Kaiser Haq’s “Ode on the Lungi” is a wonderful poem. Written by a Bangladeshi poet, the poet introduces in great detail the traditional as well as popular dress ‘the lungi’ to the world community. In fact, the poem is a wonderful tribute to this great traditional attire. But, in the poem, the poet has presented the lungi as a symbol of social status. He talks of ‘sartorial hegemony’ and criticizes the posh world’s contemptuous attitude towards the lungi. The poem is written in response to the disdainful attitude that the so-called high-class society nurtures to this traditional dress. The poet's reaction is quite impassioned though also tongue-in-cheek and he gives a scientifically precise description of this ‘complete wardrobe’.

“Ode on the Lungi” as an Ode“

Ode on the Lungi”, as the title indicates, is an ode. An ode is a lyric poem with a dignified theme that is phrased in a formal, elevated style. Its purpose is to praise and glorify. Odes consist of a succession of stanzas in lines of varying length and meter. On the whole the poem is in free verse. “Ode on the Lungi” is written in simple and lucid language. The lines and stanzas are of varying lengths. Mostly the lines are short and often consist of two or three words.

Theme of the Poem

The main theme of the poem is glorification of the lungi. The poet gives a very scientific description of what the lungi is. By using various references from diverse fields he presents the lungi as a ‘complete wardrobe’. But before he focuses on the lungi as a dress itself, the poet brings in important social issues associated with clothes in consideration.

In the poem, clothes stand for social status. Though all clothes are supposed to have ‘equal rights’, ‘some are more equal than the others’. Thus, some clothes are considered of more value than the others. Clothes also stand for the social division. Neo-imperialism and sartorial hegemony are playing their parts. Dresses indicate who belongs to which class.

The poet poignantly points out that a person’s attitude to another person is greatly determined by the dresses he wears. This is why a person in a kilt would be allowed to enter the White House while a person in lungi would not be allowed. This is because the kilt is with “us” and the lungi is with “them”. The poet thinks of clash of civilizations in this regard.

Men are judged by the dresses they wear. The brown and yellow sahibs, who are neatly dressed, often make contemptuous nasal sounds even to their fellow-countrymen who are in lungis.

Description and Uses of the Lungi

In the poem, the poet gives a scientific and detailed description of the lungi and its uses. He states that lungi is “a rectangular cloth”, which is of various colours. In order to wear a lungi one needs to get into the tube-like lungi and tie a slipknot around the waist.

It is a wonderful dress which comes to various purposes. The most remarkable advantage of a lungi is that it can be used by anyone — be he small or tall in size, fat or slim because “One size fits all!”

Another great advantage of this dress is that it can be worn inside out if situation requires. The poet calls it “a complete wardrobe” because with only two pieces of lungi one can lead a decent life.

It is a flexible dress, which can be given various shapes in different situations. On hot summer days it can be used as a headgear or a turban in order to protect oneself from the scorching heat of the sun. But, in wintry conditions, the lungi is “an improvised poncho”.

It is also a complete sports wear. It serves as a dress in games like wrestling, kabaddi, football or cricket. It can also be used as a swimming costume. However, while in swimming or playing kabaddi or wrestling the lungi is worn as a G-string, in football or cricket fields it is folded vertically and kilted at the knee.

All these uphold the immense flexibility of the lungi as a dress. Because the lungi is a ‘complete wardrobe’. It can even be used in hours of love making. A lungi can serve as a sleeping bag for a couple.

Even during natural calamities, particularly when floods occur, lungi can be of great use. During monsoon when floods occur, a ballooned up lungi is a ‘humble ark’ for its possessor.

Poet’s Tone and Attitude

Though the poem is a response to the posh world’s attitude of contempt to the worldwide popular cloth, lungi, the poet is deliberately impassionate in his approach. He calls lungi “a rectangular cloth”, “a textile tube” and thus speaks scientifically and avoids emotional responses.

His words are simple and familiar ones; sentences are short but his style is terse. However, the poet’s love and passion for lungi is evident in his declaration that he is a “LUNGI ACTIVIST”.

Literary Allusions in the Poem

In the poem “Ode on the Lungi” the poet uses numerous allusions from diverse fields. There are allusions to Walt Whitman’s celebrated poem Song of Myself and Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Shadow Lines.

