L I T E R A T U R E

Exile and Kingdom
Dr. Jaspal Singh

HUMAN beings speak thousands of languages, and many more thousands dialects and socio-lects. Punjabi, incidentally is one of the major languages of the world. But the literary output in this language does not commensurate with the number of its speakers. There have been very few Punjabi poets who can be reckoned among the outstanding world poets. Of course the Sufis, the Gurus and the medieval quissa poets do stand out on some of the finest composers of verses in various styles and genres but the modern bards have not been able to carry the poetic tradition forward, a few exceptions apart. Similarly Punjabi novelists have not made any mark at the global level. But the Punjabi writers strongly have been able to make a name for themselves in the field of short story. Even among the living ones at least a dozen can be compared with the best storywriters of the subcontinent. Many Punjabi short stories have been translated into English and other foreign languages.

Nripinder Rattan, a retired civil servant has so far written four collections short stories. Surprisingly not many officers of the Indian Administrative Service in Punjab have any interest in literature or in any cultural activity. Their spare time, which they have in abundance, is mostly eaten up by golf or by wining and dining in the excusive clubs. Rattan is an exception though in his retirement now he spends most of his time in literary conferences and seminars. Recently his latest collection of short stories, Sheran da Vaanparsat has appeared and is being discussed in the literary meetings. The collection contains fourteen stories beginning with “Bhanwar” in which the author tries to capture the gory scene in the Golden Temple Complex just a day after Operation Blue Star in June 1984. The protagonist in this story is the commissioner of the administrative division in which Amritsar district falls. So he has to accompany the Chief Secretary of the state when the latter visits the venue immediately after the gruesome event. The heaps of dead bodies of the old, young, women and children are lying all over the place. Because of hot weather the bodies are rotting fast. The bloated bodies are being loaded in tractor-trailers and carried away like those of dead animals by the scavengers. The entire complex is emitting foul smell that no one can stand without covering one’s nose with a piece of cloth. The story also allows a peep into the minds of some military officers who executed this dirty task. Their sympathy for the Khalistani militants who faced the ire of the Indian Army is displaced here and there.

Another story “Bol Waguru” takes the reader to Bombay where a pimp cheats the main character Satinder. The portrayal of the slice of life in this megapolis is really captivating. Five stories in Sheran da Vaanparsat mainly deal with bureaucrats and their life condition. “Kes Study” is a story about a young officer who tries to resist the presence of an industrialist who has bribed the senior officers and the minister in charge to acquire a public sector industrial unit at a throwaway price. Ultimately the honest officer is handed over his suspension orders for not falling in line. “Roti Tukkarh” again is about a district collector who does not oblige local politicians and minister in the transfers of village revenue officers (Patwaris). He too is called back as the head of the district administration and is posted at the secretariat to a very insignificant post. The story “Good Morning” vividly brings forth the plight of lower level lady officials in the government offices who are sometimes sexually exploited by their bosses.

The last story “Sheran da Vaanparsat” is perhaps the best story in his collection. Jai Gopal the main character in this story has been a very successful officer in the capital city and lives with his two sons. His servant Ramji too lives with them with his family in the servant quarters. Since Jai Gopal is widowed, now after retirement he leads a comfortable life with the help of his sons, their wives and his servant. In fact, the servant and his family devote most of their time in his service and never let him down in the hour of need. They are devoted to him more than his own progeny. With passages of time the sons and their wives develop their own interests and they try to impress upon him their own predictions and preferences. The sons now want that their father should sell the house and buy two one kanal houses for each one of them and stay with them by turn on half yearly basis. Jai Gopal hates this proposal and there is turmoil in the house. Ultimately the poor servant is made a scapegoat and thrown out of the house by laying false charge of theft so that Jai Gopal is made completely helpless and dependent on his wayward sons and their wives for every small thing. This way he could be pressurised to succumb to their dictates. The author compares this final state of Jai Gopal with that of a lion who in his old age has to give in to his more powerful son and depart from the pride to die as a helpless creature.

The other stories like “Kiwen Chhadan”, Anlikhe Khatan di Dastaan”, Chal Khustro”, “Maa”, “Girgitan”, “Kala Tarbooj” and “Sach Dasan Bhaa” touch other facets of life. The author has seen and experienced life from very close quarters despite being a professional bureaucrat. His narration has a feel of sincerity. One thing, which Nripinder has to be careful about, is that he sometimes mixes up the characters taking reader to be wise enough to link up the gaps. In a narrative the author is supposed to be more sensitive to the semantic expectations of the reader so that he is not misinterpreted in the discursive unfolding.

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Satish K. Jain
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