Irrelevance of Futurism

In 1890, with a deep sense of trepidation, Karmali boarded a dhow at the Indian port city of Porbandar. The dhow that would be heaved by monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean to the Island of Zanzibar. Parting was not only hard for him, but for both his new wife, Mira, and his mother, Nirmal. The tearful parting was unbearable for all of them because they knew that it would be a long time before they would be able to meet once again.

Karmali pledged that he would put in a lot of effort in settling down and call them soon. He slouched in a corner of the dhow, shut his eyes, and accepted the outcome of the circumstances. It was both calming and frightening to hear the waves crashing against the dhow’s wooden stern and its side. The dhow dwarfed against the enormous waves. He found solace in the wind-resistant swinging dhow, which reminded him of a swinging crib. He realized how dependent his life was on the wind and the ocean. A feeling of nothingness overwhelmed him. Sudden consciousness of mystery and fear jolted him from his slumber. He at once shifted his attention to God.

He believed that God was ultimately responsible for his circumstances, and it was God that he prayed to for help and safety. Before his departure, Mira had handed him a farewell gift – a tasbih or rosary. She told him to continuously repeat the name of God. He kept on doing what he was asked to do, and eventually, dhikr, or God consciousness, acted as an auto-suggesting tool that convinced him that everything would be well and fine. There was no purpose in questioning God’s existence. Venturing to an unknown destination and not knowing what lay ahead in future had weakened his faith in himself. He felt like a dust particle in the vastness of the universe. God consciousness was like an oasis that heightened his self-esteem.

Karmali Rattansi was welcomed by satpanthi volunteers when he arrived on the island. He was given a room in a dharamshara or a guest house that was connected to the Jamat Khana. Ismailis on the move and in need of temporary housing stayed in the guest houses for free. The Jamat Khana’s social component offered a forum for the sharing of ideas and chances for employment or entrepreneurship. Karmali found employment right away with an Ismaili trader as he quickly gained the confidence of traders. This likely contributed to his success later. He adhered to the firmans or directives of the Imam. That “the young new migrants must seek employment with already established entrepreneurs, learn the trade, and only then open their own enterprise.”

Khoja Ismailis opened a new chapter in their economic history when they emigrated to East Africa and Zanzibar. Compared to orthodox or conservative groups, their syncretic history made it easier for them to incorporate innovative ideas. They began constructing clinics, schools, and other social facilities to serve the needs of the growing immigrant community. Karmali, like other Khoja Ismailis, who migrated from India to Zanzibar and who were not equipped intellectually or politically, focused more on settling down and merging in the mainstream culture and society.

The Zanzibarian culture and society was characterized, at the time, as pluralistic, made up of Arabs, Africans, Europeans, Indians, etc.. These diverse groups poured their own lifestyles into the Zanzibar melting pot. Colourful dresses, aromatic street foods, halud or local scents, ornamented the narrow streets of the island. Underneath this vibrancy was the economic prosperity resulting from the bustling international trade in spices, slaves, and tusks. Geographically, Zanzibar was already located strategically in the Indian Ocean. It offered a break and a stop for most naval expeditions.

As the trade in spices and slaves was booming on the island of Zanzibar, the Portuguese had occupied the island around 1590s. Later, the Oman sultanate took control of it. In the eighteenth century, the island became a British protectorate that allowed the Oman Sultanate just a titular headship.

Under the apparent brilliance and prosperity of Zanzibar lay the dark and dirty trade of slaves, who were subjected to inhumane treatment. Retrospectively, the irony of slave trade conducted by Arabs and Europeans lies in the fact that they both practised Islam and Christianity, respectively. Yet they asserted to possess moral principles outlined in their respective holy texts. They contradicted themselves while treating other people inhumanely. Superstition and folklore often served as a vehicle for religious hypocrisy to sublimate immoral consciousness.

