Aaj Se Ho Ja Razi
By Shahbano Alvi
Sang-e-Meel Publications
ISBN: 978-969-35-3493-1
136pp.

At the outset, let me register that I enjoyed reading Aaj Se Ho Ja Razi by Shahbano Alvi. It is a slim volume which includes 11 short stories and four pen portraits of the author’s favourite people.

Shahbano Alvi is an alumnus of Kinnaird College and Punjab University, from where she graduated as a graphic designer. She set up the design department at Oxford University Press in 1991 and, 10 years later, founded Ushba, an independent publishing house.

With 30 years of publishing experience under her belt, it is no wonder that Alvi chooses to manifest her talent as an author. However, even though she is a self-confessed voracious reader since her childhood, and has been surrounded by books, in one way or another, all her life, it was the unexpected demise of her beloved husband and companion that egged her on to pick up her pen. According to her, she achieves catharsis through writing.

Her book of English short stories, A Woman and the Afternoon Sun, included three stories that have won acclaim internationally. Although most of her work experience has been in English, Alvi is from that generation of well-educated Pakistanis who are truly bilingual. This is obvious in her ability to write in Urdu, which she seems to do effortlessly, producing pithy stories that are thoroughly accessible.

Alvi’s short stories are unlike most Urdu afsanay. The themes of her stories can be deeply meaningful, but they are written forthrightly and in plain Urdu. Angst, hyperbole and symbolism, often found in Urdu afsanay, are thankfully absent. The topics discussed are familiar and the language used is simple, yet each story is impactful.

The first story in Aaj Se Ho Ja Razi is ‘Pyaas’ [Thirst]. Alvi opens it with what appears to be a random question. The reader does not know who is asking the question or why. It is only at the end that the relevance of the query is revealed. By that time, the reader has been taken on a hectic shopping spree and has been exposed to the stark contrast between wanton materialism and abject poverty.

The stories ‘Roshniyon Ka Sheher’ [City of Lights] and the title story, ‘Apnay Aaj Se Ho Ja Razi’ [Be Content with Your Today] are about marital abuse. With quiet ease, Alvi shows that, even when wives choose to tolerate cruel husbands, the psyche of their offspring becomes indelibly scarred as a result of the strife and anger in the home.

Family is a recurring theme in this collection of stories. In ‘Jaisay Sehraon Mein Chalay Baad-i-Naseem’ [Like a Soft Breeze Blowing in the Desert], a son gives up his love to fulfil his filial duty. ‘Roshni Ke Saaey’ [Shadows of Light] depicts a woman who prefers a house full of in-laws, with its attendant controversies, to an empty nest.

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted the writing of ‘Koel Ki Kook’ [The Cuckoo’s Song] and ‘Rollercoaster’. During lockdown, simple activities such as cooking and photography gained a whole new meaning. With time on one’s hands for close examination, many appearances were found to be misleading. Life itself became something to be observed rather than lived. These stories bring back the memories of the global Covid incarceration, which now seems surreal.

The stories titled ‘Ghulam Qadir’ and ‘Bikhri Zindagi’ [Dispersed Life] sear the soul of the reader. People who are different from the norm, because of sexual orientation or because of being weak and lacking a support system, or because they are unused to the wiles of the world, are exploited heartlessly. Again, without unnecessary drama and in exceedingly plain terms, the plight of such victims are brilliantly brought to the fore.

Shahbano Alvi’s stories are no more than a few pages long. In her understated way, the author weaves the tales without fanfare, yet makes the reader re-examine scenarios that are usually taken for granted. All 11 stories can be read in a few hours but their effect lasts for a long time.

Even better than the stories are the four khaakay or pen portraits of the author’s two grandmothers, and of writers Aamer Hussein, Hasina Moeen and Zahida Hina.

The pictures painted of the two grandmothers are masterly. They are vastly different in their personalities, but the era they inhabit is the same. Their love of fragrant flowers, the use of safety pins to make floral brooches, the importance of niyaz on perceived holy days, all invoke a time now lost in the mists of yesteryear. Most interestingly depicted are the way their marriages were arranged and the manner in which they managed to live fruitful lives in unfamiliar surroundings.

Shahbano Alvi’s affection, respect and camaraderie with her fellow writers is made endearingly apparent in the next three sketches. Aamer Hussein is portrayed as a friend and a client of her publishing house, but mostly as a mentor. It is his encouragement which gives Alvi the impetus to divert her talents from editing and publishing towards writing… in both English and Urdu. It is logical, therefore, that Aamer Hussein accepted the invitation to write the foreword for Aaj Se Ho Ja Razi.

The late drama-writer Hasina Moeen is portrayed as an older friend whose non-judgmental take on life and unstinting warmth made Alvi her devotee. The author’s relationship with writer Zahida Hina, on the other hand, develops into a close friendship. Alvi understands her and can see how the various aspects of her life, especially her father’s aspirations for her, affected Zahida. Understanding brings intimacy and a strong bond is created between the two.

Shahbano Alvi writes as if she is relating the events orally. She does not deem it necessary to make a display of abstruse Urdu vocabulary. Yet the language used is neither puerile nor irrelevant. It has a spontaneity and freshness. The stories unfold smoothly and are a pleasure to read.

We are told that Aamer Hussein advised the budding author to keep on writing. We hope Alvi follows his advice.

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

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, August 11th, 2024