Our Lady of Paris by Alamgir Hashmi

Introduction

The story follows Sohail Harouni, a Pakistani law graduate from Yale, and his American girlfriend, Helen, as they reunite in Paris during Christmas after months apart. Sohail, who has returned to his family’s wealthy business in Karachi, is uncertain about his future, while Helen, a Yale senior, is applying to medical schools. Their relationship faces a crossroads: will they build a life together in Pakistan, America, or elsewhere?  

 Sohail’s Family Dynamics  

- Sohail’s parents, Rafia (a sophisticated, former beauty from a cultured Lucknow family) and Amjad (a reserved but shrewd businessman), unexpectedly join them in Paris.  

- Rafia is domineering and subtly manipulative, while Amjad is more reflective, expressing admiration for American freedom but acknowledging his own entrenched life in Pakistan.  

- Sohail resents his mother’s intrusiveness but ultimately acquiesces to her presence, knowing Helen must eventually integrate into his family.  

 Parisian Romance and Tensions  

- Sohail and Helen stay in a borrowed apartment on Île Saint-Louis, relishing their reunion. Helen, who grew up dreaming of Paris, is enchanted by the city.  

- During a dinner with Sohail’s parents, Rafia probes Helen about her future, while Amjad muses on the constraints of his privileged but predetermined life.  

- The couple attends the ballet (Sleeping Beauty) with the Harounis on Christmas Eve. Helen feels out of place amid the opulence and overhears Rafia and Amjad discussing her, leaving her self-conscious.  

 Rafia’s Intervention  

- Rafia invites Helen to tea at the Hôtel George V, where she delivers a calculated speech:  

  - She praises Helen’s independence but warns that Sohail lacks ambition and would be unhappy in America, where he’d feel emasculated.  

  - She implies Helen would hate Pakistan, where superficiality and power games dominate.  

  - Though she claims to trust Helen’s judgment, her words are a thinly veiled plea for Helen to end the relationship.  

- Helen, though unsettled, remains gracious but noncommittal.  

 Escape to the Countryside  

- To escape the tension, Sohail and Helen rent a car and drive to the Loire Valley. Their interactions grow strained, with Sohail oscillating between affection and moodiness.  

- At a fair in Orléans, a trivial argument over candy escalates into emotional vulnerability, revealing Sohail’s fear of failing Helen.  

- They stay in a rundown inn in Beaugency, where Helen, tipsy and playful, tries to coax a kitten—a fleeting moment of lightness.  

 The Turning Point  

- Visiting the Château de Chenonceaux, Helen has an epiphany. Watching the river flow beneath the castle, she realizes their relationship cannot endure the weight of divergent futures.  

- She abruptly insists they return to Paris, cutting their trip short. Sohail, confused but compliant, follows her lead.  

- In the final scene, Helen watches Sohail navigate a hedge maze, her gaze distant. She hardens herself, symbolically letting go as she reflects on the transience of love and history.  

AI Generated 

Character Analysis in Our Lady of Paris  

 1. Sohail Harouni  

- A privileged Pakistani law graduate from Yale, torn between his family’s expectations and his love for Helen.  

- Intelligent but lacks ambition; relies on charm and wit to navigate life.  

- Deeply attached to his mother, Rafia, yet resents her control.  

- Gentle but Passive: His kindness is his defining trait, but it masks a reluctance to confront hard decisions (e.g., career, Helen’s future).  

- Cultural Duality: Enjoys American freedoms but feels the pull of Pakistani familial duty.  

- Emotional Dependence: Seeks validation from Helen and Rafia, unable to assert his own path.  

 2. Helen  

- A bright, ambitious American from a modest background, on the verge of medical school.  

- Idealistic but pragmatic; deeply in love with Sohail yet aware of their incompatibilities.  

- Innocence & Awakening: Initially starry-eyed about Paris and love, she matures through Rafia’s harsh truths.  

- Quiet Resilience: She endures Rafia’s scrutiny without confrontation but internally grapples with her future.  

- Self-Sacrificing Love: She considers Sohail’s happiness above her own, yet her epiphany at Chenonceaux reveals her limits.  

 3. Rafia Harouni  

- A former beauty from Lucknow, now a polished Karachi socialite.  

- Cultured, manipulative, and fiercely protective of her son’s place in Pakistani high society.  

- Calculating Charm: Uses wit and flattery to disarm Helen while subtly undermining her.  

- Nostalgia & Control: Clings to her fading glamour (evident in her portrait) and exerts control over Sohail’s life.  

- Worldly Cynicism: Believes love cannot transcend cultural and class divides.  

 4. Amjad Harouni  

- A successful but weary businessman, comfortable in his wealth but envious of American freedom.  

- Reserved, observant, and quietly astute.  

- Quiet Authority: Speaks sparingly but with weight (e.g., his musings on freedom during dinner).  

- Detached Affection: Shows care in small gestures (loaning Helen a scarf) but remains emotionally distant.  

- Contradictory Longing: Admires America’s individualism yet upholds Pakistani traditions.  

 Key Themes  

1. Cultural and Class Divide – Helen’s American idealism clashes with the Harounis’ entrenched Pakistani elitism.  

2. Parental Influence – Rafia’s manipulation underscores the pressure of familial expectations in shaping romantic futures.  

3. Love vs. Pragmatism – The couple’s passion is overshadowed by practicalities: career paths, national identity, and personal fulfillment.  

