A journey through fiction

Historical novels can be a good source for understanding our past depending on who has written them and how. In modern world literature, there is a fine example of Hilary Mantel who wrote historical novels such as ‘Bring up the Bodies’ and ‘Wolf Hall’.

In Pakistan, historical novels in Urdu have seen a resurgence with Akhtar Raza Saleemi and Zaif Syed at the forefront of writing such novels. While Saleemi wrote more about the past and present of the Hazara region, Zaif Syed’s span ranges from medieval Andalusia to Angoor Adda in Waziristan of present-day Pakistan. His first novel ‘Aadhi Raat ka Suraj’ (The Sun at Midnight) came out in 2013 and 2019 (Aks Publications) and became a valuable addition to the genre of historical novels in Urdu. It is a saga of Muslim rise and fall in the Iberian Peninsula.

In terms of technique, it is one of the best Urdu novels I have ever read. Extraordinarily gripping and with amazing details, it carries the past and present of Spain in a flow that we don’t commonly see in Urdu novels of the 21st century. Giving us a condensed version of history spanning many centuries, Zaif Syed manages to climb from one century to another and from one region of Spain to another in a masterful manner. Technique-wise it crosses the boundaries of history, novel, travelogue etc.

Like good historical novels, it blends fiction and non-fiction but in a way we cannot compartmentalize in any one genre. As Zaif Syed put it: “Is it necessary to place each book in a particular box and label it? Maybe the book does not fit in any of the existing slots.” Most of the historical novels that Urdu writers penned in the past hundred years or so have been more of religious propaganda than literature. ‘Aadhi Raat ka Suraj’ presents some startling facts about Muslim Spain without eulogizing Muslim conquerors.

In this page-turner of just 100 leaves, Zaif Syed manages to weave zigzag tales of adventures and dramatic events in quick succession: all leading to one of the saddest tragedies of Muslim history. That tragedy was not an event but a series of developments unfolding over at least a couple of centuries in the Iberian Peninsula.

From the Crusades to the Muslim debacle in Spain, germs of the Renaissance were already visible in Europe which had remained in the so-called dark ages for nearly eight centuries. Muslim Andalusia was a leading light during those centuries for the rest of Europe. It excelled in multiple fields from applied and physical sciences to philosophy and mathematics and left indelible marks on European civilization.

Zaif Syed begins his novel (or rather novella cum travelogue) in 1276 with a 30,000-strong Muslim army trying to approach Paris and attempt a takeover. The Arab army was far superior in armoury and weaponry with time-tested cavalry to boot. The opposing army – mostly French – did not have many horses as heavy cavalry had yet to enter Europe. Even a spur was a novelty not many armies in Europe could skilfully manoeuvre.

The better-armed Arab army could not defeat Frankish General Charles Martel and the dream of a Muslim conquest of Europe remained unfulfilled. From this episode, Zaid Syed spins his yarns that encircle you in a web of highly interesting events, ideas, and personalities. He keeps bringing you back to 21st-century Paris and to the gypsies that roam around southern Europe in groups. In the novel we traverse cities such as Cordova (Qartaba) and Toulouse, Narbonne Poitier, and then suddenly we find ourselves in Madrid which is rocked by terrorist attacks in March 2004.

Zaif Syed’s second novel ‘Gul Meena’ brings us from Andalusia to Angoor Adda with the story of a girl who escapes a forced marriage and ends up eloping with her love Zarjaan. This novel weaves tales in the Pashtun region which is mostly tribal and spans from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The writer appears to be a master of techniques in novel writing, blending the milieu of colonial imperialism and the Great Game between the British and the Russian empires with the deeply religious local people who form one warring group after another.

How foreign powers have scarred this region is evident from the novel which successfully recreates various levels of fright that this region has witnessed from the times of Ahmed Shah Abdali through to the British period and finally to the American occupation of Afghanistan. Terror is a recurring theme that saps the energies of the people who inhabit this rather unfortunate land.

Like his first novel discussed above, ‘Gul Meena’ is also a tapestry of history, politics, international relations, and religion. From present-day Waziristan, the story takes off to the span of decades in the past and then comes back to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

The female protagonist’s elopement takes her mistakenly to Afghanistan where her lover – now husband – joins a terrorist group and disappears without a trace. After some time, the representatives of the terrorist group come to inform her that Zarjaan lost his life. They promise to pay for her upkeep with a steady monthly stipend, but that stops after a few months. Then she ends up marrying another militant who treats her son badly. The son himself becomes a terrorist and ultimately a suicide bomber who blows himself up on Dec 27, 2007.

This is just one stream of the novel; others include the British intrigues and the last days of Ahmed Shah Abdali who was dependent on his eunuch servant on his deathbed. Then there are the characters of Pao Jaan and Shafique Rangsaaz with all their interesting traits and tribulations. The geography of this region appears to be a forte of Zaif Syed who is immaculate in his location of villages and towns on both sides of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It reminds one of Shaukat Siddiqui’s novel ‘Jangloos’ in which the novelist delineates Punjab and its villages and towns pretty accurately.

A third feather in Zaif Syed’s cap is his extraordinary ability to translate English into Urdu. His book ‘Bagh-e-Hazaar Paich’ is the Urdu translation of ‘The Aleph’ and other stories by Jorge Luis Borges published in the 1940s. He was an Argentine essayist, poet, short-story writer, and translator who emerged as a key figure in Spanish language literature of the 20th century.

‘The Aleph’ is a compilation of his short stories with some common dreams and labyrinths. The stories have themes revolving around libraries, mirrors, and fictional and real writers. The Urdu translations of these stories are gripping with fairly readable ideas on philosophy and religion.

Zaif Syed appears to have found a common streak with Borges in the character of unreality in literature. The story of ‘The Aleph’ itself depicts what Borges called ‘fantastic genre’ exploring themes of literature, perception, reality, and representation within space and time. ‘Bagh-e-Hazaar Paich’ is full of philosophical puzzles from the musings of Ibne Rush (Averroes) to supernatural surprises and uncanny insights. From fanatical Christian theologians and Mayan priests to an unrepentant Nazi and a woman plotting vengeance on her father’s killers, all stories are worth reading in Syed’s Urdu translations.

Zaif is still young and has tremendous potential to write many more books and translate world literature into Urdu. He is undoubtedly one of the most well-read writers of his age, and having an immense capacity to work is an added advantage.

The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK. He tweets/posts @NaazirMahmood and can be reached at: mnazir1964@yahoo.co.uk