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

Majeed is the pivotal character in Syed Waliullah’s novel Tree Without Roots. Hailing from a barren land called Noakhali, Majeed with a meagre knowledge of Koran and Hadith leaves his native land finds an occupation of an Imam somewhere at the foot of Garo Hills just to earn the day’s bread.

Somehow, he does not find things quite manageable there and he enters the affluent Mahabbatpur village dramatically. He meets a congregation of villagers near the house of Merchant Khaleque and tells them that he had been well in the Garo Hills but the ascetic Modasser Pir has visited him in his dream and has asked him to come to Mahabbatpur and to look after his tomb.

He then identifies an old and broken grave of some yet unknown person as the tomb of Modasser Pir and covers it with a piece of red cloth. Thus he begins his business around the tomb. In almost no time he acquires landed property and honour.

He then marries a strongly built widow about the village called Rahima. He gained immense power over the people of the area with the help of Merchant Khaleque. He controls the religious affairs of the life of all the villagers by virtue of the tomb which he turns into a shrine.

Majeed: The Pivotal Character in Tree Without Roots by Syed Waliullah

Green Land | July 12, 2025 | 1comments

Majeed is the pivotal character in Syed Waliullah’s novel Tree Without Roots. Hailing from a barren land called Noakhali, Majeed with a meagre knowledge of Koran and Hadith leaves his native land finds an occupation of an Imam somewhere at the foot of Garo Hills just to earn the day’s bread.

Somehow, he does not find things quite manageable there and he enters the affluent Mahabbatpur village dramatically. He meets a congregation of villagers near the house of Merchant Khaleque and tells them that he had been well in the Garo Hills but the ascetic Modasser Pir has visited him in his dream and has asked him to come to Mahabbatpur and to look after his tomb.

He then identifies an old and broken grave of some yet unknown person as the tomb of Modasser Pir and covers it with a piece of red cloth. Thus he begins his business around the tomb. In almost no time he acquires landed property and honour.

He then marries a strongly built widow about the village called Rahima. He gained immense power over the people of the area with the help of Merchant Khaleque. He controls the religious affairs of the life of all the villagers by virtue of the tomb which he turns into a shrine.

Tree Without Roots

Describe the religious exploitation as the central theme of Tree Without Roots

Syed Waliullash's " Tree Without Roots"

Novelist , freedom fighter and journalist Syed Waliullah's magnum opus Tree Without Roots is an embodiment of religious exploitation in rural Muslim society . In this novel,  Waliullah portrays a superstitious village called Mahabbatpur. The central character of the novel,  Majeed exploits the innocent people of the village in the name of religion .

Majeed comes to Mahabbatpur with an aim of religious exploitation.  He comes to know that the villagers have plenty of jute and tobacco and they are well-off. But they have lack of one thing that they are not very Good-fearing. Majeed wants to have this opportunity . He wants to make people frightened about God with his little knowledge of religion as a weapon of exploitation.

Waliullah's memorable observation, "There are more tupees than heads of cattle,  more tupees than sheaves of grass,"reminds us of an abiding collaboration between poverty and religion.  The Scene of Majeed's arrival at Mahabbatpur indicates his hypocrisy and deception. The villagers are poor and illiterate whereas Majeed is a hypocrisy . Majeed begins to exploit the villagers by taking advantage of their superstition and backwardness . His first aggressive speech towards the villagers of Mahabbatpur is,

"You are all blind .You are ignorant men, men without understanding. ...... How could you have left the mazar of Saint Shah Sadeque  unattended like this?"

In his game of religious exploitation,  Majeed transforms the hitherto neglected gave of an unknown person into a shrine and becomes its self-appointed caretaker.  He does not know the identity of the person whom he declares to be a saint . The grave covered in red cloth becomes the center of his religious exploitation .He easily deceives the simple,innocent villagers.  He imposes miraculous power both on the grave and on himself . His presence and interference in almost all the affairs seem to be inevitable.  By using his ready wit and eloquence , he exercises exploitation very tactfully .

He has no intention to do good to the villagers . Although he seems to be altruist in his speech, his main motive is to exercise dominance for the sake of his financial stability . He begins to exploit and deceive the rural people in order to strengthen his position in the society.  He plants fear into the hearts of the innocent peasants , makes them feel guilty for their neglect of patron saint. He becomes the ruler and seeks to transform the simple peasants into devout Muslims .He tries to drive out Songs and laughter from their lives. Within a few days,  he turns into a well-off person with his own houses and lands.  Hr , then, marries a young widow. He plays the role of a rural judge in almost all affairs of the villagers . He tactfully accuses the villagers  of their shortcomings and somehow punishes them. He takes, in his grip,  Khaleque , the landowner of the village . Thud he plays on the religious susceptibilities of the poor and gullible villagers to make a comfortable niche for himself.

