International Islamic University Islamabad.

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Comparative Stylistic Analysis of Ice Candy Man and Train to Pakistan.

The Partition horror accompanying the transfer of population has been a major theme in

Indo-Anglican writings. Even many Pakistani writers have, like their Indian counterparts,

written much about the partition theme. Although the treatment of the subject differs, as

writers wrote the fiction from their own perspective, yet all of them have communicated the

horrendous nature of the partition.

The best English novels on partition are Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man and Khushwant

Singh’s Train to Pakistan. If Bapsi Sidhwa writes about the destruction of Lahore and

communal rioting in Pakistan, Khushwant Singh writes about communal troubles that broke

out in Mano Majra, a village on India border. In Ice Candy Man, the child narrator, Lenny,

gives us a glimpse into events of turmoil on the India subcontinent during partition. While in

Train to Pakistan, the narrator narrates one of the most brutal episodes in the world’s history,

in which a millions men, women and children were killed. Millions were displaced of home

and deprived of there belongings. The novel is a narrative of the tragic events that followed

the partition of British India into Pakistan and India. In order words Ice candy man and Train

to Pakistan appear to be complimentary to each other. Both of the writers are held in great

esteem, which is vivid from the following comments. Dawn praised Ice Candy Man in the

following words,

“Bapsi Sidhwa deals with the partition of India , a subject as harrowing as Holocaust.

Before our disbelieving eyes, she performs the remarkable feat of bringing togetherthe

ribald farce f Parsee family life and stark drama and horrors of the riots and massacres of

1947.”

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Critics K.K. Sharma and B.K. Johri in their book, The Partition in Indian- English Novels,

commenting on Train to Pakistan echo the view of V.A. Shahane about realism in

Khushwant Singh’s novel. They say,

“Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan pictures the brutal, realistic story of political

hatred and of mass passions during the tragic days that preceded and followed the

partition of India… Trains were halted and the unfortunate passengers were ruthlessly

butchered. Men, women and children were indiscriminate victims of mad communal

frenzy: they were molested and killed by armed bands of men. The novel depicts the fateful

journey of one such train vividly and powerfully”.

The subject matter of the two novelists is the same, yet Style of the two writers differs

greatly. Bapsi Sidhwa tends to maintain a simple style that suits her child narrator while

Khushwant Singh’s style is rich and aesthetically beautiful. Bapsi Sidhwa’s style was praised

by The Literary review in the following words,

“Sidhwa’s Rebelasian language and humor are enormously refreshing, especially in the

context of modern Indian fiction…her prose is also both delicate and precise in its imagery

and descriptions, with words chosen as carefully as pieces of inlay in a marble wall.”

A.N. Dwivedi, comments on the style of Train to Pakistan and says that,

“His two novels, Train to Pakistan and I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, depict the tragic

circumstances leading to India’s partition in 1947. There is a thick layer of

disenchantment and disillusionment and bewilderment in them, the vision remains

realistic throughout, and the communal barbarism is depicted with a great deal of

irony and satire. The style is tough and terse, concise and spare, in both the novels, and it

is likely that Singh is influenced by Hemingway in this matter.”

In the comparative stylistic analysis we will observe that how the form of the novels

contributes towards the theme of the novels. Some of the stylistic devices employed in the

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novels are tone, narrative techniques, use of language, barbarism, symbols, similes,

metaphors, historiography, intertextuality, humor etc…

The tone of the novel Ice Candy Man is neutral and objective. Sidhwa has employed child

narrator to present an unbiased and objective picture of the partition. “Sidhwa’s ice candy

man is a bold experiment in narrative strategies and time, in which the unspeakable

horrors of communal violence are told mainly from a little girl’s point of view.” The text is

objective on two grounds: firstly because Sidhwa has employed the child narrator and

children are not biased rather they present the truth and secondly, because the novel is written

from a Parsee perspective. The Parsee community was indifferent towards the Partition of

India. They neither supported Hindus or Sikhs nor Muslims. They were of the view that they

will accept any Government as Colonel Bharucha, the representative of Parsees, said that,

“We must hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.” In Ice Candy Man first person

narration is seen because the character, Lenny, is herself narrating the story of the partition.

