The Fakeer of Jungheera by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.







The Fakeer of Jungheera is a long poem by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.
   In 'The Fakeer of Jungheera' Deroiz mixed the tantric, Hindu, Mythological, Islamic and Cristian tradition. He got the idea about writing the poem of spiritual love from Baital Pachisi. As the story goes, if King Vikram remains stead fast  in his love for his queen he can resurrect her and once more both can find happiness together. The dauntless fortitude and courage that The King exemplifies by passing through the horrible ordeals in the graveyard leading to his triumph, inspire conclusion to the tragic death of the Fakeer in the arms of his beloved Nuleeni. If the Nuleeni can again be resurrected in the arms of the Fakeer if she can pass through the horrors and temptations of life.

Fakeer and Nuleeni are two star crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet were the children of two enemies whose love brought the tragic end. Here, in 'The Fakeer of Jangheera'.  Fakeer is the follower of Islam. Fakeer means saint a person who has renounced the world but here he loves a lady Nuleeni who is married and also an uppercaste Female. Nuleeni was married to a Brahmin. Her husband dies in an early youth.




The poem starts with nature's description and then takes many twists. The poem deals with many serious issues of social evil along with the tragic love affir as the protagonist of the poem is a robber Fakeer who belongs to some unidentified Muslim sect, While the heroine, the widow Nuleeni, comes from an upper caste Bengali Hindu family. Derozio uses Cristain Imagery, Such as heaven and angles flitting about. He juxtaposes this imagery against the Hindu tradition of sati and muslim prayers. He imitates the English Romantic poets like wordsworth, shelly and Coleridge. In the poem, the imagination is marvelous.
          Derozio breaks all the norms of writing of the contemporary poem writing. It was not easy for the contemporary writers to break the established laws and at the same time challenging the upper-class of the cosecant. He wanted to eradicate the social evils that slowly swallowed the society. This Hindu-Muslim love story arose great sensation. The poet was marginalized in his time.
          The poet paints the heroine as a 'perfect' Bengali beauty – with large black eyes, black in braided tresses, a pale lily complexion and majestic walk. When she arrives at the funeral her eyes searched somebody when he comes she escapes with. He, her lover Fakery had to fight before taking his beloved with him. At the Fakeer's cave. Nuleeni and he lived very happily. They both are lost in the materialistic. They both are lost in the materialistic imaginative life. They are lost in their world. But Nuleeni in the midst of happy life always feared of some unseen danger. Here, the midst of happy life always feared of some unseen danger. Here, the description of nature seems to be one with the feeling of the love.



The secular and universal ideas that Derozio espoused in his poetry do not go well with the separatist and divisionary politics of modern India.  These are some of the revisionist consequences of modernity. However, the 'modes of social life' that emerged in the early nineteenth century in response to modernity in India now take us 'beyond modernity' into the information age. If India must shine it must do so within its own traditions and Derozio occupies a central place in it. The poet through the impossible and bold story of love – affair between Hindu upper-class widow and a Muslim lower class Fakeer reflected and criticized the evils of Indian Society.

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