Daniyal Mueenuddin is the writer of this short story. He was a great story writer having Pakistani-American descent. The theme of his short stories usually revolves around the Pakistani traditions. He has shown the miseries of the lower middle class in his short stories.
He has Commonwealth Writers’ Price, and The Story Price awards to his credit. In this story, Nawabdin was an electrician who used to swindle the electric companies by slowing down the meters. He works for his owner K.K Harouni. We see him fighting throughout the story for his prestige and bread. In the end, he was shot by a thief.
Nawabddin Electrician Summary
Nawabaddin has been shown as a bread-earner for his family. He used to earn income through swindling the electric companies. He slows down the electric meters illegally. He performs these illegal tasks for his partner K.K Harouni who is an influential man in a lot of fields. Harouni has been depicted as a landlord with a lot of political clout.
Water matters a lot for the villagers as they water their fields with its help. Nawabdin slows down the meters of Harouni so that his fields can be watered more without paying much for the electricity. He does this through connecting pipes or wires and sometimes by circumventing the switches.
The Family of Nawabddin
Nawabddin married with the love of his youth. He has twelve daughters and a son. He loves his wife very much. He has been shown as a caring father who cares for his daughter’s marriage.
Nawabddin Pleads Harouni for His Favor
Harouni was an influential landlord having connections in Islamabad. Whenever he visits his farms, servants throng to meet him. Nawabddin sits under a banyan tree with servants and asks for his favor. Nawabddin says eloquently,
“But, sir, on the bicycle now, with my old legs, and with the many injuries I’ve received when heavy machinery fell on me “
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We note that he admires his patron and says,
“Sir, as you know, your lands stretch from here to the Indus, and on these lands are fully seventeen tube wells, and to tend these seventeen tube wells there is but one man, me, your servant. In your service, I have earned these gray hairs”
Again he pleads earnestly,
beg you, forgive me my weakness. Better a darkened house and proud hunger within than disgrace in the light of day. Release me, I ask you, I beg you.”
Harouni has been won over through his eloquent speech and glib tongue. He is among the loyal servants of Harouni. Harouni knows the psyche of the lower class and asks what should be the solution. Then, Nawabddin pleads,
“Well, sir, if I had a motorcycle, then I could somehow limp along, at least until I train up some younger man.”
Nawabddin was very happy after he got a Honda 70. It meant a lot to him. He was asked to give his opinion on the matters of the village after that
One day, Nawabddin repaired the sugar press and was rewarded with five kilos of brown sugar. They ate bread with brown sugar.
The Condition of His House
His house was in shambles. But it was decorated with clothes. So his home was all for him. They all lived in their home happily.
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The Incidence of Robbery Upon Nawabdin
One day, Nawab was returning home on his bike, and he noted that a man wanted him to give him a lift. So he gave him the lift but actually, that man was a thief. The thief bandied about the arms and asked him to give him that motorbike.
But Nawabdin requested him to take pity and not take the bike from him. It was the sole source of income for him and his family. He told the thief that he had the responsibility of thirteen children.
Nawabdin resisted and tried to fight back but was shot in the leg. The robbers ran away leaving him in critical condition. The villagers came to the spot and saw him. They saw the thieves in the bushes. They snatched their guns and fired at them. One thief got injured seriously. Both the thief and Nawabdin were taken to the hospital.
Nawabdin was out of critical condition now but the thief was in serious condition. The thief apologized to Nawabdin for his actions and told him that he was helpless as he had an old mother living in the slums. But Nawabddin was not ready to pardon him. So the thief died in front of Nawabddin and the paramedical staff.
The Dominant Themes in Nawabdin Electrician
The Class Conflict
Daniyal Mueenudin has shown us a conflict in this novel between the upper class and the lower class. We note that Nawabdin is s poor man who gets enticed by the power of the wealth and indulges in illegal activities to earn money.
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The Passion of the Poor to Earn Their Earning
Another dominant passion is the heat and zeal of the poor to earn a living even in the face of great hardships. We see that Nawabddin is a passionate worker who earns a living for his family and comes to farms on his bicycle.
The Fear of Death
Daniyal shows us that in Pakistani villages, people, especially those with resources, are afraid of traveling at night.
Looking Through the Prism of Marxist Criticism
We notice that Nawabdin leads a miserable life as a lower class but the landlord leads a lavish life. The status of Nawabdin changed after he got his motorbike. The thief and his condition have been shown as a class struggle in the capitalist system.
The Genre, Setting, And Narration Style
This is a short story depicting the poor condition of the lower class in Pakistani society. Its setting is in Punjab between Multan and Firoza. It has been narrated through the third person perspective.
Wrapping Up
To sum up, we may conclude that like other stories of Danital Mueenuddin, it is a story of class struggle in Asian societies. The recurring themes are materialism, fear of death, and the rural mindset among the populace.
