Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher, an illustrated sci-fi novel that merges artist Zohaib Kazi’s curiosities in the fields of technology, philosophy, science and universe, made its debut last year and since then has us obsessing over it.
By Maheen Sabeeh | First published in Instep – The News on Sunday | April 19, 2016
Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher, an illustrated sci-fi novel that merges artist Zohaib Kazi’s curiosities in the fields of technology, philosophy, science and universe, made its debut last year and since then has us obsessing over it.
Innovative and out-of-the-box, the project is a significant leap for music in Pakistan. At a time when one routinely hears about the difficulty of releasing a full-length album due to lack of record companies and a system in place, Kazi’s book-album came as a ray of sunshine and hope.
Released by Marking Publishing, the Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher experience comes with a beautiful 100-page novella, full of lush illustrations (that will leave you wondering about the sheer talent that this country has to offer) and a USB containing a dozen songs featuring Kazi alongside some of the industry’s brightest music names.
A passion project for Kazi, the book-music album that has earned plenty of critical acclaim across the country and beyond is now available on Amazon which means it now has a global audience. When asked about the response to the book so far, Kazi, who also moonlights as Coke Studio Associate Producer/General Manager told Instep: “The remarkable part is that if nine out of ten people have read it/heard it, nine have enjoyed the experience and the one who hasn’t has not understood it.”
Kazi, 31, has taken his book-music album and presented it to a varied audience by participating in multiple music and literary festivals. Reflecting on the experience, he told Instep, “It’s been an educating process for me as I’m learning more and more about consumer behavior. There has been critical acclaim for the product, from extraordinary people, from within the music community, there’s been tremendous support. I’m not sure how that translates to sales or what those numbers are.”
For Kazi, the journey doesn’t end here though. Well-aware that we now live in an age where it is easy to go viral by doing parodies and gimmicks instead of original, thoughtful work, Kazi is not one to give up or follow the same ridiculous trends.
The one idea that he wants to pursue is finding a way of translating his novel into Urdu so it can be read by students all over the country. “The new generation is politicized, criminalized or falling into extremist ideology. The text of IKUS is meant to inspire the imagination…”
As for the future, anything it seems is possible and Kazi knows it too. “It (Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher) has the power to live on. It is up to me to keep at it, consistently.”
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