"Talashnama" by Ismail Darbesh

‘I said “talaq” in anger. Since she had returned to her parents’ house, there was no one to cook for me. So I said in front of the workmen, “So what if your Bhabi doesn’t return? I’m divorcing her.” That’s all I said.’

‘Whether you said it in anger, or out of affection, didn’t you know that uttering “talaq” leads to divorce? If I gave you a razor blade, and you laughingly, or weepingly, slashed your wrist with it, won’t it cut you?’

Jamir now began to weep, much to everyone’s amazement. He kept banging the seat loudly with his fist and said, ‘I said it just like that. I made a mistake. I never imagined it would turn out this way.’

‘But why did it happen?’

Now, Jamir broke down completely. The sight of a grown man crying in this manner was terrible! But Riziya was not moved by that. The moment Jamir paused, she again asked him, ‘Why did you do it, tell me?’

‘I’ll tell you.’

Jamir took his own time. And then he said, ‘Fulsura didn’t love me. I observed that from the very first day she spoke about another man. I didn’t like it. So what if he’s a Maulana Saheb. After all, he is a man. I’ve been consuming haram alcohol since before my marriage. I’m not ashamed to say that now. Perhaps I would have stopped drinking eventually. She mentioned the Maulana Saheb all the time. She used to tell me what an excellent man he was. That he was this and he was that. Does anyone like to hear that every day? Tell me, how can I be like the Maulana Saheb? I used to get angry and drink even more just to spite her. I wanted to show her the kind of person I was, my character. I’m not Maulana Saheb. Look, can you love such a person? Tell me! But she didn’t listen. She never understood. She quarrelled and left for her father’s house.’

Jamir fell silent again. Riziya asked, ‘And then?’

‘After that I heard something, and then I deliberately drank alcohol and went to her house to fetch her. Otherwise, I’m not so low as to go to my father-in-law’s house in a drunken state. But she still didn’t come back with me! She said she doesn’t like living with me! When she said that, I left. What do I lack? And why is she so arrogant?’

‘What did you hear?’

‘That the Maulana Saheb was carrying on with a girl from the Miya household! I heard that from people in Sadnahati itself. They were discussing it in the tea shop. That’s what I told her. But she refused to admit it. That’s why I couldn’t take it any more. As I was telling the workmen all this, I uttered the word “talaq” in anger. My nephew was present there. He went home and told everyone. Now I hear that Fulsura has become impure because of me! But can that happen just by my saying “talaq”?’

Riziya suddenly moved the hijab away from her face and said, ‘Look, I’m Riziya. The girl from the Miya household. I’m the one carrying on with the Maulana Saheb. Not she.’

Jamir’s elder brother and uncle were among the murubbis present there. The girl’s audacity and brazenness left them speechless. She had come all alone, all the way here, to openly admit her love for Maulana Saheb! Jamir’s uncle asked her, ‘So, my dear, have all the elders in your house departed, or what? Why have you come all by yourself?’

Riziya got up. It was Maghrib time now. There was still daylight. She didn’t tarry even for a moment. She had to return as soon as possible. As she made to leave, Jamir said, ‘I didn’t want to leave her. Tell Fulsura that.’

The uncle got annoyed now. Addressing Jamir, he said, ‘Are you making fun of the shariat? Do you think it’s a joke? So you want to set up home again with that wife? But your wife is haram now.’

Poor Jamir was in a fix. He hadn’t been able to sleep all of last night. His uncle’s words angered him. He said, ‘Let’s hear what the haram is about! I’ve been consuming a haram substance all these days. But no one said anything then. I did that day after day. So if my wife is haram now, what of that? I can digest every kind of haram!’

Jamir’s elder brother was standing beside him. Such audacity! He would set up home with a haram wife! He gave him a tight slap.

It wouldn’t do to waste any more time in the uproar and commotion! Riziya left the house.

forty-one

Tahirul was present, as was Maruf. Several other elders of the locality were also there. They had gathered at Rahman’s house. Kalu Miya was very unwell. At his age, he could no longer take any mental stress. He had been worried about his daughter’s marriage. And after what he had just heard, no father could remain in good health. Reshma’s husband, Nazir, had gone to call a doctor. Fulsura was still crying without let-up.

The discussion was a grave one. A lot of women were peeping through the window – including Riziya. Had Fulsura been divorced? Maulana Tahirul nodded and declared, ‘The divorce has taken place according to the shariat. I can’t see any way out.’

Rahman asked him pleadingly, ‘But he wants to take her back. Can’t they be together again?’

Tahirul was silent. He had such a worried expression on his face that there seemed to be no sign of any hope! After a long while, he said, ‘There’s only one way out. Halala! The iddat begins from the day of the talaq. After three months and ten days, she has to be married to some other man. She has to spend the night with him. If he divorces her after that, then she has to wait for the iddat period of three months and ten days once again. After that, Jamir, that is, her former husband, can marry her.’

Rahman was listening to him all this while. He suddenly shouted, ‘Impossible! How can that be?’

‘Of course it’s impossible. But it’s still possible to slip through the loopholes of the law. Can’t someone be found who will agree to the marriage? Although it’s not right…’

Nazir had brought a doctor. Kalu Miya was being treated in the next room. No one noticed when Nazir came and sat down. He said, ‘Ostagar had diverted eighteen thousand rupees, because zakat money is for the poor, so it can’t be given to a maktab. He told me, you’re a poor man, here’s my zakat money of twenty thousand rupees. Keep two thousand for yourself and donate the rest to the school. So is it something like that?’

Tahirul looked at him impassively and replied, ‘Yes, it is indeed

like that.’

Maruf gazed at Tahirul in astonishment. He asked, ‘But isn’t that wrong? Does anyone get married on the condition of terminating the marriage? Would that marriage be a sacred one?’

‘Come on, Maruf Bhai, even I know it’s against the law. I also said that it’s not right. Actually, it’s a loophole in the law. Otherwise…’

Suddenly someone entered the room. It was Fulsura’s Mama, the advocate in the Howrah civil court. Tahirul was acquainted with him. He had met him once. As soon as he entered, he offered salaam and said, ‘This talaq is an incomplete talaq. He only uttered it once. If they are remorseful, they can begin living together again. This is not tantamount to uttering “talaq” thrice. As far as I know, although a Muslim marriage is a relatively easy affair, it’s not so when it comes to divorce. Yet, we have turned marriage into a complicated matter, while divorce takes place in a single stroke.’

‘What’s this you’re saying? What do you mean there has been no talaq? There has definitely been a talaq.’

‘No, there has been no talaq.’

Maruf had been in deep thought about the whole matter. After taking various things into consideration, he said to the lawyer, ‘A single bullet of a gun is enough to blow away someone’s life. Isn’t it?’

The lawyer was unruffled. He said, ‘Your argument works only if the bullet hits the head or chest. But what if it strikes the leg? Ought one to look into the motive behind firing the gun? Who was witness to how exactly that bastard declared talaq?’

Riziya barged in from the women’s inner room. She said, ‘I know. I heard it myself.’

She continued, ‘Look, it’s true that they were quarrelling over a particular matter. But they loved each other. His exact words were, “So what if your Bhabi doesn’t return? I’m divorcing her.”’

Tahirul gaped at Riziya with widened eyes. It was indeed astonishing! She had already managed to reach Fulsura’s in-laws’ house in order to find out the truth! How amazing! Tahirul asked, ‘Do you know how many times he uttered the word “talaq”?’

‘No, I don’t.’

The lawyer was in a hurry. He wanted to simplify the matter. He said, ‘Forget it. Even if it’s an error. Perform the new marriage, Imam Saheb.’