SPARROW BY K. A. ABBAS

               CRITICAL NOTE ON K.A.ABBAS'S ART AND

                   TECHNIQUE AS A STORY WRITER   

The story,Sparrows,written by K.A.Abbas is remarkable for his art and neat characterization.This writing,particularly short-stories usually deal with the themes of poverty,peasantry and rural life. Starting his career as a journalist in which profession he gathered realistic experiences of rural living of village people,their struggle,hopes and aspiration,their destinies and frustration.Later, when he turned to film making, he made a great success by presenting stark realities of the poor rural people. But in all his writing, there is a unique beauty of setting a skill in characterization and artistic appeal. They leave an easy impression upon the readers of his creativeness . Two volumes of his short-stories-Rice and other stories and One Thousand Nights On A Bed Of Stone, are an eloquent evidence of his artistic sense and mission.
 The present story,sparrows seems quite remarkable for his art of narrative,rural-setting,realistic treatment and neat characterization .Abbas  draws a fine character sketch. of Rahim Khan,his frustrations,cruelty,tenderness,human sense of sympathy and his fatalism. He is farmer by profession. But farming is not his natural choice. He chooses it as a last resort as if he were submitting himself to his fate. This strong ambition in his youth has been to join a circus-party and make love to Radha. But his ambitions are frustrated either because of orthodoxy,tradition and parental authority of his father. Failing at both,he turns bitter unsympathetic to the extent of being inhuman. So,when he is married to a rustic woman,which has been his forced marriage under parental authority and orthodox tradition,he has been living an unhappy married life.He has been cruel to his wife for the thirty years of his married life. As a result of his unloving marriage and frustrations of his ambitions,he develops an odd habit having grievances against his life,family and society. He begins to scold his wife and sons on all occasions of their insignificant faults.So,one day when he returns from his field after tilling the land , tired and hungry , he does not find his wife at home and gets furious to know that she has left for her brother's home. Though an elderly woman informs him that she  has gone to her brother's home only for a few days.He knows it  fully, that she has left him for ever. Similarly, his sons have done with him.He is now alone, sad, unhappy and uncomfortable.His cruel indifference to his family may partly accountable for his sad and unhappy life.But it does not seem to be the whole truth. For, when he goes into his room,he hears a flutter caused by two sparrows in their nest inside his room. He goes to the nest out of curiosity to see what the sparrows have been doing in their nest. Looking into the nest, he discovers two more little sparrows. As he stretches his hand to get hold of the two little sparrows, he finds the mother-sparrow attacking him with all his courage and might. He is moved at her heroic defence of her family and children. This small incident proves a significant point in the story as the story writer comments;

"He was strongly amused by the little bird's heroic efforts to save his home and children. The sparrows nest suffered  no harm that day and peace reigned in Rahim Khan's hut."

This change of Rahim Khan's heart comes at last to the notice of his villagers When he is no longer seen outside his room for many days,village people become curious to know as to what has happened to him. So, some of them peep into his room through a crack in the door and see a strange sight. They find him when I am gone."

Bundu and Nuru are the name of his two sons who have left him long ago.Ever since they have left him, his love and sympathy turns to the two meek sparrows and names them after his two sons. But his villagers make no head and tail of his speech. They take him to be mad and then they also begin to sympathise with him in his lonely life of toil and misery.They informed his wife about his madness.Responding to their request for her return to look after him, she went along with her two sons only to find him cold senseless and dead. Clearly, the story ends on a tragic note. speaking reflectively;

