THE COMPANION

English Monthly

June 2012 Editor

Vol:07

Issue:1
Stories can just be some prattle of the mouth or scratches of the pen on one hand, and they can express the authors hopes, dreams, desires, anger, grievances, fears, and passions on the other. But greatest impact is caused by the stories written with a sense of Purpose (with a capital P). Such stories are catalysts of social change... It is so because stories inspire; they imagine a new, better, and ideal future.
(see p.5)

contents
FICTION SPECIAL
4. Gleanings 5. Editorial Introduction 7. Fiction and the reader 8. Islamisation of fiction: why and how? Analysis 9. Mayal Khairabadi 14. Leo Tolstoy 16. Fyodor Dostoevsky 17. George Orwell 19. Ayn Rand 20. Naguib Mahfouz Short Stories 22. Quest for Truth 25. Quest for Meaning 28. Quest for Humanity 30. Quest for Solace 32. Quest for Normalcy According to Me!!! 33. Which work of fiction has influenced you most and how?

Khan Yasir
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Short Stories on the theme

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All works of art and fiction which survive today in any language, are undeniably laden with purpose and message. They may be the great epics, fairy tales and folk stories or the works of Saadi, Shakespeare, Dickens, Premchand, Tolstoy, and Iqbal. There is not even a single instance of any great work of fiction which enjoys mass-popularity and also satisfies the definition of ethical neutrality. Human beings by their nature are ethical beings, compelled to judge, evaluate and react to situations. (see p.9)

THE COMPANION

June 2012

GLEANINGS

Wretched Resting Place

When it is said to him, Have fear of God, arrogance drives him to take pride in sinful actions. Hell becomes him, a dismal resting place. (Al Baqara: 206)
Intent on pursuing their vile deeds, these people become immune to advice and reform; if anything, they grow more obstinate and arrogant. They begin to take pride in spreading evil and corruption with no remorse, guilt or fear of God. Qurtubi records Abdullah Ibn Masud as having said: It is enough of a sin for a man that his brother should tell him, Fear Allah, and he should reply, Look after yourself. Does a man of your sort lecture me?! This snobbery, contention and lack of shame are met with a most swift appropriate punishment - Hell. Hell would be more than sufficient retribution. For Hell is the most terrible of all punishments: savage, violent, consuming everything thrown into it. With unmistakable irony, the verse describes Hell as their resting place.
Compiled From: In the Shade of the Quran - Syed Qutb, Vol. 1, p. 234 Tafsir Ishraq Al-Maani - Syed Iqbal Zaheer, vol. 1, p. 247

Whether at Naishapur or Babylon, Whether the Cup with sweet or bitter run, The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop, The Leaves of Life kep falling one by one.
(Omar Khayyam)

Cowardice vs. Courage

Whenever the Quran encourages Jihad and expresses approval of it, while rebuking those who flinch from it and shirk it, cowardice is always the culprit. For the well-being of mankind, be it religious or worldly, cannot be complete without courage and generosity. The AllGlorious has explained that when someone turns his back on Jihad, God puts another in his place to perform it. (Quran 9: 38-39, 47:38). In courage and generosity for Gods sake the greater merit belongs to those who take the lead (Quran 57:10). Courage does not reside in physical strength. A man may be physically strong yet faint at heart. Real courage is stoutness of heart and constancy. For fighting requires a body strong and fit for the task, but also a heart that is stout and skilful in battle. The commendable way to fight is with knowledge and understanding, not with the rash impetuosity or one who takes no thought and does not distinguish the laudable from the blameworthy. Therefore,the strong and valiant is he who controls himself when provoked to anger, and so does the right thing, whereas he who is carried away under provocation is neither courageous nor valiant. Compiled From: Public Duties in Islam - Ibn Taymiyah, pp. 105-106

Reprieve
Surely God grants wrongdoers, the oppressor, a reprieve. But once He seizes him, He utterly destroys him. [Bukhari, Muslim] God gives the wrongdoers some time to repent and amend their behaviour. If they do not take advantage of this opportunity, He punishes them severely. God sometimes uses wrongdoers to punish the sinful. This happens when God wills to punish them before the Day of Judgment. For example, after the Muslims split into many competing factions nine centuries ago and deviated from Islam, they were exposed to the Mongol invasion and massacre. Compiled From: The Messenger of God: Muhammad Fethullah Gulen, p. 117 June 2012 4

THE COMPANION

EDITORIAL

the REAL power of

FICTION
We tell ourselves stories in order to live. (J. Didion)

rom a child still wearing diapers to a toothless grandfather; from a carefree college student to an occupied businessman; from a farmer uneducated to a PhD in Philosophy; from a right wing Sanghi Pracharak to a left wing Marxist revolutionary; from an outspoken lady-feminist to an introvert homemaker; from an indifferent agnostic to an ardent believer in Allah everybody, yes everybody loves a good story! Fiction for wisdom Fiction in its different avatars like novels, short stories, fables, fairy tales, and plays etc not only entertains but also influences the minds and thought-patterns of the reader. Where lectures and books fail, fiction succeeds. It is said that in ancient times there was a king Sudarshan who had three sons. The king himself was learned and wise but his sons were otherwise. The uneducated and imprudent princes only loved to play and enjoy their luxuries. They thought, after all we are princes and heirs of a large kingdom, why should we bother to study. The king was very upset, both with ill manners of his unlearned children and their indifference rather resentment towards studies. The king had hired the services of a number of renowned scholars to teach his children. But alas, every teacher gave up soon enough in the wake of royal students indifference, unwillingness, and inability to learn. Finally on a ministers advice, the king called Vishnu Sharma, and assigned him the task of teaching wisdoms of politics, administration and leadership to the proud and rowdy princes. Then what? Then unlike his predecessor scholars, Vishnu Sharma succeeded in teaching the hopeless princes. WHY? Because instead of lecturing the princes to the boredom; he employed the means of storytelling to educate them. With one fable woven into other, he was able to arouse the curiosity and interest of his wayward students, in learning. These stories were later compiled and are today known as Panchtantra. You can dispute the historicity of whats mentioned above, and rightly so; but not the veracity of its core argument which you can test for yourself (if you so desire). Get hold of a child and deliver a monotonous sermon on hard work and steadiness. After completion, wake him up and, tell him the tale of hare and tortoise in two minutes. You will find that the child has learned much more in those two minutes of keen attention to the story, than virtually sleeping through your hour-long lecture on the same theme. Fiction for indoctrination The power of imagination is an extensive blessing for the human being. What Jules Verne and HG Wells imagined in their novels The Earth to the Moon (1865) and First men on the Moon (1901) respectively became a reality in 1969. George Orwells allegorical critique of communism in his novels Animal farm and Nineteen eighty four perhaps proved more detrimental to the communist cause than thousands of academic critiques put together. Ayn Rands novels (more

THE COMPANION

June 2012

EDITORIAL
than her non-fictional works) have become a way-of-life for her devotees. Same is true for Tolstoy. Thus, fiction is of tremendous psychological influence. But it is a fact that more than the story, readers absorb the unstated assumptions of the author. For e.g. in HG Wells Time Machine or The war of the worlds, its not stated at a single place, but eventually a reader, unconsciously, seems convinced of the Darwins theory of evolution. In Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged, its not jotted down anywhere, but a reader gets a feeling that illegitimate sex is within the purview of individual liberty. In Tagores The home and the world, its not inked at all, but a reader experiences an urge, from within, against the methodology of Indian National Congress during the independence struggle and its zealous advocacy of territorial nationalism. In short, through fiction the perspective of protagonists reaches the reader. In other words, a fiction writer makes readers empathise with his worldview through the character of protagonist. This perspective can be monotheism as explanation of the world; and this perspective can be legitimisation of gay sex. Its not important what the assumption is; what is important in fiction is how compellingly it is written and how cogently it is imagined by the author. In a work of fiction a prostitute can be eulogised and however pious a reader may personally be, he cannot help empathising with her and her profession. On the same pedestal, a virtuous saint could be picturised in such a bad light that however devout himself, a reader cannot help scorning the religion itself. Fiction for real change Stories can just be some prattle of the mouth or scratches of the pen on one hand, and they can express the authors hopes, dreams, desires, anger, grievances, fears, and passions on the other. But greatest impact is caused by the stories written with a sense of Purpose (with a capital P). Such stories are catalysts of social change. B. Okri is certainly right when he says that stories are, always a form of resistance. It is so because stories inspire; they imagine a new, better, and ideal future. Eric Selbin in his book Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story emphasises the role that fiction plays in culmination of revolutions. He says, This is the power and premise of story, opening up the realm of the possible. His infatuation for stories goes afar, for him: Stories... can obviate economic disadvantage, surmount sociocultural mores, and even triumph over military might. And he is not alone in his declarations. Historians like W. Sewell, F. Furet, J. Davis, F. Polletta, M. Ozouf, K.M. Baker and scholars of revolution like Charles Tilly, J. Goldstone, N. Parker, and John Foran all have talked about the role of narratives and stories in influencing and levelling the popular psyche for revolutionary change. They argue that History is the realm of the victor. Ruling authorities write (or concoct) histories from their perspective. Other versions either do not exist or are not deemed authentic. But no such handicap is there for fiction. Story can rebel from below against the imposition of History from above. Fiction for Islamic ideals A good work of fiction improves our language and presentation skills; systematise our thought patterns; forces us to think, to predict, to look for clues, and in the end to be mesmerised. There is a need to keep our eyes open while choosing and reading fiction. While reading we should also hunt for assumptions of the author, often unstated. Today, there is a dearth of fictions that would inculcate in the reader Islamic values and wisdom. And it is high time that this vacuum should be filled. The would-be Islamic fiction must not be oration or propaganda or philosophy in the guise of fiction, but a nice work of fiction which as a by-product also influences the morals and values of the reader in a positive way. In Janet Evanovichs parlance, Effective writing requires an understanding of the fundamental elements of storytelling, such as point of view, dialogue, and setting; rest depends upon ones creativity... Considering this Real power of Fiction, in this special issue of The Companion, we decided to ruminate over fiction as a tool for spreading virtues and dispiriting evils. Academic books and articles cannot address everybody especially normal people who are unfortunately in fairly large numbers. They simply hate reading any serious stuff after going through the ordeal called syllabus. In this issue we will analyse some great works of fiction and what spells some of the magical fiction writers have casted on the world with their imaginative skills and literary tools (irrespective of their personal views). With this we expect that from amongst ourselves, some youths would take up fiction-writing as their career and influence the society with their positive attitudes. But isnt it irony (and tyranny) to only deliver tedious academic discourses on fiction? And so, as compensation and demonstration both, we have also included in this issue, five short stories based on the theme QUEST. These stories, by young and amateur writers, are just an attempt to illustrate what could be done through stories. As far as we are concerned, we already agree with Eric Selbin when he argues,
Resistance, rebellion, and revolution are made to seem possible when people articulate compelling stories that provide those anxious to change the material and ideological conditions of their everyday lives with the belief that such change is achievable, with the energy to do so, and in some cases even with strategies and tactics that can be utilised.

Khan Yasir

THE COMPANION

June 2012

INTRODUCTION

Fiction and the reader

SM Fasiullah
eading fiction is fun, entertainment, enjoyment and time-pass for many of us. Burying head into the book of fiction takes us into a different realm that we are hardly aware of. It stirs our emotions sometimes it excites feeling of joy and some other time makes us sad. In reading a story, we envision a vivid life within our minds and live, for a short period of time, with the fictional characters that the writer or novelist creates in the work of fiction. There are many benefits of reading. But, knowing whether reading fiction has any affect on the readers personality is significant here, as the current issue of The Companion is focused on fiction. There is dearth of research on this particular issue, but there are quite interesting facts worth knowing. Psychologists are making remarkable advances by means of methods such as experiments, interviews, questionnaires and controlled observations. Some psychologists have found that reading affects our personalities. As a matter of fact, fiction reading has considerable influence on our personalities and behaviours. It gives us a deeper understanding of human behaviour and motivation. In reading fiction, we tend to understand the delicate fabric of the society its laws, variety of people living in it, the relations individuals establish among themselves, etc. Reading and understanding of these things make an individual more conscious and sensible. In addition, fiction reading also reduces stress in the sense that for reading and understating story we focus more on it, ignoring all other issues/concerns that were troubling. Several cognitive scientists have been trying to know how fiction affects our minds. One such researcher is Dr. Keith Oatley, a cognitive psychologist and fiction writer, who teaches at University of Toronto. The researchers have discovered that fiction not only activates, but also improves the cognitive functions that allow us to flourish socially. Dr. Oatley notes in his book Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction that fiction is primarily about selves SM Fasiullah is an Associate Editor in a UK-based MNC, Hyderabad. Email: smfasiullah@gmail.com

in a social world. He argues that main subject of fiction is what people are up to with each other. As the reading of books improves the understanding of particular subject, reading fiction improves our understanding of social relationships. It means, what people think about others and themselves. In fact, Dr. Oatley regards fiction a simulation for the social world that allows us to experience a variety of social circumstances with different kinds of people, which we may not encounter in our daily life. In an another interesting study, a few researchers from the University at Buffalo handed over 140 undergraduates passages from either JK Rowlings Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone or Meyers Twilight to read. The study authors, Shira Gabriel and Ariana Young, then quizzed students to measure their identification with the worlds they had been reading about. The study found that participants who read the Twilight chapter self-identified as vampires, whereas those who read the Harry Potter chapters self-identified as wizards. Dr Oatley, in one of his own studies, handed over 166 participants either the Chekhov short story, The Lady with the Little Dog, or a version of the story rewritten in documentary form. He observed that subjects who were given the Chekhov story in its unadulterated form have gone through greater changes in personality empathising with the characters and thus becoming a little more like them. I think the reason fiction but not non-fiction has the effect of improving empathy is because fiction is primarily about selves interacting with other selves in the social world, Oatley said. It is the first empirical finding, so far as I know, to show a clear psychological effect of reading fiction. Moreover, psychologists observed that in fiction, readers are able to understand characters actions from their interior point of view, by entering into their situations and minds. Reading fiction also strengthens our theory of mind, a cognitive ability that we humans use all the time. It is our ability to attribute mental states, like thoughts, feelings and beliefs, to others based on a whole host of input in order to predict and explain what they are thinking. But absolutely much depends on our choice of fiction... June 2012 7

THE COMPANION

INTRODUCTION

Islamisation of fiction: why and how?

