Q. What are you currently reading?

A: I am reading a book on Persian poetry by Bidal Dehlavi. It is a treat to read the work of the great Persian poet, who influenced Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

Four Persian poets have been named great poets: Hazrat Amir Khusro, Bidal Dehlavi, Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Allama Mohammad Iqbal. Unfortunately, Bidal Dehlavi has been forgotten as a Persian poet.

He has written a lot of mystic poetry, and he wrote 500 couplets in a day. He wrote 100,000 couplets in a ghazal. One you start reading Bidal’s poetry you can understand the presentation of emotions and the reality of life.

I am going to be attending an international conference on Bidal Dehlavi in Iran, and I will be presenting a paper, so Bidal’s books are always with me on my writing table or my bedside table.

Persian was the language of elites, officials and commoners in South Asia – Persian was even used in the Hindu and Sikh princely states but after the British Raj, English replaced Persian and people forget the past.

About 60pc of Allama Iqbal’s work is in Persian, and they were masterpieces. Reading Persian poetry is a pleasure.

Q. What kind of books you usually read?

A: I have been reading since I was a child, and credit for that goes to my maternal grandfather, who introduced me to reading.

I would read all sorts of books in the past and in the summer vacations, I would set a target of reading all the books on a particular shelf in the city library before vacations were over.

But now, I read more selectively. My interest is now limited to literature, biographies, poetry and philosophy.

Q. Are there any classic works you couldn’t get through?

A: I read English, Persian, Urdu and other languages but I have always wanted to read classics written across the world and in other languages.

Translated works are available, but the meaning of the works is lost on the reader if he is unfamiliar with the original language. I always have an urge to read more.

Q. What do you think about the work of the country’s current writers?

A: There will never be another Allama Iqbal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Noon Meem Rashid but the future of literature is bright in the country. There are many good writers but they are not often appreciated.

Rumi, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Bulleh Shah, Rehman Baba and others presented the real picture of that era.

It is not that either poverty produces good writers or that they are only born in wealthy families.

It is the circumstances of their lives which turn them into good writers and it is their work which made some writers better known.

Saadat Hasan Manto, Ghulam Abbas, Mumtaz Mufti, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Hajra Masroor, Qurratulain Hyder and Ranjinder Singh Bedi presented the reality of their eras from different angles.

There are two types of written history: one is available in newspapers and the second in the works of writers. History presented by writers is more authentic.

Q. What are you planning to read next?

A: I am planning to read books I recently brought from Iran; more than 26 boxes full of books. But when you have limited time, you cannot read all the works produced by a single writer. I have to manage things on the national language promotion board and do some research as well.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2017