The masculine oppression of woman through music in Čhānd Grahan

Art can be a force that has a “totaliz­ing, dehumanizing” process. For instance, Dilbur conducts his dehumanization through ghažals in episodes 4 and 5 as a means of psychological torture and to create emotional turmoil for Gulbahar. To suggest his wait for Gulbahar, he devises the following rhyme which is a mix between lyrical poetry and a harassing catcall: “You have a long life/My gaze has been searching for you/ It took so long for the merciful to come/on [her] arrival I give myself up”. (Baṛi omar hē tumhāri/ ḍẖonḍẖ hē rahi tẖi nazar humāri/ Baṛi dēr ki meḥrbān ātē ātē, arē si adā pē meiñ qurbān jāoñ)

The soundtrack “Mōjẖē Vida Ker Ayē Mēri Zāt Phir Mōjẖē” (My inner self has come to see me again) is run to Shahrbano’s Zāt to her marriage and then when she is physically hit by Amjad when he taunts her. After this, in episode 7, when Nasir seeks hers out on the same beach side, Shahrbano pleads him to leave saying, “I don’t recognize anyone, probably not even myself” (Meiñ kisi ko nahi pehčānti, shāid apnē āp ko bẖi nahi) which is again a reflection on the song itself.

What Čhānd Grahan does besides showing music as a form of oppression is also to show how music can encourage a meek submission towards masculine authority. Gulbahar who becomes Lal Hussain Shah’s wife reminisces about the times she used to sing to herself about “Is there anyone who will be my companion in these dark times/even I lie to him he should speak the truth to me” (koi tō hō jō meri weḥshatoñ ka sātẖi ho/ Meiñ ōs sē jhōt bẖi bolōn tō mujẖ sē sučẖ bolē). Shahrbano as Lal Hussain Shah’s daughter also submits to the marriage that is held for the preservation of power between her father and father-in-law and the ghažal she listens to time and again speaks of celebrating and reconciling herself to her grief when trapped inside the Babar household.

Women not subscribed to a male entity such as Khannum provide courtesans for the feudal males and is thus also brought within the male fold that dictates the direction of her life. She tells Amir-un-Nisa to sing since that helps one to forget (Gānā gā, gānā sab bẖolā detā hē). In this way, music plays a role in a complete deconstruction of the female mind in order to make her subservient to the male hierarchy.

(VERY) Late Blogpost: Jehania ki chirya

        At every instance where the jagirdaar claim to the land and to prestige is questioned, Jehaniya Shah bellows in anger, “HUM MALIK HAIN IS ZAMEEN KE! HUMARAY HUKAM KE BAGHAIR CHIRYA PARR NAHI MAARTI”. This phrase signifies the rigid mindset of the landowning class, which is incapable of even conceiving that anyone else may have claims to the land that they call their own. They derive their prestige not only from the “jaidad” that they hold so dear to their hearts. Rather it is a social construct, one that guarantees them their “izzat” in society. The chirya is a helpless being, one that can easily be silenced by the jagirdaar, much like the muzaray on their lands who have been exploited by the land owning class for generations.  This perpetuation of the class structure becomes very ironic at the end of the drama when Jehania  Shah’s words lose their meaning with their constant repetition. The last time these words are said, their recipient is Babar sahib who responds by saying that times have changed and that Jehania is not granted the blanket of immunity for his crimes, just by virtue of being on the land he owns. Soon after this Jehania considers making a run to “ilaqa-e-ghair”, however he puts this notion aside, realizing that every area is “ilaqa-e-ghair” for him and his companions. This indicates a real change in the way Jehania views his position in society, such that he is cognizant of the fact that he is not above the law.  When Jehania succumbs to his fate and surrenders to the police, he chooses freedom in a jail cell over the captivity of living on the run. It is particularly poignant that just when we see some growth of character, Jehania is shot on sight, by the same chirya that could not flap its wings on his land, without his blessing.   

Last Post- a bit delayed

Before I begin to write on the male characters of Chand Grehan for my final essay, I'd like to pay tribute to the amazing feamle characters of Chand Grehan. With the exception of Mrs.Babar, they all end up strong and really well crafted individuals who know what they want. Sometimes the go after it with all they have, like Gul Bahar's pursuit of the elusive and fickle izzat, or Shehrbano's quest for choice and Shireen's determined chase after truth or Singhar's control over her body. 

