Fireflies in the Mist

by Qurratulain Hyder

Championed by Salman Rushdie in The New Yorker, Qurratulain Hyder is one of the "must reads" of Indian literature. Fireflies in the Mist is Hyder's capstone to her astonishing River of Fire, which was hailed by The New York Review of Books as "magisterial with a technical resourcefulness rarely seen before in Urdu fiction."

Fireflies follows the creation of modern day Bangladesh -- from Indian province, to Partition, to the emergence of statehood -- as told through the impassioned voice of Deepali Sarkar and others around her who live through the turbulence. Hyder perceptively and majestically follows the trajectory of Sarkar's life -- from her secluded upbringing in Dhaka to becoming a socialist rebel and to her ultimate transformation as a diasporic Bengali cosmopolitan -- in the way that many of yesterday's revolutionaries are slowly but surely ensnared within a net of class and luxury dangled in front of them.

Genres: Fiction, India, Bangladesh, Historical Fiction, Historical, Novels, Literature

325 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1979

About the author

Qurratulain Hyder was an influential Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959 from Lahore, Pakistan, that stretches from the 4th century BC to post partition of India. Popularly known as "Ainee Apa" among her friends and admirers, she was the daughter of writer and a pioneer of Urdu short story writing Sajjad Haidar Yildarim (1880–1943). Her mother, Nazar Zahra, who wrote at first as Bint-i-Nazrul Baqar and later as Nazar Sajjad Hyder (1894–1967), was also a novelist and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali, who published her first novel.

She received the 1967 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Patjhar Ki Awaz (Short stories), 1989 Jnanpith Award for Akhir-e-Shab Ke Humsafar, and the highest award of the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1994. She also received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2005.

Reviews

[Osama Siddique · Rating 5 out of 5]

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...

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Joseph Pfeffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel of grand historical sweep by the writer widely viewed as the greatest Urdu author of the 20'th century. Hyder translated her own book, so it doesn't read like a translation. While it deals with the transition of India from British colony to bifurcated Hindu/Muslim nation, it focuses on a group of Muslim women whose lives are intertwined in a way that makes their stories personal, so you care about the people more than the politics. Each has a different fate when India gains independence and Hindus and Muslims split. Hyder is a Muslim, and so are her main characters, but she has a marvelous empathy for Hindus and Christians, based on a kind of nostalgia for when these groups lived with one another in harmony. Fireflies In The Mist is laced with both humor and heartbreak. You laugh in one paragraph, feel devastated by what's happening in the next. Hyder is not just one of the greatest Urdu novelists. She is a great novelist period. Her work holds up with the very best of the last century.

[Madhubrata · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book. Shockingly little known. I started off reading it as a bit of a joke (hindustani lit about the bengalis?) but the loving intimacy with which hyder depicts our people, with all our differences and divergences and similarities, and the way she captures the overarching sense of loss that has grasped the east bengali in the decades following partition, have truly won me over.

[Nikhil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. This book is basically perfect. Hyder can seamlessly switch between nineteenth century novel of manners to 20th century existential spiral into madness to teenage adventure romance to Urdu poetry to spiritual meditation. Her mastery of these forms and the characters voices allow her to tell a story of an entire generation. How they dreamed rebellion against their parents and the creation of a new society and life for themselves, how they betrayed their own dreams, how they became the very parents they rebelled against, and how they bequeathed their children violence and ruination.

The novel is both highly personal, tracking the intertwined lives of four women, and social, providing an elegy for a South Asia that was and never came to be. South Asia’s independence movements from Britain yielded stillborn national ideas. India’s national vision of a secular society died in the slaughterhouse of partition and the state sanctioned expropriation and ethnic cleansing of Muslims. Pakistan’s vision of a socialist Islamic homeland for all South Asia’s Muslims died when West Pakistan turned Muslim refugees away at the border and again during the 1971 war when clerics twisted the Quran to support state genocide against fellow Muslims in Bengal. These disruptions and betrayals, in which the main characters and their families are complicit, shatters these four women’s lives.

