Akhir-e-Shab Kay Hamsafar / آخر شب کے ہمسفر By Qurratulain Hyder

Hands down, this a cornerstone of Urdu Literature.
Aini Aapa writes with an effortless panache. Her prose reads like a mythical tale at first but when one goes deeper, the prose morphs into something divine. One of the best writer of our times. Hardcover An exquisitely written tragedy iterating, that there’s a ting of melancholic-beauty in the nemesis, too.
The cycle of human existence that goes through the repetitive chain of choices and mistakes...

That there is death and decay for all that was once so meaningful: love, ideals, commitments, ideologies and ‘isms’.
The plot actually symbolises life itself: a journey that may begin with a youthful gusto of hope and dreams and is eventually dashed and snuffed into disillusionment.

Disillusionment towards the very existence, maybe...
The author is more of a master painter who can put layers upon layers of emotions with each stroke yet never letting the basic story-line go astray.

The novel also gives a deep insight into the politico-historical events of Bangal: the ebb and flow of various movements in time.
All of this is done with a sense of overwhelming humanness and sensibility, so as even the tragic hamartia of the characters evokes empathy and understanding.

But it’s a sad sad piece nonetheless and one may only pick it up if can appreciate the beauty in ruins. Hardcover book padh wa de yar
Hardcover When I started reading this book, it felt tedious. Until I read the most exquisitely written chapter of this book, Sundarban. This show how to write fiction that comes alive. For a while, I felt like I am there witnessing everything.

Overall the story is engaging and the Plot at its best. But there are a few chapters where the
prolonged details about characters that do not add much to the Plot can exhaust a person.

Some of the characters portrayed show that Even if a person has all the expertise, knowledge, beauty, aim and talent. life will shatter them, and they would not be able to do anything but witness their slow demise.
On the contrary, even if a person has nothing. Life can bring them ecstasies.

I must quote
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching”.
-Gerard Way. Hardcover 1940 کے ہندوستان کے نوجوانوں کے جذبات کی نمائندگی کرنے والا ایک شاندار ناول جس میں آپ کو تحریکِ آزادی کی کشمکش ، سوشلسٹ آئیڈیالوجی، مختلف سماجوں سے تعلق رکھنے والی عورت ذات کے ملتے جلتے دکھوں کو قرۃ العین حیدر نے خوبصورت الفاظ کی لڑی میں انتہائی نفاست سے پرویا ہے۔ اس کتاب کو ختم کرتے ہوئے میرے ذہن میں یہ خیالات محوِ رقص ہیں۔


اگر کسی کتاب کے اختتام پر آپ کی جذباتی کیفیت یہ ہو کہ آپ اپنے کچھ اچھے دوستوں سے جدا ہو رہے ہیں تو یقین مانیں آپ نے ایک بہترین کتاب پڑھی ہے۔

خلیل رحمان Hardcover

Read & Download Õ PDF, eBook or Kindle ePUB free Ú Qurratulain Hyder

بنگال کی دہشت پسند اور انقلابی تحریک، 1942ء کا اندولن، مطالبہ پاکستان، تقسیم ہند اور قیام بنگلہ دیش کے تناظر میں لکھا گیا ایک ناول۔ Akhir-e-Shab Kay Hamsafar / آخر شب کے ہمسفر

