KARACHI: Scholar Dr Aslam Farrukhi’s death on Wednesday saddened book lovers in general and the writers’ community of the country in particular. Talking to Dawn, Prof Sahar Ansari said: “Dr Sahib’s younger brother Anwar Ahsan Siddiqui was a dear friend of mine. He used to publish Loh-o-Qalam to which I used to contribute as a writer. I was so close to him that I began to visit his house and mingle with his other family members, which is where I got to see Dr Farrukhi up close. I joined the University of Karachi in 1974 where he was a senior teacher. My room and his were next to each other’s. We used to converse a lot. He had a tremendous memory. He knew hundreds of Persian and Urdu verses by heart. When he would give a lecture, he would speak with such facility that it sounded as if he was reading from a written text and not speaking extempore. He was extremely well-read. His PhD on Mohammad Husain Azad was phenomenal, as were his books on Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia.

“In the last period of his life Dr Farrukhi became more popular for writing biographical sketches. He wrote on many personalities, but what’s commendable is that not only he penned pieces on famous people but also on the commoners. Then he was a translator, broadcaster and a poet. With his death, a school of thought (dabistan) has ended,” said Prof Ansari.

Writer Masood Ashar said: “Dr Aslam Farrukhi was among two or three of those rare individuals who wrote great Urdu. I say this in the context that the Urdu language is disappearing from the horizon. Add to this his sketches: he wrote about those people who ostensibly don’t have any importance in our lives, but he enlivened them through his writings.”

Writer Zahida Hina said: “We have lost a great literary figure. He served as a strong pull between the 20th and 21st centuries. His work on Azad reminded us of the greatness of that writer. Also, I wonder, now from where will individuals come who will teach us the finer points of language? He was a teacher. Mind you, a teacher is not someone who teaches at an educational institution, but he is one who teaches us language and leads the way for us. It’s an irreparable loss.”

Critic Nasir Abbas Nayyar said: “Very few individuals in the 20th century were sahib-i-tarz, Dr Farrukhi was one of them. His work on Azad is monumental. All his biographical sketches are wonderful. I think he is one of those handful of creative prose writers who emerged on the literary scene after partition.”

Dr Fatema Hasan said: “He was a great man, a teacher of teachers. A record number of students did their PhDs under him. He had an extraordinary memory, and the art of sketch writing will be identified with him.”

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016