Sikander Azam
n Islamic environs reading fiction is considered a frivolous pastime and thus frowned. Why? To understand the issue a bit deeper, we have to consider the very purpose of life, and then why and how of Islamisation of fiction. A work of fiction usually deals, in part or full, with something unreal or imaginary. And when imagination strikes the wall of mind, it comes with much fanfare. It portrays hero worship, momentary fruition of leisure, immoral and illicit relationships between opposite sexes and everything that can keep you from the real life, and most importantly from the path of virtue. It may appeal to the sensibility of some people and land them into a world of oblivion. It makes them oblivious not only of their schedules, duties, obligations and priorities but of the natural corollary of non-fulfilment of them as well. This kind of fiction has told badly upon society so much so that it is considered responsible for most of social ills, including physical assault on women, murder, burglary, kidnapping, etc. because people try to imitate the scenes presented in a work of fiction. This entire scenario stands in sharp contrast with the norms and virtues of Islam, which we know is revealed by Allah to establish peace and justice on earth. And makes us sit up and think whether or not life is so trifle that it can be spent in an irresponsible manner as our whims and inconsistencies might spur us to. Those who follow the eatdrink-and-be-merry motto might advise you to lead life as you like it. But as and when you turn to the Qur'an and Hadith, you get a big NO as answer to this question. Then what is life all about? To we Muslims life is an amanah (trust) from Allah. We have to lead it in a very responsible manner, exactly in the way Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) have taught us to. Keeping this all in view, we can and should use fiction to effect a change in society on healthy, Islamic footing. There is a great promise for the reconstruction of society; the need is just for us to make concerted efforts on this line. We can do both theoretical and empirical work. As for theoretical work, we can formulae guidelines for budding writers [in the English literature critics have given theories of the particular braches of literature they used to practise]. And so far as empirical work is concerned, there is a very vast scope. We can write short stories, novels, novelettes,
Sikander Azam is Editor of Radiance Viewsweekly. Email: sikanderazam@gmail.com

etc. with real or imaginary characters but setting the plot certainly in the light of some Islamic teaching. As fiction is also theatrical and cinematic, we can also write scripts to be enacted. Besides producing creative works in Islamic fiction, we also should translate great works of fiction from one language into another. This attempt at Islamisation of fiction should not be art for art's sake but aim at serving the purpose of amr bil ma'roof (invite people to virtues) and nahi anil munkar (forbid them from vices), educating people on moral grounds, and above all earning the pleasure of Allah. Though not solely intended, it may appear as an attempt to decolonise or de-westernise this particular discipline as the writer sometimes may need to criticise some prevalent trend in fiction. When we cast a glance at the works of fiction around us, we find that very little headway has been made in terms of Islamising fiction. In the Urdu literature great writers of this genre include Ibn Farid and Mayal Khairabadi, who have produced a rich treasure of works aimed at restructuring society. In the English literature there are only few works; one that comes to mind is Where the Ghost Camel Grins, a collection of 10 'Muslim fables for families of all faiths' written and illustrated by Linda iLham Barto of North Carolina, USA. We have miles to go in this field. Students' organisations may start Literary Societies in campuses as well as their centres wherever feasible. With heart within and God overhead let us take up this task as an important means to change society for the better.
(continued from p. 18) This shows the status which Orwell has give to such type of people. They are the people who make their own laws as per their own whims and fancies without giving much importance to the equal growth and equality among the people. That's not all; they also had to offer communism and capitalism where the labour class was being exploited just for their mere benefits and gains. Yet in a hundred ways Animal Farm triggers our modern intelligence and persists in its relevance, and its seemingly simple yet subtle fable still belongs to us as we try to find our way through the changing political and moral labyrinths of twentieth-century history. Though it remains a very English book, smelling both of the British farmyard and a distinctive and traditional sense of liberalism and decency, neither extreme in form nor unexpected in its moral urges, its meaning has stretched out into contemporary history and into world culture; we have all lived or risk living somewhere close to Animal Farm, or Manor Farm as it becomes again at the end. It is one of the great modern political allegories, and the story it tells, of innocent and necessary revolution turning into dictatorship and betrayal, is not just a striking piece of political intelligence but a fundamental modern myth.

THE COMPANION

June 2012

MAYAL KHAIRABADI

Mayal Khairabadi
The master of purposive-fiction
Dr. Mohd. Rafat
ayal Khairabadi lived to the ripe age of 88. prophet he wrote a monograph Chatanein (the rocks). All However he retained his youthful outlook till these books are however written in a narrative style and the very end. He was popular among the remind the reader of the fictional writings, Khairabadi wrote elders and the young alike. Everyone fondly referred to him about problems of women. A famous book of his is Position as Chacha Miyan (the uncle). His writings were simple but of Women in Islamic Society. always managed to capture the interest of the readers. He Characteristics of Khairabadis fiction wrote mainly fiction meant for children, teenagers and Mayal Khairabadis fiction may be analysed by the women. But these books of fiction were read, enjoyed and discerning reader with no reference to the wider context appreciated by elders as well. He wrote stories, historical of Urdu fiction in the subcontinent, at that time. Such an anecdotes, novels and poems; of these his stories were the analysis leads us to identify the following features of his most popular. The social setting of his stories was usually fictional writings: the Muslim society of the subcontinent. He was 1) Explicit commitment to the objective of however able to extend this canvass to include propagating the message of Islam It is the interactions with the non-Muslim society. He 2) Presentation of Islamic worldview writer's showed an amazing insight into the Hindu 3) Depiction of universal ethical values psyche, in his fictional writings. passion for 4) Engagement with ethical dilemmas Career supremacy of faced by human beings Mayal Khairabadi was born in 1910 in the 5) Logical exposition of the Islamic town Khairabad of district Seetapur in the state ethical values position on controversial issues of Uttar Pradesh. This region is traditionally which gives 6) Development of women characters called Oudh and I famous for its rich culture. successfully facing a hostile environment meaning and He started his career as a teacher in his native 7) Creation of male characters engaged in district. One may imagine that his profound life to his actualising the sublime ethical values grasp of child psychology was preferably 8) Depiction of child characters, which may creative developed during this phase of his life. He then become role-models worked as coeditor of childrens Urdu magazine output. 9) Primary steps towards mini-stories for Noor published by Idara Al Hasanat Rampur (UP), children under the supervision of Abu Saleem Mohd. Abdul Hai. In 10) Development of ethical parameters for literary 1970, he launched his independent Urdu magazine Hijab, mainly meant for women. Both magazines enjoyed wide criticisms Fiction with a purpose readership in the subcontinent. Experts of literary criticism often tell us about what Mayal Khairabadi write non-fiction as well. He wrote constitutes fiction and what it is not. However one crucial on seerah (life of the prophet) for e.g. Pyaare nabi aise the (such was the beloved prophet) is a small book on seerah. point often overlooked (when experts talk to one another) Another more detailed book is Noor e Muhammadi (glory is that fiction is ultimately meant for the general public of the prophet). He wrote on the lives of companions as the layman. The final test of greatness of a work of fiction well. His books on Hazrat Khadija and Hazrat Aisha are very therefore is whether it is enjoyed by the ordinary readers. popular. Describing the life of women companions of the If it is popular with them, then its worth cannot be denied, in spite of its possibly adverse reception by the Dr. Mohd. Rafat is Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia. knowledgeable experts. He is also the Editor of monthly Zindgi e Nau, and Two questions often debated about fiction are: member of Central Advisory Council of JIH. a) Should fiction have a purpose? To be specific, Email: mohd.rafat@gmail.com should there be a message in a work of fiction?

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MAYAL KHAIRABADI
b) If the answer to the above question is in affirmative, then the second relevant question is: should the message be conveyed explicitly or implicitly? Perhaps as a result of the wide impact of the positivist view of science, which gives exaggerated importance to objective observations; the popular view among the experts of literary criticism seems to favour the creation of fiction which is devoid of any purpose or message. According to this view, the writer of fiction should depict the reality as it is. He should not pass any judgements on it; he should not give any advice; he should not draw any lessons. He should function merely as an accurate but strictly neutral observer. If he has a commitment, it is to the faithful representation of factual reality as it exists. Without entering into any scholarly debate about the accuracy of above-mentioned view which advocates ethical neutrality in works of art; one may safely assert that this view is utterly mistaken. The reason is simple. All works of art and fiction which survive today in any language, are undeniably laden with purpose and message. They may be the great epics, fairy tales and folk stories or the works of Saadi, Shakespeare, Dickens, Premchand, Tolstoy, and Iqbal. There is not even a single instance of any great work of fiction which enjoys mass-popularity and also satisfies the definition of ethical neutrality. Human beings by their nature are ethical beings, compelled to judge, evaluate and react to situations. Mayal Khairabadi has raised the issue of purpose and message of fiction in his novelette Bint e Hawwa (the daughter of the Eve). The main character of the story is a young writer Masroor. Masroor reflects the views of opinions of Mayal Khairabadi himself. The story begins with Masroors critical review of a story Yusuf Zulekha written by a lady writer Makhfi. Among other pertinent points, Masroor maintains that fiction must have a purpose and the purpose should conform to the universal ethical values. Makhfi, the writer of Yusuf Zulekha responds to this criticism by Masroor and a long correspondence between the two begins. Citing examples from Urdu poetry and prose Masroor argues that only that part of Urdu literature has survived which explicitly subscribes to Islamic values or is in broad conformity with them. In his other writings such as Andeshon ke Giraftar (victims of misgivings) Mayal Khairabadi has adopted the same position. According to him, literature and works of fiction should be informed with purpose and should convey a meaningful message to the reader. He doesnt mind if the communication of message is direct and explicit, rather than indirect and implicit. In his own writings, Mayal Khairabadi shows a clear preference towards direct communication. In this backdrop, the proponent of universal values in art may evolve a coherent view about the role of fiction.

Guided by historical experience, it is clear that fiction in order to have lasting impact, should be inspired by a sense of purpose. It is the writers passion for supremacy of ethical values which gives meaning and life to his creative output. The choice of direct or indirect communication must be left to the writer. There is no reason to dogmatically prefer one over the other, in all situations. Apart from personal taste, the choice of indirect or direct mode of communication would depend on the theme being explored by the writer. Islamic worldview Characters created by Khairabadi are able to talk about Islamic worldview in simple language and convey their essence easily to their audience. In the collection of stories Hamara Ibn Batuta, the main character is the fictional Ibn Batuta introduced by Khairabadi. Addressing the native Bapoo and his young daughter Lali, Ibn Batuta tells them about God, We should worship God alone Who created us. He made for us, air, water, fruits, and grain. He created animals to serve us. We utilise them in various ways. Dont you agree? In response Bapoo and his daughter agreed that indeed God alone should be worshipped. In his story Muslim Bhaiyya (Brother Muslim), Mayal Khairabadi has narrated the story of an Arab young man Muslim who had been drifted to a coastal town in India. Muslim told the people of the town about the prophethood, Allah showed his mercy to the Arabs. Among them, He created the messenger Muhammad (pbuh). He was trustworthy and spoke the truth. An angel from Allah brought to him Allahs message. Muhammad conveyed this message to his people. He told them that these idols of stone are dumb and deaf. They have been created by human beings themselves. They are helpless and dependent on you. (There is no sense in worshipping them. Hence the Almighty Allah should alone be worshipped). In his story Aik aane ki wapsi (On returning a penny) Khairabadis character is a young vendor of clothes who had no small change. He was unable to return an aana (a small coin worth six paise) to the lady who bought a sheet from him. Long after this episode the father of this young man came to the ladys house to return the aana. The vendor has died and on the verge of his death, had requested his old father to return the aana. The old man explained matters thus: My son was very honest. He was God fearing. He used to say that our dealings should be fair and transparent. All of us will have to render our account, before the Lord Almighty on the day of judgement. My son did not like to be in debt. He had urged me to return the one aana, due to you. Ethical values Universal ethical values are all acknowledged by Islam as intimately related to the very nature of human beings. Mayal Khairabadi is conscious in his fiction, of the June 2012 10

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MAYAL KHAIRABADI
fundamental role of values in human life as guiding principle of desirable conduct. To help people in need is a recognised virtue. In his story Wali ka Saaya (in the shadow of a saint), Khairabadis main character Shaukat is a college student. He was rushing towards his college to participate in a debate. It was raining heavily. Shaukat saw a milkman slip and fall down on the ground. The milkmans leg was injured and he cried for help. Shaukat, a well dressed and haughty young man, felt the spark of humanity in him. He lifted the milkman and carried him to safety. By that time college teachers arrived at the scene to help the two. Shaukat ascribed his unexpectedly humane behaviour to the good impact of the example set by his poor neighbour Mahmood. In his story Main ne Dekha (What I saw) Khairabadi has described the various events seen by a young girl sitting at her window. She saw a wedding feast. Contrary to the Prophets explicit teachings, only the rich were invited to this gathering. Some poor passerby gatecrashed into the dinner party, and started eating. They were forcibly expelled by Mr. Khan the host. The girls father saw this cruel behaviour of Mr. Khan. He walked out in protest along with his son. Thus the girls father demonstrated the true Islamic spirit and respect for human dignity. In his story Ticket for eleven aana Khairabadi depicts the character of a young man. The man went to the railway counter and demanded a ticket for any station, provided the ticket would cost eleven aanas. The surprised counter clerk located such a station and gave him the ticket. The man left the counter, tore up the ticket and quietly walked away. This strange act was observed by a passerby. He approached the young man and asked him to explain. It had so happened that the young mans nephew had travelled, by mistake from Lucknow to Kanpur, without ticket. After completion of journey, the mistake was realised. The young man wanted to pay the Railways on his nephews behalf. He found this ingenuous way of making the payment. The values highlighted by these stories are

compassion, respect for human dignity and integrity. Ethical dilemmas Stories which touch our heart deeply are often those which depict ethical dilemmas. Khairabadi has explored this theme in his stories. Khairabadi has described the dilemma of an educated young man who was jobless. He did not want to do any work except a white collar job. Any business was out of question for him, since it would amount to loss of prestige. This dilemma is the theme of the story Paan Wala. Ultimately the wife of the jobless young man prevailed upon him to do something as commonplace as selling paans, she said, Is there only one means of earning livelihood the so called service! Let me point out a business which requires no cash, start selling paans. After some argument, the young man Habeeb took his wifes advice and was soon doing well. Indeed, he became an example for others. In the story Neki Barbaad (worthless piety) Khairabadi describes the experiences of Mashkoor. Mashkoor was kind and generous to his friends and relatives. But when Mashkoor faced difficult times, no one came to help him. dejected and depressed, he complained to his old friend Zamir. The dialogues are reproduced here,
M: Our age is evil. It is not the age of generosity or virtue. Z: Why not? M: May be not for you, but my experience say that times are bad. Z: your experience is not conclusive! M: how can you say that? Look! The widow in our neighbourhood Mrs. Muzaffar brought up her child, doing immense hard work. On growing up, he simply deserted her. Now tell me, is this an era of generosity? Hafiz Imam Ali married off his son to a most eligible girl. He showed extraordinary generosity to her, made her virtual authority in his home. But she persuaded her husband to desert his father. Should I cite further instances of the blackness of our age? Z: No, these examples are enough, but they depict foolishness. M: They are actual facts, which you label as foolishness. Z: Yes; they do indicate lack of sense. M: How come?

