Kuldip Nayyar and Pir Sahib is a story taken from a collection of stories (Half a Rupee: Stories) by Gulzar, and offered here as an independent read, from part one, which is about somewhat well known people as far as Indian intelligentsia and media go, Kuldeep Nayar and Bhushan Banmali and various far more famous film persona from Mumbai - poets Jaan Nisaar Akhtar and his sone Javed Akhtar whom they called Jaadu (magic), and their friend Sahir Ludhianavi, and more. Interesting, and with twists at the end to give one a pause if not a tear.
Both Gulzar and Kuldeep Nayyar - the latter a famous journalist - were from the part of India that separated at independence, and this story is about longing for a lost home where they were thrown out of while young, with riots and massacres that those fleeing escaped although they lost a great deal including their homes and any right to return or even visit. They seek to band aid this pain with visits to border on the independence day, rather the midnight of the day changing from the day of independence of one to that of the other, since Jinnah set that of his part to one day prior to that of India. But this vigil at the border at midnight is a lonely one with no one on the other side - those that would come are prevented by the government of Pakistan for fear a friendship might develop and threaten the government agenda of keeping separate and at war.
Kudeep Nayyar relates to Gulzar and the latter to the readers about a grave of an unknown muslim saint - pir - that was under a holy pipal tree which the former's mother recalls with nostalgia and more; the tree she venerated as per her beliefs and the pir was her confidante when she needed to speak of her heart's tears. Nayyar attempts to visit the grave because he had a vision of the pir telling him he - the pir - was cold, and his mother asked him to cover the grave with a shawl, but neither the grave nor the tree are to be found, and only reluctantly one current occupant of the land admits to having found a grave but tells him it was moved, and there is no way to find the pir now.
Gulzar to some extent and Sahir Ludhianavi to a far more committed extent were leftists - Sahir was about to be arrested for h in his chosen or default home in the other part of India as it was before independence, and had to escape to India as it is post independence, and yet he said it was lucky for Mumbai to have him, rather than admitting he was lucky he could get away and not be arrested to spend life in jail, rather than the respect and fame and prestige and satisfactory work he had during his life in India. Gulzar in that tradition sympathises with a suicide bomber who plans to blow up a prime minister, and writes a story and publishes it, apart from a film or more he made on the topic.
Wonder if they had courage enough to battle for Malala and her ilk. Easy to target a democracy, especially one that does not penalise you for being in minority politically.
Saturday, March 29, 2014.
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
It takes a while to realise this story is more than just a factual account, that it is in fact a very subtle denouement of the very idea of partitioning a nation to form a separate homeland for part of the population on basis of religion - because after all the homeland consisted more of driving out or killing every other citizen of the land so it could be as monochrome in faith as they could make it, and it is still a living hell for those that did not then come across the border and now often do have to find refuge in India. But then they are not the only ones - people of the faith that forced a partition of the nation have returned or simply come across for refuge too, since they find life better in original motherland that is for all rather than restricted to one "faith".
As a matter of fact, not only the homeland was not chosen by everyone of that particular faith, which amounts to it was far from necessary if majority of them could after all live right where they always did, but often enough during the decades since people of that faith have found it difficult to deal with the new homeland if they indeed chose to go there, and they were treated abominably by their new co-faith brethren, and not on par as equal citizens.
But all this factual information that one takes for granted is what makes one take a while to realise that the writer here has proceeded with another very vital factor of the whole question and debate, and has subtly destroyed the very foundations of the notion of a separate nationhood for a faith - by pointing at evidence of lack of the very faith in the very people who replaced the ones that lived there, while those that had to flee had dealt better with it all.
Nayyar's mother was a Hindu (not that the information is provided by the writer but her regard for a tree one assumes is not shared in the other faith in Punjab, unless a person does so because one is free to) and she lit a lamp on the grave of the pir every time she went round the tree as per her belief, and what is more she talked to him, telling him all that bothered her and finding solace; when her son told her about the pir telling him he - the pir - was cold, she insisted he go across the border and offer his shawl to the pir.
This much one finds natural enough. But already the basis of the partition of the nation is questionable when one realises this is not limited to one person and people generally had regard for all faiths and do, in India. The further bit again is natural according to human nature but destroys the basis of partition. For, it is the Muslims who replaced the Hindu and Sikh original populace that have not only destroyed the grave, with no regard to the fact that it was supposed to be someone of their own faith, a saint whose grave ought to be venerated and not destroyed, but worse, the place is built up on with homes and shops, and no one knows where the pir's remains can be found, if they were buried again or simply thrown away, or what.
So much for faith that created havoc and killed millions, the writer points out without a word to the effect - it was only land acquisition after all, one may infer. So does he realise it is now precisely the same going on in Kashmir, not for faith or anything remotely to do with spiritual beliefs but only to do with profit and land acquisition and throwing out those that can be threatened by bullies with whatever excuse?
Poor of British isles were encouraged to leave with carrots and sticks and this is how three huge nations in two other continents were populated, once. Across the northern borders of India the scene now repeats on all sides.
Friday, April 4, 2014.
..........................................................................
..........................................................................