Karmali quickly earned the title “King of Cloves.” He was undersized, had a tiny build, and was exceedingly kind. Mira’s background is largely unknown, save for the fact that she later accompanied Karmali to be with him. She was stunningly attractive and the centre of Karmali’s international reputation when interacting with the Germans, the British, and Omani Arabs. However, because of the conventional concept of a limited role for women, she was unable to work alongside her husband. She gave birth to a son, Hussein, and an incredibly beautiful girl, Rehmi (kind), not long after arriving in Zanzibar. Sadly, Mira died a few years after the first World War which officially ended in 1918.

The sense of jubilation could not be contained by Karmali and Mira at the birth of Hussein in 1914. Karmali was at peace that his ventures and wealth would pass on to his son. Rehmi was a girl born a couple of years before. She did not evoke similarly intense feelings amongst the parents when she was born.  The Indian custom of male progeny preference seem to have not diminished with the crossing of Indian ocean and migrating to a new vista.

While Karmali was occupied with his enterprise, Mira was not doing well. Blackwater and malaria were taking a major toll on the migrants. Hussein was being mostly cared for by the housekeepers. He went to school for a few years after turning five. He learned Zanzibari Swahili, and Gujarati. The island Swahili had more Arabic content as opposed to the mainland Tanganyika Swahili. His early years were most important in building his personality traits. With the family’s upward social and economic mobility, he acquired a higher self-esteem. He was comfortable in his own shoes.

His mother encouraged him to walk with the housekeeper to buy halwa (dough cooked in butter and almonds wrapped in banana leaf). He was aware of his stature from the way people greeted him on the streets and in the community centre. Self-awareness and consciousness in turn inculcate civility and respect for others. He perceived everyone as his friend, irrespective of their status. Being at ease in one’s shoes and having high self-esteem might have also contributed to his choice later to seek freedom.

Mira’s passing away took a major toll on Hussein’s emotional life. He could not understand why his mom was not there anymore. It shattered his sense of certainty. He wondered why someone was born to die. He did not know how to ask. He accepted what others told him about his mother being in peace and in heaven with God.

After a couple of years, Karmali felt the pain in Rehmi and Hussein. He thought that his children needed someone to mother them. Also, he was probably missing someone like Mira, whom he could trust and draw emotional and moral support from. So, he travelled to India and married a young woman called Jenna based on the character recommendations of his relatives. In an arranged marriage, character references would normally be verified by examining the history of the family.

The tides of fortune began to change for Hussein and Rehmi with the arrival of Jenna in their lives. They could not accept her. She could never replace their mom’s warmth and selflessness. For Jenna, they were not her own. She was young and full of energy compared to Karmali, who was getting old and becoming less energetic. Also, Karmali missed Mira. He wondered if he had made the right decision to remarry. His decision was emotional and based on customary practice rather than logic or careful evaluation.

Ignorance of the future is a major component in making predictions and decisions. It is a fact that once decisions affecting one’s life are made, it becomes difficult to reverse them. The past can never be revisited. The future does not exist in the present, but it can exist in a person’s mind in the form of imagination. There are no restrictions on the mind’s ability to conjuring and roaming in the realm of imagination of a future ideal life. Only physical actions aimed at pursuing an imagined better life are mired in limits and restrictions.

Karmali was also known for being trustworthy and successful. Additionally, he was chosen to serve as a local leader of the Ismail community in Zanzibar. One’s success goes hand in hand with the conviction that one is always doing the right thing. This feeling of certainty and conviction lend a sense of one’s invincibility. It can be very deluding.

Karmali and Jenna had nothing in common except belonging to the same community. The difference in their ages, however, meant that they had different interests and goals. The differences were most likely reflected in their communication and thinking. For instance, their tastes in music, friends, food, and other things must have appealed to them differently. Karmali had different priorities than Jenna. She valued having younger companions nearby and finger foods in addition to other sorts of entertainment. Due to the generational gap between the two, Jenna’s traditional role of devoting herself to the family’s well-being had been eroding.  This age gap led to an emotional vacuum in Jenna’s life. She sought attention from Juma Lalji, a young employee hired by Karmali. They were more compatible with each other. By falling in love with Jenna, Juma seemed to have elevated his self esteem and mental status. Meeting and courting physically in secrecy were a commitment beyond infatuation. It was probably more than a desire because desire is temporary. Securing a future plan must transcend just the desire to fill the vacuum. For Jenna, it was an escape from the relationship stalemate. It was a mesmerizing feeling and yet it entailed a sense of fear of being caught. Was it exhilarating to know what the others did not know? Lovers in adulterous situations tend to be more emotionally charged than in married relationships that are in many cases taken for granted and officiated. Jenna, on the other hand, filled the emotional vacuum caused by the age gap between her and Karmali. The extramarital affair must have been shrouded in ultimate secrecy to avoid the wrath of a closely knit community, as well, of Karmali. Wealth also seems to have contributed to the lover’s nest. The economically deprived are consumed by surviving rather than seeking secret romantic adventures and risking losing everything.