Bushra regularly wrote to her elder sister, explained her problems and asked for advice. According to her sister's advice Bushra patiently undertook a program for reforming her household; she started teaching her young sister in law and persuaded her husband to read Islamic literature. As for bribe money, she did not spend it and securely kept it separate. Gradually, under her sister's wise guidance, Bushra's efforts succeeded. Her husband became a pious Muslim; distributed all the money earned as bribe, among the poor and leaving his service started his own business, strictly according to the Islamic principles. Bushra's success story inspires readers, men and women alike.
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Z: Look here, when you do a good deed and expect gratitude from people, you will certainly pained and hurt, as the people you mentioned were hurt. But a person who does good deeds solely to please God and to perform his human duty, will never be hurt, dejected or perplexed. He will work only for reward from Almighty, the reward would be his in the life hereafter.

It may be mentioned that we find many such ethical dilemmas in Munshi Premchands stories as well but he fails to resolve them satisfactorily. Controversial issues The Islamic positions on many issues such as status of women, permission of polygamy, unacceptability of shirk (polytheism), and jihad is often misunderstood and is the subject of controversy. In his stories Khairabadi has convincingly presented the Islamic viewpoint. The story Apne Markaz ki Taraf (Towards Salvation) presents the plight of women under western culture; where double burden is put on them. They are compelled to lead the life appropriate to an individual fully engaged in economic pursuits; at the same time they are subjected to exploitation due to feminine weaknesses. Mrs. Michael, the character of this story says in her speech delivered in Womans Land, In the bygone era, man worked as gard as a horse. At the end of the day, the horse was able to earn some money. The cart-owner fed him and massaged his limbs to revive him for another days toil. But now man has captured the cart himself and has put the women in the horses place. The poor woman, in her new role of horse is not even fed by the man. She is expected to feed herself and to make herself ready for another days toil. Man holds on to the reigns firmly and never gets down from the cart; lest the woman may wake up and again bind him to the horses position. To mention another issue, one may recall that in Islamic culture, a widow is expected to remarry. In many circumstances, the widow remarriage is made easier if polygamy is permitted. Mayal Khairabadi has touched on this issue in the story Meri Saas (My mother in law). The elderly lady entertained the gathering of young girls at her home who were the friends of her daughter in law. The talk turned to the exemplary bravery shown by the companions of the prophet and their fondness for martyrdom. The lady said, The companions knew very well that if they were killed in jihad, their household would not remain helpless.

According to the prophets teachings, no widow was condemned to live unmarried. Irrespective of whether she was rich or poor, pretty or plain; she was sure to get a husband. Immediately after the expiry of the mandatory period of iddat, proposals were received by such a widowed lady. She and her children were well taken care of. The step father did not mistreat them. Islam was thus able to solve a crucial social problem. Women in hostile environment According to Mayal Khairabadi, the Muslim woman should be able to model her immediate environment in accordance with Islamic values. He has created characters who successfully carried out this task. One such character introduced by Khairabadi is that of the newlywed young woman called Bushra. She presided over a small household consisting of her husband and her husbands young sister. Bushra was immensely perturbed by her husbands behaviour. He was a devoted husband but did not offer regular prayers. What is even more shocking is that he supplemented his income by bribe and called it, overtime. Khairabadi has described the experiences of the young woman Bushra in the story Bushra ke Khutoot (Letters of Bushra). Bushra regularly wrote to her elder sister, explained her problems and asked for advice. According to her sisters advice Bushra patiently undertook a program for reforming her household; she started teaching her young sister in law and persuaded her husband to read Islamic literature. As for bribe money, she did not spend it and securely kept it separate. Gradually, under her sisters wise guidance, Bushras efforts succeeded. Her husband became a pious Muslim; distributed all the money earned as bribe, among the poor and leaving his service started his own business, strictly according to the Islamic principles. Bushras success story inspires readers, men and women alike. A similar character created by Khairabadi is Dulhan Bhabhi. She was a friend to younger girls, gave them advice when needed and taught them Islamic values. She remained brave and committed to Islam even in difficult and adverse circumstances. The character of Dulhan Bhabhi is in many ways similar to that of Chhoti Bahu created by another famous writer Ibn e Fareed. Of the two however, Dulhan Bhabhi seems to be more successful. Men who braved danger Mayal Khairabadis fiction also presents us with brave and capable male characters who were committed to Islamic values. They faced difficulties and fought against adverse circumstances but did not compromise on principles. Four such characters may be mentioned. One is the fictional Ibn Batuta in Hamara Ibn Batuta. Another character is the son of the above character described in Ibn Batuta ka Beta. A third character is Hatim introduced by Khairabadi in the novelette Aaj ka Hatim (Todays Hatim). June 2012 12

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Yet another character is described in the story Naqli Shehzada (the duplicate prince). Noori exchanged places with prince Noor so that the prince could be saved from the evil schemes of his uncle the de facto ruler. Ultimately Noori and Noor, with the help of their loyal friends, were able to defeat the cruel uncles designs and prince Noor emerged victorious. These characters come alive under the capable pen of Khairabadi and are able to capture the attention of teenagers. These characters are not dull and colourless; rather they lead active lives full of drama and adventure. Hatim, for instance demonstrates his detective abilities and bravely overcomes all odds. The fictional Ibn Batuta walks through dense forests, faces wild animals, swims in rivers, crosses wide deserts and fight dacoits. At the same time, he is kind and compassionate. He saves the life of a young girl and gives water to a thirsty dog. Besides all this, the fictional Ibn Batuta is also a committed Muslim. He explains the Islamic beliefs and teachings to all people he meets; in direct and simple language. The young readers of Khairabadis fiction find it easy to identify with such characters; who combine moral virtue with manliness. Child characters Mayal Khairabadis speciality was his writings for children. He created child characters who gradually matured into responsible adults. One such character is of child Rashad in the novel Heere ka Jigar (the heart of diamond). The novel demonstrates the versatility of its writer; it combines romance, detection and adventure. The interplay of human emotions is described vividly and graphically. The portrayal of the behaviour of Indian police is superb. However the main attraction of this work is the successful depiction of child psychology, through the character of Rashad. At an early age Rashad saved the life of another young child. Rashad demonstrated the natural innocence of childhood on many occasions and revealed his feelings without any inhibitions. He was a good student, interested in arts and hobbies and innocent of any deception. The child therefore could achieve what elders could not. He was able to melt the apparently inert hearts of hardened criminals. Another child character is described by Khairabadi in the story Jannati Bachcha (Child in Paradise). The child dreams that he is in paradise. He is welcomed by the angel Rizwan. They talk about paradise, its attractions and the way of life which leads to it. Rizwan told the little one that the secret to success (i.e. entry to paradise) was acquisition of knowledge which enables man to please God. This knowledge is available in Quran and Hadith. The task is straight forward. Know Allahs guidance and follow it sincerely, in order to enter the paradise. Mini stories for children Khairabadi popularised short stories just one or two

pages long. They appeal to children especially the very young ones where attention span is not very large. These stories can easi ly be transformed to cartoon stories. Based on simple plots, the stories focus on just one point. Simplicity of narration is of course a necessary condition for the success of such stories. One series of such stories is Allu, Mallu aur Hum. The title is self explanatory. The three child characters in the story are Allu, Mallu and the narrator. Simple sentences which are repeated (often thrice) make the stories easy to read, recite and recall. Inspire of simple plots, the stories succeed in conveying their lessons. These characters can be further developed by other writers who may follow the footsteps of Mayal Khairabadi. An example of Allu, Mallu stories conveys the lesson that the prophet prohibited bird fights as sport. The story goes as follows:
There was Allu, there was Mallu, there was I. Allu had a chicken as a pet. Mallu had a chicken as a pet. I had a chicken as a pet. Allu said, Let there be a chicken fight. Mallu said, Let there be a chicken fight. I said, No. Allu asked, Why not? Mallu asked, Why not? I replied, Because prophet prohibited it. Allu said, There will be no chicken fight. Mallu said, There will be no chicken fight. I was glad.

One may notice that the narration follows on smoothly, proceeding naturally and inevitably towards its climax. Literary criticisms While editing the magazine Hijab, Khairabadi used to receive queries on various subjects. One of the subjects was the Islamic guidance on literary criticism. In this correspondence and elsewhere, Khairabadi has identified the following three principles of judging good literature: a) Literary output should be inspired by healthy objectives b) The style should conform to accepted standards of good writing, should be interesting rather than dull and should respect norms of decency. c) The content should reflect depth of observation as well as commitment to human values. While depicting human situations, one must try to capture reality as it is; at the same time the portrayal should convey a healthy message that must triumph over evil. It would be in fitness of things if these principles are disseminated widely to the creators of fiction as well as to the reading public. June 2012 13

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LEO TOLSTOY

Leo Tolstoy
The Gnostic in literature
Saad Ahmad Farooqui
ev Nikolayevich Tolstoy is The mystique of the 19th century Russian belles-lettres, a legatee of new kind of realism in the realm of fiction, the moralist, the ascetic, the piety seeker, a Gnostic, famous for his strong advocacy to ethics through his two of sagacious literary epics,; War and Peace and Anna Kerenina. By these two sublime literary inheritances, Leo Tolstoy has been enlisted in world's greatest novelists. He is known for his complex and paradoxical executive stand in the world of literature. He is figured as a moral thinker of prolific literary occupations with selfless social concern. His ethical determination got the power from the teaching of the Christ, surrounding Sermon of the Mount made him in his later life a Christian Anarchist. His ideas of nonviolence resistance also produced waves of reformist legacy in a time of monstrous penetration of Colonial narrations. Gandhi and Martin Luther are two of great majestic figures who received a gigantic inspiration from Tolstoy's ideas of nonviolence and represented them through a shrewd sociopolitical vision for their society, these two figures emerged as redeemer for enslaved conscience of social sensibilities as they tried to break the rules of evil, fear, dark and capricious narrations of Zulm under the hand of colonisers, both external and internal; conscience-based and powerbased. Tolstoy's sterling emancipatory belief and its ups and downs are not motivated by any avenging attitude but by spiritual awakening for a just cause. He tried to delink the thread of violence from society not by any oratory eloquence or by any political conjuring or by any unfathomable political vision or qualitative measurement but by his literary articulations which itself revealed by his spiritual awakening. Leo Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, Central Russia, he was gentle and genteel by birth as his father was a veteran of patriotic war of 1812. Due to lack of pedagogical instructions, he left the school in the middle of his age, after his father's death he went to join
Saad Ahmed Farooqui is pursuing his MPhil in West Asian Studies from Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi

the army, later he determined for an European sojourn, between 1860 to 1861, during this sojourn, his intellectual interaction with Victor Hugo, Pierre Joseph Proudhon disclosed his literary knack and his fascination to literature revolving around social issues. He observed the root cause of social injustice rests in absence of common education. He is figured as the greatest novelist of Russian literature. His famous works includes War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Hadji Murad, the Death of Ivan Ilyich, and The Kingdom of God is within You. We will see his two major works; War and Peace and Anna Kerenina War and Peace is an epic, it is full of two novelistic approaches invented by Tolstoy himself; a new principle of length with a constant flavour of irony and enjoyable detail. Such as a doctor in a bloodstained apron came out of the tent, holding a cigar between the thumb and little finger of one of his bloodstained hands to keep the blood off it. His second approach to express is the way he breaks into narrative, introducing historical essays. War and Peace is a novel with a lucid demarcation of French invasion of Russia, the influences of Napoleonic era on Tsarist society. Tolstoy implicitly suggested that it is not a novel, merely, because large section of the book is a philosophical debate rather than a narrative. Tolstoy borrowed the name of the novel from Proudhon's La Guerre et la Paix (War and Peace in French), this novel is a story of five aristocratic families and the entanglement of their personal life with the history of his time. He determined to write what he saw as the Decembrist movement in 1812 Napoleonic invasion of Russia. Novel June 2012 14

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contains character of elites who are occupied with their day to day routine chores of their social standard, the tangible dealing of the novel is set to graph Napoleonic front which, naturally, awakens national aesthetics as well. The interaction of the characters is surrounded by the French invasion of Russia during Napoleonic wars. The prime meaning of the novel is realistic measurement of the standard history. Tolstoy through his discursive vision was critical of standard history especially of military history. In War and Peace he reads all standard histories available in Russian and French about the Napoleonic war and brought more traditional historical writing with a novel form (Wikipedia). His stylistic treatment with history and representing it in an inventive subjectivity is his achievement which leads to understand his practice; to blur the line between history and fiction is the sign of his genuineness. The paradoxical in the context of his novel is that there are almost 160 real persons referred in the novel, to get the pure meaning of his imagination he put himself to hundreds of researches, journals and autobiographical and biographical materials which are rarely seen in any fiction, critiques say that the work was benefitted from ethnography which was artistically fictionalised. His second popular masterpiece is Anna Kerenina, it is also loaded with Tolstoyan style of realism, Tolstoy believes that his first novel in a sense of novel is Anna Kerenina. It is a tragedy of a married and socialite Anna Kerenina and her affair with a rich Count Vronsky. Anna Kerenina is a married woman and mother of a young boy but she loves another guy named Vronsky and become pregnant with his child, later she tries to dwell with her lover Vronsky but she pays a heavy price from the side of social convections, consequently she succumb herself to felo-de-se, on the other hand, the simultaneous reeling of Kitty and Kevin's love story reaches to a happy marriage. The

His stylistic treatment with history and representing it in an inventive subjectivity is his achievement which leads to understand his practice; to blur the line between history and fiction is the sign of his genuineness.
theme of the novel includes adultery, jealous, faith, loyalty, family, society, hypocrisy, marriage, progress, carnal desires, and agrarian connection to land in contrast to the lifestyle of the city (Wikipedia). Tolstoy's construction of the story creates a natural ambience to be inspired and to look for moral bases in the Russian society. Anna Kerenina's common message goes on the idea that no one can bring happiness on the cost of other's pain. Through the novel, he also addressed the malady of divorce in his time, viable in the ugliest form before the revolution in Russian society. To sum up, we well say that War and Peace became a masterpiece due to its antique literary and methodological technique which flushes the arbitrary and capricious historical narration in standard history; in spite of pivotal treatment of the novel with philosophical debate we do not lose fascination, of feeling the revealed words of Tolstoy. Thus, he addressed the literary hegemony in a palpable subjective mood. Anna Kerenina is also a tangible presentation of the already prevailed social attitude toward. The flavour of the address to readers is rooted in social norms which captures the meaning of the fidelity, prejudice and cardinal desires and cages the happy life in the golden cloak of sincerity, dedication, love and submission.
1. Thiriwell, Adam. A masterpiece in miniature. The Guardian, Saturday, October, 2005. Further readings: R F Christian, Tolstoy: A Critical Introduction, CUP Archive, 1969. Harold Bloom,Janyce Marson, Leo Tolstoy, Blooms Modern Critical Views, Infobase Publication, 2003. K. Feuer, R.F. Miller, T. Orwing (eds.) Tolstoy and the Genesis of War and Peace, Cornell University Press, 2008.

