Reading the stories from Tahira Naqvi's short story collection "Attar of Roses," is a psychological tour to the gentler times, when people were assigned to a distinct position in the world and they carried out the duties of that position with dignity without much grumbling.
Is it the negative portrayal of the society? I feel that it is the portrait of the society as it exists. The seeds of progressive thoughts are already there in these stories, the narrator in many cases is the mouthpiece for the progress, but the stories themselves are populated by the men and women who have placidly accepted their place in the society and their duties to the family. The characters are full of free spirit but have consciously accepted their lot.
The stories touch many aspects of the educated urban middle class life of Pakistan. Many of the characters are teachers and doctors. The stories are filled with very sensitive and carefully drawn details of the family life. It makes one very nostalgic for those long, fun-filled summer vacations; family visits with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents, picnics and weddings and such things. Stories like "Love in an Election Year," "A Peep Hole Romance," and "A Woman of No Consequence," deal with the arranged marriages and the reactions of young girls to three very different faces of the arranged marriages. The last one is a serious tale of the unrelenting desire for sons in the society, with disastrous consequences.
Baji Sughra of the "Love in an Election Year" says to Shabo, her cousin, and the narrator of the story,
"Well Shabo, she wants too much. You can either be a good wife and mother or a good leader. And she wants to be all three."
Here 'she' in question is Benazir Bhutto. On the surface, the statement looks anti-feminist, but Baji Sughra is a realist, a woman of the world, and a curable romantic. The author unfolds the summer fling between Baji Sughra and Javed Bhai with as much secrecy as the secrecy of the affair itself. In the end, Shabo, who is hurt by Baji's behavior, says:
"As we embraced, the sharp gold edges of her long kundan earrings cut into my cheek."
That sharp cut is the symbol of Shabo's initiation into the adult world. She must now face the harsh realities of life.
The title story "Attar of Roses" and another one called "A Man of Integrity" have the male protagonists, who are drawn into the mystique of the women outside of their marriages. Portraits of these men are done with a sensitive and a poetic bent. The account of the slowly unfolding temptation is very seductive. Although the two stories end on very different notes, the men come off looking as sensitive souls, good husbands, and good fathers.
The "Notebook," is the story of a bride locked in an abusive marriage. She gradually becomes aware of her own creativity amongst her embroiled domesticity. I think that her alleged barrenness ironically releases her from the oppressive ties that bind her. The gentle husband of "The Man of Integrity," and the brute of a husband from "Notebook," are very different, but both have one thing in common. They both are unaware of their wives' need for a creative outlet. Images of food are plentiful and are used to show creative side of the woman trapped in an unhappy domestic life. Purple peels from an eggplant are likened to the swatches from a purple robe, tender and firm peas are likened to the emerald beads and so on.
"New Beginnings" is a story about the empty nesters, I do not know what to make of it, but the story contains some awesome similes: "The afternoon rehearsal was like a load of bricks upon her back. Her arthritis straddled her shoulders like a harness."
Although many of the stories such as "Love in an Election Year, and "Atonement" touch on the sociopolitical issues in a lighter vein, "History Lessons" is the only one that deals with the politics head-on. A flogging of three teenage convicts is set to take place on the Maidan in front of the Central Jail. The events of the day unfold for the reader through the eyes of a schoolteacher. A group of women, hoping to take advantage of the anticipated crowds, is gathered near the Maidan to protest the Shariat law. The dialogue between the liberal thinking youthful teacher and the conservative science teacher clearly brings the two opposing points of views in focus.
"Shadows" and "Master" are the two of the weaker stories. They lack a focus and the point, if it exists, is lost on the readers like me. "Largesse" is a story of an ailing grandfather. Here again the slick similes and the carefully rendered descriptions of domestic life make the story enjoyable for me. "The words sat like stones on his tongue.." I felt that the lyrical description of the watch is a metaphor for the timeless gift of love offered by the Grandfather.
"A matter of togetherness" is a tale of hypocrisy of the religious society. The woman who valued her religion in life is cheated of her faith in her death due to this hypocrisy. A sharp but muted commentary on the religious fanaticism.
I liked the stories for the lyrical prose. There are no major upheavals in the lives of the characters, no situations where a crucial life-altering decision is made. The characters stay within their socially acceptable sphere. The wife in the 'Notebook' comes close to making such a decision. Another woman character faced with the injustice simply has no energy left to fight back. Therefore, as I said in the beginning, the stories are a mirror to the life as it existed and may still exist in parts of Pakistan.
Tahira Naqvi's second short story collection, 'Dying in a Strange Country,' was published in 2001. She has completed a first novel, which, like the stories in Attar, is set in Pakistan. Tahira Naqvi has also translated from Urdu several works of renowned writer Ismat Chughtai, and a collection of stories by well-known Pakistani writer Khadija Mastur titled, 'Cool, Sweet Water.' Ms Naqvi's biography and links to interviews can be found on Sawnet.
Pratibha Kelapure is a multilingual reader and writer. She enjoys analyzing poetry and prose to discover new meanings from her own slightly warped point of view.
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