Nuleeni as a victim of society   ‘The fakeer of Jungheera’ is a long poem by Henry Vivian Derozio. He was born on 18^th April, 1809 in Kalkatta, west Bengal.

                       In ‘The fakeer of jungheera’ Henry Derozio talks about victimized women of the society. Nuleeni and fakeer are the main characters. There are also other supportive characters in it. In the days of Henry Derozio Indian subcontinent was cought by many evils like ‘sati pratha’, killing girl child by boiling the still born baby in the hot pot of the milk etc.

                        Here, in the Henry Derozio’s poem ‘The fakeer of jungheera’ Nuleeni is a central character. She is described as a victimized woman. Nuleeni loves the fakeer, who was muslim, lived in jungheera.

                              Nuleeni was a beautiful and rich lady. She was the Brahmin widow. She described as a pale faced and speechless woman. She now watches the dead body of her husband covered with sandal wood. The use of sandal wood would obviously points the upper class family.

                               Here the poet points the Heroine-Nuleeni as a “perfect” Bengali beauty with large black eyes, long black unbraided tresses, and a pale lily complexion and a majestic walk. She seems to be in full control of her emotions, when she arrives at this strange “death’s festival”. Though her eyes speaks more than her tongue could. It is only in stanza XIII the poet comments on the meanness and cruelty of the world that tries to buy love and imprison the, but the heart was made free and can not be imprisoned.

“ ye mean, ye cruel ! in whose bosoms cold

The thought springs idly that love may be sold-

What! Dare you id our feelings all depart

And give for golden dross th’ imprisoned heart?

Go! Tell the ocean when its billows roar

To rest in piece nor lost the sounding shore;

Bad them be hushed, andflee into their cave;

Go! When the spirit of the storm on high

Drive their mad courses through the blackening sky,

Bid they may hear your voices, and obey! –

But oh! The heart enthralled can never be,

Lord of itself, created to be free! ”

                          In stanza – XIV we comes to know about the names of the beautiful widow and she is called Nuleeni. Her situation is hopeless, she does not reflect on death but upon love, especially the most ‘bliss hours’ she spent in those scented ‘bright bowers’ with her lover – fakeer.

                          Nuleeni never loved loved her dead husband but her true feelings were for someone else. She suffers from pain not at the loss of her husband but the pain of separation of her beloved. She rises like a burning in the fire of her “hopes, affections and happiness”.

                          Nuleeni was married to a Brahmin and her husband dies in an early youth. So she was brought to the spot where her husband to be cremated. All the women singing praise song for sati. Women song of going to heaven but Nuleeni was lost in the thoughts of fakeer. Nuleeni refuse to die on the funeral pyre of her husband.

                            As she mounts the funeral pyre and takes “seven circuits”, her mind is on rescue and escape by her craft lover, a Muslim fakeer, who doesn’t disappoint her. Nuleeni as always dreamt of him and is now satisfied in his embrace. She escapes with the fakeer to his cave in Jungheera to a life from death. She escapes death, she starts a life of love though frightened by violent social conditions. She believes that the lover’s courage and her unfailing love will make them victorious. Now her beautiful and fair face brightens. The bold audacity of the fakeer who snatches her from the midst of a group of mourning upper class Hindu,at the funeral.

                              Now they forgot the society, they forgot the discrimation and strength of power.  Nuleeni now free from all the bondages of society. Both of them completely forgot themselves and did not realize that their lives were at risk. She was snatched by the fakeer from the hand of so called people like hunters. Because when she lived with so called upper class Hindus, she always tolerate humiliations, she don’t want to die with her husband but orthodox Hindu society force her to do that.

                                Nuleeni and fakeer lived very happily in their cave. They both are lost in the materialistic life. They are lost in their world. But Nuleeni also feared of some unseen danger. She smelt something wrong. She worried for she doesn’t want to depart from her lover – fakeer at any cost.

                             As happens in ancient Greek trajedies and Shakespearian trajedies, their mistakes of risking their life were waiting for them. As Nuleeni and fakeer were run – away, the father of Nuleeni – so called upper class Hindu widow’s father would definitely revenge them.

                             In the 19^th century, on on one hand the prohibited sati system on the other hand they allowed being satiwith permission.

                             Now starts the tragic events one by one. The father of beautiful widow Nuleeni determines to fakeer. He goes to the king Shah Shiva, of his time. Nuleeni’s father request him to send his army with him to revenge the fakeer. At this stage the uncertainty of life and the death begins. Nuleeni’s father comes to the place where fakeer and Nuleeni lived with the army to take revenge to his insult. Nuleeni’s father did not even think of his daughter’s happiness or love.

                            Now Nuleeni and fakeer has no choice. He would be cought and punished, if he runs away from the battle field. Fakeer decide to fight back the army of Nuleeni’s father. Nuleeni fears that the dubious hour might – bring doom. But fakeer is confident of victory.

“Ere lang I’ll warm thee in my beast again-”

With the ‘battle cry’ of ‘the moslim ringing after’ to fight the ‘royal cavalry’.

                                 Section XXI described the battle scene where he is mortally wounded with a lance.

An unseen hand with a glittering lance

Checked the chieftain’s fierce advance,

And forth the blood from his bosom streamed,

And quenched hope’s latest ray as it beamed ! –

                            Nuleeni cradles him in her arms and dies together with him – her “eloquence had all burned out”.

                            She prefers to die together with someone she loves than with her husband whom she does not. The Sanskrit word sati implied a “good and virtuous women” who was devoted to her husband. According to Hindu customs these virtuous found expression in the act of self – immolation. The woman – who sacrificed herself continued to be called sati long after they were dead and gone.

 Conclusion :-

                                Through this poem “fakeer of Jungheera” by Henry Derozio we can say that Nuleeni became a victim of society twice. When her husband died, our so called upper caste Hindu society force her to become a sati. No one can understand her feelings and affection. In another way we can say that when she escape with her beloved fakeer, her father comes there where they lived. And both of them became a victim.