| 07 July 2004 | Wednesday | 18 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Fiction is not plain narrative
The emission of factories and furnaces has made the life of dwellers of the Sheikhupura Road miserable. They have demanded that these factories should be shifted from residential colonies or their owners obliged to adopt solid steps to control pollution, otherwise they would launch a protest movement.
The residents met the other day and expressed resentment against the factory owners for creating pollution. They said emission was causing respiratory diseases among people.
They alleged that the city tehsil council, district administration and the environment protection agency have failed to take any action against these owners despite repeated requests.
They reminded that dwellers of Khiali on the Sheikhupura Road besieged a paper mills and dragged their owners on road a year ago over when they failed to control the emission.
They pointed out that no factory or furnace could be established in residential areas under the municipal law and the EPA could get cancelled the licences of factories and furnaces running in populated areas.
They deplored that the local administration restricted action to challaning factory owners instead of shifting them.They said the factory owners are influential and the administration or any other agency was reluctant to take action against them.
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A recent research on growing asthma in Pakistan showed that 19 per cent children and five per cent adults suffered from this disease, which was alarming. This was stated by Aga Khan University Hospital's Dr Javaid A Khan, professor of chest medicine, at a seminar organized by Global Initiative for Asthma and Chest Pharmaceuticals here recently.
He said that there had been a significant increase in asthma over the last five years, while there was no conclusive evidence why it was increasing. He said house dust, mites, smoking, industrial waste, change in dietary habits and lifestyle could be some of the leading causes of asthma.
He stressed the need for a simple lifestyle and advised against the unnecessary use of carpets at homes. He also warned against active and passive smoking. He pointed out that there were now excellent medical treatments available for effective management of asthma. The best form of medication is through inhalers. These are safer than tablets and syrups.
The other specialists and medical experts advised the government and non-government organizations to come forward to undo the stigma attached to this growing problem in Pakistan as asthma was now manageable.
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Wazirabad tehsil council has approved a tax-free budget of Rs157 million for 2004-05. The budget meeting was presided over by Naib Nazim Mir Majid Salar while finance committee chairman, Advocate Sohail Munir Cheema, presented the budget.
He pointed out that Rs38.5 million were liabilities of last year while this budget had a surplus of Rs400,000 compared to the previous one. He said that Rs28.3 million had been earmarked for developmentand Rs5.6 million included for Citizen Community Board.
He revealed that Rs57 million were set aside for non-development expenditure. Major sources of income were property transfer fee, commercialization fee, cattle market fee, rent of shops, besides grant of Rs2.7 million from the provincial government, Rs22.8 million from the district and Rs2.3 million from Khushhal Pakistan schemes.
Tehsil Nazim Shaukat Manzoor Cheema hinted that it might be the last budget meeting and all members of the house should work hard for resolving the problems of the people.
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The district government has finalized a comprehensive flood relief plan and formed committees at the tehsil level to meet havoc. The meeting was presided over by DCO Fazeel Asghar.
District Officer (Revenue) Syed Najam Ahmad Shah was inducted district flood relief officer. A main control room was set up at the office of section officer-II with telephone No 9200041 for information.
The flood relief officer revealed that as many as 120 villages of Kamoki tehsil could be affected in the event of a flood. District relief and management committee divided Kamoki tehsil in to four sectors - Wahando, Kotli Nawab, Mianwali Banglaw and Kamoki.
He said that in tehsil Wazirabad 62 villages could be flooded and as such it has been divided in to four sectors. The food and health departments have been directed to set up relief camps to provide timely food and medical facilities to the affected people.
Fiction is not plain narrative
Was it a plain narrative, a 'kahani', or a short story in modern style? The question was raised at a literary sitting of the Pakistan Arts Council on the story 'Chadar' read out by Prof Saeed Naqvi on Friday.
Poet Mohsin Bhopali was in the chair and he had to conclude his remarks somewhat hurriedly at the call of the Maghreb prayers. This was a little unusual as literary functions at the Arts Council are normally held in two parts - one before Maghreb and the other after the prayers.
'Chadar' is the story of a hari couple who, in a spirit of reverence, go to place a chadar at the mazar of a pir whose spirituality they believe had blessed them with a boy.
In the process, the hari finds that his wife has only a tattered chadar which is barely sufficient to cover her body. To the amazement of those present at the mazar, the husband places the chadar brought as an offering across his wife's shoulders.
Such a dramatic ending may not take place in real life because old and archaic customs still hold sway. But it did lend an almost revolutionary turn to the story, which was otherwise quite prosaic.