When Majeed knows about the desire of Khaleque's wife to have some water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur, his revengefulness reaches the peak point . He becomes very angry and intends to punish Amena, Klaleque's first wife. He punishes Amena in the name of a test of circling around the mazar after fasting a whole day. This Majeed forces Khaleque to divorce his innocent wife.When Majeed interferes in the familial affairs of Tara mian ,the old man questions and challenge Majeed's authority . Beings very ruthless, Majeed forces the old Tara Mian to leave the house and embrace death.Mahabbatpur is an agricultural village . The lands are the hearts of the villagers. The crops are their happiness . They don't have keen observation on their lives, and for this reason Majeed manages to entrap them.

To sum up, We can rightly say that Syed Waliullah perfectly portrays the theme of religious exploitation in his Tree Without Roots.

Describe the religious exploitation as the central theme of Tree Without Roots

Green Land | July 04, 2018 | 1comments

Syed Waliullash's " Tree Without Roots"

Novelist , freedom fighter and journalist Syed Waliullah's magnum opus Tree Without Roots is an embodiment of religious exploitation in rural Muslim society . In this novel,  Waliullah portrays a superstitious village called Mahabbatpur. The central character of the novel,  Majeed exploits the innocent people of the village in the name of religion .

Majeed comes to Mahabbatpur with an aim of religious exploitation.  He comes to know that the villagers have plenty of jute and tobacco and they are well-off. But they have lack of one thing that they are not very Good-fearing. Majeed wants to have this opportunity . He wants to make people frightened about God with his little knowledge of religion as a weapon of exploitation.

Waliullah's memorable observation, "There are more tupees than heads of cattle,  more tupees than sheaves of grass,"reminds us of an abiding collaboration between poverty and religion.  The Scene of Majeed's arrival at Mahabbatpur indicates his hypocrisy and deception. The villagers are poor and illiterate whereas Majeed is a hypocrisy . Majeed begins to exploit the villagers by taking advantage of their superstition and backwardness . His first aggressive speech towards the villagers of Mahabbatpur is,

"You are all blind .You are ignorant men, men without understanding. ...... How could you have left the mazar of Saint Shah Sadeque  unattended like this?"

In his game of religious exploitation,  Majeed transforms the hitherto neglected gave of an unknown person into a shrine and becomes its self-appointed caretaker.  He does not know the identity of the person whom he declares to be a saint . The grave covered in red cloth becomes the center of his religious exploitation .He easily deceives the simple,innocent villagers.  He imposes miraculous power both on the grave and on himself . His presence and interference in almost all the affairs seem to be inevitable.  By using his ready wit and eloquence , he exercises exploitation very tactfully .

He has no intention to do good to the villagers . Although he seems to be altruist in his speech, his main motive is to exercise dominance for the sake of his financial stability . He begins to exploit and deceive the rural people in order to strengthen his position in the society.  He plants fear into the hearts of the innocent peasants , makes them feel guilty for their neglect of patron saint. He becomes the ruler and seeks to transform the simple peasants into devout Muslims .He tries to drive out Songs and laughter from their lives. Within a few days,  he turns into a well-off person with his own houses and lands.  Hr , then, marries a young widow. He plays the role of a rural judge in almost all affairs of the villagers . He tactfully accuses the villagers  of their shortcomings and somehow punishes them. He takes, in his grip,  Khaleque , the landowner of the village . Thud he plays on the religious susceptibilities of the poor and gullible villagers to make a comfortable niche for himself.

When Majeed knows about the desire of Khaleque's wife to have some water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur, his revengefulness reaches the peak point . He becomes very angry and intends to punish Amena, Klaleque's first wife. He punishes Amena in the name of a test of circling around the mazar after fasting a whole day. This Majeed forces Khaleque to divorce his innocent wife.When Majeed interferes in the familial affairs of Tara mian ,the old man questions and challenge Majeed's authority . Beings very ruthless, Majeed forces the old Tara Mian to leave the house and embrace death.Mahabbatpur is an agricultural village . The lands are the hearts of the villagers. The crops are their happiness . They don't have keen observation on their lives, and for this reason Majeed manages to entrap them.

To sum up, We can rightly say that Syed Waliullah perfectly portrays the theme of religious exploitation in his Tree Without Roots.

Syed Waliullah , Tree Without Roots

Syed Waliullah is a remarkable name in the field of Bengali literature as well as world literature.  Tree Without Roots is his outstanding creation.  It is a novel in which the writer depicts the theme of existentialism very tactfully.  The problem of existence is looked upon with an eye of philosopher in this much -admired novel.