These female characters in CG are truly reflective of the compassionate, truthful, virtuous and perceptive side of the society. These characters work within the triangle of feudal-bureaucratic-media, but their interests are not tied directly to it and so it gives them a clearer vision of whats around them like Gul Bahar says: "Aisa toh wahan bhi nahi hota jahan insan din raat biktay hain"  

If one is to look at Shireen, one realizes that she is one of the unique female characters. She is unique because she is not subject to an oppressive relationship with an overpowering egotistical male. the only guy she is with is the poor weak sahafi  who cant't kill a fly or coerce a thing to save his life. She is also unique because she is shown as one of the virtutous characters who do good and are associated with good and also voice these good values, thus their beliefs are there for every one to see and for everyone to believe. To elaborate, when asked to leave some option open for herself, Shireen replies: "Mera raasta raat se hota hua subah ko jata hai".  Her conviction in the face of her hardships is something I envy and would like to emulate given the prospect of the college officially ending now.

Anyways, that's it for the ladies of CG, and I believe this is it for this blog too.

Best of luck fellow domesticity girls(and the two guys). Its time for Goodbye now.

   

The Proletariat in Chand Grehan (week 11)

‘Hum malik hain is zameen k’ & ‘hum KAMMIYON ko paise dain ge’

These two dialogues sum up the whole argument of my blog. The bourgeois class, Syed Laal Hussain Shah, has a complete control over the proletariat class, in this case the kammi, of the society. The ‘kammi’ class is completey submissive to the elite class due the abundance of resources and power the latter possesses. ‘Hum apne jism ki chamri ki parchi daalain ge’ reiterates the fact that the proletariat has no other option but to conform to the demands of the upper class. This is basically what the drama is critiquing that the power politics of the ‘Power-Trinagle’ is so manipulative that a person with no or little resources is helpless and has to look up to these power-hungry landlords.

An extremely rigid class structure is seen in this drama where the lower class can never accede to the elite class and they will continue to touch Laal Hussain Shah’s feet; not out of respect but mostly out of fear and power difference. The drama in the end concluded that the Power-Triangle always perpetuates and the proletariat has no option but to obey the rules of the ‘Vadera’. The two election results shown in the drama further illustrates my point that no matter if the proletariat decides to use its power of vote to change the system but the power remains within the landlords. The power amongst the landlords might change but the power distribution amongst the class hierarchy is there to stay.

Hence, the proletariat is a powerless, fearful submissive body of people who have to bare the cruel gestures of the ‘vaderas’ and accept that the latter’s power is eternal.

Resurrection of Dr. Manette and Charles Darney (late;week 10)

A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens is a story of sacrifice and resurrection. Throughout the novel many instances of this are displayed. Charles Darnay, Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton are all examples of sacrifice and resurrection in the novel. Charles Darnay is resurrected through sacrificing his life as a French aristocrat. Darnay cannot stand to be associated with the injustices of his uncle, Marquis Evrémonde, and sacrifices his

freedom and privileges. At his uncle’s will, Darnay is placed on trial for treason against England. Because imprisonment is compared to a living death, when Darnay escapes imprisonment he is resurrected from social disapproval. Also his second resurrection takes place when he is caught in Paris and is prisoned for fifteen month at La Force but is resurrected by Dr. Manette. His third resurrection is when Dr. Manette’s written paper is discovered from his cell and is read out in court. He was sentenced to death due to this but his death was replaced by Sydeny Carton who was a kind fellow.

Dr. Manette also is a prime example of this resurrection. Dr. Manette, after being imprisoned for eighteen years and left to rot in solitude as "Prisoner 105, North Tower," , is essentially soulless and makes shoes as a way of coping with tortures of prison. Lucie Manette, his daughter, sacrifices her life to nurse her struggling father back to health and resurrect him. Although Lucie strongly influences Dr. Manette’s recover, he makes his own sacrifice to Lucie that completes his resurrection; the second resurrection. Through showing Lucie his own love in the same way she did for him, he gains spiritual strength. He started his medical practice again apart from starting a normal life by living with his daughter. Also, he gave up his shoe making and returned to sanity.

