The mere mention of the chinar tree brings to mind romance, splendour, and persistence. A look at the title The Whispering Chinar invoked similar images, but in reality, Ali Rohila’s book is anything but romantic. The stories in this collection tackle themes of power and entitlement, family dynamics, male privilege, and bigotry besides others.
Rohila is the descendant of Nawab Hafiz Rehman Khan Rohila, the Pakhtoon ruler of Rohilkhand. Though a banker by profession, he is familiar with the great poetic and romantic traditions as his father Parto Rohila was a famous poet and scholar, known for translating into Urdu all the known Persian letters of Mirza Ghalib. The Whispering Chinar is Rohila’s first book of fiction; his first book Read No Evil, a collection of essays was published in 2015.
In the garden of Khan Mohammad Usman Khan, in Charbagh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a short detour from the Grand Trunk Road, that leads towards Afghanistan, stands a chinar tree. Legend has it that it was planted by a saint known to the Khan’s grandfather; the saint had told him that the family would prosper as long as the tree survived. The tree has stood for generations, a silent witness to many stories that unfolded under its span. “It was said that the chinar whispered to people who cared to listen. Older family members had firmly believed that its rustling leaves conveyed messages from nature. But the generation that could decipher its whispering had faded away and the new one attributed the rustling only to the breeze.”
The stories in this collection are interlinked as each of the story in this collection has a Charbagh connection; either it is set in Charbagh or involves the people who have some connection to the place. In Charbagh, though modernity is slowly creeping up, family honour and traditions are cherished. Without romanticising or glamourising the place and its inhabitants, Rohila narrates his stories of unrequitted love and family honour, religious persecution, patriarchy and breaking of its shackles, and what it means to belong to Charbagh, along with stories of jealousy, loss, rivalry, ego, morality, power, financial struggles, loyalty, family dynamics, and vulnerability in a straightforward manner. His characters seem to be caught up in situations where religious bigotry, patriarchy, misogyny, and radicalism often manifest themselves in their worst forms.
In most of the stories strict socio-cultural and patriarchal norms are at work, though the actual themes vary. The clear class divide and the setting up of boundaries in the case of servants in the household where their loyalty makes them almost like family but a distinction remains; the careful scrutiny of parentage and family while forming marriage alliances; and whether education has any value if people remain headstrong about their beliefs are some common themes that are evident in his stories.
In the first story, there is a passing reference to a small village, Kiyara, in the region that has been submerged by Tarbela Dam. The reference is perhaps a sign that just like the village was sacrificed for development and progress, the woman in this love story is sacrificed in the name of honour and tradition. The secret love affair between Fahad, Khan Sahib’s youngest son, and a maid servant does not go unnoticed by Lala, Khan Sahib’s old faithful servant who was considered part of the family. It is a dangerous affair that threatens to uproot social norms. Fahad is sent to the city, while Saad Bibi, the maid, ends her life as she learns that she is to be married to a drug addict, a marriage from which she had fled from her village some time back and sought refuge at Khan Sahib’s house.
This story also gives us a peek into Khan Sahib’s household in Charbagh, with emphasis on hierarchy within the family and patriarchy being the norm; though we read that the “granddaughters would question their mothers about the preference given to their brothers. Such questions would often be hushed up and the matter chalked up to the universal order of things as desired by Allah.”
Khan Sahib enjoys respect in the area and his house “was a sanctuary for men and women of the nearby mountain villages; the women running away from abusive husbands and the men from vendettas.” His hujra was considered the central point of Charbagh. Disputes and issues would be brought up to him for his wise intervention. For generations the lone banyan tree, that was reverentially placed in the centre of the courtyard and provided an aura of holiness to the hujra, had been a witness to issues that were resolved amicably under it.
In the story titled “The Tears of Nazo”, Nazo learns that the views of her liberal and progressive family also have their limits. She had wondered all her life why she had been sent to live in a hostel and during holidays sent off to the village to be with her ailing grandfather while her siblings were home with the parents only to learn some bitter truths and the limits of her progressive family. One learns that she is not Saleem Khan’s (Khan Sahib’s eldest son) daughter but her parentage or real relationship with Saleem Khan is left to the readers’ imagination, perhaps because it is not relevant to the story.
