I think Intizar Hussain has drawn a very beautiful analogy between the behavior of animals and the people residing in each city, Roopnagar and Lahore. The way the author describes the cat in the imperial club is really fascinating. The cat is really silent and occasionally comes on to the stage to make a slight sound as opposed to the monkeys in Roopnagar, which are wild, untamed and do whatever they want with full freedom. They come and leave to Roopnagar whenever they wish. Interestingly, Zakir's father also enjoy a feel of authority,freedom and home in Roopnagar which he loses gradually. The cat in Lahore represents the character of Zakir, who is doesn't react to the events happening around him in any way. This shows the decline of the society generally and Zakir specifically. The scene where the imperial is in ruins and the cat is still there in a sick condition is very gruesome. Intizar Hussain is really interested in the ecology of places and he uses it very well to his advantage. This adds to the appeal of the novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment