February 23, 2002

Anwer Abro is a versatile and experienced writer. An engineer by profession, he has made literature and journalism his true passion and writes poetry, short stories and literary criticism while participating in the activities of Sindhi Adabi Sangat.

But Khudkushi jo ramance (Romance of suicide), a collection of short stories, is his first book. Some stories are about rural society in Sindh. “Mehran”, “Chhapo” and “Dawat” are the most notable. They throw light on the luxurious life of the rich and the miseries of the rural poor who constantly suffer at the hands of the landlords, the police and their henchmen. The vocabulary and the observation of the writer are commendable specially in the present times when the urban influence on the language used by most writers is strong, even when they are from the rural areas.

The title story “The romance of suicide” is about an underemployed youth who decides to commit suicide but changes his mind when he thinks of the people who love him. Suicide has become a common phenomenon in our lives. But it is not so much romance which has been glorified by our intellectuals that drives our youth to take their own lives as the agony and tragedy of their situation.

In this story Abro has an upbeat and optimistic note, with the story concluding with a positive ending. However, the situation is not as simple as is made out to be. The decision of taking one’s own life matures after a long process of thinking and contemplation in which the decision may be deferred more than once but if the circumstances in which that particular person lives remain the same he may be pushed at any time towards his end. The material conditions in the story do not change therefore the conclusion of the writer is also not final.

Khudkushi jo romance (The romance of suicide — short stories)
By Anwer Abro
Published by Writers World Karachi, B-5, Al Habib Gardens, Clifton, Karachi
Email: anwerabro@indusmagazine.com
127pp. Rs75

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