However the tone of train to Pakistan is satirical and ironic. It is also biased and prejudiced

against the Muslims. The cruelties and the atrocities committed by all communities are

described, as the narrator says, “Muslims said the Hindus had planned and started the

killing. According to the Hindus, the Muslims were to blame. The fact is, both sides killed.

Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped” However the

writer pays special attention to the brutalities committed by the Muslims. The narration in

Train to Pakistan is third person or omniscient. The narrator is not one of the characters of

the novel rather he is a God like narrator who comments on the situations and doings of

everyone. The narration of Train to Pakistan is not neutral rather it is subjective because the

author has written the novel from the Sikh perspective.

The language of Ice candy Man and Train to Pakistan also differ. Ice Candy man employs

simple, plain language as it is narrated by a child. So, the level of the language used, suits the

age of the child. Some of the instances of simple language are, “Sharbat Khan tells her of

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his cousin who has a dry fruit and naswar lean- to in Gawalmandi. It is contact point for

many Pathans from his tribe around the Khyber working in Lahore.”

“Father’s dinner party jokes never fail. The Rogers have scarcely eaten. Over the years it

saves thousand’s of rupees’ worth of chicken, lamb, caramel custard and other part y

fair.”

Khushwant Singh has used aesthetic and artistic language as compared to Bapsi Sidhwa. The

main reason for this is that Ice Candy Man is narrated by Lenny who is a child so, the

vocabulary, the sentence structure and the style of writing is also simple and comprehensible.

In contrast Train to Pakistan has omniscient narrator that’s why aesthetic and artistic

language is used in it. Examples of Singh’s artistic use of language are,

“It was a gloomy night. The breeze that had swept away the clouds blew them back again.

At first they came in fleecy strands of white. The moon wiped them off its face. Then they

came in large billows, blotted out the moon light and turned the sky a dull grey. The moon

fought its way through, and occasionally, patches of the plain sparkled like silver.”

Another example of the beautiful language is,

“The northern horizon, which had turned a bluish gre, showed orange again. The orange

turned into copper and then into a luminous russet. Red tongues of flame leaped into the

black sky.” The above examples are some of the beautiful instances where the rich aesthetic

language is used by the author.

The technique of Barbarism is employed by Bapsi sidhwa in her novel Ice Candy Man. This

technique is employed not only to introduce the Native language in to the text but also to

portray the importance of local culture. Barbarism appears in the novel in the form of use of

local naming of various things: local names, local places and words of local language. She

uses native names like sharbat khan, Sher Singh, Dost Mohammad. Shanta, Ranna etc., local

names of places such as Lahore, Gurdaspur, Shalmi, Amritsar, Warris road, Shalimar

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gardens and Native words are also used by her like choorail. Haram khor, pashmina shawl,

hookah, naswar, chaudry, jharoo, charpoi etc.

Barbarism is also employed by Khushwant Singh like Bapsi Sidhwa. Some of the names of

the local places mentioned in the novel are: Mano Majra, Delhi, Lahore, Amritsar,

Ferozepur etc… The names of the characters are also local, according to the naming pattern

of the Sub Continent e.g. Juggat, Nooran, Malli, Meet Singh, Hukam Chand etc… The words

from local language include: Zulum, Loo, Santry Sahib, Kalyug, Kismet, Kabootur, wah wah,

Babuji, Houris, Toba etc…

Both of the novels have symbolic significance, as symbols are extensively used in them.

These symbols enrich the meaning of the novels and give them multiple dimensions. Some of

the symbols in Ice candy man are:

Ayah, who is the central characters of the novel, is a symbol of communal harmony. Before

the partition people belonging to different communities Hindus, Sikh, Muslims gather around

her. “Only the group around Ayah remains unchanged. Hindu, Muslim, Parsee are as

always unified around her.”

Another symbol is that of lion in the cage. It is the symbol of imprisonment as well as the

passive- aggressive behavior of Indians. Lion symbolizes the people of subcontinent who are

passive because of their imprisonment but once they are let free they become violent. This

violent nature of lion is depicted by Ayah, “She thinks he’s let loose at night and he will

gobble her up from her bed.” This is symbolically significant because it foreshadows the

future events in which the Indians will be let loose and they will get involved I massacre.

