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Geetu Vaid
He is a septuagenarian, overweight and diabetic, manoeuvring through the maze of love, life and conspiracy — meet Abdullah, the Cossack. HM Naqvi’s key protagonist in The Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack is a man of many shades — benevolent and loving at times, headstrong and conniving at others. Nicknamed “Cossack” for outdrinking a contingent of visiting Russians, Abdullah lives a ‘lonely’ life in a sprawling old family house along with his brother’s family. Under his apparent reckless and brazen exterior, he is a loving uncle to his nephews, buying gifts for them and pandering to their whims and fancies. Things start changing for this self-proclaimed phenomenologist as an impromptu night-out with his friend Felix Pinto brings Bosco in his life. Saddled with the responsibility of Pinto’s grandson Bosco, Abdullah soon steps into the shoes of a mentor, friend and guide of the youngster. Jugnu, the enigmatic “seductress”, adds a new dimension to Abdullah’s life. Naqvi weaves the plot adroitly with the entry of Bosco and Jugnu, both of whom face threat from gangsters. Abdullah’s amorous overtures towards Jugnu and the veil of suspense over ‘her’ sexual identity keep readers on the edge as the story moves forward.
Despite his differences with his brothers, that later open up the Pandora’s box of devious machinations, he has a soft corner for family and family values. The author gives readers a peep into this aspect of Abdullah’s personality through lines like: “Death of a sibling is something like attending your own funeral. What is a brother if not a proxy for the self — hamzaad?” With his brothers arm twisting him to hand over the deed of the old house to sell it, and Jugnu’s past with dreaded mobster Langra Lyari, Abdullah is neck deep in trouble. But, he comes up with a scheme to save everyone and even smuggles in a sweet revenge through Rambo. Poignant, humorous and heart-warming — this is a story that captures myriad hues of human psyche all at once.
This is the second novel of Naqvi after his award-winning Home Boy. He spent considerable time researching about Karachi to incorporate the details of its cosmopolitan culture and even its dark underbelly deftly in this book. And he has effortlessly woven in the city as a living and breathing character in his story that virtually becomes a metaphor for Abdullah.
Lucid language
Language remains the most intriguing factor of the narrative throughout. As an author, Naqvi gives little rope to a reader to meander and stay away from the gushing flow of words. Be prepared to be gasping for breath a time too many while moving from one page to another. He purposely keeps the chapters short to allow breathing space to his readers. Footnotes and references at almost every page though rankle at times as the barrage of information can overwhelm you. His mastery, however, lies in painting pictures through words along with embedding philosophical insights in sentences while seasoning the narrative with a dash of humour all the time. This is one book that you would not like to read in a hurry, it has to be rolled on your literary palate and savoured.