Classic Differences

For me, the one stark difference between classical dramas like Dhoop Kinaaray and Chand Grehan and contemporary dramas is the very way in which they are portrayed. In other words, the theme or the mood of the drama seems to be conveyed immediately through the first few scenes of the classical dramas, whereas contemporary dramas seem more monotonous the way they start off, and later on take up a completely new or different mood when compared with which they started. Take for instance Humsafar, where the drama begins on a note of despair and struggle, with Khirad hard at work to earn a living for herself and her mother. The viewer could never really have guessed that it would later turn into a romantic and melodramatic drama; the suspense and romance in the drama is something the drama builds onto as it progresses.

In the case of classical dramas, at least based on the two dramas that we have seen, the tone or mood of the drama is set from the beginning, and the viewer slowly observes the bildungsroman of the protagonists or antagonists as the drama progresses. The focus is on the characters of the drama and their transformation, whereas contemporary dramas tend to stick to stereotyped fixed characters and play with the ups and downs of the plot.
And as mentioned several times in class already, these classical dramas reflect society and aim at bringing about a poiesis  in the ways and conformed structures of society.
Dhoop Kinaaray starts with the cute character of Zoya and shows her bildungsroman towards becoming a more mature and level headed person, and definitely changes a woman's standing in society. Chand Grehan too seems to reflect, but i am not so sure about whether it is performing the function that Haseena Moin talks about; that of poiesis. Yes, it shows how people like Nasir want to change society at their own personal cost, and shows how he is ready to stand against his own corrupt father Kamal Hussain. Then we have Lal Hussain Shah and his thirst and greed for power, but who is not as powerful anymore, is experiencing a dip in his control, and yet seems to control everyone around him in a subtle manner, including his daughter's life (which is not as subtle). For me, Chand Grehan is not as reformative as Dhoop Kinaaray was, and it just does not seem as if the drama is aiming at changing the norms of society.

The Feudal

This particular drama deals with the feudal system of Sindh, a very different plot from the other two. But more importantly, it also addresses the rural-urban link and its impact on the Pakistani society at large.

There is no doubt that Lal Hussain Shah is a man of great influence and power (“hum maalik hain iss zameen ke, humare hokum ke baghair chirya paani nahin peeti”). [We discussed in class that] the drama shows power of the feudal to be decreasing as people choose to exert a certain amount of resistance and vote against him. Even Lal Hussain Shah’s statements seem to suggest the same (“aayeinda ye howa karay gaa ke vote bhi kissi aur ko dain gai aur paoon bhi kissi aur ke chhowain gai”). His loss in elections is shown as a loss in power/influence as well.

However, we see ample evidence to the contrary. Lal Hussain Shah’s power is a result of his position as the wadera [as he so fondly likes to refer to himself] and not the local elected politician. When his son, Guddu, is bullied in school he tells him to be brave and stand up for himself reinforcing his position as the son of Lal Hussain Shah (“bete, bahadur bano. Koi tumhain kuch kahe naa uska moun tor do. Aakhir tum Lal Hussain Shah ke bete ho”).  Even Shahrbano is reminded of her position as his daughter (“tumhain humesha yaad rakhna chahiye ke tum Lal Hussain Shah ki beti ho”).

            Despite having lost the elections, he is also able to admonish both a sitting bureaucrat and a newspaper owner (i.e. a source of information for the general public). One would assume that having lost his seat he would have more to gain from them than the other way around but their conversation suggests otherwise. It is the bureaucrat and [let’s call him] the journalist who apologise and claim to be subordinate to him.

            His power as feudal is best demonstrated through his reaya (peasants). When they visit him in the city to apologise for his loss in elections he assures them that they would not be affected (“abb tum loag jao. Tum logon ke kaam waisay hi howa karain gai jaisay pehle hote the, aisi koi baat nahin”). The drama shows that losing in the elections did not affect the landlord’s power since he is still able to deliver. The kind of patron-client relations these reaya depend on are completely unaffected by elections [and by extension democracy]. Lal Hussain states that he would work for his people even though he lost the elections (“main agar haar bhi gaya tou uss se kya farq parta hai, main hoon tou abhi bhi tum logon ke dukh such ka saathi”).

            It seems then that there is some truth to Jahanian Shah’s statement [despite being a complete idiot: http://www.youtube.com.s48.en.wbprx.com/watch?v=w0Zmy5JZ0PI] when he says there’s nothing to learn from politics. For these people [the feudal and the tillers] elections mean nothing. Their relationship is a direct result of the patron-client relations that continue to persist even today.