Besides, there are allusions to Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s essay Can the Subaltern Speak?, Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost.

The religious allusions in the poem are notable. The lungi is described as “an elaborate fig-leaf”, which is an allusion to the Biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve from paradise. This is also an allusion to Milton’s epic Paradise Lost, which illustrates the fall of Adam and Eve.

Again, there is reference to the Biblical deluge. The allusion to deluge myth or the flood myth suggests the sufferings caused to human beings. During hours of any such deluge the lungi can be a ‘humble ark’, which is again an allusion to Noah's Ark.

Allusions to scientific theories are also common in the poem. The poet mentions the celebrated living theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and his book A Brief History of Time.

Language and Style

The poem is written in simple and lucid language. With a very few exceptions, there are hardly any tough words. Most of the words are either monosyllabic or disyllabic. But the monosyllabic words create a strong impact on the minds of the readers.

The poet has deliberately chosen simple and common words to say about a very simple dress in life, the lungi. Another important aspect of his style is the use of parenthesis to provide extra bit of information. The information provided in the parentheses help to understand the meaning of the poem.

He even writes in all capital letters — “I AM A LUNGI ACTIVIST” in order to put emphasis. The capital letters also suggest the intensity of his feeling.

Conclusion

“Ode on the Lungi” is a wonderful creation by Kaiser Haq. Besides being a tribute to the age-old traditional dress, the poem upholds our national culture. It raises questions about some fundamental issues in life. It questions the man-made divisions created by dresses.

The poem not only introduces lungi to the world community but also calls for ‘sartorial equality’ in the world.

Ode on the Lungi by Kaiser Haq — Summary, Theme, and Analysis

Green Land | March 12, 2026 | 0 comments

Kaiser Haq’s “Ode on the Lungi” is a wonderful poem. Written by a Bangladeshi poet, the poet introduces in great detail the traditional as well as popular dress ‘the lungi’ to the world community. In fact, the poem is a wonderful tribute to this great traditional attire. But, in the poem, the poet has presented the lungi as a symbol of social status. He talks of ‘sartorial hegemony’ and criticizes the posh world’s contemptuous attitude towards the lungi. The poem is written in response to the disdainful attitude that the so-called high-class society nurtures to this traditional dress. The poet's reaction is quite impassioned though also tongue-in-cheek and he gives a scientifically precise description of this ‘complete wardrobe’.

“Ode on the Lungi” as an Ode“

Ode on the Lungi”, as the title indicates, is an ode. An ode is a lyric poem with a dignified theme that is phrased in a formal, elevated style. Its purpose is to praise and glorify. Odes consist of a succession of stanzas in lines of varying length and meter. On the whole the poem is in free verse. “Ode on the Lungi” is written in simple and lucid language. The lines and stanzas are of varying lengths. Mostly the lines are short and often consist of two or three words.

Theme of the Poem

The main theme of the poem is glorification of the lungi. The poet gives a very scientific description of what the lungi is. By using various references from diverse fields he presents the lungi as a ‘complete wardrobe’. But before he focuses on the lungi as a dress itself, the poet brings in important social issues associated with clothes in consideration.

In the poem, clothes stand for social status. Though all clothes are supposed to have ‘equal rights’, ‘some are more equal than the others’. Thus, some clothes are considered of more value than the others. Clothes also stand for the social division. Neo-imperialism and sartorial hegemony are playing their parts. Dresses indicate who belongs to which class.

The poet poignantly points out that a person’s attitude to another person is greatly determined by the dresses he wears. This is why a person in a kilt would be allowed to enter the White House while a person in lungi would not be allowed. This is because the kilt is with “us” and the lungi is with “them”. The poet thinks of clash of civilizations in this regard.

Men are judged by the dresses they wear. The brown and yellow sahibs, who are neatly dressed, often make contemptuous nasal sounds even to their fellow-countrymen who are in lungis.

Description and Uses of the Lungi

In the poem, the poet gives a scientific and detailed description of the lungi and its uses. He states that lungi is “a rectangular cloth”, which is of various colours. In order to wear a lungi one needs to get into the tube-like lungi and tie a slipknot around the waist.

