On this occasion, Asghar reminded us that the Urdu short story, particularly the kind written by progressive short story writers, has been under the influence of Chekhov. This tempted me to add a few words to his statement. Our fiction as a whole has been greatly influenced by the tradition of Russian fiction. As for the Urdu short story, it owes much to Chekhov, who is known as a great master of the short story. But we should not forget Maxim Gorky who was also a great source of inspiration for the progressive writers. However, of all the Urdu progressives, Faiz, with his soft voice and restrained emotional expression along with a vague streak of sadness, appears to be nearer the Chekhovian sensibility. Dr Vasilieva has quoted in the biography a few lines from one of his letters addressed to Begum Alys Faiz, which speak of his deep admiration for Chekhov. How exuberant he is to find his writings brimming with “deep love and illimitable compassion.”
Dr Vasilieva, in her brief talk on this occasion, discussed how she was introduced to Faiz Sahib. Ghalib, she said, helped her in this respect. While engaged in translating Ghalib into Russian she faced some problems. To get some help, she introduced herself to Faiz Sahib during his stay in Moscow. That is how she became close to the poet, eventually resulting in her taking up the project of writing his biography. And now she is credited as an authority on Faiz.
Being a scholar of Urdu, Dr Vasilieva has to her credit a number of books including one on Maulana Hali and a series of translations from Urdu into Russian and vice versa. But she is best known as a translator and biographer of Faiz.
Thanks to her research work on Faiz, we now know him better, both as a man and a poet. The graphic descriptions of his early years, with particular reference to his father, as well as the discussion of his later years, especially those spent in Moscow and Soviet Republics, make this book a valuable document.
Dr Vasilieva is keen to inform us that because of his privilege as a Lenin Prize winner, Faiz was well aware of what was happening behind the scenes. “Of course,” she says, “he could not help seeing the negative aspects of Soviet life, which were kept hidden from the eyes of foreign guests.” In addition, Faiz enjoyed being able to move freely in the Soviet Republics. While in Tajikistan, he fluently spoke with the people in their own language, which was actually Persian but because of Soviet Russia’s linguistic policy had been branded as Tajiki.
Dr Vasilieva’s analytical study of Faiz’s poetry is expressive of her own understanding, which is not much in tune with that of Pakistani critics. Our critics and intellectuals are in the habit of reading his verses and interpreting them in the context of the repressive conditions in Pakistan. Ludmila agrees with them to a certain extent but adds that there are poems which have been written in response to what Faiz observed in Moscow. This, according to her, is truer in the case of the poems written in Beirut, when he reached there after a stay in Moscow. These poems, she thinks, betray a sense of defeat, anguish and disillusionment, and perhaps this baggage, she insists, the poet brought with him from Moscow.
Perhaps, as perceived by the shrewd biographer, the poet with his prophetic vision was able to foresee what lay ahead. Dr Vasilieva has chosen to study deeply a few poems written during this period and has tried to read what was brewing in the soul of the disillusioned poet.
The biography is remarkable both as a portrait of the man and as a study of the poet.
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