Fakeer of Jungheera as a love story

Topic: The Fakeer of Jungheera as a love story

Paper: 4

Paper name: Indian writing in English

Name: Bhatt Urvi P.

Roll no.: 35

Class: sem-1

Year: 2013-14

Submitted to: MKBU

Q-  The Fakeer of Jungheera as a Love story:

A-

·         Introduction:

         The Fakeer of Jungheera by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. He was born on 18 April, 1809 and living only 22 years. He died on 1831. He was a teacher and a poet.

               Derozeo was an Indian poet and assistant headmaster of Hindu College, Kolkata, a radical thinker and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning science among the young men of Bengal.

                      Long after his death due to Cholera, his influence lived on among his former students. Who came to be knows as young Bengal and many of whom became prominent in social reform, law and journalism.

                Derozio wrote wonderful poems in English. ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘ is one of the most significant landmark in the history of patriotic poetry in India. In his days Bengal faced many problems of caste and creed. The reassessment and inclusion of Derozio in the canon of Indian writing in English has to do with many factors. Like communism, religious aspects, colonial aspects.

                 In ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘ Derozio mixed the tantric, Hindu, mythological, Islamic and Christian tradition. He got the idea about writing the poem of spiritual love from Baital Pachisi. As the story goes, if king Vikram remains steadfast in his love for his queen, he can resurrect her and once more both can find happiness together. The dauntless fortitude and courage that the king exemplifies by passing through the horrible ordeal in the graveyard leading to his triumph, inspires conclusion to the tragic death of the Fakeer in the arms of his beloved Nuleeni. If the Nuleeni can gain be resurrected in the arms of the Fakeer if she can pass through the horrors and temptation of life.

                  Fakeer and Nuleeni are star-crossed lover’s life Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet were the children of two enemies whose love brought the tragic end. Here, in ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera ‘, Fakeer is the follower of Islam. Fakeer means saint- a person who has renounced the world but here he loves a lady Nuleeni, who is married and also an upper caste female. Nuleeni was married to a Brahmin. Her husband dies in an early youth.

              Nuleeni, the beloved of Fakeer never loved her husband. In the day of Henry Derozio, Indian subcontinent was caught by many evils like ‘Sati- pratha ’, killing girl child by boiling the still born baby in the hot pot of milk etc. Nuleeni belonged to a conservative Hindu society in the nineteenth century. She pure and beautiful. She doesn't want to end her life behind a person whom she never loved.

                    Nuleeni was brought to be the spot where her husband is to be cremated. Women were singing songs praising sati. They sang of going to die on the funeral pyre of her husband and escapes with the bandit Fakeer to his cave in Jungheera to a life from death. She escaped death but she starts a life of forbidden love though frightened by violent social norms. She believes that her lover’s courage and her unfailing love will finally, make them victorious. Her fair and beautiful face brightens the dark social setting of the poem and mitigates the bold audacity of the Fakeer who snatches her from the midst of a group of mourning upper caste Hindu at the funeral.

“O! For the speed of swiftest hound

   At once into her arms to bound!

   O! for the speed of sunny beam,

   Or eagle’s wing, or airy dream,

   Or lightning glance of rapid eye

   From younger rocky height to fly.”

           In the intense bond of love Nuleeni’s lover comes and takes her to his abode. They forgot their caste discrimination. Fakeer fought that the people at funeral and took Nuleeni with him. Nuleeni left all the relations of behind and got united with her lover. They did not know that they were challenging the ancient and so called norms of the society. They took the risk to escape and elope with each other rejecting the social order. Fakeer with great courage snatched his beloved from the people of upper class. The upper class people had the authority in Bengal. How can they bear the insult? How can they tolerate the weaker sect running away in this way?

               Henry Derozio here, through this poem is opposing the evils of the Bengal’s society. Indian society was divided into upper and lower caste religious division caste and creed and many superstitious beliefs. The people were orthodox. Derozio wanted them to come up leaving the dark sides of the characteristics aside. He was criticized due to his preaching. The youth supported whereas superstitious people tried to block them.

