| 04 July 2004 | Sunday | 15 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Chekhov and the Urdu short story
Trashy reading
The disasters of war
The way in which we have been exposed to the uncertainties of terrorism and a general vulnerability of unsafe day to day living, it does not surprise that not much conversation has evidently taken place on the fact that a rocket hit a Karachi wedding lawn on Monday night (June 28th). Karachiites appear to have taken it in their stride?
I was in Islamabad that day when this happened, and read the news the next morning. All that was unfolding in Islamabad, with the change of the prime minister, and all the speculation and contemplation that was going on, this rocket incident figured no where. It was viewed as another instance of "lawlessness" and "terrorism" in a city that remains a very high priority in the law and order agenda of the country.
But in Karachi, for us, it was something new. In a city seized by fears of sorts, this was a new kind of scare, a new apprehension, and an unconventional sort of activity that made, and still makes citizens quietly wonder whether this can be controlled. Whether this is the new way in which terrorists will strike. Mind boggles at the thought of rockets flying around, like on Monday night, in a city as dense and burdened with people and the damage it may cause to life and property.
The rocket was fired on Monday from a ground-launcher in Hijrat Colony, near the PIDC House bridge and landed at the Data Lawn near Guru Mandir. The distance the rocket travelled was eight to ten kilometres. There are other details, but one would like to pause here at just these facts. As a citizen I feel vulnerable when I imagine what would have happened if that rocket had fallen in some populated part of Guru Mandir, or elsewhere.
It is hard to believe that the men behind the rocket were aiming at that empty Data Lawn. That is naive. No one would go along with that argument. It is a rocket that went astray. That is our collective good fortune. And we should thank the Almighty Allah for this.
But is this thanksgiving enough? What else can be done is what we have to ponder about. Admittedly there are rockets being fired in other parts of the country - in Balochistan and NWFP. But, now in Karachi, is this indicative of what lies ahead. A fear overcomes me even as I say this, and I tremble.
Now this was not the first rocket fired in the city. The city's police chief, Tariq Jamil has been quoted as saying that in 2002 a rocket was fired near the airport area. Yet another, he said had struck the Government College for Commerce and Economics on Dr Ziauddin Ahmad Road some time ago.
It does make one wonder at the obvious VIP presence in this area, where places like the Governor House, the Chief Minister House, Rangers headquarters, leading clubs, five star hotels, and media head offices are located. Also the US Consulate General let me add!
Let us return to another aspect of that Monday night rocket fire. Another "live" rocket was found in Hijrat Colony which was defused by the police. This rocket was 2.5 feet long and was found in a pushcart, and the launcher was on the ground, beside the rocket. Some newspapers carried photographs of this and the damage caused in the marriage lawn in Guru Mandir.
Most citizens have imagined what would have happened to them were they to be at the spot, where the rocket hit. And what of that Guru Mandir area, residential and commercial both? Bear in mind that it is in Guru Mandir and adjoining areas that there have been those incidents: suicidal bombing in the Imambargah Ali Reza, and the assassination of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai and Munawar Suhrawardy.
A Dawn story has said that a "jehadi outfit" was being suspected by the local police to be involved in the rocket attack, with the rocket described as a short range, surface to surface ballistic missile of eight to 12 km range. Is this what the city has begun having as terrorism grows, and citizens fears rise? Another report has said that the police have come to know that a known militant group has plans to enable women suicide bombers attack Imambargahs.
See the manner in which our lives are changing and so is the face of the city. And what should one say of the face of the city that comes through the large number of huge billboards and hoardings that are up in the city? Commercial success?
Let me quote here what the writer Boris Pasternak has said about fear. He says that "fear has the largest eyes of all". If applied to the city even in what are regarded as places of entertainment and recreation in this congested city, there are rampant fears. One is not just referring to the fear that most people have when they go to the beach at this time of the year. Summer time, and vacation time, and people go to the Hawkes Bay and Sandspit beaches.
