Joginder Paul (1925-2016) was one among the league of progressive writers from the pre-Partition period who survived long after the icons of the movement were gone. Born in Sialkot, now in Pakistan, he was 22 when Partition happened, shaping his world view. Despite being forced to leave his motherland and later getting a degree in English literature and teaching it, he continued to hold Urdu close to his heart.
He is considered one of the greatest Urdu novelists of the 20th century. Aik Boond Lahoo Ki, published in Karachi in August 1962, launched his career. It has now been translated into English by Snehal Shingavi, who has translations of Premchand and Bhisham Sahni to his credit.
Being a member of the Progressive Writers’ Association, it was but natural for Paul to write about class conflict and its impact on society. A Drop of Blood pivots around a jobless young graduate, Mohan Karan, an orphan who lives with a destitute old woman. Karan sells his blood to survive. He lands up in the house of a rich man, Dr. Bakhtiyar, who is in constant need of the rare blood type he shares with Karan. He is hired for his ‘services’.
He is similarly exploited when he gets close to his neighbour, Ragini, the wife of a well-heeled old hakeem, and Zahra, Dr. Bakhtiyar’s young daughter.
Paul creates the binary of two classes, one represented by Karan and the other by Dr. Bakhtiyar, making up the underdog and the exploiter. Paul had dedicated the original Urdu novel to the times he was living in: “To this very active era, which, with a very complacent indifference, is engaged in the trade of blood of human beings.” This is the crux: blood is an extended metaphor for exploitation in this scathing satire.
The Urdu text has a prominent Punjabi lilt (Paul was Punjabi-speaking) both in terms of dialogue and the milieu it creates. The characters’ classes are determined by the shades of the language they speak. It is challenging to translate those nuances, but Shingavi has handled the task well.
The reviewer is a Lahore-based journalist and poet.
A Drop of Blood ; Joginder Paul, trs Snehal Shingavi, Penguin Modern Classics, ₹319 (Kindle price)