Existentialism is the name applied to the philosopher doctrines of Kierkegaard and Sartre which share a deep concern for the individual existing person and a distrust of philosopher idealism. Any literature which deals with the problem of man's essential misery and suffering , frustration and loneliness , failure and sorrow alienation and ennui , is known as existential literature . This type of literature also deals with man's melancholy and problem of death .In this point of view,  Tree Without Roots has obvious existential elements.

According to existentialism,  terror , anxiety,  frustration , guilt , limitation, loneliness,  freedom, subordination,  love , shame , hatred, fear , jealousy ,  malice , alienation , deviation,  death , etc . are the inseparable parts of human existence.  Man struggle for sustaining himself despite lots of odds and adversities.

The appearance of Majeed at Mahabbatpur as depicted in Tree Without Roots is quite dramatic.  Majeed starts a new life in Mahabbatpur by taking a sole decision in a critical moment . He has profound belief in himself.  He has a great insight into the villagers' life style and their habits.  He is prudent enough to adopt daunting tasks . The villagers are poor and illiterate whereas Majeed is a hypocrite. Majeed begins to exploit the villagers by taking advantage of their superstition and backwardness.  His first aggressive speech towards the villagers of  Mahabbatpur is,

"You are all blind.  You are ignorant men, men without understanding. ....How could you have left the mazar of Saint Shah  Sadeque unattended like this?"

Majeed do not have to confront with any opponent to overcome initial obstacles . His conflict lies within himself . To establish his own identity, he plays with the whole populace . He has no intention to do good to the villagers.  Although he seems to be altruist in his speech,  hid main motive is to exercise dominance for the sake of his financial stability.  Majeed is always haunted by thoughts concerning mazar.  Through he wants to use the mazar as a means of livelihood, suspicion at times grabs him.

But this fear can not engulf him; rather he turns into selfish , unhesitant and reckless to steady hid existence.  His real character gets exposed in different situations.  Majeed accuses the simple villagers of their trifling faults,  like being ignorant of 'kalma' , remaining uncircumcised,  being without beard,  etc. He arranges punishment for those little offences . Thus Majeed wants to exhibit his influence in the village.

His influence spreads rapidly following his marriage with Rahima . Rahima as well as the villagers fears and respects him.Majeed transforms a dilapidated grave into a mazar by taking advantage of their simplicity and ignorance.  The villagers do not ask any question about the justification of his religious speech . Their impression of God revolves around the mazar.  This situation gives birth to an absurdity in the novel.  Nobody raises question regarding the rationality of Amena's circling around the mazar. Even they do not seek religious interpretation of this ritual.

Majeed achieves immense suecess in his way of sustaining existence. Actually,  Majeed's struggle of existence is not directed to any sort of welfare . He is absorbed in making benefit for himself. Nevertheless Majeed faces some obstacles to his existential adventure . These obstacles are;

1. The appearance of a new pir at the neighbouring village Nawabpur.

2. Khaleque's attempt to bring holy water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur. 

3. Hostile behaviour and protest of Jamila.

4. Natural disasters and the ultimate damage to people's crops and houses .

Majeed very tactfully tackles the situations even by adopting harsh methods. He tries to turn the pir Nawabpur into a hypocrite one through he himself is also of that type. Majeed feels that his existence will be at stake at the arrival of the pir of Nawabpur . So Majeed punishes Amens for her audacity of bringing holy water from the new pir. He forces Khaleque to divorce his wife Amena . This harsh strategy is adopted by Majeed in order to steady his existence . He is determined to tackle all the adversities in his way to the existential adventure .

Majeed inwardlly suffers from fear , anxiety and isolation but these can not prevent him from his adventure . Nonetheless , in his core of heart , Majeed suffers from an upcoming suspense.  He feels the necessity of having children to strengthen his future existence.  He is haunted by the temporary existence of mankind on the earth.  So he marries Jamila as his second wife.

Majeed's intention of having children is seemingly easy to fulfil.  But Jamila's lifestyle,  laughter and speech make Majeed very vulnerable.  Majeed tries to impose restriction on her behaviour by making her afraid of mazar and of afterlife.  But  Jamila turns into a new crisis in Majeed's  pursuit of success . His existence is threatened with the strange behaviour of lovely young girl Jamila . Majeed succumbs to the protest and courage of Jamila. He becomes psychologically weak at the unexpected conduct of Jamila.  The more Majeed wants to dominate Jamila , the more obstacles he faces. Jamila works as a lasting and unending threat to Majeed's existence.

