THE SURVIORS( UNHOYE)

The Survivors (originally published as Unhoye in Punjabi), is his second major novel by Gurdial Singh. Set in a pre independence Punjabi background, this is a story about a man named Bishna, a brave and spirited man with his stubborn convictions and his ideals and struggles in life. The novel describes the social structure prevailing at the time and a man’s struggle (and at times obstinacy) to uphold his dignity in the dwindling social system. The title ‘The Survivors’ carries the weight of the battle which Bishna Singh and his wife mount despite of judging its consequences which eventually consumes their lives, flickering its flames throughout but one thing survives, unbroken, their spirit.

The novel is intricately woven, spun with all the threads of details, emotions and meaning with a deep insight into human nature through the eyes of the protagonist, Bishna as well as his acquaintances. The author incessantly describes each plot in rich detail throwing light on Bishna’s state of mind and checking its practicality through the various other characters. The author emotes well through the story being himself a carpenter’s son from a rural background.

The one thing that strikes reading the book is its finely crafted minimalism which has a rare sculptor’s touch. The idea is not only evident in the way in which he designs the mise-en-scene of the book, but also in the subject matter, his skilful use of language and his microscopic vision of life. His strength lies in crafting living monuments out of ordinariness of our lives and inanities which we often overlook.

With Bishna at its core, the story is about him and his brother Bhagta and their encounters with the society and the vagarities and realities of life. All his life Bishna struggles against the authorities to uphold his pride and dignity supported by his wife and wearily by his brother. He speaks out against the flawed justice offered by the government lickspittles (vazirs and chaudhris) for which he earns the contempt of the authorities and so the common people.

The relationship between the brothers is strained because of their different views in their fight against the government. The relationship is further severed by Bhagat’s wife Kartari, who brews poison in her heart against his brother and her wife Daya Kaur, and mouths it openly in front of her husband to whom he doesn’t oppose. Whereas Daya Kaur on the other hand is the epitome of love, affection and most of all sacrifice. The way she cares for Bhagta’s and Buta’s children, and looks after Bhagta and his wife despite the fact that she nurses hatred for them all her life, give us an insight to the compassionate creature she is.

What comes across powerfully in this book is the author’s grounding in the harsh realities of life, in the dynamics of relationships as they work at the very basic level—love, greed, jealousy, hatred, longing. The reader feels them all, mostly in a raw, unalloyed form. Another confrontation, another jail sentence, the brothers drift further apart.

 The characters of Budha his loyal apprentice, Hetiya an accountant try to guide Bhishna to a practical decision for his problems without any avail.

The character of Bishan Singh is a hard one, both in spirit and in his actions which is evident by the phrases used to describe him with his steel voice and an iron clenched jaw and eyes burning like coals. He stakes all he has for his honour and pities people like Gokul Chauhdary, Toti Mal, both moneylenders, who have no shred of honour in them.

But later in the novel, Bishna’s character emerges as a rather stubborn person and in instances even a foolish one. He fails to care for his wife Daya Kaur, and despite her deteriorating condition drags her along with him and finally realises her worth when she is lost and gone.

The novel brings out human emotions in its crude form and lays out bare irrationalities and whims of the human mind and the way with which it attaches itself to another human being, all along looking for a bond and the emotions it renders when these gossamer fibres are cut off, leaving a raw and a gaping hole which we try to fill with consolations.

Gurdial Singh is now a much acclaimed writer and winner of Jnanpith Award and many other literary honors  Born as a carpenter’s son, he had to face a lot of struggle because of his house’s poverty finally emerging as a writer. He taught as a school teacher and later as a professor at the Bathinda Regional Centre of Punjabi University.

The translation by Rana Nayar is a really appreciable work of literature as it retains the Punjabi essence of the novel, retaining the japes and the jibes so common to that land that it retains its flavor.

The books definitely makes a good read and in my opinion, stands tall and proud in the acclaimed world of books that we have so far read in this course. The author conjures the shadows from everyday village life and breathes life into them. The book beautifully relates to the common life and leaves an impression of the depths and infinite horizons of our mind ending in the murky shades of black. All in all, it’s nicely written.