It is a wonderful dress which comes to various purposes. The most remarkable advantage of a lungi is that it can be used by anyone — be he small or tall in size, fat or slim because “One size fits all!”

Another great advantage of this dress is that it can be worn inside out if situation requires. The poet calls it “a complete wardrobe” because with only two pieces of lungi one can lead a decent life.

It is a flexible dress, which can be given various shapes in different situations. On hot summer days it can be used as a headgear or a turban in order to protect oneself from the scorching heat of the sun. But, in wintry conditions, the lungi is “an improvised poncho”.

It is also a complete sports wear. It serves as a dress in games like wrestling, kabaddi, football or cricket. It can also be used as a swimming costume. However, while in swimming or playing kabaddi or wrestling the lungi is worn as a G-string, in football or cricket fields it is folded vertically and kilted at the knee.

All these uphold the immense flexibility of the lungi as a dress. Because the lungi is a ‘complete wardrobe’. It can even be used in hours of love making. A lungi can serve as a sleeping bag for a couple.

Even during natural calamities, particularly when floods occur, lungi can be of great use. During monsoon when floods occur, a ballooned up lungi is a ‘humble ark’ for its possessor.

Poet’s Tone and Attitude

Though the poem is a response to the posh world’s attitude of contempt to the worldwide popular cloth, lungi, the poet is deliberately impassionate in his approach. He calls lungi “a rectangular cloth”, “a textile tube” and thus speaks scientifically and avoids emotional responses.

His words are simple and familiar ones; sentences are short but his style is terse. However, the poet’s love and passion for lungi is evident in his declaration that he is a “LUNGI ACTIVIST”.

Literary Allusions in the Poem

In the poem “Ode on the Lungi” the poet uses numerous allusions from diverse fields. There are allusions to Walt Whitman’s celebrated poem Song of Myself and Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Shadow Lines.

Besides, there are allusions to Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s essay Can the Subaltern Speak?, Edward FitzGerald’s The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost.

The religious allusions in the poem are notable. The lungi is described as “an elaborate fig-leaf”, which is an allusion to the Biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve from paradise. This is also an allusion to Milton’s epic Paradise Lost, which illustrates the fall of Adam and Eve.

Again, there is reference to the Biblical deluge. The allusion to deluge myth or the flood myth suggests the sufferings caused to human beings. During hours of any such deluge the lungi can be a ‘humble ark’, which is again an allusion to Noah's Ark.

Allusions to scientific theories are also common in the poem. The poet mentions the celebrated living theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and his book A Brief History of Time.

Language and Style

The poem is written in simple and lucid language. With a very few exceptions, there are hardly any tough words. Most of the words are either monosyllabic or disyllabic. But the monosyllabic words create a strong impact on the minds of the readers.

The poet has deliberately chosen simple and common words to say about a very simple dress in life, the lungi. Another important aspect of his style is the use of parenthesis to provide extra bit of information. The information provided in the parentheses help to understand the meaning of the poem.

He even writes in all capital letters — “I AM A LUNGI ACTIVIST” in order to put emphasis. The capital letters also suggest the intensity of his feeling.

Conclusion

“Ode on the Lungi” is a wonderful creation by Kaiser Haq. Besides being a tribute to the age-old traditional dress, the poem upholds our national culture. It raises questions about some fundamental issues in life. It questions the man-made divisions created by dresses.

The poem not only introduces lungi to the world community but also calls for ‘sartorial equality’ in the world.

Ode on the Lungi

Emily Dickinson wrote a large number of poems on the subject of death. Death receives a varied treatment in her writing.  Very often her treatment is unconventional and original.  In some of her death poems,  Dickinson attempts an imaginative construction  of her own death.  She then seems to be a character at the centre of a drama.

In the poen discussed,  death comes as a cunning courtier to woo the poet.  The poet,  busy with her earthly activities,  has not sought Death.  Rather,  Death has kindly stopped at her house to carry her away,  as a lover carries her beloved away.  Again,  Death at this time is not alone but has Immortality as its companion. This suggests that Death is carrying the poet to her bridal room in heaven.

