Kachuve / کچھوے

by Intizar Husain

Kachway by Intizar Hussain

173 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Intizar Husain (1925–2016) was a journalist, short-story writer, and novelist, widely considered one of the most significant fiction writers in Urdu. Born in Dibai, Bulandshahr, in British-administered India, he migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and lived in Lahore. Besides Basti, he was the author of two other novels, Naya Gar (The New House), which paints a picture of Pakistan during the ten-year dictatorship of the Islamic fundamentalist General Zia-ul-Haq, and Agay Sumandar Hai (Beyond Is the Sea), which juxtaposes the spiraling urban violence of contemporary Karachi with a vision of the lost Islamic realm of al-Andalus. Collections of Husain’s celebrated short stories have appeared in English under the titles Leaves, The Seventh Door, A Chronicle of the Peacocks, and An Unwritten Epic.

Reviews

[Ubaid Talpur · Rating 2 out of 5]

in this book of Legend Intizar Hussian 18 short stories/Afsany , all are heart touching and meaningful.

[Abhaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one goes to something-is-going-on-here-but-I-can't-put-my-finger-on-what dept. Intizar Hussain is a highly celebrated Urdu writer whose Jataka stories are considered to have broken new ground in modern story telling. There are 3 such stories in this collection including the eponymous Kachhue. Last story in the collection Kishti also takes the legends of the great flood from various traditions and creates a composite narrative out of them. After reading these four, I am not really convinced about them being a successful experiment. To me the format seemed to take the priority over the content thus rendering the stories very dull.

On the other hand, I enjoyed some of the other stories like Shor, Badal, Khwab aur Takdir. All the stories remain abstract, almost fable like. They are not settled in either time or space though some of it can be inferred at times. For example the stories Neend and Aseer seem to occur in post 1971 Pakistan. Similarly, the three stories Raat, Deewar and Khwab Aur Takdir betray a disillusionment with the dream of building a great nation.

I wouldn't call him an easy writer to read. Which is both a compliment and a critique. The form seems to take over content in many places which would leave you puzzled and unsatisfied. On the other hand, the best literary works do demand engagement from the reader before they will yield their flavors. I have one more of his short story collection which I might come back to later.

[Mahender Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

नए अंदाज और नए शिल्प की बढ़िया कहानियां।