Phillauri
A single slap from a dignified lady sets the vagabond right!
Shashi is a well bred and decent lady who lives with her brother – who is a doctor. He never got married because he thought that his sister may feel neglected in presence of a sister-in-law. Her brother loved her as his daughter.
This was during the early 1900 when Indians had started struggling for their independence. At that point of time ladies were not allowed to study or express themselves much. They were more home bound – cooking and cleaning the home front. Shashi’s brother was a bit strict also – although he had educated Shashi but he did not allow her to mix with the the typical village rustics who were busy with just fun and frolic – boozing and womanising! Such were the people who were least bothered about the struggle of independence – they were continuing with their frivolous lifestyles of making lewd songs on women and getting drunk and behave like …be like total failures.
Roop lal was one such man who used to sing very well and was very famous in the village. But he sang for money…money to fetch him alcohol. He read Shashi’s poems released in a weekly magazine named ‘Phillauri’ where she often wrote about love and tender feelings – under pseudonym ‘Phillauri’. He mentions to his friends that such poems will not even fetch him a single bottle of alcohol!
It so happens that he meets her and while trying to impress her – he recites her poem….making it sound as if it was his! Shashi slaps him and asks him to make good use of his talent! Roop lal was too shocked to be slapped by a lady…who was otherwise very famous among ladies! Roop lala gradually changes and makes her poems as his song theme. Gradually they fall in love…and Roop laa started ignoring his cheap friends….
Shashi goes ahead and gets into a physical relationship with him. Her brother comes to know and drags her home. Roop laa promises her brother that he intends to marry her and even says that he will spread her beautiful poetry far and wide with the help of gramophone.
Everything is agreed upon and it was decide that they will marry on Baisaki. Roop lal did not arrive on his wedding day. Shashi found out that she was pregnant. Her brother suggests that they will leave the village and go far away (no he was not aware of her pregnancy). Shashi commits suicide b hanging herself by a tree.
98 years later, a Canada returned fellow (Kanan) was married to the tree because of some planetary affliction. After the marriage, the tree was cut…and Shashi’s ghost – that was in a limbo for almost a 100 years came after Kanan!
Kanan then helps her find what had happened on Baisakhi. Roop lal was shot dead in the Jalia wala bag massacre. Kanan takes her to the spot and Roop lal’s ghost was also waiting for her…along with many other ghosts standing there…all kiiled at the massacre!!!
Shashi and Roop lal unite and vanish in thin air!
Had Shashi not become pregnant…she could have moved with her brother to some distant village and started afresh! Such talent got wasted! Probablu she was too shy to tell her brother of her pregnancy…but her brother was a doctor after all…he could have helped her abort the child…or maybe let him/her take birth…and could have said that the father died in the war of independence – they were going to move away from the village after all!
Suicide is no solution folks…never a solution! Her soul wasted almost a century to move further ahead in evolution! Souls get promoted in human form – only in the human form can they get their self-realization and become one with the divine…do not waste your precious life.