DESPITE all visible and invisible barriers, Urdu books published in India somehow find their way into Pakistan. One invisible barrier is exorbitant postal charges: sometimes the book itself does not cost as much as it costs to send it across the border.

One easy way of getting Indian Urdu books is (or was?) the international book fairs at Lahore and Karachi where some Urdu publishers from India would set up their stalls. But for the last couple of years or so no Indian publishers of Urdu books have been attending these fairs, probably owing to visa problems. Last year the only stall offering Indian Urdu books at Karachi International Book Fair was set up by a local bookseller and that too had old stock on offer.

But thanks to efforts by some friends and booklovers, a few new Indian Urdu publications have arrived lately — beating the odds, once again — and a brief intro to them is in order.

Ghalib aik baaz deed

The book by Prof Yunus Agaskar is an endeavour at rediscovering Ghalib, as the title suggests. Prof Agaskar is a scholar known for his research and critical works, especially on languages and linguistics, in Urdu and Marathi. Having done his PhD from Mumbai University on Urdu proverbs and having taught at Mumbai University’s Urdu department and elsewhere for decades, Prof Agaskar began teaching PhD students and advanced diploma in Urdu classes at Mumbai University. Those students insisted on being taught more, especially Ghalib. So teaching them Ghalib became a journey of rediscovering Ghalib, writes Agaskar in his intro.

The book contains 12 articles, discussing different aspects of Ghalib’s Urdu poetry. Agaskar has differed with some scholars on explaining Ghalib’s poetry, especially the writers of ‘sharhs’, or the books that explain Ghalib’s poetry. The book has been published by Delhi’s Arshia Publications. Yunus Agaskar was born in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, India, on January 1945, and is still penning invaluable research as well as creative works.

Lisani masail-o-mabahis

Prof Mirza Khalil Ahmed Baig, the author of this research-based book, is one of the most prominent linguists of Indo-Pak subcontinent today. He is also considered among the scholars who wrote earliest articles and books on stylistics in Urdu. Having a PhD in linguistics and having headed Aligarh Muslim University’s linguistics department for five years, Prof Baig’s natural inclination is towards linguistic research, especially the early phases of formation of the Urdu language.

The book, published by Delhi’s Educational Publishing House, consists of 15 articles and the first six of them are on Urdu’s origin, its historical and social background, khari boli as the basis of the Urdu language and Hindi. Other articles discuss lexicography, stylistics, Urdu grammar’s historical development and teaching of Urdu. It is a must-read for anyone interested in linguistics and the history of the Urdu language. Prof Mirza Khalil Baig was born in 1945 in Gorakhpur, UP, India. Having penned 22 books, he is still actively engaged in research and writing.

Terah masa

Terah masa, literally, consisting of 13 months, is a genre of classical Urdu poetry. The tradition began as ‘Barah masa’ or the poem recording the colours and tones of 12 months of a year. A part of Urdu and Hindi folklore, Barah masa traditionally describes the sorrows of love as narrated by a woman.

The book has been edited and annotated by Prof Abdul Haq. Prof Abdul Haq is a veteran scholar and researcher from India and has over 40 books to his credit. Born in Machhali Shahar, Jaunpur district, UP, on March 29, 1939, he had been the head of Urdu department at Delhi University. Now serving as Professor Emeritus at Delhi University, Prof Haq is known for his knack for editing rare manuscripts.

The book is an edited and annotated version of one of the oldest terah masas discovered in Northern India so far. It was written in 1725 by Akram Qutbi, a poet from Rohtak, Haryana. Dr Haq has edited the rare work meticulously and a glossary helps reader understand the text which has words from Brij, Haryanvi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Avadhi, Bhojpuri, Persian and Arabic.

Makateeb-i-Masood

The book contains the letters of a great linguist and scholar from India, Prof Masood Hussain Khan, addressed to his disciple and linguist Prof Mirza Khalil Ahmed Baig, who has edited and annotated the book.

These letters, and annotations, not only proffer a peep at the personal lives of these two scholars and have some invaluable biographical information they are also packed with some scholarly discussions on important literary and linguistic issues. In addition, it has some soulful commentaries on the sorrowful situation and infightings in some of India’s universities, the highest seats of learning (situation is not much different here in Pakistan too, maybe we are worse off).

Masood Hussain Khan was born on January 28, 1919, in Qaimganj, Farrukhabad district, UP, India. A linguist and scholar known for his insightful knowledge on phonetics and descriptive linguistics, Masood Sahib is credited with proposing the most probable theory on the origin and development of the Urdu language. He died in Aligarh on October 16, 2010.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2018