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A review by inveterate_reader
The Hoary Lord of the Hudhud by Sahibzada Mubashir Noor
4.0
The Hoary Lord of the Hudhud by S. Mubashir is about a village that sacrifices a child named Mukhtar every year to save themselves from the bloodthirsty crows.
The book talks about following traditions without questioning, customs that no one knew the origins of, norms that were doing more harm than good, just giving up after the first try & going for the easy way out; it all depicts the mentality of our society so well.
How children are not given the chance to have their 'individuality' (28 Mukhtars that even looked somewhat alike) or to find themselves out. They're, at a young age, given a definition of what they are & what they're supposed to do with their lives. Sometimes, 'just because elders decided so' (even the most important decisions). Similarly, not giving a plausible reason, not convincing a child by providing logical explanation is also one of the negative sides of our society, of our parenting.
Selfishness of humans is also protrayed, how easily they could sacrifice a child, take a child's right to live, if it meant they could save their own skins.
One more point that struck me was how usually, we criticize our country, we're always stating the negatives, we sometimes genuinely dislike it & most often we're found comparing it to other, better, countries but still, deep down we're one of the most partriotic people. We, whenever the need arises, are prepared to sacrifice anything for our country. Just like Mukhtar, "ᵂʰᵒ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᴵ ᵇᵉ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁱᵗ ᶠᵒʳᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵈⁱˢᵃᵖᵖᵉᵃʳ? ", we know it's our identity & we'll be protecting it my all means.
This short story has valuable lessons like thinking not only of yourself (ⁱⁿ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵒⁿˡʸ ᵒᶠ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ, ᴵ’ᵈ ᵃˡᵐᵒˢᵗ ˡᵒˢᵗ ᵐʸ ˡⁱᶠᵉ), how one mistake can have terrible consequences & how human cruelty can make its way back to humans. (If only animals could take their revenge in this world or even weaker humans... sometimes it makes me think.)
Apart from all that, the book has a philosophical & religious touch to it. Many times in our lives we've been like, "Why God?!". There's always a reason, sometimes you just don't know it right away.
The book talks about following traditions without questioning, customs that no one knew the origins of, norms that were doing more harm than good, just giving up after the first try & going for the easy way out; it all depicts the mentality of our society so well.
How children are not given the chance to have their 'individuality' (28 Mukhtars that even looked somewhat alike) or to find themselves out. They're, at a young age, given a definition of what they are & what they're supposed to do with their lives. Sometimes, 'just because elders decided so' (even the most important decisions). Similarly, not giving a plausible reason, not convincing a child by providing logical explanation is also one of the negative sides of our society, of our parenting.
Selfishness of humans is also protrayed, how easily they could sacrifice a child, take a child's right to live, if it meant they could save their own skins.
One more point that struck me was how usually, we criticize our country, we're always stating the negatives, we sometimes genuinely dislike it & most often we're found comparing it to other, better, countries but still, deep down we're one of the most partriotic people. We, whenever the need arises, are prepared to sacrifice anything for our country. Just like Mukhtar, "ᵂʰᵒ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᴵ ᵇᵉ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁱᵗ ᶠᵒʳᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵈⁱˢᵃᵖᵖᵉᵃʳ? ", we know it's our identity & we'll be protecting it my all means.
This short story has valuable lessons like thinking not only of yourself (ⁱⁿ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵒⁿˡʸ ᵒᶠ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ, ᴵ’ᵈ ᵃˡᵐᵒˢᵗ ˡᵒˢᵗ ᵐʸ ˡⁱᶠᵉ), how one mistake can have terrible consequences & how human cruelty can make its way back to humans. (If only animals could take their revenge in this world or even weaker humans... sometimes it makes me think.)
Apart from all that, the book has a philosophical & religious touch to it. Many times in our lives we've been like, "Why God?!". There's always a reason, sometimes you just don't know it right away.