Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures

by Muhammad Khalid Akhtar, Bilal Tanweer (Translator)

A small Karachi neighbourhood, Chakiwara is humdrum and unspectacular to all appearances. But inside its shops and at the street corners, there is curious business afoot.

Chronicling the drama that unfolds daily is Iqbal Hussain Changezi, bakery owner and collector of writers and geniuses. He has his eyes on out-of-work comedian Chakori, apprentice to a Chinese dentist, even as the town’s mostly unsuccessful healer of physical and spiritual maladies prepares to unleash his top-secret invention, the love meter.

Muhammad Khalid Akhtar presents a world at once familiar and peculiar but always surprising, his unforgettable characters keeping alive the old ways in a quietly changing Karachi in post-independence Pakistan. Love in Chakiwara is a true testament to the wit, sagacity and quiet brilliance of one of the greatest storytellers of his time.

Genres: Pakistan, Literature, Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 2016

Reviews

[Marwa Shafique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not really the one to go for translations of well known Urdu literary books because I believe the true essence of the book lies within the language itself - it's what breathes life into the book and makes it come alive. Apprehensions aside, the only reason why I was willing to give this a try was because it was translated by Bilal Tanveer, the author of The Scatter Here is Too Great - which also happens to be one of my favourite books. Rest assured, I was not disappointed. I loved reading this book, and I think the translation maintained the sanctity of the beloved book by Muhammad Khalid Akhtar wholeheartedly.

This book is essentially centered around the town of Chakiwara, located in Karachi, and the people that reside in it - ranging from writers like Qurban Ali Kattar to the Director of a Bakery ie Changezi, these dynamic characters are part of what makes the town so intriguing and hilarious at the same time. Some of the tales are narrated by Changezi, who takes reference from his diary that holds a record of all his proceedings with various people and accounts of his days. Changezi wins your heart from the first page and you're all the more fascinated with what is about to happen next. As you can probably tell, he was my favourite character, and I enjoyed his stories the most out of all of them.

Although the book did a feel a little dragged by the very end, I did not find it as annoying as I usually do and took as much of it as I could. It's a light-hearted book, aimed to make you laugh and cheer you up, and it was successful in doing so with me. Definitely recommended!

[Mubeen Irfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My college years were spent devouring urdu fiction when I first discovered college library while I was bunking my college lectures and wanted to spend that time somewhere. As someone who was not confident in my English language abilities, urdu storytelling was something which kept me engaged & engrossed in my formidable years. However, there were only select writers who were kept in my college library and therefore I did not read many diverse writers of that golden age of urdu literature (1950s-80s). I never knew about Khalid Akhtar or that his novel Chakiwara main visal was declared the best novel of his generation by Faiz.

This English translation and its related publicity on social media is how I came to know about him and decided to read this. Even though it is such a sad thing to get introduced to a writer of your native language through a translation but Bilal Tanweer has done a brilliant job in translating this novel and nowhere does it feel like that context or humor is lost in translation. The novel is mostly a satire on literature and its sorry state of affairs in Pakistan (had Khalid sb been alive he would have to re-write this one because the urdu literature is virtually non-existent now; and I classify Amar Bail type in the same category as John Green in English). Khalid sahb pokes holes in the societal fabric of Karachi of those yesteryears and some of his characters are as colorful as those of any Mushtaq Yousufi books.

If you are an oldie like myself who no longer reads urdu literature but wants to take a trip down the nostalgia lane, this is a translation that you should pick up and read.

[Sayantan Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kind of old-school charm, simplicity, and wicked humour that's gone missing from South Asian literature now. Tanweer's translation is so rich and transportive that you'll often forget you're not in a small Karachi neighborhood yourself sometime in the 1960s. [3.5/5]

[Muhammad Soomro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read this novella by khalid akhtar since I read some where that Faiz declared it as the best and his favourite novel of Urdu but couldn’t get my hands on it then found this translation on liberty books and got it but it kept lying on my bookshelf for years
Finally picked it up few days ago and I was completely hooked
It also includes three other short stories of Muhammad khalid akhtar based in chakiwara and having the same characters as of love in chakiwara and other misadventures
A must read for readers interested in Urdu fiction especially humorous fiction
It left me wanting for more and I think the novella ended abruptly and without closure but maybe it’s just that I liked it so much I never wanted it to end

I have encountered one issue with nearly all the English writers of South Asia especially Pakistani English writers that is they always try their level best to use difficult vocabulary it feels like they want to obstinately impress the reader with their use of difficult words making it hard for non native English people to read their works
I never have any problems with writers whose mother tongue is English but our desi writers are a different breed and I always find it hard to read them nevertheless despite all that I appreciate the translator’s efforts and his hard work and thank him for introducing this great work to a wider audience

[Pari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why, oh dear love, do you come across in such mysterious ways!?

