PAKISTANI SOCIETY IN "THE LAST METAPHOR" BY USMAN ALI

 USMAN ALI: 

 “Usman Ali” an international Pakistani writer, playwright, and literary figure of our society. He was born in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab and completed his M.phill from Punjab University Lahore. Now he is associated with University of Gujrat and University of Sargodha.

Usman Ali, the founder of Ali’s theater wrote many plays such as The Prisoner, The Guilt, The Odyssey, The Breath, The Flute, and The Last Metaphor which are performed and published in Pakistan. In 2014, he received “Toufeeq Raffat Prize” for drama.

• "THE LAST METAPHOR" by Usman Ali: 

Pakistani Anglophone drama is the least discussed and least celebrated genre under the umbrella of Pakistani Postcolonial Literature. Pakistani drama, however, has its own flavour and dynamics, especially when it is written in the age of postmodernism. This three-Act play “The Last Metaphor” shows resemblance with the drama “Waiting for Godot” by “Samuel Beckett”. It has no particular division of the scenes. The acts are connected together because of characters, themes, and incidents. Setting of the play remains same in all the three acts.

This play by Usman Ali is a mousetrap to catch the conscience of the audience. The Last Metaphor is realistic play which shows and exposes the evils of Pakistani society, which are prevailing since it came into being. Through different dialogues, situations, characters, tales, and symbols Usman Ali invites the readers to think about sufferings and socio-political evils in the society.

Being a Pakistani writer, Usman Ali is definitely depicting Pakistani society in this play. Here are some glimpses from the play “The Last Metaphor”.

In Act-I Banka says to Jugnoo that;

“The tout of police demands 10 lakh to settle the matter. One robbery can manage the amount. Come Jugnoo. A bank is waiting to be looted. I spoke to the securityguard. He suspected me first. I promised a refrigerator. He was worried about the marriage of his daughter. When I assured him, he agreed.”

In these lines the practice of bribery is very clear. Police take bribes from the criminals “to settle the matter”. Everywhere in Pakistan police department is doing the same job which is being mentioned here. They take bribes, give relaxation to criminals, that is the reason crimes are increasing rapidly. Further the characters are planning to rob a bank. They settle the affairs with “poor securityguard”. As he is worried about his daughter and due to poverty he is not able to meet the standards of society. “Curse of dowry” is an issue here which is giving birth to another evil which is done by this security guard.

This short tale can be relate with an incident “2009 Karachi Bank Robbery” occured on December 13, 2009 when robbers stole 311 Million rupees from the main branch of “Allied Bank” in Karachi, Pakistan. It is considered the biggest bank robbery in the history of Pakistan. Police say the gang was led by one of the bank’s guard.

Another example that is relateable is of two Pakistani citizens, Waqar Ghumman and Mohsin Zameer, were arrested from Lahore when they were stealing money from the ATM of a bank in Bahria Town.

Usman Ali is not only raising the issues and evils related to laymen, but he is also criticizing politicians and influential people who are involved in disgusting things to get benefits. Through the dialogue of Banka, he exposes them as;

“The doctor you shot was an influential man. His elder brother is a personal secretary to minister. He supported him in the last elections. He owns 200 acres. A rich and influential man. The minister cannot say no to him.”

Through this short tale Usman Ali is touching the evil of corruption in politicians and influential parties. In Pakistan, our politicians use their influence, power, and money to get better position in society especially during elections. Votes and seats are purchased by using money and involving the department of police. Our politicians say all is fair in love and war, and elections can count as modern-day-warfare. However, even wars have rules and certain events have transpired that_no matter what side you find yourself on_ are completely unforgiveable. Not only we are getting to witness the true face of our politicians, we are witnessing the true face of the general populace as well  it’s ugly aspects.

At the end of Act-I Jugnoo is narrating a story of two boys. He says;

Five policemen dragged an innocent boy. Pond sounded with frogs and walls reverberated with crickets. One slapped him and the other spitted on him. The rest asked the boy to say loud, “MAY ALL THE DRUG ADDICTS BE DAMNED!” One boy said the line but the other remained silent. The other was being slapped.”

This short tale shows the unjust of police. The department which is responsible for society and to act rule of law is also indulge in corruption and evils. By narrating this short incident writer is giving signal of the alarming situation of justice in Pakistani society. A young innocent citizen was being killed by policeman, named “Naqeebullah Masood”. He was killed on January 13, 2018, in Karachi, Pakistan, during a fake encounter staged by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Karachi’s Malir District, “Rao Anwar”. Rao Anwar claimed that Naqeebullah had links with Tehrik-e-Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and the Islamic State of Iraq. However, after inquiry Naqeebullah was found to be innocent. Many Naqeebullahs are being killed by police due to their own personal benefits or grudges.

Moreover, Usman Ali used many symbols which are depicting Pakistani society. In all three acts the dead body of dog is metaphorically representing Pakistani society. The dialogue of Banka in Act-III justifies this statement, when he says;

“The body is rotten. Nothing is inside it. Insects and trains of insects. Creeping in straight rows. They are sure. They know what they have to. Insects enter the bowels through the flesh and change the color from white to pale.”

Here Banka is talking about the dead body of dog, on which Jugnoo is sprinkling the scent. Here Usman Ali is using metaphor to present the current situation of the society. Our society, norms and culture are being crushed and killed by us. As the insects eat and destroy the body, we Pakistanis are doing the same job with our own motherland. By indulging ourselves and our institutions in corruption and crimes, we just changed the fair and glorious face of Pakistan and made it hollow. Not only the politicians, leaders, departments, and common citizens, all are doing exactly the same work according to their level and approach.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, we can say that the characters, themes, and the actions of the play all are symbolical representation of Pakistani society. Everyone is saving itself and while doing so is destroying the values of the traditional social setup. The play portrays the social evils which are prevailing in the roots of Pakistan and weakening it. Examples from daily routine justify that this play is real depiction of our own society and the main purpose of the author is not entertainment but something else.