Ignore the description on the back of the book: it is simplistic and designed to appeal to western readers. Also ignore the comments below (by white readers) about how the text is inaccessible. The text is written for South Asians who have family memory and other knowledge of the events taking place. The text is not an introductory course for those uninitiated to South Asian history. It does not need a glossary: engage with the text on its own terms and look up what you don’t know.

[Salman Khalid · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Kamran · Rating 5 out of 5]

'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۔

[Amari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely absorbing. I found it difficult to begin, but as I became more accustomed to the Bengali Urdu as well as Hindu and Muslim vocabulary, character names, place names, and honorifics used throughout, the dramatic saga started to work its magic on me. This book in fact caused me to miss an evening at the theater (not paying attention to my stop on the U-Bahn) and to take a completely wrong train on the way back from a meeting, even though tourists asked me which train it was. I cheerfully replied, never noticing that it was their train but not mine until many stops later. So, an outrageously good book.

I'm not sure how to write about this story, this history, these examples of the tragic paths that so many Indian and, later, Pakistani lives took in the 1940s and 1950s. The fast transition from feudal society to political hothouse didn't suit the collective personality of Bengal, a humane and artistic community with (obviously) its own problems -- aside from those forced upon it as Muslims, Christians and Hindus who had lived happily and respectfully side by side for many generations suddenly found themselves enemies, refugees, and worse. Communism forms a shady yet idealistic backdrop to much of the story. The class struggles and religious/political choices of several young (and foolish) young women form the basis of the novel on one level; their innate courage, resourcefulness, and necessarily precocious maturity does so on another, mirroring the snowballing speed with which we all move helplessly through the stages of life. A great and heartrending saga of generations of good people lost along the way.

[Parvathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language is uninspiring, the narrative is clumsily put together, and it may not be the greatest piece of Urdu literature in translation I have read (it might be because the book has lost quite a bit in translation). But it was riveting. The characters bear witness to all the traumatic events that Bengal (more specifically Dhaka) went through in the twentieth century - the nationalist movement, the birth of East Pakistan, the wars with India and finally the birth of Bangladesh. Hyder creates a variety of characters - Hindu, Muslim, Christian; they see the evolving events through different perspectives; and the complexity and nuances of identities, Muslim and Hindu, form the crux of the book. Ultimately it is a critique of nationalism and politics - the revolutionary idealism of the early years transforms into bitterness and disillusionment, and we are left questioning the idea of nationhood itself. “What did we do? What did our generation achieve?,” thinks Deepali, a character at the end of the book. It’s a cynical question, born out of the idealism of the independence movement. The answer may not be all that depressing, to a generation that didn’t live through these tumultuous events of the last century. But Hyder gives voice, in this remarkable saga, to people who did. A compelling read.

[Tarun · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Jenny Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a feeling this novel lost a lot in its translation from Urdu. It isn’t easy for Westerners to follow, with the many variations on each name, and the many classical Indian references. It could use a glossary. Yet if you stick with it to the end, you get into its rhythm and feel its power.

It follows a group of young woman and men from the days of British rule, through the Partition of India and the creation of Bangladesh. It explores the revolutionary impulse, as well as the ways revolutionaries are co-opted. And it’s a love story, although not an idealized one.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

آخر شب کے ہمسفر فیض نہ جانے کیا ہوئے
رہ گئی کس جگہ صبا، صبح کدھر نکل گئی
فیض کا یہ شعر اس ناول کے مرکزی خیال کی ترجمانی کرتا ہے۔ اس سے بہتر عنوان اس ناول کا شاید ہی کوئی ہو سکتا۔