آخر شب کی اصطلاح۔ ۔ ۔ امید کا استعارہ ہے مگر ’’آخر شب کے ہمسفر‘‘ حُزن و ملال کی تصویر ہے۔ ناول غیر حقیقی حد تک اندوہناک ہے اس لئے دل کو زیادہ نہیں بھایا۔
زندگی کے دکھ، درد، تکالیف سب بجا مگر ایسی بھی کیا بھیانک تصویر کشی کرنا کہ انسان کا انسانیت و الوہیت پر رہا سہا اعتبار بھی جاتا رہے۔ ۔ ۔
تفصیل اجمال کی یوں ہے کہ 1940ء کے متحدہ بنگال کا پس منظر ہے جس میں کمیونسٹ تحریک، دہشت پسند گروپ، قیام پاکستان تحریک، انگریزی راج سے وفاداری جیسی پیچیدگیوں کے مضمرات ناول کے کرداروں پر پڑتے ہیں اور تمام مرکزی کردار کمیونسٹ و دہریہ بن کر طرح طرح کے گل کھلاتے ہیں۔ وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ ان کے قول و فعل میں تضادات و تبدیلی ناول کا مرکزی محور ہیں۔
سیاسی حالات کے ساتھ ساتھ ہر کردار کی داخلی نفسیاتی الجھنیں جیسے خود غرضیاں، عزائم کا بودا پن، حسد، ضد، جہالت، صبر، قربانی سمیت بہت سے سماجی نفسیاتی موضوعات کو بھی چُھو کر نکلی ہیں عینی آپا۔
علاوہ ازیں قدیم بنگال کی معاشرت، خوبصورت منظر نگاری اور بنگالی ادب کے چھینٹے (جو کہ سمجھ سے بالا رہے)، انگریزوں کی سول سروس اور ان کی ہندوستان کے لئے علمی خدمت، لاء اینڈ آرڈر، مشنری ٹولیاں، جنگ عظیم۔ ۔ ۔ الغرض اس دور کی کوئی چیز نہیں جو چھوڑی ہو عینی آپا نے۔ البتہ کچھ کچھ جگہ بوریت بھی محسوس ہوئی جب غیر ضروری باتیں زیادہ طول پکڑتی ہیں۔ زبان بھی ہندی بنگالی الفاظ کی کثرت کے باعث خاصی مشکل محسوس ہوتی ہے۔ عینی آپا کی روایتی مشکل پسندی! اختتام بھی بس ایک دم ہی ہوگیا جیسے گاڑی کھائی میں جا گرے۔
ان چند کمیوں کے باوجود، ناول پڑھ کر یہ بات درست لگتی ہے کہ واقعی قرۃالعین حیدر اردو کی بڑی ناول نگار ہیں اور ناول ایسے ہی لکھا جانا چاہیئے۔ یہ اور بات ہے کہ محنت سے لکھنا اور پھر محنت کی پوری داد پانا، دونوں الگ الگ باتیں ہیں۔
عینی آپا کے فن کے لئے 4 ستارے
ناول کی کہانی و کرداروں کے لئے 2 ستارے Hardcover قرۃ العین حیدر کے ناول 'آخرِ شب کے ہمسفر' کو پڑھتے ہوئے مجھے ایک عجیب طرح کے بھاری پن کا احساس ہوا . جہاں ان کے دوسرے ناولوں (دلربا ، چاندنی بیگم ، چاۓ کے باغ وغیرہ ) میں روانی اور سبک خرامی ہے وہیں 'آخر شب کے ہمسفر ' کے پلاٹ میں کئی جگہ رکاوٹ سی محسوس ہوئ . مثال کے طور پر دیپالی سرکار کی عمر کا وہ زمانہ جو شانتی نکیتن میں گزرا . یہاں آ کر پلاٹ کچھ سست پڑ جاتا ہے Hardcover 'مرگ انبوہ واقعی ایک جشن ہے۔'

'آدمی کی عادت ہے اسے اس کی جنت سے نکالو تو وہ اپنے لیے بری بھلی ایک اور جنت بنا لیتا ہے'،
میری نظر میں اس ناول کواگر اس ایک فقرہ میں بیان کیا جائے تو غلط کوشی نہ ہوگی۔

خوبصورت (الہیاتی ) خیالات سے لبریز نثر ، حیاتیاتی و اندرانی روحانی کشمکش ، ناسٹلجیاء (ماضی سے عقیدت) بنگالی نظریاتی و ثقافتی پس منظر، شورش انگیز بنگالی وقت (ہندوستان سے پاکستان اور پھر بنگلہ دیش کے بعد ) ، عصبیاتی پیچیدگی ۔ ۔ ۔ ۔ ۔ ناول کے چند موضوعات و خصوصیات۔

''شعراء کی موضوع ِ سخن، افسانہ نگاروں کی ہیروئن، جذباتی چترکاروں کی تصویر۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔بنگال کی عورت۔ سدا دکھ سہنے والی، صابر و شاکر بے چاری'
'
''وقت اور الفاظ انسان کے شکاری ہیں۔ ''

انسانی نفسیات کل بھی وہی تھی جو آج ہے فرق صرف اتنا ہے کہ ماضی کی ژولیدگی اور پیچیدگی کو مختلف سائنسی و معاشرتی عوامل سے ذہنی سمجھ بوجھ کی استقرائ حالات میں ڈھال دیا گیا ہے۔ اور یہ ناول اس فہم کی بنگالی تہذیب کے تناظر میں عکاسی ہے۔