The poem shows Dickinson's triumphs over death,  as she is ready to accept it in a calm and quiet mood.  She puts away "labour" and her "leisure too" because she is impressed by the ''Civility '' of death.  When the carriage begins its journey it has three characters - the poet, Death abd immortality.  They were gradually passing by the word of the livings symbolized by the school children playing in the ring.  Then they leave behind the fields of the gazing grain and the setting sun. The feelings that they are gradually coming out of the sense of time and space is expressed in the following lines : 

We passed the Setting Sun-Or rather -He passed us -

In other words, they have just now left behind them a life that is confined to time and space. In the conventional manner, death is associated with the setting of the sun and also with dampness and cold as the poet suddenly becomes aware of her dress: 

“For only Gossamer, my Gown My Tippet—only Tulle—”, 

It is clear from the description that their journey is from life to death and eternity. 

Finally, the poet reaches the house of death. This house is her grave “A Swelling of the Ground.” Since then, she is not conscious about the passage of time. Probably several centuries have passed by. But she feels that centuries are shorter than the day when she realized that the horses’ head is pointing towards eternity. Dickinson imagines a post-death Situation. The image of the horses’ head conveys the awesome power and majesty associated with death. 

Thus, the poem finely expresses Dickinson’s view about death. The poet indicates to the inevitability of death, minimizing, at the same time, its fearful aspect. Although there is an ironic touch in the narrative, We find the poet’s sincere belief in immortality and heaven. In fact, Dickinson expresses her attitude to death and Immortality in a symbolic language.

Emily Dickinson's attitude towards death in "Because I Could not Stop for Death"

Green Land | February 28, 2026 | 0 comments

Emily Dickinson wrote a large number of poems on the subject of death. Death receives a varied treatment in her writing.  Very often her treatment is unconventional and original.  In some of her death poems,  Dickinson attempts an imaginative construction  of her own death.  She then seems to be a character at the centre of a drama.

In the poen discussed,  death comes as a cunning courtier to woo the poet.  The poet,  busy with her earthly activities,  has not sought Death.  Rather,  Death has kindly stopped at her house to carry her away,  as a lover carries her beloved away.  Again,  Death at this time is not alone but has Immortality as its companion. This suggests that Death is carrying the poet to her bridal room in heaven.

The poem shows Dickinson's triumphs over death,  as she is ready to accept it in a calm and quiet mood.  She puts away "labour" and her "leisure too" because she is impressed by the ''Civility '' of death.  When the carriage begins its journey it has three characters - the poet, Death abd immortality.  They were gradually passing by the word of the livings symbolized by the school children playing in the ring.  Then they leave behind the fields of the gazing grain and the setting sun. The feelings that they are gradually coming out of the sense of time and space is expressed in the following lines : 

We passed the Setting Sun-Or rather -He passed us -

In other words, they have just now left behind them a life that is confined to time and space. In the conventional manner, death is associated with the setting of the sun and also with dampness and cold as the poet suddenly becomes aware of her dress: 

“For only Gossamer, my Gown My Tippet—only Tulle—”, 

It is clear from the description that their journey is from life to death and eternity. 

Finally, the poet reaches the house of death. This house is her grave “A Swelling of the Ground.” Since then, she is not conscious about the passage of time. Probably several centuries have passed by. But she feels that centuries are shorter than the day when she realized that the horses’ head is pointing towards eternity. Dickinson imagines a post-death Situation. The image of the horses’ head conveys the awesome power and majesty associated with death. 

Thus, the poem finely expresses Dickinson’s view about death. The poet indicates to the inevitability of death, minimizing, at the same time, its fearful aspect. Although there is an ironic touch in the narrative, We find the poet’s sincere belief in immortality and heaven. In fact, Dickinson expresses her attitude to death and Immortality in a symbolic language.

Because I Could not Stop for Death

Jamila in Tree Without Roots – A Complex Character Unveiled

Jamila is the second wife of Majeed in Tree Without Roots. Majeed marries him to satisfy his raging libido and to have children by her. At first sight, Jamila appears an adolescent girl having a very soft body and scared, but the events of the novel prove that she is different from what she appears. 

Jamila’s Background and First Impressions

She has been the daughter of a penniless father who has to hand his daughter over to Majeed. At Majeed’s household, she smiles unmindfully while weaving mat with Rahima for she took Majeed and Rahima for the bridegroom’s father and mother respectively. This smile leaves with the reader a signal of the storm of a rebellion in the making. 

