Urdu fiction has repeatedly attempted to structure the flow of time through human experiences to bring home the inconclusive and untold stories of life. However, after the monumental Aagg ka Darya (by Qurat ul Ain Haider) and Kai Chand They Saray Aasman (by Shams ur Rehman Farooqi), Urdu literature has remained deficient in rendering some powerful narrations created through the spectrum of time. Indeed, it is a difficult arena to explore. It requires painful and struggling endeavours to capture the unsaid parts of reality. To capture time and relate his experiences in their uninterrupted flow, the author must draw upon unique and unexplored terrains of creativity. This requirement seems to find perfect accomplishment when it is penned down by a budding Urdu novelist, Usama Saddique. His first and very recent publication in Urdu, Gharoube Shehar Ka Waqat, meets many standards of genuine creative fiction.
Usama Saddique’s first and very recent publication in Urdu, Gharoube Shehar Ka Waqat, meets many standards of genuine creative fiction.
Structured on 99 interesting, disjointed, sparkling, and very current instances of time in a city called Lahore, the lives of different characters convey a message while leaving an enchanting feel of a brief encounter. The real craftsmanship of the author lies in telling the stories of his characters in brief but meaningful settings. The powerful grip of language doesn’t allow the reader to digress from the ongoing narrations.
The novel does not have a traditional story. Instead, it offers a message, a feel, newness, and an idea-how life goes on in a busy cosmopolitan urban centre. From his student days to encountering different shades of personalities throughout life, the protagonist explores new vistas of human experience. He has no particular agenda and no ambitious target to meet. He is simply exploring life, and in the process, the hypocritical tendencies of various respectable positions in society are exposed. The judiciary interestingly, comes into sharp focus here. It is a rare spectacle to see the double standards and fake displays of scholarship in the corridors of what the author calls Aiwan e Addal.
In the humdrum of busy city life, the author chooses to conduct a surgical examination of the judicial system in a classical metaphorical manner. Allegories and similes interplay to enhance the powerful expression of the fiction, which is tinged with satire at times. The mock seriousness with which the author portrays a judiciary diseased by ego and hollow intellect casts an air of pessimism over the future of justice in society. The author captures this feeling of chaos as the city’s life approaches dusk.
Another significant dilemma for the protagonist is his struggle to rid the city of the clutches of the land mafia. He laments that an oligarchy of touts and henchmen is conspiring to rob the city of its beauty and culture. A planned mass of housing schemes is rudely ravaging the organic suburbs of the city and its rivers. While the authorities choose to remain indifferent, a bunch of greedy hounds are all out to seize the properties of hapless citizens.
The situation obviously points to a decline in the culture of harmony and the values of mutual coexistence. As city life experiences a day full of activity that gradually fades into moments of dusk, the author’s sentiments resonate loudly through the absorbing flow of words in this fiction. Both the mind and heart of the author beat in unison to reflect on moments of the past, present, and future. His life and his time mirror the real life and time of the city. Lahore lives in the heart and mind of the author. The transformation of city life through past, present, and future collides with the poetic soul of the author. He attempts to resist and question the decadence through his journey across time. While he is overwhelmed by his existential dilemmas, he believes that meaning and colours can be added to life by raising a voice against injustices and blatant abuses of authority. It is with this intent that the author challenges the inner culture of the judicial system in the country.
The various instances narrated at random capture different dilemmas of city life in a brilliant fashion. Therefore, this novel about the city life of Lahore holds a mirror to the outward barrenness and inner hollowness within a specific time and space.
This is a marvellous work of fiction. It represents a brilliant experimentation in the structure and art of storytelling through the novel genre. The various and ever-expanding dimensions of time are successfully reflected through the contents of different scattered events that combine to create a unified sense of attachment to Lahore. As dusk approaches in the city’s life, the journey remains inconclusive yet full of hope. The protagonist possesses a challenging passion. He is not a determinist; he has a defiant personality. Through the lens of such a person and character, the life of Lahore and its surrounding complexities are perceived with a cathartic feel as the novel comes to a close. Osama Siddique deserves commendation for understanding the unsaid urge of fiction lovers. Drawing upon the canvas of a very limited time, the author has given his readers a new taste of modern fiction.
The writer is a Senior Superintendent of Police currently serving in Punjab. He can be reached at [email protected]