Appropriating the Title–A Study of the Novella Os Ki Boond by Rahi Masoom Raza

On the basis of the short novella by Rahi Masoom Raza, titled Os Ki Boond, the present paper endeavors to analyze the significance of the title given by the author to the novella. The novella although constructed around the horrendous times of the 1947 Indo-Pak Partition which witnessed large scale communal violence in various different parts of both the newly formed countries, talks about the kind of enmity that starts budding in the hearts of even those people who earlier had an unbreakable bond of friendship amongst themselves. The paper, on the basis of these changing bonds between the people, tries to highlight how the politically enriched speeches by the politicians aroused hatred among people who earlier had love for each other, how these speeches played with the innocent hearts of the common people who in order to come into the good books of the politicians and to gain something from them for their own personal benefit, went to any possible extent; and how this budding hatred was then used by the politicians as a tool to propagate and instigate violence among the different sects of the society, thereby resulting in an all-pervading unrest and chaos in the society and ultimately leading to the deaths of innocent individuals who had become prey to such devious acts of the politicians and the people in power. The paper on the basis of such analysis will highlight how even the smallest of the characters or the situations play an important role in either ruining or rebuilding the society, thereby emphasizing on the importance of the title, Os Ki Boond, which in English is also known as Dew Drops, whose life is just so negligible that even the first rays of sunshine are enough to destroy its very existence. By examining the importance and significance of the title of the present novella, the paper will attempt to conclude on the hope of positivity that is bound to rest on this earth when people will start giving importance to beauties of fond relationships which flourish on the foundation of mutual trust, faith and brings the hearts of people together for rebuilding and reconstructing the new life by spreading the fragrance of togetherness on the one hand and by analyzing subtle help that came to people during such bad times unexpected from unknown godly figures.