4. Freedom and Constraint – Amjad’s envy of American freedom contrasts with Sohail’s paralysis between two worlds.  

Conclusion  

The story captures a relationship at its breaking point, framed by the beauty and melancholy of Paris. Helen’s decision to return early signals her acceptance that their love, though profound, cannot bridge their divergent lives. The title, Our Lady of Paris (Notre Dame), echoes this theme—love as both sanctuary and fleeting illusion.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Introduction

The story follows Husna, a young woman from a once-wealthy but now impoverished branch of a prominent Lahore family. Desperate to escape her circumstances, she seeks employment through a letter of introduction from Begum Harouni, the estranged wife of K. K. Harouni, a retired civil servant and wealthy landlord.

AI Generated 

Husna’s Arrival at Harouni’s House

- Husna arrives at Harouni’s grand Lahore home, nervous but determined.

- She is initially placed in the secretary’s office, not the living room, highlighting her ambiguous social status—neither servant nor guest.

- When she meets Harouni, she explains her distant familial connection to him, appealing to his sense of duty.

- Harouni, though aware of her background, indulges her, offering her typing lessons as a first step toward employment.

Growing Relationship with Harouni

- Husna begins visiting regularly for typing lessons but shows little interest in learning. Instead, she seeks opportunities to interact with Harouni.

- During walks in the garden, their relationship shifts from formal to playful. Harouni enjoys her youthful energy, while Husna sees him as her ticket to a better life.

- When Begum Harouni leaves for a pilgrimage (umrah), Husna seizes the chance to move into Harouni’s household, living in the annex (a guest suite).

 Husna’s Rise in the Household

- She becomes Harouni’s companion and eventually his mistress, gaining small luxuries like an allowance, new clothes, and jewelry.

- The servants, initially dismissive, adjust to her new status, though some resent her.

- Husna manipulates household finances, inflating expenses to skim money for herself, with the secretary’s tacit approval.

- She ingratiates herself with Harouni’s friends, charming them with flirtatious banter, though they privately find her striving tiresome.

Conflict with Harouni’s Family

- Sarwat, Harouni’s sophisticated and wealthy youngest daughter, visits and is openly disdainful of Husna, treating her as an interloper.

- Husna resents Sarwat’s arrogance but cannot challenge her directly.

- When Harouni suffers a heart attack, Husna is sidelined. Sarwat takes charge, barring her from the hospital and later the funeral.

 Harouni’s Death and Husna’s Downfall

- After Harouni dies, his daughters (Sarwat, Kamila, and Rehana) gather to settle affairs.

- They coldly inform Husna she must leave, allowing her only the trunks of belongings she accumulated—nothing more.

- Despite her emotional attachment to Harouni, she is given no inheritance or recognition.

- The story ends with Husna returning to the Old City, her dreams of upward mobility shattered.

AI Generated 

Characters

The document "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" presents a rich tapestry of characters, each with distinct personalities, motivations, and roles in the narrative. Below is an explanation of the key characters:

 1. Husna

- Role: The protagonist, a young woman from a once-prominent but now impoverished family.

- Characteristics: Ambitious, cunning, and determined to escape her mediocre life. She is resourceful but also deeply insecure, oscillating between moments of confidence and vulnerability.

- Motivations: Seeks to improve her social and economic status by attaching herself to K. K. Harouni. She is willing to manipulate situations and people to secure her position, but she also develops genuine affection for Harouni.

- Development: Over time, she transitions from a desperate petitioner to a confident mistress, though her position remains precarious. After Harouni’s death, she is cast out by his family, highlighting the fragility of her social ascent.

 2. K. K. Harouni

- Role: A retired civil servant and wealthy landlord, the central male figure in the story.

- Characteristics: Sophisticated, charming, and accustomed to a life of privilege. He is lonely in his old age and enjoys Husna’s company for her vivacity and unconventional nature.

- Motivations: Seeks companionship and distraction in his later years. He is drawn to Husna’s energy and finds her refreshing compared to the women of his social circle.

- Development: Initially paternal toward Husna, their relationship becomes more intimate. His death marks the end of Husna’s stability and exposes the transactional nature of their bond.

 3. Begum Harouni

- Role: K. K. Harouni’s estranged first wife.

- Characteristics: Bitter, superstitious, and resentful of her husband’s independence. She lives in a state of suspended hope, waiting to be recalled to his side.

- Motivations: Desires to reclaim her status as Harouni’s wife and resents Husna for usurping her place in his life.

- Role in the Story: Serves as a foil to Husna, representing the consequences of losing favor in a patriarchal society.

 4. Sarwat

- Role: K. K. Harouni’s youngest daughter, married to a wealthy industrialist.

- Characteristics: Elegant, entitled, and dismissive of Husna. She embodies the elitism of the upper class.

- Motivations: Protective of her father’s legacy and social standing. She sees Husna as an opportunist and ensures she is removed from the household after Harouni’s death.

- Role in the Story: Represents the unbridgeable gap between Husna’s aspirations and the rigid hierarchies of Lahore’s elite.

 5. Kamila and Rehana

- Role: Harouni’s other daughters.

- Characteristics: Kamila is pragmatic and somewhat sympathetic, while Rehana is estranged from her father and harsh toward Husna.

- Motivations: Focused on preserving their family’s dignity and inheritance. They collectively decide Husna’s fate after their father’s death.

- Role in the Story: Symbolize the institutional power of family and class that ultimately excludes Husna.

 6. Rafik and Hassan

- Role: Servants in Harouni’s household.

- Characteristics: Rafik is loyal and observant, while Hassan is resentful and insolent toward Husna.

- Motivations: Rafik serves Harouni dutifully, while Hassan resents Husna’s rise in status.