“The General’s Son” and “The Rebound” are love stories where the latter seems to be the former’s sequel. While one is set in Lahore and in the other the male protagonist has moved to another country a few years later yet is connected with his family back home, in both the stories family honour is important. Relationships are built but broken when family honour appears to be at stake. People in love and those who have had a falling out act without caring for the sensibilities and emotions of others and mess up their lives. In “The Rebound” one sees a conflict between the traditional path followed by old-fashioned families and the fervour of young people in love.
Religion is an underlying theme of the stories titled “The Imam” and “The Blasphemer” which offer insight into the gradual build-up of religious fanaticism, and how liberal and secular voices are bulldozed by extremist views of right and wrong, and the sane have no choice but to remain silent as extremists scream out their views
A couple of stories bring to mind similar incidents that occurred in the past or maybe the stories are driven from these incidents and presented with some twists. The story titled “The Blasphemer” reminds one of the case of Junaid Hafeez, an English teacher who was accused of blasphemy, sentenced to death, and is still languishing in prison waiting decision on his appeal. The character in the story, too, is an English teacher, accused of blasphemy, but unfortunately loses his mind in the prison. The similarities do not end in both of them being teachers of English literature and holding liberal views but also the fact that both their lawyers were killed for representing them.
Similarly, in the story “Mahbanu” a Maulana is crippled in an accident and is confined to the wheelchair. While looking for something to keep himself relevant, he learns that Junaid (the accused in ‘The Blasphemer’) had been found mentally unfit to face trial which meant he could be set free, he grabs the opportunity and stages a sit-in at Faizabad. The readers are reminded of the sit-in by a religious cleric at the same spot. It is another matter that the Maulana in the story was confronted by a courageous paraplegic girl for disrupting traffic and causing problems for the common man. The story also shows that being differently abled is not a hindrance in speaking up your mind and that sometimes it is the women and children who, though considered weak, initiate a change. “In a matter of minutes, the crowd led by women and children started moving decisively towards the sit-in to dislodge the miscreants blocking their way. The reluctant men, ambling nearby, followed.”
In most of the stories the main characters are thrown into specific situations and the story moves around how they respond, in the process affecting those around them. This is particularly evident in “The Office”, where a bank employee, Imran, has given up all his interests, social and family life, and whose existence revolved around spreadsheets and presentations, in pursuit of a word of appreciation and a promotion. On the brink of desperation due to the treatment meted out to him by his boss, he asks his friend to buy him a gun. He would often hold it in his hands and “felt the same excitement he once felt while watching cricket or playing the harmonium. … After a long time, Imran had found delight in an object outside the cells of a spreadsheet.” Unexpectedly, he uses the gun to end his life.
The characters in the story ‘The Revenge’ are modern and liberal living away from Charbagh, though both have roots in the village. It shows how men cannot face rejection by a woman and can go to any length to pull the woman down. Farid Khan’s male ego cannot take rejection when Shazia, who belongs to the Ahmadi community, refuses to marry him. His reaction exposes the feudal mindset, as he plays the religion card, and has her imprisoned, on the charge of “spreading the banned Qadiani faith and undermining the established religion.”
Since Rohila belongs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where most stories are set, he is familiar with the area’s socio-cultural norms, the honour code, the politics and religious feelings, conservatism, its lifestyle and the freedoms one enjoys, and disparities among various sectors of society. He has observed the changes that took place over the years and is able to draw from the traditional culture and rapid modernity and the conflict between the two, as well as differences and commonalities between rural and urban setup and the feudal and corporate settings. This knowledge comes in handy in creating his stories and characters.
Beginning from the 1970s, The Whispering Chinar is a collection of enticing stories from the part of our country with which is the world is not too familiar.
Rizwana Naqvi is a freelance journalist and tweets @naqviriz; she can be reached at naqvi59rizwana@gmail.com
All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer