Naimat Bibi blushed with pleasure. ‘That is very generous of you, Sahib Jee. Here my friend is helping me’ Qaisra: 123.”
3. Siraj Din
Physically, Qaisra does not characterise Siraj Din clearly. He is characterised as a man aged about eighty years old. In his old age, he uses ivory
walking stick to help him in walking. He is a man who always cares about his dress especially in visiting.
Holding his ivory walking stick in one hand, he accepted Waris’ hand to step down from his high seat. He straightened his long
black tweed overcoat, and adjusted his turban at the right angle on his head. He always waited his son very formally dressed-
Impressions matter a lot Qaisra: 18.
Socially, Siraj Din is characterised as a landlord in Chiragpur- larger village than most other neighboring villages. He is the greatest landlord in
Chiragpur for years; hence, he is the richest man in the village. He also enjoys the position of the highest ranking inhabitant.
The hawali, the large house belonging to Habib Khan’s father, Siraj Din, the feudal landlord, was located near the mosque and thus
enjoyed the most central position in the village…Siraj Din’s family had ruled over Chiragpur for decades, even before the influx of
Muslim refugees from India after Partition Qaisra: 58.
As a feudal landlord, he loves his lands more than anything. His life is for seeking and keeping land. His life is about land and land. He puts land above all
he has, such family, Siraj Din was true country man, a zemindar to his very bones.
Nothing would have induced him to depart from Chiragpur the village of light to join his sons in the town. He tolerated their move
with fortitude and sadness, but he wouldn’t be persuaded to do so himself. How can a zemindar be a zemindar if he lives away from
his fields? Land is my life. My eyes need to gaze over and to feast PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
on the smell of fresh green vegetables growing in the fields, ready to be plucked and harvested. I’ll never leave it Qaisra: 127
Moreover, he also believes that women are inferior to men. He believes he does not need women in living his life and men should be the master in his house.
In other words, he is an independent man. His speech below will show that characteristic;
“Father, I am not like you I cannot live alone. I have led a different live from that you shared with our mother You kept her
at arms’ length, always afraid that she might dominate you…you ere always chasing after your land and bent on showing who was
master in your home Qaisra: 130.”
Not only love his land does Habib but also reveres his tradition. He dislikes any modernity and changes coming to his life. He prefers to use
traditional tools than modern ones. He also hates any new paradigms or values coming from West which try to replace the old paradigms. Citation below depicts
his fury when Shahzada lets her daughter stay in Sikander’s family’s house in order to build relationship before getting married.
“But I must be allowed to say that my clan hasn’t yet had the misfortune to become so outrageously ‘advanced’ so morally
corrupt that we let our beautiful young unmarried daughters stay in strange place uncheapened. Along side our land, our wives and
daughter, our izzat- our honor- is the most precious things in our live. We never ever compromise on the issue of our women and our
izzat No matter what age we live in, no matter what the world outside dictates Qaisra: 21.”
Another Siraj Din’s characteristic is that he is a strong man. His statuses, as a man and feudal landlord, compel him to be a strong man who sets an example
for people around him. It can be seen on how he endeavors to conceal his grief when his son Habib and his granddaughter pass away in Makkah.
His thin lips issued crisp orders to his servants but inside he was a lost man. Only years of breeding and built- in stoicism prevented
him from giving in to the luxury of displaying his emotions in public and wailing out aloud, which was what he yearned to do. As
a role model for the younger men in the village to emulate, Siraj Din had no choice but to cling to the though façade he had adopted
and act the part that was expected of him Qaisra: 216.
4. Shahzada
Shahzada is the wife of Habib and the mother of Zarri Bano. As the landlord’s wife in Sindh, she directly becomes a chaudarani in Sindh. She is
about fifty years old. In this novel, Shahzada is characterised like her name- Shahzadi, a woman of noble bearing. Shahzada loves and cares about her family.
She knows well what her family need. She always pays attention to every detail of her family needs as what she does to her father in law. It can be seen through
citation below; With her gaze respectfully fixed on his coat and with starting
cheeks, Shahzada stopped before her superior looking father in law. Dutifully she inclined her head towards his raised his hands…she
went into the kitchen to inform her second cook to prepare a special meal for Siraj Din Sahib and to use fewer red chilies in the
curry dishes Qaisra: 18-19
That citation explains that Shahzada does not only care about her father in law, shown by how she prepares any details as fewer chilies, but also respects and be
polite to elder. Her esteem is not only shown on her mannerism but also on how she always keeps her tongue.
“….I must respect you for all time. Therefore, how can I scream and wise even if I wanted to? I have been a dutiful and dumb
prisoner of female etiquette for so long, how can I now open my mouth to you, Aba Jan? Qaisra: 246.”
She is not a high spirited woman who likes debating and objecting neither to her husband nor her father in law. As the result, she rebels her husband and her
father- in- law by keeping silent. She tends to show her obedient and that is one reason for Siraj Din loving her.
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