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January 11, 2004
Excerpts: And then came the change
This excerpt from Munshi Premchand’s Bazaar-e-Husn captures the dilemma of the courtesan trapped in the culture and social order of her time
PANDIT Padam Singh’s hard work of four or five months bore some fruit. Twenty or twenty-five courtesans agreed to send their daughters to an orphanage. Three women endowed their property to the orphanage. Five women agreed to marry.
Good intentions leave their mark. If society is convinced that one is sincere, it is ready to do one’s bidding. But one’s dedication can create such faith. Unless the conscience is pure and bright, it cannot throw its shadow over others. Dedication had sprung up in Padam Singh’s heart. How many of us feel the urge to work for the public good. But more often than not the propelling force behind it is our greed. We want to do something that will make us famous. We would like to write something that people will find valuable. And often we are rewarded for our labour. However, we cannot win over the ordinary man in this way. No matter how deep his troubles, he will not confide in one whom he does not consider sincere and sympathetic.
Padam Singh had been to the courtesans’ quarter many times. But the more closely he studied their lives the sadder he felt, to see such beautiful women squander their all for the sake of sensual pleasure. He was so disturbed by this that his tears would fall. He discovered moreover that the women were not entirely devoid of moral and decent feelings and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. However the strength of character that is needed to subdue sensual appetite had been destroyed. Lust had paralyzed and blunted their inner faculties. Padam Singh wanted to break this spell of lust, and to bring back these lost beauties into the fold of righteousness. But the web was so strong, the sleep so deep, that in the first six months he had not been able to achieve more than what has been mentioned above. The condition of these women was that of the inebriate.
Meanwhile, Parbhakar Rao and his friends had brought up the rejected components of the proposal in the Board. When they had opposed these parts, they had done so only on the grounds of their mistrust of Padam Singh. But when they observed his present preoccupation, they attacked him with his own munition. Padam Singh stayed away from the Board’s session, and Dr Shyama Charan was in Nainital. Both sub-proposals were passed unopposed.
Houses were being built for the courtesans near Alipur. They had been authorized by the Board. Lala Bhagat was supervising them diligently. Some were of clay and others of baked brick. Some houses had two storeys. There was a small market, and a small clinic, as well as a school. Haji Hashim had started building a mosque and Seth Chaman Lal had commissioned a temple. Dina Nath had started a garden. It was hoped that everything would be completed on schedule, but despite much haste it took a year to complete the project. As soon as it was done, notice was given to the courtesans to leave their quarters in the red-light district and move into the new precincts.
The common impression was that the courtesans would oppose the move strongly but people were pleasantly surprised to find that the women obeyed the order happily. The red-light area was vacated in a single day and the place that used to be humming with activity day and night, was deserted by that very evening.
Mehboob Jan was an old prostitute. She gave away all her assets to the orphanage. That evening there was a grand gathering of courtesans at her house. Shahzadi, who was one of them, said during a speech, ‘My sisters, today a new era, in our lives, begins. May God bless our intentions and guide us to the right path. We have lived in shame and disgrace too long. We have spent too much of our lives as Satan’s prisoners. We have murdered our souls and our faith for too long, and have spent too much time on lust and worldly luxuries. The ground in this district is blackened by our sins.
‘Today God has had mercy on us and relieved us of our burden, and we should give thanks to Him. There is no doubt that most of our sisters are distressed by our expulsion from this place and that they see a bleak future for themselves. I beg to remind them that God has not taken away anybody’s livelihood. You have talents that will be valued by many. But even if, God forbid, we suffer adversity, we must not grieve, for, my sisters, the more we suffer the lighter our burden of sin will become. I pray again to God Almighty to illumine our hearts with His light, and to guide us to the right path.’
Said Ram Bholi Bai, ‘We should be grateful to Pandit Padam Singh. May God bless him.’
