh t t h e
exploit at ion of t he st udent s fr om t he
down-t r odden class, especially fr om r ur al
ar eas. They have not only monet ar y
pr oblems in pur chasing cost ly books and
inst r ument s but also social pr oblems of
int er act ion wit h higher cast e and class
s t u d en t s . Th ey ca n n ot s p ea k a l i en
language, namely English, which is t he
medium of inst r uct ion in t he t echnical
inst it ut ions in India. Thus t he novelist
does not mer ely depict t he social r ealit y
fr om cast e angle but also fr om class
and cult ur al angles. Fur t her , t he aut hor
has been a keen obser ver while depict ing
t he subor dinat e st at us of women in
s oci et y i n gen er a l a n d ed u ca t i on a l
i n s t i t u t i on s i n p a r t i cu l a r . Act u a l l y,
women face similar kinds of obst acles
as dalit s do because bot h issues (cast e
and gender ) ar e decided by t he local
societ y upper cast e hegemon y an d
pat r iar chy r espect ively.
Th e n ovel i s t h a s s u cceed ed i n
r ealist ically depict ing var ious shades of
r ealism at individual, gr oup and societ y
levels. For inst ance, Bawan Ram and
h i s Ch a ma r commu n i t y h a s fa ced
d i s cr i mi n a t i on fr om n on - d a l i t s wh o
consider ed t hem low. However , dalit s
a l s o h a ve i n t r a - d a l i t h i er a r ch y of
d i s cr i mi n a t i on a n d t h e Ch a ma r
communit y looks down Balmiki (Sweeper )
communit y. Aft er t aking admission in
t he I.I.T., Anukul finds t her e on Balmiki
st udent (Babur am) wit h whom nobody
is r eady t o shar e a r oom in t he host el,
t her efor e Anukul decides t o shar e t he
r oom wit h him. But when he discloses
all t hese fact t o his par ent s in a let t er ,
his mot her r eact s st r ongly because, in
her view, her cast e is higher in t he cast e
hier ar chy and her family will be out cast
by t he ent ir e Chamar communit y and,
t her efor e, she r equest s her husband t o
wr it e t o Anukul t o change t he r oom
somehow. Secondly, when Bawan Ram
goes t o Delhi for t aking admission of
his son t hr ough t he help of t he local
Member of Par liament . Mr . Chaudhar y,
bot h fat her and son face disr espect fr om
t he upper cast e visit or s t her e on t he
one hand and M.P.s wife on t he ot her .
While M.P.s wife t r ies t o keep a dist ance
fr om Bawan Ram and Anukul on t he
basis of cast e, t he M.P., Mr . Chaudhar y,
does not maint ain t hat dist ance, r at her
he openly admit s t hat he won t he pr evious
elect ion wit h t he help of Bawan Ram
and his communit ys vot es. Mor eover ,
t he M.P. st ands for t he unit y of backwar ds
a n d d a l i t s a s , i n h i s vi ew, i n t h e
exploit at ion of dalit s and backwar ds,
t her e is a differ ence only of degr ee. While
backwar ds ar e given food in differ ent
ut ensils of upper cast e, dalit s ar e not
given ut ensils. But bot h r ealise t he pangs
of wounds, t hough t he wound of dalit s
is deeper t han t hat of t he backwar ds.
Thus in t his novel, t he class, cast e and
cult ur al (language) exploit at ion go hand
in hand. Ther efor e, r ealism depict ed her e
is close t o Mar xist r ealism, but it is
an Indianised Mar xist r ealism wher ein
cast e exploit at ion exist s in addit ion t o
class exploit at ion . We get followin g
messages fr om t his novel:
(a) As exist ing in t he societ y neit her
all upper cast es ar e bad nor ar e all dalit s
good, hence a br oader viewpoint needs
t o be t aken.
(b) Dalit s and backwar ds should unit e
t o over t hr ow t he feudal power of t he
upper cast es.
(c) The hegemony of English language
should be br oken and Hindi should be
given due place and r ecognit ion in all
t he st r eams of life including t he higher
educat ional inst it ut es.
(d) Class differ ent iat ion/ division is
mor e i mp or t a n t t h a n ca s t e
differ ent iat ion/ division.
( e) Des p i t e t h e p r ovi s i on of
r eser vat ion for t he Scheduled Cast es in
educat ional inst it ut ions, t he upper cast es
ment alit y of looking down upon t hem
st ill exist s in societ y at lar ge t hough
upper cast es do not mind any kind of
r eser vat ion for for eign st udent s who
speak English.
(f) The Bur eaucr at isat ion of higher
ed u ca t i on a l i n s t i t u t i on s h a s ba d l y
damaged t he budding t alent s in differ ent
ways but unfor t unat ely t he power -t hat -
be of such inst it ut ions does not make
an y kin d of in t r ospect ion about it s
malfunct ioning, r at her it mor e oft en
blames t he st udent s and t heir par ent s
who ar e t he vict ims of t he syst em, for
not coping wit h t he r equir ement s of t he
educat ional syst em.
( I V) Dh a r t i Dh a n Na Ap n a
A. So c i o -c u l t u r a l Ba s e : The socio-
cult ur al base of t his novel is a village
of Punjab. This village is divided int o
sever al set t lement s, especially t hose of
t he upper cast es/ middle cast es, on t he
one hand and t he har ijans, on t he ot her .
The set t lement of Har ijans is known as
Chamadar i. This r eflect s socio-cult ur al
backgr ound of t he village. However , t he
cent r al char act er of t he novel, Kali, had
wor ked in Kanpur t own and r et ur ned
t o his village aft er wor king t her e for
six year s. When he was away in t he
cit y, he had nost algia for his village
life but when he r eached t her e, he was
disillusioned wit h t he har d r ealit y of
ca s t ei s m a n d va r i ou s t yp es of
exploit at ions in village life. Ther e ar e
upper cast es, middle cast es like J at s,
Bania and Kumbhkar and lower cast es
like Chamar . Ther e ar e Hindu char act er s
in major it y an d Chr ist ian an d Sikh
char act r s in minor it y.
dalit and dalit -non-dalit int er act ions, t he
lat t er leading t o conflict s. Significant
conflict is bet ween J at s and Chamar s
wher ein Chhajju Shah t akes t he side of
jat s and does not pr ovide money and
mat er ial t o Chamar s who ar e st r uggling
against t he J at s in t er ms of boycot t ing
t heir wor k due t o non-payment of due
wages. However , t her e ar e also int r a-
dalit conflict s. Two Chamar families of
Mangu, who is t he semi-bonded labour
of Choudhar y Har nam Singh, and of Nikku
and Pr it o ar e on one side, suppor t ing
t he landowner s (because t hey ar e also
benefit ed fr om Choudhar y har nam Singhs
family t hr ough Mangu) and Kali and ot her
Chamar s ar e on t he ot her side. Fur t her ,
t her e is an int er act ion of t he village
Chamar s under t he leader ship of Kali
wit h communist leader s of t he r egion
(Dr . Bishan Das and Tahal Singh) and
also wit h pr iest s of t he local Chur ch
and t emple. While t he Hindu pr iest does
not allow Chamar s t o t ake wat er fr om
his dr inking well at t he t ime of cr isis
(when t he dr inking wells of Chamar dar i
ar e sunk due t o floods), t he Chur ch pr iest
allows t hem t o use his hand pump in
t he beginning but due t o filt h, t he Chur ch
pr iest s wife r efuses t hem t o use t hat
lat er . The communist leader s do not help
t hem in cr isis despit e t heir pr eachings
because in t heir view class ant agonism
is not r ipe and small help will lacer at e
t he r ebellion spir it . Similar ly, Chur ch
pr iest does not solemnise t he mar r iage
of Kali and Gyano when she is pr egnant
and t her e is a fear of ex-communicat ion
by t he communit y. This shows t hat t hough
he pr eaches for conver sion of dalit s in
nor mal t ime, he does not help t hem
in a cr isis. In t his novel, t her e is no
major conflict bet ween upper cast e and
lower cast e; r at her one bet ween middle
cast e of J at s and lower cast e of Chamar s
at bot h social and economic levels.
C. P r o t e s t : In t his novel, t her e ar e t wo
t ypes of pr ot est :
(i) Soci a l p r ot es t beca u s e of
disr espect shown by J at s t o Chamar s;
an d
(ii) Economic pr ot est because of non-
payment of due wages t o dalit labour er s
for t heir wor k.
However , it is a fact t hat economic
pr ot est is mor e pr ominent because it
is dir ect ly concer ned wit h t he quest ion
of sur vival of t he chamar s and if t hey
do not get wages due t o t hem, t hey
wou l d s t a r ve. On t h e ot h er h a n d ,
Choudhar y Har n am Sin gh ( lan dlor d)
st ar t s beat ing Sant u and J it u (dalit s)
simply on t he basis of his suspicion t hat
t he lat t er had damaged his maize cr ops.
He abuses chamar s on sever al occasions,
hence Kali pr ot est s.
Vi s i o n : The novelist was bor n in
a middle class and cast e family in a
village in Punjab and got higher educat ion.
He spent most of his adolescent days
in Ralhan, a village of his mat er nal uncle,
in Punjab. Ther e he found a Har ijan
set t lement Chamadar i on t he out skir t
of t he village. The upper / middle cast es
had t o obey cer t ain social sanct ions and
t r a d i t i on s wh i l e goi n g t o Ha r i j a n s
set t lement . But t he aut hor br oke t hose
sanct ions by eat ing wit h a Chamar family.
He was a st udent of Economics, t her efor e
he used t o see economic causes behind
t hose social sanct ions. Chamar s did not
h a ve a n y r i gh t over t h e l a n d t h ey
cult ivat ed, and not even on t he house-
sit es t hey lived on. He admit s t hat he
did not exper ience himself t he cr uel
r ealit ies of a Har ijans life, yet he was
successful in seeing t hem closely. He
h a s emp a t h i s ed wi t h t h e r el eva n t
r efer ences of t he Har ijans life object ively
and has not imposed his opinion or
ideology on t he st or y, as he admit s so
in t he Int r oduct ion of t he novel. His
vision is ver y deep indeed as he was
t he fir st Hindi novelist t o depict Har ijans
life so vividly in mult i-dimensional ways.
He has not been a slave of any ideology,
polit ical par t y or cast e lobby. However ,
it may be said t hat t he aut hor s vision
is limit ed t o pr ot est only, not t o a full-
fledged movement .
The aut hor has depict ed var ious shades
of social r ealit y and t he r ealism depict ed
her e is close t o t he dialect ics of Mar xist
r ealism wher ein social, polit ical and
economic for ces complement each ot her
i n a d i a l ect i ca l wa y. Her e cl a s s
exploit at ion is supplement ed by cast e
exploit at ion, hence it is an Indianised
Mar xist r ealism. But his r ealism is not
of an or t hodox mar xist nat ur e because
h e h as n ot pr ai sed un cr i t i cally t h e
communist leader s like Tahal Singh and
Dr . Bishan Das, who do not help Kali
and his fellows who ar e st r uggling against
t h e feu d a l l a n d l or d s s oci a l l y a n d
economically. While most of t he Chamar
families ar e on t he ver ge of st ar vat ion,
Comr ade Bishan Das does not give t hem
food gr ains or cash. Similar ly on t he
r eligious fr ont , t he Chur ch pr iest also
does not help t hem by giving somet hing
in cash or kind because he is mor e
i n t er est ed i n t h ei r con ver si on fr om
Hinduism t o Chr ist ianit y. However , t he
Chamar communit y did not agr ee t o t he
suggest ion for conver sion. Finally, on
in t er - per son al fr on t , a gen t leman of
under st anding like Lallu Pahalwan also
does not help Kali because his cast e
men (J at s) would get annoyed wit h him.
Fur t her , it is t r ue t hat in t he village
life t her e is also village kinship under
which gir ls and boys of even t he same
cast e in t he village cannot mar r y each
ot her since t hey ar e t r eat ed like br ot her s
and sist er s. This social fact pr evailing
in Nor t h India r est r ict s Kali and Gyano
t o mar r y. Then Kali goes t o Chur ch pr iest
and want s t o adopt Chr ist ianit y in case
his mar r iage is allowed but t he pr iest
r efuses t o solmen i se t h ei r mar r i age
because t he gir l is simply a minor . Next
alt er nat ive befor e Kali and Gyano was
t o leave t he village. But Kali is ment ally
not pr epar ed t o do so, hence when Gyano
becomes pr egn a n t , h er mot h er a n d
br ot her give her poison in or der t o avoid
insult t o t he communit y. This depict ion
of t h e fea r of t h e s a n ct i on s fr om
communit y and societ y in r ur al Indian
cont ext is ver y r ealist ic.
The message of t he novel is t hat village
cust oms and t r adit ions ar e deep-r oot ed
and it is ver y difficult t o challenge t hem
and live in t he village at t he same t ime.
On t h e ot h er h an d, t h e pover t y of
chamar s, due t o not holding any piece
of land as well as having no alt er nat ive
occupat ion, makes t hem subor dinat e t o
t he land-holding J at s of t he village in
mor e t han one r espect . Ther efor e, an
ur gent need, t o solve t he pr oblem, is
land r efor ms and it is ser iously conveyed
t hr ough t his novel fr om beginning t o
t he end.
Co n c l u s i o n : Fr om t h e a bove
sociological analysis of t ext and cont ext
of four Hindi novels, especially t heir
char act er isat ion of dalit s (t he oppr essed)
we come t o following point s of conclusion:
Fi r s t , a l l fou r n ovel s a r e s oci a l
documen t ar y n ovels wher ein var ious
aspect s of t he life, as it is lived, ar e
r ealist ically depict ed.
Second, dalit char act er s, mor e oft en
t han not , belong t o a per ipher al gr oup
in societ y.
Thir d, dalit s face bot h int er -gr oup
and int r a-gr oup conflict s in t heir daily
life.
Four t h, dalit s pr ot est gener ally on
t heir own (Rangbhumi, Par ishisht a, Dhar t i
Dhan Na Apna) and also when guided
by some cat alyst agent (Budhua Ki Bet i).
In all t hese novels, dalit s r eact t o and
challenge t he exist ing social, polit ical
an d econ omi c st r uct ur es i n var yi n g
degr ees.
Fift h, t o r ealist ically depict dalit
char act er s in a novel, it does not seem
t o be necessar y for t he wr it er t o be
a bor n dalit . Rat her his wor ld-vision
and t he capacit y t o empat hise wit h dalit s
by t r anscending his social (cast e) and
economic (class) backgr ound can pr ove
t o be helpful for enabling him in car r ying
out his mission. The cr eat ive wr it er s
have t o bot h declass an d decast e
t hemeselves. That is, t hey should move
for wa r d fr om mer e s ymp a t h y t o
empat hy, t hen t he non-dalit s wr it ing
would be r elevant and successful despit e
t heir lack of self-exper ience (which only
a bor n dalit has). But t his empat hy also
r equ i r es a h i gh l evel of cr ea t i ve
imagin at iven ess, ar t ist r y, in t ellect ual
vi gou r a n d mi n u t e obs er va t i on of
cont empor ar y social r ealit y. These four
novelist s have succeeded in t his r egar d.
Sixt h, ever y novel has a message
of some kind-social, economic, polit ical
or cult ur al-connect ed wit h a par t icular
t ime and place.
Seven t h t he r elat ion ship bet ween
l i t er a t u r e a n d s oci et y i s i n d i r ect ,
associ at i on al, mult i - di men si on al an d
comp l ex; i . e. , t h er e a r e s ever a l
mediat ions bet ween t he t wo.
Eight h, polit ical, social and economic
levels of r ealit y ar e compet ing wit h one
anot her in India, t her efor e it is oft en
difficult for any novelist t o decide as
t o which level is dominant .
Re f e r e n ce s :
1. V. Shukla, Ugr a Ka Sahit yik Sanghar sh, Var t aman Sahit ya, Issue No. 12,
December , 20 0 1, P.8
2. B. Pandey, P.B.S. Ugr a Evam Nir ala, Var t aman Sahit ya, Issue No.12, December ,
20 0 1, P. 18
3. Cit ed in Bhar at Bhushan Agr awal (1971), Hindi Upanyas Par Pashchat ya Pr abhav,
R.C. J ain Evam Sant at i, Delhi, Page 95
4. Nalin V. Shar ma (1968), Hindi Upanyas: Vishesht ah Pr emchand, Gyanpeet h,
Pat na, P. 110
5. Gir ir aj Kishor Par ishisht a, (1984) Rajkamal Pr akashan, New Delhi, P. 26
6. I bid, Blur b.
No t e : Th e wor d ch amar occur s, as used by t h e aut h or s edi t or .
Su b h a s h Sh a r ma , b or n 19 59 , ed u ca t ed i n J . N. U. , a u t h or of t en b ooks
i n cl u d i n g b ooks i n En gl i s h wh y p eop l e p r ot es t , d i a l ect i cs of a gr a r i a n
d evel op men t . Hi s ma i n i n t er es t i n cl u d es cu l t u r e, en vi r on men t , ed u ca t i on
a n d d evel op men t . He wor ks i n Mi n i s t r y of Defen ce a n d l i ves i n New
De l h i .
D
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s
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e
THE TRUTH ABOUT 18 57
Ramnika Gupt a
Pr omila Gar g, r evised by Laur a Br ueck
Ba c k gr o u n d
Was t he r evolt of 1857 t he fir st war of independence a spont aneous
r evolt of soldier s or a r eligious war ? Or was it a war bet ween
t wo civilizat ions Chr ist ianit y and Islam as it is under st ood
in India t oday? If it was t he fir st war of independence, what
would we call ear lier , similar r ebellions led by t r ibals t hat er upt ed
against t he Br it ish empir e? Why have t hese r ebellions been ignor ed
while t he soldier s r evolt of 1857 has been called t he fir st war
of Independence? These ar e a few quest ions t o consider about
t h e 18 57 r evolt .
It s t r ue, t oday t her e is a lot of debat e about 1857 but t her e
was no doubt t her e was a r ebellion against Br it ish r ule. In spit e
of all t his debat e, we have t o accept t hat t his r ebellion, however
inspir ed by var ious vest ed int er est s, cr eat ed an at mospher e of
hat r ed against t he Br it ish.
Aft er a few year s, if not immediat ely, t his at mospher e of hat r ed
developed int o t he specific goal of fr eedom for India. Immediat ely
aft er t he end of t his war in 1858 a fear ful silence descended
t hat was not br oken eit her by t he int ellect uals, lit er ar y figur es,
war r ior s, r ajas, or nawabs. Rat her , it was t he t r ibal war r ior s
who br oke t his silence and cont inued ar med at t acks on t he Br it ish
ar my up t o t he beginning of t he next cent ur y. The cent er of
t he cont r over sy is on t he ver y int ent ion of t his so-called fr eedom
st r uggle. Hence t he following quest ions:
1. I f 18 57 was t he fir st war of
independence t hen why wer e t he ear lier
r ebel l i on s n ot ca l l ed wa r s of
independence? Is t her e some conspir acy
or ill int ent ion behind t his?
2. Th e s econ d d eba t e con cer n s
whet her it was r eally a fr eedom st r uggle
fought against t he Br it ish empir e. Was
it mer ely a soldier s r evolt pr ompt ed
by injur ed r eligious sent iment s? Was
it a clash of t wo cult ur es? Or r at her
was it t r igger ed by t he clashes of per sonal
or polit ical int er est s of t he r ajas or
nawabs?
Thus t he debat e is ar ound t wo major
issues: fir st , why does hist or y ignor e
t he long hist or y of r ebellions befor e 1857
t o declar e t his soldier s r evolt t he fir st
war of in depen den ce? Secon d, t he
definit ion of it as a war of independence
is it self quest ionable. In what follows,
I will analyze t hese point s.
While t her e is no doubt t hat t hese
r ebellions wer e fought against t he Br it ish
r uler s befor e 1857, t hey wer e waged
not by t he r ajas and mahar ajas, but
r at her by t he t r ibals. These r ebellions
wer e not or ganized t o gain any power
or t er r it or y. They wer e against t he
En gl i s h , wh o h a d i mp os ed a n ew,
exploit at at ive social syst em on t r ibal
communit ies. The t r ibals fought against
t he Br it ish ar my wit h confidence, r elying
complet ely upon t heir own st r engt h and
indigenous weapons. In fact , t he t r ibals
had t heir own collect ive communit y life
and polit ical syst em based on equalit y,
fr eedom, and br ot her hood. They also
had t heir own elect ed administ r at ive
syst em at bot h t he village and st at e
levels. They want ed t o r et ain t heir own
syst ems.
It is an unquest ionable fact t hat befor e
18 57 t r i ba l commu n i t i es of bot h
J har khand and Khandesh (Mahar asht r a)
had offer ed a clar ion call of r evolt . Befor e
t he so-called fir st war of independence
var ious t r ibal communit ies wer e fight ing
ver y br avely against t he Br it ish in many
dist ant r eaches of India. They did not
allow t he Br it ish t o gr ow t heir r oot s
in t hose ar eas.
