Basti's main focus(Zakir's personal life & Sabirah)

It’s clear from the reading of chapter six that Intizar’s prime focus in the story is Zakir’s life, his humanity and his struggle to place himself above external forces in his life. The historical ambience while providing a realistic source of conflict is not of utmost importance in the story; what is of most value is what the partition does to characters at play and how they react to them. It’s a prop. It should not be the center of attention.

This can be explained in two ways: one is through Zakir’s (indifference to/ confusion about /inability to grasp) partition and the other is the crux of his thoughts, one of which is his liking for Sabirah.

To explain Zakir’s reaction to partition and war is easy. He is not concerned with the revolution of his friends. Also, when Khawaja Sahab asks him in chapter 5, what the news is on the road about the war, he says “khabrien? Koi khaas khabar to hai nhin” and then Khwaja Sahab talks about Zakir’s unknowing to Abba jan. It’s clear that Zakir does not think much about the bigger social shifts and movements. His hanging out with friends at clubs and being on the road is just him going through the motions. He is not consciously gathering anything.

And meanwhile his heart is displaced. Zakir isn't a student of history but of human life which takes me to my second point. Recall the passage in which he observes people’s walk (end of chapter 5). That’s not how that passage starts. Its starts with him observing slogans and posters on wall but he’s quickly distracted by the handwriting and then he shifts attention towards people passing by these posters indifferently and begins to observe them. That’s him trying to learn about humans and through them himself. The switch in this passage from an observation of a display of historical activeness (which is grounded and fixed) to a study of human behavior, feeling and thought (which is timeless and fluid) exemplifies my point.

This all made perfect sense by the end of chapter six. In the examination of Zakir’s self and what he expects from life, his love for Sabirah is very crucial. By the end of the chapter 6, the war has broken out and Irfan and Zakir hear noise of people alarming nearby. They watch the commotion:

“ The sound of the siren gradually died out….-- gradually all these sounds ceased, and silence spread through the night. In that silence ears waited to hear some huge noise. They waited for a long time, no huge noise, no explosion could be heard. 
        "Yar!" 
        "Yes." 
        "Yar, I'm thinking that Sabirah -- " 
        "So you're thinking about Sabirah?" 
        "Yes." 
        "Now?" 
        "Yes, now." 
        From the distance a low droning noise silenced them. They again strained their ears. 
        "Are they Indian planes?" 
        "Yes, from India, like the love letter you received today." 
        "But yar, I was thinking something else." 
        "What?" 
        "That now Sabirah will forget about Dhaka and seek out news from here."”

Amidst such a major historical development which is overwhelming and intimidating, Zakir is still concerned with his personal; Sabirah’s love is one crucial element of his personal life. One can argue that this concern for Sabirah was reminded of through Surinder’s letter but nevertheless, it still shows where Zakir’s priorities lie and Intizar’s as well.