Piyal Saaz (Episode 1) Ayamal Raza - Review by Shoby
Crying sky, jolting thunders, enchanting lightening and one decrepit existent near a Banyan tree. "Zulekha Bee se poocho. us ne kiyo kaha tha", "WOH RAHMAN hai, RAHEEM hai"... What an opening sequence that sets up the right tone for something cult. I fastened the seat belt as the inaugural sequence made be get ready for something big, something more interesting to come. Writer of acclaimed Taveez e Hubb, Aymal Raza starts her brand new novel Piyal Saaz with this chill creating & thrilling scene.
Unlike his daily routine, Basil has an early morning rise that day which comes as a pleasant surprise to Nano. While Basil recalls what stuff he does in the daily routine, it reminds me of my own roster... Hum dono waqaey bht kaam kartey hain) :-)
Nano being an artist owns a shop at Anarkali where decor material is prepared from the stuff like jute, silver etc. Basil & Yashaar two brothers, both odd of each other. If Yashar was a thorough settled professional, an established Psychiatrist, Basil on the other hand is more of a non serious, taking the things for-granted sort of guy with an aim to build up a big huge business setup. As he prepares for France tour with Yashaar, Basil extends his hand to assist Nano in making the vase. See, how beautifully Aymal creates magic through her word. Sensitive yet solid:
Jute ko bari ehtayat se lagana parta hai... pehley is ke sath rishta banana parta hai...
Meanwhile Banyan tree is silent. silent as it has nothing to answer to that old personality sitting nearby. Forget the banyan tree, even there is no response of the screams of that old being from the sky. Sada e Bashar aasman ke paar to jati thi per Nida e Sultani wapis nahi ati thi.
Story moves to France where Zimel is shown crying at Seine River. A bunch of thoughts are triggering her mind and they are sufficient to make her gloomy. She recalls the memory of Sadeem Uncle (a very close friend of her father) who died of Blood Cancer. She recalls how he used to lover her. One day just before his death, he said, "Dua karo Zimel... Mere samney dua karo... Meri Sehat ke liye nahi Zimel... Meri bakhshish ke liye dua karo"... He asked her to pray for his repentance. He wanted her desperately to pray for him. He wanted her to pray that ALLAH forgives him and then he died... leaving her in deep sorrow.
After few months, Zimel started getting a bit relaxed but one night she once again wake up while having a haunted dream. She rushed towards her mother's room as her father was not home but what she witnessed there was much more haunting than the dream. Her mother was close to Yashb uncle (her father's friend). Later on, her mother left her & her father for Yashb and consequently her father got a cardiac arrest. Aymal depicts the mental condition of her father in such an authoritaitive manner, "Woh ab dad mein hi mom dad dono talash karney lagi per dad mein dad bhi mushkil se hi mojood rahay they".
Her father has lost the interest in life and became alcoholic. So she decides to have him diagnosed by the top most psychiatrist Dr. Yashaar who happens to be visiting France for a conference. She takes her father to meet Dr Yashaar and in between the way, luck made her meet Basil or should I say, Basil gets to meet her.
Back near the banyan tree, she is still sitting somewhere and uttering out luod, "Humyun Bhayya, Oh Lala!" "Inteqaam ka kala motiya ankhon mein uter aey to bohat zeyada khoon'baha ada karna parta hai". Looks like she is waiting anxiously for a revenge in sheer desperation. She has been waiting for the justice which needs to be done. Justice that only GOD can do.
Basil comes close to Zimel as a part of her father's (Zeyan) cure. Recovery of her father from this dark mental stage is almost impossible as Aymal writes, "Tehtashaoor andheron ko samait leney ka aadi ho jaey to shaoor bhi roshniyon se nalaan rehney lagta hai".
Giving us an insight from the epiosdes of past, Aymal tells us that Nigaar, Yashb, Sadeem & Zeyan are class follows in a university and due to an incident (read misconduct by Zeyan) Nigaar feels quite a grievance for him and that is why she supports another candidate in the university union presidential elections. She deals with him in a very irreverence manner while he was addressing to his supporters in the university hall. She disrespects his family and he is enraged. Consequently, he made personal pictures of Hassan & Nigaar public in campus notice board.
Things gets uglier as he attempts to abduct her in the university, however he fails while doing so. She humiliates him once again and among all these unpleasant scenarios, there comes as a shocker. Zeyan fells in love with her. He even sends his mother to her house with a formal proposal.
As this was the introductory episode of the Piyala Saaz, Aymal has tried to kept the things pretty simpler. While giving us a brief introduction of all the characters and main story-line she has tried to embed the philosophy in a minimal composition and that has gone quite well with the proceedings.
Good thing about Aymal's writings are her bang on monologues that she produces after every other minute. They not only make the reader glued to the read but also explains the ongoing in an altogether different ambience.
Aymal's narrative is very impressive. A few of the dialogues that she has written in the pilot episode deserves a standing ovation. This shows her command over the subject matter. As I stated earlier, Aymal has utilised the philosophical treatment in a very low volumes in this episode, however I believe she is rightful in doing so, as she has paved a very solid way for upcoming episodes.
It would be interesting to see how she unveils the central plot of the story and a couple of upcoming episodes will surely tell the power of her writing.
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