The Loss of Nationhood in Intizar Hussain's 'Woh Jo Kho Gayee'

In class, we discussed how Intizar Hussain's stories never tell the story of a nation but actually provide an antithesis to the whole concept of the nation state. A careful nuanced reading of this story helped bring forth this aforementioned assumption.

Due to the circular and almost absurd narrative, the Muslim figures are stuck in a discussion that finds no resolution or meaning and are constantly using the historical glory days of the Muslim civilization to validate their position, so to speak within the collective Muslim identity. Constant references to 'Garnata' or 'Masjid-al-Aqsa' are important because these become representative of the strength of the Muslim consciousness. Here, the narrative identifies these figures in terms of their functions- 'nawjawaan' (youth), 'thailay waala' and 'baareesh waala'. Here, an important question that springs up is what does it mean to forget names in the context of the narrative and why are people being addressed in an almost Pinteresque/Beckett manner.

Due to the fact that Hussain goes deep into the human psychology in his narratives, we see a sense of loss and trauma and can question whether there is hope for the individual Muslim.