ٹھوس جزباتی کاملیت و انسانی تہذیبی رواداری بذاتِ خود انسانیت کی بقا ہے،
'مگر جوانی کی اکڑ اور اپنے اصول پرستی کے زعم میں ہم یہ نہیں سمجھ پاتے کہ ہمارے برگوں کےبھی جزبات ہیں۔ ان کی بھی اندرونی جذباتی زندگی ہے۔ انہوں نے بھی شکستہ دلی کا سامنا کیا ہے۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ ''

کرداروں کو ترتیب اور جس ضابطے سے کہانی میں ڈھالا گیا ہے ، لائقِ تحسین ہے۔

بلاشبہ اردو کا ایک خوبصورت ناول۔ Hardcover English version : Fireflies in the Mist

Exquisite novel - engrossing story, memorable characters and rich descriptions. Quratulain Hyder is surely a master storyteller with great insight and ability to portray everything vividly and pictorially.
Akhir e Shab ke Hamsafar covers a wide range of themes and dilemmas. The characters interpret the world through culture, morals, values, ideologies, politics and ethnical conflicts. There's interesting historical backdrop about which my knowledge is mostly limited to history textbooks. The partition of India and then later, partition of East and West Pakistan and it's consequences. How the lives of people were affected by partition?
This is a contemplative and scrutinizing novel where there are a lot of questions but no simple answers. With changing times, not only beliefs but hearts and minds change.
It needs to be read more than once to have better grasp on the arguments and motifs presented in the novel.
The only complain I've about this novel is that it's unnecessarily and unrealistically grim. The characters are faced with 'countless' tragedies and misfortunes which makes it hard to believe and digest. As the novel progresses, it gets darker and darker filled with despair. There's bitterness lamentation.
Still, an important read. Though I think older audience will appreciate it better. Hardcover The title of this memorable novel - like those of some other books by Haider like سفینہ غم دل and گردش رنگ چمن - comes from famous poems (from Faiz in the first instance and Ghalib in the second). This one is directly inspired by a couplet from a haunting ghazal by Faiz. A highly pertinent title as like the fellow travelers Faiz wonders about, many of the leading characters of the novel also disperse and scatter as they journey through life.

آخر شب کے ہم سفر فیضؔ نہ جانے کیا ہوئے
رہ گئی کس جگہ صبا صبح کدھر نکل گئی

Set primarily in the late 1930s and early 1940s in Dhaka, Shanti Naketan, the Sundarbans, Khulna, Nawakhali, Narayan Ganj, and elsewhere in Bengal, Akhir e Shab Ke Humsafar, is one of Qurat ul Ain Haider's most evocative, tragic and contemplative novels. Quite apart from its engrossing story and characters it is incredibly atmospheric as it recreates a bygone culture and brings to life the rains, the verdurous landscape and waterscapes of Bengal, its haunting music, history, myths and lore. Qurat-ul-Ain Haider with her uncanny ability to deeply understand different Hindustani cultures and religions provides the kind of minute details and touches that make possible a persuasive depiction of the rich and complex mosaic of this multi-cultural society. Her diction too skillfully changes color, tone and texture depending on who is being described and when.

The story starts as underground resistance movements are being harshly clamped down by colonial authorities. Dipali Sarkar (a young Hindu Bengali girl with real talent for singing), Rosie (the spirited and brave daughter of a local priest Bannerjee), and their other young class fellows and friends are clandestinely involved in communist activities, unknown to their parents. Haider draws magnificent sketches of upper class western educated Bengalis such as the Raos of Woodlands and their uppity, ill-tempered, complex, and Iago-like daughter Uma; the feudal, conservative, once very decadent, stately and now declining Mulsim nawabs of Arjumand Manzil, and the various women leading melancholic, cloistered lives in its embrace, hosted notably, the good-hearted and tragic Jahan Ara; the middle class, intellectual, artistic and left-leaning household of Dipali; and the devout, modest and rather earnest Bannerjee family. Haider does a very sensitive job of capturing the dilemma of people like Priest Bannerjee and his wife -reviled by being contemptuously referred to as 'Kaltain' by some amongst local Hindus and Muslims and also looked down by many amongst the White sahibs - who are grateful for the relative economic and social emancipation brought to them by conversion to Christianity.

