Tulip (Sumaira Hameed)... Review by Shoby

Tulip (Sumaira Hameed)... Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

It is always a breather to read Ms. Sumaira Hameed. Do you know why? Because you are 110% sure for at least one thing that if it is a Sumaira Hameed's written piece, it must be unique. Be it the title, topic, subject matter, characterisation or narrative. So, here we are reading Tulip. And the freshness in the air is already focusing on the fact that Thanks GOD, Sumaira has returned to a genre, we don't read regularly in Urdu literature, especially when it comes to our today's digest writing. Welcome back Sumaira to the genre of fantasy.

Tulip is a light sit-com fantasy, which is hereto leave a strong impact that grand phenomenon can be expressed through some very light moments. Sometimes, you don't need to go through some deep philosophical stuff to make a point. You just need to stay calm, focus on your vision and use simple observation and the rest of the magic will be done by your aesthetic sense. And this is what Sumaria has done marvellously, this time. Looks like she was indeed clear about her primary objective and knew exactly where & how the story needs to be narrated.

Aleeza (a combo of Amraha & Veera) is a mean girl. (Please don't tell her that I have used the "M" word for her) and luck crosses her path with Abubaker. Abubaker, a mute handicap special person, who still have some dreams to achieve. STOP... After reading the words, MUTE, HANDICAP and blah blah, don't you ever wonder that Tulip is a tear jerking story of a man, on a deathbed. No, in fact, Sumaira has made this tale a very entertaining affair.

Remember The Fault In Our Stars. Such a gloomy premise but see, how John Green literally changed the atmosphere. He wrote a suspended sit-com romance and not for even a minute second, we realised that we are reading a story of two teenagers who are just about to die. This is what Ms. Sumaira has done here. Although, in Tulip, Aleeza was 100% fine (talking strictly about physical conditions and NOT at all discussing her mental condition) but Abubaker on the other hand was not good (both, physically & emotionally).

Oh, how could I forget the most pertinent character of the story. Tulip. An ordinary looking piece of paper but not at all ordinary, when it comes to sprinkle magic. It has the tendency to express what a mute person wants to say. Well, we have seen this sort of characters earlier in western fairy tales and I cant recall any such experiment in Pakistani literature. I remember Mr. Aleem ul Haq's fantasy novel Hazaron Khuahishen Aisi, where he tried the idea of the genie and fine tuned it, according to our culture but even then, he didn't used anything like talking or expressing paper.

So, how this Tulip played the role of a matchmaker is an interesting thing to be read in the novel. Going with my style, I am not producing a spoiler here so don't expect the complete story in my review. But just in order to give you a hint of what actually happened in Tulip, let me tell you that Aleeza & Abubaker, unintentionally & unwillingly came together at one page (read Tulip) and slowly & steadily both of them found a place NOT in their hearts but only in their lives. Love is not, what is always cooked between a girl & a boy. Or bhi dukh hain zamaney mein mohabbat ke siwa... :-)

This time, I once again enjoyed the dialogues and all of them were having a visible stamp of Sumaira Hameed's, all over them. Now, this style is my very favourite. Being a poet, I literally love when Sumaira creates a soothing lyrical line: Woh jazbati tor per achi tarha se blackmail ker letey they... Woh jazbati tor per puri tarha se blackmail nahi hona chahti thi... Sumaira has this beautiful habit of producing these sort of sentences in her writings, where she comparatively analyse two characters, take one expression & use this expression in two different ways, like two opposite side of the picture. You can find numerous examples of this writing technique in Us darr Ka Jogi, Yaaram, Borshay and others.

Although this novel is written in a very light mode, Sumaira still did not hesitate in delivering some very important social messages. Jin logon ki her khuawish pouri hoto hai, woh bht badnaseeb hotey hain... 

Khush naseeb to woh hai jo kahin na kahin se adhoora hai... Hum itney masroof ho chukey hain or humarey paas waqt ki itni kami ho chuki hai ke hum jo bol saktey hain unhain nahi sun saktey... jo bol hi nahi sakta, usey kaisey suney ge...

Without being preachy, Sumaira has been pretty much successful in giving some real lessons for life. She emphasised that no weakness is a weakness and no disability is a disability, if you dream big and if have the passion to make these big dreams come true. By looking at the visible condition of Abubaker, it is such a pleasant breather to see really cant realise that such a person still manages to have hopes and he really want to live a life full on, just on the basis of these hopes.

We see two different characters. One having almost all the facilities of living (at least) a normal (if not luxurious) life i.e. Aleeza, who is always complaining. On the contrary, we have a character Abubaker mute & handicap but still living a life, with all the hopes to rise & shine once again. Sumaira stresses on the fact that needs of even the poorest of all are fulfilled but desires (and that too if comes into luxury) can never be fulfilled even of an emperor.

Reason being quite simple. Just recall, Maslow's Needs Hierarchy. You accomplish one need & the next one arises instantly. Even if you become self actualised at one stage for a specific phenomenon, you still feel that you are still in the category of basic needs in some other aspect of life. This is the mantra of life. So, it is not wise to run before a mirage. Establish a solid SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic & timely) goal, focus on your path and just follow the passion.

Coming back towards Tulip, this sit-com is full of some excellent real mile producing incidents. Sumaira, very smartly, pitches some very entertaining one-liners right from the word go till the curtains, that ultimately made Tulip an excellent read.

Paper goonga tha, warna adha, warna "yaqeenan" sangdil

Ab woh diary kisi or ko piyari ho chuki hai... Meri mano to to usey us mariyal si larki ke paas rehney do... Is saal bohat record tor sardi parney wali hai... Woh larki darja hararat girney per uth jaey gi...

On the whole, I feel Tulip is a breeze of fresh air in this mess of a life. It is a brilliantly executed entertainer with some pertinent messages in the heart of the script with amazing comic moments.

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