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 Shora Shori: Talqeen Shah
Product Details:
Author: Ashfaq Ahmed | ISBN: 969-35-1668-0 | Format: Hardcover | Pages: 445 | Weight: 1.42 lbs | Pub. Date: 2005 | Publisher: Sang-e-Meel
DESCRIPTION
"Shora Shori and Dheenga Mushti are Ashfaq Ahmed’s stories that he wrote for Radio Pakistan at a younger age, and dubbed himself as Talqeen Shah. These plays are slightly different from his advanced years’ preoccupations. However, they again depict the chaos of a society that has not discovered for itself the purpose and aim of existence.
The play is set in the milieu of the 1970s, when Pakistan had lost a war against India in 1971 and had not yet recovered from it psychologically. So the characters in the play are idle and aimless, weary and dejected. And there is the arch protagonist, Talqeen Shah, who personifies the ‘decadence’ of society. As the name implies, Talqeen Shah doles out advice to others without believing or practising what he preaches.
Shora Shori and Dheenga Mushti received unprecedented popularity amongst radio audience of its time. It has the power to sustain people’s attention and interest for a long time. Different characters come and go during the duration of the plays, except Talqeen Shah, who happens to be the most well-crafted and interesting character. Other major characters in the plays are those of Hidayat and Suleman, both in stark contrast with each other. Both are closely associated with Shah and remain at his service throughout. Hidayat is somewhat critical of Shah’s behaviour but is guilty of the same inactivity and apathy as exhibited by other characters. Suleman’s character is that of a ‘half-educated’ person, an opportunist and pragmatist. All the major characters are ridiculed in the plays.
The character of Talqeen Shah is a satire on the well-to-do and educated people, who according to Ashfaq Ahmed, were morally corrupt due to their modern orientations. It was an oft-articulated belief of Ashfaq Ahmed while he was alive that educated people had done more harm to our society than the illiterates. The illiterate or the ignorant lot is exalted by the writer, which amounts to glorifying ignorance. Hence, Shora Shori and Dheenga Mushti, the phrases used in the Urdu language to define disorder and unruliness, are the byproducts of modernity in the author’s opinion.
One may not agree with the ideological overtones of the plays, but it cannot be denied that Ashfaq Ahmed’s craft leaves a palpable impact on the reader. There may be ideological differences but the impact on his style of authors such as John Milton, Alexander Pope and T. S. Eliot is discernible. And that is where these authors become an influencing factor. Without an iota of doubt, Ashfaq Ahmed is a major author of our times, worshipped by countless people in his country. And that is where he also becomes a formidable ‘reactionary’ force.
[These plays] have the potential to attract readers’ attention even today as much as they did when they were aired on radio. Ashfaq Ahmed’s legacy is very much alive." - Dawn, Books & Authors, Aug 14th, 2005
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