Degrees of female resistance

Chand Grahan opens up the avenue for several degrees of resistance shown by each female character in the drama. All of them are bound in one way or the other by the society and the cultural context but there is some form of active resistance that is played by each one of them. Sheherbano feels that she has been married to Amjad for all the wrong reasons where she is nothing but the worth her father, Lal Hussain Shah’s money puts on her. Her body language shows active resistance and she is very vocal about the unjust reasons which have tied her in marriage to Amjad. We see Sheherbano showing resistance for her own self and the injustice that has been done to her.

On the other hand, Jahania’s chattel Singhar, who belongs to a lower class in a village, is extremely submissive to Jahania mainly due to his feudal and political lineage. She is not educated and she has no conception of fighting for her rights until the abortion scene comes in and she shows active resistance in that. She does not hesitate to run away from the village for her child’s sake and she shows immense amount of bravery in fighting the feudal.

Lastly, Amir un Nisa, the subaltern female, also shows resistance in not working in the film. She is able to look Dilbar in the eye and also spits in the film maker’s face to show her hatred and vocalize the injustice. She has no strings attached to her and all she is looking for is money. As she is not part of the existing social system, her resistance is in many ways different from the other female characters shown in the drama who associate themselves to the existing social setup and act accordingly; Sheherbano being from a feudal sphere married in a bureaucratic sphere, Singhar being a low class villager and subservient to the feudal sphere. 

Domesticity in Chand Grehan

There is one thing common in all the female characters of the drama, regardless of class. In the domestic sphere, we never see the woman indulged in household chores or activities which we have clearly seen in the previous dramas. Whether it is the respectable upper class housewife, the middle class working woman or the lower class woman in misery, none of these characters operate in the conventional way in the domestic sphere and are frequently found idle. It is probably because of this that the kitchen, a place of great significance in Humsafar and used to show Fazeelat’s domain in Dhoop Kinare is never once portrayed in this drama.

If we look at the category of housewives, we see Gulbahaar, Sajida Begum and Sheherbano never lifting a finger and just sitting leisurely around the house. The first two are seen with their husbands having a meal that is brought by servants. They just sit in the company of the men and their conversations never have anything to do with domestic chores normally associated with the women in the household. Both women are seen making their hair as if to please their husbands and indulge in such luxury while at home. Sheherbano can barely be called a housewife because she is never seen as part of the house but only occupies the confined space of a single room in her married house. She either listens to ghazals or compares herself to her caged bird but she too never steps into the role of a domesticated female figure. For her, even life before marriage was quite similar because of the numerous male servants present in her father’s house. She never really encountered the need to perform any duties; the only time she is asked to make tea is by Nasir in his new apartment. That too is merely a way of adding to the romance aspect of the couple and we only see Sheherbano leave for the kitchen but never see her working there.

Even the middle class working woman found in Shireen remains constantly busy with her job. In the various times that she visits Nasir’s house, she demands tea saying “Chai tou pilao” and we see Nasir’s friend taking up the task. The only time that she offers to serve Nasir, he mocks her saying “Miss aap ne home-economics parhi hai….mere khyaal hai madam aap sahafat he karein kyun k ye choole haandi ka kaam aap ko zaib nahi leta.” In doing so, he completely defines her through her profession leaving no place for her to function in the private space of the home. His words also make the viewer compare her to Sheherbano who is not a working woman but had the ability to please Nasir with good tea.

In the lower class, Singhar is someone who one would assume has to manage all the domestic affairs herself and even requests her husband to stay for food before his travel. But for much of the drama, she is identified as the mother rather than the domesticated wife. For her, the son becomes a means of empowering her and giving her some negotiating power with her husband saying, “Apne baitay ko apna naam tou do”. And because the drama largely gives her a storyline through her child, we never see her doing the household chores like a wife. The only woman who craves to fall in that role is Ameer-un-Nissa who says, “Hum se bartan dhulwa lo. Hum se kapre dhulwa lo”. She in fact remains puzzled that she is being offered such luxury like jewellery, clothes and music playing classes. She constantly asks Khanum, “Tum hum se kaam kyun nahi leti” because for her that is the assigned role for women and that is only how she can earn money.

Thus, the drama seems to sideline this aspect of women’s role to highlight more pressing concerns. The male dominance and power is critiqued to a great extent that in doing so the conventional role of women is left forgotten. After the drama of the 90’s, the post 9/11 drama seems to bring back the idea of the domesticated female figure seen in Humsafar and praises women specifically for this role.