Zehra Jan added, ‘I want to say to my sisters that in the future they should keep in mind what is permitted and what is forbidden. Music is permitted. We should improve our skill in it. But we should stop being the playthings of the lecherous rich. We have been enslaved by our sins for too long, now we should be free. Did God create us so that we should give away our beauty, our youth, our souls, our faith, and our honour, to lustful men? When a rich youth falls in love with us how delighted we are; our madams are pleased, and it seems to us that we have trapped a golden bird. But in truth it is we who are caught in the trap; no, we have knowingly fallen into the trap. He has bought us with his wealth, and we have lost to him the precious thing that is our virtue. In future we should dismiss from our community all those who we find are inclined to wander from the straight path.’
Sunder Bai said, ‘Zehra’s suggestion is a good one. I too think that if a man begins to visit us we should first observe what kind of a person he is. If we love him and he is also drawn to us, then we should marry him. But if he comes only out of lust, we should immediately turn him out and not sell our honour so cheap.’
Ram Pyari said, ‘Swami Gujanand gave us a book in which it says that beauty is the reward for good deeds in a previous incarnation. Unfortunately we squander on our present hell event the wealth we inherited from the past. Those of my sisters who like Zehra Jan’s suggestion, please raise your hands.’
Twenty or twenty-five women raised their hands.
Ram Pyari spoke again. She said, ‘Now, those who don’t agree with her suggestion, please put up your hands.’
Not a single hand was raised this time.
Mehboob Jan, an old courtesan said, ‘I know you will laugh at my pious thoughts which come after a lifetime of sin, but I’ll still say today, seven days before I leave for Haj, that it gives me great pleasure to see your determination. May God help you succeed in your good intentions.’
Some women were whispering among themselves. It was apparent from their expressions that the sentiments expressed by the others did not please them. But they did not dare speak their thoughts aloud. Indeed, base thoughts are subdued when they come face to face with noble feelings.
The function came to an end and all the women left for Alipur, like pilgrims heading for a holy place. Darkness fell on the red-light district. There was neither the sound of drums nor the melodic preludes of fiddlers. The pleasing notes of song had ceased and the flocks of beaus and pleasure seekers were no more. The market where beauty had long been sold had taken on the look of a harvested field.
For many months Madan Singh could only speak ill of Sadan. He accused him of being undutiful, dissolute, and a vagabond. He would say, ‘I will not leave him a penny. When he faces privation and has to beg for a living, he will come to his senses.’ Several times he reminded Padam Singh to make out the deed of gift. He was annoyed whenever he heard Bhama speak of Sadan, and he threatened to leave the house and become a fakir, rather than see his son.
After some time however, his mood changed. He stopped speaking of Sadan altogether. If somebody else spoke ill of him he would pretend not to hear, or would say, ‘Why do you curse him? He will get the punishment that he deserves. He makes his own living, let him do so. At least he keeps away from me.’ Lala Beja Nath, a man much favoured by him, brought the news that Oma Nath had given Sadan thousands of rupees and a house was being built with the money. A garden was being laid out too. Sadan had bought a lime kiln. He was making a lot of money, and spending lavishly too.
Madan Singh retorted with exasperation, ‘So, would you like to see him begging? How can poor Oma Nath give him anything? He is himself penniless these days. Sadan must have earned the money to pay for what he has. Whatever his faults, he is neither a cripple, nor lazy. He is young, and eager to enjoy life. If he earns good money and is lavish in his spending why should it worry anyone? There are so many youths in this village of yours, who earn not a penny, yet squander what their families give them. At least, Sadan is better than they.’
Munshi Beja Nath was embarrassed.
In accordance with the law of motion, Madan Singh’s feelings underwent a reaction equal in strength to the original feelings of anger against Sadan. The face of his son was now always before his mind’s eye. He thought of him constantly and would talk of him to others: ‘See how cruel he is. He is angry with me, is he? As though, when I die, I can take my property and goods with me! He can’t bear to come here even once. He has no shame, that callous boy. Imagine, being haughty with me! Let’s see how far you run. I’ll find you wherever you are!’
Excerpted with permission from
Courtesans’ Quarter Translation of Bazaar-e-Husn
By Munshi Premchand
Translated into English by Amina Azfar
Oxford University Press,
Plot # 38, Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi
Tel: 111-693-673
Email: ouppak@theoffice.net Website:
www.oup.com.pk
ISBN 0-19-597710-6
260pp. Rs350
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