"O Bundu,O Nuru,who will feed you

It is thus obvious that the meaning of the story is more suggestive than what is on the surface. This suggestiveness is implicit in the tragic note at the end of the story.One may say that Rahim Khan's cruelty is not his natural instinct.It is a result of his frustration in his life-frustration is both love and career.The psychologists calls this inhuman and unnatural cruelty as 'sadism.' Human beings are not instinctively sadistic. But they acquire it in a hostile situation of their life.Secondly, the change in his heart from cruelty to tenderness, from indifference to sympathy is traceable to his instinctive human spirit. Human beings are essentially human and divine,and if they are devilish, it is a kind of supreme position born out of their hostile situations and indifferent fate. When Rahim Khan finds himself getting ill-treatment at the hands of his parents,family and society he develops an unnatural habit of being cruel,indifferent and unsympathetic. What human society fails to evoke in him, the animals and birds do it in his case. This brings out the significance of the title Sparrows. For, the sparrows do not form the central story nor does the story writer profess to offer any detailed study in their life,habitation and character. So, one may argue that the title is misleading. But it will be an unfair comment. For,sparrows provide and bring out the most significant change of heart in Rahim Khan's life and character. They mark a turning point in Rahim Khan;s character. As for Abbas's art and technique one may point out that he uses the fine literary elements of irony,contrast,symbolism through the plain narrative ans skill of characterization.It will be a common sense and general comment to say that the story has a stark realism,realism,rural fatalism and psychological significance.  

Read More

THE RIVALS:Main Lines

GET READY FOR AN EXCITING CAREER IN MODELLING AND ACTING

                                       EXPLANATION

I do not mean to distress you.—If I lov'd you less, I should never give you an uneasy mo∣ment.—But hear me.—All my fretful doubts arise from this—Women are not used to weigh, and separate the motives of their affections:—the cold dictates of prudence, gratitude, or filial duty, may sometimes be mistaken for the pleadings of the heart.—I would not boast—yet let me say, that I have neither age, person, or character, to found

This passage taken from 'The Rivals' written by R. B. Sheridon Faulkland is speaking to Julia.
When Faulkland arrives at Bath and calls on Captain Absolute at his residence in Bath,he learns from him that his (Faukland) beloved Julia is also at Bath. He goes to see her and Faulkland and Julia meet,they began to make an issue of the absence of one from the other. Faulkland complains to her that he has come to know about her taking part in a dance in his absence,he has began to have some doubts about her loyalty in love to him. His doubt is that if she has been learning him sincerely then she should not have offered to dance with some other one in his absence. This shows that her love for him is questionable. He thinks that her love for him is born not out of her heart but out of her mind and duty. He has a doubt if she loves him out of her sense of her duty and obligations because their marriage was settled by her dead father before they were grown up. So she may be loving him out of her sense of duty to the wishes of her great father. She perhaps love him not because she likes him but because of the fond of duty and the prudence of her mind which says that a dutiful daughter must obey her dead-father's will. This kind of time generally happens with women.
Speaking father's will Faulkland tells her that women are generally apt to make this kind of mistake. They are generally unable to distinguish between the heart's desire and mind's dictation. They go more usually by the dictates of mind,sense of duty and obligations which daughters do as their duty to their parents.They neglect their heart's desire for the sake of obedience to the will of their parents. In this kind of circumstances,women generally mistake the dictates of their mind and wisdom for their likes and desires of their heart. In a word they mistake prudence for their affection. So he must tell her if she loves him not because she likes him but because she has duty to him,then it is no sincere love. In that case he is prepared to release her from the fond of duty and makes her free to love any young man whom she likes.
Clearly,the passage brings out the character of Faulkland as a sentimental drama of Richard Steele,Hugh kelley,Richard Cumberland and Colley Cibber etc.The episode of Faulkland in Julia provides some ground for supposing this drama to be a sentimental drama. But Sheridan's purpose to not to write a sentimental drama this episode therefore is a kind of skit and a caricature of the treatment of love in the drama.

Hurry up | limited Seats | Enroll Now and Give your career a flying start today !

Read More

The Rivals And Its Some Favourite Lines

                                EXPLANATION" 

There, Sir Anthony, there sits the deliberate simpleton,who wants to disgrace her family and lavish herself on a fellow not worth a shilling."

