Rah Noor Dashauq (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shoby

Rah Noor Dashauq (Sumaira Hameed)- Novel Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

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This is the property of critic Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby) and blog Shobywood. Reproduction of any of its part without written approval of the owner is subject to punishment, as per prevailing law.

Gary Vaynerchuk said, "The chef that grew up with the grandma who cooks tends to always beat the chef that went to the culinary institute. It's in the blood." And our dear poor village girl Deena was the one same being. Rah Noor Dashauq is a success story about how a female village caterer went on to achieve the prime of her triumph with the blessings of ALLAH PAK, courtesy the art of cookery that was bestowed to her. Jaisey maa ko aulaad, kesan ko beej, ankh ko noor, aisey us ne masalon ko naam se nahi, khawaas se jaan liya tha... My regular readers, please don't get bored of my this one sentence. Sumaira Hameed manages well to surprise us all again with a story that is never ever tried earlier in our Urdu digest industry, as she has once again chosen a field of life that has never been explored may be in any mainstream media leave alone digests in Pakistan.

Deena, a village girl who has a passion to take her father's occupation (catering) to the next level by becoming a professional chef starts of her journey by catering in small functions, after demise of her father. Maut ke kaaley namak ne seedhey saadey zaiyqey nigal liye... The novels highlights  all the downs & downs (as she has not tasted even the minimal sugar of ups in the life till the very end) of Deena. It is an interesting tale about how she managed to take admission in a culinary institute and later on got expelled on drugs charges. She didn't lose hopes and started job as a helper of professional chefs but once again got struck badly by the fate. No matter what... Zindagi aap ko medaan mein sab se akhir mein hi le ja ker khara kiyo na ker dey... Kharey ho jaey... Buss girey nahi... Her lose-lose situation continued and she tried to stand up after every damn hit of the luck till the time she gave up. However destiny had some other plans for her and she was born to fly high, as she had a mystery ingredient which other's recipes lack. Sab masaalon mein sab se mehnga... Dunya ke bazaar mein sab se sasta juz... Aansoo... To know, how she managed to step in the game again, read the novel, as I don't want to be spoiler now. KHUDA ke ilawa kon hai, jo lain se pehley dain teh na karey...

Let me tell you, attempting this endeavor in a mainstream commercial digest writing is not an easy task to do and if I say, only Sumaira has the power to take this challenge, it wont be false. I remember, when R Balki announced Cheeni-Kum with a male chef as a protagonist, public & even some critics thrashed the idea but later on, it went on to be a huge success, not only critical but also commercial.

The best thing about this story was Sumaira's research on the subject matter. If you look closely at the things, you will be surprised to see that she had to undergo an extensive research on several entirely different environments. From the desi life of a Punjabi village & the things associated with a traditional caterer (read nayee) to the extra glittering life of a high class culinary institute and then lively atmosphere of central Lahore (Bhaati Gate & adjacent areas) including an old traditional haveli & its 25 odd inhabitant. You will be stunned to read the use of daigs along with the culinary terms she used all through the proceedings that really enhanced the overall taste of the story.  Ten on ten for this. 

This novel is a sparkling star as far as the dialogues are concerned. I don't know, how many times I have literally screamed in joy and vocally said WAH, while reading her dialogues. Barkat asmaan se insano ki niyyat per uterti hai... (Beshak... Subhan ALLAH)...

One thing about  Sumaira Hameed's writing is, she has a natural tendency to align her dialogues with the primary theme of the subject. For instance, here we are reading something based on cookery and Sumaira gives us a delightful aroma of the same in every second or third dialogue. Yahan ke log pather dil hain or main pather ko zaeyqa daar nahi bana sakti... Too good.

As every other struggling star's story, this one was full of pain & grief but Sumaira pulled some excellent slapstick one-liners that forced me to laugh. "Forun le jao per faut ker ke to na le ke jao na..." Her dialogue "Her cheez ki aik qeemat hoti hai... Huner ki bhi..." reminded me of one of the most extensively used dialogue in the series Once Upon A Time, "Every magic comes with a price..."

Sumaira has given all of us a universal lesson. No matter what field we belong to, if we consider ourselves as a true artist, we should always follow this simple & straight rule of thumb. Jean-Louis Barrault (A French Actor/ Director) said, A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by patience and infiltration and in Rah Noor Dashauq Sumaira says, "Jo shakhs ujlat ka shikaar ho... Besabra ho or jaldbaaz ho.. Woh koi takhleeq kesey ker sakta hai...". True indeed.

Overall, this novel is a beautiful take on a wannabe chef's life including all the professional jealousy that a naturally talented person has to face in this world of fake & fad. It enlightens us with her struggle to make a carrier out of dust with a pertinent message written all over it. Takhleeq kisi bhi sinf ki ho, shafaaf dil per uterti hai... Kamiyabi kisi bhi darjety ki ho, musalsal jadojehad se milti hai...

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