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review Before the
Law A
word about letters
A review of Christopher Schackle's translation and compilation of Mazhar ul Islam's work into English and the complexity of translating local metaphors into an international language By Sarwat Ali Title:
The Season of Love Bitter Almonds and Delayed Rains Translation of something as
peculiar as literature has always been a tricky business. Perhaps, in any
work of translation, the first thing one should look at is the quality of
translation rather than the Actually it is very difficult for a person who has a smattering of both the languages, in this case English and Urdu, to pass a judgment on the quality of the translation. This may seem paradoxical for the person familiar with both the languages actually should be able to assess the quality of the translation but it becomes difficult because somehow even in the best translation the flavour of the local language is lost. When translated into English what one has often read in Urdu or Punjabi seems second hand, limp, lifeless, and contrived. Each language carries within itself a whole repository of the culture and history of the place and community of people and this interiority of language cannot be substituted. These nuanced multiple layers some how defy translation and therein lies the necessity of different languages in the world. If everything was translatable then only one language in the world would have sufficed. In Pakistan, only a very small body of work has been originally written in English and it has received wider publicity because of its medium while the greater body of work has been written in either Urdu or the regional languages. Literary work in Urdu and regional languages has not been publicized because it is not available in an international language, which in Pakistan obviously means English. In India, the body of work written in English is much larger, because of a bigger middle class and because English has been the link language between the various regions of the country. In place of a proper lingua franca in India, English has been playing the role in a sub-continent that has been a maze of languages. Though recently, in Pakistan, more writings have appeared in English as well, and literature written in Urdu and regional languages is also being translated into English by the state as well by enterprising publishers. Mazharul Islam has been a
leading fiction writer of the country. He has written short stories which The background of the author is ever present. The rural landscape and the references that are primarily folkloric, the quasi-mystical attitude of the people, the ethos that derives its meanings from the inextricable bond of both the worlds is the inescapable reality that keeps surfacing in his stories. This is what makes them hold and retain the flavour of the land and its people. The stories, as has often been pointed out, start with the prologue, between the persona of the writer and an imaginary female interlocutor, and the pure abstraction then is gradually filled with the concretization of the action and characters that unfold in the story. The stories too are short-short stories that may appear like epigrams carrying a fable like quality. Some of his very famous short stories have been translated like The Abandoned Man, Portrait of a Lost Generation, The Unpublished Kiss, The City of Refuge, A Man Alone in the City of Horses, The Torn Out Man, A Bit of Life on the Edge of the Graveyard and the Clerk's Dream. Editor and translator Christopher Shackle, a familiar figure in the literary circles of the country with his unmistakable scholarship and deep understanding of our arts and literature, has written about a number of wide ranging issues. His grasp of Urdu and Punjabi is very sound. Since nineteen eighty five, he has been the professor of Modern Languages in the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London. It is ironic that a perception lingers that not enough creative work is done in Pakistan. The real reason why this impression has gathered strength is that the writings from Pakistan do not get translated in large numbers. It is quite sad that output in English, whether in the form of translation or original, has become the barometer of creative output. This is in a way going back to the colonial times when everything in English or other European languages was civilized and the rest barbaric. During the course of the post-colonial phase, it should have been sunk in that creative writings are better done in local languages. So much is written in Pakistan in all languages, national as well as regional, that it matches the output of any other area or country but since it does not get into the hands of the readers of English, it is not considered both good and voluminous. Only for this reason, more works of Pakistani authors should be translated into English and other language that have an international outreach. Excerpts The Thread Tangled in a Sparrow's Feet He is fond of old things He collects old letters He reads old books And has collected many rare antiques But to show off his collection of old things He invites a new girl to his house every day. Introduction Somebody introduced him by saying: He's a very good man Everyone's pleased with him He doesn't take anything amiss He writes endless letters to his friends every day He's present at every social occasion He doesn't break anyone's heart. It seemed to me I'd seen him before somewhere Then I remembered In a hall I once saw Among a lot of children's toys A wooden horse Which each child would pay a coin to have a ride on. A bad man He doesn't take part in social occasions He doesn't go to see anyone He doesn't write to anyone He doesn't phone anyone He doesn't enter competitions Even so people are trying to chase him away all the time.
Before the law sits a
gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain
entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at
the moment. The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to
come in later on. "It is possible," says the (This
story is presented here with the kind permission of the translator.)
