THE FAKEER
OF JANGHEERA
-Henry Derozio
The Fakeer of Jungheera written by Henry Louis
Vivian Derozio. Derozio wrote wonderful poems in English. “The
Fakeer of Jungheera” is one of the most significant landmarks in the
history of patriotic poetry in India. In his days Bengal faced many problems of
caste and creed. The reassessment and inclusion of Derozio in the canon of
Indian writing in English has to do with many factors. Like communism,
religious aspects, colonial aspects.
“The Fakeer of Jungheera” is the masterpiece creation of Henry Derozio. In his
poems, he deals with the theme of patriotism, of love, of nature, of death. The
central theme of ‘The Fakeer of Jungheera’ is the ignoble and in human practice
of ‘sati’ in the contemporary orthodox Indian society. This rotten system had
been in vogue in the Indian society for centuries, and Derozio vehemently
protested the ‘sati’ system both in his social life and in the classroom as a
teacher at the Hindu college, Calcutta. He wrote this poem to highlight the
issue. Derozio writes in it of various aspects of natural scenery, the evils of
love which leads to confrontation at different levels. First the funeral pyre,
and later when Nuleeni’s relatives, with the help of the Mughal army, try
rescue her from the Fakeer a fierce battle goes on. The Fakeer fights bravely
but is ultimately killed, in the battle field. Nuleeni joins him and dies in
his embrace and their souls depart from this mundane world, bound by the
considerations of customs and creed.
The Fakeer of Jungheera is a
long narrative poem in two cantos, each running into about a thousand lines.
Each canto, again, is divided into different metrical sections in various
measures. This subject-matter in conventional because most of the epics, ballads
and narratives deal with the subject of love, unsuitable marriage, separation
by death, reunion with the former lover followed by the reaction of the society
and relatives who rise in revolt to take revenge upon the person outraging the
social norms.
The character of Fakeer is secondary to that of Nuleeni. It is Nuleeni who is
at the center of the tragic tale. She is a figure of misery and a helpless,
hapless, forlorn object of social religious regimentation. First of
all there is the theme of social injustice. Dr. Jabir Jain also says, “at the
thematic level the unifying idea is the suffering of women at the hands of
society.”
The holy Ganga has religious and ritual association with her. She prompts the
poet to write about the theme of religion which we get in the chorus of
Brahmins and that of women. The theme of happy life after death achieved
through the rite of sati has also been projected.
Instead of belaboring upon the misery of slavery, Derozio embarked upon a
mission of resolving some of the inherent evils of Hindu society especially the
practice of widow burning. In his notes on canto 1, Derozio criticizes the
mistaken belief that the practice of Hindu widow burning examples “an act of
unparalleled magnimity and devotion” and explains at length the problem of sati
and his position on it, He writes,
“The fact it, that so far from any display of enthusiastic affection, a suttee
is a spectacle of misery, exciting in the spectator a melancholy reflection
upon the tyranny of superstition and priest craft. The philanthropic (the
practice of helping people in need) views of some individuals are directed to
the abolition of widow burning; but they should first ensure the comfort of
these unhappy women in their widowhood otherwise, instead of conferring a boon
upon them, existence will be too many a drudge, and a load.”
Derozio approvingly quotes a writer from the Indian magazine and endorses the
latter’s opinion that sati constitutes the most barbaric and degrading aspect
of Indian society which can be overcome through education and intellectual
development. During the 19th century many upper caste Hindu
women willfully committed sati mistakenly believing in the veracity of the
Hindu ritual, an abominable act through a long process of socialization.
Analysis of Fakeer
poem:
The protagonist of the Fakeer poem
is a robber Fakeer or a mendicant, who belongs to some unidentified Muslim
sect, while the heroine, the widow Nuleeni, comes from an upper cast Bengali
Hindu family. Derozio’s uses Christian imagery, such as heaven and juxtaposes
it against the Hindu tradition of sati, Muslim prayers and tantric tale of raja
Vikramjit and Baital to create acquaint, romantic atmosphere.
There are however conflicting opinions about his character. There are some who
say that he is saintly wise and holy while other talk of his mindless cruelty,
treachery and devilry. In stanza four the poet comments that there are cases
when evil men may take to religion to hide their criminal intense.
The wonderful play of light and shade bring out a deceptive human nature and
the evil that lies buried in the human soul.
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