- Role in the Story: Reflect the domestic power dynamics and the challenges Husna faces in securing her place in the household.

 7. General Hadayatullah

- Role: A retired army officer and Harouni’s friend.

- Characteristics: Authoritative and pragmatic.

- Motivations: Ensures Harouni receives medical care and advises Husna to stay out of the way during the crisis.

- Role in the Story: Highlights the inevitability of Harouni’s mortality and the fragility of Husna’s position.

 Key Themes

1. Social Hierarchy & Class Struggle – Husna’s attempts to climb socially are thwarted by entrenched elitism.

2. Power & Dependency – Her survival depends entirely on Harouni’s favor, leaving her vulnerable when he dies.

3. Loneliness & Companionship – Both Husna and Harouni seek connection, but their relationship is transactional.

4. Gender & Agency – Husna uses her limited power (youth, charm) to navigate a patriarchal system, but ultimately, she is disposable.

 Conclusion

The story is a poignant exploration of ambition, class, and the fleeting nature of privilege. Husna’s brief rise and abrupt fall underscore the rigid social structures of Lahore’s elite, where birthright trumps merit or affection. Her fate reflects the harsh reality that, for those on the margins, even temporary success is precarious.

Ice Candy Man: Study Guide

Author Background:

Bapsi Sidhwa is a Pakistani novelist of Parsi Zoroastrian descent who writes in English. Born in Karachi in 1938, she witnessed the Partition of India and Pakistan as a child, an event that profoundly shaped her writing. Her novels often explore themes of Partition, women's rights, immigration, and Parsi culture, drawing from her personal experiences and observations. Sidhwa is known for her powerful storytelling, vivid imagery, and insightful portrayal of complex social and political issues.

Bapsi Sidhwa's Ice-Candy-Man (1988), later retitled Cracking India in the US (1991), is a seminal Partition novel narrated through the innocent yet perceptive eyes of Lenny, a young Parsi girl afflicted with polio. Set in Lahore from roughly 1944 to 1948, the novel captures the escalating communal tensions leading to the 1947 Partition of India, the birth of Pakistan, and the horrific violence that followed. As one of the first novels by a Pakistani woman writer to explore Partition from a female perspective, it highlights the fragility of inter-community harmony, the betrayal of friendships, the vulnerability of women, and the loss of childhood innocence amid political upheaval. The story is semi-autobiographical, drawing from Sidhwa's own experiences as a Parsi child in Lahore.

The novel has 32 chapters and is divided into three broad phases: pre-Partition harmony, rising tensions and violence, and post-Partition trauma and recovery. Below is a clear, concise, and structured chapter-wise summary (grouped for readability where chapters form natural units, as individual chapters are often short and anecdotal).

Part 1: Childhood Innocence and Pre-Partition Harmony (Chapters 1–10)

These early chapters establish Lenny's world: her privileged Parsi family, her loving but flirtatious Hindu Ayah (Shanta), and the diverse group of admirers who gather around Ayah in Lahore's parks. Religious and ethnic differences exist but are overshadowed by everyday camaraderie.

Chapters 1–2: The novel opens with a quote from Iqbal's poem "Complaint to God." Four-year-old (later eight-year-old) Lenny, the first-person narrator, is introduced as a lame Parsi girl confined by polio. She lives a sheltered life in an affluent home on Warris Road, pushed in a pram by her beautiful 18-year-old Hindu Ayah. Lenny feels pity for an imagined "dumb creature" behind the Salvation Army building's ventilated wall, symbolizing her own sense of isolation. She keenly observes how men of all ages and religions—beggars, holy men, vendors—are mesmerized by Ayah's sensual beauty. An Englishman once insists on putting Lenny down to walk (unaware of her disability), highlighting her helplessness.

Chapters 3–5: Lenny's world expands through outings with Ayah to parks and markets. Ayah's admirers form a colorful, multi-faith group: the Muslim Ice-Candy-Man (a popsicle vendor and trickster), the Masseur (a gentle Sikh), Hari (Hindu gardener), Sharif (Muslim butcher), and others. Political talks begin subtly—references to Gandhi, Jinnah, and independence—but harmony prevails. Lenny visits her Godmother and Slave Sister (strong female figures). Winter arrives; Ice-Candy-Man switches to selling birds.

Chapters 6–10: Summer returns with scorching heat. Ice-Candy-Man resumes selling ice lollies and woos Ayah intensely with poetry and tricks. Lenny learns about bodies and sexuality through childish curiosity (e.g., spying on servants). She spends time with her cousin Adi, Electric-Aunt (a lively widow), and Imam Din (the family cook). Minor incidents foreshadow tension: a zoo visit where Lenny twists a chicken's neck, symbolizing emerging violence. Ayah rejects most suitors but grows close to the Masseur.

Part 2: Rising Tensions and the Onset of Violence (Chapters 11–20)

As independence approaches, communal lines harden. News of riots elsewhere filters in, fracturing friendships.

Chapters 11–14: Political discussions among Ayah's admirers turn heated—Muslims demand Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs resist. Lenny's Mother and Father host dinners where Partition is debated. Imam Din visits his village Pir Pindo. Lenny rips apart a doll in frustration over adult arguments, mirroring the "cracking" of India.

Chapters 15–18: Violence erupts in distant cities; trains arrive filled with corpses. In Lahore, mobs attack non-Muslims. The Masseur is murdered and his body dumped in a sack near Lenny's home. Ayah, grieving, leans on Ice-Candy-Man. Fires rage across the city; Lenny witnesses fallen bodies from her rooftop.