Ninet y year s befor e 1857, in 1766,
t he Pahadias of J har khand t ook up ar ms
against t he Br it ish. The war cont inued
unt il 1778. Aft er t hat a chain of r evolt s
t ook place in J har khand.
At t hat t ime in t hese t r ibal ar eas
t he for est and village lands belonged
t o t he people and not t he nawabs, r ajas,
or t he Br it ish. Though it is t r ue t hat
t hese r ajas and nawabs wer e plunder ing
t he people, it is also a fact t hat t hey
never dist ur bed or int er fer ed in t heir
cult ur al life and administ r at ive syst ems.
Init ially, even t he Br it ish could not r each
t hese far -flung ar eas inhabit ed by t he
t r ibals.
The t r ouble st ar t ed when t he Br it ish
s t a r t ed cu t t i n g t h e ol d for es t s of
Manbhum and Damini-e-koh (t he pr esent
Sant al Par gana) for t he ext ension of t he
r ailways. This dislocat ed t he t r ibals on
a lar ge scale.
At t h e s a me t i me t h e Br i t i s h
int r oduced t he zamindar i syst em, a new
syst em of collect ing r evenue. Under
t his syst em village lands wher e t r ibals
had pr eviously been doing collect ive
fa r mi n g wer e d i s t r i bu t ed a mon g
zamindar s and br oker s. As a r esult ,
people r evolt ed on a lar ge scale against
t h i s r even u e s ys t em. Th e t r i ba l s
consider ed bot h t he Br it ish and t he
zamindar s, as well as t heir br oker s, t heir
enemies because t hey wer e for cing t his
syst em upon t hem. Their st r uggle was
t hus against all t hose who wer e agent s
of Br it ish r ule, bot h English and Indian:
police, commissioner s, dar ogas, officials,
bailiffs, zamindar s, or moneylender s.
This was t he r eal peoples war . It was
neit her for r eligion nor gr eed for power .
Rat her , t hey wer e adamant t o cont inue
t heir own administ r at ive syst em, t heir
way of life, cult ur e, and language. They
want ed t o r et ain t heir land r ight s over
t he for est s, and t heir human r ight s of
fr eedom, equali t y, an d br ot h er h ood.
Their aim was never t o acquir e est at es,
kingdoms, or power .
It was t hus a conspir acy of hist or ians
who int ent ionally did not r ecor d t hese
r ebellions in hist or y. In fact , t r ibal
r ebellions wer e fought for polit ical r ight s.
They wer e fought t o cont inue t heir own
nat ive syst em in t he face of t he new
for eign syst em t hat was being for ced
upon t hem. The pr evalent nat ive syst em
t hat was pr act iced by t he t r ibals was
a collect ive decision - makin g pr ocess
based on consensus. All lands belonged
t o t he village, and t hey cult ivat ed t hem
collect ively. They had no not ion of
pr oper t y. The whole village and it s land
and for est s wer e owned by t he people
who lived in it .
Thus t hese r evolt s t ook t he shape
of class war s because t hey wer e fought
bet ween t he poor people of India and
t heir exploit er s, bot h for eign and Indian.
J h a r k h a n d
These r ebellions wer e st eps t owar ds t he
gr eat er st r uggle for independence. The
fir st was t he Pahadia r ebellion of 1766
in J har khand fought under t he leader ship
of Ramana Ahladi. Soon aft er in 1781
Rani Sar veshar i r aised t he flag of r ebellion.
In t he fir st week of J anuar y, 1784,
Tilka Manjhi, along wit h a gr oup of t r ibal
war r ior s, capt ur ed Bhagalpur , Munger ,
and Sant al, Par gana Dist r ict . Tilka killed
August us Cleveland, t he Commissioner
of Bhagalpur , wit h his ar r ow aft er seeing
him r ape a t r ibal gir l. To avenge t his
t he Br it ish t hen ar r est ed him and t ied
him t o t he legs of four hor se-car t s and
dr agged him fr om Sult anpur t o Bhagalpur .
Yet he did not die unt il finally he was
hanged fr om a t r ee at t he cr ossr oad
of Bhagalpur .
- Vishnu Manki t ook command of t he
Bundu r ebellion in 1797-98.
- A st r uggle st ar t ed in 1800 in Tamad
under t he leader ship of Dukhan Manki,
s oon er u pt i n g i n t o a fu l l - fl ed ged
r ebellion and last ing unt il 180 8.
- Anot her Munda r evolt of Tamad t ook
place in 1819-20 .
- At t he same t ime, Rugdev and Kont a
Munda st ar t ed t he Kol r ebellion.
- In t he same year t he Ho r ebellion
also t ook place.
- Again in 1828 and 1832 Bindr ai and
Singhr ai r evived t he Kol r ebellion, an
t he Kols capt ur ed t he r oyal for t . Thus
t h e t r i ba l r ebel s con s t i t u t ed
independent gover nment well befor e
18 57.
- Th r ou gh ou t t h i s p er i od , t h e
administ r at ion, police, zamindar s, and
moneylender s in connivance wit h
t h e l oca l Da r oga s con t i n u ed
commit t ing bar bar ic at r ocit ies against
t r ibals. This led people t o r evolt in
1853-56. Wit h t he slogans Hul Bahar
Zit kar and Hul Zegal Zit kar t he
Sant al-Hool r evolt began under t he
leader ship of Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand,
and Bhair av. Ten t housand t r ibals
wer e killed in t his r evolt and t housands
wer e ar r est ed or for cefully dr iven
away. People suppor t ed t his r evolut ion
wit h t heir hear t s and souls, but also
wit h money, weapons, clot hes, and
food for t he r ebels. All t he poor
people, bot h Adivasi and non-Adivasi,
joined in t he Sant al Hool.
- The t r ibal r evolt of 1766 had r eached
it s peak in t he Sant al Hool of 1856,
but t he fir e of r evolt kept quiet ly
smoulder ing unt il 1895. In t hat year
Bir sa Munda led anot her big r ebellion
known as Ulgulan. This war was
fought against t he new r evenue syst em
and in an effor t t o r ecapt ur e t heir
lands and for est s fr om t he Br it ish,
zamindar s, and moneylender s who had
usur ped t heir lands unscr upulously.
This cont inued well past 190 0 .
- The Sant al r evolt bur st for t h for t he
last t ime in 1902. This was t aken
for t h by t h e Kh a r wa r s , Ma n j h i s ,
Kor was, Kokhas, Talangar s, Khadias,
Gonds and Mundas.
Ma h a r a s h t r a
- In t he lap of t he Sat pur a Mount ains
t he t r ibal-inhabit ed Khandesh r evolt ed
against t he Br it ish in 1825. Their
r ebellion con t in ued un t il t he 20
t h
cent ur y. The Br it ish could not est ablish
peace in t hose ar eas even wit h t heir
wealt h of money, swor ds, and guns.
The cr edit of t he fir st r ebellion against
t he Br it ish also goes t o Khandesh and
t he t r ibal communit ies of Puna, Nasik,
and Thane in Mahar asht r a.
- In 1876 t housands of Bhils in Madhya
Pr adesh got t oget her t o fight against
t he Br it ish. The Br it ish r ounded up
t housands of t hem and put t hem t o
t he gallows on t r ees.
Ka r n a t a k a
- Rani Chenamma waged war against
t he Br it ish in t he 19
t h
cent ur y, ar ound
1824. Thus Rani Chenamma r evolt ed
against t he Br it ish 33 year s befor e
t he Rani of J hansi. Chenamma also
fought against t he Br it ish t o make her
adopt ed son heir t o t he t hr one, but
t he Br it ish cour t did not agr ee. Aft er
t he ar r est of t he Rani, t his war t ur ned
int o a peoples war . The r evolt was
led by t he br ave Rayanna, a Dhangar
t r ibal of Sangoli, who wor ked as t he
r evenue collect or in t he cour t . Rayanna
was hanged on 26
t h
J anuar y, 1831.
Ke r a l a
- Neeli, t he gr eat woman war r ior , wit h
Talakkar Chandu and Kur chia t r ibals
in Ker ala st ood br avely against t he
Br it ish for ces. They wer e hanged.
An d h r a P r a d e s h
- On 25
t h
December , 19 22, Al l u r r y
Sit ar am Raju openly est ablished a fr ont
against Br it ish for ces. Dozens of Br it ish
soldier s and officer s wer e killed. This
war was also against t he moneylender s
and dr inking est ablishment s r un by
bot h t h e gover n men t an d pr i vat e
people. Sit ar am Raju also fought for
decent r alizat ion of power t hr ough t he
Panchayat i Raj. By t his t ime people
had r ealized what colonizat ion meant .
By t hen Gandhi had also st epped int o
t he polit ics of t he count r y. It is st r ange
t hat Gandhi condemned Allur r y for
r evolt ing against t he Br it ish. But it
was even mor e sur pr ising t hat t he
same Gandhi and his Congr ess Par t y
pr aised Allur r y aft er he was killed.
In India t his kind of double t alk has
exist ed for ages. It is because of
t his double t alk t hat t r ibal r evolt s wer e
never consider ed as fr eedom st r uggles.
- Bhima Gond fought against t he Nizam
on t he quest ion of land and was hanged.
Ra j a s t h a n
- Govind Gur u r evolt ed in Rajast han
against t he bar bar ic r ule of t he Rajas
and t he Br it ish gover nment . At t he
behest of Rajput Rajas of Rajast han,
t he Br it ish ar my killed 1500 t r ibals
over night while t hey wer e on t heir
way t o offer coconut s as a symbol
of wor ship t o Govind Gur u in Bansvada
of Manbhum Dist r ict .
NORTH EAST
Me gh a l a ya
- The r evolt against t he East I ndia
Company st ar t ed as ear ly as 1774
by elect ed t r ibal sar dar s called Ciams
and by some r ajas. In some ar eas
of t he nor t heast er n st at e now called
Meghalaya t he Br it ish at t acked t he
Khasis but wer e defeat ed. The fir st
bat t le of J ayant ia Raja against Major
Hanikar was fought fr om 1774-1821.
- Ther e wer e r ipples of discont ent even
again st t he East I n dia Compan ys
offi ci a l s wh o for cefu l l y en t er ed
Meghalaya and st ar t ed const r uct ing
r oads and invading t heir t er r it or y
indiscr iminat ely. The Br it ish at t acked
Tir ot Singh on 4
t h
Apr il, 1829 because
he did not accept t he agr eement t hey
offer ed. This r ebellion last ed for t hr ee
long year s. Though t hey consider ed
abandoning t he st r uggle, event ually
t he Br it ish convinced some of t he
associat es of Tir ot Singh t o accept
t he agr eement , and Tir ot Singh was
put int o solit ar y confinement when
t he bat t le ended.
- Aft er a few year s t he Br it ish issued
a n or d er pr even t i n g peopl e fr om
bur ying t heir dead in t heir gr aveyar ds
and car r ying weapons on fest ival days.
They also imposed punit ive t axes. They
even went so far as t o for cefully collect
t heir weapons and bur n t hem in fr ont
of t heir eyes. This t r igger ed t he r evolt .
- Nangbah, who had par t icipat ed in t he
Tir ot Singh bat t le as a young man
t ook t he leader ship of t his r evolt and
wonder fully or ganized t his long-dr awn
bat t le. The Br it ish deployed many
bat t alions t o put him down. But he
could not be cowed. Rat her , a full-
fledged ar my base was complet ely
dest r oyed by Khasi and J ayant ia r ebels
in which t wo officer s and many Br it ish
soldier s wer e killed. Br it ish hist or ians
called it genocide. Ult imat ely aft er
a long war Nangbah was ar r est ed on
t he sly when he was sick. Thousands
of people wer e for ced t o wit ness his
public hanging fr om a t r ee.
Na ga l a n d
- In Nagaland t he bat t le wit h t he Br it ish
last ed for five mont hs, and cont inued
per iodically for a per iod of 19 year s.
Mi z o r a m
- Rani Rupliani declar ed in 1889 t hat
she would t hr ow t he Br it ish out of
Mizor am. She was ar r est ed in 1893.
Two year s lat er , in 1895, she died
in pr ison.
Fr eedom, a dr eam and a feeling, was
always t her e in t he hear t and eyes of
t he t or t ur ed and suffer ing people. It
was t heir dr eam t o be fr ee fr om bot h
t heir for eign and local Indian r uler s.
The leader s of t he 1857 r evolt want ed
t o see t hese dr eams of expansion and
fr eedom mat er ialize. Let us now t ur n
t o t he ot her issues.
As far as t he Br it ish ar e concer ned
t his soldier s r evolt was only a mut iny
against Br it ish r ule per pet r at ed by t he
Br it ish Indian ar my. This is what we
h a ve r ea d i n ou r s ch ool books .
Appar ent ly t his was a spont aneous self-
ignit ed r evolt by t he Indians in t he Br it ish
ar my, for fear of t he pollut ion of t heir
r eligion.
Ther e have been many r easons cit ed
for t his r evolt . One r eason soldier s
decided t o r evolt is t hat soldier s wer e
for ced t o br eak open bullet car t r idges
gr eased wit h cow and pig fat wit h t heir
t eet h. In Indian t r adit ion, cow and pig
fat is associat ed wit h r eligion. This is
why t hey consider ed it a r eligious issue
and r aised t heir ar ms t o pr ot ect t heir
r eligion. Since t his issue concer ned bot h
Muslims and Hindus, t hey joined hands
against t he t hir d power , even t hough
t hey had oft en been fight ing among
t hemselves. Religious leader s fr om bot h
sides issued appeals in suppor t of t his
war . The appeal of Nana Saheb and
Ghode Pant t o t he Hindus and t he appeal
pf Shahjada Mohammad Fir ozshah t o t he
Muslims ar e enough evidence t o pr ove
t his point . In t hese appeals wor ds like
r eligious war , jehad, and kafir wer e
used pr ofusely. The t hir d power wer e
t h e En gl i s h men of t h e Ea s t I n d i a
Company. They wer e t heir common
enemy. Though t his cannot be called
a r eligious war , it cer t ain ly st ar t ed
because of hur t r eligious sent iment s.
Anot her fact ion asser t s t hat t he r evolt
was caused by t he conflict of t wo cult ur es:
t he Chr ist ians and t he Muslims. It is
t r ue t hat many Chr ist ians wer e massacr ed
in Delhi dur ing t he r evolt of 1857, but
t he soldier s wer e not concer ned about
Chr ist ianit y, but r at her about pr ot ect ing
t heir own r eligion, which t he Br it ish wer e
bent on dest r oying. The issues befor e
t he soldier s wer e neit her Chr ist ianit y,
nor nat ion, nor kingly power . They
did not have any idea about t he ext ent
of t he colonial power t hat had enslaved
t heir count r y. Rat her , if t her e was
anyt hing t hat concer ned t hem it was
t heir r eligion and t he r uler s who wer e
out t o dest r oy t heir r eligion. They
t hought of t heir r uler s as English, not
Chr ist ian. This is why folk songs t hat
r ecor d t he r evolt of 1857 use t he wor d
Fir angi ( for eigner ) t o r efer t o t he
English. In Rajast han t hey used t he
wor d Bhur et ia (whit e man). Nowher e
is t he wor d Chr ist ian used in any song
or legend and for t his r eason William
Dalr ymples t heor y t hat t he r evolt was
due t o t he clash of t wo cult ur es seems
t o be wr ong.
Anot her suggest ion is t hat t he r ajas,
mahar ajs, and nawabs joined t he r evolt
for t heir per sonal int er est . Ther e is
no disput e about t his cont ent ion. The
r eal disput e is over t he int ent ion behind
t he r evolt . Tr ue, in t he beginning t he
confr ont at ion was bet ween t he soldier s
and Br it ish r uler s over a r eligious issue.
But lat er t he common people, far mer s,
and some int ellect uals also joined t his
r evolt . Thus gr abbing t he oppor t unit y,
t he nawabs and r ajas also jumped in
t o set t le t heir lon gst an din g gr udges
against t he Br it ish r egar ding t heir jagir s,
kingdoms, est at es, r ight s of succession,
and opposit ion t o t he impingement of
t heir fr eedom. In t he name of saving
t heir r eligion, t he kings and nawabs t ook
full advant age of t his unor ganized soldier s
r evolt . They cashed in on t he r eligious
sent iment s and issued appeals t o join
t he jehad.
How ca n we ca l l i t a wa r of
independence? Was t his r evolt against
imper ialism? The logic given for declar ing
it was a war of independence is t he
gr eat polit ical awakening in t he count r y
t hat followed. This awakening also
t r igger ed t he lar ge-scale r evolt in which
bot h kings and subject s joined hands.
This can only pr ove it not t o be a war
of independence or a st r uggle against
imper ial power s. Ther e ar e sever al
r easons behind t his.
- The leader ship of t he spont aneous
r evolt was t aken over by t he people
wh o wer e fi gh t i n g for t h ei r own
per sonal int er est s. Thus it is not pr oper
t o call it a r evolt t o wr est fr eedom
fr om t he Br it ish.
- Tr ue, while it was a lar ge-scale unified
r evolt t hr oughout India, we should
not ignor e t he fact t hat t he kings and
t he nawabs wer e alr eady or ganized.
They had t heir own st anding ar my.
That is why t hey had no pr oblem
cooper at ing and spr eading t he r evolt
t hr oughout t he count r y. It was easy
for t hem t o over come dist ance and
t ime.
- In fact , t he soldier s who r evolt ed wer e
t h e s a me per s on s wh o h a d been
suppr essing and r obbing t he people
at t he behest of t he Br it ish. Befor e
1857 t he same unit of soldier s at Chat r a
(J har khand) had br ut ally cr ushed t he
t r ibal r evolt . It was t hese ver y soldier s
who cr ushed t he Sant al r ebellion of
Hazar ibagh and Siddo Kanhos Sant al
Hool of 1855-56. Hence we cannot
suggest t hat t heir aim was fr eedom
fr om t he Br it ish. If t hey had any
int er est at all, it was eit her r eligion
or t he r ight t o for cefully collect t axes
fr om t he people for t heir own pr ofit .
- It was only in 1870 when Indians
under st ood t he meaning of colonialism.
The idea of fr eedom under st ood t hese
days did not exist t hen. If t he people
had no under st anding of colonialism,
h ow cou l d t h ey p u r s u e p ol i t i ca l
fr eedom?
Thus t he st r uggle of 1857 was a
mixt ur e of unor ganized, half-or ganized,
and or ganized power s. In t his st r uggle
power s t hat wer e at var iance ideologically
j oi n ed h a n d s for t h ei r own ves t ed
in t er est s an d came t oget her on t he
plat for m of r eligion. In shor t , it was
t he r evolt of self-int er est ed for ces t hat
wer e capt ur ed by unor ganized feudal
power s. Hence t he mot ive behind t he
r evolt was a bundle of individual int er est s
and not hing else.
Th er e ar e t wo i mpor t an t fact or s
r ega r d i n g t h e p a r t i ci p a t i on a n d
a s s oci a t i on of t r i ba l a n d low ca s t e
communit ies in t he 1857 r ebellion. Fir st ,
wher ever t he t r ibals joined t he 1857
r evolt , t hey had alr eady r evolt ed ear lier .
In t hose places, even aft er t he ceasefir e
of 18 59, t he t r ibals con t in ued t heir
st r uggle against t he Br it ish who wer e
commit t ing at r ocit ies against t he people
in r evenge. Wher ever t he t r ibals and
low cast e people fought , t hey fought
br avely and oft en died while fight ing.
They did not sur r ender , and t he Br it ish
swor d, salar y, or posit ion could not buy
t hem. Khwaja Bhil of Khandesh did not
sur r ender even aft er Br it ish assur ance
t hat he would not be hanged. This,
in fact , was t he r eal fr eedom st r uggle.
The second point t hat needs at t ent ion
is t hat t hough inspir ed by r eligious
sent iment s, some backwar d people joined
t he r ebels. It is also t r ue, however ,
t hat it was t hese ver y soldier s who wer e
commit t ing at r ocit ies upon t hem, act ing
as bailiffs of t he r ajas, nawabs, and t he
Br it ish. It was quit e possible t hat when
t he upper class r esident s of villages t ook
up wit h t he r ebels t he weaker major it y
of t he village was also for ced t o follow
t hem.
The most ast onishing t hing about t his
r evolt was t hat once t he weaker sect ion
jumped int o t he bat t le, t hey never looked
back out of fear or per sonal benefit .
They st ood fir mly, fait hfully, and br avely,
and fear lessly fought in t his bat t le. It
is also likely t hat t he weaker sect ion
whet her Hindu, Muslim, or ot her wer e
br ainwashed by t heir r uler s and followed
t he upper classes int o t he fr ay. They
may have been convinced t hat t he wor d
of t he r ajas and landlor ds was pious
and t hat it would be a sin t o deny t heir
or der . In India, kings have always been
consider ed r epr esent at ives of God.