"آخر شب کے ہمسفر" قرۃ العین حیدر کا ایک ایسا شاہکار ہے جو بیسویں صدی کے وسط میں بنگال کے سیاسی، معاشرتی اور تہذیبی پس منظر کو نہایت مہارت سے پیش کرتا ہے۔ اس ناول میں مصنفہ نے نہ صرف بنگال کی انقلابی تحریکوں، سیاسی کشمکش اور سماجی تبدیلیوں کو موضوع بنایا ہے، بلکہ اینگلو انڈین تہذیب، تحریکِ آزادی، تقسیمِ ہند اور بنگلہ دیش کے قیام جیسے اہم تاریخی واقعات کو بھی پیش کیا ہے۔
تاریخ، سیاست اور انسانی جذبات اس ناول کے مرکزی پہلو ہیں، لیکن میرے خیال میں اس کا سب سے اہم موضوع "وقت" ہے۔ قرۃ العین حیدر کے ہاں وقت محض ایک تصور نہیں بلکہ ایک جیتی جاگتی قوت ہے، جس کی بالادستی سب کچھ بدل کر رکھ دیتی ہے چاہے وہ کرداروں کے حالات ہوں یا نظریات۔

اس ناول کو پڑھتے ہوئے مجھ پر صرف ایک کیفیت طاری رہی اور وہ تھی اداسی، جس سے باہر آنا مشکل تھا۔ یہاں تک کہ کرداروں کے درمیان پیدا ہونے والی محبت بھی اس اداسی سے آزاد نہیں تھی۔

"چاروں طرف زندگی کی کہانیوں کے باب کھلتے اور ختم ہو جاتے ہیں اور کردار صفحات میں سے نکل کر قبروں میں جا لیٹتے ہیں۔ چناؤں میں پھونک دیئے جاتے ہیں۔ نیا صفحہ پلٹ کر قاری آگے بڑھتا ہے۔"

تین نسلوں پر محیط اس داستان کے اہم کرداروں میں دیپالی سرکار، ریحان الدین احمد، روزی، جہاں آراء ، اومارائے دیبی، یاسمین مجید، نواب قمرالزماں چودھری، پادری بنر جی اور ناصرہ نجم السحر ہیں۔
اس ناول کی ہیروئن دیپالی سرکار ہے جو برطانوی راج کے خلاف بنگال کی انڈر گراؤنڈ انقلابی تحریک میں شامل ہوگئی اور ریحان اس تحریک کا سب سے متحرک اور سرگرم رہنما ہے۔ دیپالی اور ریحان ایک دوسرے کو پسند کرنے لگتے ہیں۔ اومارائے دیبی ایک سیکولر اور کمیونسٹ عورت ہے۔ وہ ریحان سے محبت کرتی ہے اور اپنی حسد اور سازش سے دیپالی کو ریحان سے جدا کر دیتی ہے۔ آخر میں، ساری زندگی لامذہب رہنے کے بعد، مذہب کی طرف لوٹ آتی ہے۔ دیپالی تحریک چھوڑ دیتی ہے، اپنے خاندان کے ساتھ ملک سے باہر چلی جاتی ہے اور وہاں شادی کر کے پرآسائش زندگی گزارتی ہے۔ ریحان بھی تحریک سے منہ موڑ کر سیاست میں آ جاتا ہے، وزارت حاصل کرتا ہے اور نواب بن جاتا ہے، یعنی وہ نظریاتی طور پر خود انہی لوگوں جیسا ہو جاتا ہے جن کے خلاف وہ لڑتا تھا۔
روزی پادری بنر جی کی اکلوتی بیٹی، ایک اینگلو انڈین لڑکی ہے، جو ابتدا میں انقلابی اور باغی ہے اور بعد میں روزر سے رادھیکا بن کر دولت اور آسائش کی خاطر اپنے نظریات چھوڑ دیتی ہے۔
ایک دن دیپالی اپنی دوست جہاں آراء کے کمرے میں ریحان کی تصویر دیکھ لیتی ہے جو قمر الزماں کا بھانجا اور جہاں آراء کا منگیتر ہے لیکن ریحان اسے تحریک اور نظریات کی وجہ سے چھوڑ دیتا ہے۔
یاسمین مجید کا تعلق قدامت پسند گھرانے سے ہے لیکن وہ بیرونِ ملک چلی جاتی ہے اور رقاصہ بن کے شہرت حاصل کرتی ہے اور بقیہ زندگی احساسِ جرم میں مبتلا رہتی ہے۔
ریحان اپنے ماموں کے خلاف نظریاتی جنگ لڑتا ہے لیکن آخرکار ان کے قتل کے بعد انہی کی جائیداد کا وارث بن جاتا ہے۔
ناصرہ نجم السحر نئی نسل کی نمائندہ ریحان الدین کی بھانجی اور نئی نسل کی انقلابی ہے۔
اس ناول کا موضوع، کردار، منظر نگاری، نثر سب کچھ شاندار ہے۔ یہ انسانی جدوجہد، آدرش، انقلاب اور شکست کی کہانی ہے۔ یہ ناول دکھاتا ہے کہ نظریات کتنے بھی مضبوط ہوں، وقت اور حالات کے آگے بدل جاتے ہیں۔ دیپالی،روزی، ریحان اور اومارائے یہ تین کردار انقلابی تھے لیکن وقت کے ساتھ ان سے دستبردار ہو گئے۔
اگرچہ وقت بہت کچھ بدل دیتا ہے، لیکن ہر دور میں ایک نسل ایسی ضرور پیدا ہوتی ہے جو مروجہ نظام سے بغاوت کرتی ہے، اور جس کے اندر بہتر مستقبل کا خواب زندہ رہتا ہے۔ ناول کے آخر میں ناصرہ اس نئی نسل کی نمائندہ ہے جسے مصنفہ نے "آج کی باغی" کہا ہے۔

