KARACHI: Two Urdu books, Nawa-i-Saaz Shikan, a collection of ghazals by the late Shanul Haq Haqqi, and Shaheedan-i-Wafa Ka Khun Baha Kia by Salma Haqqi, were launched at the Arts Council on Friday evening.
Prof Sahar Ansari, who presided over the event, said Mr Haqqi was a polyglot and versatile individual. He said he translated Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra in verse and put both the Urdu and original texts side by side for readers to understand. He said he was a perceptive person which was why the language that the villagers or servants of the principal characters used in the play spoke accordingly in his translation. He said he had command of many languages and when he set out to translate Arthashastra he learnt the Sanskrit language for the purpose. He said apart from that he had his distinct place among poets.
Prof Ansari said Salma Haqqi’s book (which is on Safia Akhtar, wife of the poet Janisar Akhtar) was also important. He said often the spouses of famous people disappeared into the background. He said it was Mushfiq Khwaja’s wish that an essay on Safia be written for his journal. He said going through Ms Salma’s book made him realise how well-read she was. He said the author had spent time with Safia from her college to university days, so she knew her well. He said the book was divided into three parts: the first was about her college and university days, the second focused on her marriage to Janisar Akhtar and the third was to do with the letters that had already been published.
Dr Alia Imam began her speech by talking about Shayan Haqqi (son of Mr Haqqi) who had organised the launch. She said he was the worthy son of a worthy father. She touched upon the sociopolitical turbulence that society was going through and the importance of events like book launches against that backdrop. On Mr Haqqi, she said he was primarily a ghazal writer. One of his couplets that she read out on the occasion was:
Bhula do ranj ki baton mein kia hai
Idhar dekho meri aankhon mein kia hai
[Forget, painful memories will get you nowhere
Look into my eyes, and see what’s in them (for you)]
Shayan Haqqi said his mother (Ms Salma) could have been a writer, but she devoted her life to supporting her husband. He said she had done some valuable work before her death, and had even translated 75 per cent of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.
Hasina Moin gave credit for her own recognition to Ms Haqqi who was her teacher at college. She said she was great at making her students understand prose and poetry. She said she was the one who encouraged her (Ms Moin) to write plays. She said by writing the book she had unmasked a lot of faces. She also praised Mr Haqqi’s poetry and recited some of his verses, for example:
Tum se ulfat ke taqazey na nibahey jaatey
Warna hum ko bhi tamanna thi ke chahyey jaatey
[You don’t know how to reciprocate affection
Otherwise, I, too, wanted to be loved]
Dr Fatema Hassan said Mr Haqqi had written in all genres of literature. She said Dr Aslam Farrukhi had called him the greatest lughat navees (lexicographer) of the century, and rightly so because the rules that he set out for compiling dictionaries were being applied to date. She said his book contained ghazals, and since there was no list given in it, she thought that there were at least 320 ghazals in the collection.
Prof Jazib Qureshi said Mr Haqqi’s poetry reflected the truth of life.
Agha Sheerazi hosted the programme.
Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2016
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