Thus it is likely t hat t he common
men jumped int o t he war and sacr ificed
t hemselves in t he name of loyalt y t owar ds
t heir landlor ds, r ajas, and mast er s. St ill,
t heir sacr ifice was mor e valuable t han
t hat of t he r ajas and nawabs. It is a
well-known fact now t hat it was not Rani
Laxmi Bai of J hansi who fought t he bat t le
of J hansi. It was her maid J halkar i
Bai (who looked like Rani Laxmibai) who
fought t he bat t le and died, and she did
so out of loyalt y t o t he Rani. But wasnt
Rani Laxmi Bais mot ive t o win back
h er ki n gd om? Mos t of t h e r a j a s ,
mahar ajas, and nawabs wer e fight ing t o
get back t heir t er r it or ies or t o get
u n br i d l ed r i gh t s t o fr eel y col l ect
r evenues fr om t he people. This cannot
be called pat r iot ism. Basically, t his r evolt
was in t he name of r eligion in which
all t he r ight s and pr ivileges of t he upper
cast es wer e pr ot ect ed. They wer e fight ing
t o keep t hem int act , just as t hey wer e,
pr ior t o Br it ish r ule.
Mangal Pandey once had an angr y
encount er wit h Mat adeen, a sweeper ,
beca u s e h i s t u mbl er h a d t ou ch ed
Pandeys. Mat adeen t hen t aunt ed him
about bit ing t he car t r idges laced wit h
cow and pig fat ever yday. If t hat did
not pollut e his r eligion, t hen why was
he making such a fuss about a t umbler ?
It was t his t hat inst igat ed Mangal Pandey
t o r evolt . Yet ever yone agr ees t hat
even if Mangal Pandey had won t he bat t le,
he st ill would not have allowed Mat adeen
t o t ouch his t umbler , nor ever would
have consider ed him his equal. He would
h a ve a l wa ys l ooked a t h i m a s a n
unt ouchable. Thus how can we call t his
a common man s r evolt or war for
fr eedom?
What would have happened if t hese
r ebels had won t he bat t le? Would Peshwas
Raj in Mahar asht r a have cont inued and
would unt ouchables have st ill had t o
t ie a br oom ar ound t heir waist and a
small pit cher ar ound t heir neck? Would
it have made any differ ence in t he st at us
of t he people who fought against t he
Mar at has in Pat iala and wer e for ced t o
r un away t o Madhya Pr adesh because
of Mar at ha at r ocit ies? These people,
who t ook shelt er under Gur u Ghasi Das,
ar e st ill living in Madhya Pr adesh under
t he cover of a false ident it y.
People had been singing songs in
pr aise of t he Br it ish unt il t he t imes of
Bhar t endu Har ishchandr a. Ther e was
no concept of India as one nat ion. It
was a land of separ at e r ajwadas and
kingdoms. Ther e had been a longst anding
t r adit ion of sur r ender ing befor e for eign
enemies. But it was only t he Moguls
who t hen set t led in India aft er defeat ing
and mining t he wealt h of Indian st at es.
Rajput kings t hen gave t heir daught er s
t o Mogul empor er s in or der t o at t ain
higher st at us in t heir cour t s. Mogul
officials also enjoyed elit e st at us in Rajput
cour t s.
Al l t h es e qu es t i on s n eed t o be
addr essed. For t hese r ebels t o get
fr eedom fr om t he Br it ish did not mean
get t ing fr eedom for t he count r y or it s
people. Rat her , it was t o get fr eedom
t o do as t hey liked and t o exploit t he
people for t heir own luxur ious pur suit s.
Now, one could also ask whet her t he
Br it ish fr eed t he common man fr om t he
feudal cr uelt ies of t he kings and nawabs.
But whet her t he Br it ish fr eed t he common
Indian fr om t he clut ches of Indian r uler s
is not t he quest ion. It is a fact , however ,
t hat t he Br it ish cur bed t he r ight s of t hese
unscr upulous r uler s. The people wer e
given t he r ight t o appeal against t he
at r ocit ies of Indian r uler s and if t heir
appeal was appr oved, t he r ajas t er r it or y
could be confiscat ed. Kings and nawabs
want ed r elief fr om t his law, so t hat t heir
r ule could cont inue unimpeded. Indian
r uler s had no vision for t he welfar e of
t he Indian people. For t he common
man, bot h Br it ish colonizer s and Indian
kings wer e r uler s, not fr iends. But t her e
is no quest ion t he Indian people had
undilut ed loyalt y t owar d t heir kings and
nawabs. This sense of loyalt y did not
exist among t he Indian masses for t he
Br it ish.
Vir Savar kar called t he soldier s r evolt
of 1857 t he fir st war of independence
in his book, 1857, t he Fir st Indian War
of Independence. Wit hout r eading it ,
t he Br it ish banned t he book in 1909,
leading t o books fame acr oss t he count r y.
Savar kar , who believed in t he t heor y
of a Hindu Nat ion, used t he r evolt as
a symbol of Indian valor because it was
led by opposin g Hin du an d Muslim
power s. He par t icular ly favor ed r uler s
such as t he Peshwas. It is likely he
cr eat ed t his myt h t o inspir e ot her Indians,
par t icular ly Hindus. In t his same way,
h i s t or i a n s a l i gn ed wi t h l i ber a l a n d
pr ogr essive power s pr opelled t his as an
ant i-imper ialist war . It was quit e obvious
t hat t he power s fight ing against t he Br it ish
t he kings and t he people suppor t ed
kingship, it self an imper ialist syst em.
Thus was one imper ialist power fight ing
anot her and cannot be called a peoples
war against imper ialism as was being
fought in ot her count r ies in t he same
per iod.
If we analyze t he r esult s of t he 1857
war , we must r ecognize t he fear and
dr ead it left in t he minds of t he people.
And, as it has alr eady been suggest ed,
it also cr eat ed a feeling of hat r ed t owar d
t he Br it ish. The Br it ish also became
mor e har sh and st r ict in t heir gover nance.
They no longer gave any concessions
t o t he Indians, but r at her incr eased t heir
suppr ession of t he masses. Wher ever
t he t r ibals had r evolt ed pr ior t o 1857,
however , t hey found some r elief. The
Br it ish wer e for ced t o make special laws
which t o some ext ent allowed t r ibals
all over India t o lead t heir lives t he
way t hey want ed. This was because
t hey had r ealized t hey could not wage
dr awn-out bat t les wit h t r ibals. Tr ibals
wer e exper t s in guer illa war far e which
made it impossible for t he Br it ish t o
r ule t hem peacefully. The Br it ish t hus
made differ ent laws in differ ent lands
t o pr ot ect t heir land r ight s. The t r ut h
is t hat t r ibals wer e mor e exploit ed by
t heir local r uler s t han by t he Br it ish.
It is mor e accur at e t o suggest t hat t he
Br it ish lear ned t o use Indian agent s like
t he r ajas, landlor ds, and moneylender s
t o exploit t hem inst ead of confr ont ing
t hem dir ect ly. In spit e of t his, t he t r ibals
cont inued fight ing against t he Br it ish t o
r escue t heir cult ur e an d in digen ous
syst ems of gover nance.
It was st r ange t hat t he r uler s and
t h e u p p er cl a s s p eop l e wh o wer e
supposed t o pr ot ect t he people wer e
ei t h er s el l i n g ou t or s u r r en d er i n g
t hemselves. They wer e selling out t he
count r y for t heir own gr eed. It was
t hese ver y r uler s who had dr iven away
t he t r ibals t o for est s, t he Ar yan kings
and feudal lor ds who had conspir ed t o
keep t hem away fr om civilizat ion. In
spit e of all of t his injust ice, t he t r ibals
cont inued fight ing unt il t he end. They
embr aced deat h but wer e not lur ed by
gr eed. Ther e wer e innumer able br ave
men and women who died for t he count r y.
The names of many of t hese people have
been er ased. Ther e ar e t hose br ave
fight er s who wer e not consider ed fit t o
be r ecor ded in hist or y, t hough t hey
init iat ed and inspir ed t he fir st war of
fr eedom. Let us salut e t hem.
Ra mn i ka Gu p t a , a kn own Hi n d i p oet a n d j ou r n a l i s t , i s t h e ed i t or of
a q u a r t er l y ma ga zi n e Yu d d h r a t Aa m Aa d mi . Sh e h a s mor e t h a n 6 5
b ooks t o h er cr ed i t . Sh e i s t h e p r es i d en t of t h e Ra mn i ka Fou n d a t i on
and t he Coor dinat or of t he All-I ndia Tr ibal Lit er ar y For um. She concent r at es
on t r i b a l i s s u es a cr os s I n d i a . Sh e l i ves i n Del h i .
Pr omi l a Ga r g i s a for mer pr ofes s or a t J NU. Sh e h a s wor ked ext en s i vel y
on t r a n s l a t i on . Sh e l i ves i n Del h i .
La u r a Br u eck i s a s s i s t a n t p r ofes s or of As i a n La n gu a ges a n d Ci vi l i za t i on s
at t h e Un i ver si t y of Color ado- Boulder . Her r esear ch an d wr i t i n g focuses
on con t emp or a r y Hi n d i Da l i t l i t er a t u r e. Sh e oft en vi s i t s I n d i a .
PREMCH AND: GHAR MEI N
Shivrani Devi
Dhir aj Singh
It was ar ound 1928, we wer e in Allahabad for a wor king commit t ee
meet ing of t he Hindust ani Akademi. We had hear d Mahat ma Gandhi
was also going t o be t her e at t hat t ime. My husband had for
a long t ime been ver y keen on meet ing him. Pandit Sunder lal
knew about t his. Soon we r eceived a let t er fr om him asking my
husband t o come t o Allahabad t wo days ahead of t he commit t ee
meet ing and meet Mahat ma Gandhi.
I have t o leave t oday, he t old me.
But dont you have t o go four days lat er , I asked him.
I am going t wo days ahead t o meet t he Mahat ma.
I am sur e hed be t her e st ill when you go for t he Akademi
meet ing, I said.
It s possible t hat he might not st ay t her e longer . Hes not
known t o st ay in one place for long.
Okay, t hen go.
People ar e sur pr ised when t hey find out t hat I havent ever
met t he Mahat ma, he said.
And so my husband left t wo days ahead of t he meet ing and
st ayed on t wo days aft er t he meet ing but st ill couldnt meet t he
man. When he came home I asked him what had happened. The
poor man doesnt have t he t ime. Ther e wer e hundr eds of people
wait ing t o meet and he was so busy. He r eads hundr eds of let t er s
ever y da y.
M
e
m
o
i
r
But t hen how do people ever meet
him, I object ed, it s not as if hes ever
not busy. His whole life is like t hat .
Wel l , t h es e a r e ver y p er s i s t en t
people. And anyway I didnt just want
t o say hello and goodbye I wouldve
liked t o spend some t ime wit h him.
What ever he wr it es one get s t o r ead
so I t hought it would be nice t o t alk
t o h i m. Hes kn own t o be a gr eat
conver sat ionalist , just as he is gr eat at
anyt hing else he does. I t hought a face-
t o-face meet ing would be good.
It s a pit y you spent four ext r a
days and for what .
Yes, it was my bad luck.
Then in 1934 t hey had a Hindi Par ishad
meet ing in War dha. This t ime he went
t o War dha t o speak about his st or y,
Hans (The Swan). He had t o submit t he
st or y t o t he Par ishad as well as discuss
some t hings about t he st at e of Hindi
and Hindust ani in t he count r y. This t ime
Ma h a t ma Ga n d h i h a d i n vi t ed h i m
per sonally. He went and st ayed in War dha
for four days. On r et ur ning he exclaimed:
The Mahat ma is even gr eat er t han I
had expect ed. Ther e must har dly be a
per son who met him and didnt come
back t r ansfor med by him. Such is his
p er s on a l i t y t h a t p eop l e a r e p u l l ed
t owar ds him. Ther e is somet hing about
his face and t he way he speaks t hat
people just for get about ever yt hing else.
In fact , I t hink even t he vilest man would
not be able t o r esist him. His pr esence
alone is enough t o make even t he most
consummat e liar s t ell t he t r ut h.
But why doesnt he have t he same
effect on J innah? Does it mean J innah
is t he st r onger of t he t wo?
I t hink it will happen in t ime. The
Mahat ma is a man of many t alent s.
So, have you also become a fan?
A fan? I have become his disciple.
In fact , I t hink Id become his disciple
when he had come t o Gor akhpur .
Oh, you became his follower fir st
and met him lat er , I said.
To be a follower doesn t mea n
wor shipping a per son, it means t r ying
t o emulat e him.
And have you begun emulat ing him?
Wh a t d o you t h i n k? I wr ot e
Pr emashr am aft er he came t o Gor akhpur
and t hen it was published in 1922.
But wasnt t hat alr eady a wor k in
pr ogr ess?
Which fur t her pr oves my point
t hat I d become his disciple wit hout
having met him.
So h ow d oes t h a t p r ove h i s
gr eat ness? I asked.
It means t hat his gr eat ness made
such a good disciple out of me t hat
I can now ant icipat e what hes going
t o say next .
But t his is har dly logical.
Well, it s not about logic as much
as it is about fait h. In my mind he is
t he gr eat est per son living in t he wor ld
t oday. He is also t r ying t o wor k t owar ds
t he uplift ment of t he poor , t he labour er s
and so am I. My wr it ing is act ually
inspir ed by him. He is also t r ying t o
br ing t oget her Hindus and Muslims. I
t oo am t r ying t o br ing Hindi and Ur du
t oget her as Hindust ani.
And how do you do t hat ?
I do it t hr ough my wr it ing.
So j u s t beca u s e you wr i t e i n
Hindust ani you t hink it will br ing people
t oget her ?
Well, it is a language t hat s agr eeable
t o bot h Hindus and Muslims, and t he
common man. In fact , whenever we do
have a nat ional language it will be a
child bor n of bot h Hindi and Ur du.
But shouldnt our nat ional language
be Hindi inst ead of Hindust ani? I asked.
Do you kn ow h ow t h e wor d
Hin dust an came in t o bein g? When
Muslims came her e and set t led down
t hey began calling t he land, Hindust an.
Now t he name Hindust an has st uck but
wer e st ill fight ing over t he language.
And I t hink it will only end when bot h
Hindus and Muslims t hink t hings out
wit hout get t ing all char ged up. They
s h ou l d t h i n k a bou t co- exi s t i n g, co-
mingling beginning wit h t he language
t hey speak. As long as t hey keep fight ing
about language t her e is lit t le hope for
a solut ion.
So should we just dr ag in Far si wor ds
int o Hindi and Sanskr it wor ds int o Ur du?
No ones t alking about dr agging any
wor ds anywher e. The common language
should be t he language spoken by most
people, and it shouldnt mat t er whet her
it is Hindi wit h a Far si flavour or Ur du
wit h a t ouch of Sanskr it . Aft er all we
ar e not a count r y of a single people.
When t her e ar e so many differ ent people
and fait hs why should we go ar ound
looking for pur it y in language.
It s all fine in t heor y, I said, t his
mixing doesnt wor k when it happens
in your own family.
And who says it doesnt ? In t he
olden days many a Hindu king would
gladly mar r y off a sist er or a daught er
t o a Muslim Emper or . In fact , it was
supposed t o be a big t hing for t hem.
Id agr ee it didnt happen bot h ways.
But it happens t oday also. All t hose
women who ar e t hr own out of your Hindu
households find a place among Muslims.
Or t hey end up at t he br ot hels. J ust
r emember t hat all t he Muslims in t he
count r y didnt come fr om Per sia and
Ar abia. When t hey t hr ow t heir women
out on t he st r eet s why dont your Hindu
br et hr en t hink about pur it y.
So n ow you r e a Mu s l i m
sympat hiser .
I am no ones sympat hiser , nor
anyones enemy.
Who do you believe in t hen? Ram
or Rahim?
For me Ram, Rahim, Buddha, Chr ist
all ar e wor t hy of wor ship. I consider
t hem all gr eat .
No but t ell me what ar e you?
I am a human being and I believe
in humanit y, being helpful t o my fellow
men. That is who I am and t hose ar e
t he kind of people I r espect and admir e.
I have fr iends who ar e Hindus and t hose
t hat ar e Muslims and I dont consider
one bet t er t han t he ot her .
How ar e t hey t he same? I was get t ing
angr y now, Muslims kill cows and t hat
is t he r eason behind so many Hindu-
Muslim r iot s in which so many people
die.
So how does t hat make Muslims
singular ly r esponsible? Why is it t hat
a Muslim using an old and milk-less cow
for sacr ifice boils so much Hindu blood
but not a whimper when t he Br it ish
slaught er t housands of cows and calves
for t heir dinner t able? This isnt r eally
so much about cow sacr ifice as it is
about a compet it ive hat r ed bet ween t he
t wo. Tell me which Devi t emple does
not sacr ifice r ams? Is t he r am not a
living cr eat ur e? So why is it okay t o
sacr ifice a r am and not a cow? Aft er
all ever yone seems t o love a good mut t on
dish. You make Hindus sound like t he
only people wit h compassion and mer cy.
Do you know which communit y has t he
highest r at e of cr ime against women?
It is Hindus. They seem t o have made
it a cust om of t hr owing t heir women
out on t he st r eet s. Somet imes you dont
even need an excuse. Why t hen does
it sur pr ise t hem when someone becomes
a Muslim? Dont t hey t hink of t hese t hings
when t heyr e showing t heir women t he
door ? Do t hey leave t hem any choice?
And why is only t he char act er of a woman
judged so har shly? Why is t he man not
held r esponsible? In my mind men ar e
mor e, if not doubly, guilt y whenever
t he char act er of a woman is put in doubt .
Why t hen is t he poor woman only t hr own
out of t he house? Why is she t he one
always r esponsible for all t he misfor t une
t hat comes knocking at her door ?
Men have for ages made vict ims
out of women. In fact , it is t he men
who make t he laws. Laws t hat suit t hem.
It is t he men who have many wives,
who mar r y women younger t han t heir
daught er s. To me t his seems like an unfair
dist r ibut ion of guilt . Women have all
t he guilt and men, all t he fr eedom. All
t he laws have been made t o maint ain
t his st at us quo. What is t he poor woman
t o do t hen? She has ver y lit t le choice
but t o change her r eligion. Because t he
men in her life would r at her t hat she
killed her self. That is what it seems like
t o me. I dont r eally know what or how
we expect our women t o be.
And t he pr ost it ut es who ar e being
pushed out of t he cit ies, I had kept
quiet for t oo long, what do you have
t o say about t hem?
Maybe t hat is a r eflect ion of our
societ y. A societ y t hat want s t o br ush
women under t he car pet . I am in fact
ver y gr at eful t o Dayanand. It was t hanks
t o his Ar ya Samaj movement t hat women
ear ned some amount of r espect abilit y
in Hindu societ y. All women should be
et er nally gr at eful t o him for get t ing t he
Shar da Bill passed.
Why should we all be et er n ally
gr at eful t o him?
It would be shame if your e not .
Even t he Mahat ma has done a lot for
get t ing women some equalit y in our
societ y. In fact , if our societ y doesnt
r ealise it s folly t hen t he day is not far
when Hindu gir ls will leave t heir houses
and find t hemselves husbands of t heir
own choice.
That would not be a pit y. Because
when boys and gir ls choose t heir own
life par t ner s at a young age t heyr e usually
not wise in t he ways of t he wor ld. And
oft en t h ey p u t t h ems el ves u p for
d i s a p p oi n t men t a n d d ecei t . Su ch
mar r iages may seem ver y at t r act ive but
t heyr e anyt hing like t hat .
But t he fact is no mat t er how much
you or I or t he wor ld t r ies t o put an
end t o it , it is not going t o st op. The
day is not far when such mar r iages would
be t he nor m. The mor e we t r y t o dist ance
our selves fr om West er n influences t he
t ight er we get int o t heir gr ip.
God save me fr om seeing t hat day,
I said.
Why do you say t hat ? Dont you
your self t r y t o r un away fr om all t hat
is old and r egr essive in our societ y?
Yes but I dont want t o complet ely
give up my t r adit ions. I only want t o
br ing about change and r efor m wher e
it is necessar y.
But why is t his so sur pr ising? Wher e
you wa n t s ome r efor m your fut ur e
gener at ions would simply like t o wipe
t he slat e clean. Laws and t r adit ions have
a way of changing wit h t he t imes. You
cant expect t o live like t he ancient s
in t he 20
t h
cent ur y. Things change and
t hey should. Why should anyone have
t he r ight t o exploit anot her ?
Yes, you ar e r ight . We should be
gr at eful t o all t he gr eat men who have
helped our cause. In fact we should also
be gr at eful t o you.
What have I done t o deser ve t hat ?
I am mer ely someone t r ying t o at one
for t he sins of his for efat her s.
Who can claim t o know sinner s fr om
saint s isnt ever yone a vict im in t he
end?
And why not ? Aft er all, what one
does, does come back t o him or her
t hat s what we call t he Theor y of Kar ma.
But now t her es not even t ime t o
appor t ion blamewhos done what , whos
r esponsible for what .