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FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

Dostoevsky
Conscious of the unconscious
SM Fasiullah
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. William Shakespeare iterature and psychology are related, as both adopt as one of their goals the better understanding of overt behaviour and the mental life of individuals. Shakespeare said that we humans play many roles in our lives. It is possible due to ability of human brain, which tunes the body (or behaviour) to various situations. While a fictional writer creates fictitious characters with distinct personality types taking impressions from the society, psychologist attempts to understand personalities and behaviour of individuals in a real environment. Fictional narratives provide direct access to a character's thoughts and deepest feelings, helping the reader to understand the personality. Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, a renowned novelist often considered the greatest literary psychologist, never ceased to show how inadequate our usual ideas of intention are. To be a human being among human beings, and remain one forever, no matter what misfortunes befall, not to become depressed, and not to falter this is what life is, herein lies its task, Dostoevsky wrote in his work 'The Brothers Karamazov'. Dostoevsky is the author of famous novels such as Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, The Double, and The Idiot. His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual context of 19th century Russian society. In addition, his works carries impressions from his povertystricken troubled life. Dostoevsky became an orphan at the age of 16, faced a death sentence, spent time in a Siberian penal colony, served in the Russian army, struggled against a gambling addiction, and lived through the deaths of his brother, first wife and, later, his three-year-old son. His own troubled life enabled him to portray with deep sympathy characters that are emotionally and spiritually downtrodden. They epitomise, in many cases, the traditional Christian conflict between the body and the soul. He said in a letter to his brother: Life is in ourselves and not in the external. His works grapple with deep social, political and religious issues, while delving into the often tortured psychology of characters.

Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment novel is a psychological thriller set in St Petersburg in the second half of the 19th century. It is a story of a desperate young murderer caught in a web of his own guilt. Raskolnikov is a poverty-stricken student living among the fetid alleyways and crumbling tenements of St Petersburg. Intense and highly intelligent, Raskolnikov believes he is among a class of men destined for greatness and as such is permitted to breach 'normal' moral values. He disdains the rest of humanity as fit merely to perpetuate the species and considers himself to be part of an elite superman echelon and can consequently transgress accepted moral standards for higher purposes such as utilitarian good. He decides to test his courage and integrity by killing a pawnbroker. The murder, however, only serves to draw Raskolnikov into a nightmare world in which he is dogged by guilt, paranoia and alienation. A wily investigator Porfiry sets up a complex series of traps, encounters and conversations to catch him. Raskolnikov finally confesses his crime to a police official, due to that he receives a reduced sentence of eight years of hard labour in Siberia, instead of a death sentence. Raskolnikov, whose name means 'schismatic' or 'divided' in Russian language. His most fundamental character trait is his alienation from human society. Raskolnikov remains as proud and alienated from humanity as he was before his confession. Dostoevsky writes in the novel: Illness, delirium, amnesia, but why were you haunted by just those delusions and not by any others? However, the guilt that torments him after he murders Alyona Ivanovna and Lizaveta and his recurring faintness at the mention of the murders serve as proof to him that he is not made of the same stuff as a true superman such as Napoleon. As far as Dostoevsky's works are concerned, Scottish poet Edwin Muir said: Dostoyevsky wrote of the unconscious as if it were conscious; that is in reality the reason why his characters seem 'pathological', while they are only visualised more clearly than any other figures in imaginative literature... He was in the rank in which we set Dante, Shakespeare and Goethe. Elevating the stature of Dostoevsky, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said Dostoevsky is the only psychologist from whom he has anything to learn. Crime and Punishment is an in-depth exploration of the psychology of a criminal. The inner world of Raskolnikov, with all of its doubts, deliria, second-guessing, fear and despair is the heart of the story. The novel is perhaps based on assumption that man only commits crime (and sin) under the hormonal influence (?), but when that gets neutralised he feels, in normal case, sorry about his behaviour or act. In conclusion, it can be said that we can lie to ourselves to all the extent, but ultimately only the truth can set us free. Telling out truth gives us peace of mind, especially when the lie in question eats at our soul. In such a situation, even harsh consequences can't outweigh.

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GEORGE ORWELL

George Orwell
The king of allegories
Syed Kazim
nimal Farm makes satirical allegories of the totalitarian communism of Soviet Russia. The novel is regarded as one of the all time bests ever written by any author. 'Animal Farm' is a novel of betrayed revolution. It presents the corruption that followed the revolution led by Lenin. In 'Animal Farm', the characters are animals and human beings. Among the animals, many of them are pigs, who are more often than not rulers. Apart from pigs, we see three main horses, a donkey, a goat, some puppies, rats, a sheep, a raven, a cat and hens. The main action of 'Animal Farm' stands for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of the Soviet Union. In the book the author clearly descri bes Animalism is really Communism. The corruption of absolute power is a major theme in 'Animal Farm'. Orwell's goal in writing 'Animal Farm' was to speak out against Russian Communism and show how communist rulers were ruling. 'Animals Farm' tells the simple and tragic story of what happens when the oppressed farm animals rebel, drive out Mr. Jones, the farmer and attempt to rule the farm themselves, on an 'equal' basis. It is basically the story of communism told in the setting of a farm. The animals, led by pigs revolt against the cruel human farm owner, one pig takes over and tries to turn the farm with guidelines to prevent animals from ever becoming like man, but he's chased out by another pig who is power hungry and cruel. The pig begins to manipulate and brainwash the other animals while slowly turning into the same type of persons that the owner originally was and the farm starts a rather unpleasant downfall. What the animals seem to have aimed at was a utopian sort of communism, where each would work according to his capacity, and would receive according to his needs. The venture failed, and 'Animal Farm' ended up being a dictatorship of pigs, who were brightest and most idle of the animals. On a larger scale, 'Animal Farm' is viewed as an allegory for the rise and decline of socialism in the Soviet Union and the emergence of the totalitarian regime of Joseph Stalin. The book is an insightful and relevant exploration of
Syed Kazim is PR Secretary Of SIO, Karnataka zone. Email: syedkazim_123@yahoo.co.in

human nature as well as political systems and social behaviour. After its translation into Russian, it was banned by Stalin's government in all Soviet ruled areas. Orwell has argued that though in early days of revolution it was recognised that all animals are equal, it soon paved way to the dictum that pigs are more equal than others. All animals are supposed to be of the same class, but in reality, some animals are of superior class. Orwell did not use the traditional methods of writing books. 'Animal Farm' is considered to be a classic because it teaches a lesson in an entertaining way. Because Animal Farm was written in a comical, satirical, allegorical and entertaining form and it opposed the Russian Communism at the same time. George Orwell used animals to add more humour to his satire and to represent different people involved in the Russian Revolution. Along with adding humour to Animal Farm, the animals also amplified the satire and its nature. The moral of 'Animal Farm' is dark because it mocks the leaders of Russia that ruled during the Russian Revolution and proves a serious flaw that numerous humans have, but 'Animal Farm' is not considered too imposing or offensive because George Orwell cleverly presented it. In 'Animal Farm', George Orwell also showed a characteristic of satire by trying to get the working class of Russia to change the way it behaved and to oppose its rulers. In a society where people have no voice, if the ruling body with privileges such as special education, luxury and titles, has absolute power, this will lead to total corruption and disintegration of values. Every time a satire is written, the author has a purpose in mind that he tries to convey to the reader. Since the aim of satire is to criticise the object of attack, teaching a moral indirectly with a humorous tone, in the Animal Farm, the author uses animals instead of human beings and places his animals in human situations. Hence, Orwell is able to attack on the political ideas he is contemptuous of and entertains the reader at the same time. For example, through 'Animal Farm', George Orwell showed how the Russian rulers were selfish and cruel. He does not like or agree with the way that the Russian Government was running the country. 'Animal Farm' also opposed the Russian leaders because it depicted what would happen if those rulers were approved. George Orwell June 2012 17

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GEORGE ORWELL
degraded the Russian dictators especially Stalin by having pigs represent them. He also satirised Stalin and Trotsky by having Napoleon and Snowball, the pigs that represent Stalin and Trotsky, lead the working animals selfishly and deviously. Ironically on the sheer power of brutal dogs Napolean (i.e. Stalin) successfully drove out Snowball (i.e. Trotsky) from the farm. When there is no equality and freedom for the architects of revolution then what would be the situation for lay men (or animal for that matter). Along with making fun of the Russian rulers, George Orwell also emphasised on human-faults. He pointed out that those with power will use the power deceitfully to make themselves greater, and it will demoralise them. The method in which George Orwell addressed the condition of humans possessing power was astonishing, and it drew great attention to his concern with the use of power. In order to exemplify the issue, George Orwell had pigs take power, distort all the laws they made, and force everything to work for their desires without caring about the animals that worked arduously to fulfil their orders. In the area of dealing with power, George Orwell tried to have the leaders become aware of how they ruled because he believed that the leaders should have been capable of ruling with more equality. Also in 'Animal Farm', George Orwell satirically illustrated that human abuse power, and he intended the readers recognise the problem that we have when it comes to possessing power. George Orwell was trying to convey the message to the working class that they were at a disadvantage and would be oppressed if they did not speak against the ruling class. This message was communicated through 'Animal Farm' when the labouring animals' lives became harsh after the pigs took complete control over everything that the labouring animals did and earned. George Orwell realised that if animals became mindful of the might that they possess, humans would not be able to overrule them. In the novel, Orwell has showed that he believed the public should act together and become aware of their strength. He indirectly instructed them to be conscious of what orders they accepted from the ruling class and not to automatically take in everything that they were told. In 'Animal Farm', George Orwell encouraged the working class to be bold enough to oppose their oppressors. George Orwell thought that if the working class stood apart from its unfair rulers, they would be mistreated less and have more freedom. When the working animals ignorantly allowed the pigs to take advantage of them, George Orwell demonstrated what the consequences are when people with no power follow all the orders of the powerful, even when the powerless are being mistreated. By writing Animal Farm as a satire and using the pigs with their outrageous method of ruling the other animals, George Orwell was able to communicate a convincing and enlightening message

that the Russian rulers were taking full advantage of the labouring class without empowering them as was promised. George Orwell mentions Karl Marx as the Old Pig who framed the principles of revolution. George Orwell displayed irony by having the pigs that took dictatorship over the other animals completely reverse Old Major's principles and do the opposite of what Old Major told them to do. This irony ridiculed the Russian leaders because it compared the pigs' absurd authority to the actions of the Russian leaders. Instead of the animals trying to unite together against man, the pigs with power misled the animals so that the power hungry pigs could reap all the benefits of being in command. These examples of irony make the Russian rulers look dishonest in the way that they led their people. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely and this is vividly and eloquently proved in Orwell's short novel. 'Animal Farm' is a simple fable of great symbolic value, and as Orwell himself explained, It is the history of a revolution that went wrong. The novel can be seen as the analysis of the causes of the failure of communism, or as a mere fairy tale; in any case it tells a good story that aims to prove that human nature and diversity prevent people from being equal and happy, or at least equally happy. In 'Animal Farm', Orwell describes how power turned the pigs from simple comrades to ruthless dictators who managed to walk on two legs and carry whips. The story may be seen as an analysis of the Soviet Regime, or as a warning against political power games of an absolute nature and totalitarianism in general. For this reason, the story ends with a hair-raising warning to all humankinds, The creatures outside looked from pig to man and from man to pig and from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which was which. It is perhaps the most heart-wrenching scene in the entire novel, and yet the language is simple and unsentimental. Not a word is wasted in the passage. We do not get descriptions of how the animals' hearts went out to Boxer or how they panicked when they realised he was about to turn into glue. Instead, we simply learn that they thought of closing the farm gate too late. We do not get any moralising on what happened to Boxer or any tearjerker descriptions of how his loss affected the other animals. All we learn is that he was never seen again. In many ways, the simplicity of Orwell's writing makes it that much more powerful. One thing that differentiates this book from the others is the representation of different sectors of human beings with animals. Generally pigs are considered to be the most shameless animals on the face of the earth, even worse than dogs and Orwell represents the leaders who misuse their power as pigs. (continued on p.8) June 2012 18

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AYN RAND

Ayn Rand
The conflict between imagination and reality
Syed Homaed
orn in St. Petersburg, Russia on Feb 2, 1905 Ayn Rand has been called a towering figure in the 20th century literature and is referred to not only as a novelist but also as a philosopher. Ayn Rands writings have inspired millions of youngsters around the globe, who have learnt about the sacrosanct-individualliberty from her writings. It is up to the readers, however, to decide if such individual liberty could be mistaken for non-cooperation or disobedience at times. Surprisingly, one of Rands books is named The Virtue of Selfishness, while the dictionary meaning of the word virtue would be any admirable quality or attribute or the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong or even a particular moral excellence. No doubt Ayn Rand had been a bestseller. Her novels had superb imagination, admirable plots, daring heroes and characters that showed enormous thoughtfulness. Rands heroes also have complete insoluble commitment to principles as one would desire. Having mastered the style of bringing situations around her characters and characters for almost all situations, Rand was perhaps also able to make her readers believe that situations her characters entered were close to practicality, or also that responses her heroes gave were valid or desirable. Consider the example from an encounter between architect Howard Roark and the Dean in The Fountainhead. The Dean is stubborn in convincing an unconvinced Howard Roark that although he is a very brilliant student as per the academic records he must admire and adopt the past architectural forms like a Renaissance villa, or an old picture of Parthenon but not admire the modernist architecture. So how does he go about that? The Dean, sitting in his office, tells Roark, But do you realise what a passing fancy that whole so-called modern movement is? You must learn to understand and it has been proved by all authorities that everything beautiful in
Syed Homaed is an M.Phil scholar of Latin American Studies in Jamia Millia Islamia. Email: udgiri@hotmail.com

architecture has been done already. There is a treasure mine in every style of the past. We can only choose from the great masters. Who are we to improve upon them? We can only attempt, respectfully, to repeat. The Dean is (shown) defending the past by value statements which would not be expected of a dean anywhere, leave aside his office. The differences in the styles of their arguing can also be noticed. On the particular modern style admired by Roark and adopted by him in all his career designs, the dean even asks, My dear fellow, who will let you? or in the end says, All the proper forms of expression have been discovered long ago. Now, is that what a Dean of the famous architecture school claim in the fiction supposed to be close to reality, also coming from a writer advocating objectivism? Rands characters come with qualities or traits that she seems to present as admirable, but one may find nothing admirable in those features if they come accompanying behavioural problems or attitudinal challenges, especially if the fiction is supposed to be closer to reality and motivating truth. Roark is presented as highly intelligent and idealist person. But Roark comes with some personal defects like intransigency and egoism. Objectivism is a central concept in Rands philosophy and introduced to wider English readership through her novels. Today it can be contested regarding the very ethical concerns and the issue of rights of man advocated in Rands writings. In the Virtue of Selfishness Rand writes: Rights are a moral concept the concept that provides logical transition from the principles guiding and individuals actions to the principles guarding his relationship with others the concept that preserve and protects individual morality in a social context the link between the moral code of a man and the legal code of a society. She further argues, Every political system is based on some code of ethics. One may pause here to ask if morals and ethical codes are objective principles to her, or how does she manage to argue on objectivism and morals and ethics together? There is still more for a curious person or an academician to explore logical, practical and ideological problems in Ayn Rand.

