Fazil Shafi Bhat
( Story))
Sadaf Mushtaq Nasti
( Translation)
Faisal was stubbornly insisting to his father Rehmat Khan on leaving his village Banjarpur and migrating near the city. “Father, why don’t you agree with my opinion? See now, I can never live in this village. This village is located in a mountainous and forest area. There is no road, no school, no electricity, no arrangement for clean water. Issue with the mobile network. It’s like this village is a ruin where apart from the greenery and dense old trees, there is nothing.”
Rehmat Khan tried hard to convince Faisal but he was adamant. Faisal had got a government job after completing his education and was posted in an office in the city. He started living in a rented house there and used to come home once or twice a week to check on his elderly parents. As per his parents’ consent, Faisal married in the city itself. Even after marriage, Faisal kept coming and going to Banjarpur. Office work and children’s education issues forced Faisal to bid farewell to Banjarpur. But this was not an easy task. This had to be done against the will of Rehmat Khan. Gaining their trust was very difficult for Faisal but finally he managed to convince them to leave Banjarpur and buy a house on the outskirts of the city.
Rehmat Khan’s migration had created a void in Banjarpur. People were very upset with Rehmat Khan’s departure. He enjoyed an honourable position in the village. People used to ask his opinion on any matter. Rehmat Khan was a straightforward man of the village. His permanent separation from Banjarpur was synonymous with destabilizing the population of Banjarpur. The eyes of Banjarpur’s people were wet. Rehmat Khan’s friends were angry with him. People were crying while hugging Rehmat Khan. Every individual of Banjarpur was meeting Rehmat Khan and his family for the last time. Rehmat Khan was walking on the village trail in the forest with heavy steps, perhaps for the last time.
With the bus stop, a new journey began for Rehmat Khan. A journey that Rehmat Khan would probably never have imagined. A journey that started with the last moments of his life. Rehmat Khan had won over Faisal by hardening his heart. Strangling his own happiness and peace, Rehmat Khan had performed the ritual of great sacrifice for his son’s happiness.
In the suburbs of the city, Faisal had sold all the property of Banjarpur and bought a nice house in a modern colony. The new house had all kinds of facilities available. New sofas were laid out in the lobby, along with a large smart TV and artificial flower vases. Faisal was blooming with happiness. Today he was bringing his parents to his magnificent bungalow, which was his dream. Faisal was an obedient son to his parents, whose heart was full of parental love and affection. As soon as Rehmat Khan stepped into the modern colony, he went into a different world altogether. Except for his house, everything in the modern colony was alien to Rehmat Khan.
Faisal had taken good care of his parents but prominent signs of depression were clearly visible on their faces. The people here did not have the same affection as Banjarpur. People minded their own business and everyone was intensely engaged in themselves. Faisal would leave for office in the morning while his parents spent their days imprisoned like in their new bungalow. They had no interest in the TV. When they went out for a stroll sometimes, no one would talk to them along the way, they were still strangers in the modern colony. Faisal’s wife was also obedient. But the memories of their ancestral homeland could not be erased from Rehmat Khan and his wife’s hearts.
The migration had a profound impact on Rehmat Khan’s heart. Where were the gatherings of Banjarpur and where was the loneliness of the modern colony! The very thought of Banjarpur made Rehmat Khan want to cry loudly but tears would not flow from his dry eyes. He was tired of his life. He was a victim of loneliness. Rehmat Khan was reminiscing every single thing about Banjarpur. And it was very painful.
The village paths on which the yellow leaves fallen from the trees would get entangled in their bare chests amidst the morning chill, and those paths would get buried under the white snow during winter, and with the arrival of spring all the paths would become visible again. Rehmat Khan was reminded of the whistling breeze of Banjarpur’s forests, whose mellifluous voice would often put him to sleep.
Rehmat Khan could not bear this trauma for many days and sickness took over Rehmat Khan from within. Despite a lot of treatment, there was no recovery in Rehmat Khan’s health.
No one from the modern colony took the trouble to visit the dying Rehmat Khan. Clutching the touch of memories linked to his past Banjarpur, Rehmat Khan’s soul was slowly leaving the feeble body. Rehmat Khan tried one last time to bring in his eyes and soul the paths buried under the white sheet of snow and open farm fields, but darkness shrouded his eyes. He had bid farewell to this world forever.
There was commotion in the house. The news of Rehmat Khan’s death spread in the modern colony. Faisal was busy preparing his father’s grave in the cemetery with wet eyes along with the old caretaker of the locality Eidhi, when the chairman of the local committee Haji Sanaullah angrily glared at the caretaker and stopped him from digging the grave. Haji Sanaullah sternly said:
“Eidhi! This cemetery does not belong to anyone’s paternal or maternal inheritance. These people don’t even know from where they came and settled here? They have no right over this cemetery. Rehmat Khan cannot be buried in this cemetery under any circumstances, vacate this cemetery immediately.”
“Sir! This cemetery belongs to Muslims and thank God we are Muslims too. We are your brothers. Please don’t oppress like this. Haji Sahib my father’s lifeless body awaits his funeral. If you want, include me in the locality committee too and I am ready to pay whatever amount is fixed.” Faisal pleaded to Sanaullah.
“No, this can never happen. It is against our principles. We certainly cannot allow the dead of another community to be buried in our cemetery. Where were you when you bought a house in this colony? If along with arranging your residence, arrangements for burial of your dead had also been made, it would have been quite good.” Haji Sanaullah’s refusal was clear.
Faisal begged completely helplessly in front of Haji Sanaullah but his pleading had no effect on the Haji Sahib. The cemetery gate was closed and Faisal was thrown out from there.
Rehmat Khan’s corpse was wrapped in the shroud. All that was needed was a small piece of land, two square yards. Faisal was pleading like a madman to everyone in the modern colony. He now wanted to buy a separate cemetery for his father and was ready to pay the demanded price for it. This news reached Haji Sanaullah. He searched and found the wailing Faisal near the mosque. Sanaullah tapped Faisal’s back affectionately and said:
“My son Faisal! I am the head of the locality committee and I certainly cannot violate the principles. I share equal grief with you. You are like my son. Try to understand my helplessness. What answer would I give to the locality people? But you don’t worry. After much deliberation, I have decided to sell you some of my land. I am a Muslim too, I sympathize with you.”
Listening to Haji Sahib’s words gave some relief to Faisal and he immediately filled out the land purchase application form. Haji Sanaullah further said:
“Look Faisal, the land behind the mosque is mine. It used to be government land sometime back but after a lot of tussle I established my possession over it. I am selling a small portion of it. You finalize a deal of three lakh rupees and don’t delay the burial of the dead because delaying burial is a grave sin.”
With a heavy heart, Faisal accepted Haji Sanaullah’s offer and in the presence of two witnesses, after the passage of the mourning period, agreed to pay three lakh rupees.
On the mosque loudspeaker, Haji Sahib invited the locality people for Rehmat Khan’s funeral prayer. A large number of people turned up to shoulder Rehmat Khan’s bier. After Rehmat Khan’s funeral prayer led by Haji Sanaullah in the premises of the mosque, his corpse was buried behind the mosque.
After passage of the mourning period, Faisal sold his wife’s jewellery and went to Haji Sanaullah’s house where in the presence of witnesses he handed over the three lakh rupees and after some time fenced that small piece of land and erected a board there “Graveyard for the residents of Banjarpur”.
Fazil Shafi Bhat hails from Akingam, Anantnag and Sadaf Mushtaq Nasti, Doctorate Fellow
