"Nawabdin Electrician"

A Pakistani man who was formerly a lawyer at Debeoise and Plimpton, Daniyal Mueenuddin currently manages a farm in Khanpur, Pakistan. He graduated magna cum laude from Darthmouth College and went to Yale for law school. I read his short story the "Nawabdin Electrician" which was featured in the August 27th edition of the New Yorker Magazine. He is not a new name to the New Yorker and has published a collection of short stories, "In Other Rooms, Other Worlds".

Mueenuddin's story the "Nawabdin Electrician" begins with the background of it's main character, Nawab the electrician. Through cheating and guess work, Nawab is able to provide electricty to his customers "to the hundred-rupee note" which optimizes monthly savings. Nawab returns to a poverty striken home full of the women he loves, but must return to work for long hours every day. His homelife provides insight into what is really important to him displays the ambiguous meaning of modernization on his life. Armed with a "hammer dangling from his hand like a savage's axe" Nawab slaves to provide for others while getting little in return. His boss, K.K. Harouni, provides him with a motorcycle so that he may spend more time at home with his family and less on strenuous travel between the lands on his bike. With the motorcycle comes freedom, free time, and transition. Nawab's life is now based on technology and not on nature. One night, when riding home, Nawab comes across a poor man who askes for a ride into town. Nawab is a trustworthy man, and his kindness almost costs him his life. When lying in the hospital, Nawab refuses to forgive the man who shot him, thinking him unworthy of the apology.

Mueenuddin throws a twist ending to the story in having Nawab not forgive poor man. As the reader, I was shocked when I read the ending, because I did not think it fit with the rest of the characters development.