KARACHI: A novel titled Melody of a Tear by Haroon Khalid Akhtar was launched at T2F on Saturday evening.

Speaking on the occasion former senator and federal information minister Javed Jabbar said the marked feature of the book is the writer’s use of the imagination — it’s a work of imaginative realism. It is the first step towards magical realism. It has some elements of that, but it is not at the level of magical realism which is no criticism because the writer will evolve and it took him nine years to write this book. Unlike some, he wasn’t eager to put out a novel in haste. A novel is not a 100-metre race; it is truly a marathon. Very few people manage to do justice to the genre.

Mr Jabbar said the book also takes us to another level with characters such as Zara and Zaid. The story is not entirely fictional. Compassion, as one of the earlier speakers pointed out, runs through the story. Then there is the use of dramatic juxtaposition, an essential element of creativity. The title is proof of it, because a tear is silent but melody, which is all about listening, is not. Also, when you begin to read you find out that in the story it’s a woman that’s chasing a man, not the usual other way round, just because she spots a tear on his cheek. And the woman just doesn’t give up. It’s not a chase for physical pleasure. It is about something deeper that she herself may not know.

Sirajuddin Aziz said as a fellow banker he had known the writer for more than a decade. He argued he’s not too sure that the story is entirely fiction as Haroon claims because it is set in Karachi without changing the names of landmark places such as Elphinstone Street. He urged the audience to read the book, particularly a scene in which the female protagonist is having a conversation with the Ravi river. He, however, confessed that he found it hard to grasp some of the ‘tough’ words used by the writer.

Actor Talat Husain said in order to be creative one has to go through a test of fire. Though he hasn’t read the entire book, he has found the title of the novel fascinating.

Harris Khalique, who spoke over the phone from Islamabad, said unlike the Pakistani novels written in English, Haroon’s book makes one think as it looks inwards. It heralds the arrival of a new self-driven creative expression.

Haroon Khalid, who is the son of eminent Urdu novelist M. Khalid Akhtar, said it was the thought of writing a novel came first and then the plot. The story is set in 1992, but started in the 1970s, shifted to the ‘80s and then to the ‘90s.

Ashar Saeed, a friend of the author, said he has known the writer for the last 25 years. He is an individual with whom he could have a telephonic conversation for an hour.

A few members of the writer’s family also spoke.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019