Story Overview: “Girya” (“Bewailing”) by Awaz Sayeed

Setting and Premise:

The story opens on the day of a funeral. While everyone else attends the funeral, the protagonist isolates himself inside his house, tormented by a restless state between sleep and wakefulness. He is visited by a companion urging him to join the funeral procession, but he refuses, insisting he will only join if the funeral passes by his road.

Encounters and Repetition:

As the day progresses, the protagonist observes people passing by his house, some familiar, some strange. He repeatedly encounters two men with white hair and shawls, who seem to age rapidly and appear almost spectral. The protagonist is questioned about the funeral, and he responds ambiguously, suggesting that his waiting is of a different nature than theirs.

Surreal Atmosphere and Disorientation:

The narrative takes on a surreal, dreamlike quality. The protagonist sees multiple funeral processions, each stranger than the last, and is engulfed in confusion and suffocation. Time appears to lose meaning; day and night blur together, and the protagonist is trapped in a cycle of waiting and questioning.

He notices that his house now has a “TO LET” sign, as if he and his family have moved away without his knowledge. He struggles to recall what his companion told him earlier, but his memory fails him, deepening his existential confusion.

Climax and Realisation:

The story culminates when the protagonist, together with the two old men, realises that they are all waiting for a funeral that never seems to arrive on their road. In a moment of shared grief and bewilderment, all three embrace and weep like children, overwhelmed by their inexplicable sorrow.

Themes and Interpretation:

• Alienation and Disconnection: The protagonist is emotionally and physically isolated from the community and the rituals of mourning, symbolising a deeper existential estrangement.

• The Futility of Waiting: The repeated insistence that the funeral must pass by his road, and the endless waiting, reflect the futility and absurdity of certain human expectations and desires.

• Time and Memory: The distortion of time and the protagonist’s failing memory create a sense of dislocation, suggesting themes of mortality, loss, and the impermanence of life.

• Death and Self-Realisation: The story subtly implies that the protagonist himself may be dead or in a liminal state, unable to recognise his own passing—hence the “TO LET” sign and the inability to join the funeral.

• Collective Mourning and Bewilderment: The final scene, where the three men embrace and cry, underscores the universality of grief and the shared human experience of confusion in the face of death.

Conclusion

“Girya” (“Bewailing”) is a haunting, allegorical tale that explores the psychological and existential dimensions of grief, death, and alienation. Through its surreal narrative and cyclical structure, the story evokes a profound sense of bewilderment and sorrow, leaving the reader to ponder the mysteries of life and the inevitability of death.

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