A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION 

An individual’s good qualities can attract admiration and love. Citing illustrations from Ninema by Vrenika Pather, write an essay to support this statement.

Exemplary attributes arouse respect, warm approval and affection.  Ninema is a young beautiful woman whose praiseworthy character makes her the embodiment of magnificence. She is respected and loved by all and sundry at the marketplace.

First, Ninema is respected because she faces her challenges and wins. She has to wake up at four o’clock on a Monday morning to reap the herbs from her garden. She is a market gardener. Her crops are healthy. Ninema has green fingers but she does not know it. She earns her living by selling her crops at the Indian market.  The walk to the market is long(P14). Her life is tough and so is she. She arranges her dhania and mint neatly and sighs. Although she accepts her lot in life, Ninema is not resigned to it. She has never had hot running water so she washes her face and feet with cold water from the outside tap. To take her weekly bath, Ninema boils water on the open fire. She coils her long black hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. She will wash it on Saturday when she takes her bath.  For now, it is neat and out of the way. Ninema’s presence displaces the space around her and fills it with gravity(P13). Some day, with the money she is saving, she hopes to buy a house of her own(P15). Despite all these challenges, Ninema dreams of the home that will be hers some day soon. The house will have hot water. The kitchen will be on the inside. She will have her own large garden where her herbs will flourish. Maybe, she will start growing some fruit for herself(P16). The attribute of facing challenges and winning, instead of resigning to them, earns Ninema respect.

Ninema earns lots of admiration because she focuses on earning a living and ignores all other distractions. Although Ninema is a beautiful woman who makes heads turn as she walks, she does not take the attention to heart. Ninema’s hips sway from side to side as she moves her body in rhythm to balance the basket on her head. Her thin chiffon sari dress drapes around her perfect body effortlessly as if kept in place by her high, firm breasts. She has long, toned arms and a cinched waist which cause men to stop and stare. When she faces them with her piercing, black eyes they turn around in embarrassment. The women admire her high cheekbones. Ninema is neither influenced nor affected by the attention she receives from the men or women. Her concern is with earning a living. She sets up her stall and arranges her herbs appetizingly. Other lady hawkers chat with her and each other amiably. Ninema rarely chats back. She has no time to waste. Nobody minds the fact that Ninema does not pay attention to the trifles. She only focuses on earning a living. These qualities attract admiration(P13-14).

Ninema has the wisdom of family trading so she has the perception that the first and last customers are very important. She knows that the first customer opens the business day while the last closes it. She takes extra care of them for they bring luck. She learned the trade from her mother and father who passed down this wisdom from generations of family trading. Ninema believes in its grace and power. She also has good faith in accounting and can count faster than you can say the word ‘herb’ (P14). Mr. Chinran is her first customer and she treats him with respect and appreciation for he is loyal. At the end of the market day, when a new customer, a last minute buyer drops by, Ninema gives her an extra bunch of mint for free. The customer is happy and promises to always shop at her stall for herbs(P15). This wisdom makes Ninema an admirable individual.

Also, Ninema treats all her loyal customers with respect and appreciation. Mr. Chinran is one of the loyal customers. He often was the first to support Ninema when she opened her stall. The ladies in the other stalls tease saying he was in love with her. She simply smiled away their silliness. Mr. Chinran is a rich lawyer from the Brahmin caste while Ninema is a poor girl from a low caste. How could he be interested in her?  It was unthinkable like having a relationship with a white man. This notwithstanding, the mere sight of Ninema made Mr. Chinran’s day. He is so infatuated with her that the thought of his mother arranging a marriage for him makes him hot under the collar. Some prying, jealous wife would take over the herbs buying rounds and deny him the opportunity of seeing Ninema. His mother complains that he buys too much and this morning he buys even more than usual. Ninema does not encourage his infatuation with her but since he is a loyal customer he treats him with respect and appreciation(P14). Although Mr. Chinran is from a prestigious caste, his fondness of Ninema is proof that someone’s good qualities can endear them to people.

Ninema handles her customers masterfully and this makes them fond of her. This is evident in the way she handles Mrs. Singh. Ninema refers to her respectfully as auntie. When Ninema tells her that three bunches of parsley cost six cents, she exclaims that it is too much, expecting her to lower the price but she does not budge; not for rich Mrs. Singh not for anyone else(P14). Mrs. Singh tries the ploy on the next herb to get better prices but it is inadequate. Mrs. Singh likes to haggle out of boredom. She wants a long market day to avoid going back to her large empty house where the servants do everything including cooking. She bargains in order to interact with Ninema for as long as possible. Ninema’s skills earn her adoration and loyalty from rich people such as Mrs. Singh(P15).

Ninema earns the love, respect and admiration of the other market women because she is her own person. She acts independently and confidently. Ninema runs her business with an iron fist. Some people like her herbs and her manner of doing things and support her. Some are offended ostensibly because she does not bring down the prizes, she sells only herbs and is not chatty. Really what they did not like is that she is her own person. She does not give in to what other people expect of her. This frightened some as much as it thrilled others. The ladies in the other stalls like Ninema because of this. They look up to her. She is one of them but something about her is different. The difference draws them to her rather than repulse them. They want to learn her secret because unlike her they often compromise themselves at work and at home. This makes them angry with themselves. They admire how Ninema carries herself. Ninema’s qualities of independence and confidence make her admirable and lovable(P15).

Ninema has a steady flow of customers since she takes personal interest in each of our customers. At lunch time she eats her packed sandwiches as she works. Her stall is busy. She arranges her herbs appetizingly and every day she picks up on passing trade. Customers are attracted by the smell and look of her stall. She has to grow more seed in order to keep up with the demand. She hopes to have enough to satisfy all her customers since her herbs diminish fast. Business is flourishing. Most rich people buy herbs from Ninema during their lunch break making this the busiest time of the day. These are clerical workers and professionals. Although she is busy, Ninema finds time to take personal interest in each of her customers. She knows whose son is studying to be a doctor far away in India, whose daughter just got married, who moved in their new home and where they bought it. Ninema has many customers because she is genuinely interested in their lives. Indeed such good qualities attract respect and love(P15).

Lastly, Ninema gets cheers of approval from the other market women for the way she stands up to the indecent man who assaults her. She hits the man much to the delight of the cheering market women. The man had approached her and blocked her away. She stared at him straight in the face. The strange man grinned at her lasciviously, and then suddenly extended his arm and pinched her erect nipple, hard. He then laughed out loud, turned away in a cocksure stride and told her in a vulgar tone, “If you liked that, follow me.” After placing her basket down with deliberate care, to avoid bruising the herbs nestled neatly inside, Ninema follows the man and beats him on the back of his head with her chumpal. She then hits him all over his face and torso. The astounded man covers his face with his hands. Ninema only notices that the other market women had been keenly watching the fight when she hears their jeers, cheers and laughter. The man is too embarrassed and  dumbfounded to react. He is scared that the women could gang up against him. Ninema gives him a few extra hits on behalf of all the women. He whimpers for she is strong. The women clap and laugh heartily. Ninema bends gracefully, picks the basket and places it gently on her head and says goodbye to the other women. Ninema is loved and respected as a result of such attributes(P16).

In conclusion, good attributes or traits are bound to attract affection and admiration from our peers and other people, regardless of age, financial status or class.