Karmali Rattansi passed away in Zanzibar in 1924 at the age of 54. By that time, Jenna was already expecting. A girl named Sakar (sugar) was born to her. She was most likely conceived during the love phase, but she was given the Karmali Rattansi family surname for social reasons to avoid stigma and anger. But shortly after Karmali’s passing, Jenna and Juma Lalji were wed, and later a baby girl named Gulshan (also known as Baby) was born.

Rehmi and Hussein were hardly 12 and 10, respectively, when they were parent-less. They felt the end of their existence. Their identities changed from being Rattansis to Laljis, although not in name but in reality. Now they had a stepmother and a stepdad who inherited all the wealth built by Karmali and Mira and who probably hoped their children would inherit.

As soon as Rehmi turned sixteen, she was being pushed into an arranged marriage situation. Numerous young men approached the stepparents, who were perhaps more eager to oblige. They decided that she would marry Jiwan Bhimji, an elderly and affluent man who passed away soon after. Due to the lack of wills at the time, it appeared that Rehmi received only a small portion of her husband’s wealth. The fortune flowed to the husband’s brothers through Zanzibar’s prevailing Arab and Muslim traditions.

It was not difficult for Rehmi to remarry, and so she married a well-respected shopkeeper, Bahadur (brave), immediately after the death of her first husband. Bahadur lived in Kikombo, a small village close to Dodoma, in the central region of Tanganyika. The second husband died of blackwater disease after a few years. Blackwater was a complication of malaria in which red blood cells burst into the bloodstream, releasing hemoglobin directly into the blood vessels and the urine, often leading to kidney failure. It was a very unfortunate and sad moment in the life of Rehmi. She, however, outlived four husbands, the last of whom was Mohammed Ali Khaki, a well-known painter. He was kind and supportive. Rehmi was cared for and cherished by him. After he passed away, she did not get married again. However, she kept up her good looks and posture right up to her death in her sixties in Dodoma at her brother’s home. Indian norms and traditions that stigmatize widows and divorcees can occasionally be overcome by beauty. Rehmi was always remembered as a person who loved and celebrated life. Her cooking had an outstanding aroma of coconut. Her neighbours could not resist asking her to share her food. In the spirit of a well-known Ismaili tradition, “to share food with those near you before the smell reaches them,” she loved to send them food. She also felt good and took pride in her cooking. Being better at one’s skill than others certainly augment one’s ego. The tradition emphasized that “the more you share, the more God will shower you with wealth and blessings.

Those who approached Rehmi sought to linger a little longer so they could smell halud, fresh flower scent, spreading from her clothing. Her home was always kept neat. She frequently washed her hands and took daily showers. Despite her circumstances, she always seemed happy and cheerful. Even though World War I had ended, and another one was on the horizon, she could not care less. Nothing was important or significant.

When she smiled, her front teeth, crowned in gold, brightened her face. She never went to school. Ironically, that might have been one reason she was in bliss and could not be bothered by her economic status and changing political winds. Is education detrimental to mental health because the educated are conscious of changing situations and their impacts on individuals and societies?

Rehmi’s brother Hussein, being a boy, had a much different trajectory and mindset. Hussein was bold and confident to leave Zanzibar at the age of twelve with nothing but a fare for the dhow that took him across the island to the mainland, Tanganyika. He did not know what lay ahead; however, the choice of moving on seemed better than staying back.