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interview The voice
within A
word about letters
interview By Altaf Hussain Asad A critic, poet and a distinguished teacher rolled into one, there are many facets of Suhail Ahmad Khan's personality. He has been teaching Urdu literature to post graduate classes for about four decades. Although he has not written
profusely on criticism, yet his assessment of Urdu literature is Born in 1948, he was first appointed a lecturer in Punjab University in 1969. He has also worked as a visiting professor at Tokyo University Japan. So far two books of his poetry and four books of critical essays have been published. Excerpts of an interview with him follow: The News on Sunday: You are a critic, poet as well as an experienced teacher. Which role do you prefer? Suhail Ahmad Khan: I have been teaching for more than thirty eight years to the post graduate classes. So obviously it has become my central role and I do not place it in a separate category. As far as my literary endeavours are concerned, I prefer poetry. This doesn't mean that my poetry is more important than my critical works. During early days, I wanted to make it big in the realm of poetry. But as a teacher of literature, it dawned on me that criticism of art and literature is valuable in its own way. Criticism is important as it evaluates literature. It also helps in creating a literary environment. This is besides the fact that my critical work received more attention. TNS: You wrote nazm only. Why? SAK: During college days, I used to compose ghazals. Later, however, I started taking keen interest in modern Urdu nazm. I tried to read German, Spanish, French and also the Russian poetry. This generated more interest in nazms. Over the last few years, however, I have composed more than thirty ghazals hoping to publish them soon. I am not against ghazal as is the case with few modern nazm writers. I do feel that ghazal is a part of our culture. It can portray the human feelings quite forcefully and effectively. Poets like Faiz, Munir Niazi, and Nasir Kazmi have amply proved that ghazal can describe the crisis of any age beautifully. Ghazal has as much potential as nazm. TNS: Is Urdu criticism at par with western criticism? SAK: Western criticism has a long history. Reneuelleac is a known historian of western criticism. He has compiled a history of western criticism for the period 1750-1950. This history runs into seven volumes. One can well understand that we can not outdo them. So let's not compare our criticism with that of the west. However, we do have some excellent critics amongst us, the likes of Muhammad Hasan Askari, Mumtaz Shirin, Salim Ahmad, Gilani Kamran, Sajjad Baqir Rizvi, Waris Alvi, Gopi Chand Narang, Shamsur Rehman Farooqi who can be compared with the best in the world. Presently there seems to be a crisis of criticism, at least in our country, and there are many reasons behind this. Majority of critical essays appearing in literary magazines are not up to the mark. Urdu press is also responsible for this as it only publishes literary activities or news. It does not publish objective critical reviews. TNS: Share some early recollections of your life? SAK: I spent my childhood in various towns of Punjab because my father was a civil servant and had to serve in many areas. Basically we are from Pathan Basti (Hoshiarpur), also the hometown of Munir Niazi and Ashfaq Ahmad. My father's job kept us on the move. I still remember the Pakpattan of those days. Later we lived for some time in Sahiwal. I was lucky to have a fun-filled childhood. My father had a literary taste and loved music. Ghalib was also a favourite of my father but he was not very well read either. I think I got attracted towards printed word on my own. TNS: What were your hobbies in your school days? SAK: As a school boy I was passionate about cricket. I was also a part of our school cricket team. But I never neglected my studies. I also used to read books and newspapers. After my matriculation, my father was transferred to Multan which was a new place for me as there was no one who knew me as a budding cricketer. As a result the passion for cricket fizzled out. This was a turning point for me when I devoted myself wholeheartedly to books. The real change occurred when I got admission in Emerson College Multan. There was a private library Bagh Langay Khan near my home with a huge collection of books on Urdu. That's how I started to read Urdu books. TNS: You became a teacher at the young age of 22. Didn't your father try to force you to become a civil servant? SAK: My father or family never tried to force anything on me. Teaching was something I chose on my own since the role of a teacher fascinated me. I did not quite like my father's tough job routine. I saw no charm in civil service and thought that teaching suited my temperament. During my college days, I started composing poetry too. I was also an active member of debating team winning many contests in various colleges. When I came to study in the Oriental College, I was a better student than my peers due to my extensive study. I used to study magazines like 'Adab-e-Latif', 'Naqoosh,' 'Sawera' etc. This habit really chiselled my understanding of literature while people like Sajjad Baqar Rizvi encouraged me a lot. All these things made teaching more enjoyable. TNS: Why is the habit of book reading declining? SAK: I would not totally agree with you. Common reader read book for the sake of fun but now there are lots of choices available to him. So one can agree that the common book reader is not there. Teachers are responsible for this. They must inculcate reading habits in the pupils. There also is a dearth of good literary journals. In our times, literary magazines played a pivotal role in educating us. Also serious book reader has started reading English books since there is more variety and they are more accessible. What we need is more public libraries. TNS: You have written very less on criticism. Why? SAK: My association with literature goes back to forty years. I never severed my link with literature. I tried to do whatever I could with my limited talent. Now it is the task of other people to evaluate my work. TNS: Do you plan to write anything in English? SAK: Well, I am not quite at ease with English. I wrote a few book reviews in the Pakistan Times in the past. But it was friend Muhammad Salim-ur-Rehman who corrected these pieces before they went into print. TNS: Are you writing an autobiography? SAK: No but I do plans to write books on criticism including detailed critical essays on Munir Niazi, Nasir Kazmi, Intizar Husain etc. I would also love to bring out a book of poetry.
