Response to In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Daniyal Mueenddin’s, In Other Rooms, Other wonders, Mueenuddin tells of a man by the name of Nawabdin.  Nawabdin is a servant to K.K. Harouni, who owns a great deal of land in the Middle East.  His main responsibility is to tend to the tube wells, which are used for the irrigation of the land in a very dry terrain.   One day, on his way back home to his family of thirteen children in Punjab, he comes across a man stranded on the road in the middle of the night.  The man asks for a ride, and Nawabdin agrees without knowing the dangers involved.  Shortly after beginning on their journey together, the man pulls out a gun.  He tells Nawabdin that if he doesn’t give him his motorcycle, he will shoot him.  Nawabdin ends up shot, but townspeople heard the gun shots and come to Nawabdin’s rescue within a short period of time.  When they arrive, they find the robber and shoot him.  They are both brought to a clinic where the extent of their injuries is discovered.  Nawabdin’s gunshot wound is not life threatening, but the robber had gotten shot in the lung and dies shortly after arriving at the clinic. 

I thought this short story was very well written and interesting.  I found the very end of the story where Nawabdin refused to forgive the robber, very interesting.  This was interesting because the reader gets the impression that Nawabdin is a very kind, forgiving man who would just be thankful that he survived.  However, when he doesn’t forgive the man, it challenges the idea of who we believe Nawabdin is.  This story demonstrates how people may surprise you in terms of actions when something they love is in danger.