"لاکھوں برس سے سورج اسی طرح طلوع ہوتا ہے اور غروب ہوتا ہے اور طلوع ہوتا ہے اور غروب ہوتا ہے اور طلوع"

[mehreen 🎹 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75

[Raihan Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sally Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I have been struggling through this book for months (longer than September of 2011). What a challenge. What a read. It was very hard to understand the culture, the different nicknames people are called, all kinds of little things. If you read it, plan to start slowly, make a vocabulary list, as well as a character list, and keep track of everyone. I hope I read it again sometime, but as I have had it out of the library for 9 months, I figure someone else should stumble across it.

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a very hard time getting into this book. I lack a cultural/historical/religious background that would have provided a frame of reference. I constantly had to look up a map or an event or a word. Eventually I made myself just go with the story and not worry about understanding everything. Then I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I didn't really like the way it ended. The style changed, as well as the tone.

[Khalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Mujahid Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Amann Junaid]

book padh wa de yar

[Tariq Ahmad Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

وہ جو فیض صاحب نے کہا ہے ناں
۔
اخر شب کے ہمسفر فیض نہ جانے کیا ہوئے
رہ گئی کس جگہ صبا صبح کدھر نکل گئی
۔
تو سمجھ لیجیے یہ ناول فیض صاحب کے اسی شعر کی نثری تشریح ہے۔ تیس کی دھائی کے اخیر اور چالیس کی دھائی کے ابتدائی سالوں سے شروع ہونے والا یہ ناول بہت سے ایسے موضوعات اور واقعات کہ گردا گرد لکھا گیا ہے کہ آپ کے دل کو گدائے گا ضرور۔ دیپالی سرکار،روزی بینر جی، یاسمین مجید ، اوما رائے، ریحان دادا اور جہاں آراء کے کرادر( ہر کردار کئی لحاظ سے المیہ) جو بنگال کی زیر زمین دہشت پسند تحریک سے وابستہ۔ یہ ناول اس تحریک سے زیادہ بہت سے کرداروں کی زندگی سے جڑے واقعات کا ہی تو بیان ہے۔ کہ وقت اپنے ساتھ انسان اور اس کے مختلف نظریات کو کس حد تک بدل کر رکھ دیتا ہے۔
