Book Review #144 : Rohzin

A book of eight chapters, Rohzin by Rahman Abbas is a veritable feast for the mind. In Urdu ‘Rohzin” is a word that the author coins to signify the souls of people hurt by witnessing the betrayal of their parents with their partners. What ensues is a story of love, lust, belonging, rejection and identity spread lush across the city of Bombay.

Abbas wrote the novel in Urdu, originally. Rohzin, the author’s fourth novel, has been translated into English by Sabika Abbas Naqvi! The book is indeed modern in the sense of questioning contemporary lifestyles. Thanks to this book, Abbas won the Sahitya Academi Award, India’s most prestigious literary award, in 2018. In Rahman Abbas’ “Rohzin”, Mumbai serves many functions, from a watery canvas floating the boat of first love to a cesspool of emotional traumas. Speaking of imagination and reality readily transmigrating into each other’s realms, Rahman Abbas’s writing is a delightful craft.

'Rohzin' follows the story of the protagonist, Asrar, who comes to Mumbai. It is through his eyes that the author describes the hitherto-unknown aspects of the maximum city Mumbai — the unseen colours and secrets of the city’s underbelly. It is also the story of two lovers, Asrar and Hina, which begins abruptly and ends tragically. The two fall in love and become a couple. Quite obviously, their relationship bridges social disparities. They are Muslims from very different backgrounds. Islam defines cultural dimensions of their identities, but not their identity as such. In their daily lives, they are guided by curiosity rather than Koranic doctrine. The novel frequently segues into philosophical conversations about sex and strictures that may limit human experience, and the question of whether one can liberate oneself from civilisation.

The writer addresses upfront the role identity plays in triggering external and internal crises. The average Indian wears a multi-layered identity, constructed from historic and ongoing migrations. Through history, dream and surrealist asides, Abbas weaves in legends about the goddess, myths surrounding the seven islands that make up Mumbai, and a foretold catastrophe. The vision of Konkan is juxtaposed with scenes of reality and fantasy jostling together in the deep urban underbelly of Bombay.

What makes the read worthwhile is the interlacing of closely observed lives in contemporary Mumbai. The novel also recalls the trauma of the 1992-93 riots and subsequent bomb blasts, the Dockyards tragedy of 1944, the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus in 2003, even the future terror attack of 2008. Some of these events muddy the timeline of the novel, at a few places, disorienting readers, like me, who are familiar with the city’s history.

Rohzin takes you to multiple journeys and in each journey, you would have wished that it never ceases. The author portrays life in a fascinating and challenging multi-cultural environment. Rahman Abbas's beautiful crafted story-writing captivates you every moment and is definitely worth a read!

Ratings – 5/5

Review copy courtesy – PR, Penguin Random House India.