.::Instantly insensating!!::. Review on Tamas - Bhisham Sahni

INTRODUCTION

T A M A S—a word that means, spells and radiates darkness. Tamas, the book, explores a series of the darkest of incidents that occurred in 1947, when Partition and Independence went on concurrently. Written by Bhisham Sahni (originally in Hindi) and translated by Jai Ratan, the book has received the Saahitya Akademi Award and has also been adapted as a telefilm on the small screen in 1988 under the masterful craftsmanship of Govind Nahalani. After reading a stupendous review at Mouthshut (by Suyog), I had very high expectations from it. Did it live up to my expectations and quench my thirst of having a slice from the horrendous days remains to be seen. Read on to find out.

THE PLOT

All hell breaks loose in an otherwise silent and cordial village when a slaughtered pig is found on the steps of mosque. The beast gets slaughtered by an innocent low-caste tanner (Nathu) who is purposely not told about the real reason by a Muslim fundamentalist who hires him. In the meanwhile we are introduced to a singing party getting assembled to do community work. But moments after they start doing it, something mysterious happens, which warns them of an on-coming storm. The news of the dead pig spreads like wild-fire, and within hours, a cow is slaughtered and thrown in front of the temple in the same village. A series of one or two such incidents puts a dense cloud over the whole district, making the environment chilling.

Much above the district, atop a hill stays the British Deputy Commissioner Richard and her ignorant wife Liza. Though Richard being at the helm of affairs, knows everything of what is happening in the villages, Liza purposely remains detached to everything and is more of a loner. The veil of darkness that spreads over the village is enough a warning signal for the politicians and fundamentalists to hold meetings and form Peace Committees. But their attempts are soon turned futile as the situation blows out of the proportion. Every villager becomes a crusader quite soon. And the riots start in full swing. What follows are some of the most heart-wrenching true stories of estranged Sikh parents, alienated families, tales that breed sorrow, despair, almost intoxicating fear and hatred. How the characters mould themselves, and even in the gravest of situations, how they react, is what forms the crux of the second half of the book. Towards the end, the story almost takes a U-turn, now whether the U-turn is positive or negative is to be read to be known.

MY REVIEW

Partition has been one of the most darkest phases India has witnessed. And the topic hasn’t left any of the volatility down so many years. It still invokes the same awful memories amongst every Indian that was experienced by our grandparents and great-grandparents. In sync with this fact, books written on Partition come across as one of the most sensitively written pieces of work. Let’s see how this one fares:

Storytelling:

The book begins with a wonderfully written preamble by Govind Nahalani, which besides analysing the book also makes the reader aware about the difficulties that were faced in making the telefilm. It also acquaints the reader with reasons why this book was written in 1971, what to expect from it and what it does convey generally. Overall, I advise every reader to read this introduction before moving on to the main plot.

The story starts off amazingly with a detailed account of how Nathu overpowers a pig in a dark room. The account does volumes in charging the reader up and instantly you get hooked to the book. In the following five chapters, the author slowly builds each set of characters up. The reader gets to know of the strategies different political parties took, and a peek at the British administration at lower levels. Because of its episodic nature, new characters are introduced even when the story has reached half-way. So if you had one chapter exploring the loneliness of Liza, the very next one will take a peek at Nathu’s house and the insecurities he is facing. Then again, the focus shifts to the site of communal violence. This continuous shifting of focus is quite unique, and because Tamas tells you the incidents from the viewpoint of almost every kind of family in the village, the introduction to the new characters gives the much needed relief and the book at no time over-burdens you with its narrative. After the characters have been introduced, the story runs parallel describing in fantastic detail the trauma each set of characters go through, as they all share the same background of Partition, and towards the very end a complete climax means there are no questions left unanswered in the mind of the reader. Its this cohesiveness in the plot that makes Tamas a delight to read.

Characterisation:

Characters form the heart of any book written. A book might be fantastically written, may have great literary value, but till you feel for the characters, not much impression is left in the viewer’s mind. Sahni grips the reader in a very unique way. First the characters are introduced and described in great domestic detail. Vivid, life-like descriptions of their insecurities, complexities and weaknesses mean the reader can actually feel each of them. As the story moves on, and when these life-like bubbles burst one by one, it is then that the power of this story is felt. Your heart cries for every character that leaves the story, and this actually says volumes on the effectiveness of the book. Although there are many moving accounts, which will catch you unawares, following is a small paragraph from the book describing how a defeated Sikh (Iqbal Singh) gets converted to a Muslim to save his life and how he is demeaned and ridiculed by the Muslims:

“Noordin sat down by Iqbal Singh. With his left hand he forced Iqbal Singh’s mouth open and with his right hand he pushed a big piece of beef, dripping with blood, into his mouth.

‘Open your mouth! May I....your Mother! Open your mouth! Suck it up! You mother’s...!’ Noordin triumphantly looked at the people standing around and laughed, baring his red-gummed teeth.”

As you can see that the prose used is simple, yet its very precise in its description. Metaphors are used to a bare minimum and the incidents are described in the same manner as they happened--no extra melodrama or voyeurism is being fixed into them. Dialogues are customized for each character and sting where it hurts the most!

MY VERDICT:

Tamas comes across as one of the most balanced books I have ever read on Partition. Balanced because it doesn’t have one protagonist; it tells the interpretation of different characters of the same situation. It peeks with domestic magnification into every character’s heart and shows the reader that the feelings remain human, but the divisions between religion divides the hearts. It doesn’t carry or convey any biased opinions about any religion, nor does it preach. What it tells the reader is some real-life incidents in all their natural vividity, and a subtle message that Partition wasn’t the solution to any of the problems India faced in 1947, and a bit more restraint amongst the individuals was all that was needed to keep India from dividing.

To sum up, I recommend this book with no hesitation, no repitition and no deviation.

Comments and questions are awaited...

Shanti,

KARAN.