Generation gap and the their power dynamics

It is interesting to note how one generation across different sectors of the society works in opposition to the younger generation -- Laal Hussain Shah and his daughter Shehrbano and son Jehaniya, Kamal and his son Nasir, and Babar and his son Amjad. The older generation works to preserve the system and maintain the status quo. For example, in the case of Laal Hussain Shah, even after losing the elections, he knows he can hope to win again or at least continue with his current life and politics because he knows that the system is not going to change. On the one hand, we have his daughter, Shehrbano, who is educated in America and hopes her education can liberate her from the system: "Mein tau samajhti thi taleem ne mujhe aik aam insan bana dia hai." She takes a stand for herself, and her position and tells her father her education will be rendered useless if he does not let her be -- "Adhay sach ke liye, adhi roshni ke liye" -- she does not see the point of her education if it is not going to liberate her. Jehaniya, on the other hand, wants to change the processes of the system. He is more brutal and straight-forward and does not believe in maintaining a facade. He wants his father to be what he really is from the inside, in public too. As retarded as Jehaniya seems to me, I think his lack of political acumen makes him less of a hypocrite than the father. On the other hand, we have Nasir, who leaves his father's newspaper that works to preserve the establishment over his high principles: "Aap jaiye aur ja ke apnay akhbar ko burqa pehnaye." A revolutionary by principle, one wonders how he sustains himself after he has left his job and his parents' house. There is a constant mention of exchange of money in return for giving up his revolutionary ideas, all of which Nasir refuses. Amjad is caught up in a similar battle. It is that same grip of capitalism that forces all professed communists to bow down to capitalism, because it is the order of the day and those who work for it will make sure that the status quo is maintained through whatever means. Babar says in connection with Nasir and his bunch of friends, "Uchangay lafangay logon ko jama ker ke unko uksanay ka kam ker raha hai". The system becomes so strong that it becomes almost impossible for these younger people to even try and move out of it, or to even voice their opinions against it. In the case of all three of them, especially Shehrbano and Amjad, at least up until now in the drama, the characters act as a bridge for their elders to reach their goals.

Father/Child relationships in Chand Grahan.

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.

The female subaltern

The body of the subaltern female is very important and prominent in Chand Girhen and Amir-un-Nisa's character is perfect for perusal here. She is first introduced in the drama as someone who has come from across the border to work and her body language at this point in time is full of hope and willingness to be a productive part of the system. She is naive and timid but at the same time, she possesses a certain degree of charm. Clearly, she does not have adequate education and she is also incapacitated when it comes to the command on the language. Despite this, there is certain boldness that is exuded out of her.

 Unfortunately things do not turn out to be as positive as she had hoped them to be and she ends up being raped. The important thing to note here is that when she comes to the house of the journalist girl after she is raped, her body language is subjected to sharp decline and she is no longer the same Amir-un-Nisa. The inadequacy of her language is further highlighted when the policeman harshly talks to her and oppresses her through his language and the narrative he sells which evidently goes against her. With her head down and body crouched, she is completely at a loss and breaks down. She is shattered from within and now she wants nothing but to go across the border to where she belongs. The word 'rape' is never used throughout the scene which in itself says a lot about the society back then and the stigma that was/still is attached to rape. Thus, Amir-un-Nisa is a female subaltern who does not have the social capital and favorable familial background to survive in the system.

Gulbahar's identity

As a courtesan she had the power to lure men, she had the upper hand in an otherwise hierarchical society. She did not have to keep her behavior in check; rather the men had to keep theirs in check if they wanted to be in her company. The minute Gulbahar married Lal Hussain Shah she immediately lost the status which gave her power and authority. From being the independent woman who did not care about what society thought of her, she becomes the dependant wife of a politician, always worrying about protecting her past and the image which comes with it.  She is always shown in the private sphere, in her domestic setting, either waiting anxiously for her husband to come for dinner or preparing lavishly for his arrival.

It is interesting to see how she never sees her new identity as that of a mother’s. It can be thought that motherhood would help her relinquish her image as a courtesan, but Gulbahar does not see it that way. For her, she still maintains the status of a courtesan, she does not even grant herself the status of a politician’s wife which is why she is shown to worry about her past. She realizes that her situation is fragile and can be revoked and reversed in a moment if Lal Hussain Shah wishes. She does not wish anything from him apart from the security and the relationship he provides. She shows more concern for her son and his inheritance.

But it is also interesting to note the leniency with which he in turn treats his wife. He does not ask her what she needs the tremendous amount of money for, either he trusts her or he trusts her to take care of situations which he probably anticipated to crop up. As a father figure he does not show any leniency with Sheherbano, who represents the ideal obedient daughter.

Arts: Music and Portraits in Pakistani Dramas

In Chand Grehen, we still see the pre-Zia era of Pakistani dramas. The arts are still not condemned as anti-Islamic although we start seeing the stigmatization of artisans such as Gulbahar when Guddu complains that he is picked on at school because his mother is a “gaana bajaney wali” which is followed by a frown on Gulbahar’s face. She attempts to cover it up by placing it as a lie told to him. However, art and music continue to feature in Chand Grehen such as in episode 3 when Lal Hussain Shah and his friends are at a mehfil of a courtesan held at LHS’s place. The emphasis of art can mostly be seen in the lives of the wealthy and they are not just portrayed but are celebrated.

In Dhoop Kinarey, art is featured in a subtle manner through paintings hanging on the wall, portraits of people and music. In the first episode, Dr Ahmer soliloquizes while he gazes upon the portrait of his “Baba jee”. There are portraits hanging in nearly all the residences. Zoya listens to a record while contemplating on her relationship with Dr Ahmer which becomes  cause for serious concern for Fasi. However, their effect is to assist in the background and create a certain mood but neither music nor art feature as a theme or act in themselves as do in Chand Grehen.

In Humsafar, the only form of music is the title song ‘Woh Humsafar’ sung by Quratulain Balouch and it is solely used as a dramatizing tool, to create a mood or evoke the feelings of the characters within the viewer. Nowhere in the middle-class homes in Hyderabad do we see hanging portraits. On the other hand, the upper-class homes in Karachi have subtle hints of hanging pictures albeit only of sceneries. A picture frame is gifted to Sara by Ashr and Khirad although Sara mentions she would hang it in her room albeit with a hint of sarcasm. Pictures of real-life people are kept locked up in a bathroom cabinet. Music is not heard or sung in the entire drama. Thus, for the 21^st Century drama viewers, the significance and portrayal of art  through portrait and music is lost from the drama medium.