ناول پڑھتے پڑھتے اپ قرۃ العین حیدر کی تخیل اور قلم کی طاقت کے مداح ہوئے جاتے ہیں۔یہ کیسے اس چھوٹے سے ناول میں انہوں نے اتنے زیادہ موضوعات کردار کرداروں کی ذہنی اور دلی حالت مختلف کمیونٹیز کے مذہبی اور معاشرتی رہن سہن کو اتنی آسانی سے سمو دیا ہے۔بلکہ یہ سب موضوعات اس خوبتوتی کے ساتھ ایک دوسرے میں گندے ہیں کہ کہیں کچھ بھی غیر ضروری یا بھرتی کا نہیں لگتا۔پھر چاہے وہ مقامی کالے عیسائی پادری ان کے مذہبی رجحان خیالات یا احساسات ہوں زوال پذیر مسلمان زمینداری اور نوابین نظام ہو۔برصغیر میں زوال پذیر سلطنت برطانیہ کی علامت چارلس بار لو ہو،نوجوان نسل کی انگریزوں بار سوچ یا ان کے خلاف جدوجہد ہو،یاسمین مجید کی اپنی اخلاقیات اور روایات سے بغاوت ہو یا ریحان دادا کی اپنے ادرشوں کے لیے جدوجہد یا پھر ان میں واضح اور مکمل تغیر اور تبدیلی ہو،مختلف مذاہب کے ماننے والوں کا ایک دوسرے کے ساتھ باہمی عزت اور احترام کا رشتہ ہو یا پھر وقت اور حالات کے جبر کے تحت (تقسیم ہند، بنگلا دیش کا قیام) ان رشتوں میں عجیب سا کھچاؤ یا بدلاؤ ہو۔
۔
اس ناول میں رومانس بھی ہے جو ہمارے ہاں عموما رائج رومان سے کہیں مختلف ہے۔انگریزوں کے خلاف جدوجہد کی تحریک کے دوران اگر دل کے تار چھڑ جائے تو اس میں دل بالوں کا کیا قصور پھر چاہے ریحان بابو کا دیپالی سے پیار ہو جو اسے دیپالی کو تحریک کے نام پر سندر بن کے جنگلوں میں بلوا لیتے ہیں یا پھر اوما دی کا ریحان سے بظاہر لاتعلق سا دکھنے والا پیار جو انہیں کمینگی پہ مجبور سا کر دیتا
۔
یہ ناول اپنے اندر کتنا کچھ سمے ہوئے ہے قرۃ العین حیدر اپنے تخیل کے عروج پر نظر ائیں بنگال کی لوگ شاعری ہو موسیقی ہو روایات ہوں تاریخ ہو یا مذھبی رسوم اور سیاسی تاریخ کو اس خوبصورت انداز میں کرداروں کے ساتھ اپنی نظر میں پرویا ہے کہ اپ بھی اختیار داد دینے پر مجبور ہو جاتے
۔
اخر شب کے ہمسفر اس ناور نے مجھے عجیب سی اداسی کا شکار کیے رکھا اور ہر گزرتے باب اور صفحے کے ساتھ یہ اداسی اور گہری ہوتی چلی گئی۔دیپالی روزی جہاں ارا یاسمین اور ریحان دادا کے کردار وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ ان کرداروں کی زندگی میں آنے والے اتار چڑھاؤ زندگی، قمر الزمان چودری اور ان کی ادھوری محبت غرض کیا کچھ نہیں ہے جو اپ کو دکھ ہی سا کرتا چلا جاتا ہے۔اور اور ناول کا اختتام اتے اتے اپ گہری سوچ اور چپک ہو جاتے ہیں

[Shefali Tripathi Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this novel while searching for another and picked it up to read an author I hadn’t before. It was completely absorbing and my ‘book hangover’ is almost tangible.