Chapters 19–20: Chaos peaks. A mob (led indirectly by the transformed, fanatical Ice-Candy-Man) storms Lenny's home searching for Hindus. In terror, Lenny betrays Ayah's hiding place by innocently confirming she is Hindu. Ayah is abducted and vanishes.

Part 3: Partition's Aftermath and Betrayal (Chapters 21–32)

The novel shifts to horror, loss, and fragile recovery in the new Pakistan.

Chapters 21–25: Lahore becomes part of Pakistan; non-Muslims flee or hide. Lenny's family shelters servants. Horrific stories emerge: mutilated bodies on trains, wells filled with corpses. Ranna (Imam Din's young nephew from Pir Pindo) escapes a massacre in his village—his family slaughtered by Sikhs. Buried under dead bodies, he survives a harrowing journey back to Lahore, traumatized.

Chapters 26–29: Ice-Candy-Man, now a violent mob leader obsessed with Ayah, has forcibly married her and turned her into a dancing girl/prostitute in the red-light district (Hira Mandi). He parades her in a car, heavily made-up. Lenny, Godmother, and others search for her. Godmother (a powerful Parsi matriarch) confronts Ice-Candy-Man and arranges Ayah's rescue through influence and police.

Chapters 30–32: Ayah (now broken and renamed Mumtaz) is recovered and sent to the Recovered Women’s Camp in Amritsar, India, to be reunited with her family. Ice-Candy-Man, heartbroken and poetic again, follows her across the border to India. Lenny reflects on the shattered world: friendships destroyed, innocence lost, and women as the ultimate victims of communal hatred. The novel ends on a note of muted hope amid irreversible change.

Characters

Major Characters:

Lenny Sethi: The narrator and protagonist. A young Parsi girl, around four at the beginning and ten by the end, she suffers from polio, which limits her mobility but not her keen observation. Lenny's perspective is crucial, offering a child's-eye view of the escalating tensions and violence of Partition. Her innocence and vulnerability make her journey all the more poignant as she witnesses the disintegration of her familiar world. She's intelligent and perceptive, struggling to understand the complex adult world around her.

Ayah (Shanta): Lenny's Hindu nanny. Beautiful and beloved by many, Ayah represents the innocent, pre-Partition world. She is the object of affection for several men, including the Ice Candy Man and the Masseur. Ayah's fate is central to the novel, highlighting the particular vulnerability of women during times of conflict. Her eventual abduction and forced prostitution symbolize the brutality of Partition and the violation of innocence.

Ice Candy Man: Initially a Muslim popsicle vendor, he is one of Ayah's suitors. He undergoes a significant transformation during the novel, becoming increasingly aggressive and possessive as Partition approaches. He ultimately becomes Ayah's tormentor, abducting her and forcing her into prostitution. He represents the rising tide of religious extremism and the abuse of power during the Partition.

Minor Characters:

Godmother: Lenny's maternal grandmother. A strong and resourceful woman, she plays a vital role in Ayah's rescue. She represents resilience and the strength of female bonds in the face of adversity.

Masseur: A Sikh man and another of Ayah's suitors. He is a friend of Lenny's family and, like Ayah, becomes a victim of the violence. His fate illustrates the indiscriminate nature of the violence and the breakdown of intercommunal relationships.

Mr. and Mrs. Sethi (Lenny's parents): Affluent Parsi parents, they represent a community caught between the fracturing nations. They try to protect Lenny from the harsh realities of the world, but their efforts are ultimately futile. They embody the anxieties and uncertainties of the Parsi community during Partition.

Rana (Lenny's brother): A typical older brother, he teases Lenny but also cares for her in his own way. His experiences reflect the impact of Partition on young boys and the changing dynamics within families.

Imam Din: The family's Muslim cook. He represents the pre-Partition harmony between different religious communities. His departure from the Sethi household symbolizes the breakdown of those relationships.

Slaves/Servants: While not individually developed, the numerous servants in the Sethi household highlight the social hierarchy of the time and the complex relationships between different classes. Their lives are also disrupted by the events of Partition.

Other Suitors of Ayah: These men, though minor, represent the various perspectives and reactions to Ayah and the changing times. Their interactions with her early in the novel create a sense of the pre-Partition world and its relative innocence.

These minor characters, though not as central as Lenny, Ayah, and the Ice Candy Man, contribute to the richness and complexity of the novel. They represent the diverse experiences of individuals during Partition and help to illustrate the broader social and political context of the story. They also emphasize the widespread impact of Partition, affecting not just the main characters but the entire community.

 

Themes & Symbols

Ice Candy Man is a novel rich in thematic depth, employing various symbols and literary techniques to explore the complexities of Partition and its impact on individuals and communities. Here are some of the major themes, symbols, and other important aspects:

Major Themes:

Partition and its Trauma: This is the central theme. The novel vividly depicts the violence, displacement, and psychological trauma caused by the Partition of India and Pakistan. It explores the breakdown of communities, the loss of innocence, and the lasting scars left on individuals and families.

Loss of Innocence: Lenny's journey is a stark portrayal of the loss of childhood innocence. As she witnesses the escalating violence and the transformation of familiar figures like the Ice Candy Man, her understanding of the world is shattered. The novel explores how children are affected by war and conflict, forced to confront adult realities before they are ready.

Gender and Violence: The novel highlights the specific vulnerability of women during times of conflict. Ayah's story, her abduction, and forced prostitution, exemplifies the gendered nature of violence during Partition. The novel critiques the patriarchal structures that contribute to this vulnerability.

