Ghani

Ghani, a wealthy landowner, is the father of Naseem and the employer of the doctor who treats her, Aadam Aziz. He combines an interest in art and a self-conscious claim to businesslike objectivity with strict control over his daughter’s access to men. That authority shapes the circumstances of Aziz’s first examination of Naseem and, later, his approval of their marriage.

Identity and Household

Ghani appears as a prosperous landowner, standing beneath a large oil painting of Diana the Huntress, which he says he bought from an Englishman for five hundred rupees. He presents the purchase as evidence of his appreciation of culture, while the narration also identifies his characteristic poisonous smile. His wealth and position give him the means to direct the household and arrange the care Naseem receives.

His daughter is described as frequently unwell, and Ghani regards her illness as an opportunity to engage Aziz, whose medical training abroad has attracted favorable comment in town. He characterizes the previous lady doctor as too old and not abreast of recent developments. His choice of Aziz is therefore both a response to Naseem’s continuing illness and an assessment of the young doctor’s qualifications and prospects.

Aziz’s Appointment and the Examination

Ghani tells Aziz that people speak well of his medical training and family, then makes clear that professional competence will determine whether he retains the position. He insists that he is objective in business and says that a doctor who does not perform to a high standard will be dismissed. He also invokes his connections and warns that illness affects people at every level of society. The speech makes the arrangement more than a private request for treatment: Aziz is being offered a career-making opportunity under the landowner’s scrutiny.

Ghani’s protectiveness governs how that treatment can take place. He explains that men have tried to enter Naseem’s room, and points to the women stationed there as her protectors. Naseem is kept behind a large white sheet held up across the room; a crude, roughly seven-inch opening in its center allows Aziz to examine her without seeing her directly. Ghani instructs Aziz to specify which part of his daughter needs to be examined, promising to tell her where to position it at the opening. The arrangement allows medical care while preserving the rules of propriety Ghani imposes.

The sheet thus serves both as a practical screen and as the structure organizing Aziz and Naseem’s early relationship. Ghani determines what the doctor may see and how the examination proceeds. In this first encounter, the young doctor’s access to his patient is deliberately partial, regulated through the father and the household’s attendants.

From Patient and Doctor to Marriage

The arrangement changes when Aziz returns to the house without having been summoned. He explains that he has come because he is an orphan and must act in place of his family, but stresses that this visit is not professional. Ghani’s response is immediate and welcoming: he declares that Aziz must marry Naseem and promises a substantial dowry and an elaborate wedding. His approval converts the doctor’s personal declaration into a family match, with Ghani using his authority now to bring the couple together rather than to keep them apart.

Ghani then calls for the sheet to be dropped, saying that there is no further need for the earlier elaborate screening because the two are young lovers. The gesture marks a decisive change in the household’s terms: the barrier that regulated the medical visits no longer has a place in the relationship Ghani acknowledges. Aziz says that he has at last seen Naseem whole, but must leave to attend his rounds and tell a dear friend from Germany, who he expects will be happy for them.

Narrative Role

Ghani’s household makes the perforated sheet a concrete expression of the boundary between medical attention and social propriety. At first, his protectiveness and control dictate the narrow terms on which Aziz may treat Naseem; later, his ready acceptance of the marriage helps end those restrictions. His role is therefore not simply to obstruct the doctor’s access: the same authority that establishes the barrier eventually orders it removed.

The contrast between Ghani’s insistence on objective business dealings and his swift, enthusiastic response to the marriage proposal also gives his character a distinct turn. He initially evaluates Aziz as a professional whose performance must justify his place, but, once Aziz declares his personal attachment, Ghani welcomes him as a son-in-law and offers a dowry. The household’s rules change with that recognition, and the sheet’s removal makes the shift visible.