THE SECRETS OF MY UNIVERSE: Sahitya Akademi Award Winner

"Rohzin Is a Ship of Floating Dreams Boarded with a Flock of Spiritual Beings Singing Shanties on Lives and History of Mumbai; It Crashes into the Floods of Human Desires, Leaving behind Remnants of Melancholia in an Occult Book of Augury"

Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

Rohzin by Rahman Abbas

Translated from Urdu by Sabika Abbas Naqvi

Rohzin by Rahman Abbas Translated by Sabika Abbas Naqvi

Author: Rahman Abbas

Translator: Sabika Abbas Naqvi | Instagram: @boltiaurat

ISBN: 978-0670093861

Genre: Literary Fiction

Length: 333 Pages

Publication Date: 16^th May 2022

Publisher: VINTAGE (An Imprint of Penguin Random House)

Cover Illustrator: Harshad Marathe | Instagram: @harshadisfree

Cover Designer: Ahlawat Gunjan | Instagram: @ahlawat.gunjan

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3SwV45e

About the author:

Rahman Abbas is a major contemporary Indian novelist and winner of India's highest Literary award, the Sahitya Akademi award, for the year 2018, for his fourth Urdu novel Rohzin. He has also won two state Sahitya Akademi awards.

Rahman writes in Urdu and English. When his first novel was published, Islamists had accused him of spreading obscenity through his work and had filed a case against his novel. He was forced to resign from his job since he was teaching at a Muslim institution. Rahman fought a court trial for over ten years and was acquitted in 2016 of obscenity charges.

Rahman is the author of seven books, including four novels, Nakhalistan Ki Talash (The Search of an Oasis, 2004), Ek Mamnua Muhabbat Ki Kahani (A Forbidden Love Story, 2009), Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Ankh Micholi (Hide and Seek in the Shadow of God, 2011) and Rohzin (The Melancholy of the Soul, 2016).

The latest novel, Rohzin, has been translated into German, English and Hindi. The German translation was discussed in Switzerland as part of 'The Days of Indian Literature' in February 2018, and in May-June 2018 Rahman toured various cities of Germany to discuss the novel with readers. The novel has also received the prestigious LitProm Grant managed by the Swiss and German governments.

Rahman lives in Mumbai and works for Strategic Foresight Group.

Rahman Abbas

Instagram: @rahmanabbas

Twitter: @rahman184

Facebook: @rahman.abbas.12

SYNOPSIS:

Mumbai was almost submerged on the fatal noon of 26 July 2005, when the merciless downpour and cloudburst had spread utter darkness and horror in the heart of the city. River Mithi was inundated, and the sea was furious. At this hour of torturous gloom, Rohzin begins declaring in the first line that it was the last day in the life of two lovers, Asrar and Hina.

The novel's protagonist, Asrar, comes to Mumbai, and through his eyes the author describes the hitherto-unknown aspects of Mumbai, unseen colours and unseen secrets of the city's underbelly.

The love story of Asar and Hina begins abruptly and ends tragically. It is love at first sight which takes place in the premises of Haji Ali Dargah.

The arc of the novel studies various aspects of human emotions, especially love, longing and sexuality as sublime expressions. The emotions are examined, so is love as well as the absence of it, through a gamut of characters and their interrelated lives: Asrar's relationship with his teacher, Ms. Jamila, a prostitute named Shanti and, later, with Hina; Hina's classmate Vidhi's relations with her lover and others; Hina's father Yusuf's love for Aymal; Vanu's indulgence in prostitutes.

Rohzin dwells on the plane of an imagination that takes readers on a unique journey across the city of Mumbai, a highly intriguing character in its own right.

Disclaimer: This is not a review, it is only intended for initiating discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author.

"Rahman Abbas won Sahitya Akademi Award 2018 for his Urdu novel Rohzin, which has been translated into English by Sabika Abbas Naqvi and published by Vintage of Penguin Random House India. Firstly, I feel immensely grateful that a fine piece of literary fiction like Rohzin landed in my hands. Secondly, if you are following me on Instagram, you’d know how much I loved reading this book. So, without further ado, let me quickly take you through what I have to say about this masterpiece."

REVIEW

The soul of Rohzin is its dreams—dreams within dreams, the myth within dreams, dreams floating beyond the veil translated by spirits, djinns, devils, and angels, gods and goddesses; the skeleton—its characters with their most dynamic arcs, turning points of which are sharp oxbows; the flesh, blood and skin are made up of all the feelings and emotions that human bodies, their hearts, minds and souls are capable of evoking; finally, the heart of this tale is the city of Mumbai, nah, not just an average-day Mumbai, but Mumbai also on its most cataclysmic days—like dreadful floods of 26th July 2005; the city thriving, pumping blood in its people and them doing same to the city, no matter where they have come from and why, unless on some days some people meet a tragic end; and two of them are our protagonists—Asrar and Hina.

Rahman Abbas captures the spirit of Mumbai not just with its landscapes and skyscrapers, but he explores in minute detail, bars in the dark lanes ahead of D’Mello Road, the drains in Kamathipura, Azad Maidan where drugged kids are forced to beg, and many more experiences that you may not know you needed to read. The village of Mabadmorpho is as beautifully crafted, a coastal village where Asrar hails from. It is also the place where the story starts, melancholy oozing through the death of Asrar’s father, there appear the first signs of a betrayal. A betrayal of parents with their partners. Asrar moves from Mabadmorpho to Mumbai to earn bread and learn tread, where he meets other formidable characters of the novel, who are more or less affected and driven by the same melancholy, be it Hina, Mohmmad Ali—Asrar’s friend from Mabadmorpho at the Kholi on Mohmmad Ali Road, or Shanti—a prostitute. Rahman Abbas warns the readers of the discourse on sexuality in the novel on page 11 itself when Asrar’s first Mumbai morning brings along the tale of a muezzin’s twisted childhood.

For me, this book was one of the rarest gems that truly sets apart novels from any other kind of entertainment. It is irreplaceable. Rahman Abbas traces the history of Mumbai in a Rushdiesque manner through characters that are shown very distantly connected with incidents that have already occurred or will occur in the future. There are djinns, angels, devils, mystics, gods and goddesses that help you penetrate the veil to the other side while the characters make you see inside souls filled with desires. Last but not the least, Sabika Abbas Naqvi’s translation, makes Rohzin in English raw and transparent, retaining the essence of Mumbai culture and Urdu literature.

Of course, there is a lot more to this book other than what I had discussed. For example, the author translates the most fulfilling of experiences on the pages with devotion and passion. Yes, I have never read such an evocative depiction of arousal and desire that leads to sex. Besides, myths, legends and folklore from different religions, cultures and civilizations like those related to Mumba Devi, Seth and Horus, Enki, Ninsar and Ninkurra, are added bonuses.

Highly recommended!

Happy Reading!

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