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June 2012 19

NAGUIB MAHFOUZ

Naguib Mahfouz
The Shakespeare of Arabia
Mahboob Thaha
aguib Mahfouz, a name that rings the ears of anybody interested in Arabic literature and which cannot be ignored by any student of Arabic literature in particular and the literature world across the globe in general. He was even popular among the people who did not have any kind of relation with the world of literature. His life and works have indeed influenced the literature world with its lively commentary on the sociopolitical scenario of the Arab world. His ability and literary skill was recognised by the world when he was bestowed with the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. He was also awarded the Egyptian state prize twice for his writings. He also received the Presidential Medal from the American University in Cairo. The University also awarded him an honorary doctorate in June 1995. Early life and education Naguib Mahfouz was born in 11th Dec 1911 in a Muslim family in the al-Gamaleyya quarter of Cairo. In 1924 his family has to move to el-Abbaseyya, a new suburb of Cairo. Both the places al-Gamaleyya and al-Abbaseyya provided the background for his early writings. He spent his first nine or ten years in al-Gamaleyya which plays an active role in his novels such as 'Midaq Alley' and the 'Cairo Trilogy'. The alley of his childhood is a kind of microcosm of Egyptian society in his works. The family house also seems to have inspired Mahfouz and it serves as a model for his concept of house in his 'Cairo Trilogy'. He was a voracious reader during his childhood and his mother often took him to museums. This intervention in his life by his mother caused Naguib to take interest in history and thus we can find history as a major theme in his works. Besides this he was brought up in a strictly Islamic atmosphere. Naguib Mahfouz was deeply affected by the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 as he often saw the cruelty and brutality of the Egyptian police in front of his eyes. The revolution for the first time also left a real sense of nationalist feeling which greatly influenced his writings. He projected Egyptian Nationalism in many of his works. He was also attracted to socialist and democratic ideals early on in his youth. He strongly criticised Muslim brotherhood and its activities and
Mahboob Thaha is pursuing his MPhil in West Asian Studies. Email: mahboob2in@gmail.com

made a contrast between the merits of socialism and demerits of Islamism. He was of the opinion that Islamism is not suitable for all times. Naguib Mahfouz had good acquaintance with Sayyid Qutub who himself was an excellent author. Sayyid Qutub later on used his literary and intellectual ski ll to promote the ideas of Muslim Brotherhood. Mahfouz had shown his discontent with the works of Sayyid Qutub after his joining of the Muslim Brotherhood in his semi-autobiographical novel, 'Mirrors' in which he drew a very negative picture of Sayyid Qutub. In 1934 he graduated from King Fouad University (presently the University of Cairo). His interest in philosophy was partly influenced by the writings of Abbas al-Aqqad. In 1936, he decided to enter into the world of writing. He started contributing as a journalist at ar-Risala, al-Hilal and al-Ahram. He also served in civil service in the Ministry of Religious affairs and also the Ministry of Mortmain Endowments. Views, writing style and themes His publications and works include 34 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of music scripts and five plays over a 70-year long career. Egyptian films have been made on his works. He was also a board member of the publishers 'Daral-Ma'arif'. Some of his famous works are, Whisper of Madness (1938), Mockery of the Fates (1939), Rhadopis of Nubia (1943), The Struggle of Thebes (1944), Modern Cairo (1945), Khan El-Khalili (1945), Midaq Alley (1947), Children of Gebelawi (1959, Adrift on the Nile (1966), Miramar (1967), Mirrors (1972), The Harafish (1977) etc. In the beginning of his writing career the works like 'Abath al-Ahkdar' (Mockery of the fates), 'Rhadopis', and 'Kifah Tabah' (The struggle of Thebes) were all set in alGamaleyya. Mahfouz wanted to follow the footsteps of Sir Walter Scott in covering the whole history of Egypt in a book series. However Mahfouz's interest deviated during the compilation of the third volume to the psychological impact of the social change on ordinary people. During the 1950's his famous June 2012 20

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NAGUIB MAHFOUZ
work that took birth before the July Revolution was the 'Cairo Trilogy'. The themes of the Cairo Trilogy were cantered on the parts of Cairo where he grew up. After the completion of the 'Trilogy' he ceased writing for a while and then began again in 1952 after Nasser's regime came to power. One of his famous and popular novels is Tharthur Fawq al-Nil (Chatter on the Nile) which was made into a film during Anwar Sadat's regime. The film showcases the degradation of the society during Nasser's regime and so it was banned by Anwar Sadat to avoid provocation of Egyptians who still loved former president Nasser. The most controversial work of Naguib Mahfouz must be the 'The Children of Gebelawi' also known as the 'Children of our Alley'. It was banned in Egypt for its portrayal of God. It also portrayed the patriarch Gebelawi and his children, average Egyptians living the lives of Cain and Abel; Moses, Jesus and Mohammed. The 1960s and 1970's Mahfouzs works enjoyed free construction and the beginning of use of interior monologues. He developed a kind of multiple first person narration in his works called 'Miramar'. Many of his novels were first published in serialised form. His stories contain characters that live in the heavily populated urban quarters of Cairo who try to assimilate into the modern trends and the tempting values of the west. Naguib Mahfouzs works contains the tripartite relationship between power, time and the Egyptian individual and he never lost his interest in it. He was also very restless to innovate literature by trying out new forms and genres. He conducted different range of experimentation of diverse quality and durability. The writing style of Naguib Mahfouz consists of structures that sometimes put the readers in a state of confusion or the story doesn't go the way the reader thinks. According to Trilogy translator William Hutchins, What I learned from translating the Trilogy, in a nutshell, is that Mahfouz writes a tricky sentence... There are often little twists, little surprises; the sentence does not end up where you thought it was heading. Naguib Mahfouzs language was not the colloquial tongue spoken by the Egyptians in everyday life. But going through Mahfouz's literary Arabic the reader feels the colloquial touch in his writings. Humanity or human touch also is expressed in Mahfouz's works. After beginning his career by writing on ancient Egypt he continued to tell the stories of the modern Cairo. His second novel gives a good picture of human pain, degradation and the tyranny of social relations. Mahfouz also utilised Western literature to suit his own purposes. The European style of novels highlights the extreme form of madness that follow when love goes wrong. But Mahfouz's works of such type are firmly grounded to the moral principles of Egyptian society. The

difference between Arab and European culture was very clear throughout his novels and short stories. The characters in his novels also showcase the tension between the traditional and modern Islam in their lives. The Western culture acts as a catalyst in increasing the tension especially among the young generation as it comes up like a reaction to the older generation and its opposition to change. Naguib Mahfouzs novels also depict the character and behaviour of the Egyptian Muslims who do not oppose modernity and at the same time are not too much inclined towards traditional practices. The complex situation that prevails in post colonial Egypt which expresses religion, symbols of change and modernity are much alive in his novels such as 'Children of Gebelaawi' and 'Midaq Alley'. Translation of his works In December 1985, a comprehensive publishing agreement was signed between American University of Cairo and Naguib Mahfouz to publish English translations of his work and they were also given all the rights of translation. Before the awarding of the Nobel Prize in 1988 the press had already published nine novels of Mahfouz in English. Mahfouz has himself admitted that these translations played a crucial role in impacting and influencing the world wide readers of literature and which eventually lead him to the gaining of Nobel Prize. Controversies Naguib Mahfouz was not spared of controversies during his lifetime. His support for Anwar Sadat's Camp David peace treaty with Israel in 1978 landed him in banning of his books in many Arab countries until the awarding of Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. Also his stands against Ayatollah Khomeini for declaring death sentence for Salman Rushdie also led to the building up of dissent against him. Although he didn't support Rushdie he was against the issuing of a fatwa against Rushdie. His support for the freedom of expression in the case of Salman Rushdie almost even took his life as an assassination was attempted from which he narrowly escaped. He again sustained injuries in July 2006 from a fall. He remained ill until his death on 30th August 2006. Before his death, Naguib Mahfouz was the oldest living Nobel Laureate and the only Arabic language writer to have won the Nobel Prize. June 2012 21

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for Truth
Mirza Kamran Baig
n one of the obscure places of Mumbai, surrounded by the mangroves of Arabian seas and the foothills of sayadries Suraj, an above average young school student, lived with his father Shashank who was a chemical engineer and mother Poonam an engineering graduate who worked in the IT firm in the vicinity of their house. Suraj was described by his acquaintances as always curious, often questioning, looking for reasons, sometimes perplexed with deep thought, always not easily convinced. He had great admirations for his father who was believed by him to be a rational man. Very few among his acquaintances were able to convince him, often they would snub him and he hated them for that. sometimes he felt very sceptical about few of the whereabouts of his parents as well. He asks Papa why do we bow to this stone father with a smile, Beta they are our creator and they give us everything, so we bow and thank them But papa we have purchased this from a sculptor uncle... didnt we?? And we always keep sweets in front of him and he never keeps any thing for us... father with a surprised look... Beta you are too young you will understand when you grow up. Not satisfied with this response he tried asking many times at other occasions but never got a satisfactory response. His friends always warned him for posing such confusing questions. Once He asked his classmate did you believe in god He replied, Yes I do puja every day. Even I have his photograph in my pocket. But how can you ask from this photograph asked Suraj. This is how I saw my parents replied his classmate uneasily. The religiosity trend was highly polytheistic where Suraj grew up, He saw various confusions in the jargons used by the protagonists of his faith. This had made very far reaching impact on him unconsciously, he was declared provocative by the Pujaris and his teachers for the daring questions he posed. It was time for Ganesha festival. Ganesha festival is one of the most popular festivals in Mumbai and across Maharashtra. Initially Ganesha was started by Lokmanya Tilak for showing solidarity of Hindu Maratha. Today almost all the Hindu communities with the process of gentrification of gods have adopted this ritual. As usual Surajs father brought the idol for keeping it for 3 days. There are different days allocated, some bring it for 3, some for 5 some for 7
Mirza Kamran Baig is working as a Software Engineer. Email: mkb114@gmail.com

and final submersion is at 10th day. Suraj once again inquired Why this idol has elephant head?? Father begins, See beta he is son of our god Shiva and Parvati. Shiva beheaded him by mistake, but couldnt find his head, so he took the head of elephant and fixed it to Ganesha The intelligent boy quickly asked before his father could complete. But papa if Shiva and Parvati then; why did they did not get Ganeshas head?? And if Ganesha is god then why did he did not get his own head? And why did Shiva killed the innocent elephant for head? And why did Shiva cut someones head without seeing and knowing if he is god?? Father was dumbfounded by his sons outrageous questions. Deeply confused he exclaimed angrily, Suraj enough is enough. You are behaving too irreligiously and defaming gods. You will get hell for it. Dont even dare next time. Father left. Shashank and Poonam were very worried about their sons pungent questions and his behaviour; they couldnt sleep that night and discussed measures to overcome his sons difficulties. Poonam said, Can we take him to Maha Guru Swami Gopal Raj? Shashank agreed to the idea and it was decided for Sunday. Maha Guru Swami Gopal Raj is regarded as most intelligent and convincing guru who had lakhs of followers across the city. It was difficult to get a personal appointment with him, but luckily Shashank got a 15 minutes appointment with Guruji. Shashank told Suraj, beta about gods whatever question you have, you can ask to Guruji as I dont have complete knowledge about religion. Suraj was a bit happy in anticipation to get his answers. Guruji, who is god? Beta god is the supreme creator of this universe. then who are these 330 crore idols, whom we worship? A bit amazed Guruji replies, Beta the people who dont have knowledge on a lower level, worship so many idols but when you reach a higher level we have only one God, as it is mentioned in the shastr Ekkam evidityam (true God is one without a second). Suraj immediately replies, So why dont we directly worship him One instead of 330 crore isnt it too much. Guruji trying to look composed, Yes they are but you need not worship them all, you can worship few of them But Guruji every man with his own god, is it not dividing man Such dialogue went on for more than 50 minutes but no one can dare stop the conversation as Guruji has not given consent. Guruji tried incessantly to convince him the rationale for idol worship and multiplicity of gods but Suraj was not at all convinced at the jargons and often confused response. It was for the first time Guruji was so much stressed and sometime took long pauses before replying. The effort of Surajs parents went in vain and they felt more worried after this incident. The school in which Suraj studied was cosmopolitan and students from various religions studied there. There June 2012 22