Nature also creates obstacles to the pursuit of Majeed's existence.  The ending of the novel deals with villagers . When hailstorm stops, Majeed does not go to see what has happened to the mazar or to the crops in his fields .Instead , he rushes to Khaleque , the landowner  of the village.  Because Majeed  knew that the damaged mazar could be repaired,  but not the damaged faitj of the public in him and their trust in the mazar.If  Khaleque had complete faith in him, others would too. It is Khaleque who can save Majeed from disaster.  So Majeed calls him his friend and consoles him in order to preserve faith in the system. Thus Majeed struggles to sustain his existence in the face of all sort of adversities. To sum up, the novelist has meticulously depicted the theme of existentialism ib his novel Tree Without Roots.

Discuss the theme of existentialism as depicted in Tree Without Roots

Green Land | June 03, 2018 | 1comments

Syed Waliullah is a remarkable name in the field of Bengali literature as well as world literature.  Tree Without Roots is his outstanding creation.  It is a novel in which the writer depicts the theme of existentialism very tactfully.  The problem of existence is looked upon with an eye of philosopher in this much -admired novel.

Existentialism is the name applied to the philosopher doctrines of Kierkegaard and Sartre which share a deep concern for the individual existing person and a distrust of philosopher idealism. Any literature which deals with the problem of man's essential misery and suffering , frustration and loneliness , failure and sorrow alienation and ennui , is known as existential literature . This type of literature also deals with man's melancholy and problem of death .In this point of view,  Tree Without Roots has obvious existential elements.

According to existentialism,  terror , anxiety,  frustration , guilt , limitation, loneliness,  freedom, subordination,  love , shame , hatred, fear , jealousy ,  malice , alienation , deviation,  death , etc . are the inseparable parts of human existence.  Man struggle for sustaining himself despite lots of odds and adversities.

The appearance of Majeed at Mahabbatpur as depicted in Tree Without Roots is quite dramatic.  Majeed starts a new life in Mahabbatpur by taking a sole decision in a critical moment . He has profound belief in himself.  He has a great insight into the villagers' life style and their habits.  He is prudent enough to adopt daunting tasks . The villagers are poor and illiterate whereas Majeed is a hypocrite. Majeed begins to exploit the villagers by taking advantage of their superstition and backwardness.  His first aggressive speech towards the villagers of  Mahabbatpur is,

"You are all blind.  You are ignorant men, men without understanding. ....How could you have left the mazar of Saint Shah  Sadeque unattended like this?"

Majeed do not have to confront with any opponent to overcome initial obstacles . His conflict lies within himself . To establish his own identity, he plays with the whole populace . He has no intention to do good to the villagers.  Although he seems to be altruist in his speech,  hid main motive is to exercise dominance for the sake of his financial stability.  Majeed is always haunted by thoughts concerning mazar.  Through he wants to use the mazar as a means of livelihood, suspicion at times grabs him.

But this fear can not engulf him; rather he turns into selfish , unhesitant and reckless to steady hid existence.  His real character gets exposed in different situations.  Majeed accuses the simple villagers of their trifling faults,  like being ignorant of 'kalma' , remaining uncircumcised,  being without beard,  etc. He arranges punishment for those little offences . Thus Majeed wants to exhibit his influence in the village.

His influence spreads rapidly following his marriage with Rahima . Rahima as well as the villagers fears and respects him.Majeed transforms a dilapidated grave into a mazar by taking advantage of their simplicity and ignorance.  The villagers do not ask any question about the justification of his religious speech . Their impression of God revolves around the mazar.  This situation gives birth to an absurdity in the novel.  Nobody raises question regarding the rationality of Amena's circling around the mazar. Even they do not seek religious interpretation of this ritual.

Majeed achieves immense suecess in his way of sustaining existence. Actually,  Majeed's struggle of existence is not directed to any sort of welfare . He is absorbed in making benefit for himself. Nevertheless Majeed faces some obstacles to his existential adventure . These obstacles are;

1. The appearance of a new pir at the neighbouring village Nawabpur.

2. Khaleque's attempt to bring holy water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur. 

3. Hostile behaviour and protest of Jamila.

4. Natural disasters and the ultimate damage to people's crops and houses .

Majeed very tactfully tackles the situations even by adopting harsh methods. He tries to turn the pir Nawabpur into a hypocrite one through he himself is also of that type. Majeed feels that his existence will be at stake at the arrival of the pir of Nawabpur . So Majeed punishes Amens for her audacity of bringing holy water from the new pir. He forces Khaleque to divorce his wife Amena . This harsh strategy is adopted by Majeed in order to steady his existence . He is determined to tackle all the adversities in his way to the existential adventure .

Majeed inwardlly suffers from fear , anxiety and isolation but these can not prevent him from his adventure . Nonetheless , in his core of heart , Majeed suffers from an upcoming suspense.  He feels the necessity of having children to strengthen his future existence.  He is haunted by the temporary existence of mankind on the earth.  So he marries Jamila as his second wife.

