Baagh – با گھ

Book Review: I remember reading Baagh by Abdullah Hussein three years back & how it left me extremely sad & melancholic as the vivid descriptions in this novel kind of grows on you. The sadness, despair & longing not only fascinate the readers but also crawls into their heart & mind.
Finished re-reading it today & it had the similar haunting effect. Abdullah Hussein deserves all the appreciation for his contribution to Urdu literature.
It is a story of strange love, obsession, strong desires, living with an ailment, questioning everything & trying to make sense of life.
It is also about getting caught for alleged murder, the horrible police torture & the army recruiting people as spies (highlighting Kashmir struggle without naming names).
Bagh (باگھ) is about Asad who is obsessed with an idea of hunting a tiger/ leopard, a kind of person whose mind is constantly trying to join the dots of things happening in the world & in his life. He ponders on everything philosophically & is suffering from a breathing disease that takes him to a Hakim (حکیم) in Gumshad. This is where he falls in love with Yasmeen (hakim’s daughter) & I simply love how they call each other اسدی & یاس. Their love story is not your typical one but it is an unexpected rollercoaster ride of emotions.
You will have to read the book to better understand the events that unfold one after another when a tragedy strikes & their lives are turned upside down. The days in jail with horrendous torture & humiliation by the Police & how the intelligence works in recruiting boys for sending them across the border will keep you hooked.
It discusses various intense themes like secrets & unforgettable memories from the past that shape one’s future, village life, the intimate & naked truths of a relationship between a man & a woman, the powerful love that keeps you sane in the most difficult situations, the point in life when you realize that your lifelong obsession cannot be fulfilled & the emptiness that follows; all of this & so much more is written in such an eloquent & intricate manner that you can’t help but fall in love with it. The ending will leave you in awe.