Knives, daggers, axes etc are symbols of destruction. “People are holding out to him their

knives, choppers, axes, staves and scathes.” People were sharpening these instruments as a

preparatory act for the communal riots. As Sharbat khan says “I never knew there were so

many daggers and knives in Lahore.”

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A train from Gurdaspur is also a symbol of bloodshed and cruelty. “A train from gurdaspur

has just come in, everyone in it is dead, there is no young women among the dead! only

two gunny bags full of women’s breasts.”

Pressed butterfly is a symbol of oppression that Cousin showed to Lenny. It fore shadows the

oppression that people will face during partition, “He lifts off one layer and reveals a

pressed butterfly, its colors turned to powder, its wings awry.” The pressed butterfly is

symbolic of the fate that Ayah will confront.

The tearing of the doll by Lenny is another symbol which represents the aggression people

are exerting on each other. “Adi and I pull the doll’s leg stretching it in a fierce tug of war

until making wretching sound it suddenly splits.”

Statue of Queen Victoria is also symbol of British imperialism in the subcontinent.

“Queen Victoria, cast in gunmetal, is majestic. massive, over powering, ugly. Her statue

imposes the English Raj in the Park.” The Queen’s statue was a part of the remnants left of

the British Raj.

Khushwant Singh has also employed a number of symbols. Some of them are:

Meet Singh is a symbol of communal harmony. He forbids the Hindus and the Sikhs from

killing the Muslims. He wants peace to prevail in his area but his words remain unheeded.

He repeats this thing again and again that, “What have the Muslims here done to us for us

to kill them in revenge for what Muslims in Pakistan are doing. Only people who have

committed crimes should be punished.” Nobody listens to Meet Singh rather they continue

their planning for murders. Meet Singh is left helpless, he can do nothing to save the lives of

people except for admonishing people and calling their bravery to question, “What bravery is

there in killing unarmed innocent people.”

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Train, is one of the most important symbols. Before the Partition the train in Mano Majra

symbolized the hustle and bustle and liveliness of the village but later on the same train

became a symbol of death, destruction and anarchy. The train station along with the train

symbolized constant activity, as the narrator says, “A small colony of shopkeepers and

hawkers has grown up around the station to supply travelers with food, betel leaves,

cigarettes, tea, biscuits and sweetmeats. This gives the station an appearance of constant

activity and its staff a somewhat exaggerated sense of importance.” Another instance which

shows that how Mano Majra was activated by the train is that, “before daybreak, the mail

train rushes through on its way to Lahore, and its approaches the bridge, the driver

invariably blows two long blasts on the whistle. In an instant, all Mano Majra comes

awake.”

However the train becomes destructive at the time of Partition. Train as the symbol of

destruction becomes evident when trains with corpses came to India and went from India.

Sikhs killed thousands of people in the trains going to Pakistan to take revenge of the Hindus

and the Sikhs whose corpses came to India, “the Sikhs retaliated by attacking a Muslim

refugee train and sending it across the border with over a thousand corpses.”

Kirpan is another symbol which stands for destruction. Kirpan was the thing, with which the

Sikhs brought about the destruction and killed millions of people, “every Sikh in Mano

Majra became a stranger with an evil intent. His long hair and beard appeared barbarous,

his kirpan menacingly anti Muslim.”

Simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared often in a phrase

introduced by like or as. Similes are incorporated in Ice-Candy-Man and Train to Pakistan.

The use of similes enhances the aesthetic value of the texts and contributes towards the

themes. In Ice-Candy-Man, the simile “As pink skinned as an Englishmen” has been used

for Adi, Lenny’s brother, this simile shows that fairness of the native people as compared to

the Englishmen. Only the English are considered fair.

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The simile “like a fierce blue storm” is used for the fire erupted by the mob, indicating the

horrors of partition of India. Sidhwa is comparing the fire to a blue storm, which shows the

intensity of the situation that this fire will lead to more bloodshed and miseries.

The simile “trusting and kind as saint” is used for Ice-Candy-Man when he disguises

himself as a saint, all the people gather around him, asking him to pray for them to God. The

use of this simile highlights the hypocrisy of Ice Candy Man.

