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.
