Rohzin

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Rohzin
AuthorRahman Abbas
CountryIndia
LanguageUrdu
Published2016

Rohzin is the fourth novel of Rahman Abbas. On this novel he won India's highest literary Award Sahitya Akademi Award in 2018.[1][2][3][4] Published in 2016 by Arshia Publications, Delhi, and launched at the Jashn-e-Rekhta, Delhi on 14 February 2016. Since, then, Rohzin has been widely debated in India, Pakistan, The Middle East, Canada, Switzerland and Germany.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The author coins the word- 'Rohzin' to signify the psychological trauma of children who witness the betrayal of their parents/sleeping with someone else.[12][13] Critics in the Global South think of Rohzin as a literary landmark in Urdu literature.[14]

English translation[edit]

Penguin Random House published Rohzin in English in May 2022.[15][16][17][18][19] and it has been longlisted for JCB Prize, which is the richest literary prize in India.[20][21][22][23][24][25] Deccanherald writes that Rohzin is one of the most disturbing novels of recent times, the reading of which cannot but leave the reader haunted for many days.[26] It has been shortlisted for the Muse India 2023 GSP Rao Translation Award. [27]

Summary[edit]

The two main characters are Asrar and Hina. The setting is Mumbai. The novel begins when the city is submerged, and that day is the last day in the life of Asrar and Hina. Flashbacks tell a story that deals with mythology, legend, religion, magic realism, sexuality, sensuality, love and loyalty. The book is indeed modern in the sense of questioning contemporary lifestyles without much concern for traditions of any kind.[10][28][29][30]

Reception[edit]

Many scholars and literary critics consider Rohzin to be the most beautiful and creative novel written in Urdu in the last few decades.[31][32][33] Critic and former President of Sahitya Akademi (New Delhi), Professor Gopi Chand Narang, said that Rohzin is an important turning point in the history of Urdu fiction.[34] Sahitya Akademi Award-winning literary critic, Nizam Siddiqui, has said that no novel as major as Rohzin has appeared in the second decade of the 21st century in Urdu.[35][36]

In 2017, the Hindu Literary for Life festival hosted a session on Rohzin, where critic, Shafey Kidwai, discussed the novel with the author. The Seemanchal Literary Festival, TISS and Dehradun Literature Festivals invited the author to read from the novel. In 2016, Rawal TV, Canada's Urdu television network, broadcast an hour-long debate on the novel in which critics from India and Pakistan participated.[37]