Written in Urdu as Akhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar, it has been ‘transcreated’ by the author herself into English, lending the narration the fluidity of original English. Perfectly paced and full of twists towards the end, it captures scenic Bengal hauntingly.

There are many well-written, comprehensive reviews here already, so I will add a few aspects of the novel that stood out for me:

The introduction by Pakistani critic and short-story writer Aamer Hussain is very enlightening. I skipped most of it to get to the story but after reading the novel, came back to read more about ‘Annie Apa’.

A contemporary of Ismat Chughtai, Qurratulain Hyder isn’t that well known even though it was Hyder who won the Bhartiya Jnanpith, Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Academi awards.

I cannot help but compare this novel with Vikram Seth’s, A Suitable Boy. An intergenerational saga set in Dacca (as part of undivided India) traversing the period before partition when Bangladesh was part of Bengal, then became East Pakistan and finally Bangladesh, the broad sweep of history takes the reader through the loss and gain of family fortunes, and the migration of people from Dacca to Pakistan, Calcutta, the Caribbean and Europe. The novel does not dwell on the details of Partition (except one chilling incident) but depicts its impact on the lives of the central characters, many of them who, when young, were left-leaning communists, supporting the revolution secretly. This is the story of the lives and lifestyles of affluent Muslim and Hindu families with family money (and how it is lost), and the economically humbler ‘rice Christians’; this is the story of three girls – a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian – all smart, Western-educated, and politically conscious, who are eventually driven by circumstances to settle down with partners for convenience or status.

[Ali Shahbaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

لاکھوں برسوں سے سورج اسی طرح طلوع ہوتا ہے اور غروب ہوتا ہے اور طلوع ہوتا ہے اور غروب ہوتا ہے اور طلوع۔۔۔

آخر شب کے ہم سفر ، فیض نہ جانے کیا ہوئے
رہ گئی کس جگہ صبا، صبح کدھر نکل گئی
(فیض احمد فیض)

فیض صاحب کے اس شعر کے پہلے مصرعے کے پہلے نصف "آخر شب کے ہم سفر" سے اٹھایا گیا عنوان لیے قرآۃ العین حیدر کا یہ ناول مکمل کیا ہے۔ مجموعی طور پر تاریخی شعور کا حامل اور زبان و ادب کا شاہکار ناول ہے۔ آگ کا دریا کی طرح اس میں بھی عینی آپا کا شدید مطالعہ صاف دکھائی پڑتا ہے۔ اس ناول میں کردار تو بہتیرے ہیں مگر کسی کو مرکز بنانا ہو تو دیپالی سرکار کا نام دیا جاسکتا ہے۔

جن لوگوں نے ترقی پسند تحریک یا دیگر کمیونسٹ تحریکوں یا تنظیموں میں کام کیا ہے یا ان سے پالا پڑا ہے وہ اس ناول سے خود کو بہت مانوس پائیں گے۔ خاص طور سے یہ کہ کس طرح طلوع سحر کے انقلاب پسند، آخر شب میں پرانی قدروں اور ثقافتی جزیروں کے باسی بن کر رہ جاتے ہیں۔ ہند و پاک کی تقسیم سے قبل کے سرخے بھی کچھ اسی طرح ہندوستان پاکستان اور بعد ازاں بنگلہ دیش میں تقسیم ہو کر مختلف روشوں پر نکل گئے۔ روش سے یاد آیا کہ یہ ناول بھی ہمارے عزیز ڈاکٹر روش ندیم کے مشورے سے پڑھنا نصیب ہوا۔