Careless unsuspecting individuals get drowned, and from the look of things this year, it seems that neither has anything worthwhile been done to educate the people, nor have they themselves realised the folly of going deep, or risking the waves. No effort to manage the problem, really.
And will there be any lessons learnt from the tragedy that took place last Sunday (June 25th) at the Alladin Park on Rashid Minhas Road. This is not the first time this place has been in the news. A 13-year-old boy, Mohsin Khan, a student of class 7th, was crushed to death after he fell from a ferris wheel at this amusement park.
The boy's mother reportedly said that "my son was about to sit in the wheel, when the operator started it, Mohsin lost his balance and was crushed under a part of the huge wheel". The details of what happened have been reported in the press, and the amusement park was also closed down by the City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, and inquiries are underway. A police case has reportedly been registered. Many questions come to the mind as one read the little boy's tragic story.
That the Alladin amusement park had no ambulance service nor did it make it available from elsewhere. One taxi after another was called in and by the time the boy reached the Liaquat National Hospital he was declared dead. It is reported that an hour was lost after the boy sustained the first injury. It is also reported that it was after the general public intervened that the wheel under which Mohsin was trapped came to a halt. But it was too late.
There is much to be shocked about in the death of this 13-year-old Mohsin Khan whose parents also addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club and held the management of the park responsible for the death. One of the points they stressed was that the oxygen cylinder that was brought by the staff was "empty". In a society given to mismanagement and inefficiency it is believable, and needs to be looked into.
What also needs to be looked into is not just this case where alittle boy lost his life. Disturbing thoughts also go out to the other such amusement parks in the city where at times the appearance is very shabby and seems faulty.This is a city that dangerous buildings that continue to be inhabited, and this is a city where ill-maintained public and private vehicles, big and small run on the city's roads, adding to the horrors and perils that already exist. It is an attitude thing, this unwillingness and inability to want to maintain equipment, gadgets, vehicles etc.
I have spoken of fear and uncertainty that dwell in a Karachiite's heart and with that in mind let me tell, you a friend of mine highlighted last night. The fear of getting robbed at gunpoint at traffic signals. It is happening and remains too small to be reported. Let me tell you what he said: a motorist was waiting at the PECHS Nursery traffic signal, when two men got into his car, one in front and the other onto the back seat of his Khyber. They robbed him of his wallet, mobile phone, and cash. They saw his credit card, took him to an ATM and withdrew cash and then let him to go, with his car. This ATM was working!
Chekhov and the Urdu short story
July 2, 2004, happened to be the 100th death anniversary of the great Russian writer, Anton Chekhov. In this connection, the Halqa Arbab-i-Zauq arranged a special session. Its normal meeting place, the Pak Tea House, no longer available, the Halqa has moved to the venue of the old, old, days, the YMCA. I, for one, consider this to be a blessing as it reminds me of the days when I was a regular at these sittings.
The function that evening was presided over by the noted writer-translator-publisher, Mahmood Gilani, while different speakers expressed their views about the life and achievements of Chekhov. However, it remained difficult till the end to decide whether Chekhov's greatness was because of his short stories or his plays. One of the speakers, Ahmad Hammad, dwelt upon quite a novel aspect of Chekhov's fame. He threw light upon the letters written by him which depict his bent of mind and way of thinking. He felt that the letters went to prove his genius.
It should not be forgotten that the advent of short story in Urdu coincides with the death anniversary of Chekhov. Yet his style and diction has greatly influenced our writers, especially the earlier ones. As pointed out by Husain Majrooh during the question-answer session, both Gorki and Dostoevsky led their attack against the prevailing social order whereas Chekhov concentrated on issues involving humanity in general.
As someone has said, "artists like Chekhov record the inequities of the human conditions and in the process immortalize themselves." Another person from among the audience said Chekhov did not believe in denouement. He said this was evident from the fact that his stories did not come to pay agreeable conclusion. That leads one to believe that Chekhov was one who rejected romanticism.