Majeed's intention of having children is seemingly easy to fulfil.  But Jamila's lifestyle,  laughter and speech make Majeed very vulnerable.  Majeed tries to impose restriction on her behaviour by making her afraid of mazar and of afterlife.  But  Jamila turns into a new crisis in Majeed's  pursuit of success . His existence is threatened with the strange behaviour of lovely young girl Jamila . Majeed succumbs to the protest and courage of Jamila. He becomes psychologically weak at the unexpected conduct of Jamila.  The more Majeed wants to dominate Jamila , the more obstacles he faces. Jamila works as a lasting and unending threat to Majeed's existence.

Nature also creates obstacles to the pursuit of Majeed's existence.  The ending of the novel deals with villagers . When hailstorm stops, Majeed does not go to see what has happened to the mazar or to the crops in his fields .Instead , he rushes to Khaleque , the landowner  of the village.  Because Majeed  knew that the damaged mazar could be repaired,  but not the damaged faitj of the public in him and their trust in the mazar.If  Khaleque had complete faith in him, others would too. It is Khaleque who can save Majeed from disaster.  So Majeed calls him his friend and consoles him in order to preserve faith in the system. Thus Majeed struggles to sustain his existence in the face of all sort of adversities. To sum up, the novelist has meticulously depicted the theme of existentialism ib his novel Tree Without Roots.

South Asian Classics , Syed Waliullah , Tree Without Roots

Tree Without Roots is an outstanding creation of Syed Waliullah , a gigantic figure in literary world.  In this novel,  he tactfully portrays a backward and superstitious Village with the imagination of an artist.

The novelist takes the background , character and theme of the novel from a rural setting . The main theme of the novel is about the populace of Mahabbatpur who are the victim of religious exploration. Their happiness,  sorrows,  ideas, customs,  etc .span the whole of the novel . with the imagination of an artist , Syed Waliullah has grasped the deprivation and sadness of the people in the villages, arising out of the stark fact that there is little land too many mouths to feed .

The novelist has created the fictional village Mahabbatpur as the theatre for the doings of the fortune - hunting Majeed, who has transformed a neglected grave of an unknown person into a shrine .Deception, hypocrisy ,superstition ,dogmatism ,belief in miracles, exploitation, poverty , etc. prevail in the nook and corner of the society.  Happiness,  love, protest, honesty and sensibility are lost into darkness.  The real scenario of the rural societies in any part of Bangladesh is the same . In other words,  this social picture represent Bangladesh in mimiature, particularly in respect of poverty and fundamentalism . Waliullah's memorable observation ,

"There are more tupees than heads of cattle ,more tupees than sheaves of grass",

reminds us of an abiding collaboration between poverty and religion. The society depicted in the novel s controlled by religion and ardent unknown faith.The village around which the story revolves is Mahabbatpur and in the vicinity,  there is another village , Nawabpur. Matiganj road is nearby . The granaries, rivers, and stretches of fields to the horizons, complements to a rural setting. The very story of the novel revolves around illiteracy,  religious faith , emotion and fear of the people there.  We get a clear picture of a traditional rural society in Tree Without Roots.

The hypocrite,  cheat and clever,  Majeed finds his sanctuary in Mahabbatpur . He transforms a neglected grave into a holy shrine .Being a self -appointed  caretakee of that mazar,  he begins to exploit and deceive the rural people in order to steady his position in the society.  Within a few days,  he turns into a well-off person with his own houses and lands. Hr, then, marries a young widow.  He plays the role of a rural judge in almost all affairs of the villagers.  He tactfully accuses the villagers of their shortcoming and somehow punishes them. He takes,in his grip,  Khaleque , the landowner of the village .

From time immemorial , this kind of religious exploitation has been on the move. Syed Waliullah  has precisely portrayed this picture in his novel.  He has also depicted the daily affairs of the stratified society . The background of this novel is about a feudal society where injustice runs in the name of justice.  Humanity and religion are replaced by inhumanity and deception.

The so called preacher of religion makes ally with the local elite persons in the context of the then society . Of the two kinds of exploiters,  the preacher seems to be more powerful. The landowner Khaleque submits to Majeed and receives the pangs of divorce. It is nothing but a harsh reality by which feudalism succumbs to religion.  The Bengalees are a God -fearing nation.  Particularly the rural illiterate people accept any idea if tge question of religion is incorporated there. By taking opportunity of this situation , the religious hypocrites come into being. In the name of religion,  they seek the way for making a living, Numerous mazars are seen in every nook and corner of Bangladesh and these mazars are on the rise based on devotion and faith.  The mazar of Saint Shah Sadeque,  depicted in the novel , has also come into being in such a way.