Rebellion and Defiance in Jamila’s Character

Jamila does not say her daily prayers even after the stern orders of Majeed. When she is made to sit at the mat for prayer, she falls asleep on the mat. When there is an event of zikir chanting around the shrine, Jamila leaves the house of Majeed. 

A Bold Statement of Resistance

Jamila sits at the threshold of her room and begins to make her beauty with a mirror and a comb. This is plain audacity to Majeed. He cannot take this. He decides to use physical power. Jamila shows her hatred by spitting at Majeed’s face. 

The Tragic End – A Martyr of Patriarchy

Majeed keep Jamila fastened to a side of the shrine overnight. In the morning, he finds her lying dead with a leg stretched out to the shrine.

Jamila: A Symbol of Silent Rebellion in "Tree Without Roots"

Green Land | July 16, 2025 | 0 comments

Jamila in Tree Without Roots – A Complex Character Unveiled

Jamila is the second wife of Majeed in Tree Without Roots. Majeed marries him to satisfy his raging libido and to have children by her. At first sight, Jamila appears an adolescent girl having a very soft body and scared, but the events of the novel prove that she is different from what she appears. 

Jamila’s Background and First Impressions

She has been the daughter of a penniless father who has to hand his daughter over to Majeed. At Majeed’s household, she smiles unmindfully while weaving mat with Rahima for she took Majeed and Rahima for the bridegroom’s father and mother respectively. This smile leaves with the reader a signal of the storm of a rebellion in the making. 

Rebellion and Defiance in Jamila’s Character

Jamila does not say her daily prayers even after the stern orders of Majeed. When she is made to sit at the mat for prayer, she falls asleep on the mat. When there is an event of zikir chanting around the shrine, Jamila leaves the house of Majeed. 

A Bold Statement of Resistance

Jamila sits at the threshold of her room and begins to make her beauty with a mirror and a comb. This is plain audacity to Majeed. He cannot take this. He decides to use physical power. Jamila shows her hatred by spitting at Majeed’s face. 

The Tragic End – A Martyr of Patriarchy

Majeed keep Jamila fastened to a side of the shrine overnight. In the morning, he finds her lying dead with a leg stretched out to the shrine.

Tree Without Roots

Introduction

Majeed, the protagonist of the novel Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah, is a rounded character who undergoes changes in the course of the novel. Majeed, who is a rootless, financially helpless and religiously corrupt person at the beginning of the novel, turns into a socially and economically strong and deeply rooted religious guru at the end of the novel.

At the beginning he introduces himself as a saviour of the people of Mahabbatpur and earns their faith. Gradually he becomes the sole proprietor to guide them to spiritual salvation. He also gains material possessions by selling religious faith and becomes rich within a few years. He also fulfils his carnal desires by marrying twice. So, by the end of the novel, Majeed appears socially, economically, and religiously very strong. But Majeed remains very much lonely from the beginning to the end. He also suffers from a sense of insecurity throughout the novel.

Majeed’s Arrival in Mahabbatpur

Majeed, a poor man from a devout Muslim background, comes to Mahabbatpur. He declares an old grave to be the mazar of a pir (a Muslim saint), covers it with the traditional red cloth used for Muslims, and establishes his stronghold on the life of the people using the reflected power on him of the supposed saint.

Through his charismatic behaviour, Majeed quickly establishes himself as a spiritual guide of the people, most of whom are illiterate and hold a blind religious faith. Like a parody of the Prophet, Majeed, the middle-aged protagonist of Tree Without Roots, exiled in Mahabbatpur pretends to be the ‘bearer of the light’ to show the ‘rustic,’ ‘illiterate’ ‘non-believer’ inhabitants, the ‘right path.’

However, Majeed had actually migrated to Mahabbatpur fleeing drought, famine and poverty, driven by a sheer need to survive and thereafter seeking a better life. Majeed wholly capitalizes the religious faith of the poor villagers and soon earns the confidence of the village people. Like the villagers, readers are also enchanted by Majeed’s story-telling genius and by his ability to understand others’ psyche.