Well, we can t r y. Fir st our for efat her s
suppr essed t heir women and t hen we
t heir childr en found our selves suppr essed
by a for eign power . But now t hat wer e
st r ong and gr own up we will have t o
fight bot h kinds of suppr essions t oget her .
How can t he women fight when
t heyr e st ill being suppr essed?
Wel l , t h a t i s s omet h i n g t h a t s
changing gr adually. I dont know why
we end up ar guing about t hat again and
again.
What do you t hink about womens
emancipat ion? I asked.
I t hink bot h men and women ar e
bor n equal.
Then you should do mor e for t he
cause of women.
I do my bit t hr ough my wr it ing,
t hr ough lit er at ur e.
But how does it help? Most of us
cant even r ead.
One doesnt st op wr it ing because
t her e is illit er acy. It is always a gr adual
pr ocess. Do you know t hat t he condit ion
of pr esent -day Russia was alr eady for et old
20 0 year s ago by it s wr it er s?
Well, who has lived t o be 20 0 .
You want inst ant r esult s, dont you?
Well, you just might live t o see t hem.
Things have changed by leaps and bounds
in t he last 25 year s alone.
But our societ y is r iddled wit h t he
same pr oblems.
How can you say t hat ? Your mot her
may have consider ed going t o jail for
t he fr eedom st r uggle but you act ually
went t o jail. And you wer e not alone,
mor e t han 20,000 women volunt eer ed
ar r est alongside t heir men. Isnt t hat
a sign of gr owing equalit y? These ar e
ver y posit ive signs for our societ y.
Once, when t he Sahit ya Sabha meet ing
was t o be held in Delhi he came back
fr om t he pr ess at about 4 pm and said:
I have t o leave t oday at 5 for Delhi
please keep my luggage r eady.
What is t he hur r y? I pr ot est ed, our
daught er is her e
She is going t o st ay for some t ime.
But t ell me what is t he ur gency?
J ainendr a has wr it t en
When will you come back?
I t hink I should be back in 3-4
days. This will be my fir st t ime in Delhi!
What if you give it a miss t his t ime?
No, J ainendr a will feel ver y bad.
I packed his bags for 3-4 days but
he finally came back aft er a week. I
was wor r ied because he didnt usually
st ay on like t his. I was t hinking maybe
hes fallen ill or somet hing. I called t he
manager so t hat he could send him a
t elegr am.
Dont wor r y, t he manager said, he
should be back in a day or so. I also
t hought , t his is his fir st t ime in Delhi
t hat s why hes decided t o st ay on. I
didnt send t he t elegr am but my wor r y
was gr owing.
When he r et ur ned on t he sevent h
day I was ver y angr y. You have no
concer n for us. You didnt even t hink
what we would be going t hr ough You
said you wer e going for four days and
you come back aft er a week.
He looked at me wit h pat ient eyes.
Fir st hear my side of t he st or y t hen
youd pr obably not be as angr y wit h
me as you now ar e. I t hink youd have
done t he same t hing if you wer e in my
place.
Well, you ar e t he st or y-t eller and
ever yt hings a st or y t o you
Now t hat is not fair . Do I not car e
about you?
I ve just seen how much.
This t ime he smiled. Okay, fir st list en
t o my st or y.
Am list ening
He held my hand and began his st or y.
When I r eached J ainendr as house I
r ealised Pandit Sunder lal was alr eady
t her e. The meet ing st ar t ed t he day I
r eached and we got busy for t he next
t hr ee days. Dur ing t he meet ing I met
a gent leman fr om Punjab who insist ed
I go t o his house. In fact , he had ear lier
t r ied t o meet me t wice when I was in
Lucknow and once in Benar as. He was
my big fan and insist ed t hat I st ay at
his place. And believe me it was not
easy t o convince him ot her wise. Bot h
he and his wife wer e insist ent t hat I
st ay wit h t hem at t heir house. Even if
I t r ied I couldnt wiggle my way out
of t heir hospit alit y. So I went wit h t hem
and st ayed at t heir place for a few days.
That is my st or y and I am r eady t o
face your punishment .
What is t heir name? I asked inst ead.
Well, I r eally dont know. This was
t he fir st t ime I met t hem. They said
t hey had r ead my st or y, Mant r a, and
been deeply t ouched by it . It also inspir ed
t hem t o st ar t t heir business. Since r eading
t he st or y t hey had been ver y eager t o
meet me. And t hey wouldnt t ake no
for an answer . They, in fact , host ed a
dinner for ever yone at t he meet ing just
t o get my at t ent ion.
So while you wer e having fun, her e
I was wor r ied sick t hinking you had
t aken ill or somet hing. Did you know
I wa s goi n g t o s en d a t el egr a m?
Thankfully, t he manager was hesit ant .
Ot her wise Id have wast ed one and a
half r upee and also been t he fool.
Believe me my dear , I was wor r ied
about you wor r ying t oo much. But what
was I t o do, I was almost held host age.
My anger had by t hen subsided, I
said: Yes, what wer e you t o do
I am t elling you t he t r ut h, t hey
wer e t ot ally cr azy about me. In fact ,
at fir st he couldnt even collect t he
cour age t o appr oach me. Then dur ing
a br eak in t he meet ing he came up t o
me a n d br i efl y t ol d me a bou t h i s
invit at ion. I was r eally helpless befor e
his love and his gr eat desir e t o host
me. Even his wife, who was bed-r idden,
was insist ent . And I didnt have t he hear t
t o disappoint t hem.
That is t he bane of a wr it er s wife.
Her husband belongs t o ever yone and
t hat is her cur se.
Left t o me Id just st ay home and
do t he t hing t hat gives me t he gr eat est
joy: wr it ing.
Please dont do t his t o me again.
I wont . In fact , what would be bet t er
t han you coming along wit h me. That
way neit her of us would wor r y about
t he ot her .
And what about t he kids?
Ph ew. You h a ve t h e kn a ck of
invent ing newer pr oblems ever y t ime
we have a solut ion.
That was some day when I put my
husband in t he dock. And for what
for spending a week away fr om us. I
was angr y and hur t especially at t he
fact t hat hed had me wor r ied. Today,
I am neit her ever wor r ied nor angr y,
nor do I t hink of ever sending him a
message or a t elegr am. He was aft er
all a wr it er , a per son who under st ood
love, under st ood it s nuances and dept hs.
Why t hen did he leave me and go? I
know I was blind and I was cr azy. Because
I failed t o r ecognise t he love and beaut y
of his being. I guess, most people ar e
like t hat t hey wouldnt r ecognise God
even if he appear ed befor e t hem. My
husband was like t hat t oo, and I was
t oo blind t o r ecognise him. He was a
lot of t hings t o a lot of people. And
now t hat he is no mor e I spend my
days and night s t hinking about what
Ive lost . I t hink I shall never find my
peace as long as I live. For wit hout
h i m my l i fe s e e ms e mp t y a n d
meaningless. I guess t hat is what is
called t he Theor y of Kar ma.
Sh i vr a n i Devi ( 18 9 0 - 19 76 ) wa s Pr emch a n d s wi fe a n d a cr ea t i ve wr i t er
i n h er own wa y. Sh e wr ot e s ome s h or t s t or i es a n d a l i t er a r y memoi r
a b ou t h er h u s b a n d Pr emch a n d : Gh a r Mei n . Th e b ook i s a mi r r or t o
kn ow Pr emch a n d i n a l l h i s d yn a mi s m a s a t h i n ker , i n t el l ect u a l a n d
a h ou s eh ol d er . Sh e p a s s ed a wa y i n 19 76 i n Al l a h a b a d .
PREMCHAND: I NTERVI EWD BY
Pandit Banarasidas Chat urvedi
Sanjay Dev
Wr it ing a let t er on 11
t h
May, 1930 fr om Calcut t a, Pandit Banar asidas
Chat ur vedi had sent seven quest ions t o Pr emchand which wer e
answer ed by Pr emchand t hr ough his let t t er dat ed J une 3, 1930.
Her e t hey go:
Ch a t u r ve d i : When did you st ar t wr it ing st or ies?
P r e m ch a n d : I st ar t ed wr it ing st or ies in 190 7. My fir st st or y
collect ion Soze Vat an compr ising five st or ies was br ought out
by Zamana Pr ess in 1908. But t he collect or of Hameer pur had
it bur nt down. He felt it was sedit ious. Though it s t r anslat ion
has been since t hen, published in sever al collect ions and magazines.
Ch a t u r ve d i : Which of your st or ies you like best ?
P r e m ch a n d : It s difficult t o answer t his one. Fr om mor e t han
t wo hundr ed st or ies it is difficult t o pick t he best one, but would
st ill hazar d wr it ing names of a few fr om memor y (1) Bade Ghar
Ki Bet i, (2) Rani Sar andha, (3) Namak Ka Dar oga, (4) Saut ,
(5) Aabhushan, (6) Pr ayashchit , (7) Kamana-Tar u, (8) Mandir aur
Masjid, (9) Ghaswali, (10) Mahat ir t h, (11) Sat yagr ah, (12) Laanchhan,
(13) Sat i, (14) Laila, (15) Mant r a.
An Ur du st or y t it led Manzile Maqsood was a beaut y. Umpt een
of my Muslim fr iends have pr aised it , but could not be t r anslat ed
yet . Felicit y of t he language will be lost in t r anslat ion.
Ch a t u r ve d i : Name nat ional and for eign wr it er s whose wor ks have
influenced your wr it ing st yle?
I
n
t
e
r
v
i
e
w
P r e m c h a n d : Non e i n p a r t i cu l a r
influenced mine. To a lar ge ext ent Pandit
Rat annat h dar Lakhnavi and t o some
ext ent Pandit Rabindr a Nat h Thakur .
Ch a t u r ve d i : How much you make a
mont h fr om your books and ar t icles?
P r e m ch a n d : Bet t er not ask of income.
Right s of all ear lier books wer e given
t o publisher s. Pr em Pachisi, Seva Sadan,
Sapt a Sar oj, Pr emashr am, Sangr am
and so on fet ched t hr ee t housand r upees
in one inst alment fr om Hindi Pust ak
Agency. Maybe t wo hundr ed r upees for
Nav Nidhi as yet . Dular elal gave r upees
eight een hundr ed for Rangbhoomi. And
for ot her collect ions got hundr ed-t wo
hundr ed. Myself published Kayakalpa,
Aza d Ka t h a , Pr em Ti r t h a , Pr em
Pr at ibha, Pr at igya but have bar ely
r ecover ed six hundr ed r upees, so far .
And am left wit h unsold pr int ed copies.
A sundr y income of r upees t went y five
a mont h fr om ar t icles, but it is har dly
enough. I now wr it e for none except
Hans and Madhur i. Occasionally I wr it e
for Vishal Bhar at and Sar aswat i, t hat s
all! An d yes, t r an slat ion s may have
br ought in not mor e t han r upees t wo
t housand. Submit t ed t r anslat ions for
Rangbhoomi and Pr emashr am bot h for
a meagr e r upees eight hundr ed. Alas!
no publisher was t o be found.
Ch a t u r ve d i : Your t ake on cont empor ar y
pr ogr ess in lit er ar y st or ies in Hindi?
P r e m ch a n d : The wor ld of lit er ar y st or ies
in Hindi is in ver y ear ly st age. Among
t he st or y wr it er s Sudar shan Kaushik,
J a i n en d r a Ku ma r , Ugr a , Pr a s a d ,
Rajeshwar i ar e t he only conspicuous ones.
I find signs of or iginalit y and diver sit y
in J ainendr a and Ugr a. Pr asadjis st or ies
a r e emot i on a l , bu t n ot r ea l i s t i c.
Rajeshwar i wr it es well, but ver y lit t le.
Sudar shanjis composit ions ar e beaut iful,
but ar e ver y want ing in dept h. And
Kaushikji t ends t o st r et ch a t hing a bit
t oo far . None seems t o have st udied
cer t ain or gans of societ y in par t icular ,
yet . Ugr a did but st r ayed. I t ook up
fa r mi n g commu n i t y. Bu t t h er e a r e
numer ous communit ies which need t o
be highlight ed. Nobody has t ouched a
b i t u p on Sa d h u commu n i t i e s .
I ma gi n a t i on a n d n ot e xp e r i e n ce
dominat ed in our par t of t he wor ld.
The point is t hat we have not yet adopt ed
lit er ar at ur e as a business. My life has
been a failur e fr om economic viewpoint
and will r emain so. By br inging out
Hans, Ive for feit ed t he savings fr om
my books. Maybe ot her wise, would have
made four -six hundr ed, but have no
such hope now.
Ch a t u r ve d i : Name t he language your
wor ks have been t r anslat ed int o?
P r e m ch a n d : Some of my wor ks have
been t r anslat ed int o Mar at hi, Gujr at i,
Ur du, Tamil, but not all. Most have been
t r anslat ed int o Ur du followed by Mar at hi.
Many Telugu gent lemen asked t r anslat ion
per mission of me, which I gave r eadily.
I cant say whet her t r anslat ion happened,
or not . Thr ee or four st or ies have been
t r anslat ed int o J apanese whose publisher
Mr . Sabhar wal has made a r emit t ance
of r upees fift y not long back. I am gr at eful
t o him. Two-t hr ee st or ies have been
t r anslat ed int o English, t hat s all!
Ch a t u r ve d i : What ar e your wishes?
P r e m c h a n d : I have no wishes. My
fondest wish at t he moment is t hat we
win t he fr eedom st r uggle! I have never
hanker ed aft er money and fame. Make
enough for food and all. Have never
lust ed for mot or and bungalow. Oh yes,
I definit ely want t o wr it e t wo-four qualit y
books, also aimed at vict or y in fr eedom
st r uggle. I have no big desir es in t er ms
of my t wo sons. Want t his much only
t hat t hey ar e honest , t r ue and of fir m
r esolve. I hat e indulgent , r ich and fawning
childr en. I dont want t o sit back eit her .
Want t o do somet hing or ot her for
l i t er a t u r e a n d cou n t r y. An d yes , I
cont inue t o get my br ead and an ounce
of ghee and a few clot hes.
Pt . Ba n a r s i d a s Ch a t u r ved i ( 18 9 2 - 19 8 5) wa s a p r omi n en t j ou r n a l i s t ,
ed i t or a n d wr i t er . I n 19 14 h e wr ot e a b ou t i mmi gr a n t I n d i a n s p r ob l ems .
He was edit or Vishal Bhar at and Madhukar . I n 1919 he wr ot e Rasht r abhasha.
He wr ot e Rekh a ch i t r a ( 19 52 ) , Sa h i t ya a u r J i va n ( 19 54 ) .
Sa n j a y Dev, b or n 19 6 4 h a i l s fr om J a i p u r . Ha s a ma s t er s i n En gl i s h
l i t er a t u r e a n d a b a ch el or s i n j ou r n a l i s m. As a fr ee- l a n cer , p u b l i s h ed
i n va r i ou s n a t i on a l d a i l i es . Ha s 2 0 yea r s exp er i en ce i n t r a n s l a t i on .
Wor ks a s Ed i t or for Pa r l i a men t of I n d i a . Res i d es i n Del h i .
A CELLULOI D J OURNEY TO I NDI A:
ABDOLH OSSEI N SEP ANTA AND TH E
EARLY I RANI AN TALKI ES
Lalit J oshi
This essay deals wit h t he ear ly hist or y of t he Ir anian t alkies and
how one of it s founder s Abdolhossein Sepant a, pioneer ed t he
fir st Indo-Ir anian pr oject in filmmaking in 1931. I br iefly examine
Sepant as t r ansit ion fr om t he academic wor ld t o t he film indust r y.
Sepant a desir ed t o est ablish a full-fledged film indust r y in Ir an
and India became t he t est ing gr ound of his cinemat ic skills. When
Himanshu Rai, t he founder of t he Bombay Talkies (1934-54), hir ed
t he Ger man cinemat ogr apher Fr ant z Ost en, t he films and t he audiences
in mind he had, wer e pr imar ily based in India. But Sepant as
pr oject s r epr esent t he only inst ance in t he hist or y of Indian cinema
when films for a for eign audience wer e shot and pr ocessed by
an Indian film company. However , as I shall demonst r at e in t he
concluding sect ion of t his essay, filmmaking for Sepant a ended
abr upt ly as, an unfinished pr oject of cult ur al nat ionalism.
Nat ional cinemas acr oss t he wor ld have gener ally displayed
a t endency t o dr aw upon t he diver se t r adit ions of t heir per for ming
and visual ar t s. Ir anian cinema is no except ion. Per haps an ear ly
example of Ir ans visual hist or y is t he appear ance of bas-r eliefs
in Per sepolis ar ound 500 B.C., an ar t which r eached it s cr eat ive
peak dur ing t he r eign of t he Sassanian kings. This t r adit ion cont inued
in t he for m of miniat ur e paint ings dur ing t he ear ly and lat er
medieval per iods. Accor ding t o Shahin Par ami, a deliber at e lack
of per spect ive enabled t he ar t ist t o have differ ent plot s and sub-
plot s wit hin t he same space of t he pict ur e.
1
Mor eover , Ir anians
F
i
l
m
s
wer e t he only cult ur al communit y in
t he r egion, t o have per fect ed t he ar t
of int egr at ing st or yt elling wit h paint ing
(pardeh-khani). In pardeh-khani, as t he
or al nar r at ive pr ogr essed, t he Pardeh-
khan or t he nar r at or , unveiled a ser ies
of paint ings per t inent t o a par t icular
s t a ge of t h e n a r r a t i ve. A s i mi l a r
audiovisual mode was t he Nagali, in
which a Nagal or t he st or yt eller , would
enact scenes fr om a st or y and int er lace
i t wi t h s on gs a n d d a n ces . Na g a l
per for mances wer e gener ally or ganized
in a qahava-khana or a coffee-house.
Ot her ar t for ms t hat embellished t he
vi sual cult ur e of I r an i n cluded t h e
Khay meshab-bazi (puppet r y), Saye-bazi
(shadow plays), Rouhhozi (comical plays)
and Tazieh (passion plays), depict ing t he
mar t yr dom of t he Shia leader Imam
Hossein in t he cent ur y.
2
The advent of cinema in Ir an mar ked
a difficult t r ansit ion not only int o a new
per for mat ive mode, but also t o t he
cr eat ion of n ew spaces for cult ur al
consumpt ion. Fur t her mor e, t he adopt ion
of t he new mode of st or yt elling meant
select ively dr awing upon Hollywood films
and diver se st yles of Eur opean cinema,
while at t he same t ime appr opr iat ing
element s fr om t r adit ional per for ming ar t s
and finally r elocat ing t hem int o new
dieget ic spaces. Cinema also cr eat ed new
sodalit ies of viewer s who int er r ogat ed
pr evailing public discour ses about t he
nat ion, polit ics, mor alit y and ever yday
life and t heir r epr esent at ions in ar t .
3
As in t he case of ot her nat ional
cinemas, ear ly at t empt s at filmmaking,
exhibit ion and viewing in I r an wer e
confined t o t he ar ist ocr acy and t he upper
classes. Many of t he pioneer s of Ir anian
ci n ema wer e for ei gn - r et u r n ed
t echnicians, belonging t o t he r uling elit e.
4
Al s o, i n ma n y u p p er cl a s s h omes ,
weddings, childbir t hs, cir cumcisions and
ot her family event s wer e filmed or films
wer e scr eened dur ing such occasions.
Ear ly film exhibit ions wer e confined t o
Eur opean impor t s. However , ar ound t he
second decade of t he t went iet h cent ur y,
small invest ment s began t o t r ickle int o
indigenous film pr oduct ion. Rar e foot ages
of t his per iod r eveal a mlange of news,
even t s , a ct u a l i t i es a n d s p ect a cl es
involving r oyalt y usually filmed in long
shot .
5
Per haps t he fir st among t hese
was t he shor t film document ing t he visit
of t he Shah of Ir an t o Belgium. The
event was capt ur ed by Ebr ahim Khan
Akkasbashi, t he official phot ogr apher at
t he r oyal cour t .
6
Lat er , Akkasbashi also
fi l med n a t i on a l fes t i va l s s u ch a s
Mohar r am as well as scenes fr om t he
r oyal zoo in Tehr an.
In t he absence of pr oper exhibit ing
space, a select audience sat on car pet ed
floor s t o wat ch films, somewhat in t he
same way as t hey did dur ing t he Tazieh
shows. Because of t he r est r ict ed nat ur e
of it s exhibit ion and because of t he
pr ejudices held against it , ear ly Ir anian
cinema was far fr om being a popular
ar t for m. Films wer e t hought t o be
mor ally cor r upt ing; t he cler gy counseled
men t o r est r ain women fr om visit ing
t heat r es. Such biases wer e not uncommon
in ot her cult ur es.