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were few Christians and few Muslims, Majority were Gujrati and Marathi Hindus with some Sikhs also studying. Suraj was now in 10th class, One of his friend Arun brought the prasad and was distributing it to the whole class, when he offered it to Zaid, he refused to take and said smilingly, thanks Arun; but I cannot eat this. are you fasting?? No, replied Zaid I dont eat prasad. Why? surprisingly asked Arun. Suraj was also curious to know the reply, We are forbidden to eat anything in the name of idols or anyone except the name of One true God ALLAH who is our sustainer. The incident ended there but Suraj was ever eager to know more, he grew more anxious. After the class he met Zaid and asked, Can I ask you few question if you dont mind. Sure replied Zaid. Zaid, you dont eat anything in the name of other than One God. Why? Zaid replied, It is God alone who is our sustainer, he has given us everything, he created us all and the while universe, so we eat only in his name and dont worship anything created by Him like stone, mountains, snakes etc. Zaid continued, Let me explain you Suraj with a simple example, suppose I gave you a pen for use, will you thank pen or me after the use?? Surely I will thank you replied Suraj. Yes, this is what we do, God has given us everything and we thank Him and not his creations, so also we only eat in his name. Suraj was a bit convinced at this simple and logical reply of Zaid. He expected another round of complex explanations, but whatever Zaid said was simple and easily graspable. He gave a deep thought at this reply, after a long period he got someone who has given some satisfactory reply. Though Suraj did not get further chance to meet Zaid as it was almost the term end and each student got busy with 10th board exams. After getting relieved from exams, he again started thinking deeply over the questions which have troubled him for years. He couldnt come out of it, half convinced and confused as well, Surajs uneasiness grew day by day. He would not sleep at nights and keep looking at stars and the silence of night. His parents take him to pilgrimage, there again he sees the half naked sadhus diving in the waters which is also drunken by all as the Pure and sanctified. Suraj now mostly kept to himself most of the complex questions which arose in his minds. He asks his loneliness, So much dirt and filth, the sadhus bathing one side and the people drinking other side, no cleanliness seen in this water which is almost green with dirt He also has been seeing the caste hierarchy, he asks one pundit Do all the mankind has been created by god? Yes sure beta replies pundit, So why cant a shudra sit beside you and touch you? With a deep breath punditji starts explaining, Beta this is in our shastras he tried in vain to convince this curious child, for long and then gave up. He comes back to city, once while reading he comes across a pamphlet of Art of Living (AOL). Art of Living is one

of the most famous spiritual training centres started by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who has a mission of making stress free world. AOL gives different discourses on life, happiness, stress free living, social service etc. Suraj was a bit impressed at the activities mentioned at the pamphlets. He aspires to visit AOL. His father happily takes him there on a Sunday morning. The Local organiser for AOL centre there was Mahesh, who was also a Human resource manager at one of the MNCs and part time he was devoted with activities of AOL. Mahesh gave a warm welcome to father and son. Suraj ask Sir what does AOL does? With a very impressive smile Mahesh started, AOL is all about celebrating life its about discovering the energy within you... its about the sudarshan kriya and breathing techniques to liberate yourself, to relieve yourself of all stress. Patting on Surajs head, but beta you are too young to have any tensions or stressright but well dont worry we have lots of programs for students we have social service programs for you guys you will love doing it. A bit impressed Suraj joins regularly with AOL. During his stay with AOL he kept on asking the questions which he carried in his mind for years, about god, spirituality, life, meaning itself etc. But many times the AOL responses were patent you are god, god is in all, all is in god, creation and creator are one etc. What embarrassed Suraj at AOL is that they also advocated worship of idols, towards which Suraj has developed such abhorrence that it was not even possible for the AOL to convince him once again to resume worshipping them. He practiced sudarshan kriya, paid for two months course, but later he began to view it as a more confusing centre and also a good business in the name of spirituality. He once happened to visit the ISKCON centre, He saw men wearing saffron or white dhoti and a shawl with a big cloth covering the right hand with folded strand of Japa mala which is the patent of ISKCON. There every where he saw people reciting Hare rama Hare Krishna, hare hare and even welcoming and greeting guests with same words. He saw there a man sitting on a cloth on the floor and people greeting and taking his blessings. He was Balakrishnan who was the president there and a fulltime dedicated worker of ISKCON. Balakrishnan was a chemical engineer by profession but gave up his profession for ISKCON. Suraj on learning about Balakrishnan was impressed. He said curiously, My papa is also a chemical engineer, Oh thats great beta, Balakrishnan replied smilingly. Suraj: Guruji can you tell me about god? Giving a deep breath, beta first come to basics (in a bit south Indian accent) spirituality is the first step. Forget about god initially June 2012 23

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Suraj: then whets spirituality? Anything except material is spiritual, and thats reality, all else is false In order to attain spirituality we need to leave all that is material. Suraj looking at the computer placed at few distance. Guruji dont we use these computers and materials at this spiritual centre then why do we use it if we have to be spiritual? Balakrishnan paused for a moment, surprised by the boys terse question argued, Beta its time for my class your question is important, we will get back to it later... take care... nice boy. That night he sat in deep contemplation. His inner voice was convinced that there is a creator for this intelligent universe. He was also exceptionally good at science and it was science which convinced him more that there exists someone who has planned and designed this universe. The complex questions which were disturbing his mind were why did the creator create us? What purpose do we need to fulfil here? Is there anything beyond this life? In his deep contemplation he rewind all the encounters and discussions he had along last 6 years, his arguments with parents, his questions with his peers, his friends, teachers, pundits, etc. The most convincing he still believed was the simple demo of pen which Zaid explained to him. He wanted to know more about what they thought. Surprisingly in the morning Arun informed him that Zaids father had died. Suraj at once thought that this is the best opportunity to look at other side of the world. Though he and Zaid were just casual classmates not even friends but still he thought to visit the funeral procession. Suraj was eagerly watching the procession, how carefully the body was couched in coffin and then finally after a silent and respectful prayer the body was buried. At that moment he also remembered the funeral procession of his grandmother long back in his childhood, he still reckon the way the body of his favourite granny was burnt and lashes were hurled as the body started shifting up, the cloth were burnt and so the body was sometimes visible, also how the skull was blasted due to heat, he reckoned every sight of his granny , the way she was tied with straw ropes and loaded with wood, He could never forget that and always believed that it was the worst ever way to treat the dead person. Suraj was taken aback by emotions, Zaid on seeing tears in Surajs eye tried consoling him He was from god and He returned back to Him, One day we all have to Go there We have only one chance here, lets make it the best of it... Zaid tried consoling Suraj thinking that his tears are due to this funeral. Suraj started crying insolently and embraced Zaid and asked Zaid your replies always strike my heart. he wanted to ask many questions but he withheld them for the time being in wake of the death of Zaids father, and vowed to meet Zaid from time to time. In later meetings spread over the next year and half the shape that their dialogue took was in brief as follows;

Suraj: Whom you believe as God? Zaid: He is God, the One and Only, The Eternal, The Absolute, has no images, no father and no son, He created us and feeds us but does not requires to be fed, He ask us to be good towards mankind. Suraj: What do we require to believe in him do we need to spend... or is there any course. Zaid: No Just believe and profess that There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger Suraj: (surprisingly) Is Muhammad also god, like Ram, Krishna etc. Zaid: No, he was best human being and a messenger of God like lakhs of other messengers who came in this world to guide humanity, they never claimed themselves as god but called people towards worship and surrender to One true God, but people many times troubled them and worshipped false gods Suraj: But why didnt god take human form and come down to guide man. Zaid: Because best ideal for man can only be man, not god, not angels... otherwise man will have questioned that god, angels can do things which we cant do Suraj: But dont you all believe that god takes human form to know how mans suffering Zaid: simple Suraj.If I manufacture a computer... I dont have to become a computer to know what is good or bad for a computer... its simple I write an instruction manual I write the dos and donts dont you have one with your washing machine and television? Suraj: (deep in thought) yes we do have. Zaid: exactly and we also appoint an engineer who explains the best use of thingsright? Similarly God has appointed messengers from amongst men and also send his books as instruction manuals. In the end of this lengthy and sometimes repetitive argument Suraj was so impressed by the simple examples and very convincing beliefs of Zaid that he almost exclaimed, Zaid my heart witnesses that whatever you are speaking is truth. Suraj was reluctant at that moment to take any decisions, but he felt as if the realities of life were opening on him. Zaid made Suraj meet with several Islamic scholars who replied almost all the queries in a very lucid manner. The questions and confusions which his innocent mind carried for years were finally unloaded, the doubts and puzzles started decoding as if the riddle of life got the key clue. His heart at once witnessed to the oneness of God and humanity. This was the most dynamic concept he ever believed. It was deep within his heart but took very long time to turn up. His Quest for truth finally brought him to the ultimate realities of this universe. Suraj came to be known as Shams. Now he was satisfied... but now he had the mission of making those answers available to all, in quest for which, he spent his whole childhood. June 2012 24

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for Meaning
Arham Husain
t was 3:00 in the afternoon and the college campus groups. Greater the attachment of purpose, the more each was bustling with activity. Everyone had gathered individual will act for collective interests spoke Mr. Jacob. in the seminar hall. Despite the huge assembly, the You know, I always reiterate that a strong sense of National hall was silent. Prof. Jacob had accepted an invitation to Unity can go a long way in nurturing our sense of this deliver a lecture on Morality: Influencing actions. He was a purpose. National pride is unanimous. You see, Nations man of celebrated repute. His admiration was renowned which have endured even the trickiest of times held by it! and his acknowledgement unopposed. His publications Let us together develop this virtue. He finished. But Sir, were considered indispensable for starters. Wherever he Nation states are of a recent origin, then how can a sense went, he spoke with conviction. of nationalism drive our moral values? enquired The room burst into a deafening applause as Prof. Jacob Christopher. Also, Nations rise and fall but moral values took stage. His presence was magnetic. After a few words have always been there. Morality will persist. How do you of acknowledgement, Mr. Jacob graced the topic. His respond to it, Sir? His words struck like lightning bolt. powerful gestures well complimented his eloquence. Jacob Previously, Jacobs similar answers had always sufficed but started, Morality is a universal concept. Never will you not this time. With clumsiness, he could only manage, Oh, find a person who calls himself immoral. to answer that one will have to go through It stems from our converse notions of It had been a their history. good and bad. Our minds are full of Christophers query razed the very philosophical conflicting ideas. Some compels us to ground Prof. Jacobs speech stood on. His action while others withhold he impossibility for Jacob lecture had succumbed to a simple maintained. Morality is nonbut for this illiterate question. His fiasco was a source of huge transcendental, rather a product of our life that evening. man, it was lifes embarrassment the bulk of his Prof. Jacob situations Its impact on the way we act left, dejected by ignorance. is undeniable. He went on for an hour or ultimate reality! His intellect had belied him. even more. The lively Prof. Jacob spent the next There was bonhomie. No one could refute his message. few days in solitude, battling a paradoxical enemy. His If it wasnt for morality, mankind would lose all its virtues. conscience had taken a severe blow. He reminisced his days Present in the audience was Christopher, a student of at college. He remembered his mother telling him, Son, Philosophy. All this while, Christopher had been restless. God loves those who are true to him. Never tell a lie! He As the floor was opened to questions, he immediately will always help you in your troubles. A young Jacob had sprang up. His was more than a query, a condemnation. always nodded in response but with age, those nods turned Why should I be moral if immorality is personally good into frowns. Since then, he had come to evade religion. His for me and there is no chance of me being caught? he ridicule of religion had earned him honour as a discrete critically pointed out. Christopher was blunt with it. The scholar. Till a few days back, he was big league, a hall fell silent as faces turned. Christopher stood in an ocean top authority on the subject. Today, he was feeling of fiery eyes. Mr. Jacob was shell-shocked. He had never humiliated. expected a question so uncovering. Jacob still wasnt convinced whether religion had any My friend, I should praise you for your wittiness. answers. He decided to discuss it with colleagues though However, I must reaffirm that its always a noble purpose, he feared ridicule. Next day, in the presence of fellow faculty a point of convergence that guards and strengthens members he began, Allow me to jump to my point. I ask morality. We humans, due to our gregariousness live in your opinions on the episode last Thursday. Christophers Arham Husain has done his BSW and MBA from question has been a source of uneasiness ever since. I must Jamia Millia Islamia. admit that Ive met utter failure in my efforts to find a Email: arham.husain@yahoo.in reasonable answer. I strongly feel a need to upgrade my

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knowledge! The room remained silent anticipating what was to come. A few blank faces informed him of their ignorance. Mr. Johnson shot up, Dont you worry! That was an act of notoriety. He should be punished for this. Its the same old thing went Ms. Anderson these chaps never attend classes and then meddle with everything serious. Huh! Mr. Jacob was unconvinced. A witty reply came from Mr. Ron, Moral values provide substance for the legislative process. Our morals tell us what should be considered legal and what illegal. I do accept the complexity with which the legislative machinery functions... I mean I understand that at times we meet failure but he must understand that execution is where the challenge lies. He shouldnt have questioned this. Jacob, in my next lecture, I will try and make him understand. As his colleagues argued, Jacob became a spectator. After the episode, Jacob wondered if religion really had the answer. Religion to him was falsehood, having its place on the very edges of public life, if at all allowed to exist. His conviction grew. He explored the possibility of having missed out on simple facts of life. His thirst was immense. If religion can help me quench it, so be it! he spoke to himself. A man on a mission, Jacob travelled all the way to Vatican where he had the privilege of meeting top clergymen. He began looking for an answer in Christianity. He was informed about universe as a creation of God and how everything had a purpose. He spent the next few weeks in self study. He imbibed the basics of Trinity and how Jesus crucifixion redeemed mankind of its Original sin. However, not everything he read made sense. Why will I not sin when someone else has compensated them for me? he wondered. The priest tried to convince, Son, your Lord loves you. Return to your faith and you shall see light. It is your love for him that shall correct you and give you strength. You will not be left alone. Still uneasy, Jacob could not understand why Jesus was the central figure and not God himself. Ah! Well, what about the pious men and women who came before Jesus? Jacob continued, How could theyve loved Jesus when he was born after them? And, do you equate the pious amongst us with the most evil who ever lived just because they say he was the son of God? He had rubbed him the wrong way. Go away! I should have known that you were one from the devils shouted the priest. On his flight back, Jacob met a monk and the two quickly bonded. Upon hearing his ordeal, the monk advised him to visit India. The monk assured him that in India he will definitely find his solution. Jacob took a flight to Delhi. India is a landscape decorated by pluralities. Jacob spent the first few weeks travelling across the Himalayas. His determination made

him persevere. He settled by a monastery in Leh. Its serenity amused him. He spent the next several days studying Buddhist scriptures. With the monks he explored the preaching of Buddha. Their acts of meditation and selfcontrol ravelled him. However, he seldom found them leaving the monastery. This reclusive behaviour disappointed Jacob. He couldnt seek refuge in a faith that seldom stretched beyond the four-walls. Through the length and breadth of India he witnessed people worshipping idols. He visited temples, both large and small. He also came across Europeans who had prosperous lives back home had adorned saffron in India. This time he broke his journey at Varanasi. It was festive season and people were out in flocks. Thousands have gathered in the city square for worship. As the streets buzzed, he settled for a deserted temple. The scent of the marigolds was excessive. Every time someone prostrated, more flowers were added. The lifelessness of idols was too obvious to go unnoticed. Their vulnerability was selfevident. A million thoughts raced his minds. Without a word, Jacob moved out. How do they find God in these stonecarved figures? he wondered. Now, he was again where he had started from. His repeated attempts had met failure. He was desperate to fly home. Jacob boarded a train to Delhi. In Delhi, he hired a local taxi to his lodge. Collapsing on his bed he realised that he had left his bag in the taxi. Inside it were his passport, airline ticket and four thousand Euros. Horrified, he started sweating. Is all the bad luck mine? he cried. Frenzying downstairs he saw the same taxi parked across street. The driver, a bearded man in his 50s had realised Jacobs folly and was searching for him. The driver gleefully handed over his belongings. His rage turned into affection. Your honesty has obliged me, said Jacob with utmost gratefulness. The driver remained composed. This made Jacob wonder, He couldve easily made away with my stuff, instead came looking for me! Why didnt you drive away? The philosopher asked. Sir, how could I keep what was yours? I had to return it. Ive been driving through the city for the past 13 years. Ive never laid my hands on anything that isnt mine replied the driver. BUT WHY in this world did you do that? Jacob enquired almost disbelieving his honesty. Somebody keeps a watch over me all the time; I cannot hide from Him and steal! This nave and innocent reply stored a sea of emotions. It spoke volumes about his moral greatness. Jacob couldnt utter a word. In the drivers word lay the answer to Christophers question. It had been a philosophical impossibility for Jacob but for this illiterate man, it was lifes ultimate reality! On recovery, he managed to ask, Who taught you this? Without hesitation the driver replied, I June 2012 26

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am an illiterate person sir. I recently discovered and found it so appealing that I embraced it. In it Ive found true merriment and answer to lifes problem. What? His astonishment was genuine. A religion deemed scandalous had given this simple man purpose of life! A faith sneered for its oppressiveness had liberated this taxi driver. Inside him was a question, in Islam the answer. Within him rose a temptation. On the outside was a resistance. Jacob fell for it. The veil of deceit had been lifted. Ahead lay selfdiscovery. Jacob was to spend the next several months absorbing Islam. The more he read the Holy Quran, greater wisdom he soaked. Deeper he dived, the more pearls he found. He researched the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He couldnt help but let his personage mesmerise him for he exclaimed, There never walked on earth a man so great, so exalted! His biographies and those of his companions left him enthralled. Jacob was quick to realise that Islam ascended not with sword but with the greatness of purpose that it gave mankind. Jacob wondered how a civilisation so great could get almost no mention in the books of modern history. It was a winter night in Paris and there was a huge crowd at the convention centre. Prof. Jacob had surprised all with his vigour and eloquence, People ask me why I chose Islam and my own story is what I tell them. It is the fear of Allah which can guard one against all evils. Remove that and you make it too easy for him to sin in the confinement of private space. He continued, I disbelieve the idea that a strong sense of National purpose can do away with sinister tendencies. He went on, Ladies and Gentlemen, correct me if I am wrong. Can anyone ever hide from Allah, the Omnipresent? Can there be a purpose to life greater than Allahs pleasure? I will be unjust to you if I do not humbly request you two things. Number one, try and read at least one chapter from the Holy Quran. We want you to read the message our Lord has sent for us. Secondly, I will advise you to pick a copy of a biography on the Prophet of Islam. Please read one and youll love the treasures it can offer. Such is Islam, an elixir of life. Jacob was fortuitous for he realised the purpose of creation before death came calling. Everyone is not!

