The Unforgiving Wind of Communalism

The trauma of Partition maneuvers its way into the contemporary debates even today. Time and again, we encounter its atrocities through different mediums. Its adaptation within the folds of Hindi Cinema gives us a whole new insight. One such film highlights the Partition as a slow and painful process. Let us dive into its nitty-gritty aspects.

Poster of Garam Hawa; Image Source- Imbd

The scorching wind of Partition was yet to pass away. The harsh reality was quick to uproot its ancestral inhabitants on communal lines. And that's how we enter the world of Salim Mirza, a Muslim gentleman who refused to leave Hindustan, for it was his home. The film begins with Salim biding his sister goodbye, who left for Karachi. The new Islamic nation 'Pakistan' was now the home of every Muslim, but Salim didn't want to relish the glory of the new state. Staying back was his only way to salvage the memory of old, united times.

Partition left a prickling fear in the minds of Muslims who stayed behind in India. Gandhi's death did a little to comfort their minds. As a result, Salim's shoe factory witnessed the diminishing workers who fled to Karachi daily. It was just the beginning, for drastic changes were yet to arrive.

Amidst this financial crisis, the household was preparing for Amina's wedding. Salim was a doting father who was relieved that Amina would wed into the safe hands of his nephew Kazim. Kazim's father, Salim's elder brother, Halim Mirza, had different plans. His dreamy political promises only managed to pacify the worried crowd of Indian Muslims while he fled to Pakistan to turn over a new leaf.

Halim's choice not only broke the joint family but had over-arching consequences. Halim sold the ancestral Haveli, rendering Salim's family homeless. Perhaps this was the first shock that Salim recognised but failed to acknowledge as a warning. His old mother was stubborn about not leaving the house she had ever known. Renting a space was hard enough for a Muslim due to the increasing distrust.

The family somehow managed to squeeze themselves into a small tenant they could afford. Kazim's surprise visit to marry Amina brought much relief, only to burst the bubble of happiness. Kazim travelled to India without any documents and hence was deported. Kazim feared that Halim would force him to marry a Minister's daughter and thereby fled to reunite with Amina. His deportation broke Amina, making her retire to solitude.

In the meantime, Salim's younger son, Sikander, fails to bag a job after completing his graduation. Every interviewer suggests that Pakistan is the only place with a golden ticket for him. Unemployment was another jarring reality of that time. When coupled with the blatant discrimination of communality, the survival of Indian Muslims seemed much bleak. A similar disillusionment plagued Salim's elder son, Baqar, who migrated to Pakistan in hopes of a brighter future.

Baqar's migration left a gaping hole in Salim's household. Perhaps it was a bit too much to handle for his old mother. Her days soon came to an end. Her death scene jolts the audience back into the emotional realm, seeing how the old lady breathed her last in the ancestral Haveli while the memories of the past flash by.

Things further spiralled when Salim's factory got lynched in the flames of hatred. It called for a brutal attack on Salim, with the factory burning down to ashes.

Amina eventually moved on and gave Shamshad, her long time suitor, a fair chance. Their love bloomed in no time, with Shamshad proposing to her for marriage. Alas! Amina has no such luck. Shamshad and his family soon left for Pakistan. And once again, Amina shouldered the brunt of false promises. The second shock was Amina's undoing, who committed suicide.

Once again, the audience goes through the pain of Amina. A young, beautiful girl who hoped to settle down soon ended her life in the natal dupatta made by her mother. The pain of crushed dreams hits us hard.

The final nail to the coffin is the charges of espionage on Salim. Even though acquitted later, Salim becomes the ire of the public.

The movie approaches its end with Salim's decision to depart for Pakistan. The scorching wind was further alight with the pleads of unemployed youth, demanding their rights, irrespective of their religion. Noticing Sikander's eagerness, Salim encourages him to join the crowd while he too joins them. It took Amina's death and a plethora of betrayals for Salim to realise that Hindustan indeed had changed. Fighting for his rights was one of the ways to own the new nation, no matter how divided or unfair the times seemed.

Garam Hawa, an adaption of Ismat Chughtai's story, comes to life when Kaifi Azmi blesses it with his Midas touch. We see Salim experiencing the throes of Partition. The painful process of watching his livelihood dwindle while his family disintegrates seeps into the emotional abyss of every Indian Muslim's daily life. The disjointed reality of Partition slowly took away a lot more than the peace and heaven it promised.