small story of Janki

Umar quid by Hajira shakoor

This short story written by Hajira shakoor  and this story published in the journal “subeh Adab” in the 1977. She wrote this story in the Urdu, her literature reflects the problem faced by the Indian women and it is mostly about the middle class women struggle.

          This story deals with the problem of dowry, women identity and its own struggle with her. In this story writer of the story described the women situation which is narrated by her husband. Janki is the main character of the story but from the beginning character “Janki” in silent mode. In the story supporting character her husband describing his own view about his wife condition, so we cannot get janki’s perspective about her situation, may be the writer intentionally made janki’s character silent so that we can think and make assumption about her situation.

           Janki belongs to lower middle class but belongs to the higher caste “Brahmin” which is reputed cast in the Hindu religion in India. Her father is teacher in the ordinary school. Her husband knows her from the childhood and they grew together. He also knows her nature like she was very shy and quiet. He also mentioned that anything not worthy to notice in her. It’s fairly shows that he was not had any interest in her. When her marriage fixed by her father, he promised to groom party for some dowry which is became a reason for unmatched marriage. Story running in the husband’s flashback when the Janki was died and he regrets that he failed became an ordinary man when he was thinking about the Janki’s situation.

This short story made dent on the Indian society and its culture. Janki  sacrifices  her  life  for  the  pride  of  her  father  and  for the dowry  which was  not paid by  her  father. In the Indian society every time man is hero and women is helpless and every time depended on the man and who live at the Mercy of the man. In this story Janki depend on the father and after the marriage she depend on the husband.it is very natural in the male- dominated society  where  the  women are  slave  and  they can’t  take  decision for their  life  in this  if  we assume that when groom party was  demanding  more dowry from her father may be  janki will stand  up against  the  dowry and marriage and could have  refused  to marry but  no, how can she do it?  it has been happening form so many decades that  women’s are not independent, if  you saw the Ramayana, Mahabharata, character of Sita and droupadi  are not very similar  to janki but  they also indicate  the  same  things  which is  happened  with the janki. Like Sita not choosen groom for her. Her father called many kings to marry with Sita in “swayamver.”droupadi married with five “Pandvaas” if  you see  that  those  incident  which was happened  in the  Ramayana and in the  Mahabharata they shows the  women situation in that  time  and  Janki situation is same. She was helpless because she can’t choose her life partner from her choice. Writer talk about that  jamidar  son stand up like  a national hero and  finalized that  he will marry with Janki, nobody asked to the Janki that  she want  to marry or not.

Writer very fairly and step by step plots the problem in front of the reader. After marriage when she went to her husband home her husband told her that “I expect you will never cause my mother any displeasure and will never make my brother and sister feel as if this house is not their own. I have faith in your tranquil personality and trust you will always remember to all thoughtfully.” Janki may not be expecting this thing from her husband because she already faced very embracing thing in her home and she already in fear when her husband and she came her husband home. We can only assume that what the janki was thinking on that time? Why she didn’t speak with her husband  why  she  took her  hand  back to take  the responsibility of  home  when her husband’s mother was  giving to her? Writer tried to analysis her situation though her husband points of view that she repaying the dowry as a form of services. It’s happened when the daughter-in-law enter the house without or less jewelry, money and with other things she faced so many taunts from the  her husband side and she spends her life with  pain and suffer.

Janki only love her father because he was person who cares the Janki but when he died janki brakes down from the heart and she started crying and said that “Babuji, in whose care have you left me?” these  words shows  that Janki don’t have any  emotional attachments with her  husband’s home and husbands family. Her husband also mentioned that she care the children like a nanny because she don’t show any attachment with children, she fulfill their needs and demands as per the requirement.

                         If we analyze whole story, it is plotting very nicely and accurately the problem of the Indian women’s and there situation in the society after independence which is very negligible in the Indian society. The main character was Janki, story moving around her but her quietness raising the question in the heart of reader. If she speak or talk in to the story it will destroy the suspense and the story of the heart. She wants to leave not one question in the mind rather she left so many question in our mind.