Aab e Hayat Concludes- Novel Analysis by Shoby
Almost a decade ago, she gave Urdu digest readers a sheer treat in the form of her mega blockbuster novel Peer e Kaamil (saww). Not only the story line & dialogues of the same were appreciated by masses but the two protagonists Salaar Sikander & Immama Hashim became huge success. So much so that quite literally everyone who read Peer e Kaamil went crazy for the 150+ IQ containing mind boggling hero and that extremely powerful female character Immama.
Apart from normal digest readers, Peer e Kaamil was so successful that it managed to gather the attention of non digest readers too. People from various walks of life who enjoy good reads gave it at least one chance to be read and that one reading was more than enough to instantly make it one of their all time favourites.
Let me tell you what was this much so special that made Peer e Kaamil almost everyone's favourite. First & foremost, the beautiful journeys of two distinct characters Immama & Salaar from the astray path to the righteous one. Umera Ahmed had an impressive strong hold over the story right through all the episodes. She never let the reader look anywhere else and made many of us almost glued to the imagery pictured by her through beautiful words.
Few years ago, she announced the sequel to Peer e Kaamil which was tentatively titled as Aab e Hayat and since the inception, it started getting real attention from all of those who have read the earlier instalment. It is safe to say that without any doubt, Aab e Hayat is till date the most anticipated, the most hyped & the most anxiously awaited Urdu digest novel. Now let us see, has Umera Ahmed been successful in giving us the same level of greatness in the part two.
First episode of Aab e Hayat enlightened us with the fact that Aab e Hayat is like a set of cards. So obviously one has to follow each & every move to reassemble the pieces of jigsaw puzzle. My previous tweets/ Facebook posts bears the witness that I was simply bowled over by the introductory episode.
"Sakoon Kahin nahi hai... Jo cheez dunya mein hain hi nahi, usey kiya dhoondna" gave me goosebumps in real literal terms and I geared myself up to witness something bigger, something greater than the part one. It obviously raised the bar of hopes more than hundred times.
To me, Aab e Hayat primarily dealt with next few episodes that Salaar & his family went through. The very first phenomenon that confronted Salaar and Immama was a bit harshness in their maternal life. Aab e Hayat moved forward from this part to the #Congo episode where Salaar helped a local leader to reveal the political gimmicks of global institutions who work in third world countries in the name of their development & betterment, however in real they gain their mean benefit out of the misery of these countries. When the Congo episode was over, we saw Salaar starting a new financial system to the world which is 100% free of interest and while he was planning & inaugurating the things, there came the biggest shock for him & the family as he was diagnosed with the rear form of brain cancer.
Amidst all this, we saw how Immama carried on with the domestic life with upbringing four children. Three being their own and one that was adopted after the tragic incident happened at the village where Salaar was doing some welfare work. Aab e Hayat also dealt with the personal lives of Jibreel, Anaya, Humain and the adopted one Raeesa.
Let me clarify one thing straight forward, Aab e Hayat is Umera's attempt to explore new dimensions in the lives of Sinkanders. Unfortunately somewhere in the middle, the novel lost the charm. Although Umera was writing it in her very own style but still that one X-factor was seemingly found missing from the writing. That plethora of characters somehow made mess of a thing in the epicentre of the story.
I got distracted from the proceedings somewhere in the middle while reading Aab e Hayat. However the urge to know what actually Umera Ahmed want to say this time compelled me to follow the journey of Aab e Hayat. No matter, Aab e Hayat disappointed me big rimes in its overall treatment, yet I can now safely make a point that Umera Ahmed was successful in managing to bring back the story to life in its concluding parts.
Peer e Kaamil was so vocal & loud as far as modification of belief systems are concerned. Aab e Hayat was humble, yet discussed the change in overall behavioural systems. One can simply not 110% agree or disagree with Umera Ahmed for the narrative part of the novel. So not being diplomatic, apart from few episodes, Aab e Hayat has turned out to be a mediocre writing if we compare it from its predecessor.
Aab e Hayat is curtains now, however one character of Humain Sikander will definitely be remembered by many of us for many aspects. I loved whenever he was shown talking & doing stuff in his very own manner. From his childhood till the time he was targeted to be murdered, each one of his move deserves an appreciation.
Although Umera has clarified that the "Turrap ka Patta" is a symbolic representation of the ongoing challenges that man has to face all through his life, yet a normal reader needs a logical ending. Aab e Hayat has left several questions unanswered. What has happened to the future of Salaar-Humain's strategic partnership. Was Salaar successful in replacing the traditional banking finance system with the newly introduced Islamic ysstem of financing through his entrepreneurial skills. What happened in the end is still a mystery... I summarise it by saying that Aab e Hayat, to me worked as a half-roasted delight...