Majeed as Symbol of Patriarchal Power

Majeed represents the patriarchal power of the Bengali Muslim society of the 20th century. Using his clever religious role with aids from the patriarchal superstructures, he is able to create patriarchal hegemony in Mahabbatpur.

After settlement, Majeed marries twice:

First, Rahima, the widow, who is ‘wide-hipped, strong and beautiful’

Then, Jamila, the young, lively and curious one

His jealousy of Khaleque’s loving relationship with his first wife Amena leads him to devise the unsolicited fatwa of Amena’s having evil coils in her belly — a strategic move to label her unchaste and work towards a divorce between them.

Existential Loneliness and Tragic Fall

Again, like a modern man, Majeed is very lonely. In existential philosophy, the individual realizes his aloneness. Despite having two wives and a powerful landowner as a friend, Majeed is very lonely indeed. Moreover, he cannot share his secret with anyone, not even with his wives.

To fight back from this oblivious loneliness, Majeed looks forward to strengthening his social security by imposing certain codes of conduct for the villagers as their religious and spiritual guide.

Yet, his second wife Jamila seriously challenges this order and intimidates Majeed so much that she is physically gagged and left to die. However, even in her death, she threatens Majeed’s authority—the feet of her dead body desecrating the sanctum sanctorum of Majeed’s constructed place of worship.

Majeed in Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah – A Powerful Portrait of Faith, Patriarchy, and Existential Isolation

Green Land | July 12, 2025 | 0 comments

Introduction

Majeed, the protagonist of the novel Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah, is a rounded character who undergoes changes in the course of the novel. Majeed, who is a rootless, financially helpless and religiously corrupt person at the beginning of the novel, turns into a socially and economically strong and deeply rooted religious guru at the end of the novel.

At the beginning he introduces himself as a saviour of the people of Mahabbatpur and earns their faith. Gradually he becomes the sole proprietor to guide them to spiritual salvation. He also gains material possessions by selling religious faith and becomes rich within a few years. He also fulfils his carnal desires by marrying twice. So, by the end of the novel, Majeed appears socially, economically, and religiously very strong. But Majeed remains very much lonely from the beginning to the end. He also suffers from a sense of insecurity throughout the novel.

Majeed’s Arrival in Mahabbatpur

Majeed, a poor man from a devout Muslim background, comes to Mahabbatpur. He declares an old grave to be the mazar of a pir (a Muslim saint), covers it with the traditional red cloth used for Muslims, and establishes his stronghold on the life of the people using the reflected power on him of the supposed saint.

Through his charismatic behaviour, Majeed quickly establishes himself as a spiritual guide of the people, most of whom are illiterate and hold a blind religious faith. Like a parody of the Prophet, Majeed, the middle-aged protagonist of Tree Without Roots, exiled in Mahabbatpur pretends to be the ‘bearer of the light’ to show the ‘rustic,’ ‘illiterate’ ‘non-believer’ inhabitants, the ‘right path.’

However, Majeed had actually migrated to Mahabbatpur fleeing drought, famine and poverty, driven by a sheer need to survive and thereafter seeking a better life. Majeed wholly capitalizes the religious faith of the poor villagers and soon earns the confidence of the village people. Like the villagers, readers are also enchanted by Majeed’s story-telling genius and by his ability to understand others’ psyche.

Majeed as Symbol of Patriarchal Power

Majeed represents the patriarchal power of the Bengali Muslim society of the 20th century. Using his clever religious role with aids from the patriarchal superstructures, he is able to create patriarchal hegemony in Mahabbatpur.

After settlement, Majeed marries twice:

First, Rahima, the widow, who is ‘wide-hipped, strong and beautiful’

Then, Jamila, the young, lively and curious one

His jealousy of Khaleque’s loving relationship with his first wife Amena leads him to devise the unsolicited fatwa of Amena’s having evil coils in her belly — a strategic move to label her unchaste and work towards a divorce between them.

Existential Loneliness and Tragic Fall

Again, like a modern man, Majeed is very lonely. In existential philosophy, the individual realizes his aloneness. Despite having two wives and a powerful landowner as a friend, Majeed is very lonely indeed. Moreover, he cannot share his secret with anyone, not even with his wives.

To fight back from this oblivious loneliness, Majeed looks forward to strengthening his social security by imposing certain codes of conduct for the villagers as their religious and spiritual guide.

