Chand Grahan depicts a number of father/children
relationships and in each case, the issue arises because, the child has either
not lived up to the expectations of their father or gone completely against
them. This is a reflection on the changing ideals in the society where the
children have different ideals from their parents and are ready to fight for
what they believe in, despite their social, political or financial position.
The first relationship I want to focus on is that of Lal
Hussain Shah and his children. His illegitimate child, Guddu is neglected and
made fun of because, of his absentee father and while, the feudal reacts
strongly to the way his son is treated, he does no more for the kid. On the
other hand is his hot-headed son, Jahaniah Shah for whom the loss in the
elections is a huge hit on his ego and he will stop at nothing to get the
respect that he feels has been lost back. Despite his father trying to placate
him and calming him down, Jahaniah Shah cannot be stopped and his actions lead
him into a major scrape. And while, Lal Hussain Shah may not approve of his
sons actions, he does do everything in his power to save him.
When it comes to Lal Hussain Shah’s daughter, Sheherbano, he
gave the freedom to pursue her education and lead a liberal life but, when it
comes to marriage and anything that may thwart his honour, he puts his put down
and marries her to Amjad. He gives her what she calls “Aadhi azadi” where she
coud only venture so far out into the world. And the position that she gets due
to her father’s daughter is what prevents her from getting the love of her life.
Another interesting relationship is that of Kamal Hussain
and his son, Nasir. Nasir is the man who wants to set things right in society
and fix the system. As ideological as his ideas may be, he is well-intentioned
and is ready to fight for what he wants. He stands up to the hypocrisy of what
his father posts and hides in the newspapers and is not even scared of being
disowned because, he believes in his cause. And though, Kamal Hussain tries to
make his son see how this is not the safest path to go on and how important it
is to have people in power on your side, he knows his son is right and
eventually, does stand up for him.
The last relationship I will focus on is that of Amjad and
his bureaucratic father. Despite his love for Shireen, he is made to marry
Sheherbano and is trapped in a loveless marriage. For Amjad’s father, Amjad
is her ladder to a higher social class
and Amjad lacks the strength to fight his father for his rights and gives in to
him. Amjad and Sheherbano’s marriage is more of a marriage of convenience than
one of love and where both children give in to their parents’ wishes and are
left unhappy.
Hence, each parent/child relationship that we see in the
drama is fraught with issue and each parent is tested through his children.
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