Lahiri Hosseini Biryani

      Spring is here with a lingering winter in the background. One of the joys of this season is to discover a new plant. This year while in Washington D.C. I noticed a tree, the look of which was very sculptural and it bore tiny flowers that seemed to ooze out of thick branches. I don’t know its name, but if you do then do let me know. When I found the same tree in my neighborhood (see above), it was time to blog! Quite similar to this joy is the joy of discovering a new author In the pastiche of these new and Springy thoughts, I have decided to tell you all, about a book that I really enjoyed reading. But before that a little warm up, that leads to the book review.

      Sometime back I read an interesting article in a magazine that compared mainstream fiction and narrative fiction. The gist of it is that MF is characterized by a strong storyline with a definite plot. It moves from the beginning to a middle and then ends in a climax. Conception, gestation and then birth. NF’s focus is only narration. It doesn’t have to have a plot or movement. It could be just the narration of a thought process, exploration of an idea etc written in beautiful language.

      In this blog I have reviewed two books that fit these descriptions like a glove. Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a great example of MF. Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth is an example of mostly NF. Anyway, upon reading this article I thought wouldn’t it be great if somebody wrote fiction which was a fusion of MF and NF i.e. great storyline and plot written beautifully. Recently I finished reading a book of short stories (fiction), in which many were crafted with this concept. Ah! the joy of discovering a new author. So now its time to review it and share it with you.

Book Review of: IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS ( Author: Daniyal Mueenuddin)

I had never read a book by a writer from Pakistan before. This book caught my attention because:

• It contains short stories, set in the east and I too write short stories.
• It was reviewed by the New York Times, inspite of being the author’s debut book. That is a great honor.
• The author has an undergrad degree in English literature (from Dartmouth college) and a Law degree  from Yale Law School.
• He now lives on a farm in Pakistan and writes!

      Ok, I don’t mean to be a book-snob. But when you have very little leisure time you want to make sure that you are spending it wisely and not reading trash. Hence my list of reasons for choosing it! The prologue of this book is a Punjabi proverb:

Three things for which we kill – land, women and gold.

      It gave me an instant whiff  (mahek) of a strong eastern culture, a male dominated society and sounded so macho! Well, in short I was hooked. This book contains 8 short stories that are linked. The common link being a filthy rich feudal lord, K.K. Harouni, who owns a lot of land in Pakistan. In terms of narration, all the stories are good. But in terms of plot, I liked four out of eight. The stories are set in a male-dominated culture and expose people in different sections of the society. A society where status is determined by how you are linked to men in power e.g. K.K.Harouni. The characters include Nawabdin the electrician ( for K.K.Harouni’s estate), Saleema (his roti maker), Hassan (his cook), Rafik (his valet), Jaglani (his estate manager), Zainab (Jaglani’s second wife), Sohail (his nephew), Murad (nephew’s friend), Lily (Murad’s bored wife), Rezak ( relative’s gardener), Husna ( K.K. Harouni’s companion) etc.

      The first story (Nawabdin Electrician) doesn’t have much of a plot, but its lovely narration warms you up to a eastern culture. A culture of closely knitted societies where everybody knows everybody, small town charms, the fresh air of the countryside and the eastern language in English (e.g. ” Sahib, I have eaten your salt”. ) The writing is very eastern and macho in its frankness. Take for instance:

” Unfortunately or Fortunately, Nawab had married early in life a sweet woman, whom he adored, but of unsurpassed fertility…leaving Nawab with a complete set of twelve girls…If he had been governor of Punjab, their dowries would have beggared him.” Reading this will make anyone crack up with laughter

      The four stories that I liked (‘Saleema’, ‘Provide, Provide’, ‘In Other Rooms, Other Wonders’ and ‘A Spoiled Man’) are all sad tales with strong storyline and are beautifully written. In a land where a man can have more than one wife or indulge in extra-marital relationships without fear of objection from the society, these stories explore the dynamics of the relationship between the two sexes. These include old, wealthy men versus young, poor, uneducated women. What is sad is how quickly these women get neglected, side-lined and forgotton once the man falls sick or his fortune changes or he dies. Its almost like a snake moulting its skin! In one story when Zainab (the second wife) goes to meet her dying husband, she is asked to leave without meeting him. Her sentiments are summed up in ” And they didn’t even offer me a cup of tea”.

      The rest of the four stories are good mostly in narration and not in plot. But they are still worth reading because they give glimpses of the culture in Pakistan. The divide between its rich and poor, the protocols in society, the mannerisms of its people. Their narration creates images in the mind of the reader, that transport you in virtual Pakistan. The lovely countryside, the rich farmlands, the gardens, rivers, valleys.

      As I wrap up this post, I would call this book a Lahiri Hosseini Biryani. Lahiriesque in narration, Hosseiniesque in plot and issues. As for Biryani, for its richness of flavors. Flavours of natural beauty, wealth, poverty, violence, innocence. Subhan’Allah! Daniyal.

Ratna

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