The people of the village Mahabbatpur are simple , naive, illiterate and superstitious,  backward and dogmatic .So Majeed comes out successful in his evil effort of exploiting the villagers.Mahabbatpur is an agriculture village. The lands are their hearts . The crops are their happiness . They don't have keen observation on their lives , and for this reason Majeed manages to entrap them.  The novelist also points out that the pirs thrive along with the prosperity of the villagers.  The so-callee pirs look for their sanctuary in the houses of rich disciples . The arrival of Majeed at Mahabbatpur and the new pir at Nawabpur indicates this fact.

In the social system depicted in the novel,  women are neglected and dishonoured.  The male -dominated society has confined them within the houses . Polygamy is the custom of the society. Divorce is a typical matter in the name of religion . The novelist can not put up with the injustice and underestimation of humanity ,so he analyses the social system with the eyes of a sociologist .

The society is lagging behind because of ignorance.  They have no sensibility to differentiate between right and wrong . In the hope of having a child,  They are seen  to go to pir instead of going to doctors.

In agriculture society , the idea of God gets stuck in their mind during natural calamities . The picture of rural Bengal in time of natural calamities is also found in this novel . When the hailstorm and flood submerge Majeed's house and crops,  he seeks help from khaleque, the landowner. Majeed is forced to take his two wives to Khaleque's house at dead night . But Majeed himself  does not stay in that house,  he strides back to his submerging home, behaving like the typical Bengali peasant who is often  beaten but never surrenders and clings to his homestead.

The portrayed of all characters of the novel and their lives bears the symbol of rural Bengal . In fine , we can have an inference that  Tree Without Roots serves as a microcosm of rural Muslim society of Bangladesh .

What social picture of the rural Bengal do you get in Syed Waliullah's Tree Without Roots?

Green Land | June 02, 2018 | 0 comments

Tree Without Roots is an outstanding creation of Syed Waliullah , a gigantic figure in literary world.  In this novel,  he tactfully portrays a backward and superstitious Village with the imagination of an artist.

The novelist takes the background , character and theme of the novel from a rural setting . The main theme of the novel is about the populace of Mahabbatpur who are the victim of religious exploration. Their happiness,  sorrows,  ideas, customs,  etc .span the whole of the novel . with the imagination of an artist , Syed Waliullah has grasped the deprivation and sadness of the people in the villages, arising out of the stark fact that there is little land too many mouths to feed .

The novelist has created the fictional village Mahabbatpur as the theatre for the doings of the fortune - hunting Majeed, who has transformed a neglected grave of an unknown person into a shrine .Deception, hypocrisy ,superstition ,dogmatism ,belief in miracles, exploitation, poverty , etc. prevail in the nook and corner of the society.  Happiness,  love, protest, honesty and sensibility are lost into darkness.  The real scenario of the rural societies in any part of Bangladesh is the same . In other words,  this social picture represent Bangladesh in mimiature, particularly in respect of poverty and fundamentalism . Waliullah's memorable observation ,

"There are more tupees than heads of cattle ,more tupees than sheaves of grass",

reminds us of an abiding collaboration between poverty and religion. The society depicted in the novel s controlled by religion and ardent unknown faith.The village around which the story revolves is Mahabbatpur and in the vicinity,  there is another village , Nawabpur. Matiganj road is nearby . The granaries, rivers, and stretches of fields to the horizons, complements to a rural setting. The very story of the novel revolves around illiteracy,  religious faith , emotion and fear of the people there.  We get a clear picture of a traditional rural society in Tree Without Roots.

The hypocrite,  cheat and clever,  Majeed finds his sanctuary in Mahabbatpur . He transforms a neglected grave into a holy shrine .Being a self -appointed  caretakee of that mazar,  he begins to exploit and deceive the rural people in order to steady his position in the society.  Within a few days,  he turns into a well-off person with his own houses and lands. Hr, then, marries a young widow.  He plays the role of a rural judge in almost all affairs of the villagers.  He tactfully accuses the villagers of their shortcoming and somehow punishes them. He takes,in his grip,  Khaleque , the landowner of the village .

From time immemorial , this kind of religious exploitation has been on the move. Syed Waliullah  has precisely portrayed this picture in his novel.  He has also depicted the daily affairs of the stratified society . The background of this novel is about a feudal society where injustice runs in the name of justice.  Humanity and religion are replaced by inhumanity and deception.

The so called preacher of religion makes ally with the local elite persons in the context of the then society . Of the two kinds of exploiters,  the preacher seems to be more powerful. The landowner Khaleque submits to Majeed and receives the pangs of divorce. It is nothing but a harsh reality by which feudalism succumbs to religion.  The Bengalees are a God -fearing nation.  Particularly the rural illiterate people accept any idea if tge question of religion is incorporated there. By taking opportunity of this situation , the religious hypocrites come into being. In the name of religion,  they seek the way for making a living, Numerous mazars are seen in every nook and corner of Bangladesh and these mazars are on the rise based on devotion and faith.  The mazar of Saint Shah Sadeque,  depicted in the novel , has also come into being in such a way.