While politics of communism galvanizes the younger lot who reject communalism along religious lines and use class as their primary analytical lens, aristocratic Muslim households like that of Nawab Qamar-ul-Zaman Choudhry of Arjumand Manzil are steeped in Muslim League politics in pursuit of Pakistan, motivated by what they see as the decline of Muslims under colonialism. They visualize economic security in separation from Hindu economic and feudal hegemony that they fear after the departure of the British. What Haider does very successfully is to capture multiplicity of perspectives and different takes on complex debates around identity, religion, nationalism, social structure, communalism, and history. The novel is interspersed with passages and dialogue that underline the fact that there are no easy, simple answers to difficult questions.

While an invaluable documentation of the political movements, debates and preoccupations of its era of focus, Akhir e Shab Ke Hamsafar is also a deeply romantic novel. The romance isn't just provided by the picturesque environment but also the peril-filled lives led and tragic uncertainty of future facing all the young activists, most notably the well-educated, charming, dashing and charismatic Rehan ud din Ahmad, who is frequently on the run from colonial authorities and in disguise of holy men of different faiths. He takes a strong liking to Dipali whom he also asks to pay him a visit on a mission to the Sundarban where he is in hiding.

Haider is also at her best in term of descriptive narration and lovingly captures the beautiful Bengali countryside. Sundarban, in particular, is an exquisitely written chapter not only because of the subtle romance it relates but also her enthralling depictions of primeval nature and the wild.
The magic of rain as it falls in the wet and watery verdurous countryside of Bengal and the historical and poetic imaginings of the quintessential Bengali woman is the theme of another magical chapter titled 'Gor Malhar. Then there is the surreal dream sequence in Bhirbi ka Khwab. The Bengal peasant growing his jute and his rice and other produce, the magical seasons, the trees and flowers, vibrant animal and bird life, the destruction meted out by storms and floods, and the overall precariousness of an otherwise beautiful existence are the various themes of yet another beautiful chapter called Harray Bengal ka Anand Kanan. Akhir e Shab Kai Humsafar may well be the most enchanting novel paying tribute to Bengal outside the Bengali language.

At the same time, the narrative is imbued with a deep lament for the systemic destruction - not just in Bengal but all of Hindustan - of an entire civilization, its modes of production, its autonomy and sovereignty and its social, cultural and intellectual framework. Hence it is also one of the finest anti-colonialism novels in Urdu. The novel is full of rich and poignant discussions of progressive and left movements globally as well as the chronology of resistance against British imperialism and acts of dissent and uprising in Hindustan. It chronicles the strident persecution of communist resistance by the British - it leaders cut down, neutralized or won over. At the same time, the novel describes and contextualizes various religion based revivalist movements. It is a veritable reference guide about the times and its political and religious passions. Yet for all its critical assessment of the same, there is no wholesale rejection of tradition, lore, religion and myth, as Haider often romanticizes and celebrates the past while also valorizing the struggle against dogma, exploitation and suppression. Haider is too subtle, multifarious and complex a writer to be bracketed and put in a slot - her canvass is vast and her assessments require careful analysis and immersion. She asks important and provocative questions about what it means to have a composite and syncretic culture; whether religious identity and interests trump and ought to trump the notion of a common regional, linguistic and cultural identity; and, whether amalgamated practices, ideologies and groups are relevant as parameters to critically examine a society or is it ultimately all about class?

As a matter of fact it is quite outstanding the number of interesting and varied topics that the novel explores - Bengali literature, poetry and music; theatre history; the Bhadra Lok; the Colonial Bengal Civilian; Anglicized native rulers; The Colonial Civilizing Mission; Christian Evangelists & Missionaries; The rebelling Bengali Babu; The paternalistic Mai Baap English District Officer; the compilation and writing of Imperial Gazeteers; The savior Gora Shikari; Victorian England and its morality; ancestors and their imprint on the times; The Colonial Hill Stations; The various local wars against the British and their outcomes; Colonialism and its forms of knowledge; Novels of the Raj; the all too important and so-called 1857 Mutiny; Kipling; the particular culture, sociology and predicament of the Anglo Indians and the Eurasians; The grandeur of colonial entourages and the Deputy Commissioner's Darbar; The marked aloofness and haughtiness of British rule after 1857; The imitating Indian subject; The rebellious spirit and the revolutionaries; Conflicting historical narratives and distortion of native history - Qurat ul ain Haider's reserves are inexhaustible and she is foremost amongst Urdu writers for the scope of her vision and the range of her interests. Many of these themes are lucidly examined from the colonial standpoint - Haider's hallmark to earnestly capture the view from all vantage points once again on display - the stupendous Chapter Charles Barlow - Bengal Civilian.

