The writer through her retrospective style tells us about an Indian relative, with whom she met by chance at her phopo’s place when she was only seven or eight years old. This incident recounts a little about sectarian clashes in Karachi at that time. There was a bullet hole in Aliya’s T-shirt made as her dhobi was attacked for being a Shi’a Muslim. But these are by the way details.
Shamsi's grip on literature is quite
evident when the lady at Zainab phopo’s house talks, “Cigarettes are to me what
coffee spoons were to Prufrock”. This refers to the poem by T.S Elliot, ‘The
Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock’ when Prufrock says, “ I have measured out my
life with coffee spoons.”
The most important part of this scene is
Dadi’s panic reaction as soon as she got to know about that lady’s being at her
daughter’s house. She dialed immediately to her daughter to investigate the
matter but Zainab phopo’s futile explanation left Dadimumbling, “Blood is
thicker than time, blood is thicker.’ And she sat on the cold marble floor and
wept”. This has been the reaction of thirty-five years since she has seen her
daughter after partition and at large this was the tragic phenomenon with every
other person at that time of age.
The scene changes and the reader starts
traveling on the train while getting introduced to another main character,
Khaleel alias ‘Cal’. The same has already been set in motion at the very outset
of the novel with the name,’ aisle seat’ but now we are going to know more
about him and his family background.
Khaleel Butt’s first and could be the
last introduction for Samia especially is that he belongs to Liaquatabad,
Karachi. Although both Aliya and Samia belong to Karachi but, “What most of
Karachi calls our part of town? Disneyland”. Furthermore, “The poor live in
Liaquatabad. The poor, the lower classes, the not-us.” These are the class
complexes and pseudo pride that is prevailing among Dard e Dill family and
origin is Dadi’s prejudices. Samia is indifferent towards Khaleel after knowing
the biggest flaw of his character.
Whereas, on the other hand, Aliya
believes such spurious measures of judging others, nothing else only
misleading. Contrary to Samia we see Aliya is impressed by Khaleel. His
departing words are very important for Aliya, “Our life await memories. That’s
all”. He left with tears in his eyes due to Samia’s attitude. Later Aliya adds
to his philosophy that,” our lives don’t await memories…they are crippled by
memories”. Here Aliya is the mouthpiece of the writer claiming that, “We are
all the walking wounded”, due to ‘wounding memories’. The partition of 1947 has
a tragic impact on the lives of Baji; to whom Aliya and Samia are heading to
meet, Dadi, the triplets, and ‘scores of cousins’ but in a larger perspective,
this partition rendered thousands and thousands of people, “the walking
wounded”.
We also come across Pakistani
matrimonial culture. Samia is true while making Aliya understand that Khaleel
for them is poor due to his background but “his whole family is probably lining
up its daughters as prospective brides”. With them, the only qualification is
that he is an American and a green cardholder. So Shamsai very successfully
paints the picture of two extreme approaches to society.
Another permanent attitude of Dard e
Dill family has been discussed between Aliya and Samia i.e. the shallow method
of making resemblances.” She was walking this way, he was walking that way, she
had tantalizing elbows….” Etc. this also points out family believes in shallow
pride.
We also find Desi touch concerning the diction
of the chapter, words like,’ehmuk’, ‘aloo’ etc. they both reach Baji’s place.