A recent seminar in FC College Lahore emphasized the significance of finding one's expression in an alien language By Sarah Sikandar Forman Christian College
recently hosted a discussion titled 'Poetry Recitation and Athar Tahir said it's time we reconsidered thinking English as a foreign language. Rather, it is an amalgamation of different cultures and traditions. Tahir's speech mainly focused on Taufiq Rafat's poetry and his personality. He acknowledged his works to Rafat saying he had played a huge role in shaping his poetic abilities. Not only himself but Rafat helped many of his peers who wanted to write poetry but weren't sure about their skills. He was a mentor to a whole generation of poets. A generation which, according to him, feels indebted to Rafat. Dr Waqas began with his recollections of Taufiq Rafat as a neighbour and the difficulty with reconciling his death. He commended Rafat's humility. A lot of people didn't know him in the capacity of a poet since he refrained from imposing himself on others. Any talk about Pakistani literature is not complete without mentioning Taufiq Rafat. Dr. Fawzia insisted the importance of a tribute to a person like Rafat since he transcends all boundaries. Feryal Ali Gohar hinted the importance of being humble by saying "some of us prefer to think we are significant." Humility is admired particularly in people who achieve a stature in life, and Taufiq Rafat was one such person. In a country, she said, where meritocracy is patronised people like Rafat are seldom celebrated. It is sad and pleasing at the same time to have people from abroad, like Dr Waqas and Dr. Fawzia, to pay tribute to a legend. "Had Rafat lived longer we would have benefited from him." Moving the discussion further Dr Khwaja insisted upon the importance of English language and "the hyphenated connection" that we have with English language in the context of our colonial past. Our local languages, according to him, can not be ignored to grace any foreign language but the connection with English can't be overlooked either. He welcomed that we are at a stage where we are beginning to adapt English as one of our own languages. Nonetheless, he also admitted the importance to break free from the psychological pressures associated with language in order to produce better work. Talking about influences he said that Punjabi and Pashto literature have been as strong influences for him as 'Mahabharata', 'Ramayana' or Bhagti movement because he never feels constrained by the boundaries demarcated between cultures. No matter we consciously acknowledge them or not, these influences exist. He prefers to move away from cultural and social constraints to get his expression. Talking on the acquisition of craft to produce good work he said that the basic truths about the craft are intrinsic to good work. Hostility towards English language, he asserted, is important to create conditions for creativity. This hostility is there in every society where one population disapproves or is hostile towards another language or culture. It should be taken as a part of the creative process. Dr. Khwaja stressed upon the fact that most of the educated population of this country is multi-lingual though it can't be claimed that anyone writing in a particular language is representing the speakers of that language. Feryal Ali Gohar asserted that culture is a process of "revolutionary transportation." English is the language of colonialism which gave something to us and changed us. She acknowledged that that she took a lot of material for her first novel from Pran Nevile's books as well as to Sheharyar Rashid, son of N.M Rashid. Writing, she said, acts as a tool for her to keep her sanity and a means to balance the internal landscape with external landscape. Feryal's recitation from her novel was enjoyed by the audience translated in the repeated applause she received. Her impersonation of Maulvi Muzaffar, character from her novel 'The Scent of the Wet Earth' was both profound and amusing. The Punjabi-accented-English was a hilarious episode. The excerpt she read out is the gist of her book -- a sardonic criticism of clergy. Feryal stressed upon the fact that she wants to communicate to her reader and not essentially 'transfer' her knowledge to anyone. Ours is a heterogeneous society, she said, with strict classification of classes where English becomes a signifier. She added that her audience is not Pakistani because in the present socio-political scenario it is more important to expand our audience. "I believe the efficacy of what you say doesn't depend on your language but the power of how you say it. Translations, in this regard are important." Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan, however, stole the show with her hip-hop performance.of 'Osama's Secret'. Dr. Fawzia is now recognised as an expert on post-colonial studies. Although not familiar with her work, the brief encounter through her poetry recitations introduced one to her as a writer with a critical insight. She stood out from other guest speakers as far as the maturity and simplicity of themes are concerned. Her poems "Maai" and "Birthing Pain" are a good read for someone who wants a flavour of English writing in Pakistan, embedded as it was with the 'local idiom'. She also stressed that in an any expression there has to be "a marriage of form and content." adding that her writings are basically "how I write and I don't have the power to control how my audience reads my work or perceives it."
