Daily Times

Infatuation with one’s feet is the theme of Irfan Ahmad Urfi’s first short story titled Paair (feet) in his book Paaun (feet).

The meaning of both the words is the same. He could have selected one for the title of the book as well as of the short story. It all started when the central character’s friend puts on his shoes and while leaving the room leaves his feet behind, as per the main character’s comprehension. His infatuation with feet becomes so intense that he starts looking at the feet of anybody who comes to him instead of looking at their faces. He is unable to distinguish between the standard of the shape and colour of feet. The main character is basically in search of his soul mate who has the same shape and fragrance. Time passes by and he confesses of his infatuation to his life partner. The girl tries to help him through religion; confessions in front of God but the main character does not find any solace, satisfaction or solution. Instead he looks for it in the feet he comes across. She takes him to a shrine and waits in the car. He did not return and spends his time in looking after the shoes taken off by the visitors. The smell of feet and socks makes him look for his soul mate. Probably having failed in his search, he decides to serve the visitors on the shrine some of who are also praying to get united with their beloveds. According to Wikipedia, sexual fetishism is a fixation on a nonliving object or congenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist.

A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement or as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. This short story received excellent appreciation from Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi on November 16, 1989 who observed a sort of freshness in this presentation.

The short story ‘La Pata’ (missing) is a story of a missing person. At underground train stations, every passenger looks at the advertisements of missing persons. It seems that each ad is exposing the story of those who are missing as well as those who are searching for them

A very interesting scenario is portrayed by the author in his short story ‘Nautanki’ (theatre, stage drama) in which the role of audience and the stage actors is reversed. Strangely enough, the stage is not lit and the characters among audience play their own roles like a wife witnesses her bureaucrat husband with his girlfriend. The two jealous ladies pick up a quarrel. Comments and exclamations are heard from the stage instead of from the audience. Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi though appreciated this short story on May 13, 2004 but thought that understanding and digesting it was beyond the capacity of an ordinary reader and even by some of the literary persons.

The short story ‘La Pata’ (missing persons) is a story of a missing person; a person who perhaps did not return home. At underground train stations, every passenger looked at the advertisements of missing persons. It seemed that each ad was exposing the story of those who were missing as well as those of searching for them. A matron was last seen 10 minutes before she rode a bus. Everybody prayed for her return. She was a popular member of the society. The central character looked for her from train to train and like Dr Wazir Agha, this reviewer also feels that we are searching for the missing lady along with the central character. The short story gives modern treatment to the traditional way of writing stories especially towards its ending when the main character does locate the face from the crowd but the face changes shapes of all the missing persons he was seeing in the posters. He feels cowardly and refrains from informing the police lest everybody shall start asking about their missing dear ones.

Paaon By Irfan Ahmad Urfi Sanjh, Lahore 158 pages, Rs 350

The short story ‘Almari’ (Closet/Wardrobe) is a psychological turmoil of a friend visiting his artist friend after a long time post returning from abroad. He expected the sound of tabla and sitar from his friend’s room but instead found modern instruments now. His friend was not to be seen. His friend’s mother had all his life entertained him and his friends visiting her son. She was found on the deathbed. The house was found unclean and in a dilapidated condition. Earlier, all his friends had tried to convince him to get married but he desisted. His mother wanted his wife who perhaps would look after her in her old age but that was not to be. The visitor tried to look for a pen and paper to write but his wife had forgotten placing them in his briefcase. In desperation, he opened the closet in the room and among heaps of clothes found a pen and paper to write the story. This story impressed this reviewer because of the fluency of narration. Even late Mansha Yaad had recommended it to be included in Qasmi’s ‘Funoon’ in 1985. Irfan Ahmad Urfi got noticed as an emerging short story writer in the 1980s because of the shape, new tastes and themes that were untouched before. He was found reading his stories in Islamabad/Rawalpindi literary forums. His book under review is a compilation of 11 short stories in 2015.

The diversity of topics touched by Urfi can be judged from a story ‘Graffiti’ in the backdrop of 9/11 scenario. Perhaps he was also stuck in the towers that were destroyed. When he had arrived in that modern city among skyscrapers he had thought that he was no less than being as towering as one of them. He used to wonder that he had left his small world back home where a ‘Chotta’ (small) worked for ‘Pehelwan’ (Wrestler) in his shop. Now the central character had to carry out such menial jobs himself in the most modern city of the West that ‘Chotta’ did back home. He found simile in the writings on the walls of the unhygienic latrines back home with that in the most modern restrooms abroad. Even the restroom in the air plane was not spared by this vulgarity. The problem of lack of sexual fulfillment seemed as acute in the West as in the East expressed through dirty slogans. Even this short story though accepted for publishing in ‘Funoon’ was suggested for change of the title by Qasmi Saheb on January 23, 2005.

The central character of the story ‘Bin Budha’ is a writer. He would invariably sit with Rozi for a drink in her balcony of her flat in a building opening up on the Margalla Hills. She is a successful businesswoman with many well to do visitors visiting her especially from the diplomatic quarters. She has a young servant, Gulabo, a resident of the hills. The main character used to go to the adjoining market when tired from writing and many boys used to run to his car for running his errands. One of the chaps told him about the story of a character Bin Budha found dead headless and all his relations like mother, grandmother and subsequently changing the shapes to the boy’s sister etc calling for help. After many days, the central character locates this chap who had suddenly grown frail and weak working to pay off his debts. One evening he sees him again and rushes towards him in his car and in the process crushes him. He hears Gulabo’s voice to take the injured one to the hospital but he runs away and drives towards a crossing with small minarets near it. He thinks he would plunge the car in the mud and walk on foot but finds a block vanished and stench of the dead in the ditch. This is a strange story, giving the modern life of the rich, poverty of the villagers from the mountain, sexual attraction towards both genders and the mystery of the mountain myth.

Urfi also chooses unique themes for his other stories titled ‘Jagah’, ‘Lal Bangla’, Bhaap’, ‘Kahani Akhir May Hai’ and ‘Sarmundal’ written in fluency of thoughts and language alike.

The writer is an award-winning musician and author. He tweets at @amjadparvez and can be reached at doc_amjad@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, September 22^nd 2017.