7
In neighbor ing India,
t he nat ionalist leader ship, wit h not able
except ions, pr efer r ed t o dist ance it self
fr om t he ir r esist ible char ms of t he silver
scr een. However , cinemas ent r y int o
t he public domain was only a mat t er
of t ime. Business communit ies wer e quick
t o seize t he init iat ive. The lead was t aken
by Mir za Ebr ahim Khan Sahaf Bashi in
1904, who ar r anged a public scr eening
of a shor t film inside t he pr emises of
his ant ique shop in Tehr an. The r esponse
wa s s o over wh el mi n g t h a t h e wa s
ent hused t o build a movie t heat r e of
modest dimensions in t he Cher agh Gaz
avenue.
8
Sahaf Bashis for ay int o t he wor ld
of cinema could have been an endur ing
ent er pr ise had it not been for his avowedly
public suppor t for const it ut ional polit ics
in Ir an. His fulminat ions against t he
monar chical for m of gover nment in Ir an
as well as t he r ole of t he cler gy, ear ned
him t wo power ful enemies. Pit t ed against
t wo for emost for ces, Sahaf Bashi soon
r ealized t hat he was fight ing a losing
bat t le. His enemies ensur ed t hat he was
ar r est ed and his t heat r e vandalized and
shut down per manent ly. Soon aft er t his
incident , Russi Khan Sahaf Bashis
cont empor ar y and an ent r epr eneur of
Russian descent - was gr ant ed per mission
t o open anot her t heat r e in Tehr an(1906).
Unlike Sahaf Bashi, Russi Khan had
power ful pat r ons at t he r oyal cour t .
Besides, t he Russian ar my which was
t hen st at ioned close t o Tehr an, assur ed
him complet e pr ot ect ion and suppor t .
Khans t heat r e enjoyed undiminished
popular it y un t il 190 9, which year a
const it ut ional gover nment dislodged t he
monar chy and his t heat r e sealed for ever .
9
When monar chy was r est or ed again
in 1912, t he for mer pat r ons of cinema
began t o wor k t owar ds it s r evival. Wit h
adequat e suppor t fr om t he r oyal cour t
pour ing in, Ebr ahim Khan Sahnafbashi-
i-Tehr ani built t he fir st commer cial movie
t heat r e of Ir an, while Khan-baba Khan
Mot azeidi - t he r oyal phot ogr apher -
announced t he opening of a st r ing of
exhibit ion houses in t he count r y. Anot her
young ent r epr eneur Ali Vakili decided
t o hold exclusive scr eening for women
i n s i d e a Zor oa s t r i a n s ch ool . An
a d ver t i s emen t a p p ea r i n g i n a l oca l
newspaper in 1926 gives us a for et ast e
of Vakilis mar ket ing skills:
The famous ser ies by Rut h Roland,
t h e r en own ed wor l d a r t i s t wi l l be
pr esent ed at t he Zor oast r ian school fr om
May 10, 1928. Wat ching t he incr edible
acr obat ics of t his int er nat ional pr odigy
is a must for all r espect able ladies. Get
t wo t icket s for t he pr ice of one.
10
In anot her announcement , t he owner
of t he Gr and Cinema in Tehr an went
as far as st at ing t hat t he management
would filt er unclean women as well as
immor al yout h fr om it s audience so t hat
only r espect able men and women could
wat ch films separ at ely:
As a ser vice t o t he public, t he Gr and
Cinema Management has demar cat ed
par t s of it s hall for t he ladies and fr om
t onight , par t s one and t wo of t he ser ies
The Copper Ball, will be pr esent ed
t oget her . Thus all cit izens, including t he
la di es ma y en j oy t h e en t i r e s er i es .
Mea s u r es wi l l be t a ken wi t h t h e
cooper at ion of t he hon or able police
officer s t o bar unchast e women and
dissolut e yout h wit h no pr inciple.
11
In yet anot her innovat ive exper iment ,
it was decided t o hold scr eenings bet ween
t wo o clock in t he aft er noon and sunset
as t his coincided wit h t he t ime ear mar ked
for Tazieh shows. Indeed, cinema cast
such a magical spell on t he audience
t hat t he pr opr iet or s of t he Tazieh shows
wer e st eadily dr iven out of business.
12
Two mor e names in Ir ans fledgling
film indust r y deser ve ment ion. The fir st
among t hese is Ovannes Ohanian and
his cont empor ar y Ebr ahim Mor adi. Of
Ar menian-Ir anian descent , Ohanian had
st udied cinema at t he Cinema academy
in Moscow. When he r et ur ned t o Ir an
in 1925, albeit he want ed t o lay t he
foundat ions of a full-fledged film indust r y,
he st r uggled t o r emain cont ent wit h a
film school in Tehr an. In 1929, Ohanian
and wit h help fr om some of his gr aduat e
st udent s and financial assist ance fr om
a t heat er owner , dir ect ed his fir st film
Abi va Rab, which was a r emake of
Danish comedy ser ials alr eady popular
among Ir anian audience.
13
Ohanian also
dir ect ed Haji Agha Akt or-i-cinema (1933)
- his second and last film. To his dismay,
Haji t ur ned out t o be a commer cial failur e.
Not much is known about his car eer
t her eaft er except t hat he sought r efuge
in ot her pur suit s for some t ime befor e
sailing t o India, wher e he r emained unt il
1947. Like Ohanian, Mor adi also lear nt
t he cr aft of filmmaking in Russia, wher e
he lived as a polit ical exile in t he ear ly
1920s. Mor adi r et ur ned t o Ir an in 1929,
es t a bl i s h ed h i s own s t u d i o ( J a h a n
Namaan) and shot Ent eqham-e-Baradar
(A Br ot her s Revenge) in 1930. The film
cou l d n ot be compl et ed a s Mor a d i
over shot his budget . He cont inued t o
make ot her films, t he last being Bolhavas
(The Lust ful Man) in 1934. The film was
r eceived well at t he box-office but not
well enough t o sust ain his ent er pr ise.
14
Thus by t he mid 30s, t he Ir anian
film indust r y was in a st at e of disar r ay.
Filmmaker s gr appled wit h inadequat e
fi n a n ces , l ow en d t ech n ol ogy, p oor
pr oduct ion and exhibit ion facilit ies and
above all unflinching opposit ion fr om
t h e cl er gy. I t wou l d h owever be
misleading t o suggest t hat Abdolhossein
Sepant a embar ked upon a car eer in
filmmaking in India pr ecisely because
of t hese r easons. In fact , Sepant as voyage
int o t he wor ld of films can be t er med
ser endipit ous; per haps when he ar r ived
in Bombay in 1927, all he must have
had in his mind was t o become a per son
of gr eat er udit ion.
Abdolhossein Sepant a (1907-69) was
bor n in Tehr an. He went t o St . Louis
a n d Zor os a t r i a n col l eges , wh er e h e
developed a pr ofound int er est in t he
ear ly pr e-I slamic hist or y and cult ur e
of Ir an. Sepant as int ellect ual pur suit s
br ought him t o India in 1927. In Bombay
he met Bahr am Gour Anklesar ia a
scholar of ancient Ir anian languages and
who was t o become Sepant as ment or
lat er . He also met Dinshah Ir ani, Dir ect or
of t he Ir anian and Zor oast r ian societ y.
A dir ect descendant of a r efugee family
who had fled Ir an in t he 1790s, Ir ani,
a l a wyer by p r ofes s i on , wa s a
dist inguished member of t he I r anian
diaspor a in India. He had founded t he
Ir anian Zor oast r ian Anjuman as ear ly
as 1918 and t he Ir anian League in 1922.
Sepant as int er act ions wit h t he Par si
families in Bombay br ought him in t ouch
wit h Ar deshir Ir ani, an event which was
t o change t he lives of t he t wo gr eat
men complet ely.
Bor n in Pune, Ar deshir Ir ani (1886-
1969), st udied at t he J .J . School of Ar t s
i n Bomba y. He i n i t i a l l y j oi n ed h i s
bu s i n es s ma n fa t h er wh o d ea l t wi t h
phonogr aph equipment but quit it t o
car ve out an independent car eer in film
exhibit ion. For t his pur pose he ent er ed
in t o par t n er ship wit h an ot her Par si
ent r epr eneur Abdullah Esoofally. The
t wo acquir ed t he Alexander and Majest ic
Theat r es of Bombay in 1914. Six year s
lat er , I r an i laun ch ed St ar Fi lms i n
par t ner ship wit h Bhogilal K.M.Dave. Their
fir st pr oduct ion Veer Abhimanyu was
r eleased in 1922. In 1926 he r ealigned
his business t o for m t he Imper ial Film
Company. The r esult was a ser ies of
films such as Anar kali (1928), The lives
of a Mughal Pr ince (1928), Indir a B.A.
(1929), Alamar a (1931), Bambai Ki Billi
(1937) and Kisan Kanya (1937). Ir ani
was a pioneer in t wo significant ways.
He is cr edit ed not only for making t he
fir st t alkie in India (Alamar a) but also
for pr oducing t he fir st color film (Kisan
Kanya) in t he count r y. So animat ed was
Ir ani at t he pr ospect of being associat ed
wit h t he fir st Ir anian t alkie t hat he agr eed
t o finance and co-dir ect t he film as well.
The fir st Ir ani t alkie Dukht ar-i-Lor
or t he Lor Girl was pr oduced joint ly
by Sepant a and Ir ani under t he banner
of t he Imper ial Film Company. The film
had a pr ominent Ir anian(Abdolhossein
Sepant a, Ruhangiz Sami-Nehzad, Hadi
Shir azi) and a small Indian (Sohr ab
Pur i and ot her junior ar t ist s) cast . Sepant a
wr ot e t he ent ir e scr ipt and played t he
lead r ole as well. The Lor Girl t ook
seven mont hs t o be complet ed. It cr eat ed
quit e a sensat ion in t he Ir anian pr ess
as a Muslim gir l had been cast in a
film for t he fir st t ime in t he hist or y
of Ir anian cinema. The film opened
at Mayak and Sepah in Tehr an in 1933
and became an inst ant box-office success.
It r an successfully for t wo year s, a feat
t hat could not be r eplicat ed by any ot her
film for a long t ime alt oget her .
The Lor Girl is a polit ical film not
only because it is set in t he t ur bulent
20s but also because it also mar ks for
t he fir st t ime, t he appear ance of a woman
in an Ir anian film. Ziba Mir Hosseni has
r ecen t ly ar gued t hat t he cler gy was
unequivocal in it s r eject ion of cinema
because for t he fir st t ime an ar t for m
had made women visible (haram) in
societ y.
15
The manager s of Tazieh shows
for example, never showed women on
st age, womens r oles being always played
by men. It has also been suggest ed t hat
poet s wer e car eful in over t ly r epr esent ing
women as beloved in Per sian ver se;
r a t h er , t h ey ch os e t o wor k wi t h i n
ambiguit ies (iham).
16
Ir anian cinema was
n ot a l on e i n p r even t i n g s u ch
t r ansgr essions. J apanese cinema, inspir ed
by local t heat r ical t r adit ions such as
t he kabuki and shipna, deployed t he
onnagat a (male act or in female r ole)
t hr oughout t he 1920s and t he ear ly 30s.
In t he case of India, Raja Harishchandra,
one of t he fir st Indian feat ur e films and
dir ect ed by Phalke, had Salunke- a
t eahouse wait er - playing t he female lead.
The st or y of Lor Girl r evolves ar ound
a t r ibal village gir l-Golnar (Ruhangiz),
who ear ned her livelihood by singing
a n d d a n ci n g i n t e a h ou s e s . J a fa r
(Sepant a) is a gover nment agent . The
t wo fall in love and escape t o India.
They r et ur n t o Ir an aft er t he r est or at ion
of p ol i t i ca l s t a b i l i t y. Th e fi l m i s
emblemat ic of t he fat e of or dinar y lives
dur ing a per iod of polit ical t ur bulence.
What Sepant a might have had in mind
when he was doing t he scr ipt could
have been t he polit ical sit uat ion in t he
Lor est an-Khuzist an r egion, wher e t he
gover n men t h a d moun t ed a li mi t ed
mi l i t a r y offe n s i ve a ga i n s t t h e
r ecalcit r ant t r ibal populat ion. Finally,
t he film nar r at ive suffer ed fr om t he
pr oblems of cont inuit y and edit ing. The
audience however , fell in love wit h t he
beaut iful and innocent Golnar who is
shown wear ing a par t ial hejab in t he
film.
17
Except for it s Par si backgr ound, t her e
is no explanat ion for what might have
at t r act ed Sepant a t o t he Imper ial Film
Comp a n y. Ar ou n d t h e l a t e 20 s ,
pr oduct ion houses and st udios had st ar t ed
mushr oomin g in Bombay, Pun e an d
Kolhapur . The I ndian Cinemat ogr aph
Year book of 1938 list s 34 pr oduct ion
companies in Bombay, 6 in Kolhapur
and 4 in Pune.
18
Besides, Ir ani had shown
lit t le evidence of making sound films.
I n fact when Wilfr ed Demin g an
Amer ican engineer r epr esent ing t he Tanar
Recor ding Company in India visit ed
t h e I mp er i a l St u d i os , h e exp r es s ed
consternation at the prevailing conditions:
Film was successfully exposed in light
t hat would r esult in blank film at home,
s t a ges con s i s t ed of fl i ms y u p r i gh t s
suppor t ing a glass r oof or cover ing. The
Fr ench Debr ie camer a wit h a few Bell
and Howell and Ger man makes complet ed
t he r est of phot ogr aphic equipmen t .
Thr oughout , t he blindest gr oping for
fun damen t al fact s was evi den t . Th e
labor at or y pr ocessing met hods, wit h
sound in viewwer e most dist r essing
and obviously t he gr eat est pr oblem.
19
Poor sound and lip synchr onizat ion
in films pr oduced by t he Imper ial St udios,
was also r epor t ed in t he Bombay Chr onicle
and t he Times of India.
20
Ir anis t est imony
however , r eveals anot her side of t he
st or y. He accused t he Tanar Company
of selling him junk equipment based
on t he single syst em pr ocess t hat did
not allow sound t o be edit ed lat er as
it was dir ect ly t r ansfer r ed t o t he negat ive
p l a t e.
21
Su ch con t es t a t i on s n ot -
wit hst anding, Sepant a pit ched for t he
Imper ial St udios wher e t he Lor Girl was
finally bor n.
Buoyed by t he success of it s maiden
I r a n i a n ven t u r e, t h e I mp er i a l Fi l m
Company offer ed Sepant a pr oduct ion
con t r ol over ot h er fi l ms . Sep a n t a
subsequent ly dir ect ed four mor e films
for t he company, all shot on Indian
locat ions. The fir st among t hese was
Ferdousi (1933), based on t he life of
t he famous sixt eent h cent ur y Per sian
poet . This was followed by Shireen va
Far had (1934), an adapt at ion of t he
classical Per sian r omance t hat became
popular dur ing t he r eign of t he Sassanian
king Khusr au I. In 1935, Sepant a dir ect ed
Chashmay e Siah depict ing t he impact
of Nadir Shahs invasion on t he lives
of t wo young lover s. It is not ewor t hy
t hat Sepant a cast a new gir l in each
film.
22
This was a daunt ing t ask indeed.
I n t h e 20 s a n d 30 s , even I n d i a n
fi l mma ker s wer e comp el l ed t o h i r e
Eur opean or Anglo-Indian women, cinema
being looked down upon as a disr eput able
pr ofession by t he societ y at lar ge. It
has been suggest ed t hat t he songs in
Sep a n t a s fi l ms wer e n ot fa vor a bl y
r eceived by t he audience.
23
Fr om t he
point of view of t he Ir anian st at e, t his
was cer t ainly not pr oblemat ic. In fact
t he idea of making films pur ely for
ent er t ainment had never found favor
wit h t he st at e. Nonet heless, t his should
not lead us t o t he conclusion t hat because
en t er t ai n men t was a mat t er of low
pr ior it y, Sepant as films included subt le
polit ical subt ext s. St at ing his posit ion
on t he Lor Gir l sever al year s aft er it s
r elease Sepant a obser ved, As it was
t h e fi r s t I r a n i a n s ou n d fi l m t o be
pr esent ed abr oad, I felt it should pr esent
a br ight pict ur e of Ir anI have t o admit
t hat t he film was a gr eat boost for t he
n a t i on a l i s t i c p r i d e of exp a t r i a t e
I r anians.
24
In 1935 Sepant a quit Bombay t o seek
new oppor t unit ies in Calcut t a. Ther e he
came in cont act wit h Debaki Bose, t he
founder of t he New Theat r es and Abid
Basr avi, a mer chant of Ir anian descent .
Ba s r a vi d emon s t r a t ed ext r a or d i n a r y
int er est in Sepant as plans t o dir ect
Laila-va-Majnun under t he banner of t he
East I n di an Compan y. Sepan t a cast
Basr avi, his t wo sons and select member s
of Indian Ir anian families in t his film.
The film was complet ed in 1936, wit h
t he Basr avi family pr oviding necessar y
assist ance in t he var ious st ages of t he
scr ipt ing, shoot ing and edit ing of t he
film. A t r iumphant Sepant a set sail for
I r an hoping t o scr een it for I r anian
audiences. But how hope quickly t ur ned
int o despair was vividly r ecalled by him
dur ing an int er view:
I n Sept ember 1936, I ar r ived in
Bushehr wit h a pr int of Laila-o-Majnoon.
Due t o bur eaucr at ic complicat ions, t he
film pr int could not be immediat ely
r eleased t o scr een, and I had t o leave
for Teh r a n wi t h ou t i t . Gover n men t
officials at t it ude was inexplicably host ile
fr om t he beginning and I almost was
s or r y t h a t I r et u r n ed h ome. Th e
aut hor it ies did not value cinema as an
ar t for m or even as a means of mass
communicat ion, and I soon r ealized t hat
I had t o for get about my dr eam of
est ablishing a film st udio in Ir an. I even
h ad di ffi cult y get t i n g per mi ssi on t o
scr een t his film, and in t he end t he movie
t heat r e owner s for ced us t o t ur n over
t he film t o t hem almost for not hing.
25
Sepant a was convinced t hat vest ed
int er est s in I r an and elsewher e had
colluded t o under mine his ent er pr ise:
Repr esent at ion of for eign companies,
who br ought in second-hand vulgar films
fr om Ir aq or Lebanon, joined for ces wit h
t he I r anian aut hor it ies in char ge of
cinemat ic and t heat r ical affair s t o defeat
me. This unfair campaign left a last ing
and gr ave impact on my life.
26
Despit e t he odds ar r ayed against him,
Sepant a planned t o r et ur n t o India t o
r es u me s h oot i n g h i s for t h comi n g
p r od u ct i on s Bl a ck Ow l a n d Om a r
Khay y am. However , his mot her s failing
healt h pr event ed him fr om leaving Ir an.
The lat e 30 s wit nessed a dist r aught
Sepant a doing odd jobs including wor king
in a wool fact or y in Ispahan. A newspaper
t hat he st ar t ed in 1943 r emained shor t
l i ved . I n t h e mi d - 50 s h e beca me
associat ed wit h t he Unit ed St at es aid
pr ogr am for some t ime. Finally in 1965,
he shot a few document ar ies, which do
not r eflect t he epical st yle, det ails and
t he gr andness of scale, Sepant a was
known for . Four year s lat er , on Mar ch
28, 1969, Sepant as event ful life came
t o a t r agic end when died of a car diac
ar r est in Esafan, wher e he had spent
his last days vir t ually as a r ecluse. In
addit ion t o mor e t han a dozen films,
Sepant a left behind a legacy of eight een
t r anslat ions and numer ous files of t he
newspaper t hat he once edit ed. An Ir anian
film hist or ian has obser ved t hat albeit
Sepant a was t he only filmmaker who
was able t o define t he aest het ic cont our s
of fut ur e Ir anian cinema, his cont r ibut ion
r emained far fr om being endur ing.
If Sepant a had not faced t he obst acles
he did and if Ir anian cinema had been
allowed t o develop on a nat ional cour se,
vulgar it y would not have pr evailed in
our cinema for t hr ee decades fr om t he
1950 s t o t he 1970 s.
27
This br ings us t o a cr ucial quest ion
t he r elat ionship bet ween t he St at e and
ent r epr eneur ship. In t he case of most
nat ional cinemas, t he St at e has r egulat ed
and dir ect ed t he mot ion pict ur e indust r y
bot h by inst it ut ionalizing t he mechanisms
of finance as well as t hr ough censor ship.
What should be r epr esent ed on-scr een
a n d h ow h a s a l wa ys r ema i n ed a
cont ent ious issue bet ween filmmaker s on
t he one hand and t he cust odians of public
mor alit y and or der on t he ot her . The
scr een t hus becomes t he bat t legr ound
for r ival ideologies and discour ses. Ther e
always exist s a for midable yet flexible
alliance bet ween capit alism (inst it ut ional
finance, mar ket access, a defined syst em
of ar bit r at ion) and t he cinemat ic for m
( p r eva i l i n g p er for ma t i ve p r a ct i ces ,
censor ship r egulat ions). This is why t he
St at e has always viewed t he scr een as
a subver sive sit e.