The people of the village Mahabbatpur are simple , naive, illiterate and superstitious,  backward and dogmatic .So Majeed comes out successful in his evil effort of exploiting the villagers.Mahabbatpur is an agriculture village. The lands are their hearts . The crops are their happiness . They don't have keen observation on their lives , and for this reason Majeed manages to entrap them.  The novelist also points out that the pirs thrive along with the prosperity of the villagers.  The so-callee pirs look for their sanctuary in the houses of rich disciples . The arrival of Majeed at Mahabbatpur and the new pir at Nawabpur indicates this fact.

In the social system depicted in the novel,  women are neglected and dishonoured.  The male -dominated society has confined them within the houses . Polygamy is the custom of the society. Divorce is a typical matter in the name of religion . The novelist can not put up with the injustice and underestimation of humanity ,so he analyses the social system with the eyes of a sociologist .

The society is lagging behind because of ignorance.  They have no sensibility to differentiate between right and wrong . In the hope of having a child,  They are seen  to go to pir instead of going to doctors.

In agriculture society , the idea of God gets stuck in their mind during natural calamities . The picture of rural Bengal in time of natural calamities is also found in this novel . When the hailstorm and flood submerge Majeed's house and crops,  he seeks help from khaleque, the landowner. Majeed is forced to take his two wives to Khaleque's house at dead night . But Majeed himself  does not stay in that house,  he strides back to his submerging home, behaving like the typical Bengali peasant who is often  beaten but never surrenders and clings to his homestead.

The portrayed of all characters of the novel and their lives bears the symbol of rural Bengal . In fine , we can have an inference that  Tree Without Roots serves as a microcosm of rural Muslim society of Bangladesh .

South Asian Classics , Syed Waliullah , Tree Without Roots

Syed Waliullah is an extraordinary novelist who excels in writing literary pieces uniquely and immaculately. In the field of literature, his outstanding creation is Tree Without Roots. In this novel, he tactfully portrays a backward and superstitious village with the imagination of an artist.  He gives a clear depiction of exploration in the society . 

Majeed, the sly impostor , who acts like a saviour of the hapless men and women around him, is the central character of the novel.  The novelist has unmasked Majeed's hypocrisy , deception and exploitation throughout the novel.

Majeed's Background and Arrival in Mahabbatpur

Majeed hails from a south -eastern district of the country where the pressure of the population on the land drives the children of the poor to become 'imams' or 'muezzins' and seek employment in other parts of the country . Majeed starts his career as a muezzin in the Garo Hills, where he meets a government officer out on a hunt. He sniffs an opportunity in what he learns about the officer's ancestral home and soon heads in that direction . He fetches up in a small , poor,  remote village called Mahabbatpur with an.aim of religious exploitation .

Establishing the Tomb and Religious Fraud 

The Scene of Majeed's appearance at Mahabbatpur indicates his hypocrisy and deception   He declares a dilapidated , neglected grave as the mazaz of Saint Shah Sadeque . At this, the villagers become startled and ashamed . Majeed transformed the hitherto neglected grave of an unknown person into a shrine and becomes its self -appointed caretaker . Thus he plays on the religious susceptibilities of the poor and gullible villagers to make a comfortable niche for himself .

The Red Cloth and Rise to Power

The grave covered in red cloth becomes the center of his religious exploitation . He easily deceives the simple , innocent villagers.  He imposes miraculous power both on the grave and on himself . His presence and interference in almost all the affairs seem to be inevitable.  

He makes an ally of the local honcho, the landowner Khaleque , who becomes Majeed'schief patron , bullies and cajoles the villagers into submission.

Power, Property and Control Over Women

Majeed , using his little knowledge of religion , becomes the owner of houses,  lands and wealth within a few days . Then he marries a strong and beautiful widowed women named Rahima. Majeed makes Rahima obey alm his orders and instructions . Rahima follows his instructions in every manner. She believes the self -imposed  miraculous power of Majeed and convinces others to do the same.

Majeed's Inner Conflict and Ruthlessness 

Though Majeed succeeds in his attempt, he is often haunted by doubt and hesitation.  He suffers from inner conflict and fear for exploiting the ignorant people using religion . But he continues to exploit the villagers only for sustaining his existence. He is anxiously aware of the game he is playing but once he has embarked on it,  there is no turning back.  

By using hid ready wit and eloquence,  he exercises exploration very tactfully .

