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the-south-asian.com May/June 2003 |
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May/June 2003 The
Flourishing Fake Art Pico
Iyer - a global Sarla
Thakral - India's 1st Technology Pakistan's
IT Markets
'Tehri
Lakeer' by Ismat 'Romance
of Mango' by
'Ittar'
- the oldest shop Real Issues The
Real Hindutva vs
Lehngas - a limited collection Books
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Translation by Tahira Naqvi- Oxford Pakistan Paperbacks Reviewed by Rosemary Martin Ismat Chughtai and Quratul-ain-Haider were the two greatest Urdu women writers to emerge in the last century. In terms of sheer content, volume, style, narrative, social insight, wit, the size of their writing canvasses & agendas, they are in many ways parallel to the European writers such as the Bronte sisters [ Jane Eyre is likened to Tehri Lakeer in many ways ] , Simone de Beauvoir , Honore de Balzac, Camus. Tehri Lakeer is to Ismat Chugatai as The Rebel is to Camus. The opening dedication is indicative of the rest of the novel. It reads, "To those orphaned children whose parents are imprisoned by life …" - a reflection of the mood of the rest of the novel. It is remarkable that throughout the novel there is very little indication of the writers or the characters observing the environment [the seasons, the buildings, etc in which they pass their time; there is the overriding chatter of the thoughts in their minds.] The first phase: The story starts with the protagonist Shaman being born into a Muslim middle –class household with a host of older children in the family. The child begins to grow up and the doll playing stage is beautifully laid out as the beginning of the social conditioning process .As Shaman grows up, she shows how emotional deprivation takes place in a patriarchal society among women. Women oppressed and without power in a man’s world, develop a flawed and an inverted oppression among themselves. Women, naively and unselfconsciously start to cut down other women just as society cuts them down. This is a classic case of Fanon’s ‘The wretched of the earth" where the colonized people turn the colonizers violence against their own selves – internalizing this violence, instead of fighting and turning this violence against the patriarchal society at large, that fosters and rationalizes this status quo. Shaman starts going to a school where she discovers hostel life as especially interesting and socially rewarding arena where she develops likes and dislikes of various students and teachers. The novel then proceeds to the college. It is here that this story blooms out. Each and every line and character [the proverbial student union leader, the female student leaders, the student ragging and playing practical jokes on each other [the new female student has to kiss the senior male student], the stereotypical teachers/professors, the crushes male and female students have, the nuances in which physical contacts are made. Intertwined with all this, an unrequited love in the form of "Rai Saheb", her friend Prema’s father, stops tragically against the backdrop of the British raj/colonial rule. The story develops to the point where Shaman , the heroine of the novel starts to teach at a local school . Her college hero and student leader Iftikhar develops TB and Shaman watches as World War II breaks out. Germany’s victories and defeats are followed with incisive commentary by Shaman’s broodings in her school job. " Every nation has looked at Hindustan lovingly……….. even Alexander was tempted, Iran and Afghanistan felt waves of affection, the Tartars ground their teeth and kissed it , the Mughals swept across it with their love and warmth, and then the scales of the European Businessmen began to rock…….. or consider this : " A Woman’s heart has so many chambers, a mother’s love residing in one, love for her husband in another , for her beloved a third. Then Shaman tried to peep into her own heart." It is at this point that the story takes a very surprising turn. Shaman’s friend Alma, introduces her to an Irish ex-journalist called Ronnie Taylor. Here the novel takes a bizarre turn as Shaman marries Ronnie and then Ronnie at the end of the book runs off to the battlefront leaving Shaman with her freedom. …" Her loneliness was inhabited by such a hustle and bustle today ……… she had never felt so weak and courageous, so anxious and so content. …….how beautiful the world appeared , how precious life was………. Taking short steps, as if she was spellbound, as if there were tiny clusters of silver bells tied to her ankles, she made her way to her bed, and slowly rested her tired head on the pillow………"
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