RED INK

On Air

- By Maniiza Naqvii



"In one night, veiled by the invisibility offered by her radio show in Karachi, Maniza Naqvi's thoroughly modern heroine explores her own identity and that of her country. Unexpected and swift, her journey 'On Air' takes this modern Sheherezade into possible pasts, and imagined futures, as she spins tales to save, or at least understand, her life" Mohsin Hamid, Author of Moth Smoke "Post -nuclear Pakistan is a medley of voices- the enigmatic female host of a phone-in talk show discovers as opinions abound, pizza, hijab, recipes which are a part of culture and not sectarianism, come together in a compelling narrative…A welcome addition to the stunted list of Pakistan's writers in English, Maniza Naqvi is a name to look out for."Asif Farrukhi

Two effervescent worlds are evoked by a family of game-bird hunters –“shikaris” – in a dustbowl town of northern India. “Poets can talk about ‘spots of time,’ but it is really hunters who experience eternity compressed into a moment.” Writes Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It. Badhwar’s free flowing, experimental style evokes these moments repeatedly in The Chamber of Perfumes.

'On Air' weaves its plot around the theme of loss, love, desire and death.

The plot unfolds over a six-hour period in which the main character, Naz, tells stories to listeners and callers over the radio on a late night talk show slot that she has been offered to fill for just one night. The characters in Naz's stories reflect her own pathologies as she tries to come to terms with her experiences.

Each story which Naz relates to her nocturnal listeners is built around the theme of a personal crisis . And in the telling of her tales, the underlying state of crisis in society and in the politics of the State is beautifully captured
and imaginatively expressed.

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