Cruelty, Lust,  and Revenge 

Majeed is a cruel and revengeful person.  When he knows about the desire of Khaleque's wife to have some water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur , his revengeful reaches the peak point . He becomes very angry and intends to punish Amena, Klaleque's first wife. He punishes Amena in the name of a test of circling around the mazar after fasting a whole day . Thus Majeed forces Khaleque to divorce his innocent wife.

Majeed is a lustful person.  In spite of having a wife,  Majeed casts his sensual look towards the widowed woman Kulsum . When  Amena circles around the mazar , Majeed notices the physical beauty of Amena and spreads his lustful attitude towards her. To fulfil his sensual desire , Majeed marries Jamila , a teenage girl,  for the second time.

Abuse of Authority and Final Dominion 

When Majeed interferes in the familial affairs of Tara Mian , the old man questions and challenges Majeed's authority . Being very ruthless , Majeed forces the old Tara Mian to leave the house and embrace death.Majeed is authoritative . He forces an aged man and his son to get circumcised simultaneously by him.

Majeed in Tree Without Roots: A Hypocritical Religious Exploiter in Rural Bengal

Green Land | June 02, 2018 | 0 comments

Syed Waliullah is an extraordinary novelist who excels in writing literary pieces uniquely and immaculately. In the field of literature, his outstanding creation is Tree Without Roots. In this novel, he tactfully portrays a backward and superstitious village with the imagination of an artist.  He gives a clear depiction of exploration in the society . 

Majeed, the sly impostor , who acts like a saviour of the hapless men and women around him, is the central character of the novel.  The novelist has unmasked Majeed's hypocrisy , deception and exploitation throughout the novel.

Majeed's Background and Arrival in Mahabbatpur

Majeed hails from a south -eastern district of the country where the pressure of the population on the land drives the children of the poor to become 'imams' or 'muezzins' and seek employment in other parts of the country . Majeed starts his career as a muezzin in the Garo Hills, where he meets a government officer out on a hunt. He sniffs an opportunity in what he learns about the officer's ancestral home and soon heads in that direction . He fetches up in a small , poor,  remote village called Mahabbatpur with an.aim of religious exploitation .

Establishing the Tomb and Religious Fraud 

The Scene of Majeed's appearance at Mahabbatpur indicates his hypocrisy and deception   He declares a dilapidated , neglected grave as the mazaz of Saint Shah Sadeque . At this, the villagers become startled and ashamed . Majeed transformed the hitherto neglected grave of an unknown person into a shrine and becomes its self -appointed caretaker . Thus he plays on the religious susceptibilities of the poor and gullible villagers to make a comfortable niche for himself .

The Red Cloth and Rise to Power

The grave covered in red cloth becomes the center of his religious exploitation . He easily deceives the simple , innocent villagers.  He imposes miraculous power both on the grave and on himself . His presence and interference in almost all the affairs seem to be inevitable.  

He makes an ally of the local honcho, the landowner Khaleque , who becomes Majeed'schief patron , bullies and cajoles the villagers into submission.

Power, Property and Control Over Women

Majeed , using his little knowledge of religion , becomes the owner of houses,  lands and wealth within a few days . Then he marries a strong and beautiful widowed women named Rahima. Majeed makes Rahima obey alm his orders and instructions . Rahima follows his instructions in every manner. She believes the self -imposed  miraculous power of Majeed and convinces others to do the same.

Majeed's Inner Conflict and Ruthlessness 

Though Majeed succeeds in his attempt, he is often haunted by doubt and hesitation.  He suffers from inner conflict and fear for exploiting the ignorant people using religion . But he continues to exploit the villagers only for sustaining his existence. He is anxiously aware of the game he is playing but once he has embarked on it,  there is no turning back.  

By using hid ready wit and eloquence,  he exercises exploration very tactfully .

Cruelty, Lust,  and Revenge 

Majeed is a cruel and revengeful person.  When he knows about the desire of Khaleque's wife to have some water blessed by the pir of Nawabpur , his revengeful reaches the peak point . He becomes very angry and intends to punish Amena, Klaleque's first wife. He punishes Amena in the name of a test of circling around the mazar after fasting a whole day . Thus Majeed forces Khaleque to divorce his innocent wife.

Majeed is a lustful person.  In spite of having a wife,  Majeed casts his sensual look towards the widowed woman Kulsum . When  Amena circles around the mazar , Majeed notices the physical beauty of Amena and spreads his lustful attitude towards her. To fulfil his sensual desire , Majeed marries Jamila , a teenage girl,  for the second time.

Abuse of Authority and Final Dominion 

When Majeed interferes in the familial affairs of Tara Mian , the old man questions and challenges Majeed's authority . Being very ruthless , Majeed forces the old Tara Mian to leave the house and embrace death.Majeed is authoritative . He forces an aged man and his son to get circumcised simultaneously by him.

South Asian Classics , Syed Waliullah , Tree Without Roots