Religious and Communal Identity: The novel explores the complexities of religious and communal identity. It shows how political rhetoric can inflame existing tensions and turn neighbors into enemies. The breakdown of intercommunal relationships is a key aspect of the narrative.

Changing Power Dynamics: The character of the Ice Candy Man embodies the shifting power dynamics during Partition. His transformation from a relatively harmless vendor to a powerful and abusive figure reflects the changing social and political landscape.

Memory and Narrative: The novel itself acts as a form of remembering and witnessing. Lenny's narration, looking back on her childhood experiences, highlights the importance of memory in understanding historical events and their impact on individuals.

Symbols and Other Aspects:

Ice Candy: Initially a symbol of sweetness and childhood pleasure, the ice candy becomes tainted as the Ice Candy Man's character changes. It symbolizes the loss of innocence and the souring of relationships.

The Zoo: The zoo, visited early in the novel, can be interpreted as a microcosm of pre-Partition India, with its diverse inhabitants living in close proximity. The later scenes of violence and displacement contrast sharply with this earlier image of relative harmony.

Shanta's Hair: Shanta's beautiful hair is a recurring motif, representing her beauty and vitality. Its cutting symbolizes her loss of dignity and her forced assimilation into a new, brutal reality.

Lenny's Polio: Lenny's physical disability can be seen as a metaphor for her vulnerability and her outsider status. It also allows her a unique perspective on the events unfolding around her.

First-Person Narration: The use of first-person narration through Lenny's eyes is crucial. It allows the reader to experience the events of Partition through the perspective of a child, enhancing the emotional impact of the story.

Vivid Imagery: Sidhwa's use of vivid and often graphic imagery creates a powerful sense of place and the horrors of Partition. The descriptions of violence and displacement are particularly impactful.

Multi-Layered Narrative: The novel operates on multiple levels. It's a coming-of-age story, a historical account, and a social commentary. This multi-layered approach adds to the complexity and richness of the novel.

Irony: There's a pervasive sense of irony throughout the novel. The contrast between Lenny's innocent perspective and the brutal realities she witnesses creates a tragic irony. The transformation of the Ice Candy Man is also ironic, as he sheds his earlier charm and becomes a symbol of violence. 

These themes, symbols, and literary techniques work together to create a powerful and moving portrayal of Partition and its lasting consequences. Ice Candy Man is a novel that stays with the reader long after the final page, prompting reflection on the nature of violence, identity, and the human cost of historical events.

  

THE PROBLEM OF PAKISTANI IDENTITY AND WRITERS By Intizar Hussain

 

Let me give vent to a feeling of jealousy brewing in me for long. As we all know, independent India and Pakistan were born at one and the same time. But the problem of a national identity is peculiar to us alone. I as a Pakistani writer feel envious of my contemporaries in India, who may have other kinds of problems but were never seen perturbed about their national identity, Pakistan is going to complete its fifty years in the coming year, but the problem of identity with us is still there.

Allow me to look at the problem as it cropped up among the writers and soon turned into a subject of controversy. Those were early days of Pakistan when urdu writers were seen on both sides of the Divide enjaged in writing about the the human miseries caused by the holocaust coming in the wake of Partition. A few writers with their zeal for Pakistan, felt disturbed to see that writers in Pakistan too were writing with the same attitude towards Partition and the subsequent situation, which was the hall mark of fiction and poetry being written in india.   Foremost among writers reacting against this prevalent attitude were Dr Taseer, Mohammad Hassan Askari and Mumtaz Shrin. Their reaction led to the theory of ‘Pakistani Adab’ with Askari as its chief exponent, who zealously argued that literature in Pakistan should emerge with a character distinct from that literature in India.

This idea was unpalatable to the Progressive Writers Movement. Its reaction was given voice by a progressive poets Ahmad Riaz, who wrote: “Kaun Karsakta hai taqseem adab ki jagir,” that the domain of literature is indivisible.

This sharp reaction triggered off a heated controversy centering round the question as to how we will define Pakistani literature as distinct from literature produced in India. And the controversy soon gave birth to the question of identity. What after all is our identity, that was the question. Let me here quote from Faiz. “You well remember” he said “the idea that worked as the basis of pakistan; that we are a separate nation, so we have a right to have a separate homeland, and that weare a separate nation, because we have a separate culture. At that time none of us cared to ask what we should have asked from ourselves. But now we have chosen to ask from ourselves as to what is that we claim to be our separate culture.”

Herein lies the secret of our national identity, if any, as culture, according to Faiz had made these remarks in 1968 while delivering a series of lecture on the problem of Culture in Azad Kashmir. But as hinted above, we had began asking this question soon after the emergence of Pakistan Allied with it were a few more questions. Are we a new nation born on 14^th August, 1947 on an old one. If old, how old. Should we trace our history from the day Mohammad Bin Qasim entered this land or from the times Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Does our culture originate from Islam or from our land. If it is land based, why should we try to own Muslim relics on India

Apart from the controversy centering round these questions in the intellectual circles, peoples   in different walks of life were so fond in those days of calling themselves a newly born nation little caring for the implications it involved. Mohammad Hasan Askari warned about the dangers this assertion being of being new carried with it and prophesied that “if we forget the aspect of oldness of Pakistan, we will not be able to keep East Pakistan and West Pakistan within one state for long”.

And he explained the aspect of oldness of Pakistan in terms of a nation with its tradition evolved during the process of centuries. But the idea of being born a new had a magic of its own. We see even Faiz asserting that “With the partition of the subcontinent a new country came into existence and a new nation was born – Pakistan nation.