The simile “roll towards Pir Pindo like the heedless swell of an ocean” is referring here to

the Hindu and Sikh mob that are killing the Muslims brutally and inhumanely. It is

highlighting the apathy of people. The partition and communal violence had made the people

inhumane and indifferent towards each other.

Other similes used by Bapsi Sidhwa in Ice-Candy-Man are: “lean as his popsicles,” “ as

oval as an egg,” “ you are like Jungly lion in zoo.”

The various themes have also been highlighted through the form of the texts. The writer uses

such words that contribute to the themes of the novels. Similes comprise the usage of such

words. Some of the similes used by Khushwant Singh in Train to Pakistan are:

The writer has used a simile to highlight the cunningness and hypocrisy of the Gandhi and

his disciples. The simile is, “They are as good saints as the crane. They shut their

eyes piously and stand on one leg like a yogi doing penance: as soon as o Fish comes near

– hurrup.” The writer here emphasizes on the theme of hypocrisy that was predominant in

the Hindus. Apparently they were good to all but inside they were hypocrites, deceptive and

venomous.

Many of the similes highlight the theme of partition. One of them is: “the head constable’s

visit divided Mano Majra into two halves as nearly as a knife cuts through a pat of butter.”

Here the writer has used a beautiful simile to highlight the easiness with which Mano Majra

and the Sub Continent as a whole was divided. Places were divided as if it were a petty issue.

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The theme of Chastity is also highlighted by the writer through the use of similes. Immodest

behavior is apparent when we observe that Nooran, a Muslim girl, was pregnant with the

child of Juggat. She went to Juggat’s house before moving to Pakistan and Juggat’s mother

taunted her by saying that, “Does your father know you go about to stranger’s houses at

midnight like a tart.” The writer describes the fear of Nooran that she felt when she thought

about her father knowing about her visit to Juggat’s house, “the thought of her father came

like a dark cloud over her.” this presents the unpleasantness and the scariness that overtook

Nooran when she thought about her father.

The theme of massacre and destruction is also highlighted by a number of similes. The horror

of the sea is presented by calling it ‘black’. The sea was black because of the blood and dead

bodies of the people. This specific color highlights the theme of genocide, which becomes

explicit when the writer says, “the four men stood on the embankment and surveyed the

Sutlej, which looked like a sheet of black.”

The theme of destruction of the land and area is highlighted by the following simile, “The

place looked like the scar of a healed up wound.” Here the destruction is made clear by

likening the place to a wounded area.

The theme of aggression is also made explicit by the use of a simile, “Malli would not have

gone in, anymore than a lamb would go into a lion’s cage.” Here the over aggressive

behavior of Juggat is highlighted as Malli was fearing to go in to him in the jail.

Some other similes used by the writer are: “he is like a stud bull.”, “he sleeps like a pig

without a care in the world.”, and “Hukum Chand’s plan became as crystal clear as a day

after a heavy rain.” These similes not only adorn the text but also enrich the meaning of the

text. These similes are also a hallmark of Khushwant Singh as they are extensively noticed in

his work.

A number of metaphors have also been employed in the text, which contribute to the major

themes of the novel. Khushwant Singh has used the metaphor of ‘black wall’ to stress the

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mass migration that took place at the time of partition of India, “The station became a black

wall.” At the time of the Partition stations used to be thickly populated with people who

wanted to move to the opposite country, Muslims to Pakistan and Hindus to India. So, this

whole scenario gave the look of a black wall.

Another metaphor which indirectly states the theme of destruction is, “from the southern

horizon a black wall begins to advance. Hundreds of kites and crows fly ahead.” The black

wall i.e. the crows and the kites, here, emerged to eat the carcasses of the dead people. The

intensity of destruction is vivid from the number of Kites and crows that emerged to clear off

the dead bodies, “they flew down and landed on the floating carcasses.”

One of the metaphors used in the text is, ‘pigs’ which is used for the Muslims of the

Subcontinent. One of the youths said about the Muslims that, “What we are to do with all

these pigs we have with us? They have been eating our salt for generations and see what

they have done.” this statement clearly highlights the theme of communal intolerance and

hatred which was growing with the passage of time.

