User:Arshadmiraj/Urdu novel Daira

Urdu Novel ‘Daira’''(Circle)

Daira (دائرہ) is written by Muhammad Asim Butt (محمّد عاصم بت), published in 2001. It is considered to be one of the leading leading modern Urdu novels of first rank.

Theme

The story of Diara revolves around a distinguished, refined and dedicated actor Rashid who is possessed by a creative obsession which does not allow him to get back from the disguise of the character he had played in his last feature film, to his real life and be able to distinguish between his real and fabricated self. The second character of the novel is Asif, the character whom the protagonist Rashid had played, and who now takes Rashid’s place in the real world. Identity crisis begins and seems at first nothing more than a temporary mental disturbance but in the end of the novel the whole situation takes a different turn. In the last scene of the novel the character Asif, who in the meantime, has succeeded with difficulty in making him compatible with the film world of Rashid and taking his place, is again forced to accept a new identity of a laborer Gul Zaman Khan, a character whom he was about to play in one of his new films. Creative obsession and crisis of identity are the two main themes of the story. It also depicts in detail the social life of the ancient walled city of Lahore, Pakistan, a city with thousands’ years old history and culture, and presents a unique dreamlike atmosphere with a tinge of mystery. Unrestrained fate, with strings in the invisible hands of some unknown forces, shapes the lives of human beings. One has to face, while struggling to find out one’s real identity, the unanswered questions like who controls one’s fate and who determines one’s identity?

Quotes

The starting lines of the novel are enough to explain clearly its main theme, stating “Circle has no beginning, no ending, and for that reason is one of the gravest secrets of the world.”

Sources

www.urdupoint.com/books/book-68-62.html

www.mediafire.com/?f4o1z3hrcm4zoxi

www.amazon.co.uk/Daira-Muhammad-Asim-Butt/dp/9698379363

www.mosimak.com/Urdu-Collection?page=6#.TnCLh8009wg

http://urdubookhouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/daira-md-asim-butt.html

www.apnaorg.com/books/urdu/asim-butt/book.php?fldr=book