Background and Context
The story is set in the mid-20th-century social landscape of Kerala. During this time, the Progressive Literature Movement was gaining ground, encouraging writers to move away from romanticized stories of kings and gods and instead focus on the "subaltern"—the marginalized people like Makkar.
- Religious Context: The story specifically uses Islamic funeral traditions (santuq, dikr, Qatib) to ground the narrative in a specific community, but the critique is universal to all organized religions that prioritize the "form" of worship over the "essence" of helping the living.
- Social Realism: Thakazhi’s portrayal of the "scavenger" filching the hospital cloth highlights the extreme poverty of the era, where even a dead man's rag was a prize.
Author Introduction:
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1912–1999) was one of the
giants of Indian literature and a pioneer of the Progressive Literature
Movement in Kerala. He is best known for his unflinching realism and his
focus on the lives of the oppressed, the poor, and the working class.
- Style: His
writing is characterized by a direct, unvarnished portrayal of social
evils.
- Key
Works: His most famous novel, Chemmeen, won
the Sahitya Akademi Award, and Kayar earned him the Jnanpith Award,
India's highest literary honor.
- Legacy:
Thakazhi often used his pen to challenge the caste system, economic
inequality, and the hollow nature of religious institutions.
Summary
The story follows Makkar, an orphan and a beggar who spent 35 years
as the "stink" and "pest" of his town. Throughout his life,
he was shooed away from bungalows and treated with disgust. Parents used his
name to frighten children, and the wealthy only gave him alms to make him go
away quickly.
When Makkar falls ill with diarrhea, he is denied even a place to lie
down. He crawls to a hospital and dies in the mortuary. In a final indignity,
the meager cloth covering his body is stolen by a scavenger.
However, once he is dead, the community's attitude shifts dramatically. Muslim
elders, led by the wealthy Moideen, claim the "unclaimed" corpse.
They provide him with a lavish funeral:
- His
body is washed with perfumes and rose water.
- He
is dressed in fine muslin and a fresh mundu.
- The
Qatib (priest), who ignored Makkar's spiritual needs while he was alive,
now chants holy verses into his ears.
- The
wealthy men who once shooed him away now carry his coffin in a grand
procession.
The story ends with Makkar being buried in the mosque's graveyard. As
the wealthy men throw handfuls of earth onto his grave, the narrator ironically
notes this as "yet another sign of brotherhood."
Thematic Analysis
The Hypocrisy of Ritualism
The central theme is the contrast between ritualistic piety and actual
humanity. The community follows every religious rite perfectly for the dead
Makkar, yet they failed to follow the core religious tenet of
"brotherhood" while he was starving. The author suggests that these
rituals are performed not for Makkar's sake, but for the social image and
"spiritual cleansing" of the wealthy.
Dehumanization of the Poor
While alive, Makkar is treated as an object or a biological nuisance. He
is described as a "stink" that "devours the fragrance of
flowers." He only becomes "public property" and a human being in
the eyes of the law and religion once he is a corpse. The author poses a
haunting question: why must a person die to be "claimed" by society?
The Irony of
"Brotherhood"
Thakazhi invokes the message of the Holy Prophet—universal brotherhood—to
highlight how far the practitioners have strayed from it. True brotherhood
would have provided Makkar with a bowl of gruel or a roof; instead, the
community provides "twenty-one cubits of fresh white cloth" only when
he can no longer use it.
Social "Tax" vs.
Charity
The story describes Makkar’s begging as a "tax" he elicits
from the wealthy. Their "charity" isn't born of compassion but a
desire to rid themselves of an eyesore. This reflects a cynical view of
upper-class philanthropy.
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