The atmosphere at the Halqa meeting was refreshing as those who spoke seemed to have read the literature which has come to us through the medium of English. It was so different from the atmosphere prevailing during the proceedings of some English literary societies where people have no clue of the language.
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Despite health problems and eye surgeries, the 76-year-old retired civil engineer, Dr Anwar Sadeed, continues to churn out books with rapidity. The one before me today is probably among the sixty that he has already produced. That is not to count the hundreds of book reviews, newspaper columns and letters that he has written.
Quenching his thirst for knowledge by appearing privately at examinations during government service and eventually securing a doctorate through a thesis on Urdu Adab ki Tehrikein, he has written on every conceivable subject and topic. Mostly known as a literary critic, he has sent me a book which is a biography of Hakeem Inayatullah Naseem Sohdarwi. As I gather from the book, the late Hakeem spent his entire life (he lived to be 80) diverting the attention of his compatriots towards the glories of Islam.
In this respect, he played an important part both before and after the creation of Pakistan. Inspired in early life by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, he took part in any effort initiated by him for the renaissance of Islam. He also wrote extensively on Allama Iqbal, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar, Hasrat Mohani and the Quaid. His contributions were carried by different newspapers and journals.
The book has been produced by Haq Publications of Lahore and is profusely illustrated.
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Some time back, I had written about a person who, despite his young years, had developed a strange sort of fascination for graveyards. He had not only been roaming around within their precincts but also making a note of all those who lay there in eternal sleep. Starting from Lahore, where he lives, M. R. Shahid not only went to discover the city's 105 graveyards and eight cemeteries, but also made a note of every known person buried there, carefully noting the epitaph, if any.
Proceeding methodically, he categorized the departed souls and placed them under separate heads, profession-wise. The title he gave to the 500-odd page book that he produced was Lahore Mein Mashaheer Key Madfan. It was later launched formally at a well attended function in a local hotel and was presided over by no less a person than Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi.
The same M. R. Shahid has now come up with another book on the same subject. It is titled, Shehr-i-Khamoshan key Makeen. However, he has now stepped out of Lahore and visited abodes of the dear departed not only in Islamabad but also in the Rawalpindi division.
Dealing with them in the same methodical manner, the cities covered by him include Murree, Gujar Khan, Jhelum, Chakwal and Attock. Besides giving details of the notable persons buried in these cities, the author has devoted some pages to the graves located around the world which have attracted the attention of the public for various reasons.
The book, spread over 622 pages, has been published by Al-Faisal Nashran of Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, and has been priced at Rs300.
Trashy reading
According to the latest matric results, girls have done better than boys, and the boys that have done best happen to be in jail. Oddly enough, this is exactly in line with my grandmother's educational philosophy: firstly, that girls were superior in studies and secondly, that the only way to make boys shape up was to imprison them.
This is, of course, a rather radical philosophy. And as is the tradition in the sub-continent, this most radical of ideas was put into practice within the family. The first cousin to reach matriculation age was duly imprisoned and went on to become a doctor.
Satisfied with the results, my grandmother made sure that I, too, was forced into a room with my schoolbooks two months before the exams. Unfortunately, since I was imprisoned, but not in a prison, I managed to smuggle in largish and supply of Mad Magazines and Science Fiction novels.
In the month that followed, I made a very important discovery that nullified my grandmother's educational programme: trashy reading is never as addictive as when you have some important work to do; All went well till about two weeks before the exam when my grandmother decided to cosset her hardworking boy with a freshly peeled pear and wandered in before I could shove my pile of sci-fi novels under the table. After that, a stricter regime was introduced. As a direct result of this, I passed my exams and went on to further studies, but never managed to read all the books written by Issac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
I tried to get back to them after the exams but as I said, teenage reading like teenage affairs, are only fun in stolen time. Since we are holding a bit of a debate of curricula and education these days, I would like to throw this in as a suggestion: Forget about the curricula debate, let's just imprison boys for two months before their final exam.
