Urdu Book Review

A powerful statement against HIV AIDS

By

Amar Nath Wadehra

Akhri Adhyaya by Kashmiri Lal Zakir Penguin. Pages: xxix + 124. Price: Rs. 125/-

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to “opportunistic infections” and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen and breast milk etc. There are between 2.4 million and 5 million people suffering from HIV AIDS in India. The variation in estimates is due to the absence of foolproof system of conducting the census of those infected with this virus. Apart from the physiological suffering the afflicted have to reckon with social stigma too. There has been any number of media reports regarding social ostracizing of HIV AIDS victims – thus multiplying their agony.

The above facts should have inspired a thousand novels on the topic by now. Unfortunately the subject has failed to bestir our litterateurs, with Dr. Kashmiri Lal Zakir being an exception. He has come up with this novel with a title that, in translation, literally means ‘the last chapter’. It is a saga of the havoc wrought on a family by AIDS interwoven with the message of communal amity and high principles of true friendship.

No wonder the author’s attempt has been appreciated by such personages as TN Chaturvedi, the Governor of Karnataka, Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha, the former Governor of J&K, Surjit Singh Barnala, the Governor of Tamil Nadu and General (Retd) SF Rodrigues, the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Arjun Das and Anurag Manchanda are fast friends. The latter has a son named Gautam. Arjun’s daughter Shraddha’s classmate Mariam Khan is a Kashmiri; she doesn’t go home as her stepmother – who has links with terrorists – is hostile to her. Mariam has been adopted by Shraddha’s father as his second daughter. Shraddha’s two other class fellows Jaswinder and Tyagi are not only close friends of the two girls but are also treated as part of Arjun’s family. One day Manchanda meets with an accident. In order to save his life he is given blood transfusion. Tragically, the blood was infected. Consequently, he becomes a victim as well as carrier of the HIV virus. Since, initially, he is not aware of the infection he gives it to his wife who eventually dies. Soon after he too follows suit. Before dying, he asks Arjun Das to look after his son Gautam, which the latter promises to do. But Gautam too dies of AIDS as he too has been infected unwittingly. On his death-bed he requests Shraddha to divide his ashes into two parts – one part to be disposed off in Hardwar as per the Hindu rituals and the other part to be taken to Mattan in Kashmir for dispersal. Shraddha performs Gautam’s last rites as no one in the latter’s family is alive. Then the four friends, viz., Jaswinder, Tyagi, Mariam and Shraddha as well as Arjun Das carry out Gautam’s last wish. The trip to Hardwar is incident free. It is the narrative pertaining to Mattan that introduces the reader to Zakir’s eye for Kashmir’s natural beauty and knowledge of the region’s ancient history. When the five go to Mattan they learn from locals that the ruins there were once magnificent buildings. For example, the Sun Temple was a fine illustration of Buddhist architecture. Its central building was 63 ft long and 36 ft wide. It is estimated that it was founded in 500 BC. The architecture in Kashmir was at its zenith during King Lalitaditya’s reign. Mattan was originally known as Martand. Kashmir’s famous river Jhelum’s original name was Vatista; the river, in fact, is a witness to various historical events. Similarly, Zakir describes the valley’s natural beauty in detail. However, the wiping out of an entire family by the HIV AIDS has a cathartic effect on Shraddha and Mariam who, on returning to Chandigarh, decide to join the State Aids Society as volunteers. After college they counsel as well as look after AIDS patients at PGI. This book is a valuable addition to the literature on awareness regarding perils of HIV AIDS.

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