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| June 27, 2003 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 26,1424 |
Dr Laeeq Babree passes away
ISLAMABAD, June 26: Prof Dr Laeeq Babree, a renowned scholar passed away after a protracted illness at the KRL Hospital here on Thursday morning. He was 75.
He is survived by a widow, two sons — Nabeel Babree and Adeel Babree — and a daughter, Javeria.
Dr Babree, who translated the works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Allama Iqbal into French, was a visiting professor of ancient religions at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations at the Quaid-i-Azam University. He was also the honorary president of the Alliance Francaise (the French Cultural Centre), Islamabad.
He was busy writing his autobiography, Paris Sey Kaaba Tak, which he could not complete as he fell ill and required frequent dialysis to cope with the kidney ailment he ultimately fell victim to.
A glaring example of the lack of patronage and respect by the government as well as the national institutions for whom he invested his prime time of life, Dr Babree spent his last days in the most painful emotional turmoil.
It was only after his plight was highlighted by the media that the federal health secretary and a private sector pharmaceutical company came to his help and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan arranged for his treatment at the KRL Hospital. But, by that time the damage had already been done.
French Ambassador Yannick Gerard, an ardent fan of Dr Babree, visited him at his place when he first fell sick and extended the much-needed moral support to him.
The French embassy has expressed its sorrow and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family.
Born on Jan 20, 1934, Dr Babree studied at the Government College Lahore and then proceeded to France to join the University of Paris, Sorbonne, where he completed his doctorate in French literature under the guidance of scholars such as Ren Etiembre and Seorges Dumzil.
On his return to Pakistan, Dr Babree joined his alma mater as a lecturer in French. Later, he joined the National Institute of Modern Languages (now the University of Modern Languages) as head of the Department of French and later became chairman of the institute. He left the country in 1980s and went to Saudi Arabia when life became too tough for him during the military regime of Gen Ziaul Haq. In that country he also worked at the Umm al-Qura University of Makkah.
Dr Babree was one of the pioneers of modern Punjabi poetry in Pakistan. A poet, translator and critic, he translated the works of Faiz into French and Baudelaire and Rimbaud in Urdu, and published numerous articles on the problems of art and literature.
Influenced by French symbolist, he wrote a number of poems, most of which were published in two volumes — ‘Ghoggo Ghorey’ (mute horses) and ‘Khingar’ (stones that hurt).
A true humanist, Dr Babree also had an acute social conscience.
He was also a man of high spiritual standings, strongly believing that spirituality, which is the essence of all philosophies, is a unifying force. His Sufi leanings led him to believe that spiritual sensitivity lifts people above narrow differences and elevates them to a plain where the final truth stands alone in all its universal grandeur.
Dr Babree constantly acted as a link between Urdu and French cultures and literatures. He played a major role in promoting cultural relations between France and Pakistan. His work as a translator introduced French writers to the Pakistani audience. Similarly, Pakistani poets were made known to the Francophone public thanks to the efforts of Dr Babree.
In 1992, Dr Babree was awarded ‘Palmes Academiques’, the highest French award for scholarly and cultural achievements.
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