Between Clay and Dust By Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Aleph, Rs 450

This is a compelling tale of two lost and lonely figures, both in the twilight years of their lives, brought together by the adversity of circumstances. Between Clay and Dust is a story about a vanishing world, that of the akhara and the kotha. Their days are rapidly coming to an end in a changed and modernizing world.

Set in the backdrop of Partition, Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s two characters, far removed from each other, are nevertheless victims of the same social milieu. Ustad Ramzi, the revered wrestler (pahalwan), is the custodian of his akhara (wrestler’s arena), which was bequeathed to him by his ancestors, and Gohar Jan is a lonesome courtesan in her kotha.

Ustad Ramzi was a man of few words and austere habits, and had taken up the responsibility of the akhara with utmost sincerity. The price for this was relinquishing the right to a normal life of the householder. He had taken the vow of celibacy. With it came solitude.The prestige of his clan and the smooth running of the akhara were on his mind at all times. No longer supple, Ustad Ramzi had contented himself with a life of routine practice and ritual, which included looking after a cemetery where his ancestors were buried.

The akhara had become a training ground for aspiring wrestlers and everyone, including the caretaker, Kabira, both feared and admired the pahalwan who had defended the highest wrestling title, Ustad-e-Zaman, several times.

Ustad Ramzi hoped that his younger brother, Tamami, would win the coveted title one day. Tamami, however, failed to understand the significance and past glory associated with it. Subsequently, his erratic and irresponsible behaviour in the akhara compelled Ustad Ramzi to cut him off from his life, despite the younger brother’s considerable talent.

Tamami’s gradual decay and his estrangement from his brother are described by the author with great compassion. His attempt to impress his duty-bound and reverent older brother ends in tragedy — the death of Imama, a senior wrestler from a rival clan, during a wrestling match at the hands of Tamami, who had been trained by the Ustad himself. A packed audience saw the scene unfold before their eyes. And the gossip went thus: “They say once they have tasted blood, they develop a liking for it…. It was Ustad Ramzi’s covetousness for his title that killed Imama.”

What followed was tragic too. Tamami’s hopeless attempts at regaining his brother’s attention led him to dubious affiliations with the fixer, Gulab Deen, to drugs and ultimately to a death from drug- overdose.

And what became of Ustad Ramzi? He was left alone to suffer the consequences. His brief encounters with Gohar Jan at her mehfils were paradoxically his only point of contact with other human beings. And then one day he was told, “The mehfils ended some weeks ago. I am sorry you were not informed… Please uncover the sitar… Gohar Jan would have found it indecorous to send Ustad Ramzi away without some token of hospitality.”

And Gohar Jan? The lively atmosphere of the mehfils, where the fragrance of fresh jasmine wafted in the air, in the Music Room thought to have been forever silenced, once again resonated with music from the strings of the sitar. The author poignantly describes the sole visits of Ustad Ramzi to Gohar Jan’s kotha.

There is another strand in this story, that of Malka, a foundling reared in the kotha. Malka’s yearning for her adoptive mother’s love was a desire that remained unfulfilled even after she was married and sent away from the kotha. Banday Ali, the caretaker who looked after Gohar Jan’s finances, learnt about his mistress’s suppressed maternal instincts shortly prior to her passing. Finally, municipal inspectors gave orders to clear the kotha. Gohar Jan took ill and died the day before she was to leave.

Ustad Ramzi, who had refused to allow his brother’s body to be buried at the akhara’s enclosed cemetery, because “those who have broken the creed cannot be buried in these grounds”, bent his rules for Gohar Jan. The tawaif Gohar Jan was refused a burial because “they would not allow a prostitute to be buried with their kin”. Banday Ali rushed to Ustad Ramzi for help, who “stepped forward to lead the funeral prayer.” He, in fact, gave her a place of honour upon her death when he directed that her pier be set at the akhara’s cemetery for burial.

This is a simple story narrated with great sensitivity for the human condition. Bordering on the sentimental, it nevertheless touches a gentle chord. The reader will find the experience of a different world both moving and a little disturbing. But what is telling about Between Clay and Dust is that it is devoid of any literary conceits. All in all, the book is well produced and holds the reader’s attention.