And he set to define the culture of this new nation, and while attempting this, he did not mind on embarking on journey of Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Taxila. However, Faiz is seen taking a middle position. On one extremes were those holding the view that culture is something wholly and solely rooted in the land, and hence each region in Pakistan has a culture of its own with no unifying force to integrate these separate cultural entities or nationalities on a higher national level. On the other end were those who laid stress on the concept of a national culture to the extent that everything regional appeared to them to be negating what is national from their point of view. There was also a third extremist group, which stood for a pure Islamic culture. They branded as un-Islamic all other factors which constitutes a culture.

Faiz readily dismissed those different extremist versions of culture. But there was one more version of Pakistani culture drawing its sustenance from Muslim history in the sub-continent. Mohammad Hasan Askari, as has been pointed out earlier, explained it in terms of traditions evolved in the process of centuries and designated it as Indo-Islamic culture. JameelJalibi likes to call it Indo-Muslim, which is an attempt to lay stress more on the historical process than on its Islamic purity, he has also taken care while analyzing it, to accommodate regional culture within its fold. “Regions” he says “are integral parts of national culture”, but that they, in his opinion, should contribute to the collective soul of nation.

            According to prof Gilani Kamran’s analysis as [presented in his book “Qaumkitashkeelaur Urdu zaban”], it was during the centuries of Muslim rule in India that a new culture emerged and took the shape now known as Indo-Islamic culture. It was this culture, which according to him, helped Indian Muslim to have an awareness of their national identity and make a demand for Pakistan. This identity, he says, emerged in consequences of a common history, a common culture consciousness, and a common heritage.

But Salim Ahmed wondered that after we succeeded in getting recognized as a separate nation on the basis of a common history and a common culture and achieved Pakistan, we are being told that, we are not a nation and that we have no common culture. 6. I agree with the analysis made by Gilani Kamran and I have a deep regard for the sentiments of Salim Ahmed even, I will dare ask a question.

Why was it that this identity, which worked as the basis for the basis for the demand of Pakistan, becomes controversial immediately after the birth of Pakistan. Why was it Quaid-e-Azam M.A. Jinnah during the years of the movement went on asserting a separate Muslim identity with its roots in a common culture and, as Faiz has pointed out, nobody cared to raise question about this common culture. What went wrong with us that the question of this nature cropped up after we had achieved Pakistan. To say that the intellectuals had been misled by the propaganda campaign launched by the enemies of Pakistan does not appear to be a very sound explanation. Perhaps the explanation lies somewhere in the historical process which came to an end with birth of Pakistan. We in fact were interlocked in a love-hate relationship with the Hindus. For centuries we has fought against them and had made peace with them. We abhorred their religious rites, their “pooja” and designated all this as “kufr”. And yet we felt attracted to their age-old cultural patterns, to the colorfulness of their rituals. In this situation with two opposing forces, that of repulsion and attraction working side by side, we influenced them and were in turn influenced by them. Thus living among Hindus, who were in majority, the Muslim in India felt a pull toward their awareness of their cultural existence distinct from them. The more wise among them justified that influence they had absorbed in the process by saying that “kufr kuch chaheay Islam ki raunaq kayliey”.

Such was our identity, for the awareness of which we were indebted to the Hindus. With the sudden elimination of the Indian context and the Hindus, we lost our cultural balance and pour identity grew blurred, the nation called Indian Muslims, which had created this homeland, itself underwent the process of partition. The part of the nation secure in Pakistan developed the feeling of being a newly born nation.

It was now that our regional consciousness, which had remained subdue during the movement years, came to the fore-front. The exponents of this consciousness made attempts to discover roots of their country in Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Taxila. With the elimination of Hindus from our society, it appeared to these intellectuals so easy to seek relationship and take pride in the Aryan and pre-Aryan past of the land. Prof Karkar Husain, on the other hand, opined that what we have dug out from our soil, backs the historical continuity, which is so necessary for establishment of a cultural tradition.

But Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, while on a visit to Mohenjo-Daro discovered historical continuity in the bullock cart creeping on the dusty road of Mohenjo-Daro, reminding him of what he had just seen in the museum.

But as pointed out by Faiz, there is a snag in it. If we begin our history from Mohenjo-Daro, we will, according to him, be compelled to own the succeeding periods of history which include the period of Brahman culture, the period of Buddhist culture, and the period of Greek culture, and in consequences we will have to accommodate Ashok, Chandr Gupt, Alexander the Great, Raja Pours and Raja Risaloo among our heroes. What in the end is left is a tiny part of history which separates us from Hindus.

This situation compelled Faiz to say good bye to his Marxist friends’ concept of Pakistani history and culture. And he declared in unequivocal terms that “our religion is the basis of our culture”.

Mohenjodaro and Harappa.  And with the help of historical process in Muslims India he discovered two strong cultural links between the two wings-the architectural of the mosques and mausoleums and the dish of “pulao”.

But after the separation of East Pakistan, our poet did not care to remember such cultural links which took birth and developed under the historical process in the Muslim period throughout India. Or perhaps because of being a poet, he doesn’t believe in being consistent in his arguments. He himself emphatically said that frontiers of culture are not always synonymous with the frontiers of the state,12 and he declared in unequivocal term :It goes without doubt that Delhi, Agra, Mir and Ghalib are parts of our cultural heritage. The same can be said about Samarqand, Bukhara, Hafiz, Saadi and Roomi.

But the poet takes no time in changing his position and advises us to differentiate between what we find on our land and what lies beyond our land: “of course we have close links with Tajmahal, Lal Qila, Samarqand, and Bukhara, but they are not our property. Mohenjo-Daro on other hand, Is our property. So is Sehwan Shrif, Taxila, Lahore, Multan and Khyber”.

