A new Urdu novel after a long time – a pleasant reading! An honest evaluation requires a long time and much more space, which is not possible now. My aim here is to review it for the readers.
Despite his scientific field of expertise, Prof. Khurshid Hasnain has written this Urdu novel with linguistic mastery and excellence. The best feature of this novel titled ‘Manzar Ek Bulandi Se’ is the long, pleasant, and engaging narrative. The plot is revealed through thoughts and dialogues. Although there are no complex characters, the story is developed smoothly.
The protagonist, as it appears to the reader, was involved in violent political conflicts long before the story began. The reader finds that he is still hiding from his old enemies. Towards the end, Shahjahan, aka Prince, is killed by his old foes, who were his friends earlier.
Hakeem Sahib, another important character, with his two sons and a daughter, maintains, looks after, and runs his business. This garden grows trees with a strange therapeutic fruit. Sofia, a photojournalist, publishes reports on the fruit garden and three rocks that resemble human shapes. A famous artist tries to turn these rocks into statues of men and a woman.
Khwaja Sahib is another important character who is a very influential builder. He buys the nearby area for a new housing scheme, which includes a large portion of land from Hakeem Sahib’s garden and the proposed statues.
The plot of the novel thickens as all “forces” gather around this hill: the clerics who have been moved against the statues as they conflict with the religion, some criminals, a large number of people who wanted to see the statues, and the local population. Prince is targeted in the huge commotion.
The novel succeeds in depicting social injustice and the struggle for improvement, but fails to develop complex characters. The plot is well-structured. There are allusions to past violent political conflicts and operations in the recent history of the city, but no names are mentioned.
The Urdu language is used beautifully in accordance with the social status of the speakers. The use of lexical borrowings is employed as it is reflected in society. I believe that people who enjoy reading novels will revel in this.
‘Manzar Ek Bulandi Se’ by Prof. Khurshid Hasnain must be referred to as a breath of fresh air, especially for those who wrongly see the ultimate death of the Urdu novel in the times to come. Though the novel, an exclusive literary genre, seems to have lost its sheen in the modern era amidst the technological advancements coupled with the declining reading habits among the new generation, the novel ‘Manzar Ek Bulandi Se,’ indeed, surprises many as it has been able to remind us of the relevance the fiction, in its variety of forms, still enjoys. One hopes the lot of Urdu writers in the subcontinent will keep making a concerted effort to revive the novel back to its glory days.
Leave a Reply