Sunlight on a Broken Column by Attia Hosain
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| The only novel by Attia Hosain |
Being a Muslim woman in pre-partitioned India, Attia Hosain
has come to represent in modern times a unique sensibility in her ability to straddle
two different cultures. She
was born in 1913 into an aristocratic family in Lucknow - a city that is a
byword for Muslim scholarship and culture. From her father she inherited a keen
interest in politics and nationalism. From her mother's family of poets and
scholars she drew a rich knowledge of Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Her knowledge
of English came from an English governess, and subsequently as one of the few
Indian girls at an English medium school. She was the first woman from her
background to take a degree at Lucknow University.
Sunlight on a Broken Column, which
was published in 1961 is her only novel.
In 1947, during the partition, she was in England where her
husband was posted at the time. She chooses to remain there till her death in
1998, but the India of her mind, of her ancestors never truly leaves her, and
it is her nostalgia for her homeland that urges her to write. In Sunlight on a Broken Column, we are
taken back to a time almost nearly forgotten in Indian history – to the Lucknow
of 1920s when taluqdars or feudal
landlords were just second in importance to the kings. They were very rich and
lived a luxurious and elegant life. This is the ancestral family that our
protagonist Laila, an orphaned young Muslim girl, belongs to.
The title of the novel is taken from a poem by T.E. Eliot called
Hollow Men, which echoes a notion of
a changing world order. The metaphorical meaning of the title is also quite clear
if one ponders over it. The broken fragments of a once magnificent structure
(which could be feudalism, family, nation etc..) are now illuminated by
sunlight which lends one the hint of purity and clear meaning to what once was
formidable and seemingly indestructible.
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| Attia Hosain (1913 - 1998) |
The central protagonist Laila, is fifteen years old at the
start of the novel and is said to be an autobiographical sketch of the author
herself. Laila, is orphaned at a young age but is brought up in her extended
family which consists of her grandfather Baba Jan, aunts Majida and Abida and
cousin Zahra, Asad and Zahid, among others. Though Baba Jan is on his deathbed
as the novel begins, he is the autocratic, imposing and stern head of the large
household. He also belongs to a generation of Indian feudal landlords who had
settled and lived for centuries amidst royalty and had numerous servants and
maids to do their bidding. But as he lays dying, there is a change in the world
order.
Laila, is brought up with an unusual emphasis on education
which a Muslim girl could have had at the time. Set in a world where tradition
reigns, her education and knowledge forces her to have critical doubts on how
their feudal system is set up. It is through her eyes that we see the story
unfold. It is a highly realistic novel, and is powerfully evocative of the time
period in India that was once regal, elegant but clung firmly to a monolithic
and oppressive tradition.
The women of the family had to stay in a separate area of the
house, called the zenana and would
have to observe purdah. Though Baba
Jan maintains all such former traditional patterns their way of life, and in
his presence it is strictly adhered to, it changes once he is no more. With Uncle
Hamid, his Westernized liberal son takes over as the head of the family, it
slowly starts reflecting the changes that the British colonialism had brought
along with it. His wife, Aunt Saira and his sons Kemal and Saleem come into the
story only a little later.
Though Laila is allowed to continue her studies, and is also
allowed to forgo the purdah she
realizes that her life, her choices are not entirely in her own hands. Her
family would always decide matters for her and this is what she fights against.
India’s journey towards freedom in fact becomes a silent background for her own
journey to attain her freedom of thought and action.
The crumbling structure of the feudal setup threatens the
life of the once wealthy taluqdars,
whereas the youngsters like Laila’s cousins and friends are increasingly led to
strong nationalist feelings, but at times find themselves on two differing
sides. The self-awareness that Laila gains as she journeys from a young
innocent teenager to a thinking and courageous young woman who takes the decision
to follow a life of her choice resonates with generations of readers even
today.
Attia Hosain’s rich evocative prose instantly transports one
to a bygone era and maybe will even leave you there even after you close the
book. Her insightful and provocative ruminations, her wit and humour scattered
in the most unlikely places will make you a resident of the pages. It is only a
writer of fine sensibilities and finer craft that can bring back a
long-forgotten past with all its complexities. The partition of India and Pakistan
created a divide among communities and religions that once lived and co-existed
for generations, as we see in Baba Jan and his closest friend, as well as later
on with Laila and Sita. The conflicts of the nation also become conflicts among
families as well as their inner selves. They fight and struggle to come to
terms with a changing world order and a new
one that they couldn’t have
completely foreseen.
Attia Hosain is not read enough in my opinion. This book is
a rare gem and one that should be appreciated more often.
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