Imagery is one of the elements that is extensively used by both of the authors. The imagery

varies from simple imagery of nature to the imagery of bloodshed and destruction. Sidhwa

employs imagery in order to highlight the theme of bloodshed at the time of partition of

India, “How long does Lahore burn? weeks? months.” this imagery show the magnitude

and intensity of the bloodshed caused. Large scale massacre has been carried out and still it

goes on, despite of all loses been done.

The use of the imagery “the world appears to him to be floating in blood” is quite

important, as it indicates the vastness of the bloodshed carried out by people. Another

imagery is “glow from burning villages”, which is contributing towards the theme of

bloodshed.

The imagery of bloodshed and brutality is apparent from the following instance, He saw

babies snatched from their mothers smashed against walls and their howling mothers

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raped and killed…The man is knocked down…I see his legs sticking out his dhoti…each

thin, brown leg tied to a jeep.” this imagery shows that how atrocities were committed on

people and how the oppressors oppressed the helpless beings.

The image of Lahore, flooded with millions of Muslim refugees is also noteworthy, as it

highlights the miserable conditions of people, “wave of Muslim refugees flood Lahore,”

This imagery reveals the horrifying consequences of bloody partition. Due to which millions

of people were displaced and their properties were destroyed and snatched. One of the major

differences between the style of Bapsi Sidhwa and Khushwant Singh is that Khushwant

Singh’s Train to Pakistan is replete with images of nature. The changes in the nature

foreshadow the changes in the environment and relations of people in Mano Majra. At the

inception of the novel we observe that the weather conditions were fine but with the passage

of time weather became hotter, dusty and dirty and gloomy as the narrator says, “It was a

gloomy night.”

The imagery of birds involved in merry making and that of nature is quite vivid in the novel

as some of these instances depict:

“Crows begin to caw in the keekar trees. Bats fly back in long silent relays and begin to

quarrel for their perches in the peepul.”

“Sparrows fly about the roofs, trailing straw in their beaks. Pye-dogs seek the shade of

their long mud walls. Bats settle their arguments, fold their wings, and suspend themselves

to sleep.”

The imagery of blood shed and massive killings is apparent from the following instances,

“Some were without limbs, some had their bellies torn open, many women’s breasts were

slashed. They floated down the sunlit river, bobbing up and down. Overhead hung the kites

and vultures.” The above statement refers to the mutilation of the bodies

that was witnessed during the Partition. The horrors of mutilation were known to all as

people used to tell each other about the mutilations, “People told each other about the

mutilation of women and children. Nobody wanted to know who the dead people were nor

wanted to go to the river to find out.”

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Hybridity is also seen in the novel. Since both, Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa, are

postcolonial writers so the writings of these writers shown an intermingling of the customs of

the two cultures: the Western culture and the Native culture. Thus the works of these writers

represent a hybrid culture. Hybridity is seen in the novel Ice Candy Man. Ayah used to tell

Lenny stories of folk cultures as well as the western culture. so the stories of heer ranjha and

romeo Juliet have been discussed as it is evident from the quote, “ she tells me stories of

heer ranjha, and romeo Juliet”. And another example is that, “tell me the story of sohni

and mahiwal”

Some of the instances of hybridity in Train to Pakistan are:

The writer has used both Urdu proverbs/idioms as well as the English proverbs/Idioms. Some

of the English proverbs are: “fool’s paradise”, “to err is human to forgive is divine”, “The

snake can cast its slough but not its poison.” etc. some of the Urdu idioms are translated

into English language and then used in the text. E.g., “It is absolutely sixteen anna’s worth

in the rupee.”

Hybridity is also seen when we observe the native culture as well as the western culture in

the same area. The local culture is presented in the novel, “When they have eaten, the men

gather in the shade of the peepul tree and sit on the wooden platform and talk and doze.

Boys ride their buffaloes into the pond, jump off their backs, and splash about in the

midday water.”

Another glimpse of a purely eastern culture is given in the following extract, “girls play

under the trees. Women rub clarified butter into each other’s hair, pick lice from their

children’s heads, and discuss births, marriages and deaths.” These excerpts highlight the

liveliness of the local culture as opposed to the western culture. Iqbal is a representative of

the western culture. The western culture is apparent on from the attire and food stuff used by

Iqbal, “He took out his air mattress and blew it up on the charpai. He laid out his pyjamas

and a silk dressing gown on the mattress. He got out a tin of sardines, a tin of Australian

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butter and a packet of dry biscuits.” Here the western consumerist culture is depicted. Thus

the simultaneous presence of the two cultures represents the hybridization.