A
word about letters Anne Enright have been
awarded this year's Man Booker Prize for her novel 'The Gathering' out of the
thirteen books that were short listed by the judges. Strongly favoured books
included Ian McEwan's 'On Chesil Beach', Liyod Jones' 'Mister Pip' and Mohsin
Hamid's 'The The judges for the current year did not disappoint critics by awarding the prize to the least expected author. 45 years old Irish writer Anne Enright is little known outside her country. She is the author of a collection of short stories titled 'The Portable Virgin,' three previous novels as well as a non-fiction volume 'Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood.' The chairman of the judging panel Howard Davies who is also the director of the highly respected London School of Economics, has described Anne Enright's award-winning book as "a very readable novel. People will be pretty excited by it when they read it." Tribute to a teacher Dr. Zahid Munir, a noted teacher at University Oriental College Lahore, has compiled the scattered works of his deceased teacher Professor Ghulam Jilani Ashgar. This is probably one of the best ways a tribute can be paid to a teacher, by preserving his scattered works for the posterity. Dr. Zahid has compiled fourteen articles of Professor Ghulam Jilani Ashgar in a published form titled 'On the Wings of Poesy.' Professor Ghulam Jilani Asghar taught English language and literature at Government College Sargodha which has recently been given a degree-awarding status. He was well-known in our literary circles for his poetry, literary criticism and essays he used to contribute to Dr. Wazir Agha's literary journal. 'On the Wings of Poesy' encompasses articles written in the last quarter of the past century and published in The Pakistan Times. With the passage of time these articles had been buried into oblivion. However, the compiler says that the late professor cherished the desire to republish them in a book form but could not find time to do so. He died in December 2006. The book is divided into two parts. The first part carries articles on the modern Urdu poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz, N.M. Rashed, Majid Amjad, Meeraji, Yousaf Zafar, Qayyum Nazar, Mukhtar Siddiqi, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Zamir Jafari and Dr. Wazir Agha. The second part of the book contains four articles of Ghalib, Waris Shah are Iqbal. Professor Jilani's articles are short but educative. They provide a fine introduction to a number of modern Urdu poets. But 'On the Wings of Poesy' is not his only published book. His two other books have hit the bookstands during the past few weeks. One is a collection of poetry which has been publishing by the Tanazar Matbooaat of Lahore under the title 'Nazm mujh sey kalam karti hai.' The other is a collection of his research articles. The University Oriental College has brought it out under the title 'Chilcharaagh.' Sheikh Ayaz conference Encouraged by the positive
response of Sheikh Ayaz International Conference last year The idea to bring scholars and writers from other countries to a platform to pay tributes to Sheikh Ayaz was given by Dr. Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor Sindh University who is a renowned scholar himself. But can his university, or Sindhi Adabi Board manage a standard biography of the Sheikh written? Almost ten years have passed since his death but not much has been published about his life or works. Dr. Tanvir Abbasi was perhaps the most suitable person to write about Sheikh Ayaz but joined his mentor in the next world. Ghulam Rabani Agro sahib and Professor Afaaq Siddiqui can he greatly helpful in this regard.
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highly valued. Dr Suhail is currently the Chairman of Urdu Department as well
as Dean of Languages, Islamic and Oriental Learning at Government College
University, Lahore.
Discussion by Pakistani Writers and Poets Writing in English.' The occasion
was attended by the faculty members, students and literati. Guest speakers
included Athar Tahir, Dr Waqas Ahmed Khwaja, Feryal Ali Gohar and Fawzia
Afzal-Khan. The discussion focused on issues like post-colonial identity,
finding an expression in English as our own language and exploring our
'voice' in this context. The speakers also paid well-deserved tribute to the
late Taufiq Rafat. His contributions to literature in Pakistan and the
personal recollections of the man himself were rendered. Present among the
audience were the revered faculty members, writers and researchers including
Dr. Naseem Ahmed Butt, Dr. Waseem, Pran Nevile who was in Lahore for the
launch of his reprinted book 'Lahore', Madeeha Gauhar and Taufiq Rafat's wife
and children.
Reluctant Fundamentalist.' The short listed books were selected from 110
entries. 92 books were submitted by the authors or publishers for the prize.
The rest were called in by the judges.
Sindh University is presently organizing another conference. The chairman of
the organizing committee Dr. M. Qasim Bughlo has been reported saying in a
recent newspaper that the second four-day international conference will be
held in the last quarter of 2008. He also disclosed that he had already
received 101 papers from Pakistani and foreign scholars who are expected to
participate in the conference.