That
is why I came down to your bed that night and began to massage your feet. Do
you remember? ‘That’s very nice of you Saddu … very nice,’ you had said as I
kneaded your feet and ankles. I know you were surprised by my action but what I
didn’t tell you was that I was hedging my bets. You had once told me that it
was written in the Quran that heaven lay at the feet of all mothers. As I
massaged your feet furiously, I was hoping God was watching and taking down
notes. (Page 66, Ammi- Letters To A Democratic
Mothers, Saeed Mirza)
The concept of motherhood is perhaps the
simplest to understand. It is universal. No man can eschew its influence, both,
in the presence and absence of a mother. Despite being simple and universal,
the intricacies of motherhood are complex to the observer’s eyes; unfathomable
too. Thoughts, theories and eulogies exist aplenty about it all - the most apt
perhaps being the one which equates mother to God- the Creator. The divinity,
the unquestionable haloed status of a mother arises from the fact that she is
the channel through which new, nascent life forms set foot in the world. She
seamlessly glides into the role of a Preserver too, as she nurtures and
protects her infant, and oversees his/her growth into an able, and healthy
adult. Truly has been said about this unsung hero who decorates each child’s
life with beauty and comfort that she is not someone to be understood from the
outside. Only a mother can understand the dynamics of a mother’s heart. She is
the most powerful influence in the early stages of a man’s life, but not always
understood by the very objects of her love. The time when she is, is sometimes
too late.
On the surface, the debut novel of Saeed Akhtar Mirza, seems to be
building on this lamentation associated with motherhood. Below the surface, the
same novel derives heavily from a psychedelic mix of unrelated concepts,
thoughts, ideas and people to form a narrative which is engaging and
unconventional. Ammi- Letters to a Democratic Mother is a unique book. At its
core lies a son’s awe, admiration and reverence for his mother. However, the
book seeks to investigate more than just the relationship between a child and
his mother. This book is a journey across time and space, events and people
which influenced a young mind. This book is also a sensitive, yet not
sentimentally, written ode of a child to his mother, posthumously.
Saeed Akhtar Mirza – the name may be new to
the world of contemporary Indian literature, but it is very popular among art
cinema aficionados. After a decade of bollywood inspired by the angry young man
in whom the discontent of the middle class found voice, 1980s were a decade of
creative degeneration, as is rued in polemical accounts by cinema critics. The
1980s, also called the ‘disco’ decade, were also the decade in which the Indian
art cinema scene came of age. Serious in content and keenly intent upon telling
realistic stories inspired from sociopolitical climate of the times, this wave
of cinema was endorsed and led by acclaimed film-makers foremost among whom was
Saeed Akhtar Mirza. By making and presenting films like Naseem, Mohan Joshi
Hazir Ho, Saleem Langde Pe Mat Ro and Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai to an
audience blinded by the glitz and glamour of mainstream cinema, Mirza had long
established himself as a master storyteller. This time around too, he comes out
to tell a story, story within stories, only using a slightly different medium.
He holds a pen in his hand instead of a camera, and churns out a novel which
delights with its understanding of important concepts and world events.
Mirza’s mother passed away in 1990. Despite
being in the same city, Mirza could not meet his mother before her death due to
a mundane act of procrastination. This novel was penned around 2007 in the form
of a long, continuous letter written posthumously by Mirza to his mother.
Despite this lucid proclamation, this novel is cannot be categorized under the
routine epistolary form of writing. In his narrative, Mirza mixes together more
than half a dozen literary forms to aid the narrative as and when required.
Ranging from critical reporting of global and domestic events, parables,
poetries (Urdu and English), short stories, historical accounts, travelogue, to
satires and plain sharing of memories- this novel keeps changing the landscape
a reader journeys on while reading it. Quite remarkably, experimenting with
different literary genres does not, even for once, compromise upon the
continuity and comprehensibility of the broad storyline. The essence remains
constant; it is aided by scores of vignettes inserted at appropriate places to
make the narrative engaging and entertaining.
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| The author - Saeed Akhtar Mirza |
It is quite difficult to succinctly put
into words the basic storyline, or what one would call the essence of this novel. It has many stories to tell,
many events to discuss and many discourses to give. However, broadly, in the
form of a single letter, Mirza relates to the reader the domestic affairs of an
ordinary Indian family. He begins with salutations to his mother and then goes
onto build her personality, one that was formidable and inspirational from
where he saw the world. He begins her story from the time of her marriage, and
with sensitivity and sensibility, tracks her growth into a mature woman, who
despite having begun her life in a cocoon, stands up as the moral, spiritual
and even financial pillar for her family. A character analysis, albeit interesting,
will take up a lot of space here, but suffice to say that it is a bildungsroman
of a kind, in which many characters grow, and mature around the central,
pervasive figure of the mother. At the end of the main narrative, the script of a film comes attached - which merits an entire review and analysis for itself. The magic of the book has many manifestaions - insight on love and relationship, history and politics, society and culture, individual and family - and so much more!
That said, I have to emphasize that this book
is compilation of rare beauties, which kept me enamoured from the first word.
The most beautiful and believable love story unlocked itself in the pages of
this book, almost like a fable of coming together, and staying together. It is
a book I hold dear, very dear. It made me smile internally, it prompted me to
think and reflect, it also motivated me to investigate into incidents and
people mentioned. What more can a literary creation aspire for? Certain pieces of beauty should not be rated, but if I could,
I would give it five stars on five, and perhaps some more.
Book Details -
Author - Saeed Mirza
Publisher - Tranquebar
Published - 2008
Genre - Fiction
Pages - 385
Price - Rs. 295 (Paperback)
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