Saeed 1

Nimah SaeedProfessor John Ness

Thesis Statement

In traditional India caste, class and geography have played an important role in creating

differences among families. Family and gender issues have always been a controversial issue in

India. This can be illustrated by taking a deeper look into the short stories written by famous

authors and classical Indian movie.

Introduction

Ila Mehta's story "Smoke" returns to a critique of modernity by protesting its dichotomy between the spiritual and the physical. As we are well aware, the division of the home and the world was stabilized with another ideological distribution of properties so that the former was considered sacred and the latter mundane. In Mehta's story, a widowed urban woman doctor is unable to admit desire, sexual or any other, because she has been placed in the realm of the spiritual and thereby removed from the touch of the physical. As her mother-in-law reports: "Mama was all too full of praise, dear. 'Shubha is indeed a saint, he said. "Her life is like an incense stick. It burns itself to release its fragrance into the world."

Like so many stories in this collection, this is a sad tale of troubles in a family. Joygopal is married to Sasi and they live a simple life. However, her mother dies leaving a baby, Sasi’s brother, Nilmani. Much to her husband’s disappointment, Sasi sort of becomes her little brother’s mother. Joygopal is primarily concerned because the baby, being a boy, will be entitled to Sasi’s father’s wealthy estate, and Joygopal, a lazy and fairly disreputable fellow has his eyes on this fortune.Their lives are virtually ruined by this bitter property fight, since Sasi fights for Nilmani’s rights. Sasi dies young, quickly and under suspicious circumstances.

An overlapping theme in the “The Wedding Shroud,” is the distinct advantages men have over women. The male characters in these stories procure female resources with no consequences or restitution. In each of the stories a man takes something of significant value from a woman, usually her body or her labor, leaving her depleted, while augmenting himself from her resources. These males do not have to pay for their exploitation of women and observers rarely restrain them. At the end of the story, Chughtai suggests that a man’s serial exploitations of a woman do not end with the close of the narrative, but rather, that the exploitation continues even after reading has stopped. Chughtai attacks the perpetuation of a system that allows men to assume and abuse their power over women.

Historical Context

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The short story “Smoke” does not tell when does it take place. Ila Mehta, the author, does not use

specific dates nor does she mention major historical events but she does mention that the story

was written down in the year 1985. “The Elder Sister” by Rabindranath Tagore has no such

historical context as well. The movie “Chandni Bar” directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, the story

takes place in Mumbai, India. While in the beginning some of the scenes have been shot in

Sitapur (U.P.). The director mentions the year the story took place is in 1985. The major

historical event that has been mentioned in this movie are the communal riots between Hindus

and Muslims. As for “The Wedding Shroud” it was written in the years 1945-1955 by Ismat

Chugtai. No such historical context of the story is provided by the author.

Geographical Context

The short story “Smoke” takes place in India. The region of the country which is the setting of

the story’s action is Gujrat, India. The setting of this story is urban. Shubha is a doctor by

profession and own a clinic. “The Elder Sister” took place in India. The main character, Sasi

lived in a village so she had a rural side of life but her husband, Joygopal on the other hand

leaves for Assam, an Indian state to look for employment. where comes the urban setting. The

story of the movie “Chandni Bar” is set in India. Mumbai (urban) is the region of the country

where the movie’s story is set. However, in the beginning of the movie, Sitapur (U.P.) is shown

which is a rural setting. Ismat Chughtai in “The Wedding Shroud” does not specifically mention

in which country or region the story takes place but with a few hints its clear that it is an urban

setting.

Social Context

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The main characters of the story “Smoke” belong to an upper class. Shubha is educated and is a

doctor. Her mother-in-law is independent and travels by herself. It is a very well to do family.

The social group is neither powerful nor marginal. In “The Elder Sister” the main characters

belong to a middle class. It is rather a moderate social group. Susi’s husband, Joygopal is not in a

favor of Susi keeping her brother. he’s against her decision. The movie “Chandni Bar” has main

characters belonging to a lower class. Mumtaz has to work in bar to earn an income and her

husband, Pottya is a killer and takes money for killing people. If the scenario is scene from a

normal person whose life is in danger than Pottya belongs to a powerful social group but there

are way powerful people from whom he takes bribes from. The characters of “The Wedding

Shroud” belong to a lower class. Their social group is marginal.

Family Context

In the story "Smoke", the family keeps up with their traditions. For instance, they regularly

change the old garlands with the new ones on the pictures of their deceased ones. The mother-in-

law is against smoking. Shubha has a habit of smoking but she has to keep it a secret from her

mother-in-law. They are very family oriented. Shubha's husband and father-in-law die in a car

accident so there is not much of a female-male relationship shown. But Shubha goes over to one

of her patient's house and spends quality time with him. Ba, the mother-in-law has all the power

in the house that is why Shubha is reluctant to smoke in front of her. In "The Elder Sister" Sasi's

parents die leaving with her a baby boy to take care of. Sasi is a loyal sister. She treats her

brother like a son. She stands up for him against her husband. There are actually both strong and

weak female-male relationships in this story. The bond Sasi shares with her brother is a strong

female-male relationship. The sister-brother relationship is as strong as a mother-son

relationship. The relationship between Sasi and her husband is weak. They both have no love or

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passion for each other nor do they fit on a common ground. In the film "Chandni Bar", Mumtaz

is raped by her uncle. Mumtaz's uncle has the power in their family but once Pottya marries

Mumtaz he has the power. Once Pottya dies, Mumtaz has the power over her children. Mumtaz's

family dies in communal riots. She is mentally disturbed by a series of events in her life; first her

parents die in communal riots, her uncle rapes her, then her husband dies, her son goes to jail and

she has no money to get him out of jail and lastly her children go on the same path as Mumtaz

and Pottya; her son becomes a killer and her daughter, a bar dancer. In "The Wedding Shroud",

female members of Kubra's family encourage her to believe that a young man staying with the

family will marry her if she treats him special. The family was emotionally disturbed when

Kubra was rejected by the guy because they made a lot of sacrifices to provide him with special

food and delicacies.

Ethical Context:

In "Smoke", Shubha and her mother-in-law are emotionally disturbed due to the death of two

people in their family. Shubha is emotionally troubled which is one of the reasons she smokes. In

"The Elder Sister" the author explains the division of property in traditional Indian families. As a

sister, Shubha was fulfilling her brother's rights by taking care of him. Shubha's husband

involves her brother in a fraud that is where the wrong action in the story comes from. The

author explains the importance for a sense of responsibility by showing the bond Sasi and her

brother share. In "Chandni Bar", the director is defining prostitution as a form of violence against

women. He raised a moral issue in this movie that even if the people go to the police for help,

they do not help the needy people because they themselves work for bribes. There is no justice at

all. Mumtaz does not have enough money to go to the court and seek justice for her son and no

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one helps her out. In "The Wedding Shroud" , Ismat Chugtai focuses on relationships among

Muslim women, using the day-to-day language of the household.

Conclusion