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July 18, 2004
Articles: Charisma of words
Rabia Murtaza is a short story writer who has compiled her stories in a book, Pyas ka Sehra. She retired from the State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi, recently
“I FEEL a good book is black magic. I lose myself in it.” This is how Rabia Murtaza, a writer herself, defines reading. Born in Kabul, she hails from a literature-oriented family. Both her parents loved to read. Her father was very much into English literature and her mother, who was not that well-educated, preferred Shama and Batool, popular magazines of her time. But the person who actually got Rabia acquainted with books was her elder sister, Surraya Masood Ali, a known name in Urdu literature.
Rabia reads whatever comes her way — English and Urdu books — but fiction is her favourite. “Somehow or the other,” she says, “fiction actually covers it all” and Urdu literature inspires her the most. “Had it not been for Surraya Apa, I would have never really given writing a thought.” Her favourite writer is Qurratulain Hyder, “a writer who has grown better with time”, she says.
There is hardly any book which she has read and not liked. Hence, after much pondering she decides to talk about Shahabnama. The book is a memoir by (late) Qudratullah Shahab. She says, “It is not just his personal experiences he writes about. The book tells the story of how people grew, as well as how Pakistan grew. It is a journey back in time. Shahab writes amazingly well especially when he gets a little superstitious on the way.” She further finds Shahabnama humorous too at times. While writing about the supernatural, the writer gives an account of a spirit that visited him regularly. But she does not approve of his fundamentalist approach in various places like when he refers to the Sikhs and the Hindus.
Rabia Murtaza feels that tastes do change with the passage of time. There was a time when she loved reading humourous stories though now she is more into serious reading. Although she never liked Qurratulain Hyder in her early days, she loves her now. The other book Rabia wants to talk about is Qurratulain Hyder’s Gardish-i-Rang-i-Chaman. It tells the story of a noble girl who accidentally comes into the evil clutches of a prostitute in the red-light area and how she has to live in that environment. Rabia chuckles and adds to the story by saying that the girl’s courage was the best part. The story doesn’t end there though. It proceeds with the girl growing up into a woman and then a mother. As a mother she works hard to attain a respectable life. She educates her daughter and sends her to medical school. Still there is no silver lining to this black cloud. When the daughter comes to know of her mother’s dark past, she loses her sanity.
“These are harsh realities of life and one should at least be brave enough to read about them,” Rabia says quietly. Turning away from the topic she says, “I mostly buy books now. When I was working with the State Bank, I used to borrow books from its library.”
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