A ghazal by Hamid Ali Syed was generally liked for its contents and treatment as a protest against fake religiosity and the feudal order:
Jis ki mein doon misal voh kirdar bhi nahin
Ab aitbar-i-jubba-o-dastar bhi nahin
Mein kaisey usko milkiat apni qarar doon
Mein to kisi qabeelay ka sardar bhi nahin.
A poem in free verse, entitled 'Chalo awaz deykar dekhtay hein', came from Humera Rahat. The 'awaz deykar dekhtey haen' idiom recalled many a couplet from Munir Niazi, 'Awaz dekey dekhlo...' But Mohsin Bhopali dispelled all doubts and quoted several lines from Majaz and Faiz, saying that Munir Niazi's expression was not exclusively his own.
The literary session was well attended and to some extent educative specially for newcomers to the literary scene and to those senior writers who, for many reasons, feel left behind in the process of learning. Such meetings should attract more senior writers for the benefit of beginners.
Now, a few words about young writers and their claim to be 'Naqeeb-i-fikr-i-nau', the name under which they meet every Monday at the Arts Council. At a couple of their meetings, I found them interested only in holding mushairas.
An ambitious literary activist was seen at the podium at one recent sitting calling young boys and a couple of girls to come to the mike and recite their poetry, mostly ghazals. As no scheduled programme had been announced earlier, it was a free for all, and there appeared to be no end to it. There was no exchange of views, comments and controversies, except a patronizing nod from some elders who also recited their verses at a later stage.
After the initial phase of excitement in reciting one's own poetry is over, young people should be advised to concentrate on the study of literary writings and verses from poets past and present. Mere activism will not help them. It will only produce mediocre versifiers hankering for their names to appear in newspaper reports.
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Riaz Siddiqui is considered to be among the newer breed of writers, although he has been writing for decades. It is unfortunate that his writings and translations have not managed to reach a wider audience.
He was the guest at an Irteqa literary forum on Sunday and was introduced by Shafiq Ahmad Shafiq as a prose writer, literary critic and social analyst. He is a humanist and secular person who presents his view in the light of historical and social studies. But Shafiq Ahmed complained that while Siddiqui had written a lot, he had not published his essays in book form.
This statement was challenged by the writer, quoting his works on Nazir Akbarabadi, Ghalib and Iqbal. A compilation in English on archaeology is expected to appear soon, and a book on modern critical theories is under publication. Another publication on Shahjo Risalo's poetry and the poetry's translation by English writer Sorely may also appear in the near future.
The ignorance of most critics about the published works of important writers is regrettable and the wide communication gap between the two, sad. Muslim Shamim, general secretary of the Progressive Writers Association, recalled his meeting with Siddiqi in the '70s in Sukkur, which used to be the cultural capital of the province in those days. Literary sittings of Urdu and Sindhi writers were held and mushairas organized on a big scale. Literary issues were also discussed at conferences. Riaz Siddiqi in those days used to be the major source of strength for the progressives, led by the late Hasan Hameedi and many others, Muslim Shamim said, and remarked that Sukkur had now turned into a cultural desert.
Writer and poet Prof Hasan Abid, Siddiqi's former colleague as a college teacher and a comrade in arms during the teachers' struggle for their rights, paid tribute to Siddiqi for his efforts for the promotion of knowledge among his colleagues.
Rahat Saeed reminded the speakers of the positive role played by Siddiqi in the successful launch of the Progressive Writers Conference held in Karachi in 1986.
When asked to speak, Siddiqui briefly referred to the international situation, the rising power of world capital and the declining socio-economic conditions in Third World countries. At the same time he lamented the indifferent attitude of most writers to social and political issues in their writings.
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Last Sunday, there was a lucky introduction to Mr Yousaf Jhelumi, a visitor from Sweden, a poet, who frequently sends out 'poetic press releases', addressing the authorities in Pakistan.
Born and brought up in Jhelum, Yousaf graduated from the Punjab University. He was impressed by the teachings of the late scholar Ali Abbas Jalalpuri in religion and sociology. Drawn to the ideology of the left, he joined the People's Party.
He left the country and sought political asylum in Sweden when Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed by Gen. Zia. Yousaf used to write verses in Punjabi, but there was no Punjabi in sight in Sweden with whom he could share his experiences.
Then he started composing verses in Urdu and sent these to Urdu-speaking friends by post. Recalling the time when he found no one to share his emotions with, Yousaf said he thought he would go mad in moments of extreme despair. At last he turned towards English.
So, to release his tension, he started issuing press releases with his e-mail address. Now, he said he was much relieved, as he had found nearly 100,000 readers for his 'Navishta-i-Deewar', the title of his publication.