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February 22, 2004
REVIEWS: True stories
There is no doubt that fiction based on true life experiences creates a powerful impact on its readers. The book, Doobti Hui Pehchan, is one such work. Most stories included in this collection revolve around the characters who lived in this sordid world and derived great pleasure from their lives. But they were targeted by evil forces and so suffered immeasurably for no fault of theirs. The writer is not judgmental and does not attribute blame to anybody. She is a keen and sensitive observer of things and looks at people with a discerning mind. Her vision does not impede her ability to scrutinize a person or a situation. She gives the readers the needed freedom to form their own opinion.
Fiction writers generally invent a situation and create characters to weave through them a tale that may not be quite realistic. Sometimes, they falter while pursuing shadowy figures in their quest for truth. But such ventures almost invariably end in failure.
Doobti Hui Pehchan is a collection of eleven short stories which are characterized by realism. With an observant mind she moves with her characters with measured steps. She does not create an ambience of romanticism, which had been the practice in the past. Neither does she indulge in the luxury of imagining a make-believe world. She belonged to a real world with all its beauty and ugliness.
The piece entitled “Be Baal-o-Par‘is” is the story of an old and frustrated man whose children are settled abroad. He feels the pangs of separation and longs to see his children and their families. His frustration is amply reflected by his agonized reaction to ordinary happenings. The writer dexterously shares this feeling with many parents whose children have left them to suffer in silence. She does not offer any solution. She only touches the most sensitive chord of human impulses.
Several of Hassana’s stories have their origin in former East Pakistan. She had lived there for a number of years. The climate and environment of Bengal and the fragrance of natural beauty had instilled in her a feeling quite different from the overcrowded cities of the areas now constituting Pakistan. The contrast is sharp. She longs to go back to the past and breathe the same fresh air. But the world had changed enormously and she was a stranger in her own familiar locality and among the people who were once close to her. This feeling of alienation is fully reflected in the story entitled “Wapsi” when her loving classmates distance themselves from her and treat her like a stranger.
The writer’s faith in the ultimate goodness of human nature does not vanish despite her most distressing experience when she ventures to return to her lost homeland. The people whom she had trusted have forcibly occupied her home. But she also finds some people who have not yet turned into villains and who were prepared to help her in her hour of agony.
In another short story on the same subject, she portrays a person who is generally despised for his wrongdoings and evil ways and who is almost an outcast. While many things about him may be true, his conscience is not yet dead. He gives protection and refuge to a girl who is alone in the world after her parents and relatives have been mercilessly killed and who yearns to leave for Pakistan after the emergence of Bangladesh. He brings to her another girl who is about to leave for Pakistan. The meeting touches off an emotional scene.
There is no element of melodrama in these stories. There is no sensationalism in the depiction of the characters. They mirror the realities of a disrupted life. This was to be the destiny of thousands of people who were victims of circumstances.
I often think that the separation of East Pakistan has in its fold all the elements of a great tragedy and some powerful writer must undertake the task of writing a comprehensive novel encompassing the turbulent life of a family, which first migrates from India to East Pakistan and then is forced to abandon that land of music and romance. Though some short stories have been written on this theme, a broader canvas is needed to present a fuller view of the tragedy.
Hassana Anees did not live to see in print the collection of her short stories. She had an early death. But her insight and study of human characters will continue to haunt the readers. The daughter of Prof Muslim Azimabadi, she had inherited the art of communication from her illustrious father.
Doobti Hui Pehchan
By Hassana Anees
Zain Publications, A-8, Nadeem Corner, Block-N, North Nazimabad, Karachi-74700
Tel: 021-6645177, 6679796
160pp. Rs150
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