Answer:-

In this passage taken from 'The Rivals' written by R. B. Sheridan,Mrs. Malaprop is speaking to Sir Anthony Absolute about her niece,Lydia Languish camping at Bath a famous health resort for the affluent,upper class people.Sir.Anthony Absolute and his son Captain Absolute are also therefore speaking the summer. Captain Absolute is rich having an income of three thousand a year. He loves Lydia. But Lydia is a young,sentimental and eager to love and marry a poor beggarly and penniless young man. So she does not love and like to marry Captain Absolute. Captain Absolute learns about her romantic and whimsical nature and behaviour and disguises himself as a poor beggar and penniless young man called Ensign Beverley.
Thus he disguises to win her love. In this disguise she wins her love and now she wants to marry him. But Mrs. Malaprop does not approve of her niece's choice of marriage with Ensign Beverley. Mrs. Malaprop wants Lydia to marry Captain Absolute. Thus there is s conflict between Lydia and Mrs. Malaprop. So, when Sir. Anthony Absolute comes to meet Mrs. Malaprop, she complains to him about the whimsical nature and behaviour of her niece, Lydia and condemns her.
Complaining against Lydia's whimsical nature and mind, Mrs. Malaprop tells sir Anthony Absolute that her niece, Lydia is a foolish girl. She(Lydia) is a simpleton and fool because she wants to marry a poor beggarly, penniless young man called Ensign Beverley.By rejection his rich, affluent son Captain Absolute Mrs. Malaprop says that she is very much shocked at and sorry for her niece's choice of marriage for if she marries Ensign Beverley, she will only bring a shame and disgrace upon her rich aristocratic family.
But her niece is utterly a fool to follow her own bent of mind and to think of the fame and reputation of the family. She means to say that she is against her niece's will and choice of marriage because wha tshe is going to do is neither good to her nor good for their family.
Clearly, the passage brings out the conflict between the aunt and niece on the one hand and sentimentality of the 18th century,sentimental drama of Richard Steele, colley, Cibber, Hugh, Kelly and Ciber etc. Secondly, it brings to light the nature and character of Lydia Languish  to the sight of different class of people of the society.

Read More

THE RIVALS AND THE LINES OF FAULKLAND

                                    EXPLANATION

O! upon my soul, I never have;—but what grounds for apprehension did you say? Heavens! are there not a thousand! I fear for her spirits—her health—her life.—My absence may fret her; her anxiety for my return, her fears for me, may oppress her gentle temper. And for her health—does not every hour bring me cause to be alarmed? If it rains, some shower may even then have chilled her delicate frame!—If the wind be keen, some rude blast may have affected her! The heat of noon, the dews of the evening, may endanger the life of her, for whom only I value mine. O! Jack, when delicate and feeling souls are separated, there is not a feature in the sky, not  a movement of the elements; not an aspiration of the breeze, but hints some cause for a lover's apprehension!
Answer:-     

This passage taken from 'The Rivals' written by R.B.Sheridan. Faulkland is speaking to Captain Absolute.

When Faulkland comes to Bath he calls on Captain Absolute at his residence in Bath. As they meet, they begin discussing the progress in each others affairs of love. Captain Absolute reports to him that his affair with Lydia is going on well. But Faulkland  who was not well his beloved,Julia as yet expressed his anxieties to know about Julia's life, health and spirits. But Captain Absolute who knows that Julia is at Bath,conceals the fact from him for the sake of fun. So when Captain Absolute invites him to a dinner at the hotel, Faulkland ignores by saying that he not well disposed to partake in such rejoicings and entertainment. On being asked by Captain Absolute as to why he declines the invitation, Faulkland says that he has many serious apprehension in his mind about the life,health and spirit of Julia.Captain Absolute asks him to say about the ground of his apprehension.

Replying to Captain Absolute Faulkland says that he has many grounds of apprehension about his beloved, Julia. One of the grounds is his long absence from Julia and his absence may be causing doubts, fear and anxieties in her mind. Secondly she may be anxious to know about his return. Thirdly her health is so weak and tender that even the slightest change in the weather may affect her health. It often changes from a good to a bad one. The heat of the noon ,the dews of the evening and strange winds are the variations in the weather. These variations are surely to affect her tender health.
It is a human nature that when the two lovers are separated from each other, both of them have fears and apprehensions about each other,s health and welfare. These fears and apprehension increase all the more when weather is an element that affects one's health. Thus Faulkland gives sufficient examples for his(Faulkland's) anxieties and apprehension. They are usually the fears and apprehensions of a lover.
Clearly, the passage brings out the character of Faulkland  as a sentimental lover of that kind which is seen in the earlier sentimental drama of Richard Steele,Hugh,Kelly,Richard Cumberland and Colley Ciber,etc. The episode of  Faulkland and Julia provides some grounds for supposing this drama to be a sentimental drama. This episode therefore is a kind of skit and caricature of the treatment of love in the sentimental drama. 

Read More