Daily Times

“Thinner than Skin” is the latest novel by Uzma Aslam Khan, wherein she writes the fictional narrative by using three individually complete strains yet integrative within as well. Although the story begins in the USA, it swiftly moves towards Pakistan and keeps the readers engaged with the mountains, lakes, flora and fauna, and ice-covered white mountains. Most of the narrative is about the Gujjar family and its culture, which is spread in the shape of nomadic way of life throughout central Asia. Still, these are the very people suffering the most because of the postcolonial boundaries. The novel, therefore, excellently blends the modern American-born Pakistanis with the rustics and yet very much imbibed in their land of mountainous areas of Pakistan.

The first strain in the story is about Nadir and Farhana, where the reader is introduced to the struggle one has to make to be successful in the American economy. Nadir as a photographer, is making desperate attempts to achieve his targets, but he is only partially successful. He meets and falls in love with Farhana, who has her whims of mind. So, the relationship does not proceed smoothly and is fraught with several challenges. The love matter, however, keeps on lingering between the two till the time they reach Pakistan and decide to visit the Northern areas of Pakistan with their friends.

The second strain begins when this couple meets Maryam, a Gujar Nomad tribe woman who represents the age-old valley traditions. Although many of the residents and dwellers of these hilly areas have accepted Islam and are no more practicing the animalistic belief in nature, Maryam still passes her time with the heart of nature. She feels like communicating with animals, plants, flowers, mountains, and caves. She performs ancient rituals and unconsciously attempts to pass these values to her children. She is shocked with grief when her daughter Kiran drowns in the cold icy waters of the lake in the presence of Farhana and her friends. Though she settles down, later on, her anger and grief cannot be satisfied till she is avenged. She has been experiencing the seasonal migrations of nomads with her people because of the intense cold that descends on the upper hilly areas. So, to spend winter, they descend-migrate-to the relatively warmer plain Kaghan regions and return to higher mountains as soon as winter is over and graze their animals freely on the greener mountains. Her tribe has been practicing this mode of life freely for centuries, but these days, authorities are making it difficult for them mainly because of the prevalent terrorism in these areas. Maryam’s true nature makes her love her animals and understand their moods and whims. For example, she is very fond of Loi Tara, the female horse, and understands her anger and moods.

The third strain in the story is Ghafoor, who is shown to be a suitcase merchant and is believed to have been wandering about in the whole of central Asia and trading and making money, as he tells his stories. He is vital to Maryam because he is a childhood friend and has been taking care of and providing small gifts to Maryam all the time. Whenever he would return from his tours, he would gift Maryam and meet her secretly. He helps Maryam’s son also become a trader. Ghafoor vows with Maryam to take revenge for the death of Maryam’s daughter from the Americans visiting the valley. He becomes a guide and travels with these people with his gun. He looks dangerous but still proves helpful, but at the end of the story becomes instrumental in causing suffering to the visitors, and apparently, he takes revenge for Maryam.

The stories in this narrative seldom give a sense of fulfillment. For example, the love story between Maryam and Ghafoor remains an unfulfilled tale of lovers who would show their love and affection but never can achieve satisfaction. The same is the case with Farhana’s story, too, because her love story, born and bred in a different land of freedom, also does not reach its climax of fulfillment. The same is the case with the love stories between human beings and their fascinations and ambitions. Maryam wanted to live a free nomadic life of love in a free environment, but she feels her life is losing the purity of her belief because of the intervention of the people of the prevalent view. Maryam loves her animals and children, whom also she loses at the hands of death and fate. Ghafoor, who wanted to change his life through trade, succeeds only partially and fails to achieve his dream even after a lifelong struggle. The narrator and her friends claim to love and ambition, yet success comes dimly in both cases, and sadness creeps on because of their destiny. So thinner than Skin is more a tale of unfulfillment than romance and love.

The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @Profzee