This funny short stories account has a good share of laughs...and is a one read worth. This is only my second Urdu author read (after manto) and he lives up to the expectations.
Some parts got a little too extended and I totally believe that a lot has been lost in translation. Not a bad translation job just that some jokes just lose its meaning when translated from the original language!

I need my changezi yaar!

[Haseeb Farrukh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very enjoyable book.

You will love the first half of the book.

In the second half advancement of story becomes slow because the focus is more on the non－important characters and their life stories.

Anyways, a good book to read.

[Guneet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant and a hilarious collection of short stories. Loved the book which has retained the humour even as a translation.

[Amina Ahsan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories seemed repetitive. Probably a lot is lost in translation.

[Salman Shamim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The eccentricities of the time are still relevant even today. A very nostalgic feeling read

[Syed Faraz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, I think would have enjoyed the literature more in the original language this was written in; Urdu

[Waqas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faithful to the original but perhaps not as humourous

[Billz · Rating 4 out of 5]

the best part about this book has to be its dynamic, larger-than-life characters and the world-building of Chakivara. i can’t lie, i often found myself wondering what’s happening in the town of Chakivara or what Changezi, Kattar, Professor Shahsawar, etc. were up to when i wasn’t reading this book. it’s lively, charming, and fun to read as well! i wish we had gotten more of the ending though, but i suppose then the story would’ve never ended, like changezi himself admitted at the start of chapter 19.

no comments on the translation at the moment, since i haven’t read the original urdu text. but after finishing this, the original is definitely next on my list!

[Merai · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating is based on personal preference and is not indicative of the quality of the write up.The book didn't speak to me on so many levels. Stories revolving spiritual rings and Djinns was not fascinating for a reader like me. Had to drag myself to finish the novel.

[Priyanka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this optimistically, knowing it's heralded as a work of prominence in Urdu literature, but it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I can't say for sure if it's just the translation falling short of capturing the essence and nuances of the original or if it simply hasn't aged well despite its status as a classic, but I wasn't blown away as I had come to subconsciously expect from the work of an author of critical acclaim. In any case, I enjoyed parts of it well enough to ponder over them and jot down notes and commentaries on the margins. The book is an anthology of three short stories and a full-length novel – all of which are set against the backdrop of the neighbourhood of Chakiwara in the city of Karachi in a newly formed Pakistan, and revolve around the daily lives and shenanigans of the inhabitants of the said locale.

Not a huge fan of the first and the third stories – 'The Smiling Buddha' and 'The Downfall of Seth Tanwari' – though they have their moments. The second story – 'The Love Meter' – is decent and has some thought-provoking implications. The fourth entry in the book, which is the eponymous novel, is the best of the bunch though it also has its share of hiccups. I enjoyed the social commentary, the satire, and the mock-epic and sarcastic tone permeating the narrative voice in the novel. I also liked its exploration of the state of affairs in the literary scene of post-independence Pakistan through the aspirations and struggles of the various writer-characters that populate the novel's verse.

With R. L. Stevenson and P. G. Wodehouse as inspiration, the author has created a world peopled by a range of quirky personas – a bakery owner whose part-time occupation is that of 'a collector of writers and geniuses' and a chronicler of the day-to-day happenings in his neighbourhood (also the narrator of the novel); self-proclaimed scientists, saints and pundits who promise to deliver their patrons from both physical and spiritual maladies with bizarre charms and devices whose workings and efficacy are dubious at best; an impoverished writer with an exaggerated sense of his importance and role in the literary scene of his country and a tendency to fall in and out of love at the frequency with which one changes clothes; and so on. Although I liked the portrayals of the characters, their interactions, and the critique of human follies and tendencies that these characters embody, most of the quips and episodes felt a tad too repetitive after a point.

Also, the book is riddled with editorial errors (quite a few of which are glaring), especially the earlier parts, which does a disservice to the overall writing quality.

[Blatantly Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love in Chakiwara is funny, peculiar in its story-telling and a delightful surprise of a book to read. The scene setting, deeply interesting character building and intertwined stories were all well worth my time.

If you are looking to dive into a genuine Karachi backdrop and all that it means to live and breathe in Karachi, pick this book up right now!!

[Kulsoom Bano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish it was in Urdu.
Somehow, the essence of stories is lost in translation.