Let me quote here a comment from Dr. Wazir Agha, who said that Samarqand and Bukhara have only been formally named here. “The real intention is to strike out Red Fort and Taj Mahal from the cultural heritage of Pakistan,” and adds “but immediately after saying thus he perhaps realized that he had said not behave like a frog in well . We should not try to disown what has become a part of culture. But is he not contradicting himself. What after all does he want to say”.

I have nothing to add to these remarks by Dr Wazir Agha. But he has said something more, and that seems to me a very same comment on the cultural controversy In Pakistan. He says that “with the emergence of new political frontiers, a kind of cultural anarchy seems inevitable.” 16

He is right. It is state of cultural anarchy we are living in. but perhaps the Urdu word ‘ghadar’ used by Wazir Agha is more apt here. And in times of ‘ghadar’ we hardly except from anyone to talk sense. Faiz, whom we had accepted as the most sensible man among us (I mean the writers), suggested a way out from Siqafai ghadar or cultural anarchy. “Let us scrutinize. He said: the cultural fragments scatter around us and carve out from them prescriptions of cultures, which is around us and carve out from them prescription of a culture, which is distinctly Pakistani”. (17) Good suggestion. But I was reminded of a profound statement by Eliot. He was discussing culture in his own European context. He expressed his apprehension that if Christianity goes, the whole of our culture goes. And he adds “Then you must start pain- fully again, and you cannot put on a new culture readymade. You must wade for the grass to grow to feed the sheep to give the wool out of which your new coat will be made. You must pass thoroughly many centuries of barbarism.” 18

So the prescription recommended by Faiz is fine. But, alas, it is unworkable, so with the alternative left with us wait for the grass to grow. Our identity at present lies in our craving for an identity.

                                                                                                                                            (1996)

The Zoo by Tariq Rehman

 ‘We cannot do without more funds for the zoo,’ said Ikram Arif with conviction.

‘But Ikram Sahib,’ said the Secretary wearily, ‘you constructed that lovely place for the birds we imported for you when the money should have gone for the bears.’

            ‘Sir that was inevitable. Every animal has to be given its place ─ its ecological niche ─ I mean the kind of place it is naturally used to.’

            ‘I know about all that,’ said the secretary raising his hand. ‘But there has to be a limit.’

            ‘Look at it this way, Sir,’ put in another officer from the finance ministry, ‘the Zoo is seen by so many foreigners. What kind of impression will we give them if the animals are not lodged properly?’

            Ikram Arif nodded in enthusiastic agreement. The secretary looked dubious and then smiled as if conceding defeat.

            ‘Lodge in style, money for the bears, big cats and the giraffe, ok.’

            ‘Thank you sir,’ said Ikram Arif graciously.

            The next few months were very busy at the zoo as the outlandish Austrian firm created the appropriate landscape for different types of animals. By the end of the summer there were verdant green grasslands for the antelopes, the deer, the bison and the zebras. There were tall trees in giraffe’s enclosure which itself had been enclosed into another island-like enclosure as there was a canal around the enclosure as well as concealed fences.

            The dens of the lions were in terraced plateaus with groves of trees. They too had a moat around them with drawbridges leading to an inner fence. The lions strode majestically around and stared into the eyes of the curious who thronged around the fences.While the lions lay sleepily around, the tigers paced their part of the enclosure almost all the time. But they too retired in their dens or sat away from the spectators whenever they wanted to. The elephants lived in a swampy area with a thick growth of trees and fields of sugarcane which they munched lustily most of the time. The zoo was a success and Ikram Arif, its manager, was commended by the Governor of the Punjab himself. After all, now the Governor had another place ─ besides the Badshahi Mosque and his own palace ─ to take foreign dignitaries to. Though the cost of the upkeep made financial jugglers almost give up in despair, they found the money somehow as they always did when the governor really wanted something.

            Hashmat Ali was new in Lahore. He came from Sargodha where he was an agricultural laborer. But the Malik Sahib who employed him had turned his land into a large orchard. He now required less people and the family had to seek their living in Lahore. So Fatima had cooked him parathas and the children, Azmat Ali and Zainab Bibi had clung to him at the end of the village when he came to Lahore. When the green fields ended he stood on the potholed road, he felt elated: he was going out to fabulous Lahore; the wide world. And yet stuffed in the heat between brown bodies, he could not help looking at the intensely green fields flying past him at incredible speed.

            Lahore was fabulous indeed, Chacha Barkat Ali told him, but not for village louts like him.

            ‘Work is not easy to find, son,’ he said solicitously. And, indeed, for about a month he did hardly anything more than carry people’s luggage to waiting taxies and rickshaws at the railway station. The huge gate of the station overwhelmed him with its size and the roof was the highest he had ever seen.

            Huge caterpillars of dark titanic trains rushed into the dome of the station. And not even weeks of seeing this day in day out made him used to it. It was awesome and impressive; not ordinary and routine. But the milling crowd, the fighting for cramped places in the apartments and getting knocked about by people in a great hurry was somehow a routine matter. He did not even complain about it. Then he left Chacha Barkat’s little room where ten people slept and found a room for himself. He had found a job ─ a gardener in a small school. The room was not far from the school. It was up four flights of stairs in a blind alley. It faced another dark wall and the only window was covered with newspapers because all the window panes were broken. It was so dark that he stumbled and almost fell when he entered it first.

            ‘Electricity is expensive’, said the property agent who had brought him to see it. ‘So the bulb will have to be a small one.’

