( A view near Ganderbal Town )
( Sand collection from Jhelum river near Sumbal kashmir )
( a view near Ganderbal kashmir )
( Morning Bird feeding on Boulevard Dal lake )
All Photographs by autar Mota March 2011
FOUR UNFORGETTABLE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
Many Characters that i happened to come across while reading some books and novels have remained etched in my memory . Some of them are totally unforgettable . In this unforgettable category i am always reminded of four prominent characters . I am not commenting upon usefulness of these characters to society . That is another debate. But then some of these fictional entities appear to me more human and impressive than many in bones and flesh .
The first that comes to my mind is Gregor Samsa , a character created by Franz kafka for his novel The Metamorphosis . Gregor is a traveling sales man who is the sole bread earner for his large family . And then one day Gregor wakes up to find himself transformed to a Monstrous insect .
Similarly Meursault created By Albert Camus for his novel OUTSIDER remains another unforgettable character . Meursault suffers more damage from the society for not weeping at his Mother’s funeral than for killing an Arab (for which he faces a trial as well in a curt of law ) on a beach in Algeria .Demonstrating emotional detachment from his environment , many events in the novel like a proposal for his marriage , death of his mother , his arrest followed by the unjust trial do not have any emotional impact on Meursault. But then he is truthful and honest to core and is prepared to pay the price for his mistakes .Lonely and cursed , he finds himself overwhelmed by the strange yet benign indifference of this universe . People are tempted to call him outsider but as per Camus he is a man in love with sun that leaves no shadows .
Hori Ram a character created by Munshi Prem chand for his novel Godaan is again unforgettable . Hori is poor , decent , truthful and deeply in debt . Like any other poor farmer of the country he is also trapped in the vicious circle of rural indebt ness and exploitation . Crushed by the Zamindaari system that existed in the country , Hori is put to tons of misfortunes for fulfilling his desire to own a cow . Supported by his wife , Hori Struggles to provide for his children. To sum up , Hori Ram emerges as a Starved and half naked soul who waits for his god to come to his rescue . Touched by the Hori’s plight this character leaves a scar in the mind. . Hori dies finally.
Manto’s Saugandhi is another classical character that can not be forgotten . He created this Character for his story HATAK . The plight of Saugandhi brings simultaneous hatred and sympathy in hearts of millions of MANTO readers . Till this society exists Saugandhi shall exist as Manto's pen has immortalized her . Saugandhi the Bad woman . Saugandhi the kind and tender hearted woman. Saugandhi the exploited . Sauganmdhi the lonely woman . Saugandhi the woman who has gone too far in her dull and aimless life that she has lost the distinction between Man and Dog. And a different Saugandhi who finally spits venom and fire when she throws out her exploiter Madho from her dingy and dirty room that happens to be her world..
Manto has given total freedom to this Character to evolve itself and then attack the very society that created it. Saugandhi's room defines her life . Cramped and dull . Things like her bed , unpolished and stiff leather sandals , face cream , Talcum powder , hair pins , lipstick, a parrot trapped inside cage full of some rotten fruit pieces with tiny black mosquitoes , Oil lamp on the wall , A chair with shabby seat cover and an old HMV gramophone with rusty pins . Yes a photo of lord Ganesha also hung and decorated with some fresh and mostly dry flowers . The room presents a picture of disorder . Yes disorder of her existence and living is starkly visible through the objects lying in her room.
Saugandhi also had her dirty pet dog living inside this room . This dog with some skin disease/ rash slept under her bed or near the door on a shabby mat. Manto calls it Khaarish-Zadaa kutta . When Saugandhi attacks and throws out Madho ( Her Exploiter ) from her room , this dog too joins and helps her by barking and attacking Madho. Ram lal the pimp too comes occasionally to this room bringing a customer for Saugandhi .Relation between Ram lal and saugandhi are pure professional . But then Ram Lal too comes to the room to gulp down the left over liquor from any bottle that some customer might have brought with him to Saugandhi's room . To Conclude , I add lines from a poem of poet Balraj Komal on this Character…
Mere Muqaddar ki Badhrang deewaron par .
Anginat Makrooh Chehre Aawezaan hain,
Sar par Chhat hai ya dareeda Aasamaan ?
Rozanon se meri kouson Aur zaaviyon par
Dhoodh se Chhalaktee Huyee chhaatiyon par ,
Thhook , Luaab ,Badhbudaar sharaab ,
Zehar Aameiz , Banjar qatraa e tauleed ,
Badhkaar saanson , aur manhani sikkon
Ki Mutaaffin , Musalsal baarish hotee hai.
Me Joo e Masmoom mein Behatee huyee
Barg o Gul ke narm o naazuk ,
Dil Aawaiz Khwaab Dekhtee Hoon
Kaaboos Kaarwaan dar kaarwaan
Umandate huve
Mere lahoo mein uttar Jaatein hain,
Maa Meri Khaalik Tuu kahaan hai ?
Maa Meri Khaalik Tuu kahaan hai ?
( Autar Mota )
CHINAR SHADE by
Autarmota is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at
http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