بہرحال، ناول نے بہت جگہ طوالت لی اور کچھ بلاجواز فلسفے اور لفاظی کا چربہ پیش کیا ہے جس کی وجہ سے کبھی کبھار بوریت محسوس ہوتی رہی۔ اگر تمام کہانی کو کوزے میں بند کرتے تو شاید سو صفحات کافی ہوتے باقی سب مختلف مقامات اور کیفیات کا بیان ہی تھا۔ شاید آگ کا دریا پہلے نہ پڑھا ہو تو پھر اس ناول میں سب کچھ نیا نیا لگے۔ ناول کا آغاز اور اس میں پے درپے رونما ہونے والے واقعات نے بہت دلچسپی پیدا کی مگر پھر تکرار ہونے لگی۔ ناول کو ابواب میں بانٹا گیا ہے مگر ابواب میں کبھی تو وقت کی ترتیب ملتی ہے اور کبھی انجانے جمپ لگتے ہیں۔ لیکن اگر کرداروں کے ساتھ چلیں تو بہاؤ قائم رہتا ہے۔ اردو زبان و ادب اور ہندی و بنگالی تہذیب سے واقفیت کے لئے اچھا ناول ہے۔

علی شہباز

[Selenophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is another name for humanity's inability to learn its lessons." - Fireflies in the Mist, Qurratulain Hyder ✨

One of the pioneers of Indian Urdu Literature, Hyder is also one of those women who didn't conform themselves with the then times. Her books have always been considered progressive and she'd been known for her writing style which was more English than Indian Urdu.

"The Fireflies in the Mist" is set in the pre independent and pre partitioned Bengal. It takes the reader into the lives of Bengalis and Bengali Communists and their struggle against the oppressive Colonial Masters and Capitalist classes.
The main protagonist is a girl named, Deepali Sarkar and through her, Hyder knits the whole story. The book is richly filled with many characters that you have to keep it aside for sometime to absorb the details.
Hyder used History and made it into fiction through her characters. The movements and events are all preserved well and give the whole Independence struggle a new outlook.
The story of the novel is a saga, which also tells about the three generations of three different families who are at the fore front of the book.
Bengalis were merely Bengalis, they were united by their culture and art irrespective of their religion.
I'm happy that Hyder translated it in English, as I'm weak in Urdu, and getting my hands on Fireflies in the Mist was no less than luck. 🌸

[Suman B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure of Indian literature. Why hasn't this book been widely read ? An outstanding work on life and political ideologies in pre and post partition Bengal. The journey of the young rebels in the story feels very real. Ideologies, secularism, casteism, class divide and even feminism have been brilliantly weaved in the story. A book that should be read by everyone who's concerned about India's future. The book is enlightening, at least for the novice.

Ms. Hyder is a brilliant writer and her transcreation from Urdu makes sure that it reads beautifully. The arguments and contemplations of the characters on politics and life show her exceptional intellect and talent. It's definitely a book to fall in love with.

Spoiler !

P.S. Also, Rehan Ahmed is bae until the powers that be entice him and he falls from grace.

[Susan Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the end, a stunning, sad portrayal of four women's lives as they lived through and looked back on the tumultuous period leading up to India's independence and the partition that created Pakistan and later Bangladesh - the idealism and disillusionments of revolutionary movements, the destructiveness of ethnic and religious nationalism, fomented by imperial powers and upper classes seeking to gain and hold on to power then and now - and always the particular problems faced by women. Often confusing to follow - I couldn't keep some of the similar seeming names straight and the book should have had a glossary for Indian terms and references - but I did learn a lot by googling them. A good companion to "Ants Among Elephants" by Sujatha Gidla.

[Rishita Acharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes you on a rollercoaster journey through the history, literature, culture and geography of Bengal. It leaves you haunted and mesmerized at the same time. The vivid writing of the writer brings alive the events and characters to an extent that you get attatched to them. Besides being a pleasurable read it also offers you the opportunity to gain different perspectives on the Indian history of freedom movement and the wars that followed. To sum up it is an ensnaring, enriching and emotional read.

[Rajshree Ojha · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful

[Sofia Hossain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A criminally underrated book. Should be a staple in partition literature canons.

[Misa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equal parts historical, poetic, compelling, devastating, and my favorite, political

[Asmaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.