The
title of the book is taken from Shab-e-Baraat, a night when some sects of
Muslims visit the graves of ancestors, light incense sticks and prepare halva.
Anil Mehrotra owns a company and he believes in treating his employees right.
One of his employees Ahmed, comes across as a dignified hard working man.
Mehrotra has no complaints as Ahmed works even on the day of Eid. The only
holiday he wants is on the day of Shab-e-Baraat. But on one such day, due to
unavoidable circumstances Ahmed has to put in some extra hours of work and
Mehrotra decides to drop him home. At Ahmed’s home Mehrotra expected to meet
his wife who was busy preparing the halwa. But she doesn’t meet him. Ahmed
explains that she maintains hijab. In fact when Mehrotra is served food, he
witnesses something which forces him to question Ahmed’s sanity. Ahmed serves
him a plate of nimki and asks him to enjoy the nimki and halwa. Ahmed himself
starts enjoying the non existent halwa with such delight that Mehrotra is
almost offended.
Was
Ahmed all right? Did he need professional help? All these questions put
Mehrotra in a difficult situation. He did not want to come across as being
prejudiced. At the same time he could not ask Ahmed to clarify. He then takes
the help of a private eye Devi Prasad to check out Ahmed’s background. Devi
Prasad’s report left Mehrotra more confused.
Ahmed
grew up in the village of Phansa. It is a village that has appeared in many
novels of Tabish Khair and is often assumed to be an imaginary representation
of Gaya. The deepening orthodoxy which stopped Ahmed’s mother from visiting his
father’s grave pushed him away from his religion. The book captures the myriad
shades of faith and the nuances in the religion. When Ahmed married Roshni
whose religious identity was questioned by many, he was further isolated by his
community.
He
moved out. Everything was fine till his family got caught in the communal
clashes of 2002. What happens then, changed his entire life. Ahmed lost Roshni
to a communal clash. But he was desperate to cling to her memory. Mehrotra
didn’t know how to handle this. So he did what he thought best. He let go of
Ahmed for a year. And towards the end of the book another surreal incident
makes Mehrotra question his own conviction. After a year on the day of
Shab-e-Baraat someone leaves a tiffin of halwa for Mehrotra. It takes him no
time to understand that it was Ahmed. When Mehrotra reaches Ahmed’s home to
show his gratitude, he is told by his neighbours that Ahmed passed away a few
days back. This makes Mehrotra question his own sanity and what to believe.
The
book shows the predicament of Indian Muslims – caught in between the growing
influence of orthodoxy and at the same time struggling against stereotypes
propagated by many in the mainstream. Ahmed was a model employee but a slight
inconsistency in his behaviour led to many speculations. The book is an enquiry
into the nature of loss and trauma and how people, survivors deal with such
trauma. The short book is nonetheless thought provoking and tries to reflect
upon the socio-political situation of present day India.
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