On other fronts, FM radio stations are sprouting like mushrooms these days. An invitation for the launching party for one of these stations describes the event as 'corporate chillout'. This reminds me that when a doctor got run over by an ambulance, to which someone commented, 'but how is that possible? It's a contradiction in terms'. I am, admittedly somewhat biased against corporations and corporate culture.
This has nothing to do with imperialist conspiracy theories or materialist cultural influences. What I can't stand is the little laminated identity tags that corporate types are inevitably wearing at conventions. What, I ask is the purpose behind these ugly little things. Are we to understand that the person wearing them is intelligent enough to be trusted with millions of dollars, but lacks the social skills to introduce him or herself to strangers.
In any case, the sight of these tags makes my blood pound communist red and when my revolution comes, all tags wearers will be forced into work camps where their jobs will be to introduce themselves aloud to everyone in sight. At night they will warm themselves over a bonfire of laminated tags. Anyway, to return to FM radios, listening to them makes you realize what a cosmopolitan nation we have become. Going by the accents, there are now returned Pakistani immigrants from every country in which English is spoken, and a few from places where English (as we know it) is not spoken.
I suppose it is not possible to end without referring to recent political changes. If for nothing else, Mr. Jamali will be remembered for making the most entertaining exit speech in living memory. It was a bit long, graceful and occasionally naughty. And it would have been much better if Sheikh Rashid and others had heard it sitting down but as they say, quality will show.
Anyway, I have a word of warning for the departed premier, if as I, and the rest of the nation suspect, he has been spending his time locked in the prime minister's office pretending to work and all the while reading trashy sci-fi novels, he is in for a disappointment. Believe me, they are not going to seem half as addictive now. Also a note to the president: check the luggage of all incoming prime ministers and make sure they are not sneaking in trashy reading to waste time with.
The disasters of war
Almost two centuries ago, between 1808 and 1813, the Spanish artist Goya, who is acknowledged as one of the great artists of the world, produced a series of etchings titled, The Disasters of War. These were an outcome of the artists witnessing the war caused by the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and represent a poignant and pithy record of human suffering that invariably ensues in a war.
One is overcome by a strange sadness at the predicament of human beings -- in realizing that in many ways, we have not really made much 'progress' despite the quantum leaps in technological advancement and that levels of human barbarity indicate that in certain ways, humanity continues to fall back into regression. The Disasters of War made by an artist in the early 19th century, or for that matter, any other records of human cruelty that go back even further into time, could just as well be representative of what continues to happen in the present times.
In fact, it appears that the ability to inflict pain and sorrow on each other is even more diabolic now. The role of technology in such matters does also indeed include the fact that we all get to see what is happening and thus as witnesses, we get an instantaneous opportunity to voice our opinion on what we see. How much each one of us can do to prevent evil, is of course, another question.
It is indeed a challenge for humanity to analyze human behaviour and find out what is it in our psyche that continues to foster violence, barbarity and degradation. This is not to negate the elements of goodness in people which also continues in all times and produces inspiring examples, but to fathom what is it that continues to make human beings inflict pain on each other.
It appears that material progress and acquisition of wealth has been the focus of human endeavour for a long while now. Though there continue to be among us those who seek to attain high levels of spirituality, growing social injustice and violence indicate that a substantial number of people have lost their spiritual bearings, and also that there is an alarming lack of balance in our social set-up. While our religion clearly teaches moderation and the middle path, we continue to witness all types of extreme behaviour.
The recent spate of beheadings that one continues to watch with horror are an example of such misguided zeal, but they also point out that violence begets violence and war is invariably a disaster. Social injustice, whether within a small community or on a global scale always leads to extreme feelings in the long run. Those in a position of power and leadership are the ones who set the example, and the moment an unjust action takes place it sows the seeds for negative behaviour. The need of the hour is a recognition that until social injustice prevails, we will continue to witness the dark side of humanity.