Zakir's Friends

In this blog post I will explore the relationship that Zakir has with each of his friends. To this extent, there is a very important role that the Shiraz plays in each of these people’s lives. It serves as the physical space where they come together to discuss and chat about their problems, concerns, etc. Ostensibly, these people appear to a very odd bunch of friends, making it difficult to see what is it exactly that brings them together. Irfan and Salamat don’t get along very well, Zakir who’s the passive narrator, rarely has any opinion to give and Afzal tries his very best to humiliate everyone. Despite their differences, it appears that the Shiraz is a space for them to come together because they’re obviously displaced by the society they’re living in. They’re a group of very angry men and they are able to continue living as ‘mice’ because of their engagement with one another at the Shiraz. Their conversations almost always end up as shouting matches, with Afzal leveling accusations at the rest of the group. 

Hussain intends to show that these young men are really discussing arts, literature and politics, when really their conversations are always conflict driven. One can make the argument that their sense of belonging is only made possible through their affiliation with one another. Like attracts like, in the sense that these men are never at home, they're living in exile and sitting with one another they can say what's on their mind and show their frustration.