A letter to Anjum

Here I tried to cover the main points included in the novel in letter-writing form. You can use the comment section for suggestions and corrections if anything is left out.

To know more about the novel, CLICK HERE.

The Reader’s Digest Book by S. Tilottama and Screenshots by ChatGPT. CLICK HERE to read.

I also read this letter. Here the video is Embedded. 

To: Anjum 

At: Graveyard

Dear Anjum.

I read your story. Your story is the pillar of the novel. You were born and brought up in Khwabgah and you saw the dream of identity and happiness. I come to know how you lived in the graveyard like a tree. I would like to call you Hermaphrodite rather than Hijra. Because you are human more than your already definable identity by society. When you were a newborn baby, your beloved mother's Eight reactions said the whole story of your upcoming life. But your father was always busy to elaborating how his own family, descendants of the Mughals, who were Sunni, came to be Shia, and so on. Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed – Hazrat of Utmost Happiness, Saint of the Unconsoled and Solace of the Indeterminate, Blasphemer among Believers and Believer among Blasphemers who blessed you and the new couple.

Khwabgah - 'the House of Dreams' - calling you through Bombay Silk, not directly, but it was your interest, your destiny to live there. Maybe it was the right place where your dreams could live. You lived with other people like you, the friend Nimmo Gorakhpuri and other Hijras. Your life again blooms with the little blessing of Zainab whom you found near the stairs at Jama Masjid when she was around three years old. You enjoyed your life as being celebrated Hijra of the time. But I was wrong when you were saved from Gujarat Riots at Ahmadabad but your destiny then changed. That mob saved you because of your identity (not because she was Muslim but because she was Hijra) and perhaps they got scared that 'Hijron ka maarna apshagun hota hai. (killing Hijras brings bad luck.) Bad luck! That so-called Bad luck was in between Bharat Mata Ki Jai! and Vande Mataram! and Zakir Mian was lost in between. Gujarat ka Lalla was very busy to climb the paradise (in his way) so he didn't care. And then your life turns in Graveyard - 'Jannat Guest House' which was your real Paradise. 

Jannat Guest House became a hub for Hijras, the tightly administered grid of Hijra Gharanas. When you heartily welcomed your guest as like yours. Nimmo was one of your old friends who visited. Saddam Hussain whose real name was Dayachand - a Chamar, his backstage life was very much connected with your story. You know Anjum, you and others including Miss Jebeen the second are always the hero of your own story. Dayachand wanted to tack revenge for his father's death who died in the name of 'Cow slaughter' by inspector Sehrawat. He had a mare named Payal. But in the end, he wanted to forget all things when he got married to Zainab.

Then one baby came. Your deep desire blooms again and you want to feel that Joy. You strongly argued with Saddam and he denied your desire to be a mother. I thought that baby might be your Joy, but again Mr. Agrawal came and demanded to not take the baby with her. Though it was another political agenda, again because of your identity also. During that conversation, the baby disappeared. And you all looking for the baby. In Duniya, different scams were created by the media, television viewership skyrocketed all kinds of Euphoria was going on. 

Then the story moved to Kashmir. The crown of India! Seventh part 'The Landlord' was narrated by Biplab Dasgupta. From their old college days and the present, they all were quite differently lived. Dasgupta worked at Intelligence Beuro, Nagaraj was a journalist, and Musa joined a militant group. Still, it was the suspense that who the baby was? who were the parents? Tilo- Architect and publisher of Azad Bhartiya’s pamphlet took an abandoned baby girl and named her Miss Jebeen second. Miss Jebeen was the daughter of Musa and Arifa. Arifa and Miss Jebeen were killed during the massacre. This child was of Commander Revathy. She was raped by six police officers and she had no idea who was her father. She wrote a letter to Dr. Azad and wrote about everything that was happened with her. Long scared episode! Then she reviled that she gave her name -  Udhaya (new hope) And the story also ended with hope and the role of Dung Beetle, 

'He was wide awake and on duty, lying on his back with his legs in the air to save the world in case the heavens fell. But even he knew that things would turn out all right in the end. They would because they had to. Because Miss Jebeen, Miss Udaya Jebeen, was come'. 

At the end of the story, I came to know about you more in-depth while Miss Jebeen the second came. Jahanara Begum, you, Tilo, and Revathy are the inspiration to live in The Joy of Motherhood. Your story gives the perspective to live with respect, dignity, courage and with humanity, and love. After suffering from such events, either political or social, you tried to live with a smile and tried to give happiness and you always tried to keep looking for the treasure of happiness that shouldn't be empty in the life of your tenant or family. And that treasure keeps overloaded with your pure blessing upon them. I wish, Udaya will understand what is the role of Guhi Kyom. And I know you will be a supported mother forever. 

Your Life story reader

Divya Sheta.