Story of an emotional ordeal
Ekram Kabir marvels at a gripping plot
What would you do when you learn you've been jailed for seventeen years? Dip into utter frustration? Lose your sanity? Or look forward to finishing the stint and coming out and beginning a new life? Our hero does. Shaheen, a journalist and political activist, with fate taking a twist, has to be charged with committing a murder. He could have made the case more complicated by saying that he did not do it, but, to readers' surprise, he confesses. He is jailed for seventeen years. Solitary life, a life away from his wife and children, takes Shaheen through many psychological and emotional ups and downs. He starts to lose self-confidence. He develops a special kind of hidden anger for everybody who is not in jail, who is free, especially his wife Nadira. On the other hand, Nadira is devoted to him, and waits along with her two children - for her husband to come out of jail and start their life again. But it is not a society that would allow a woman to remain single for seventeen years, is it? That would not be very realistic, would it? What would be good for Nadira? Wait for Shaheen, or someone who extends an affectionate and caring hand to save the entire family from its various crises? This dilemma in Nadira sometimes makes her a more interesting character than the protagonist Shaheen. This is the point where Badal comes in. A patient man in all respects, Badal offers a life to Nadira that she could have never dreamt of during Shaheen's absence. Badal somehow compels her to stand up again, start a new life, provide a better environment and education to her children. Shaheen ends up in a complete psychological coma. He recovers, but there is not any time to save his marriage. He bows to reality, no matter how unacceptable it is to him. Seventeen years go by. Shaheen comes out of jail. He does not have anywhere to go, anyone to confide in. His wife has now married someone else, his children are now someone else's children and they do not want him to intrude in their lives so that things become more complicated for them. Shaheen gets the job of a journalist again. The unexpected happens; he falls in love with a woman, Raihana, to an extent against his will. It would, however, be very inappropriate to say Raihana did not supply any fuel for Shaheen's graduation in falling in love with her. Despite being much younger than Shaheen, she contributes a lot to the relationship. He really loves her but finally realises his love's folly. He finally goes into self-exile apparently out of his remorse about the fact that he could not prevent expressing his love for Raihana. He goes to Bandarban. This is a story of a protagonist's fall in every respect moral, psychological and physical. When Shaheen confesses to the murder, his fall begins. He could have easily got away with it if he had not confessed. Then, in jail, his psychological fall begins. He loses his wife and children. He jumps for another fall at the end when he fails to uphold the admiration for and of a woman, possibly the only person left for him to lean on. He commits the mistake a sin, the old sin. With it, he feels that he needs to be punished for it. The structure of Tin Parber Jibon is noticeable. Islam divides his story into three parts: Brittoporbo, Bindooporbo and Shunnoporbo. Brittoporbo deals with how Shaheen ends up in jail and loses his sanity; Bindooporbo narrates his painful realisation that he has lost everyone. This part also opens another chapter in his life: meeting Raihana. The last part, Shunnoporbo, deals only with his journey towards Bandarban. There is one structural oddity with Shunnoporbo. Only two pages of the 127-page novel have been dedicated to Shunnoporbo. Explicitly, the writer himself is the narrator here. This is typical of Syed Manzoorul Islam. He keeps himself in the background while telling the audience about the story. Readers can also feel his presence during the course of the story. It all reminds one of the chorus in Greek tragedy, doesn't it? No, not really. Islam's story begins with a sinister incident in the protagonist's life, but has many positive turns that can bring the hero out of his inner and outer chaos. The tragedy is that he does not utilise this scope to emerge from the mess he is in. This is what interests the readers about the character. When a novel by Syed Manzoorul Islam is displayed on the shelves, the audience is naturally driven by great expectations. Islam is one of the very handful of writers in the country to have this quality. Islam is a great creator of plots. That is obvious from the story in Tin Parber Jibon. There is, however, room for pointing out a few expectations that have gone unheeded. A few more things would have the book perfect. Islam's prime character spends a long time in jail. Some aspects of his prison life, their clearer depiction, would have made the experience more interesting. Shaheen does not seem to be in any financial crisis when he is freed from prison. Not even once. Lastly, his self-exile is much too abrupt; the entire show seems to culminate in one go in Shunnoporbo. Islam could also have described a few aspects relating to Bangladesh's communists of the time when Shaheen goes to jail. In fact, he does. This is rather interesting: a bunch of revolutionaries imbibing drinks manufactured by a capitalist as they used to say the enemy of the proletariat. In many ways, Tin Parber Jibon seems to be one of Islam's offhand works. Surely, the readers know, he can do much better than this. Islam is a tested writer. He has written a whole lot in Bengali, and the writing has brought him many laurels. Somehow, there is a feeling among his readers that it is time for him to cross boundaries: go for an international audience. That means writing in English. The story of Tin Parber Jibon is too local, but it should not be tough for a craftsman like Islam to attract an international audience. It's about time.
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