Quibbling in literary sittings

DAHLEEZ Per Phool (flowers on the threshold) is a collection of ghazals by Shaheen (earlier known as Shaheen Ghazipuri). The book was placed for evaluation at a meeting of the Majlis-i-Ahbab-i-Millat last Wednesday.

Lavish compliments were paid to the poet who was not present. After doing his MSc in statistics, he left for Canada and is at present living there. He started composing poetry in 1955 and is equally proficient in both ghazal and nazm. His style is unique, Prof Mumtaz Hussain was said to have once commented in the 70s.

Five papers were read, including one by Jamil Azimabadi, the host of the evening. The first to speak was Ibn-i-Azim Fatemi who admired Shaheen for being in touch with his place of origin and its people, despite living in the West.

Saba Ikram found Shaheen’s verses different in taste and flavour from his ghazals. Freshness in imagery and choice of idioms were his striking qualities. Rafiuddin Raaz said the collection carried some good couplets which might live for many decades.

Yaaver Aman in an exhaustive paper recounted many qualities of Shaheen’s art including his vast poetic experience. He recalled that Shaheen had some time back launched a journal in Urdu from Canada that could not survive for long, but the poet’s passion for the promotion of Urdu was commendable.

Shariq Balyavi said Shaheen’s poetry had exposed some dark corners of our social life and thus performed a service.

Siddiq Fatehpuri paid his compliments to Shaheen in a poem. Khawaja Manzar Hasan Manzer praised the poetry collection but he had some reservations. These related to, what he called, ambiguities in some couplets and lack of clarity in others.

Ali Haider Malik, who was compering, spoke briefly on all the three of Shaheen’s poetry collections - Rag-i-Saaz, Be-nishan and the latest one. He said Shaheen had developed a style of his own which stood out Jamil Azimabadi liked the poetry collection but he too had some reservations: some of his couplets were confusing.

AS noticed on various occasions, some writers quite happily indulge in technicalities when a literary piece is placed before them for evaluation.

For instance, a clear definition of a novel and its shorter form — the novelette — was demanded at a sitting last week. The essay that was down for discussion was probably left to be taken up some other time.

Then again last week (Thursday) the issue of defining ‘afsana’ distinct from ‘kahani’ was raised at a meeting of the Progressive Writers’ Association. While a short story is based on mere narration of an event, ‘afsana’ comes out of the emotional experience of the writer, and Shamshad Ahmad and Ali Haider Malik, both senior story writers, clearly defined the issue. A story ‘Ek Safar-i-Raigaan’ by Romana Roomi was discussed, describing the emotional experience of a mother who suffered the agony of her daughters being raped and killed during partition. After many decades, when the same mother, now an elderly lady, saw a news item on a TV channel recounting a similar tragedy — a girl being molested — she was shocked and lost her senses. It was a ‘protest’ story and a bold one, said Mumtaz Mehr, Tashna Barelvi and Shabnam Siddiqui, “despite some faults in description”. Others said it was an ordinary story and not a “creative piece of writing”.

Tanvir Hussain Sukhan read out his ghazal. Some lines in it reflected the diction of Faiz and also of Ahmad Faraz, which the poet must avoid, Shafiq Ahmed Shafiq said. It was simple and an ordinary ghazal, Hamid Ali Syed said, while Rafiuddin Raaz objected to the repeated use of the ‘qafia’ (rhyme) in many couplets, disjointed in some cases. Tashna Barelvi, Sadiq Madhosh, Shabnam Siddiqui and many others gave encouraging remarks on the ghazal.

Before the start of the proceedings, it was decided to recall the services of noted writer Sibte Hasan for the promotion of progressive thought. A paper from a senior writer was scheduled for the occasion. As he could not turn up, some others briefly recounted Sibte’s writings and his contribution to Pakistani culture, specially of Sindh. Mumtaz Mehr, talking about Sibte Hasan’s secular thought, observed that secularism had no roots in Pakistan. Also, the late writer’s claim about ‘Pakistan ki Tehzeeb’ (Pakistan’s culture) was not quite correct as Sindh’s culture for pre-dated Pakistan, Mehr observed.

KHULA Aasman (open sky) is a collection of newspaper columns by Faiyaz Narvi published in an Urdu daily. The book was launched at Irteqa on Sunday.

The writer joined PIA in 1957 and retired from service in 1993. During this period he was appointed to various stations outside the country. Loaded with immense knowledge of the aviation industry it is no wonder that his columns are based on his experiences as an airline man.

About the writer’s literary achievement, it may be recalled that decades back he worked for Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq, when it was alive in Karachi. He writes simple prose which was liked by many when his book of columns was placed for discussion. Jamal Naqvi in a brief essay introduced the writer followed, among others, by Shafiq Ahmed Shafiq. Manzurul Hasan Hashmi, Anwer Ahsan Siddiqui and Zulfiqar Hussain. Prof Hasan Abid presided over the proceedings.