Haider's primary and strongest characters are all women of firm will, developed personalities and deep commitment to whatever they are committed to. Whether it is the revolutionary Dipali and Rosie; the aristocratic and intelligent Uma; the stoic and noble Jahan Ara; or the irrepressible young Yasmeen from a conservative Moulvi family who wants to chalk out a career in dance. The novel traces their zeal, their experiences, the triumphs and the shocks, and ultimately the conflicts, the compromises and the adjustments that changing times and circumstances help bring about. Destiny and choice dance their eternal dance and Haider leaves us with many insights as well as questions as to who truly prevailed. Fate, frailty and ill-will all have a role to play, as it usually turns out in life. At the same time, Haider paints some of the father figures such as Dr. Naboy Chandra Sarkar, Reverend Paul Methews Manmohan Bannerjee, and even Nawab Qamar ul Zaman with great affection and gentleness - perhaps her own loving relationship with her father is what inspires this.

Haider is also a writer who captures emotions well - love and loathing; regret; jealousy; class complexes and communal biases and how they impact the vulnerable, largesse and ingratitude; and a whole host of other human instincts and behavioral patterns help put together a superb range of situations and emotions that she explores. In particular the oppressive inner environment of conservative, urban, upper-class Muslim households, especially how they reduce women's autonomy - as woven around the story of Rihan ud Din's rebellion - is contrasted in some ways with the idyllic, simple, close to nature life of the country. But while Rihan ud Din has the option to escape, those like Jahan Ara are deprived of that choice, or to pursue higher education and marry out of choice. The theme of vulnerability is also explored in the context of exile - while capturing Dipali's later life in Dipali - of expatriates like her as well the native Trinidadians with their diverse tales of historical displacement and subjugation.

World War II comes as the vital event that disrupts many historical trajectories and creates new ones. It divulges painful facts about how yesterday's revolutionaries can become today's establishment. It follows the increasingly divergent lives of Dipali, Rehan, Rosie, Uma, Jahan Ara and Yasmin - gradually their past lives start appearing as pale and distant reflections of very different people. It appears that each generation becomes more conformist and even compromised with passage times while the young stalwarts of the new generation become rebellious in various ways and look upon them with the same cynicism as they did upon their forebears. Generational evolution and relationships becomes a significant theme in the final one third of the book as the story shifts to the late 1960s, talks about the 1971 War and its aftermath and then the societal landscape post that period. New national boundaries help create new identities - perhaps as fragile as earlier ones, perhaps more - and can also pit the descendants of those against each other who once were part of the same family. Age and experience is the death of idealism and romance it seems - this is also one of Qurat ul Ain Haider's darkest works.

Parts of the last 1/3rd of the book are in diary form that, as said before, takes us through the 1960s and the 1971 war. The diary is from Yasmin Majeed now Yasmin Belmont the dancer who moves to the west to try and carve out an independent existence but is ultimately shown to be a victim of political upheaval as well culture shock. Haider also comments on the next generation's dismay at the hypocrisy of the previous one; it must be said, however, that her depiction of western culture makes it appear singularly debauched and soulless. There is trenchant criticism also of how our nations only honor people when they die. Haider captures how the revolution eats its own children in the context of the massacres both during and after the 1971 War and perpetrated by all sides. Borrowing from classical tales, myths and lore - something that enriches her text throughout - Haider's depiction of how Arjumand Manzil turns into a veritable haunted house is particularly moving and depressing. Quoting from classical tales of Sanghasan Bateesi and Baital Pacheesi she creates an atmosphere of dread and despair. While philosophical questions and details about time, human turmoil, the genesis of conflict and violence, the balm and bane of nostalgia etc., abound Akhir e Shab Kai Humsafar is at one level also a novel about disillusionment.

I have now read this book for the third time and it still leaves me spellbound. With her vast and deep knowledge of multi-religious, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual Hindustan with its many and diverse histories, Qurat ul Ain Haider is a unique writer not just in Urdu literature but beyond that as well. Combine that with her inexhaustible vocabulary, narrative skill & sense of time & space, and reading her becomes an unparalleled experience. Publishers should seriously consider printing special editions of great books like Akhir e Shab kai Humsafar with artistic covers, better paper and printing and more elegant type, as current editions are not befitting. For these are not just books but chronicles of civilizations - and civilizational artifacts in their own right.



I have also reviewed for Goodreads the following books by Qurat ul Ain Haider
Aag Ka Darya: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gardish e Rang e Chaman: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Hardcover