The Sound of the Siren

The first chapter of Basti, situated in the idyllic Rupnagar is full of music. Whether it is the music of the birds,  “mōr ki jhankār”, music heard on Churanji’s harmonium till late at night (pg 20), or the songs that Tahira baji and her friends sing on the swings (pg. 30). In keeping with the general romanticized depiction of Rupnagar, Zakir’s memories of his childhood are characterized by the possibility of love, poetry and music. In the later chapters, however, the music is replaced by a cacophony of different noises, the most terrible and ominous of them being the sirens. Conversations are punctuated by the sound of sirens which I consider to be structurally significant. The sirens feature extensively in chapter 7 (particularly in Zakir’s diary entries) and add to the almost apocalyptic feel of the latter half of the book “bus phir raat bhar yehi hota raha. Jaanay kitni baar siren baja. Mai bohut dara” (167).  The sound of the siren itself is extremely menacing and inauspicious, the 'wailing' intensifies the dark mood in the war chapters. The sense of emergency and anxiety can almost be heard through the constant references to the whistles and sirens. "Siren, seetiyan, kuton ki awaazien, insaani awaaz nadaarad" (172). There is always an eerie silence that is followed by the sirens “siren ki awaaz, seetiyaan, sanaata” (177); “iskay baad phir mukamal khaamoshi” (161).

Intizar Hussien avoids describing the political instability of the time using explicit references to actual events and people; instead, he paints a nightmarish picture of the city in turmoil using bold imagery and frightful sounds (in particular the sirens). The sirens silence the city into an anxious hush, and create an atmosphere of uncertainty. Befitting, then, is the end of the novel, which concludes on a similarly ominous note; “ye basharat ka waqt hai”, after which, there is silence again.