            ‘But the children will study in a school,’ he replied in desperation. He wanted to blurt out how his children would go to the school. They would not be the laborers. But, of course, Zainab would get married to an educated boy. For that too she had to go to the school.

            ‘They can read in the daylight’, mumbled the agent shrugging his shoulders. Then he smiled slyly and said: Of course for   a different rent _only a bit more _ ‘you can have a meter. You can even a heater for a winter’. He   dismissed the heater with a laugh but after some haggling they agreed to a new figure for a separate meter.

      He went to fetch Fatima and the children and they   emerged looking harassed after having been cooped up in the bus for five hours. The city with its noises enthralled them and it was suppressed excitement that Fatima climbed up the stairs to her room. ‘It is a bit dangerous’ she commented when Azmat tripped on  a steep worn out step: the landlord  should get them repaired’.

‘The laughed’, ‘he laughed ‘the man looks a reptile. He should have been in a zoo!

They were in front of a termite eaten door and Hashmat   was struggling with a rusty lock.

‘Zoo’, echoed his wife blankly .Hashmat cursed the lock and Fatima pressed her daughter close. The little girl was afraid of foul language .Somebody had cuffed her on the ears with some such words .The lock opened and the door creaked ajar. Hashmat flung it open and the   fetid stench of dirty quilts assailed their nostrils .IT was dark and cavernous inside.

‘ Yes zoo. In the city they have animals in it. Enter .This is our home,’

          Bismillah, Bismillah: murmured Fatima reverently ‘Don’t look down Zainab. Come on Azmat. Lions too?

‘Enter Bismillah .Yes, and elephants, bears and what not’,

‘Lions father’,the little boy shouted ‘so farther you ate this’,

Father could not.It is old bread,’ said Zainab. ‘Yes we should see the animals. But will they no bite?’

‘No . No,’he laughed.

She sat down on the cot and put her things down .The conversation about the zoo ,so mixed up with the homecoming ,petered out now. The woman got busy in cooking and the man allowed himself the pleasure of lying back on the cot and closing his eyes. The children started quarreling.

It was more than two months later that the zoo came up for discussion again. ‘This house is so dark. In our village the fields were so green and open ,’sais Fatima

‘You thank God we have a roof at last’, he said angrily

Women never do thank God. I work overtime to get your decent food and send the children to the school,’

‘I scrub and scrub the floors, the utensils and still everything is dirty. This hovel. Then sun never peeps in here nor does the wind blow and … we are suspended somewhere. It is not like being on the earth’,

        He kept quiet. Suddenly his heart ached for the earth, the feel of the wind on his hair. He did at least work in the garden but she and the children stayed in this suspended hole. This dark fetid cave where neither stars, the moon, nor even the sun ever peeped through.

            ‘Let’s go to the zoo.’

            She extended her hand and it clutched his with emotion. He knew she was crying.

            ‘Tomorrow’ he said.

            The next day she was almost ecstatic with joy as she walked with him and the skipping children in the zoo. The wind was balmy. She had forgotten that it was spring. But the trees were laden with blossoms.

            ‘Why did they not plant these large fields’ she waved her hand vaguely at the grassland in which Zebras grazed quietly.

            ‘O are you mad?’ he laughed looking at Azmat who was also grinning, ‘they are not like us poor farmers who would not leave even bits of land unused.’

            ‘Wasteful,’ she expostulated.

            ‘It is for the animals’, he said.

            ‘See mother they are grazing there.’ The children pointed this out to her.

            ‘They are only animals’, she commented.

            They were now looking at the bears being fed. Combs of honey lay before them and the lethargic big beasts waddled up to them and their snout dug into the soft sweet thickness of the honey.

            ‘Pure honey’, she said incredulously.

            ‘I bet the bears would not touch the impure one the shopkeepers palmed off on us when Zainab was ill’ he said jokingly.

            ‘Why should they’ she replied.

            One bear came lazily and stood near the gate. The children threw food to it and it obliged them by nuzzling at it. Azmat and Zainab too threw their pastries in.

            ‘God curse you both’, cried their mother in genuine indignation. ‘He is so fat he can’t walk and there these two imps go wasting our hard earned money.’

            ‘They are only children’, said Hashmat indulgently.

            The children ran away towards the baboons who were making faces at them from the other cage. This was not a small cage but a huge area with trees, swings and ropes. Large monkeys swung from them and nibbled at apples, guavas and radishes. Here again the children threw in the biscuits ─ their last biscuits ─ and a huge impudent chimpanzee gobbled them.

            ‘This cursed brute thinks it buys these biscuits’, said Fatima bitterly. The chimpanzee turned around impudently, presented his hindquarters to Fatima, and swung himself up a tree. The other apes chattered and looked down at the human beings.

            The sinking sun peeped out of a cloud and the monkeys were bathed in gold. A cool wind started blowing and the children started clapping their hands in sheer exuberance of spirits.

            ‘Time to close’, said Hashmat regretfully. He knew they could not afford such an outing ─ the tickets cost quite a lot ─ for quite some time.

            ‘Will they sleep in these lovely wooden huts?’ asked Azmat pointing at the apes.

            ‘Those or out in the open under the stars’, he replied.

            ‘They have many houses’, said Zainab.

            ‘A big, lovely green house’, said Azmat .

            Fatima turned to go. She was thinking of her room where the sun would never shine nor would the stars be ever visible. The sun set in splendor of fiery gold and dark red but by the time they got in the bus it was dark. She sat between two women thinking about the stars which would be twinkling at the monkeys.