Henry Louis Vivian Derozio18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. He was poet, novelist and writer. Most of the work in found to Indian religious, culture, rule and regulation, rigidity, culture etc. His writing in see to voice of against to society. Something should be real and has society represented of cruel way. In this long poem, “The Fakeer of Jungheera” in protagonist of the Fakeer poem is a robber Fakeer or a mendicant, who belongs to some unidentified Muslim sect, while the heroine the widow Nuleeni,comes from an upper cast Bengali Hindu family.
· Role of Religion in Indian society in ‘Fakeer of Jungheera’:
“The Fakeer of Jungheera” is the masterpiece creation of Henry Derozio. In his poems, he deals with the theme of patriotism, of love, of nature, of death. The central theme of ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera’ is the ignoble and in human practice of ‘sati’ in the contemporary orthodox Indian society. This rotten system had been in vogue in the Indian society for centuries, and Derozio vehemently protested the ‘sati’ system both in his social life and in the classroom as a teacher at the Hindu college, Calcutta. He wrote this poem to highlight the issue. Derozio writes in it of various aspects of natural scenery, the evils of love which leads to confrontation at different levels. First the funeral pyre, and later when Nuleeni’s relatives, with the help of the Mughal army, try rescue her from the Fakeer a fierce battle goes on. The Fakeer fights bravely but is ultimately killed, in the battle field. Nuleeni joins him and dies in his embrace and their souls depart from this mundane world, bound by the considerations of customs and creed.
The Fakeer of Jungheera is a long narrative poem in two cantos, each running into about a thousand lines. Each canto, again, is divided into different metrical sections in various measures. This subject-matter in conventional because most of the epics, ballads and narratives deal with the subject of love, unsuitable marriage, separation by death, reunion with the former lover followed by the reaction of the society and relatives who rise in revolt to take revenge upon the person outraging the social norms.
The character of Fakeer is secondary to that of Nuleeni. It is Nuleeni who is at the center of the tragic tale. She is a figure of misery and a helpless, hapless, forlorn object of social religious regimentation. First of all there is the theme of social injustice. Dr. Jasbir Jain also says, “at the thematic level the unifying idea is the suffering of women at the hands of society.”
The holy Ganga has religious and ritual association with her. She prompts the poet to write about the theme of religion which we get in the chorus of Brahmins and that of women. The theme of happy life after death achieved through the rite of sati has also been projected.
· The social Malaise of Sati:
Instead of belaboring upon the misery of slavery, Derozio embarked upon a mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the practice of widow burning. In his notes on canto 1, Derozio criticizes the mistaken belief that the practice of Hindu widow burning exemplies “an act of unparalleled magnimity and devotion” and explains at length the problem of sati and his position on it, He writes,
“The fact it, that so far from any display of enthusiastic affection, a suttee is a spectacle of misery, exciting in the spectator a melancholy reflection upon the tyranny of superstition and priest craft. The philanthropic (the practice of helping people in need) views of some individuals are directed to the abolition of widow burning; but they should first ensure the comfort of these unhappy women in their widowhood otherwise, instead of conferring a boon upon them, existence will be too many a drudge, and a load.”
Derozio approvingly quotes a writer from the Indian magazine and endorses the latter’s opinion that sati constitutes the most barbaric and degrading aspect of Indian society which can be overcome through education and intellectual development. During the 19th century many upper caste Hindu women willfully committed sati mistakenly believing in the veracity of the Hindu ritual, an abominable act through a long process of socialization.
· Analysis of Fakeer poem:
The protagonist of the Fakeer poem is a robber Fakeer or a mendicant, who belongs to some unidentified Muslim sect, while the heroine, the widow Nuleeni, comes from an upper cast Bengali Hindu family. Derozio’s uses Christian imagery, such as heaven and juxtaposes it against the Hindu tradition of sati, Muslim prayers and tantric tale of raja Vikramjit and Baital to create acquaint, romantic atmosphere.
There are however conflicting opinions about his character. There are some who say that he is saintly wise and holy while other talk of his mindless cruelty, treachery and devilry. In stanza four the poet comments that there are cases when evil men may take to religion to hide their criminal intent:
Alas! In fairest seeming souls
The tide of guilt all blackly rolls;
And then they steal religion’s ray
Upon its surface but to play:
As o’er the darkest sea a gleam
Of brightest sunshine oft may beam,
Gilding the wave, while dark beneath
Are lurking danger, woe, and death.
The wonderful play of light and shade bring out a deceptive human nature and the evil that lies buried in the human soul.
· Conclusion:
The hardening of religious identifies in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies and the deepening schism between various religious categories, especially Hindus and Muslims, rejected the entire syncretistic tradition that once flowed unhampered not only in Bengal but the entire British India exemplified in the cult of satya pir. The theme coupled with the use of imagery set in the Indian context imparts to it a unique Indian colouring. This poem amply testifies to the poetic genius of such a young poet.
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