               The brave rebellion of the lover draws our attention towards the inequality of Indian subcontinent. One can say that this poems marks an important steep in the use of social themes in literary texts endorsing a syncretistic tradition quite popular in the nineteenth century Bengal. Instead of belaboring upon the misery of slavery, Henry Derozio embarked upon a mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the practice of widow sitting alive on the pyre.

                   Derozio opens the first canto with the wind wandering gently like young spirits.

“The sun lit steam in dimples breaks,

   As when a child from slumber wakes,

  Sweet smiling on its mother-there,

  Like heavenly hope o’er mortal care”

                Second stanza the sad theme is established where a woman has to become sati.

                 In fifth stanza a group of people protected by soldiers is depicted. In the next one Hindu women sing songs of sacrifice as Nuleeni is to die but later on we come to know that she runs away with Fakeer. Up to stanza 14 we are not told the name of our heroine. In stanza 14 Derozio juxtaposed against the Christian image of an external soul highlight the syncretism aspect of the poet’s imagination. In the next stanza the poet prophesies the tragic future of two lover and weave images of angles.

“And this good angels weaves for me,

  The wreath of immorality!”

             Here, the poet mixes Hindu and Christian religion.

                 In stanza 25, we are introduced to Nuleeni’s lover, Fakeer who looks as if is a warrior:

“His dusky brow, his raven hari,

 His limbs or strength, his mortial air.”

                 Nuleeni dreamt him and one is in his embrace-

“I dread and now before my view,

 My dream, my golden dream is true!”

              She worships him as deity and to him she is him she is his goddess.

“Henceforth I turn my willing knee

From Alla, Prophet, heaven to thee!”

                 Derozio sees love between a Hindu and a Muslim as transcending religious categories in colonial Bengal lays the ground for the inevitable conflict that ensues in second canto.

                  The second canto begins with the soft gurgling of fountains like the flute of Krishna as sumps are lit in mosques. In the second stanza the poet introduces the popular belief that loves for woman can lead a god-fearing young person away from worship. There are many mythical examples of saints who were distracted by ‘Apsaras’ from heaven.

                 Stanza 7 reveals the affronted father of Nuleeni who wants to avenge the insult on Fakeer. The father requests Shah Shuja may be the ruler or landlord of the place to supply him force to teach a lesson to Fakeer.

“A thousand of his bravest band,

The stars of Muslim Chivalry,

At princely Shoojah”s high command,

As though it were some god’s decree,

Attend Nuleeni’s injured size

With all the vault of martial fire.”

          Now the poet takes twist. He talks about the ups and down of life. He talks about how man proposes but god disposes-

“Life moves inconstant,

Like the rippling rill,

Hope’s and the moon’s rays,

quiver o’er them still!”

            The army arrives at the abode of Fakeer and Nuleeni Instead of running away he decides to fight back-

“A drawing conquest must my band achieve,

And’ is my promise, ere other chiefs,

Shall be selected for thy love’s relief,

Once more lead them to their prey alone,

Then quit for ever, and be all thins own.”

          Nuleeni’s fear comes true and Fakeer’s life is lost while fighting Nuleeni cradles him in her arms and dies together with him.

“An unseen hand with a glittering lance,

Checked the chieftain’s fierce advance,

And forth the blood from his bosom streamed,

And quenched hope’s latest ray as it beamed!”

                  And thus comes the end of the tragic love story Nuleeni dies with the person whom she loved. She becomes a free agent to choose her destiny. In ancient time, in our country, women were allowed to choose their life partners on their own. We have the example s from our great books as Rukmani, Parvati, Draupadi, Kunti, Gandhari, Sanyagita. These women chose their husbands on their own. Our ancient culture was glorious but the invasions Foreign ruined our past culture.

                        The secular and universal ideas that Derozio exposes in his poetry do not go well with the separatist and divisional politics of modern India. These are some of the revisionist consequences of modernity. However, the ‘modes of social life that emerged in the early nineteenth century in response to modernity in India now take us beyond modernity’ into the information age. If India must shine it must do so within its own traditions and Derozio occupies a central place in it. The poet through the impossible and bold story of love-affairs between Hindu upper class widow and a Muslim lower class. Fakeer reflected and criticized the evils of Indian society.