Ocean of Melancholy: The Tragedy that was Karbala

One of the best-known works of Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Bishad Sindhu (Ocean of Melancholy), is an epic historical novel centred on events that led to the Battle of Karbala and its aftermath. The book revolves around the tragic story of Hassan and Hussein, grandsons of the great Prophet Muhammad, who were exterminated by their bitter enemy, Yazid, the son of the king of Damascus, for his desire for Zainab—Hassan’s beautiful wife—and his greed for the throne of Medina. The plot is dramatic, with a mythical undertone, and deeds of heroism and supernatural occurrences lend an epic flavour to its narrative. The storyline explores the sufferings and agonies of human life and the covetousness and hatred of men, and, at the same time, imparts a historical background to the bloodshed and killings that took place in Karbala, Iraq, on the 10th of October, AD 680.