"....Ehsaan Manzil ki tareekh ka bohat eham waaqia hai."
Just in the beginning of the story, the narrator establishes that the story deals with the history of Ehsaan Manzil and how a magazine becomes integrated in it. On surveying the story, we find out exactly what comprises this history and are amazed. Its not a conventional description of chain of events that are recorded and informed through aunthentic sources. This history is largely formed by 'ravayaat' and oral narratives which can better be called gossip of society.
Within the confines of 8 pages, we see 4 generations of Ehsaan Manzil namely Sheikh Ehsaan-ul-Haq, Sheikh Irfan-ul-Haq, Sheikh Sajjad and finally Ijaz. One would expect that a large volume would be needed to record the history of these generations but the narrator is still able to give us a good picture of the transformation of the family in these limited pages. The actual tareekh is made of people's reactions to to the revolution or inqalaab. These include Maulvi Meharbaan Ali who excitedly reports the news to "muhallay ke chand sanjeeda aadmi", Nanni Chachi who brings alarming news of "fahaash kitaabein" being circulated and even Sharaafat who returns from Aligarh loaded with a naughty "ravait" about Ijaz. It seems that while these people are reporting something they don't particularly appreciate, there is a sense of pleasure and excitement on their part. This may be because they are criticizing the other and find themselves on a higher moral pedestal. All these people became contributors to Ehsaan Manzil's history; their oral narrative is told with an exaggerated tone and enjoyed by people who engage in great discussions about the change in the big family. As the narrator says "...tamaam baaton ke bawajood Ehsaan Mazil mein inqalaab itna zabardast nahi aya tha", this clearly shows that the revolution must have been gradual. But its the drastic and gossipy version which becomes part of Ehsaan Manzil's history.
Just in the beginning of the story, the narrator establishes that the story deals with the history of Ehsaan Manzil and how a magazine becomes integrated in it. On surveying the story, we find out exactly what comprises this history and are amazed. Its not a conventional description of chain of events that are recorded and informed through aunthentic sources. This history is largely formed by 'ravayaat' and oral narratives which can better be called gossip of society.
Within the confines of 8 pages, we see 4 generations of Ehsaan Manzil namely Sheikh Ehsaan-ul-Haq, Sheikh Irfan-ul-Haq, Sheikh Sajjad and finally Ijaz. One would expect that a large volume would be needed to record the history of these generations but the narrator is still able to give us a good picture of the transformation of the family in these limited pages. The actual tareekh is made of people's reactions to to the revolution or inqalaab. These include Maulvi Meharbaan Ali who excitedly reports the news to "muhallay ke chand sanjeeda aadmi", Nanni Chachi who brings alarming news of "fahaash kitaabein" being circulated and even Sharaafat who returns from Aligarh loaded with a naughty "ravait" about Ijaz. It seems that while these people are reporting something they don't particularly appreciate, there is a sense of pleasure and excitement on their part. This may be because they are criticizing the other and find themselves on a higher moral pedestal. All these people became contributors to Ehsaan Manzil's history; their oral narrative is told with an exaggerated tone and enjoyed by people who engage in great discussions about the change in the big family. As the narrator says "...tamaam baaton ke bawajood Ehsaan Mazil mein inqalaab itna zabardast nahi aya tha", this clearly shows that the revolution must have been gradual. But its the drastic and gossipy version which becomes part of Ehsaan Manzil's history.
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