The Sheila from Pakistan: A Collection of Short Stories
By Rabia Ahmed
Ferozsons
ISBN: 978-969-0-02927-0
160pp.

The Sheila from Pakistan is a collection of short stories by Rabia Ahmed who has previously written a novel, The Parking Lot. Ahmed is a freelance writer and has been published in newspapers such as Express Tribune, Friday Times, Dawn and Pakistan Today. Some of Ahmed’s stories have been part of the literary magazine Papercuts, and also the WWF anthology: Book of the Flood.

In this slim volume, there are 20 short stories, each no more than a few pages long. The book is divided into three parts and every section has a flavour of its own.

The first section has four stories featuring the supernatural. The second part is the longest, with 11 stories. These tales are based in Pakistan and bring out at least one Pakistani social flaw per story, in a formulaic manner. The five stories of the last section are situated outside Pakistan and are the most diverse in their subject matter.

Jinns have a prominent place in the stories of Part One. Magical realism is a big part of all but they are also laced with other ingredients. Mothers are portrayed as eccentric. They travel with almost enough baggage to furnish a small house and are critical to boot. Fathers fare better, as they are rarely mentioned.

A slim collection of short stories covers vast ground, from magical realism to social ills and diverse issues facing expatriate Pakistanis

Conventional ideas about jinns are challenged by Rabia Ahmed. In her lexicon, they are not all malevolent or belligerent. Ahmed’s pen shows them to be approachable, chatty, vulnerable and yet able to grant boons to those they approve. They are not necessarily all Muslim either, and they can also help to sort out the confusions of a young mind trying to make sense of the world.

The author tends to provide explanations for certain words which may be alien to a foreign reader. This is irksome. With Google at one’s fingertips, it is unnecessary and distracting. There are also a few mistakes/typos in this section of which the rest of the book is free. But the author’s casual, throwaway observations about what is often left unquestioned make up for such minor flaws.

In Part Two, Ahmed picks up the cudgels against various social ills found in Pakistan. Here her journalistic background comes to the fore. It seems that she has first made a list of all that she finds objectionable and has then systematically written a story about each problem, one by one.

There is a tale centred on religious bigotry, another on the demons of feudalism, and one about marital abuse. The stark contrast between the rich and poor in our country and the huge chasm dividing the two are the subjects of two stories. In the longer one, the difference is made out to be so extreme that it verges on caricature. The rich are one-dimensionally materialistic and narcissistic and the poor are reduced to selling their kidneys to achieve normal goals.

The unacceptability of gays and transgender people in our social fabric crops up in some stories. Random shootings, never-ending tribal vendettas and the ordeals of Swat valley, first because of militancy and then because of the catastrophic flood of 2010, are all discussed by Rabia Ahmed.

The two outstanding stories in Part Two are ‘The Commencement’ and ‘Lottie’. In the first one, we meet an upright judge who takes drastic steps against corruption. He does it in a light-hearted manner, yet makes sure that the significance of his gesture is not missed by anyone. It is very satisfying to read about this disease in our society from a positive angle.

‘Lottie’ is a story concerning class differences and the dissimilarities of cultures. The protagonist does not hesitate when she has a chance to parlay her charms for what she covets, a life of ease and comfort. A change in geography becomes the catalyst that alters the circumstances of her existence. That she continues to accept her dubious bargain till she dies gives the story greater depth.

Though just as short as the rest, the five stories in the last section are the most layered and meaningful. The title story, ‘The Sheila from Pakistan’, is about a Pakistani mother living in Australia. The theme here is nostalgia and intense homesickness and how an unexpected sound can assuage the memories of home.

‘The Intellectual’ is an account of a few hours in the life of a hotel receptionist. The story solves no problems nor sheds light on any particular angle of a receptionist’s job. Yet it manages to give us a glimpse of lives lived beyond our ken. We are supplied with a crumb from an unknown cake.

In the third story of this section, ‘Sarah’s Son’, mental illness is the topic. When the title character finds no way out of the bind he is in, he first removes himself from the realm of the living and then takes the only way out that his environment makes possible. And in the story ‘Himself’, a nameless man who is intent on improving his material worth through robbery, finds that crime is not easy. Unfortunately, the ending is disappointing in being too pat and crudely symbolic.

The last tale in the anthology is the most intense. ‘Kalgoorlie to Karachi’ is a well-crafted account of how parents themselves push away their children because of cultural imperatives and the unassailability of their long-held beliefs. In this delicately stitched together narrative, the father cannot accept the profession chosen by his first-born son. The son, on the other hand, is unable to find happiness in the life mapped out by his family and his love interest further complicates matters.

‘The Sheila from Pakistan’ is an easy book to read. Rabia Ahmed has a flair for communicating clearly and effortlessly. Her writing has a flow and is eminently accessible. She uses her talents to try to effect social reform, or at least allude to the defects in our society, with the zeal of a crusader. Not every story in this book is equally impactful, but there is something for everyone within its covers.

The reviewer is a freelance writer, author of the novel The Tea Trolley and the translator of Toofan Se Pehlay: Safar-i-Europe Ki Diary

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, February 23rd, 2025