Book Review
Psychiatric ward, a novel by Dr. Sohan Kaul.
Contemporary fiction or realistic fiction creates imaginary characters and situations that depict our world and society. It focuses on themes of growing up and confronting personal and social problems. Psychiatric ward, a novel by Dr. Sohan Kaul fits to this genre and serves as an eye-opener to the one plentiful with sensitivities to apprehend the prerequisite of satire in literature. It is a never ending saga of an unwell society wherein a common narrative is bedridden. The style that has been adopted from exposition to the conclusion is dissimilar to conventional formats for the reason that the third person narration is in the past tense that not only restricts unnecessary and hyperbolic descriptions which was a mode of heightening satire in the past, but also it obliges concentration that in reciprocity adds severity to the scene and setting. The contour of the story is sublime in consistency on one hand but on the other the foreshadowing covers the historical perspective of the space and time. The skeleton of the novel is a superb specimen of intricate fragments of serious case studies of an asylum where sickness not only exposes the social taboos but also demonstrates emotional supplement of a nurse and doctors in particular and plight of the patients in general.
The exposition of the novel depicts a female psychiatric ward with a senior doctor Mushtaq and an energetic nurse Saima handling the patients with the compromised psyche. The novel moves with Dr. Mushtaq attending the conference in the USA and Dr. Naveed taking over. Doctor Farah and Dr. Naveed and the nurse are held in a love triangle, but the conflict that arises in the novel is multilayered. It starts with an internal conflict between Dr. Mushtaq’s research and Dr. Farah’s conventional methodology that she employed to treat the patients, but the author has probed deep into the society and exposed the plight of the compromised psyche of the society. On the return of Dr. Mushtaq, an old woman who was under his treatment was already given a shock that not only spoiled the woman but his entire research. The conflict is heightened when he tore down all his papers and submitted his resignation. But in the background of his resignation, the marriage between Dr. Naveed and Dr. Farah signified the unexpressed love of Saima. Dr. Mushtaq’s track 2 diplomacy and Saima’s ail adds tension and turbulence in the novel. The climax shocks a reader when Dr. Farah was diagnosed with a case of Motor Neuro Disease. Running parallel to the main plot are micro-stories of Mouj and Shazia. The plight of Mouj and Shazia heightens the micro threads of the main plot. Shazia’s sickness has been associated with gun culture and the consequences of which Shazia was a brutal victim. The main plot has been skillfully merged into the main plot with the return of Shazia and the death of Mouj. The fall in action as usual is brief with the dying demand of Dr. Farah suggesting Dr. Naveed marry Saima.
The technique that has been employed in this novel is a bit different as expected of Dr. Sohan Kaul. His narrative style and apt diction have been added features of the novel. The satire that has been put forth not as a device but as a social commentary and is well marked as a powerful apparatus in contemporary culture where realistic fiction is independent of excessive use of imagery and fancy. The author has utilized tools like dramatic irony and humour to create a successful satire. The author has brilliantly brought forth Horatian satire into play for the reason to poke at a situation unlike conventional usage that pokes fun at a person but the author has modified this type of satire by poking at the situation of the Valley not to in an entertaining way but as an awakening when doctors were requested to adjust the patients in the ward to avoid social stigma. The satire which is dominant in the novel is Juvenalian satire which is dark and speaks volumes to reveal the truth to control. As a situation in the novel when a bribe is offered to the doctor to keep a lady patient in the ward to perish in thin airs.
Another feature of the novel is that whenever the background details take us off the track, the author sincerely pulls us back without twists and turns but like a conventional oral study telling tradition, the author uses a catchword as a switch over to connect a reader to the lady psychiatric ward to nurse the ‘forward movement’ of the plot.
The seasons have glorified the culture of the Valley which the author has used to fit the setting. Historical perspective and ailing health conditions of asylums have found a good mention in the background of the novel. There are some serious symbols that have been employed by the novelist that has long drawn out the scope of the novel beyond the confines of a psychiatric ward. The use of ‘Iron Gate’ is one such unambiguous symbol of forlornity and responsibility. It has vividly exposed the two sides of the psyche, one where empathy is bedridden and the second where sympathy is but a formality. Another powerful symbol is ‘The Wall Clock’ which has enhanced the sensitive eye to relate the time which behind the ‘Iron Gate’ is labelled as termination while as outside the same gate it is a moving wheel of fortune.
If the title of the novel would have been A Lady Psychiatric ward, it would have lessened the catharsis. The title is apt for the reason that it tells us about the entire humanity which has been turned into a ward for every home and every nook seems like a projection of asylum. This novel is a trendsetter for Kashmiri literature as for its theme and characterization is concerned. Dr. Sohan Kaul’s contribution in the form of this novel will certainly help a reader to carry on the trend of novel writing.
