The Irony of Ill Luck
Ghosh narrates, “Kalua, the driver of the ox-cart, was a giant of a man, but he made no move to help his passenger and was careful to keep his face hidden from him: he was of the leather-workers' caste and Hukam Singh, as a high-caste Rajput, believed that the sight of his face would bode ill for the day ahead. Now, on climbing into the back of the cart, the former sepoy sat facing to the rear, with his bundle balanced on his lap, to prevent its coming into direct contact with any of the driver's belongings. Thus they would sit, driver and passenger, as the cart creaked along the road to Ghazipur – conversing amicably enough, but never exchanging glances.” It is ironic for Hukam Singh to consider that an undeviating face to face interaction with Kalua would occasion misfortune. If it were plausible, the Hukam Singh would have hired a driver from his caste to contract probabilities of intermixing with the ‘leather-worker caste.’ Besides, it is ironic for Hukam Singh to steer clear ‘the driver’s belongings’ yet he is aboard an ox-cart which is part of the driver’s belongings. Moreover, their endeavors to avoid glances are ironic since they are in the same ox-cart where perception of each other may be inescapable. The ironic scenarios accentuate the arbitrariness of the caste structure which hampers people from partaking in conventional, mostly harmless human exchanges.
The Irony of Deeti’s Vision
Gosh writes “Deeti's vision: her eyes suddenly conjured up a picture of an immense ship with two tall masts. Suspended from the masts were great sails of a dazzling shade of white. The prow of the ship tapered into a figurehead with a long bill, like a stork or a heron. There was a man in the background, standing near the bow, and although she could not see him clearly, she had a sense of a distinctive and unfamiliar presence. Deeti knew that the vision was not materially present in front of her... She had never seen the sea, never left the district, never spoken any language but her native Bhojpuri, yet not for a moment did she doubt that the ship existed somewhere and was heading in her direction. The knowledge of this terrified her, for she had never set eyes on anything that remotely resembled this apparition, and had no idea what it might portend.” Deeti’s vision as it is based on the imagery of a ship which Deeti has never perceived. The realism of the ship is convincing that one would not consider that it is based on a fantasy ship. Had Deeti viewed such a ship in her life, then it would be logical to postulate that her vision is based on the imageries reserved in her unconscious. The ironic vision underscores the mysticism and figurative import of the ship.
The Irony of “Virtuous Woman”
Gosh explicates, “It was a decoction of datura that wrung the truth from the old woman, by sending her into a trance from which she never recovered. In her last days, when her mind was wandering she often referred to Deeti as 'Draupadi'; when asked why, she would murmur drowsily: Because the earth has never seen a more virtuous woman than Draupadi, of the Mahabharata, wife to five brothers. It's a fortunate woman, a saubhágyawati, who bears the children of brothers for each other . . .” Labelling Draupadi as virtuous is ironic since she is induced with drugs to submit to the incestuous-polyandrous association with five brothers. Perhaps, she would not have submitted to the oppression if she were conscious during the coercive sex. Compelling a woman to have sexual intimacy with five blood brothers is oppression which cannot be used to establish whether she is virtuous or not. Being a victim of sexual violence is not a qualification of virtuousness. Besides, Draupadi’s situation makes her a sexual and birthing slave who cannot be said to be categorically fortunate.
