A surrealist critique of society

Express Tribune

02-03-2025

Influenced by artistic freedom, Mazharul Islam's creative experiments grant him a unique and elevated place in Urdu literature, hence it wouldn't be wrong to say that he is the "manifest sun" of Urdu literature. His writings prominently feature abstraction, interior monologue, unconventional narrative techniques, and a strong symbolic and allegorical style. From his first short story collection Ghorron Ke Sheher Mein Akela Aadmi (A Lonely Man in the City of Horses) to his latest novel Zindagi Ne Murr Kar Shaitan Ke Qatil Ko Dekha Aur Muskurai (Life Turned, Looked at the Devil's Killer, and Smiled), he has continuously captivated readers with his magical prose.
In his stories and novels, Mazharul Islam creates a world that is real and surreal at the same time, which comes across as an enigmatic and meaningful realm. Such literary audacity in fiction is a hallmark of Mazharul Islam, whose newly published novel is another brilliant example of his storytelling prowess and philosophical depth. Even while existing in a literary world shaped by writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Franz Kafka, Haruki Murakami, Alice Hoffman, and Jorge Luis Borges, Mazharul Islam has sculpted his own unique style like a master craftsman. His vast reading, keen observation, deep thought, and boundless imagination have played a vital role in shaping his literary identity.
The themes and characters in Mazharul Islam's stories are not purely imaginary. As they emerge from the everyday people and their lives around us, his imaginative strength transforms these characters into magical realism. His poetic prose holds the depth of a mesmerising gaze.
Someone once said, 'Prose walks, while poetry dances,' but in the case of Mazharul Islam, his prose performs a spiritual dance, like the whirling dervishes of Konya. You will not find such beautiful metaphors and similes in Urdu novels elsewhere. Just as elderly women used to traditionally weave intricate quilts with pieces of colourful fabric, Mazharul Islam spreads countless rainbow-like hues on the canvas of his imagination, completely enchanting his readers.
His new novel, Zindagi Ne Murr Kar Shaitan Ke Qatil Ko Dekha Aur Muskurai, is yet another manifestation of his magical storytelling. Not only is its title unique (as all his book titles tend to be), its theme, style, and allegorical depth also make it significant. Like his other writings, this novel is rich in symbols and metaphors. Words such as "life," "Satan," "killer," and "smile" are not used in their literal sense but in a deeply symbolic context. He considers himself a surrealist, and surrealism is an essential element of his style.
At its core, the novel critiques the decline of societal values in a world where truth-seeking has become a distant dream, where deceit, lies, and fraud dominate, and where greed for power and control has completely stripped people of their moral conscience, leaving behind their hollow souls. This is the bitter reality of our society: deception, betrayal, hatred, dishonesty, and disloyalty have seeped into our social fabric. From the highest corridors of power to the judiciary, bureaucracy, and media, every sector of life has been morally corrupted. Symbolically, he refers to this as the "satanic cycle."
This novel is an attempt to rescue society's oppressed, impoverished, and subjugated from this "satanic cycle"—to preserve the values and traditions that are slipping away like sand through our fingers.
Through this novel, he contrasts life before and after the rise of this cycle — when there was sincerity, pure and selfless love, moral integrity, beauty, romance, and passion. Life was enchanting. But then, greed, power, and control turned brothers against each other. His novel serves as a powerful outcry against this exploitative system. This is the essence of magical realism — where the subject matter is rooted in reality but infused with fantasy and mystical elements.
Like his previous works, this novel also offers glimpses of beautiful past memories. Our tragedy is that we have forgotten our past, and those who forget their past are also forgotten by the future. Mazharul Islam emphasises through his writing that these cherished ideals, traditions, sincerity, and pure love are our shared heritage, and turning away from them means surrendering to the satanic cycle, from which there is no escape.
This novel reflects on love, death, loneliness, and even spirituality, just like his previous works. Although he does not oppose science and modern technology, he does not entirely agree with their effects either. For example, he stayed away from mobile phones for a long time because he believed that the romance of writing letters could never be replaced by mobile communication. Interestingly, that is the reason why he frequently mentions postmen with deep affection and nostalgia in his stories. He has an eternal love for museums, antique clocks, books, libraries, and birds — topics that appear repeatedly in his writings. This novel, too, contains a touching narrative about these elements. He even writes about an old museum of abandoned letters — letters that never reached their intended destinations. This is almost like a sorrowful declaration of the end of a great tradition, for there will no longer be letters, and no more postmen in khaki uniforms ringing their cycle bells.
Mazharul Islam is a lamenter of the rapidly disappearing traditions of society. The Alpha generation of today has no knowledge of cobblers, postmen, or potters — how they lived, worked and contributed to the society. They have no idea how perfumers extracted essence for their fragrances. Perhaps even the tales of messenger pigeons seem unreal to them today, but in reality, the famous war pigeon "Cher Ami" is still preserved in a museum in America. This pigeon saved countless lives during World War I at the cost of its own.
Overall, Mazharul Islam's novel raises profound questions about human moral decline, the battle between good and evil, and social injustices. It is a work that simultaneously engages the reader on intellectual, psychological, and allegorical levels. While it may be challenging for the casual reader, it is a masterpiece for those interested in modernist and philosophical literature. It delves into human psychology, ethics, social decay, and existential crises, leading the reader beyond a conventional narrative into a world of intellectual and abstract exploration, where reality and imagination merge seamlessly.
Ashfaq Azar is a freelance contributor
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