Rohzin grabbed the attention of German linguist and Urdu translator, Almuth Degener, who translated it for Draupadi Verlag under the German title "Die Stadt, Das Meer, Die Liebe", (The city, the Sea and the Love). The translated version was launched in Switzerland in February 2018.[38][39] Rahman Abbas was invited to Germany to undertake a literary tour from 23 March to 15 June 2018. The readings of Rohzin were held at South Asian Institute (Heidelberg University), Bonn University, Ev. Akademie (Villigst), Indian Consulate (Frankfurt), Café Mouseclick, Tisch Hochst, Pakban (Frankfurt), Lokalezeitung, Gonsenheim (Mainz), Pfalzer Hof Schonau (Bei, Heidelberg), Bickelmann Family (Heidelberg) and other places.[40]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sahitya Akademi announces 2018 awards in 24 languages, Rahman Abbas bags Urdu award | The Siasat Daily - Archive". siasat.com. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Mumbai-based writer Rahman Abbas wins Sahitya Akademi Award". The Hindu. 6 December 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Lokmat ePaper: Marathi News Paper - Online English, Hindi & Marathi Paper - Daily News ePaper- Today's News Papers - लोकमत वृत्तपत्रे". epaperlokmat.in. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. ^ "رحمن عباس کے ناول 'روحزن' کو ریاستی اکیڈمی کا انعام - Scholars Impact News". Scholarsimpact.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Rahman Abbas' 'Rohzin': First Urdu novel to be discussed in Germany | Cafe Dissensus Everyday". cafedissensusblog.com. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  6. ^ "The City as Protagonist".
  7. ^ "South Asia Institute - Modern South Asian Languages and Literatures - News and Events". sai.uni-heidelberg.de. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ "علمی اورادبی سرگرمیوں کے حوالے سے شعبۂ اردو ممبئی یونیورسٹی کی فعالیت لائق ستائش : پروفیسر اعجاز". Dailysalar.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  9. ^ "امن و محبت کے غیر رسمی سفیر - Dunya Pakistan". Dunyapakistan.com. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b "'روحزن'... بے نام رشتوں کی کہانی". Jang.com.pk. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  11. ^ "The City As Protagonist". Thebookreviewindia.org. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Book Review: Rohzin by Rahman Abbas". 8 February 2018.
  13. ^ "The City as Protagonist".
  14. ^ "Defying Boundaries with Rohzin". 13 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Review: Rohzin by Rahman Abbas". 5 August 2022.
  16. ^ Zaidi, Annie (25 May 2022). "In Sahitya Akademi winner Rahman Abbas' 'Rohzin' Mumbai is a protean beast says Annie Zaidi". The Hindu.
  17. ^ "Sahitya Akademi winning Urdu novel 'Rohzin' to release in English in May - Times of India". The Times of India. 2 May 2022.
  18. ^ "English translation of Sahitya Akademi winner 'Rohzin' to release next month". 25 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Rohzin: With gift of English translation, Rahman Abbas' novel could turn wheels of Urdu literature". 29 June 2022.
  20. ^ "JCB Prize for Literature announces 2022's longlist of 10 'incredible' books". 3 September 2022.
  21. ^ "JCB Prize for Literature 2022: Six translations (Two from Urdu) feature in the longlist of 10 novels". 3 September 2022.
  22. ^ "2022 JCB Prize for Literature unveils longlist for fifth edition". 5 September 2022.
  23. ^ "India - JCB Prize for Literature announces 2022's longlist". 4 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Longlist of JCB Prize for Literature 2022 announced".
  25. ^ https://www.thejcbprize.org/
  26. ^ "A disquieting look at desire". 18 September 2022.
  27. ^ https://scroll.in/article/1064589/muse-india-announces-ten-book-shortlist-for-its-2024-gsp-rao-translation-award
  28. ^ "Password - Rawal TV". Rawal.tv. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  29. ^ "In writing fiction…you cannot avoid politics". TNS - The News on Sunday. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Rahman Abbas' novel Rohzin is a love story that portrays modern Muslim life in multi-cultural". 29 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Rohzin: A monologue to soul - The Indian Awaaz". theindianawaaz.com. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  32. ^ "रोहज़िन : मुंबई और यथार्थ की कहानी - जानकी पुल - A Bridge of World's Literature". Jankipul.com. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  33. ^ "ऐसा नॉवेल, जिसे पढ़ने के लिए उर्दू सीखी जा सकती है - जानकी पुल - A Bridge of World's Literature". Jankipul.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  34. ^ "Bombay is the cultural and psychic cradle of my characters: Rahman Abbas". 5 September 2022.
  35. ^ "اردو نیور اکسپریس". Urdunewsexpress.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  36. ^ "'Writers and thinkers should speak up'". Frontline.in. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  37. ^ "Rohzin: First Urdu novel to be discussed in Germany". kitaab. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Die Stadt, das Meer, die Liebe". lokalezeitung.de. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Die Stadt, das Meer, die Liebe - Rahman Abbas' grosser Mumbai-Roman | Literaturhaus Zürich | Literatur". kulturzueri.ch. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Rohzin in Germany – The Urdu novel that has attracted readers in the West". kitaab. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Rohzin First Edition 2016 ISBN 9789383322503 published by Arshia Publication New Delhi.
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