Yet, his second wife Jamila seriously challenges this order and intimidates Majeed so much that she is physically gagged and left to die. However, even in her death, she threatens Majeed’s authority—the feet of her dead body desecrating the sanctum sanctorum of Majeed’s constructed place of worship.

Tree Without Roots

The celebrated novel Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah depicts the sorrow and happiness, thoughts and dreams, struggle and urge for life of the people in a society hopelessly and helplessly fallen prey to religious fraud. The novel is set in a village called Mahabbatpur in northern part of the present Bangladesh. This village represents the rural life of the ignorant millions made to accept the feudalistic systems imposed upon them by the chieftains or religious leaders.

This novel is set in a time just around the Second World War when the genre ‘novel’ has become essentially urban. Syed Waliullah has directed his readers to a hitherto unknown village of northern Bengal and made them ‘encounter an existentialist character Majeed, hailing from a barren but populous area of Bengal.

This man, like an uprooted tree, enters Mahabbatpur along the road of Motiganj and finds the weapons of his struggle for food and livelihood in an old and broken grave of some yet unknown person, which he identifies as the tomb of some saint and covers it with a piece of red cloth.

The villagers become simultaneously alarmed and ashamed that they did not pay proper homage to the tomb of a great person of spiritual power. To compensate this shameful ignorance, the villagers begin to rush to the tomb with their heartfelt pleas and pledges.

The tomb covered with a red cotton cloth looks like the back of a dead fish and begins to flicker the light of candles and to spread the fragrant smoke from incense sticks. People from the villages around begin to follow with their tales of hope and dismay, success and failure, and gratitude to the tomb and with the shines and tinkers of coins.

A Harsh Mirror to Superstition and Rural Life

Tree Without Roots depicts the decadent state of the superstitious Muslim Bengal. Majeed struggles existentially, but he uses fraud as a tool for his fight against poverty and by the time he gains victory over poverty, he destroys the serenity in the social life of the village and injects dread into it.

Majeed’s exploitation of the villagers, his marrying twice, evoking a sense of religious passion in villagers’ mind, himself being not that committed—all these events are delineated by Waliullah with unfailing realistic touch.

Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah: A Stark Portrayal of Religious Exploitation in Rural Bengal

Green Land | July 12, 2025 | 0 comments

The celebrated novel Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah depicts the sorrow and happiness, thoughts and dreams, struggle and urge for life of the people in a society hopelessly and helplessly fallen prey to religious fraud. The novel is set in a village called Mahabbatpur in northern part of the present Bangladesh. This village represents the rural life of the ignorant millions made to accept the feudalistic systems imposed upon them by the chieftains or religious leaders.

This novel is set in a time just around the Second World War when the genre ‘novel’ has become essentially urban. Syed Waliullah has directed his readers to a hitherto unknown village of northern Bengal and made them ‘encounter an existentialist character Majeed, hailing from a barren but populous area of Bengal.

This man, like an uprooted tree, enters Mahabbatpur along the road of Motiganj and finds the weapons of his struggle for food and livelihood in an old and broken grave of some yet unknown person, which he identifies as the tomb of some saint and covers it with a piece of red cloth.

The villagers become simultaneously alarmed and ashamed that they did not pay proper homage to the tomb of a great person of spiritual power. To compensate this shameful ignorance, the villagers begin to rush to the tomb with their heartfelt pleas and pledges.

The tomb covered with a red cotton cloth looks like the back of a dead fish and begins to flicker the light of candles and to spread the fragrant smoke from incense sticks. People from the villages around begin to follow with their tales of hope and dismay, success and failure, and gratitude to the tomb and with the shines and tinkers of coins.

A Harsh Mirror to Superstition and Rural Life

Tree Without Roots depicts the decadent state of the superstitious Muslim Bengal. Majeed struggles existentially, but he uses fraud as a tool for his fight against poverty and by the time he gains victory over poverty, he destroys the serenity in the social life of the village and injects dread into it.

Majeed’s exploitation of the villagers, his marrying twice, evoking a sense of religious passion in villagers’ mind, himself being not that committed—all these events are delineated by Waliullah with unfailing realistic touch.

Tree Without Roots