Divya

Divya by Yashpal, 1945

Translated by Anand

I was never taught in school that Sialkot was the seat of a great Greek kingdom of Madra, a century after Alexander roved through the area. Milinda, also known as Menander, a Greek prince, born in present day Bagram, Afghanistan (the notorious airbase and the jail camp) came and founded the Kingdom of Marda in present day Sialkot. He defeated the Brahmin Paurav caste system dynasty. It led to a long duration of peace and harmony where the ruling aristocracy consisted of Greeks, High caste, "double-born" Brahmin Hindus and Buddhist.

Later in life, Milinda entered Buddhism and it changed the politics of the area.

Their sociopolitical life was somewhat analogous to the un-partitioned India of recent centuries where indigenous Indians of different religions and sects interacted with invaders from the Northwest and the result was a mix of assimilation and separations. Greeks and Buddhists married within and with the ex-slaves. Hindus of high caste, tried to remain genetically pure while mixing socially in every other way. They all tolerated each other, but carried an undercurrent of sense of superiority for themselves and disdain for the other.

A result of Milinda accepting pacifism was the loss of military edge his rule had. It did not need military might as everybody was happy. But later it became tempting for neighboring states to eye Sagal. The king of Darva in the Northeast was planning to attach Sagal.

I always wondered that how Buddhism which was widely practiced in its place of birth, India, got wiped out. This book, set in that historical time, provides some hints of that.

It is in this background that Yashpal has based his historical fiction, Divya. It is blurred where the history ends and fiction kicks in. 

This is first century BC and Milinda is off the scene. He had abolished dynastic power, freed all the slaves of his state on conversion to Buddhism. After he leaves the scene without any successor, Sagal is ruled by a Council. Hundred years old commander in chief of Army, a Greek, is now the President of the state. There is a Chairman of the Republic Council is a Brahmin high caste Hindu. Some of lower castes and even ex slaves, based on their success in business, have made it to the aristocracy, although may not be able as yet to be on the council itself. The ex-slaves and commoners however could gain high position if they join military and eventually could become part of the ruling class. Not much different form the present times. Slowly the society has started to tilt again in the direction of High Castes and the Buddhist influence started to wane.

The Chief Justice is a centurion, a Brahmin, whose father was kept in the same position when Milinda conquered Sagal. Later he inherited his father’s position.

Divya is a young great granddaughter of the Chief Justice, who learnt to be a dancer at the acclaimed school of the Court Dancer and Laureate of Art, Devi Mallika. At the Festival of the Spring, she wins the dance competition to be declared the Daughter of Saraswati. At the same festival, Prithusen, a son of ex slave turned a business magnate and himself a young graduate of military academy wins the men’s competition of marksmanship, defeating sons of Greek, Brahmin and Kashtriyans aristocracy.  Still he is denied the privilege to give his shoulder to the palanquin of Diyva, the winner of the dance competition. Rudhradhir, son of the Chairman of the Council and a high caste Hindu stops him from doing that. At the same scene is an atheist and convicted sculpturist Marish who speaks openly against the religion and the establishment. Banished at times, he is still tolerated.

These three men keep on reappearing in the tumultuous life of Divya.

What follows is a high drama which moves at a comfortable pace, but takes unexpected turns; something typical of Yashpal. It is laces with masterpieces of innate wisdom and profound inner sight by ordinary characters.  All the characters have their ups and downs.

Divya self-surrenders to the love of her life and then she realizes gradually that she has to pay a price for that. She has to run away. Dejected time and again, she tries to kill herself. She survives and moves on to see further vicissitudes of life.

The three male characters cross their path with her at one time or another and the suspense remains.

The essence of the story is a lesson Divya learns when in desperation she tries to enter a Buddhist safe house but denied entry by the priest as she does not have the permission of any males of her family: father, husband, brother or son. She argues that Buddha himself had given shelter to a prostitute. In reply the priest tells her that a prostitute is a free woman. A prostitute is more independent than a high caste woman. This profound realization that a woman was a slave of man, no matter what caste she belonged to, was too much for contemporaries of Yashpal, and he paid a price for that.

In choosing her path, Divya becomes an independent woman. Whether she keeps her independence or gives in to another chance of reinduction as a high caste woman, is the story is all about.

Yashpal's female protagonists are strong women. Their resilience surprises you. 

A comrade of Baghat Singh and Chandrashekar Azad, Yashpal had gone to jail for his views and actions. Coming out of prison, he lived a life of a successful writer, and never looked back. 

I got introduced to Yashpal through his seminal work, Jhoota Sach, which is all about Lahore and Partition. It was introduced by his son Anand, who had translated it in English in the Urdu Conference at NYU New York early in 2019. (You can read my earlierb about that). I read that in Urdu and then in English. The present book is also translated by Anand.

It was given to me as a present by my son. Thank you, Danial.