The manner in which Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa have dealt with the matter of

historiography also differs. Ice Candy Man states that the killing was initiated by the Hindus

and the Sikhs. Muslims received a train of full of massacred Muslims, which aggravated the

anger of Muslims and they also started killing their opponents, “A train from gurdaspur has

just come in, everyone in it is dead. Butchered. There are no young women among the

dead! Only two gunny bags full of women’s breasts.”

This novel depicts that the killings were initiated by the Muslims and the Sikhs just killed to

retaliate. The Sikhs were instigated to kill the Muslims when they were told that how the

Muslims killed the Sikhs, “You haven’t had convoys of dead Sikhs this side of frontier.

They have been coming through at Amritsar. Not one person living. There has been killing

over there.”

At another instance the Muslims are blamed and are called bad by saying , “their intentions

were evil. Muslims are like that you can never trust them.” Yet at another instance the

Baluch soldiers are criticized when the narrator says, “the Baluch soldiers have been

shooting people whenever they were sure there was no chance of running into Sikh or

Gurkha troops.”

The technique of intertexuality has also been employed by Bapsi sidhwa. The novel begins

with an epigraph from Iqbal,

“Shall I hear the lament of the nightingale, submissively lending my ear?

Am I the rose to suffer its cry in silence year after year?

The fire of verse gives me courage and bids me no more to be faint...”

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The presence of this epigraph highlights the importance of the local culture and the homage

that Sidhwa pays to Iqbal, the national poet. she has used poetry of different native poets in

her work, like Ghalib, Zauq, Faiz e.g

“My passion has brought me to your street-

Where can I now find the strength to take me back?”

(Ghalib)

Don’t berete me, my beloved, I’m intoxicated!

I’ll wrap myself about you; I’m mystically mad.”

(Zauq)

A reference to a Native song is also there in the novel. The song is sung by Ayah to

Masseur,

“Spring bloomed in moonlit wildernesses-

heady with sap the flowers swayed-

and a rose, bubbling,

Dancing in the breeze,

Attracted a bumble bee…”

Khushwant Singh has also employed the technique of intertexuality. The difference between

the intertexuality of Sidhwa and Singh is that Sidhwa’s intertexuality is drawn from the

national literature. While Singh’s intertexuality is drawn from a Hindi songs,

“O lover mine, O lover that art gone,

I live but would rather die,

I see not for the tears that flow,

I breathe not, for I sigh…”

“In the breeze is flying

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My veil of red Muslin

Ho sir, Ho Sir.

Both these songs, incorporated in the text in the form of intertexuality, occur at an instance

where Haseena is singing songs to Hukum Chand. Thus we observe that Sidhwa has

extensively employed Intertexuality while Khushwant Singh uses it scarcely.

One of the characteristic feature of Bapsi Sidhwa’s novel, that is absent in Khuswant Singh’s

novel, is that it is full of humor which makes the text lively. A few instances of humor are:

Dr. Manek Mody teases the Slavesister on which Slave sister is greatly annoyed. He says to

her, “What do you think you are becoming… when you loll on the commode all morning

spreading perfumes? Chi, chi, chi” says Dr. Mody holding his fleshy nose.

“I’ll chop off your nose, you chi-chi-chiwala!” says Mini Aunty.

Another humorous episode is that in which Dr Mody’s practice of exorcism or taking out

jinns is mentioned. He was teasing Slavesister.

“ I think the demon has found permanent lodging in her!” mutters Godmother.

abandoning the newspaper the doctor springs out of his chair, saying, “I’ll exorcise the

demon. I know how! …please Mini aunty pull it. I practice exorcism in my spare time-

didn’t you know? Try it- my finger won’t explode.”

“Oh alright!” says Slavesister, suddenly capitulating. She tugs at the doctor’s finger and,

acquiring an air of intense concentration, the gifted doctor farts.”

In a nutshell we observe that, both Ice Candy Man and Train to Pakistan deal with the issue

of the partition. The difference between the two lies in the fact that how the issues are dealt.

The style of the two differs yet each of the writers is important in his/her own aspect and

can’t be degraded.

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