Like t heir count er par t s in ot her par t s
of t he wor ld, filmmaker s in Ir an wer e
wor ki n g u n d er s er i ou s con s t r a i n t s .
Though monar chs like Mozaffar al-Din
Sh a h a n d Reza Sh a h Peh l a vi ( 1925-
41) en cou r a ged t h e u s e of t h e
cinemat ogr aph, t he r eal pr oblem wit h
cin ema was n ot t echn ology but t he
quest ion of dealin g wit h moder n it y.
Cinemas negot iat ions wit h moder nit y
wer e fr a u gh t wi t h u n exp ect ed
possibilit ies. For example, by a fr ont al
posit ioning of t he women, cinema could
subver t what Fer zaneh Milani has r efer r ed
t o in anot her cont ext as t he aest het ics
of immobilit y.
28
Cinema also posed t he
danger of under mining t he inst it ut ional
basis of Ir ans feudal monar chy. Inst ead
of p r ovi d i n g i t wi t h a r egu l a t or y
fr amewor k and br inging cinema int o t he
public spher e, t he Ir anian st at e chose
t he pat h of disavowal. This sit uat ion
cont inued unt il t he Islamic Revolut ion
(1979), by which t ime t he St at e decided
t o t ake on cinema fr ont ally and finally.
Why did success event ually elude
Sepant a? His celluloid jour ney had begun
at a t ime when t he impor t of Ir anian
films int o Ir an was compar at ively low
29
and at t endance in cinema halls const ant ly
r ising.
30
One explanat ion for Sepant as
failur e could be t hat he launched his
gr andiose pr oject at a t ime when Ir an
had halt ingly begun it s t r ansit ion t owar d
moder nit y. Nonet heless, t he shor t -lived
Indo-Ir anian collabor at ion r evealed t he
pot ent ial t hat such pr oject s car r ied for
t he benefit of bot h t he count r ies. Had
successive Ir anian and Indian filmmaker s
cont inued t o collabor at e fur t her , t he
hist or y of t he t wo nat ional cinemas would
have been wr it t en quit e differ ent ly.
Re f e r e n c e s
1. Shahin Par ami, Ir anian Cinema befor e t he Revolut ion, www.hor schamp.qc.ca/
new-offscr een/ pr eir an.ht ml.
2. I bid.
3. Such bor r owings have been obser ved in ot her cinemas. As one film scholar
has obser ved: Cinema as a medium was infor med by what one may t er m
int er t ext ual excess wher eby it could bor r ow fr om high and low cult ur al
univer ses at t he same t ime and r ecombine t hem in unexpect ed ways (M.S.S.
Pandian, Tamil Cult ur al Elit es and Cinema: Out line of an Ar gument , Economic
and Polit ical Weekly of I ndia, Apr il 13, 1996, p.950 ).
4. Hamid Naficy, Ir anian Cinema, in Geoffr ey Novell Smit h (ed.) The Oxford
Hist ory of World Cinema, Oxfor d Univer sit y Pr ess, Oxfor d, 1997, p.672.
5. I bid.
6. The t r ansit ion of Akkasbashi fr om
a ph ot ogr a ph er t o a ci n ema t o-
gr apher is evident fr om a significant
ent r y of king Mozaffar al-Din Shahs
t r avelogue diar y:
[A]t 9:0 0 p.m. we went t o t he
Exposit ion and t he Fest ival Hall
wh er e t h ey wer e s h owi n g
cinemat ogr apher , which consist s of
st ill and mot ion pict ur es. Then we
went t o Illusion building in t his
Ha l l t h ey wer e s h owi n g
cinemat ogr apher . They er ect ed a
ver y lar ge scr een in t he cent r e of
t he Hall, t ur ned off all elect r ic light s
a n d p r oj ect ed t h e p i ct u r e of
cinemat ogr aphy on t hat lar ge scr een.
It was ver y int er est ing t o wat ch.
Among t he pict ur es wer e Afr icans
and Ar abians t r aveling wit h camels
in t he Afr ican deser t which was ver y
int er est ing. Ot her pict ur es wer e of
t he Exposit ion, t he moving st r eet ,
t he Seine r iver and ships cr ossing
t he r iver , people swimming and
playing in t he wat er and many ot her s
which wer e all ver y int er est ing. We
inst r uct ed Akkas Bashi t o pur chase
all kinds of it [cinemat ogr aphic
equipment ] and br ing t o Teher an
so God willing he can make some
t h er e a n d s h ow t h em t o ou r
ser van t s.
( www. v i c t o r i a n - c i n e m a . n e t /
akkasbashi.ht m.)
7 . See my essay, Cinema and Hindi
Per iodicals in Colonial India (1920-
47), in Manju J ain (ed.) Narrat ives
of Indian Cinema, Pr imus Books,
New Delhi, 20 0 9.
8. For det ails of t he I r an ian film
indust r y dur ing t he Second Wor ld
War and soon aft er see, A Br ief
Cr it ical Hist or y of Ir anian Feat ur e
Film ( 18 96- 1975) ,
h t t p : / / www. l i b . wa s h i n t o n . e d u /
near east / cinema of ir an/ int r o.ht ml
# foot 14.
9. I bid.
10 . Massoud Mehr abi, The Hist or y of
I r a n i a n Ci n ema , Pa r t On e,
ht t p/ / www.massoud mehr abi.com/
ar t icle. asp?id=141460 6616.
11. I bid.
12 . M. Ali, Issar i, Cinema in Iran, 1900-
1979, 190 0 -1979, Met uchen: The
Scar ecr ow Pr ess, New J er sey, 1989,
p . 9 7.
13 . Meh r a bi , h t t p : / / www. ma s s ou d
m e h r a b i . c o m / a r t i c l e . a s p ? i d
=1414606616.Sadly, t he only copy
of t his film was dest r oyed dur ing
a fir e accident at t he Mayak Theat r e.
14 . For det ails see Omid J assal, The
Hist ory of Iranian Cinema, Rozanneh
Publicat ions, Tehr an,1995.
15 . Zoba Mi r Hos s en i , I r a n i a n
Cinema: Ar t Societ y and t he St at e,
h t t p : / / www. m e r i p . o r g / m e r /
mer 219/ mer 219. h t ml
16 . I bid.
17 . Cover ing t he head par t ly (and not
fu l l y) wi t h a h ej a b con s t i t u t ed
not hing shor t of a sacr ilege in feudal
Ir an. For det ails, see Shahla Lahiji,
Por t r ayal of Women i n I r an i an
Cinema, An Hist or ical Over view,
www.ir an films/ por t r ayal of women
in ir anian cinema.ht m.
18 . See B.D. Bhar ucha (ed.), The Indian
Cinemat ograph Year Book of 1938,
Bombay Mot ion Pict ur e Societ y of
I ndia, Bombay 1938.
19 . Amer ican Cinemat ogr apher , J une
1932, cit ed in B.D.Gar ga, So Many
Cinemas, Eminence Designs, Pr ivat e
Limit ed, Mumbai 1996, pp.71-72.
2 0 . I bid.
2 1. Ci t ed i n Er i k Ba r n ou w a n d
S.Kr ishnaswamy, The Indian Film,
Oxfor d Univer sit y Pr ess, New Delhi,
1980 , p.68.
2 2 . Reza Tahami, Ir anian Women Make
Films, Film Int ernat ional Quart erly ,
Summer 1994, vol.2, no.3, pp.4-13.
2 3. Saeed Kashefi, Film Music in Ir anian
Ci n ema, I r an Cham ber Soci et y ,
August 27, 20 0 7.
24 . For det ails see
www.massoudmehr abi.com/
ar t icles. asp?id=- 130 38 21578 .
2 5. I bid.
26 . cit ed in Houshang Golmakani, St ar s
Wit hin Reach, in Ar una Vasudeva,
La t i ka Pa d ga on ka r a n d Ra s h mi
Dor a i s wa my ( ed s . ) , Bei n g a n d
Becoming, The Cinemas of Asia,
Macmillan Delhi, 20 0 2, p.87.
2 7 . I bid.
28 . The concept has been met iculously
explor ed in Far zanneh Milani, Veils
and Words: The Emerging Voices
of I r a n i a n Wom en , I . B. Ta u r i s
Publisher s, London, 1992.
29 . NUMBER OF MOTION PICTURE
FI LMS I MPORTED I NTO I RAN
( 1928 - 30 )
Count r y of Or igin 1928 19 2 9 19 3 0
Unit ed St at es 13 3 2 2 7 14 5
Fr an ce 10 0 110 94
Ger many 3 0 4 7 6 0
Russia 32 5 7 42
Ot her Count r ies 10 19 6
To t a l 3 0 5 4 6 0 3 4 7
(Sour ce: ht t p/ / www.lib.washingt on.edu/
n ea r ea s t / ci n ema of i r a n / i n t r o. h t ml
# foot 14.
3 0 . I bid.
LALI T J OSHI i s a Pr ofes s or i n t h e Dep a r t men t of Hi s t or y a t Al l a h a b a d
Un iver sit y. His ar eas of t eachin g an d r esear ch in clude Cult ur al Globalizat ion
a n d t h e Hi s t or y of Ci n ema . He h a s p u b l i s h ed ext en s i vel y i n Hi n d i
a n d En gl i s h i n i n t er n a t i on a l a n d n a t i on a l j ou r n a l s a n d a n t h ol ogi es .
Hi s ma n u a l on Hi n d i Ci n ema t i t l ed HOUSE FULL i s goi n g t h r ou gh
a s econ d ed i t i on . Hi s for t h comi n g p u bl i ca t i on s i n cl u d e a Cu l t u r a l Hi s t or y
of Al l a h a b a d a n d a n ot h er on Gl ob a l Bol l ywood .
L
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a
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e
HI NDI I N GUYANA
Sat ishkumar Rohra
Ravindr a Nar ayan Mishr a
The wor d Guyana Amer indian (This wor d is made of Amer ica-
Indian) is language of t he r ace and it s meaning is land of many
sour ces of wat er . Ther e is abundance of wat er in Guyana. The
At lant ic Ocean t ouches a ver y lar ge ar ea of Guyana. Besides t her e
ar e four gr eat r iver s her e Acikibo, Demr ar a, Ber bis and Kor t in.
In t he mount ainous r egion of Guyana t her e ar e many gulfs, r ivulet s
and wat er falls.
Guyana is sit uat ed bet ween 1t o 9 nor t her n lat t it ude and 57t o
61 west er n longit ude. Nor t h t o it is At lant ic Ocean. Sur inam is
in it s east . Towar ds t he sout h and sout h- west is Br azil and in
t he west is Venezuela. Guyanas ar ea is 83000 squar e miles and
it s populat ion is 800000 (Eight Lakh). Guyanas climat e is t emper at e
and t his place r eceives annual r ainfall of 100 inches. The main
cr op of t his place is sugar cane (fr om which sugar is made her e)
and r ice. Ther e is a huge st ock of Bauxit e her e. Gold and diamonds
ar e also found her e in huge quant it y. Guyana is sit uat ed on Car ibbean
ocean which is a br anch of At lant ic Ocean in t he sout h of Amer ica.
H i s t o r i c a l Ba c k gr o u n d
The st or y of Guyana is oft r epeat ed st or y of imper ialist ic t endencies.
Aft er an int ense st r uggle among imper ialist ic power s - Fr ench,
Dut ch and Br it ish Guyana was divided in t hr ee par t s ar ound 1930.
These par t s wer e Fr ench Guyana (This par t is called Kayan now-
a-days and t his par t is st ill under Fr ench cont r ol), Dut ch Guyana
(This par t is now called Sur inam and it is an independent count r y)
and Br it ish Guyana. The Br it ish Guyana
came t o be known as Guyana. Ar ound
1950 it was given limit ed fr eedom and
Chedi J agan, t he leader of t he Peoples
Pr ogr essive Par t y was given t he r eigns
of power . In 1960 Guyana got complet e
independence and For bes Bur nham, t he
leader of Nat ional Peoples Par t y got t he
r eigns of power . Since t hen t he st at e
power of Guyana has been in t he hands
of t he Nat ional Peoples Par t y wit h it s
leader For bes Bur nham. In 1970 Guyana
was declar ed a Cooper at ive Republic.
Guyana is a member of t he Commonwealt h
and t he Non- aligned Movement .
Gu ya n a s s o c i e t y a n d l i n g u i s t i c
c o n d i t i o n
Guyana is a mult i r acial count r y. Nor mally
Guyana is called t he count r y of six r aces.
These r aces ar e- Amer indian, Afr ican,
East Indian (people of Indian or igin),
Chinese, Whit es and Mixed (t he cr oss
of whit e and ot her r aces). Out of t hese
t her e ar e t wo main r aces East Indian
or t he people of t he Indian or igin who
const it ut e 50-55% of t he populat ion and
Afr icans who make up for 35 t o 40%
of t he populat ion. The r emaining r aces
ar e under 10-15%. Amer indians ar e t he
oldest r ace inhabit ing t his place.
The common colloquial language of
Guyana is cr eole which is simplified
for m of English which has wor ds fr om
Hindi, Afr ican and many ot her languages.
Th e med i u m of ed u ca t i on a n d
administ r at ion is English and in all t he
for mal sit uat ions English is used. The
people of Amer indian r ace st ill speak
t heir languages. Among t he languages
a r e- Ar a va ck, Ka r i b, Ba r a u s a n d
Vepisian a. The Chin ese use Chin ese
language in t heir family life. Aged people
of Indian or igin somet imes t alk t o t heir
cont empor ar ies in Hindi (Bhojpur i). The
Afr icans had br ought Congo, Vor ba et c
languages but t he pr esent gener at ion of
Afr i ca n s d oes n t h a ve a n y s p eci a l
knowledge of t hese.
Th e Ad ve n t o f I n d i a n s i n Gu ya n a
The Indians came her e 140 year s ago
as bon ded labour . Th ese i mmi gr an t
Indians had come as indent ur ed labour
aft er making agr eement . So t hey wer e
called Gir mit iya in many ot her count r ies.
In Guyana t hey wer e called coolies. Even
t oday people of ot her r aces call t he
people of Indian or igin cooliemen. But
t hese days coolieman is not a der ogat or y
wor d, in fact it means har d wor king and
fr ugal. The main cr op of Guyana is
sugar cane. When it used t o be Br it ish
Guyana t he sugar cane far ming was done
by slaves bought by t he whit e Zamindar s.
In 1938 t he syst em of slaves came t o
an end. The sympt oms of t his syst em
coming t o an end had st ar t ed appear ing
even ear lier . Because of t he slave syst em
coming t o an end t he Afr ican slaves
wor king on sugar cane far ms became fr ee.
Aft er becoming fr ee t hese Afr ican people
cont inued t o live in Guyana only but
most of t hem r efused t o wor k on t he
far ms of t heir ex-whit e mast er s. Now
t he whit e Zamindar s of t hese far ms wer e
looking for such labour t hat may not
be called slave but could wor k like slaves.
For t his pur pose t her e could have been
no count r y bet t er t han India. The t hen
whit e gover nment of India (East India
Comp a n y) a l s o h el p ed t h es e wh i t e
Zamindar s. The poor Indians got t r apped
in t he pr omises of gr eener past ur es by
t he agent s of t he whit e Zamindar s who
wer e called Ar akat i at t hat t ime. On May
5, 1838 t he fir st shipment of bonded
labor r eached Guyana. This pr act ice of
br i n gi n g bon d ed l a bou r t o Gu ya n a
cont inued t ill 1905. In t he per iod of
t hr ee four t h of a cent ur y 2.25 Lakh people
wer e br ought t o Guyana fr om I ndia.
Nor mally t hese labour fr om India used
t o come aft er accept ing t he condit ion
of wor king in Guyana for 5-7 year s. They
had per mission t o r et ur n t o India at
gover nment expendit ur e aft er t he per iod
of t er m was over . Accor ding t o t he
evidences gat her ed aft er t he expir y of
t he t er m 750 0 0 people had r et ur ned
t o India. Rest of t he people set t led in
Guyana even aft er expir y of t heir t er m
and st ar t ed living like fr ee far mer s. The
descendent s of t hese Indians ar e known
t oday as East Indian or Indo- Guyanese.
The descendent s of t hose Indians ar e
n ot on l y fa r mer s bu t a l s o d oct or s ,
en gi n eer s , l ect u r er s , offi cer s a n d
successful businessmen in lar ge number s.
I m m i g r a n t I n d i a n s a c u l t u r a l
c o m m u n i t y
The Indians set t led in Guyana appear ed
differ ent not only in t heir appear ance
color and clot hing but t heir cult ur al
specialt ies est ablished t hem as a special
cult ur al communit y. Their specialit y is
maint ained even t oday. It is t r ue t hat
due t o influence of t ime t hey have been
affect ed by west er n civilizat ion. In t he
long per iod of one and half cent ur y t heir
int er act ion wit h ot her r aces has also
incr eased but even t oday due t o t heir
food habits, family relations, social system,
social belief and cult ur al assumpt ions
t hey ar e Indians. One is pained for just
one t hing t hat t he inher it ance of language
has slipped away fr om t heir hands. That
is why while walking in many par t s of
Guyana one r ealizes t hat it is an India
out side India at t he same t ime it pains
t o lear n t hat fr om t he point of view
of language Guyana is a dumb India.
In Guyana t her e ar e many places wher e
people of Indian or igin const it ut e 90-
95% of t he populat ion but even at t hese
places people conver se in cr eole and
one r ar ely hear s Hindi sent ences fr om
t he mout h of some ver y old per son.
I m m i gr a n t I n d i a n s a n d H i n d i a
h i s t o r i c a l b a c k gr o u n d
The immigr ant Indians who had come
fr om India t hey had come fr om t hr ee
main por t s- Calcut t a, Bombay and Madr as.
Amon g t hese immigr an t I n dian s t he
lar gest number was of people who had
come fr om west er n Bihar and east er n
Ut t ar Pr adesh (Bhojpur i ar ea). The mot her
t on gu e of t h es e p eop l e wa s Hi n d i
( Bh oj pur i ) . People spea ki n g Ba n gla ,
Mar at hi and sout h Indian languages had
a l s o come bu t t h ey wer e s ma l l i n
n umber s. So, soon Hin di ( Bhojpur i)
became t he language of communicat ion
and social int er act ion of t he Indians.
Wit h t he passage of t ime Hindi became
a device t o maint ain t heir social ident it y
and cult ur al t r adit ion.
The unfavour able condit ions in which
t he immigr ant Indians had t o live can
only be imagined t oday. Away fr om t heir
count r y, r elat ives, a complet ely st r ange
count r y and no way t o r et ur n, living
a mi d s t d i ffer en t a n d h os t i l e r a ces ,
miser able mat er ial con dit ion s an d a
painful and humiliat ing life. In such a
sit uat ion it had become cr ucial t hat t he
en t i r e i mmi gr a n t I n d i a n popu l a t i on
should est ablish t hemselves as a social
gr ou p a n d ma i n t a i n t h ei r cu l t u r a l
t r adit ion. For bot h t hese t hings Hindi
became t he medium. By making Hindi
t heir language of communicat ion t hey
est ablished t hemselves as Hindi speaking
social gr oup. This way Hindi became
a sour ce of t heir social ident it y and
social or ganizat ion. Even t heir cont act
wit h t he wor ks of Medieval Bhakt i poet s
was only t hr ough Hindi. The Ramayan
of Tulsi was life giving for t hem. Those
who wer e Hindi speaking had memor ized
t he wor ks of saint s and devot ional poet s
like Mir a, Kabir and Sur das. Their wor ds
gave t hem hope and confidence in t hose
difficult condit ions. This is why in t hose
days, t o be connect ed wit h Indian cult ur al
t r adit ion and t o pr eser ve it meant being
at t ached t o Hindi. This way Hindi had
a t hr ee dimensional r ole. Hindi was t he
language for mut ual communicat ion and
social in t er act ion for t he immigr an t
Indians, Hindi for t hem was a symbol
of social ident it y and Hindi was t he device
t o pr eser ve and maint ain t he cult ur al
t r adit ion.
De cl i n e a n d Re s u r ge n ce o f H i n d i
Aft er coming t o Guyana t he immigr ant
Indians kept using Hindi language in t heir
daily lives for a hundr ed year s. But since
last fift y year s t he use of Hindi has been
gr adually declining. Today t he sit uat ion
is such t hat except for some old people
in day t o day life no body uses Hindi.
The main r eason for t he decline of Hindi
was t he policy of t he Br it ish gover nment
accor ding t o which English was made
pivot for educat ion and administ r at ion.
As a r esult only people wit h special
p r ofi ci en cy i n En gl i s h cou l d get
oppor t unit y for higher educat ion and
good jobs. The r esult of t his English
poli cy was t h at t h e descen den t s of
immigr ant I ndians gr avit at ed t owar ds
English and away fr om Hindi. This way
not only in for mal condit ions but also
in family lives t he use of Hindi declined.
In spit e of decline in use of Hindi in
daily lives Hindi cont inued t o be t he
d evi ce for s oci a l r ecogn i t i on a n d
maint aining cult ur al t r adit ion of t he
immigr ant I ndians.
