Staying Indoors

In class we have touched upon the themes of passivity and action in Basti. One way these themes can be illustrated and brought into conversation is by studying spaces in the work. Several characters, especially Abba Jaan and Ammi, spend most of their time indoors, commenting on what is happening outside. In the first chapter, Abba Jaan refuses to pray at the local mosque once electricity has been installed there and so we see him withdraw from the outside world that was once familiar to him. 

Chapter Two opens with the family at the breakfast table. Zakir, our protagonist, is indifferent to the goings on of the outside world (he merely glances at the newspaper, for example), his mother is distraught however, constantly worrying about the political situation in Dacca and her sister who lives there. Her husband, Abba Jaan, tells her to trust in God to which she responds bitterly. All three of them may have responded to the political situation differently however all three responses are still passive ones. 

Later, Zakir sits in his office after realizing that his students have run off to be part of the procession. ‘Now it was no longer possible for him to take advantage of the leisure and solitude to sit at his ease, smoking a cigarette, and lose himself in the world of his memories. Seeing the college all topsy-turvy, he felt a kind of oppression.’ The boys have wrecked the college, smashing glass panes and flower pots. Interestingly, instead of feeling liberated by this energy, Zakir feels oppressed. Not only is he much more comfortable with the past and his memories, forceful reminders of the present make him obviously uncomfortable. Perhaps the realization that the college is also vulnerable has unsettled him because this is an indoor space and should therefore not be subject to the happenings and action of the outside world. 

Finally, there is a scene at the Shiraz (a restaurant that Zakir and his friends frequent) Zakir cannot escape the outside world here either, the procession makes its way to the Shiraz as well. The caretaker, Abdul, immediately closes the door and draws the curtains in order to shut out the chaos. Two young men enter the restaurant and demand to know why the restaurant has been closed off in such a manner 'And let some light and air come in from outside. Light, air and the voice of the people!' (Ajmal) They demand that those at the restaurant partake in the procession through observation in the very least. However, once these 'revolutionaries' enter the restaurant, they too are subject to signs of passivity. For example, they proceed to blame their fathers and curse them claiming their fathers have in fact ruined them. Their revolutionary spirit is also brought into question when they get up in the hope of scavenging some free liquor from a looted liquor shop. Irfan, Zakir's friend, claims he cannot stand these fake revolutionaries. This is an interesting comment because if Ajmal and the like are in fact part of the goings on yet are not true revolutionaries, perhaps they too are going through the motions and simply acting the way they feel revolutionaries should act. Their foray into the outside world births a new question; what kind of action is really going on outside? Thus it seems that these feelings of passivity do not necessarily need to be confined to the indoors.