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for Humanity
Khan Yasir
Usual child-age problems, I thought, this is part of life which everybody experiences and one should learn to cope up with such things on his own. After all it is not a grave problem, may be his friends are angry over him for something, they would soon patch-up. But complaints became routine and patch-up never happened. Something was terribly wrong somewhere. Final examinations were in sight. I was slightly unnerved. I had noticed the effect of this on Sameers performance in the midterm examinations. All these years I was a friend rather than only an uncle of Sameer. He would share all his secrets with me and happenings of school. He would tell me how many good, very good or excellent he got in his copy, how many teachers praised him for his handwriting, how drawing teacher patted him for nice drawing, how he didnt forget the table of 14 (or whatever) while reciting it while the whole class did etc. On the other hand he would also come to me when he would have a fight with Akhilesh or Ratan or Sangeet or other friends, when teacher would punish him for forgetting the textbook etc. He was happiest student I ever came to know. Then what went wrong? I wondered. There was no change for worse in friendly nature of Sameer, no semblance of pride, rancour or avarice that could have been a cause of a social boycott that he was complaining about. But suddenly one thing struck me, as if a clue was found. I recalled that Sameer just in the beginning of the year has told me about a certain Sharma sir, supposed to teach Moral Education, a new subject introduced by the School. Sharma sir mujhe ghoor ke dekhte hain, seedhe munh baat bhi nahi karte (Sharma sir, used to stare me angrily and doesnt even talk to me properly). This was the strangest thing that Sameer told me, as I was in habit of listening how a teacher was impressed by Sameer and what praises he or she has showered on him. Sameer was every teachers pet. Some teachers seem to be very angry but they are good inside the heart I had said to him. Then every week Sameer would tell me about the nice stories that Sharma sir narrated, Sharma sir is good, a wonderful storyteller. He would have been my most favourite teacher if he would have liked me Sameer would tell with a sense of remorse. But do you know what story he told today? What? I would say sleepily, preparing to listen to a long and boring story. Long, long, long... ago in June 2012 28

eing an uncle is not less than a fatherly experience for me. My infatuation for my first nephew never subsided since the day he, in his stuttering voice uttered the word Mamun even before he could say Abba despite herculean efforts and hectic sessions with my brother-in-law, his father, Say munna say: Ab... Baa... Abbaa... Abbaa, come on... good boy... say it. And much to his dismay the child would either say Ammi or Mamun. He is apple of everyones eye. I remember the first day when he went to school, brand new uniform, tiffin box, water bottle, shoes and yes, his favourite black colour tie. He formally cried just for an hour before intermingling with his classmates. He came to love playing, talking, and enjoying the company of his friends very soon. It was not even a couple of weeks, since he started going school, when he introduced Akhilesh to me as his best friend. Be friend with my Mamun he whispered into Akhileshs ears, he is a fool enough to sacrifice even his share of chocolate when you say nice things to him. I remember my twisting of his ears as Akhilesh laughed away to glory. This sociable, jolly and friendly nephew of mine: Sameer, in fifth year of his school is not his earlier self today. Smiles have vanished from his face which is so incomplete, so different without it; only to become worse when he forcibly tries to show his teeth, as if hiding some grief, some very tremendously wrong thing behind. First time in my life I see him sad. When I asked he tried to beat around the bush then losing control started sobbing, then hugged me and started with his tale, Nobody plays with me, they avoid me like plague, they ignore as if I dont exist, Ratan now doesnt share his Aloo ka Paratha with me, nor he takes my Qeema Pulav which earlier he loved, they dont even include me in play.
Khan Yasir is an M.Phil Scholar of Political Science in Delhi University. Email: yasiratiq@gmail.com

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India... he would begin with his actions and altering the pitch of his voice in an attempt to sound mysterious, there was happiness, prosperity, unity, and strength in India. India was then called the golden bird due to her riches. But then some devils, in huge numbers from West Asia invaded India. They were ruthless plunderers, with large beards, white caps, black scar on their forehead, with sword in one hand and their devilish book kuu-ran in another... He suddenly stopped and asked me, Mamun! Is it the same Quran as ours? No its not... I mumbled, he didnt allow me to say anything else, yes, I thought so, ok, where were we? Yes. So they came from deserts, they were hungry and greedy, they exploited, killed and maimed at will. India again could never recuperate and achieve the same glory he sighed in the end... I too... ...perhaps the story is not like this, it is more complicated, more nuanced, more different than what you were told... I think... I could not think of a way to undone the damage inflicted on his mind without him realising the same, how could I tell him about the contributions of those devils in making India a golden bird. However Sameer stunned me once again, Do you mean that Sharma sir lied? After all, teachers dont lie, that too before their own students, No... I was more perplexed, then what? Oh, leave it I said thinking that time will finally heal these wounds. I didnt however want to diminish the credibility of a teacher in the mind of a nine-year-old; I chose to keep my mouth shut at the moment. Yes, good teachers dont lie, I only managed to say. But soon Sameer got disillusioned with the period of Moral Education. Sharma sir went on with the stories of traitors like Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. One day Sameer told me that Sharma sir said in the class pointing towards Sameer, these mischievous people did so and so. After he left, Sameer demanded explanation from his classmates. None gave him. Akhilesh too was a little confused to say anything. So it is because of this, that Sameer is suffering so much depression, I finally had reached the root of the problem. I wanted hard to help Sameer, but how. I couldnt think of anything. I could only empathise with the child for the ordeal he was undergoing. Now Sameer was accustomed to the tirades of Sharma sir, his complaints subsided, though cause of the complaint remained intact. His once jolly face was now habitually gloomy... except obviously in the company of Akhilesh. I thought it better to discuss the matter with Akhilesh, alone. I went to his colony, Puja Apartment. I found him in the playground outside, playing cricket, as I had assumed. Seeing me he exclaimed, O uncle, and before he could run into me, batsman hit the ball straight into his face. Akhilesh, as he was looking at me, was unconscious of the trouble coming in. He fell down onto the ground as I ran to

This sociable, jolly and friendly nephew of mine: Sameer, in fifth year of his school is not his earlier self today. Smiles have vanished from his face which is so incomplete, so different without it; only to become worse when he forcibly tries to show his teeth, as if hiding some grief, some very tremendously wrong thing behind. First time in my life I see him sad. When I asked he tried to beat around the bush then losing control started sobbing, then hugged me and started with his tale, Nobody plays with me, they avoid me like plague, they ignore as if I dont exist, Ratan now doesnt share his Aloo ka Paratha with me, nor he takes my Qeema Pulav which earlier he loved, they dont even include me in play.
him, picked him up, blood was oozing out from his nose. I rushed him to a nearby dispensary. Not a big fuss, players do get injured Akhilesh smilingly said to me as he was constantly looking at my guilty face. Thank God, nothing happened to your eyes I said caressing his hair. Oh how I wish the ball would have hit me in the right eye... I was perplexed at this strange wish, ...then surely I would have become Tiger Pataudi. Akhilesh has certainly come across many newspapers and channels that covered a lot of Pataudi after he passed away on 22 September last year. Akhilesh also explained to me Pataudis explosive batting, athletic fielding, and inspiring captaincy and I listened attentively pretending to be not in the know of things. Finally I said embracing him, Oh, you can be a greater Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi the tiger with both of your eyes. Who is this Ali Khan? exclaimed Akhilesh with uneasy looks in his eyes. Its your Tigers full name, Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. Was Pataudi a Muslim? he asked, hmmm... yes... but... he didnt listen to my why-question and declared, then I dont want to be that rubbish Pataudi, I would better be Sachin Tendulkar. I was dazed. Akhilesh unaware of the storms within me broke the pause with another scary question and same uneasy looks in the eyes, is Sachin too, a Muslim? If I say yes? I demanded. Then I would not be Sachin, I would then be... hmmm... Sehwag... I know he is a Hindu. Sachin is not a Muslim I said and saw him sighing in relief. But why you think that Muslims are bad... they... They are rascals Akhilesh completed the sentence for me. They enslaved us for thousand years or so. They collaborated with British June 2012 29

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to conquer us. They divided India. Our country is backward because of them, as they want to increase their population to become a majority and conquer the country and enslave us once again, dont you know anything about those demons? Who told you this rubbish? I couldnt withhold any longer. He looked above to me, in disbelief, but didnt say anything. May be a few Muslims are bad but so are some Hindus and Christians and so on and so forth, which community is immune from bad people. But that doesnt make everyone in a particular community bad. Do you think I am bad? I thought that I had made a clinching argument there. Are you a Muslim? his eyes widened in astonishment as if he has seen a Dracula. Yes I am and you see I am not that bad I said smiling and caressing his cheek. He pushed my hand away in a violent jerk and said, Leave me alone, Sharma sir was right, wherever Muslims are there, there is trouble. See, because of you this happened he pointed towards his bandage and ran away leaving me stuck to where I was, my feet were as if glued to the ground. But a short while later; I saw him returning. Yes, I was right about human nature. Everybody has his share of humanity and compassion. Venoms, of the likes of Sharma sir, could only be countered by the antidote of love, of the likes of me and Sameer. I thought that I would not talk to Akhilesh when he will say sorry as he has been so insulting to a great religion, a great community and he should realise that. And then when he would mollify me again and again, I would take him to McDonalds and then would discuss with him about the ordeal with which Sameer is passing through. Hope that Akhilesh would prove instrumental in bringing out Sameer from the quagmire of chagrin in which he is drowned. Akhilesh came, head bowed, not looking at me, after a brief pause he finally opened his mouth and asked without a preface, Is Sameer too, a Muslim? This simple and innocuous looking question sent the chill down my spine. In the moments of pause I thought about the Saffronisation of education and its devastating impact on the psychology of the student community. If one Sharma sir can work this havoc then what Saffronisation of History text books (Karnataka) and Hindi textbooks (Rajasthan) and compulsory reading of a saffron-monthly (Madhya Pradesh) would result in? Smiling face of Sameer in company of Akhilesh struck my mind. My utterance of truth could have erased Akhilesh from that picture and the smiles of Sameer as well. Vacillating till the end I opened my mouth, still unaware of what I am going to say, pictures changing at pace making them unrecognisable, however picture of an unsmiling Sameer without Akhilesh stuck in the end, No, he is not I said finally. I should have known said a relieved Akhilesh, thats why he is so nice. And then he ran away from me. I the antidote stood speechless and defeated.

for Solace
Kamranullah Khan
t was noon and hell hot outside. What else one can expect at Delhi in June. 42 (degree) was on broadcast and with a loo factor in conditions were extremely harsh. But even harsh conditions seldom affect the rich and Mr. Jhas office was bearing testimony to this fact. It stood like a heaven in this desert. They say with wealth natures furies can be escaped and if wealth cant buy everything it can at least bargain comfort. Mr. Jha held this thought and had lived by it throughout his life. He once again recalled this notion as he couched on his sofa in his air conditioned cabin. Now it were almost 50 years since Mr. Pradeep Jha had migrated with his father from a remote area of Bihar. He was just seven then. He was raised up in an urban slum as his father was a factory worker and so couldnt get a proper education. But there was something in Pradeep that made him different from children around him. He had a spark in him, an incessant urge of becoming rich, of having comfort and all the privilege he was deprived of. And now after 50 years, a span of toil, hard work and input he was fairly successful in his mission. He was now the founder and manager of Probiz Constructions which was the leading construction company of the country with works spread in almost every major city and with shares in different hotels and resorts around the world. Mr. Jha apparently had all the comforts now this life can offer. He was rich, fairly healthy for his age, enjoyed respect in the society and had a noble family. In short he was for many an abbreviation of success and he was conscious of that. But despite all this he was unhappy. Unhappy because he felt something had somehow crept into his life that was making him bothered. Bothered about the very life, its meaning, its purpose, his growing age, his company, and finally about death which he feared the most after achieving so much in life! With these thoughts once again in his mind Mr. Jha rested his back on his Italian sofa and went deep into thoughts and soon lost his way just then a gust of sleep captured him and he fell asleep. Even in his dreams he saw his company, his struggle in establishing it, his sacrifices, his restlessness and then suddenly his end. He becomes worried and comes back to consciousness, Oh no, what a bad dream! I dont know whats wrong with me. He
Kamranullah Khan is pursuing B.Tech from Jamia Millia Islamia. Email: kamranafridi19@gmail.com

