Release and Other Stories
Here is a wonderful collection of short stories
about Indian Muslims and thankfully there is no talk of terrorism or communal
riots, no lurking presence of the vicious right-wing Hindu politicians, no
discussion on the collective marginalisation of the community or Islam being in
danger, no frequent invocation of Allah's name. Further, all major characters,
to my surprise, are middle class Muslims. And like their Hindu, Christian and
Sikh counterparts, they don't live in ghettos, but in bungalows and apartments.
They don't work as masons, factory workers, and labourers but are businessmen,
engineers, officers, software professionals... They speak English and drive
cars. Like other middle class Indians, their mundane lives are guided by the
social mores of their class and are, of course, not governed by the Sharia
Laws.
The first story of the book, “A Mighty Heart”, is a simple but
interesting tale. It is about a woman who discovers at the funeral of her son
that her husband has a second wife when her step-sons come to participate in
their half-brother's last rites. But for her husband's ‘deceit and duplicity'
she doesn't detest her step-sons; instead she shows magnanimity and accepts
them as her own.
“A Perfect Couple”
is another story that touches upon the issue of marital infidelity and is a
portrayal of the emotional dilemma of Samir who suddenly finds out that his
seriously ill gorgeous wife loves somebody else. Heart-broken and green with
envy, Samir unexpectedly empathises with his wife's lover, Ali, because “Ali's
grief and terror is so like his own”.
Emotional dilemmas
Later, you meet charming but mysterious Dia
Mirza in a story called “A Real Woman”. Dia's journey from a 19-year-old shy
divorcee from a middle class Muslim family to a beer-drinking, cigarette
smoking, and opinionated middle-aged modern woman amazes you. The
idiosyncrasies of the character have been beautifully, but credibly, captured
by the author. The narrative has the pace of a thriller, which makes a reader
turn pages quickly. The best and most poignant, however, is the title story
“Release”. This is an exquisitely woven love story of Hasan and Azra who are
first cousins. Engaged to be married, they grow up together and develop a very
strong fascination for each other. But, Hasan's mother's pathological aversion
for his aunt and to-be-mother-in-law ends this relationship. Azra is married
elsewhere and Hasan remains single. Years later, Hasan, an officer of Indian
Foreign Service and the narrator of this story, returns to see Azra who is in
coma at a hospital. Standing near a comatose Azra, Hasan remembers his past.
His trip down nostalgia lane has been deftly handled and one feels great
sympathy for these two unfortunate lovers. The story draws its inspiration from
the traditions of Urdu Afsana-nigari as far as the thematic treatment is
concerned.
Florid style
For each of these stories, Rakhshanda Jalil
adopts the florid style of Urdu short story writing and you can actually feel
the fragrance of ornate Urdu idioms and phrases in her sentences. The scenes
are so vivid and evocative that you can see everything playing out like a
movie. This kind of magical effects can only be created by an author who is
equally at home with English and Hindi-Urdu and who can efficiently translate
the emotions expressed in a native language into a foreign language and that
too without losing any of the dramatic elements of the original. And Rakshanda
does that with finesse.
Of the 10 stories in this collection, only two
disappointed me. The remainder tickled and exhilarated me, made me cry, forced
me to smile and, at times, coerced me to re-read them.
Release and Other Stories; Rakhshanda Jalil, Harper Collins India,
Rs. 299
