BOOK REVIEW OF PINJAR (THE SKELETON)

Written by Amrita Pritam &

Translated by Khushwant Singh

Pinjar (The Skeleton), a novel by the Jnanpith Laureate Amrita Pritam, is the voice of the huge outcry that resulted due to religious conflicts during India’s independence and partition. Amrita Pritam herself migrated from Lahore to India when the former British India was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan and it seems that she was  very much moved by the massacres during the time of independence .  This probably encouraged her to write such an influential novel which was made into an award winning film, Pinjar (2003) .

 As the title suggests it is also set against the background of the plight of the women who had been turned into mere skeletons due to abduction by the men folk. Seen through the eyes of a Hindu girl Pooro, it gives a picturesque description of the mournful condition that resulted due to the scornful attitude of the two major religious groups of the Hindus and the Muslims against each other during India’s partition.

Pinjar is basically the story of Pooro who is kidnapped by a Muslim guy named Rashida in order to avenge a past calamity in a similar fashion. Pooro goes through the mournful abduction process which is aggravated by the parental desert when her father refuses to accept her as he fears this act would lead to severe genocide. However, Rashida is deeply in love with her and promises to keep her happy throughout his lifetime inspite of the fact that he forcefully married her.  Later, Pooro comes across a mad woman and a girl who had been sexually harassed and amidst the unfavourable circumstances she does her best according to the need of the situation. She even adopts the son of the mad woman out of love of motherhood. She refers to these as pinjars(skeletons) and vows to help and protect them against the initial tragedies associated with them. This is clearly reflected as she is successful in rescuing her own sister-in-law from the clutches of harassment and plight through her shrewdness and bravery along with the help and support of Rashida.

The characters in the novel are both round and flat.  The characters of Pooro and her husband Rashida are worth appreciating. However Pooro’s parents are seen to have a possessive character as they do everything that will retain the dignity of the family though it may be at the cost of their own family members in contrast to the charismatic character of her own daughter. The novel is of a chronotope type, dealing with the scene during independence although it can be easily related to the scenario associated with subdivisions of a state due to genocide reasons.  It appears that the intended audience are both the men and the women folk as the author wants both the oppressors and the oppressed to be aware of the gravity of the situation and raise voices against the same. The author is keen on making the society people aware of the pains undergone by the sufferers and the sympathetic concern they need from them for no fault of their own.

Throughout the novel, Amrita Pritam has nourished the character of Pooro as an epitome of woman power and significance. Although Rashida is also brought up as a dynamic figure , still the flawless description of Pooro clearly shows the author’s great desire to glorify the suppressed power contained within the female section as against the greatly cherished position and dominating status of the male population.

The conclusion part of the novel is the best possible one as the author is quite successful in focusing the pious and true meaning of love, unbarred by any religious disparity. The author is also quite successful in emphasising   the influence  of mass awakening in contrast to sole uprisals as Pooro’s brother accepts his wife inspite of the fact of her being abducted by a Muslim . Blend in a stream of emotions and happenings the author takes the readers through a journey of self development and awakening against the hazards of the social and political culprits. The book stands as a testimony to the powerful narration of the typical social strands against the weaker section of the society and leaves no scope of confusion due to the uttermost clarity of language maintained throughout the novel. Moreover, the coherence of the events associated with the novel is worth appreciating.

The most fascinating thing that the novel focuses is the fact that when a social evil surpassed by the victim is on a sole basis it is difficult for the family members to accept the sufferer fearing the disrespect due to the social system. However when the same situation is undergone by a greater number of victims, the society handles the situation with a sympathetic touch as is clearly revealed in the novel where Pooro’s sister- in -law is accepted by her husband vowing to treat her with same self respect as before.  

Overall, reading the novel was a touching experience as it unreveals the ugly side of the hidden social evils and also the bitterness of the upheavals due to the communal disparities. Moreover the spine chilling description of the sufferings of the female flock in a male dominated society is worth appreciating. Thus, I would refer the book to all my friends for a more pronounced experience about the social issues generally unnoticed by most of us and making the world a better and safer place for all of us to live in.

RINI KAPOOR

2011CH70179