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remarked after a sigh, Fetch some water for me Manoj. And Manoj his attendant with an MBA degree presents him water in his intricate manners. After drinking it Mr. Jha stares at his Rolex watch and find it 3 pm. He rings his bell to call Anand another attendant. I am not feeling well ask the driver to take me home. He instructs Anand who soon vanishes and Mr. Jha descends down in his fast accelerated lift from his cabin on the 12th floor of his office. He enters his 6th series BMW car and heads towards home only at a drive of 20 minutes. On his way to home nothing seems attractive to him, the very roads he once felt were the paths of success seemed grey and ugly. As Mr. Jha reaches home, which he appropriately has named The Comfort Villa, his wife Sunita gets a bit surprised. Jha had never been early. He always worked more than the scheduled hours and coming early was almost something weird. Is everything all right she quizzed. I need some rest, Jha replied in an almost rejecting tone and goes to bed. During the evening when Mr. Jhas son Tushar arrives he gets a bit worried learning his fathers early arrival. Mom I am worried about papa dont you notice some change in him. He asks his mother Sunita. Yes I am also worried about his illness she adds. No, I think its not illness. I find change in his behaviour towards work. I think papa is losing interest in company. I am worried if this goes on his partner Roy uncle would replace him and he will lose his control over his company. In the days that followed Mr. Jha behaviour underwent great changes. His nature was turning more rude and rough. All through his life Mr. Jha had been quite religious. Since his childhood he had been going to temple every Tuesday. Even after earning a name in business and becoming rich he had carried this habit. He had been giving donations to various temples and had himself got many of them constructed. He had been making each year special arrangements for Chhat Puja in Delhi and had been keenly interested in a communal NGO. These were after all the reasons for his fame and respect. But now things were different and he was hardly interested in temples, pujas, gods and other religious acts he was aware of. He was thoughtful and serious most of the times. Although his interest in business was deteriorating but he wasnt ready to quit, he even turned angry whenever anybody talked anything close to retirement. His reply was my company is my toil, its my sweat, my hard work, it is because of me and I love it more than I love my child. Months passed by but things didnt improve, the loss of this change wasnt as apparent in Probiz Constructions as it was in the health of Mr. Jha. He was losing his weight and facing serious health problems. Now he had to go to hospital and after a series of checkups and tests it was revealed that Mr. Jha had prostate cancer. The news for Jha wasnt just a shock, it meant an end of the world, a doomsday for him. All through his life he had been struggling just to lead a happy life, a life of comfort. He had

never taken rest and now when the age of rest was to come he was no more going to live. The very thought paralysed him and he got almost broken from inside. He couldnt understand why did this happen. He had always tried to acquire the best of habits. He regularly exercised, maintained his diets and calories, hardly at any moment he was over-drunk and he had always even tried to please the deities but then why, why he couldnt find an answer. After all he was not even 60 yet. Mr. Jha tried to the best of his might to get himself cured. He ran to the best of hospitals and met the most specialists of doctors. It was during this time he was acquainted with Dr. Yousuf Ansari a UK based doctor with an Indian origin. He was a noble attractive man in his early fifties. He was a practising Muslim with grey beard on a reddish white face. Mr. Jha was impressed in his very first meet. His nobility and politeness fetched his attention. He had a very different approach of treatment and consoling his patients. But this is not what made him close to Dr. Ansari rather it was the fact that the doctor had a pacemaker in his heart and was facing cardiac problems. This gave Mr. Jha some hope and confidence and made him close to the doctor. Mr. Jha was surprised because he couldnt understand that how can a man with a serious heart problem be so happy and calm in his life. Mr. Jha after befriending with doctor posed his curiosity to the doctor. The doctor with a brief smile explained the basics of his faith. He said, This world is not the place of seeking comfort rather its the world of action, when you die its not the end of you, its rather a transfer to a better world where one will be rewarded as per his deeds. This life is not about earning privilege and avoiding pain its rather about leading a life fulfilling the commandments of the Almighty who sent us here. In this life everyone is in a state of test. A constant test of embracing right and avoiding evil. The real life is yet to come, so what to worry for? The one who gave me this life as a trust would take it away when He so desires, there is nothing to mourn, I am only considered about my responsibilities that the Trustee has burdened me with in lieu of lucrative rewards, eternal rewards of afterlife. Mr. Jha was almost stunned and moved by these words, words which seems irrational at first yet appealed to his heart. He was deeply affected. Mr. Jha became more and more close to Dr. Ansari who wisely shared his belief from time to time. And finally after a few weeks Mr. Pradeep Jhas life-long quest for solace finally led him to the ultimate truth and he embraced Islam. The solace was something very special. It carried with it great changes and consequences. Mr. Jha finally got answers to all the questions he had in his mind. His behaviour became extremely polite and he now managed his company even more effectively. He leads a comfortable life he had always sought for and is planning to open a cancer hospital together with Dr. Yousuf Ansari to provide cheap and effective treatment to cancer patients and earn virtues that he may carry to the next world. He, a pa1tient of cancer in his last stage, no longer fears death. June 2012 31

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for Normalcy
Taleeb Anwar
accomplished, I could not help but wonder when and how will my third dream be realised. It is not that I havent known men in fact Ive known men of all types be it handsome, intelligent or funny. I would have loved to have settled with many of them but no! None of them were ready for love. I mean yes they were ready to spent time with me, to touch and feel me but love? I dont think so. I could always see through there hollow smiles and desires. Oh! How I hate them! Im afraid the dream of settling down is a wired dream. Smith showed me the schedule. He told me about the places I will be visiting and the people I will be meeting. This was not my plan for Paris. I wanted to be a free bird. Do whatever I wanted, visit all places I preferred, and meet people of my choice. I tried to argue with Smith but to no avail. Lately Ive started to hate the work I do. It leaves no time for me. Im never free and always feel tired. I need a vacation a vacation to Paris and not a job to Paris. Finally we boarded the plane. My seat was allotted next to an old lady. I hate old people especially old ladies. They are grumpy, and grouchy, and always complaining about this thing or that. And they will always try to communicate with you even when you are trying to sleep. Half the way to Paris the grumpy old lady next to me got ill and started vomiting. Yuck! If you are old and sick why do you eat all these things? I readily agreed when the air hostess asked me to take another seat at the back of the plane. This was my chance to be away from the old lady as well as Smith. My new seat was next to a young lady (later I came to know she is named Aisha a name close to my original name). There was something singular about her, something different but what exactly I could not get. The way she smiled, as I approached her, it felt good. I mean everybody Ive met smiles but there was something different in her smile, it was warmI felt that I should talk to her. You are a Mohammedan? I asked taking the seat next to her. A Muslim? Yes. How did you guess? From the thing you are wearing over your head I said, as a matter of fact, pointing towards her veil. She laughed heartily before replying that Jews and Christians also wear the veil. But it was her laugh which caught my attention. Oh it was beautiful. If only I could laugh like that. June 2012 32

When good Americans die they go to Paris!

ve always dreamt of France the romantic cities, the Eiffel tower, the beautiful people, and the love which is believed to flow freely there. Since the day it was decided that my next performance is in France I was simply too excited, have been dreaming of the places I will visit, the monuments I will see, and the people I will meet It was a relief to finally enter the airport, when the Paparazzi were stopped. Oh they make the whole life a hell following everywhere you go and clicking your every action whether you sleep or smile or sneeze or what. Oh God! I hate these Paparazzi! As I entered the airport I could definitely feel the stares of men around me. The stares felt like needles sinking into my body. Trying to look at whatever they could, trying to catch your eye, to wink, to smile, whispering behind my backs and what not. I hate men! I waited for Smith to check-in the baggage and get the boarding pass. Smiths a good man, though a little old for me I mean he is sincere and does everything with perfection; but lately I could feel him trying to get too casual with me The flights delayed by about half an hour he said; when he returned with the boarding pass. Ah Darlene We will have to wait. Did he say Darlene or Darling? How dare he? Oh! I hate him! Darlene is not the name which my parent kept. They called me Asha. Argh! That sounds awful! Im still ashamed of it. Sounds like the name of some caged bird. But I was born to be free. Though born in a poor family but I had the gift of beauty and I was going to use it. I always knew Ill be famous. I always told myself Stone walls do not a prison make. And here I was worshipped! No newspaper, magazine or even TV programmes could be complete without my photo I always had three dreams to be famous (and you bet I am), to visit places especially France (and I was on my way), and to marry a young, handsome, and romantic prince of my dream. With the second dream about to be
Taleeb Anwar is an Engineer presently working in an MNC. Email: taleebanwar@gmail.com

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ACCORDING TO ME!!!
I reflected on my life but could not remember the last time when I had laughed with all my heart? Yes, Ive always been laughing but those laughs were just for showing, for job. You look ill, been tired lately? It was her turn to continue the conversation. I dont know why but I decided to confide in her. I told her about my problems, my worries and my dreams. She listened intently like no one has listened to me before. Perhaps I was always looking for someone to hear to me and when I found one I poured everything to her. What you are missing in your life is God she opined, pointing her index finger towards the sky. I dont believe in God and I did not wanted a God who was above in the skies and not with me. And thus our discussion turned towards God. She tried to convince me with various logic of the universe could have come into existence, and I tried to convince her with science (though I know little of science). We discussed God, the day of judgement and what not. Though I did not accept anything but one thing surprised me (when I reflected on it later): while discussing religion Ive forgotten that I was tired in fact the discussion about God was refreshing. Our discussion was interrupted by the announcement of the pilot that the Eiffel tower can now be seen on the left side (that was the side I was sitting on). Ah what a magnificent site Aisha was saying from somewhere far away. And there it stood the Eiffel tower, the tower Ive always dreamt of looking at. Among the buildings surrounding it the tower is unique standing tall and firm and pointing straight above towards the God.

WHICH WORK OF FICTION HAS INFLUENCED YOU MOST AND HOW?

I came across Dastan Iman-Faroshon Ki in my childhood and read it in no time. It was a nice kiosk from which I observed the Islamic history with all its glory. Ideological strength in characters impressed me most. The struggle and conflict, and within all this the example set by characters is a lesson especially for the youngsters. It conveyed that Islamic forces would win always despite their lack of material resources if cadres are pure and pious, and trust their leader, who himself is like Salahuddin Ayyubi. Their ideological commitment and strength was spectacular. In this novel at many places Islamic forces are tempted with wealth, sex, and wine (the most powerful weapons of Satan in every age), but from every such trial Salahuddin and his forces came out victorious. Collectively and individually there is a path to follow, an ideal to emulate. No achievement is possible without piety and sacrifice, love and trust and this historical novel is very apt towards inculcating these values in its readers. Sharique Ansar, National Secretary SIO of India.
The story I like most is the old childhood tale of hare and tortoise. Its writer is unknown because its very old story but the message it imparts is relevant to all generations. It simply teaches us that slow and steady wins the race, a message I have always loved to embrace, yet to this day I have not been successful in this task. I believe that the moment I start following the message of this story more than 90% of my problems will be solved. Kamran Khan, JMI The law declares them equal but the prejudice remain. A fiction for the well oft and a day to day life for the downtrodden and oppressed people of the society Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird remains relevant even today. The story deals with a small girls perspective of his fathers (the lawyers) futile attempt to defend an innocent negro against a society which as George Orwell put it in Animal Farm considers All as equal but some as more equal than the others. Taleeb Anwar, New Delhi. I have read Many novels in English and Urdu. But I like most the novels Nasuh ka Khwab and Ibn ul Waqt by Dy. Nazeer Ahmed. I have read the dozens of time. Both are remarkabl for their style, portrayal of Muslim middle-upper June 2012 33

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class in British India. The books also effectively highlights the plight of reformers in the community especially in the era of decline. The ups and dpwns in the life of Nasuh teach some of the very precious lessons, while the reformer - Ibn ul Waqts infatuation for the west teaches us the adverse effect of inferiority complex as a community. Saima Khan, Mumbra, Maharashtra. My most favourite fiction is Animal Farm by George Orwell. It is a fable, the way it addresses the issue related to politics with the context of Marxist ideas and its later misuse by intellectual offspring of Marxism, everything has been said by animals in a very remarkable way. Saad Ahmed Farooqui, Jamia Millia Islamia. Recently we read a novel, Salwa in the wind (Arabic). The novel is written by Mahmud Taymoor who is one of the well known novelists of Modern Arabic Literature. The main character of novel is Salwa whose father divorced her mother because of her bad character. And then he died also. She starts living with her Grandfather. She finds a friend Saniya who loves her very much. After the death of her grandfather she lives for sometimes in her friends house. Then she returns home with her mother and thus she comes to know about her mothers ill character. After her marriage her husband dies and she fell into physical relationship with her friends husband. And thus destroys another family. The novel teaches us the social values and how the families depend on belief, love, and relationships. A single woman of a bad character destroys many families along with her own. The novelist has tried to show that Salwa was a good lady forced by the environment to indulge in the sin. Arshad Jamal and Faheem Ahmed, JMI. To me, the work of Alvin Tofflers work Future Shock has influenced very much. I read this book in the year 2005. Though I did not understood cent percent the terminologies likesuper-industrialsocietyorinformationoverloadatthat time but by going through his thoughts and opinions one thing I clearly understood is that the development of information and technology had a great impact on living style of the human beings in past and will have the same in future too. I can say that the authors analysis of rapid technological and social changes in short period of time and its impacts on the individuals, has accelerated my personal thought process and the acceleration is still continuing more or less. SM Wasiullah, Andhra Pradesh. The best novel that I had ever read was my first novel named Tell Me Your Dreams by Sydney Sheldon.My fondness to this novel is attributed to numerous factors, foremost being its engrossing climax which talks about MPDs Multiple Personality Disorders. This novel implanted in me the insatiable desire of reading novels. Wahhaj Ahmed, B.Tech, JMI

Mayal Khairabadis Tawele ki balaa is my favourite work of fiction. Its yet another story of Mayal sb. in the category of you-pick-up and you-cannot-put-down. The depiction of innocence of childhood, mistakes of childhood, realisations of childhood, and heroics of childhood - in short the portrayal of child-psychology is immense. I recommend everybody to read that novel. Tahir Khan, Maharashtra. This novel is originally a translation from French, but it has been translated into Arabic with a new and different style of narration by a very great Egyptian novelist and eminent writer of renaissance in Arabic literature Mustafa Lutfi Manfuluti. The title of the novel Al-Fadheelah means nobility and morality. The protagonists of the novel Bol and Farjini both stand for nobility till their death, they have to face dire consequences for their principles. End of the story is full of pain where both (Bol and Farjini) were about to meet after a long separation, but fate cheats them and a storm swallows life of Farjini. Then Bol lost his senses and dies for her. Manfuluti is well-known for his fabulous and striking images in his writing. He uses so many synonyms and focuses on the beauties of the sentences rather than meaning. It leads sometime to ambiguity and vagueness in his writing. Mahmood Asim Sherazi, New Delhi.

Due to space constraints we are not able to publish letters and some regular columns this month. Apologies for this! Inshaallah these columns will continue from the next issue. Letters sent to The Companion should be precise and to the point. Senders name and city/ state should also be mentioned, otherwise letters would not be entertained. Letters could be sent at editorcompanion@gmail.com. Short comments up to 150 characters can also be SMSed. For that type LTE [your letter] Name City/State and send it to 09990367817. Your opinion is your responsibility and our privilege!
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