Aft er t he independence of Guyana
people wer e at t r act ed t owar ds t heir
cu l t u r a l p r ogr es s . Wi t h t h i s n ew
consciousness t he age of r enaissance in
Hindi also st ar t ed. The cr edit of t his
r enaissance goes t o t heir r eligious and
social or ganizat ions. These days t her e
is big ent husiasm for Hindi in Guyana.
Not only people of old gener at ion but
also people of new gener at ion have st ar t ed
t hinking of Hindi as t heir own language
and t hey consider it necessar y t o lear n
t his language. This aut hor conduct ed a
s ci en t i fi c s u r vey of s a mp l e s oci a l
language. On t he basis of t hat sur vey
one finds t hat 70% of t he people above
50 year s of age t hink of Hindi as t heir
mot her t ongue and 80% of t hem t hink
lear ning Hindi is essent ial for ever y
Indian. It is ver y sur pr ising t o see t hat
almost t he same per cen t age of n ew
gener at ion ( 16 t o 25 age gr oup) t hinks
lear ning Hindi is necessar y for people
of Indian or igin. Yes, r egar ding t he per iod
of language t her e ar e differ ences among
t hese suffer er s. Among t he people of
t he old gener at ion (above 50 year s of
age) Hindi speaking people ar e ver y lar ge
in number . The number of such people
who can speak Hindi easily is meagr e
in t he younger gener at ion. But t her e
is no doubt t hat among t he yout h of
t oday t her e is big ent husiasm for lear ning
Hindi. And t heir views about Hindi ar e
t he same as t hose of older gener at ion.
Th e P r e s e n t P o s i t i o n o f H i n d i
Le a r n i n g i n Gu ya n a
Ther e ar e t wo kinds of Hindi st udies-
for mal and infor mal. In Guyana t he whole
of for mal educat ion is nat ionalized. This
educat ion has t hr ee levels pr imar y
edu ca t i on , s econ da r y edu ca t i on a n d
higher educat ion. At t he pr imar y level
t her e is no ar r angement for t eaching
Hindi. On t he r equest of differ ent social
and r eligious inst it ut ions t he gover nment
gave per mission t o t each Hindi in t hose
schools in which any of t he alr eady
wor king t eacher s had t he abilit y t o t each
Hindi and t he head mast er of t he school
had no object ion t o t his. At t he same
t ime t he societ y for pr omot ion of Hindi
of Gu ya n a wou l d a r r a n ge r ea d i n g
mat er ials/ books et c for t he st udent s. On
t he basis of t his per mission in 5- 6
secondar y schools in for m 1,2,3, (class
6,7,8) t her e is ar r angement for st udy
of Hindi. At t wo schools (Tagor e school
and Hindu College) in for m 5 (equal
t o high school) t her e is ar r angement
t o t each Hindi. For higher educat ion
t her e is Guyana Univer sit y in Guyana.
Wit h t he t eacher s pr ovided by t he help
of Indian gover nment inst it ut ions, Indian
Cult ur al Relat ion Council in 1976 a
syllabus of Hindi was st ar t ed. In t he
beginning it was only a Reading Cour se
which was for st udent s st udying Indian
Hist or y. Pr esent ly Hindi is a subject of
B.A. (Honour s) as a for eign language.
The un iver sit y or gan izes summer
syllabus and shor t t er m cour ses of 4-
6 weeks . Ma n y a ged p eop l e a l s o
par t icipat e in t hese cour ses.
Besides for mal Hindi educat ion 100
Hindi schools ar e r un in t he whole of
Guyana by differ ent r eligious and social
or ganizat ions. These schools ar e gener ally
r un in t emples. The classes ar e held
for t wo or t hr ee days per week. The
st udent s st udying at t hese schools t ake
J u n i or , Sen i or , a n d Ad va n ced
examinat ions conduct ed by Guyana Hindi
Pr achar Sabha. Ever y year 600 t o 800
s t u d en t s p a r t i ci p a t e i n t h es e
examinat ions. A cult ur al cent r e is being
r un by t he I ndian Cult ur al Relat ion
Council. A Hindi Pr ofessor is appoint ed
t her e. Hindi classes ar e r un by t his cent r e
as well. Ther e is new ent husiasm for
Hindi in Guyana t hese days. But t o r est or e
a language which has become out of
use is a difficult t ask t hat cannot be
a ccomp l i s h ed wi t h ou t s u p p or t of
gover nment . Maint aining Hindi as a
cult ur al language is not a ver y difficult
wor k. Alt hough when it comes t o be
judged in it s pr act ical use in Guyana,
Hindi has been r educed t o zer o yet one
can r ealize ver y nat ur ally t he at mospher e
for Hindi. All ar ound Hindi songs ar e
blar ing, t her e is unique at t r act ion for
Hindi films, t he est ablishment of many
devot ional and Ramayana gr oups, on
ever y r eligious occasion ar r angement for
gener al Hindi songs and devot ional songs,
use of Hindi in r eligious cer emonies and
Hindi schools r unning in villages aft er
villages ar e some such t endencies. These
t hings give r ise t o t his feeling t hat for
t he people of Indian or igin in Guyana,
Hindi is even now t heir own language.
Apar t fr om t heir social and cult ur al
ident it y Hindi is such a link language
which not only binds t hem on t he cult ur al
plane but also links t hem wit h India
and I ndianness.
Court esy : ICCR, Delhi
Sa t i s h Ku ma r Roh r a , i s p r ofes s or of l a n gu a ges i n Ga n d h i gr a m, Gu j a r a t .
Ra vi n d r a Na r a ya n Mi s h r a t ea ch es Pol i t i ca l Sci en ce i n Kh a l s a Col l ege,
Un i ver s i t y of Del h i . He wr i t es i n or i gi n a l a s wel l a s l i kes t o t r a n s l a t e
a t wi l l . He l i ves i n Del h i .
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THEATRI CAL PERFORMANCE AND HI NDI -
TEACHI NG: MY J APANESE EXPERI ENCE
Harjendra Chaudhary
It was on fir st Apr il, 1994 , t hat I joined er st while Osaka Univer sit y
of For eign St udies as Visit ing Pr ofessor in t he Depar t ment of Indology/
Sout h Asian St udies. One and a half decade has passed since t hen.
In my view, t his dur at ion is sufficient for r et r ospect ing t he wor k
done dur ing my t enur e at t hat Univer sit y. (The Osaka Univer sit y
of For eign St udies is now an int egr al par t of Osaka Univer sit y
in t he for m of Resear ch Inst it ut e for Wor ld Languages.)
Befor e leaving New Delhi for J apan, I had some clear plans
and some vague ideas of t he t echniques likely t o be adopt ed
by me for t eaching Hindi t o J apanese st udent s. One of t hese was
t o select (for M.A. cour se) Hindi t ext s, or par t s t her eof, dealing
wit h t he exclusive Indian r ealit y and t ypical Indian ment alit y,
which a common for eign st udent was/ is gener ally not awar e of
t he communal t ensions bet ween communit ies shar ing almost
t he same cult ur e (Tamas by Bhisham Sahni), our habit ual t endency
t o t alk even t o st r anger s, t he menace of hunger (some poems
by Nagar jun), t he Indian sense and int er pr et at ion of hist or y
(some poems fr om Magadh by Sr ikant Ver ma) along wit h t he
t ext s dealing wit h t he pr oblems being faced by t he cont empor ar y
wor ld like old age pr oblem (Chief ki dawat by Bhisham Sahni
and Ar dr a by Mohan Rakesh) et c.
Ot her t han t he above, I had an idea and desir e t o adopt dr amat ics
as an effect ive t ool of language-t eaching. To my sat isfact ion, most
of t he ideas (clear or vague) wer e implement ed and bor e desir able
fr uit s not only dur ing my t enur e (1994-96) at t hat J apanese univer sit y,
but also dur ing t he year s t hat followed.
My idea was happily and ent husiast ically
appr oved by Pr ofessor Kat sur o Koga and
Pr ofessor Akir a Takahashi.
The univer sit ies in J apan obser ve
s u mmer va ca t i on mi d J u l y t o mi d
Sept ember . We i n i t i a t ed t h e Hi n di
dr amat ics plan in J uly (1994) it self.
Pr ofessor Takahashi, along wit h a gr oup
of our st udent s (and a number of beer
cans) ar r ived at my official r esidence
in Onohar a Higashi ar ea of Minoo-cit y
t o fur t her discuss and finalize t he plan
t hat we alr eady had chalked out .
The st udent s wer e ent husiast ic t o
par t icipat e and r eady t o spar e r equisit e
t ime for t he r ehear sals. We hit t he hammer
at t he r ight point and decided t o st age
t h e wor l d - r en own ed I n d i a n cl a s s i c
Abhijnanshakunt alam of Kalidasa in
Hindi. Rehear sals st ar t ed and cont inued
dur ing summer vacat ions and int ensified
aft er t he univer sit y r eopened. Rehear sals
dur ing Sept ember and Oct ober oft en
cont inued lat e int o t he night .
The annual fest ival of t he univer sit y
held dur in g Oct ober - November 1994
wit nessed pr esent at ion of a full lengt h
play, Abhijnanshakunt alam, in Hindi by
t he Depar t ment of Indology. It pr oved
t o be an assur ing and inspir ing exper ience
which ult imat ely culminat ed int o a long-
goi n g t r adi t i on of Hi n di dr ama by
J apanese which many of us, t oday, ar e
awar e of.
Regular and int ensive r ehear sals bor e
significant r esult s. Some of t he st udent s
who had act ed on or behind t he st age
had impr oved a lot in t er ms of Hindi
conver sat ion; t heir pr onunciat ion was
now compar at ively near er t o t hat of t he
n a t i ve s p ea ker s a n d h a d ga i n ed
consider ably in ot her linguist ic skills as
wel l . Th e exp er i men t of u t i l i zi n g
dr amat ics as a t echnique of language-
t eaching had been r easonably successful.
The sense of satisfaction and success
had paved the way for future plans. In
1995, a comedy (Sachiko ki Shaadi) dealing
with the differences in the ways of J apanese
and Indian life was a hit not only at
t h e an n ual cult ur al fest i val of t h e
university, but also beyond its boundaries.
This ent er t aining play was such a
success t hat Pr ofessor Tomio Mizokami
and it s cast decided t o st age it in Kobe,
a cit y wit h a consider ably lar ge Indian
communit y. It was st aged t her e on 2
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December , 1995. A lar ge number of
J apanese and Indian audience enjoyed
t he show.
The play found a br ight ment ion in
J a p a n es e med i a . I t wa s p a r t i a l l y
br oadcast by Radio J apan along wit h
t he int er views of main char act er s and
wr i t er - d i r ect or , Dr . Ha r j en d er
Chaudhar y. Some audience wer e of t he
view t hat Sachiko ki Shaadi played a
r ole in r educing t he depr ession caused
by t he gr eat ear t hquake, which, wit h
it s epicent r e near Kobe, had wr eaked
havoc in West er n J apan in 1995.
Dur ing t he following year s, Pr ofessor
Tomio Mizokami t ook t he lead. It was
t he joint effor t of t he st aff and st udent s
of Osaka Univer sit y of For eign St udies
and Pr ofessor Tomio Mizokami t hat made
Hindi dr ama by J apanese cr oss not
on ly n at ion al bor der s, but also t he
boundar ies of t he cont inent . In 1997,
t he J apanese t eam of Hindi st udent s
came t o India and per for med her e for
t he fir st t ime. They wer e also invit ed
by The Nat ional School of Dr ama t o
st age t heir play in our nat ional language.
Fur t her , Hindi int ellect uals all over t he
wor ld would r emember t hat t hey (t he
J apanese t eam) wer e officially invit ed
t o per for m at t he VIt h Wor ld Hindi
Con fer en ce held at Lon don , UK, in
Sept ember 1999.
Many cit ies sit uat ed acr oss lengt h
and br eadt h of India and count r ies like
Nep a l , Ma u r i t i u s , Un i t ed Ki n gd om,
Singapor e and Thailand have wit nessed
t he per for mance of Hindi dr ama by
J apanese dur ing t he long per iod r anging
fr om 1997 t o 2007. Dur ing t his ent ir e
decade, Hindi t heat r e t r oupe fr om J apan
per for med 79 t imes in t he count r ies
ot her t han J apan.
It is not ewor t hy t hat Tokyo Univer sit y
of For eign St udies has been following
t he t r adit ion by pr esent ing Ur du dr ama
in India and Pakist an dur ing t he last
few year s under t he guidance of Pr ofessor
Asada. The Hindi dr ama t r oupe of Osaka
Univer sit y of For eign St udies and t he
Ur du dr ama t r oupe fr om Tokyo Univer sit y
of For eign St udies have t r avelled t oget her
t o per for m in our count r y. The Hindi
st aff and st udent s of Tokyo Univer sit y
of For eign St udies have been per for ming
locally in t heir annual fest ivals and on
ot her occasions.
Ret r os pect i n g my t h ea t r i ca l
exper ience at J apanese Univer sit y and
the resultant tradition of Hindi drama
by the J apanese, I intend to flash the
idea to the universities/ institutes involved
with the teaching of Hindi abroad that
a theatrical performance is definitely an
interesting and effective tool of teaching/
learning Hindi as a foreign language. It
may be hoped that Hindi teaching and
Hindi theatre would go a long way, hand
in hand, to pave the path to international
under st anding and wor ld peace.
Ha r j en d r a Ch owd h a r y, b or n 19 55, t ea ch es i n Del h i Un i ver s i t y, Col l ege
of Voca t i on a l St u d i es . He h a s t a u gh t i n J a p a n a n d Pol a n d . He wr i t es
s h or t s t or i es a n d p oems . He l i ves i n Del h i .
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TTA PROFESSOR
Manohar Shyam J oshi
I r a Pande
Poet s must die when t heyr e young and novelist s be bor n only
when t heyr e old. Cant r ecall wher e I r ead t hat line, or it s aut hor s
name. God knows who wr ot e it : a failed middleaged poet or a
successful old novelist . Sounds mor e like t he for mer , if you ask
me. A middle-aged Ger man poet , per haps, wit h a bald pat e and
a malodor ous body, whose female admir er s peer beyond his beer -
bloat ed, flat ulent belly t r ying t o find t he young man who wr ot e
r omant ic lyr ics.
Look, successful or not , I am a middle-aged novelist t oo, and
alt hough I may now wr it e t o live, I no longer live t o wr it e. All
t he st or ies I put off wr it ing because I wait ed for t hem t o mat ur e,
have gr own old along wit h me. In fact , t hey ar e as close t o deat h
as I am now. So what immor t alit y can t his dying baggage have?
Mind you, once ver y long ago I dr eamt of wr it ing immor t al
st uff, somet hing t hat would floor my r eader s and cr it ics. And
per haps I did wr it e an odd dozen t hat fut ur e gener at ions may
r ead on a br ight and sunny or dar k and cloudy day. Such r eader s
may pause at a sent ence, mar k t he page r uminat ively wit h a finger
or get up t o r ead it aloud t o someone else. But when t hey look
out of t he window and see t he br ave new wor ld, t heyll pr obably
shake t heir heads and say t o t hemselves, Noanyone I r ead t his
t o will t hink Ive gone a bit soft in t he head. This is for t hose
who value per iod wr it ing or t hose nut s who believe in lit er ar y
immor t alit y and t hat sor t of shit .
My old wor ld is dying all ar ound
me: what is mor e, even t he memor ies
of t hat wor ld now appear old and t ir ed
like me. So.. .no, I dont believe in anyones
immor t alit y now, least of all in my own.
I have vir t ually given up wr it ing; in
fact , I find now t hat I cant even must er
up t he desir e t o r ead anyt hing wr it t en
by someone else. I oft en find it difficult
now t o r emember myself as t he young
wr it er who once had st or ies bubbling
up i n s i de h i m a s s pon t a n eous ly a s
laught er and t ear s. Was I t he man who
once, while dr inking a solit ar y cup of
t ea i n t h e r es t a u r a n t beh i n d t h e
Univer sit y, suddenly bur st int o laught er
and t hen hast ily got up and left befor e
someone t hought I had gone mad? Was
it me who left , st ill chuckling over my
t hought s, in sear ch of someone wit h whom
t o shar e t he r eason why I laughed?
Someone t o whom I could r elat e an ent ir e
plot , while t alking and walking at t he
same t ime, complet ely oblivious of t he
t r affic or even t he people on t he r oad
who t ur ned t o st ar e at me? Was it me
who could, at t he sound of an old r omant ic
film song, or on r eading a line like Poet s
must die young. . . get a lump in my
t hr oat and t ear s in my eyes? Unable
t o summon a list ener , Id r un t hen t o
t he bat hr oom and st ar e int o t he mir r or
over t he washbasin at t he spect acle of
my welling eyes and cont or t ing face and
silent ly r elive t he st or y t hat lay t r apped
in t hose t ear s.
Was t hat me? Or was it a char act er
in one of my st or ies?
What ever t he t r ut h, I am no longer
t hat man. Per iod. I seem t o have lost
t he magic but t on t hat cr eat ed waves
of emot ion wit hin me, t he one t hat made
me laugh and cr y wit hout r eason. It s
all haywir e now, so t hat oft en I cr y
when I should laugh and bur st int o
laught er when I should bur st int o t ear s,
And all t hose st or ies t hat I did not wr it e
in my yout h have aged and died a lit t le
like me some out side me, and some
wit hin.
However , t her e wer e some pr omising
st or ies t hat I looked at fr om t ime t o
t ime, t o t est t heir healt h, as it wer e.
I r aged against t heir ageing as I r aged
against mine. I have piles of dust y files
wit h sever al opening chapt er s wr it t en
bet ween long gaps. All t hey seem t o
me now ar e mut e r eminder s t hat bot h
my imaginat ion and handwr it ing have
det er ior at ed over t he year s. Among t hat
collect ion of t r ash ar e also some luckless
plot s t hat t ook bir t h, developed, and
died of suffocat ion in my mind even
befor e t hey saw ink and paper .
What I am about t o wr it e is a r equiem
for just such a t ale.
I had gone t o Almor a last summer
t o visit our ancest r al home, when I was
r eminded of t his t ale by someone (he
was act ually a char act er in it ) fr om a
moving bus. Ther e I was, st anding near
a dr ied-up apr icot t r ee in our home,
r eflect ing on t he ancest or who must have
plant ed it , when someone fr om t he r oad
above our home yelled: J oshi, Maat -
saip!
My st ar t led gaze flew up and I saw
a pr ivat e bus going t o Bageshwar t hat
had pr obably st opped t o pick up a
passenger fr om t he main r oad above
our house. I t r aced t he voice of my
hailer t o an old man, who appear ed t o
be smiling at me fr om one of t he windows.
I hur r ied up t he t er r aced fields t hat
led t o t he r oad and fur iously jogged
my br ain t o r ecall who he could be.
Hed called me Maat -saip, so I figur ed
he must have some connect ion wit h
Sunaulidhar village, t he only place wher e
I had ever t aught in a school. It was
also t he only t ime in my ent ir e life when
I was called Maat saip -Kumaoni for
mast er -sahib.
I huffed my way up t o t he r oad wher e
t he bus st ood. The old man looked at
me fr om a window and congr at ulat ed
me on having become such a famous
wr it er . I t r ied desper at ely t o r emember
his name and what he must have looked
like when he was younger . No luck. So
all t he while t hat he t alked t o me, I
schooled my face t o wear an expr ession
t hat said, Of cour se I r emember you!
It was only when he t alked of how he
had been left far behind me in t he lit er ar y
r at r ace and cur sed his own fat e t hat
t he penny dr opped. So t his was t he junior
cler k of t he Sunaulidhar school who wr ot e
hor r endous r omant ic ver se, I r ecalled.
But no mat t er how har d I t r ied, t he
idiot s name st ill eluded me.
The dr iver cr anked his old bus int o
life and as it lur ched for war d, t he poet
yelled, Maat -saip, wont you wr it e about
Tt a Pr ofessor Khasht ivallabh Pant ,
Dubbul M.A.?
I never got a chance t o r espond.
By now t he bus had gat her ed some speed,
s o wh en h e wa ved h i s h a n d l i ke
Khasht ivallabh I waved a limp hand
foolishly in r et ur n, my lips soundlessly
mout hing a t t a. I slowly walked down
t he hill again, st ill t r ying t o r ecall t he
mans name, but alt hough a line of his
vile poet r y came clear ly t o me, for t he
life of me, I could not r emember it .
Faces have had names er ased, and names
hover in my head wit hout accompanying
faces now. The depar t ing poet must have
also oft en r eflect ed on t he fr ust r at ions
felt by an ageing, cr eaky br ain because
he was, aft er all, a poet : a poet and
a junior cler k. J ust as I was t hen a
wr i t er : a wr i t er a n d a t emp or a r y
schoolmast er .
And all of a sudden I was t r anspor t ed
t o a t ime when I lived in a far away
village called Sunaulidhar t hat had t he
Himalayas st udded on it s hor izon like
a gleaming hor seshoe.