Remembering a passionate socialist The people of Lahore have probably forgotten Abdullah Malik. Only a decade ago, he was one of the most sought-after intellectuals of the city. Primarily he was a journalist whose association with newspapers spanned some sixty long years. However, the 30plus books that he authored overshadowed his journalistic achievements. The topics of his books varied from the Bangali Muslims' struggle for freedom to his travelogue on Hajj. Abdullah Malik's book on
the political movements of the early 20th century Punjab was read more A steadfast communist, Abdullah Malik's lifelong commitment with Marxist philosophy remained intact even after the so-called death of Marxism near the end of the last century. I remember our discussions that usually took place on Friday evenings at his residence on the outskirts of Model Town in Lahore. He remained devoted to communism throughout his life. The Pakistan Academy of Letters recently organized a seminar in Islamabad to pay homage to Malik on his fifth death anniversary. The event was chaired by Professor Khawaja Masud and there were some noted left-leaning intellectuals and writers to speak. They included Hameed Akhtar, I.A. Rehman, Iftikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed and Ishfaq Saleem Mirza. They all had been friends of Abdullah Malik and had some amusing anecdotes about him to share with the audience. Malik's eldest son Dr. Kausar Abdullah Malik, grandson Umar Kausar Malik and Sajida Iqbal were also there to pay homage to him. The proceedings were conducted by Tariq Warsi. They all praised Abdullah Malik for his lifelong commitment to democracy, civil liberties, enlightenment and a just socio-economic order. Science in Urdu In a recent newspaper interview, Dr. Aslam Farrukhi has rightly pointed out that scientific terminology is not only difficult to understand in Urdu, it is hard to comprehend in English too. However, one may differ with the learned doctor when he throws his weight behind providing scientific education in Urdu. Giving the examples of Iran, Turkey, Indonesia and China, he says we also can teach science in our national language. The learned scholar, who has published many books including three collections of biographical sketches and is nowadays associated with a research project at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Karachi, deprecates the trend to use English words and phrases of which Urdu equivalents are easily available. He wonders, for instance, why people use 'street crime' rather than 'rahzani' when this term "sounds more pleasing". Literary Journals If you are interested in reading about three prominent female Urdu writers, get a copy of the current issue of the monthly Wajdan which is edited by Dr. Sughra Saydaf. The three female writers are Shabnum Shakeel, Kishwar Naheed, and Neelam Ahmad Bashir on whom Ataul Haq Qasmi Asghar Nadeem Syed and Ahmad Aqeel Rubi have written articles. However, Wijdan also carries many other pieces. For instance, it has short stories by Bano Qudsia. Parveen Atif, Salma Awan, Baila Saydaf and Seema Pairose. The section on poetry contains poetic compositions by Yasmeen Hameed, Samina Raja, Durey Anjum Arif, Rukhsana Noor, Hira Rana and many others. All these names give the impression that Wijdan is primarily concerned with the promotion of women's literature. However, when the monthly was launched some nine months ago, Sughra Saydaf made it clear that her principal objective was providing the readers with enlightened material on basic humanistic teachings of Sufism. But her interests have probably now shifted away from the spiritual and moral education of the people. PEN Pakistan The Pakistan Centre of PEN, an international organization of writers, has been working under the leadership of Syeda Henna Babar Ali for the promotion of literary activities since 2002. It arranges creative writing workshops and poetry competitions for students in various parts of the country besides giving annual 'First Book Awards' on literary books. The centre recently launched its annual 'Literary Journal'. Edited by Syeda Henna Babar Ali, its maiden issue carries creations of some noted writers and critics like Intizar Hussain, Dr. Sohail Ahmad Khan, Jocelyn Ortt-Saeed, Bushra Naqi, Afzal Tauseef, Dr. Mohammad Azam, Mazhar Abro and Dr. Ali Daust Baloch. Syeda Henna Babar Ali hopes that her bilingual (Urdu, English) Journal will play a role in introducing Pakistani literature internationally and says efforts will be made to "include literature produced in all the regional languages of Pakistan to make the journal representative of a national literature."
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merit of the work that has been translated.
are not symbolic in the overt sense but always carry a symbolic underpinning
that is more revealing than the plain reading of the text. The small,
insubstantial things have attracted him more. These small, everyday things
and seemingly trivial incidents have formed the main crux of his experiences,
which overshadow the looming and bigger issues that confront him and his age.
gatekeeper, "but not now." At the moment the gate to the law stands
open, as always, and the gatekeeper walks to the side, so the man bends over
in order to see through the gate into the inside. When the gatekeeper notices
that, he laughs and says: "If it tempts you so much, try it in spite of
my prohibition. But take note: I am powerful. And I am only the most lowly
gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than
the other. I can't endure even one glimpse of the third." The man from
the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be
accessible for everyone, he thinks, but as he now looks more closely at the
gatekeeper in his fur coat, at his large pointed nose and his long, thin,
black Tartar's beard, he decides that it would be better to wait until he
gets permission to go inside. The gatekeeper gives him a stool and allows him
to sit down at the side in front of the gate. There he sits for days and
years. He makes many attempts to be let in, and he wears the gatekeeper out
with his requests. The gatekeeper often interrogates him briefly, questioning
him about his homeland and many other things, but they are indifferent
questions, the kind great men put, and at the end he always tells him once
more that he cannot let him inside yet. The man, who has equipped himself
with many things for his journey, spends everything, no matter how valuable,
to win over the gatekeeper. The latter takes it all but, as he does so, says,
"I am taking this only so that you do not think you have failed to do
anything." During the many years the man observes the gatekeeper almost
continuously. He forgets the other gatekeepers, and this one seems to him the
only obstacle for entry into the law. He curses the unlucky circumstance, in
the first years thoughtlessly and out loud, later, as he grows old, he still
mumbles to himself. He becomes childish and, since in the long years studying
the gatekeeper he has come to know the fleas in his fur collar, he even asks
the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper. Finally his eyesight grows
weak, and he does not know whether things are really darker around him or
whether his eyes are merely deceiving him. But he recognizes now in the
darkness an illumination which breaks inextinguishably out of the gateway to
the law. Now he no longer has much time to live. Before his death he gathers
in his head all his experiences of the entire time up into one question which
he has not yet put to the gatekeeper. He waves to him, since he can no longer
lift up his stiffening body. The gatekeeper has to bend way down to him, for
the great difference has changed things to the disadvantage of the man.
"What do you still want to know, then?" asks the gatekeeper.
"You are insatiable." "Everyone strives after the law,"
says the man, "so how is that in these many years no one except me has
requested entry?" The gatekeeper sees that the man is already dying and,
in order to reach his diminishing sense of hearing, he shouts at him,
"Here no one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only
to you. I'm going now to close it."
than his other volumes but his most important books were on the political
role of the army in the developing countries. Four or five in number, the
books were published during the 1970s. Not a single book of any importance
has been published on this subject in Urdu language since then. With the
passage of time, the importance of Malik's books has increased and I am of
the view that they are more useful for the present generation than for their
first readers.