Moth Smoke

An unnamed, first-person narrator comments on the conditions of his prison cell. A guard hands him an envelope, and the prisoner recognizes the woman’s handwriting on it. He does not read the letter it contains.

The omniscient narrator reveals the details of a courtroom. The judge, addressed directly in the second person, presides, as associates of the accused enter: Murad Badshah, who is potentially a criminal compatriot of the accused, comes in first; followed by Aurangzeb, “the best friend”; and Mumtaz, who is cast as “wife, mother, and lover” (7). Others file into the courtroom, and silence gathers as the accused, Darashikoh Shezad, finally enters. The reader will glean that he is the unnamed narrator of Chapter 1. Daru, as he is called, has been charged with a heinous crime, and the prosecutor paints him as a remorseless villain: “He killed because his nature is to kill, because the death of a child has no meaning to him” (8). Thus, the trial begins.

The narrative shifts to Daru’s first-person perspective, earlier in the summer season. He is in the tricky process of trying to roll a hash cigarette while driving. He is on his way to visit a longtime friend, Aurangzeb, nicknamed Ozi, who has recently returned from studying in America. Ozi lives in a large house behind a gate equipped with security guards, prompting Daru to consider his own house, small in comparison.

Once inside, Daru and Ozi banter playfully—Daru teases Ozi about his hair loss—and Ozi introduces Daru to his infant son, Muazzam. Mumtaz, Ozi’s wife, is also there. Daru is nervous that he is staring at her too much; she is beautiful, and he admires her smoky voice. Ozi offers Daru whiskey—not just any kind, but the expensive contraband “smuggled in from India” (13). They drink together and talk about what has been going on in Lahore since Ozi has been away. Daru and Mumtaz indulge in a cigarette, though Ozi himself has quit while away.

By the time Daru leaves for home, he is quite drunk. He encounters a checkpoint and must stop for the police. The interaction is a delicate one: Daru is concerned that the officer has smelled the alcohol on his breath, and if the officer is a “fundo,” as Daru thinks of hardline traditionalist Muslims, he could be in real trouble (17). Daru bribes the officer and drives away with anger building at what he sees as hypocrisy and corruption.

The next day, he awakes, late, with a hangover and must rush to work. On his way, he runs out of fuel and has to walk to a gas station in the miserable heat. He arrives at work late, sweaty and disheveled. One of his clients is already there, and he demands that Daru explain why his check—for $30,000 in US currency—has not yet been deposited. In the exchange, Daru grows weary of the obsequiousness required of his servile role and suggests that the client take his money to another bank. He is subsequently fired.

After sleeping the rest of the day away, Daru realizes that he has agreed to go to a party with Ozi and Mumtaz. He tries to beg off, still experiencing the effects of the hangover and not wanting to talk about his job loss. Mumtaz talks him into it, and they drive to the party in Ozi’s Pajero (a Mitsubishi SUV). The party is packed, and Daru goes outside for some air. Mumtaz joins him, and they share a joint. Mumtaz mentions that Ozi has quit smoking hash, as well. She also tells Daru that she is a writer, interested in current events, and she reads him part of an article by Professor Julius Superb. Daru studied with the professor in college, so he is intrigued. The article discusses whether the legend of the phoenix—revived in its own ashes after burning to death—is a hopeful or tragic one. Mumtaz also asks Daru about his former boxing career, wherein he never won a title. They then find Ozi and drive home, without incident.

This chapter is a transcript of an interview between the journalist Zulfikar Manto and Professor Julius Superb, given during the trial. Manto—later revealed as Mumtaz—mentions reading Superb’s article about the phoenix as they begin, but what she is really interested in is how the professor met Darashikoh Shezad. Professor Superb says that Daru was a brilliant student, though “not the best at handling criticism” (37). Superb thinks that Daru’s work at the bank was beneath his abilities, but the two had lost touch before Daru’s arrest. Manto asks Superb why he thinks this case has attracted so much media attention. Superb suggests that it is the confluence of sensational elements: the arrested man is an orphan, and thus a sympathetic character, who has nevertheless been charged with a despicable crime, the killing of an innocent boy. There is also the whiff of corruption to the trial, Superb suggests, and, of course, there is the “purple” element of sex involved (38).

It is now May, and the heat is getting worse. Daru is smoking the last of his supply of hash when his dealer, Murad Badshah, happens along in his rickshaw. Daru buys some more hash—turning down Murad’s offer of heroin. Murad also announces he has a proposition for Daru; when Daru asks what it is, Murad withdraws a revolver and asks Daru to hold it. At Daru’s obvious discomfort, Murad seems to decide against pursuing his proposal and leaves. Daru returns inside to his air-conditioning to eat dinner and drink some beer. His servant, Manucci, has fallen asleep on the floor; the servant quarters are often too hot to sleep in this time of year.

Daru is awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from Mumtaz. She wants him to accompany her on a trip to the city: She is scheduled to interview the madam of an infamous brothel in town. While Daru knows instinctively that the errand is dangerous—and not just because they will be going to an unsavory part of town—he agrees, excited by the offer. Mumtaz also reveals her secret to Daru: She is actually the journalist known as Zulfikar Manto.

Daru is allowed to listen in on the interview, in which the madam, Dilaram, tells Mumtaz her life story. She was raped by her family’s landlord and his friends when she was young; she eventually became pregnant but was forced into an abortion. As she was now without honor, she could not go back to her family, so she was forced into sex trafficking in the city. As she grew older and lost her clients to younger women, she began to help the landlord run the business until his death. Some people claim she poisoned him, but either way, she is now in charge. On the way home, Daru considers asking Mumtaz if she believes Dilaram’s story, but “something in her expression makes [him] think better of it (51). When Mumtaz drops Daru off at his house afterward, she kisses him on the cheek.

The following Sunday, Daru reluctantly attends the regular family luncheon that his uncle, Fatty Chacha, holds. While he loves his grandmother, Dadi, and extended family, he does not want to talk about his work situation or his romantic prospects. As he is leaving, he asks to borrow some money from Fatty Chacha, who unenthusiastically agrees to a rather large sum. He himself is a man of modest means, and Daru knows it. He feels guilty for asking and for taking the generous helping of leftovers that his uncle insists he accept.