I was in r ebellion against my family
a n d t h e t yr a n n y of u n i ver s i t y
examinat ions t hose days. I had bot ched
my MA exam and, aft er a quar r el at
home, landed in t he r emot e village of
Sunaulidhar so t hat my family would
not nag me t o t r y and get a gover nment
job. For t heir peace of mind, Id t old
t hem t hat I would do a pr ivat e MA
but act ually all I had want ed t o do was
t o live in a pr et t y village and wr it e.
The day I went t o t he school for
t h e fi r s t t i me, I r ea l i zed t h a t t h e
at mospher e t her e was pr et t y loaded. And
I mean t hat in a comical sense. My
fir st encount er was wit h t he headmast er
of t he schoolShobhan Singh. He object ed
t o my calling him a headmast er and
sai d, call me Pr i n ci pal, please; t h e
headmast er her e is one Khasht ivallabh
Pant , who pr efer s t o be called Pr ofessor .
Ah, I t hought , chuckling silent ly. So
t his lit t le school t hat had just been
pr omot ed t o a high school fr om a middle
school had a pr incipal and a pr ofessor !
As he went on about t he r unning feud
bet ween himself and Khasht ivallabh, t he
poet ic possibilit ies of t he pr et t y village
r et r eat ed fr om my mind befor e it s huge
comic pot ent ial. Then, t o impr ess me,
a gr aduat e fr om Lucknow Univer sit y,
Shobhan Singh dr opped sever al impor t ant
names so t hat I under st ood how he was
no yokel but one of us. What he did
n ot t h i n k i t n eces s a r y t o a d d r es s ,
however , was t he small mat t er of wher e
I would st ay. When t he manager of t he
school had int er viewed me in Almor a
for t he job, he had clear ly ment ioned
t hat Pr ihcipal-saip would give me a r oom
in t he quar t er s t hat had been const r uct ed
for him. Pr incipal-saip, on t he ot her hand,
suggest ed t hat I may use t he unfinished
st or er oom of t he school labor at or y as
my digs and shar e it wit h t he junior cler k.
So I r eached t he st or er oom of t he
lab and found t he junior cler k addr essing
an envelope t o t he edit or of Saraswat i
magazine. I int r oduced myself and gave
him t he pr incipals message and asked
wher e I could keep my st uff. He cur sed
t he pr incipal saying, He could have let
you put your t hings in t he office, couldnt
he?
I let t hat pass, and asked him, Are
you a wr it er ?
I am a Poet , he r eplied pet ulant ly.
A Poet , under st and? Not some wr it er -
vit er .
I t old him pleasant ly t hat 1 was a
wr it er t oo, and t hat one of my scient ific
ar t icles had r ecent ly appear ed in Sangam.
Scient ific ar t icles can har dly be called
wr it ing, he sneer ed.
Talk t o me of shor t st or ies and novels,
under st and? I am sending my poem t o
Saraswat i for publicat ion and have t o
leave for t he post office now. Then he
cast a disdainful eye over my luggage.
Keep your t hings her e if you must , but
I am not going t o leave you her e alone,
under st and? Ther e is t oo much st uff lying
her e-t he labs, my Own... If anyt hing
goes missing, t he shit will br eak over
my head, he said dar kly.
I offer ed t o walk wit h him t o t he
post office for I also had a shor t st or y
t o send t o Sangam magazine. So we
bot h r eached t he village bazaar which
had all of t wo shops. The fir st one belonged
t o J eet Singh, who st ocked ever yt hing
fr om gr ocer ies t o shoes and clot hes, and
also doubled as t he village post office.
The junior cler k had by now wor ked
out t hat t he edit or of Sangam, Ilachandr a
J oshi, must be some r elat ive of mine
and pr ompt ly asked me t o put in a wor d
for his poems. I said I would cer t ainly
help him wit h a let t er t o t he edit or who,
incident ally, was no cousin or r elat ive.
However , I did know him. The young
man t hen pr oceeded t o t ell me of t he
nepot ism r ampant in t he lit er ar y wor ld,
confiding t hat t his was why he always
wr ot e under a pseudonym.
I always keep clear of all cast e biases,
he said vir t uously. However , if you
r ecommend my wor k t o llachandr aji,
he added slyly, he will know I am a
br ahmin. Then he hur r iedly checked
whet her I belonged t o t he same subcast e
as t he edit or . I assur ed him t hat neit her
t he edit or nor I had any int er est in
our cast es or subcast es.
So we post ed our wor k an d, t o
celebr at e t he discover y t hat Sunaulidhar
now had t wo wr it er s, decided t o visit
t he second shop of t he village whose
owner , Kheem Singh, sold t ea, jalebis,
pakor as and delicious pot at o gut kas. I
en ded up n ot on ly pa yi n g for t h i s
celebr at ion but also list ening t o t he junior
cler ks poet ic out pour ings as well. By
now he had unbent sufficient ly t o pay
a t t en t i on t o t h e p r obl em of my
homelessness.
Here there is no such thing as rooms
to rent, he informed me between noisy
slurps of tea. Everyone lives in his own
house where many generations of a family
live together. There is one largish house
that has place, he went on, but that
belongs to Tta, Professor Khashtivallabh
Pant, and there is no way he will accept
you as a tenant because you were appointed
by my uncle, Sher Singh, manager of the
school board. You see, Tta hates Sher
Singh because when t he school was
promoted to a high school recently, Sher
Singh imported a principal from Nainital
inst ead of giving Tt a t he job.
Is t his Pant some r et ir ed pr ofessor ?
I asked innocent ly.
Hah! he snor t ed cont empt uously. He
is an or dinar y schoolmast er who st ar t ed
his car eer her e when t his was a pr imar y
school. He want s t o become a pr ofessor
and t hat is why he has done a dubbul
MA-in Hindi and hist or y. Pr ivat ely. He
keeps sending applicat ions t o colleges
all over but you know how it is: Apply,
apply, no r eply.
So wa s h e u p s et a t n ot bei n g
appoint ed pr incipa1? I asked.
Was he not ! t he young man cont inued.
He r eally believes t hat his effor t s led
t o our pr imar y school being pr omot ed
t o a high school, get it ? Now it s t r ue
t hat my uncle, t he manager , asked him
t o wr it e out t he applicat ions for him,
but t hat doesnt mean t hat Tt a was
r esponsible for t his happening! Get t ing
all t his or ganized was my uncles effor t -
he t ook t he help of his br ot her -in-law,
t he for est cont r act or Pan Singh Bisht ,
who donat ed t he slush money needed
t o move t he r ed t ape, under st and?
My head was r eeling by now and
by t he end of all t his, all I knew was
t hat I was st ill homeless and would
pr obably end up sleeping under t he st ar s
on a bed of pine needles t hr ough my
st ay. When I t old t he junior cler k as
much, his poet ic hear t was so moved
at my plight t hat he vowed t o get me
a r oom and kit chen in Tt as house. So,
ar med wit h a let t er fr om his uncle t he
manager , he t ook me t o Tt as place.
Tt a was busy doing some complex
yogic exer cises and we had t o wait a
while. He came, glanced t hr ough t he
let t er , point ed out sever al gr ammat ical
mist akes and infor med us cur t ly t hat
he was not pr epar ed t o shar e his home
wit h any Tom, Dick or Har r y. Ignor ing
me complet ely, he t hen t ur ned t o t he
junior cler k and said t hat whoever t his
Mr J oshi-Hoshi may be, his house had
no spar e r oom.
In fact, he went on, still addressing
the junior clerk and studiously avoiding
my eyes, I want to send a message to
your uncle t hat people like t his J oshi
person should not be appointed teachers
in the school. When the school had a
dubbul MA like me to teach the children
Hindi and history, what do they mean
by hiring a mere graduate like this person
to handle maths and science? And that
too, a person who shamelessly smokes
in the presence of his elders and betters?
What kind of ideal is he going to set
for our students? Look at him, a mere
stripling-how on earth- is he going to
control the rough and robust village boys?
We slunk away and t he junior cler k
placed my pr edicament befor e Pr incipal-
saip. I had imagined t hat t he pr incipal
would be able t o per suade t he cler k
t o let me shar e t he st or er oom wit h him
but inst ead I found t he junior cler k asking
me why I had accept ed a posit ion in
Sunaulidhar when I had no place of my
own in t he village.
Slowly, t he power dynamics of t he
school wer e becoming clear t o me: t he
pr incipal was beholden t o t he school
manager who had got him appoint ed
pr incipal over Tt a. The cler k was t he
manager s nephew so he had a claim
on t he pr incipals suppor t . Thus, his
insist ing t hat t he pr incipal shar e his house
wit h me-r at her t han offer ing t o shar e
his own r oom-st ar t ed t o make sense.
Event ually, t he mat t er was r esolved
when t he pr incipal decided t hat Kheem
Singh should be t old t o give J oshi-jyu
a r oom in his hot el.
Kheem Singh was locat ed and, aft er
h e was made t o see h ow cr i t i cally
dependent he was on t he income fr om
t he schools st udent s and t eacher s, he
had no choice but t o agr ee t hat t he
st or er oom behind his shop would be
my lodgings and hed pr ovide me wit h
my meals. So Kheem Singh shoved aside
t he sacks of pot at oes and fir ewood t o
one comer and put in a wooden t akht
and a t able and chair for me. Thus it
was t hat I became t he fir st and only
t enant of Kheem Singhs hot el.
I believe he st ill quot es t he five r upees
and eleven annas I am supposed t o owe
him for his cont r ibut ion t o t he cause
of Hindi lit er at ur e.
To cut a long st or y shor t , I st ar t ed
living in Kheem Singhs hot el and sat
on a r icket y chair as I composed lit er at ur e
on an even mor e r icket y t able. In bet ween,
I also swallowed unavoidable doses of
t he poet ic out pour ings of t he junior cler k,
who was delight ed t hat not only had
he now access t o an account at Kheem
Singhs shop, but also t hat t her e was
a fellow wr it er who was not aver se t o
poet r y and gossip. The main subject of
t he gossip was Tt a because he was t he
declar ed enemy of t he junior cler ks uncle,
t he manager .
One day, as t he junior cler k was on
his favour it e subject , t he man in quest ion
came t o t he neighbour ing post office-
cum-gener al st or e and st ar t ed chat t ing
wit h t he owner , J eet Singh. The subject
of Tt as declamat ion was t he t eacher s
of t oday, and ever y bar b was clear ly
aimed at me.
Th e j u n i or cl er k wh i s p er ed
conspir at or ially t hat Tt a invar iably came
t o J eet Singhs shop in t ime for t he post
fr om t he t own because he was scar ed
t hat someone may r ead t he love let t er s
he r eceived. But who could possibly fall
in love wit h a man like Tt a, I asked
my companion.
Only Tt a knows t he answer t o t hat ,
t he junior cler k shr ugged, or possibly
his lover . All we know is t hat t her e
is a lover somewher e. The post man t ells
us t hat t hr ee or four t imes a year , Tt a
get s a let t er wit h t he name and addr ess
wr it t en in a par t icular hand. Ear lier , t he
post mar k was Lahor e but aft er 47, t he
let t er s come fr om Delhi, he said dar kly.
But it could be a r elat ive, couldnt
it ? I said.
Oh, we know all about his r elat ives,
he scoffed. The old man had an uncle
in Lahor e once upon a t ime, and Tt a
r an away fr om his village t o st udy t her e.
But t he minut e Tt as gloomy shadow
fell on t hat house, t he uncle died of
a hear t at t ack. The uncle was an Ar ya
Samaji bachelor so t her e is no possibilit y
of Tt a having any cousins t her e.
At t his point , t he post man appear ed
and smilingly handed over an envelope
t o Pr ofessor -saip.
Look, look, t he junior cler k nudged
me, look at Tt as eyes light up. I swear
even t he old mans nose is t wit ching,
gur u, he giggled. Tell me, have you
ever seen anyones eyes light up like
t hat on get t ing a cousins let t er , huh?
Wonder who t he Heer of t his car t oon
Ranjha is! Ive oft en begged t he post man
t o let me st eam t he let t er open. Pr omised
him Ill st ick it back exact ly as it is
but t he wr et ch wont let me!
Tt a was all set t o leave, r oyally
ignor ing us next door , when I deliber at ely
accost ed him. I bowed low over my
gr eet ing and for ced him t o acknowledge
us even as he was in t he act of put t ing
t he let t er away safely in his pocket .
Whose let t er is it , Pr ofessor -saip?
I asked polit ely. God knows wher e you
lear nt your manner s, Mr J oshi, he r eplied
st iffiy, but in Lahor e we wer e t aught
t hat asking per sonal quest ions was a sur e
sign of bad manner s.
Then he t ur ned away and left swift ly
in t he dir ect ion of t he dense for est t hat
lay at t he edge of t he village.
The junior clerk clapped a hand on
my shoulder, There you are, maharaj,
he laughed openly. Wit ness now t he
departure of your hero into the dense
forest to read his love letter in peace.
Now he will go to the house of a woman
called Kalawati. Arrey, I know all about
t he old r ogue-for all his pur it anical
exterior, there is a Lothario lurking inside
our crusty professor. Not for nothing has
he left his wife in her village-hes never
ever brought her here. Not even once!
Wonder how he pr oduces so many
childr en, t hough, quipped Kheem Singh
as he fr ied us a fr esh bat ch of pakor as.
And we all guffawed.
Have you ever not iced, t he junior
cler k went on, how Tt a yells and cur ses
us in Inglis but coos like a pigeon
t o any woman he meet s? And have you
ever not iced how he behaves wit h t hat
h a l f- Ch i n es e p r i ma r y s ch ool t ea ch er ,
Kalawat i Yen?
Ah! Kalawat i Yen. I must t ell you
about her . You see, t he Br it ish had once
plant ed t ea gar dens ar ound Sunaulidhar
and employed Chinese labour er s t o wor k
on t hem. The gar dens didnt t ake r oot
bu t t h e Ch i n es e d i d , a n d Ka l a wa t i
belonged t o one such family. She was
an exot ic beaut y and in my opinion
t her e was just one young man in t he
ent ir e village who was capable of loving
her as she deser ved: me. So t he t hought
of Pr ofessor Tt a t r ying t o r omance her
had me in hyst er ics.
Our Tt a is a r eal joker , I t ell you,
offer ed t he junior cler k. You wont find
a char act er like him anywher e in t he
wor ld, believe me. You have t o wr it e
about him, Maat -saip!
In t hose days, I was ar r ogant enough
not t o wr it e on t opics suggest ed by ot her s,
so I ignor ed his r equest . I want ed t o
wr it e somet hing t hat would be classical
and moder n at t he same t ime, somet hing
t hat would blend D.H. Lawr ence wit h
Up t on Si n cl a i r , a n d Agyeya wi t h
Pr emchand. At t hat point , t he char act er
of Kalawat i Yen and her Chinese ancest r y
appear ed mor e pr omising t o me t han
Tt a. Yet , while t he pr et ext of r esear ching
her Chinese for efat her s would give me
a chance t o come closer t o her , it would
also int ensify my encount er s wit h Tt a,
h er s el f- a p p oi n t ed gu a r d i a n a n d
bodyguar d. How could I possibly wast e
my sophist icat ed int ellect ual aspir at ions
on such a buffoon?
However , I soon began t o see t he
pot ent ial of t he comlc zer o in him
because, despit e being an int er nat ional
int ellect ual, I was also t he local sat ir ist
and lampooner .
Ma n oh a r Sh ya m J os h i ( 19 33- 2 0 0 6 ) wa s a p r ol i fi c wr i t er wh o t r i ed
h i s h a n d a t vi r t u a l l y ever y for m of wr i t i n g: n ovel s , a d . cop y, t . v.
s cr i p t s a n d j ou r n a l i s t i c fea t u r es . Au t h or of n ovel s l i ke Ku r u Ku r u Swa h a ,
Ka s a p a n d Kya a p , h e won Sa h i t ya Aka d emi a wa r d i n 2 0 0 5. He wr ot e
t h e fi r s t h i n d i s oa p op er a h u m l og fol l owed b y b u n i ya d . He wa s
ed i t or of s a p t a h i k h i n d u s t a n , a l ea d i n g weekl y j ou r n a l .
I r a Pa n d e, h a s b een u n i ver s i t y t ea ch er a n d ed i t or of j ou r n a l s Semi n a r
a n d Bi b l i o b es i d es b ei n g a cr ea t i ve wr i t er . Sh e i s cu r r en t l y ch i ef ed i t or
I I C Pu b l i ca t i on s . Her t r a n s l a t i on of J os h i s n ovel Tt a Pr ofes s or , h a s
ea r n ed h er t h i s yea r s Cr os s wor d a wa r d . Sh e l i ves i n New Del h i .
1. Ra m n i k a Gu p t a
A-221, Defence Colony
Gr ound Floor
New Delhi-110 0 24
2. P r o m i l a Ga r g
5/ 19B, Roopnagar
Del h i - 110 0 0 7
3. La u r a Br u e c k
Dept t . of Asian Languages
and Civilisat ions
Univer sit y of Colar ado
UCB 279
Boulder , CO 80 30 9, U.S.A.
4. An a m i k a
D-II-83
Kidwai Nagar (W)
New Delhi-110 0 23
5. Di n e s h Ku m a r Sh u k l a
A-20 1, I r vo Classic Apar t ment
Sect or - 57, Gur gaon
Har yana
6. Ra vi n a n d a n Si n h a
Edit or , The Quest
Pr eet i Enclave
Chandni Chowk
Kanke Road
Ranchi-8340 0 8
7. Me e r a Ka n t
B-95, Gulmohar Par k
New Delhi-110 0 49
8. Ra n j a n a Ka u l
485, Mandakini Enclave
Phase-I I
New Delhi-110 0 19
9. Dh i r a j Si n gh
C-26, Par wana Apar t ment s
Mayur Vihar , Phase-I
Delh i- 110 0 91
10 . Su r ya Ba l a
B-504, Runwal Cent r e
Govandi St at ion Road
Devnar , Chembur
Mumbai-88
11. Dh i r e n d r a As t h a n a
E-10 4, Git a Nagar , Phase-VI
Mir a Road (East )
Mu mba i - 40 110 7
12 . I s h i t a Si d d h a r t h a
537/ 121, Pur an i ya
Near Railway Cr ossing, Aliganj
Lucknow-2260 24
13 . P r a t ya k s h a
B-1/ 402, PWD Housing Comp.
Sect or -43, Gur gaon
Har yan a- 1220 0 2
pr at yaksha@gmail. com
14 . P r a ya g Sh u k l a
H-416, Par shwanat h Pr est ige
Plot No.-2, Sect or -93A
NOI DA-20 130 4
15. Gi r i d h a r Ra t h i
Y-A-4, Sah Vikas
68, Pat par ganj
Delhi- 110 0 92
16 . As a d Za i d i
B-957, Palam Vihar
Gur gaon
Ha r ya n a - 1220 17
CONTRI BUTORS ADDRESSES
17. Ra j e s h Ku m a r Sh a r m a
Depar t ment of English
Punjabi Univer sit y
Pat iala (Punjab)
18 . As gh a r Wa j a h a t
79, Kala Vihar
Mayur Vihar , Phase-I
Delh i- 110 0 91
19 . P . C. J o s h i
Flat -10 9, Sakshar a Apar t ment s
A-3, Paschim Vihar
New Delhi-110 0 63
2 0 . Ka m a l Ki s h o r e Go ya n k a
A-98, Ashok Vihar , Phase-I
Delhi- 110 0 52
2 1. Su b h a s h Sh a r m a
D-71, Nivedit a Kunj
R.K. Pur am, Sect or -10
New Delhi-110 0 22
2 2 . Sa n j a y De v
A-9-38, Sect or -18, Rohini
Delhi- 110 0 8 5
2 3 . La l i t J o s h i
18, B/ 6, St anley Road
Allahabad-2110 0 2 (U.P.)
2 4 . Sa t i s h Ku m a r Ro h r a
I nst it ut e of I ndology
Gandhi Gr am, Gujar at
2 5 . Ra vi n d r a Mi s h r a
A-26, Shakt i Apar t ment s
Sect or - 9,
Rohini
Delhi- 110 0 8 5
2 6 . Us h a Mi s h r a
15, Feder at ion Road
Abbey Wood
London se 2 ojt , U.K.
2 7 . Ar l e n e Zi d e
ar len e@yah oo. com
2 8 . P o o j a Bi r l a
Univer sit y of I owa
U.S.A.
2 9 . I r a P a n d e
Edit or
I ndia I nt er nat ional Cent r e
Publicat ions
New Delhi
3 0 . Mu s h a r r a f Al a m Za u q u i
D-30 4, Taj Enclave
Link Road,
Geet a Colony
Delh i - 110 0 31
3 1. H a r j e n d r a Ch a u d h a r y
E- 1/ 32, Sect or - VI I
Rohini
New Delhi-110 0 85

Hindi Varta Jul Sep

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