|
|
|
October 24, 2004
In brief
Poems from Iqbal
Translated by V.G. Kiernan
Oxford University Press, Plot # 38, Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi. Tel: 111-693-673 Email: ouppak@theoffice.net Website: www.oup.com.pk
ISBN 0-19-579974-7
292pp. Rs495
TRANSLATING Allama Iqbal’s verse is no mean feat. While taking up such a job, one has to take into account, among many, two very important factors: Iqbal’s philosophy and his grandiloquence. The job will become that much more arduous if the translator doesn’t quite subscribe to the great verse wielder’s ideas. So, when he wishes to translate Iqbal merely because of his unparalleled craftsmanship, it will leave much to be desired.
This was exactly the reservation that I had in my mind when I began to read Victor G. Kiernan’s translation of Allama Iqbal’s poetry entitled Poems from Iqbal. But a scholar that Mr Kiernan is, he seldom gives you any chance to doubt his erudition or his understanding of literature. For when he studies a work of art, not only does he try to comprehend the underbelly of its subject matter, he also keeps a close eye on the subtleties of the language used as the mode of communication.
This he proved while translating Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s verse as well. V.G. Kiernan is the author of many books on Asian and European history and on English literature.
Poems from Iqbal, in this regard, is a very important book. It contains selected nazms, ghazals and rubaiyat from Iqbal’s awe-inspiring and venerated poetry collections Baang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i-Kalim, Armaghan-i-Hijaz and Payam-i-Mashriq. The book, for clarity and reference, has Urdu comparative text with its English renderings, an idea that always pays dividends for all kinds of readers. The book excels in an area that’s most difficult to tackle in such attempts: keeping true to the linguistic nuances of poetry. This does not imply that V.G. Kiernan does not do justice to the philosophy that Iqbal wished to propound.
But being true to the message that a creative person wants to propagate can never be a great challenge if the message is clear as day. The great poet’s ideas are not hidden from anyone. It’s the language that has to be taken care of with extreme caution and sincerity. And this is exactly where Kiernan does a fine job.
For example, in the masterpiece “Masjid-i-Qartaba” (translated: “The mosque of Cordoba) Kiernan succeeds to a reasonable extent in keeping pace with and matching the grandeur of the great verse-wielder’s style. When you read a line with imposing diction and profound meaning like “Silsila-i-roz-o-shab, naqsh gar-i-haadisaat” translated into “Day succeeding night — moulder of all time’s works”, you know that you’re treated to something special. A worthwhile book, by any means! — Peerzada Salman
The Healthy Heart Programme: How to Prevent, Treat and Reverse Heart Disease in Three Easy Steps
By Dr Richard M. Fleming with Tom Monte
Michael Joseph. Available with Paramount Books, 152/O, Block 2, PECH Society, Karachi-75400
Tel: 021-4310030
Email: paramount@cyber.net.pk
ISBN 0-718-14593-3
298pp. Rs595
GIVEN the high prevalence of heart disease in Pakistan, many people are bound to jump at this book. The unbelievable claims on the title page — Simple, Effective and Safe Diet, Exercise and Supplement Plan: No Surgery or Dependence on Prescription Drugs, Treatment for Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, Diabetes, and Many Other Conditions — may attract even more readers. But readers should be warned to take this book with a large fistful of salt — oops sorry, that would raise your blood pressure.
Before reading anything else please read the introduction of the author. Dr Fleming is a nuclear cardiologist, specialist in internal medicine and the founder and director of the Fleming Heart and Health Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. Naturally it is this programme he is trying to promote.
Some of the things he advises are sound and not new — our cardiologists have been saying it for a long time — though we don’t always listen to them till we land up on their table in real pain. Exercise regularly and adopt a healthy lifestyle to keep your weight in the normal range. Keep fat content in your diet low and so on.
But there are other things which not every cardiologist will agree with. One even called them half truths. A battery of tests have been suggested — does one need all of them to determine the state of health of one’s heart? The diet is also stringent in some places — it takes a strong line against dairy products — and leaves one wondering about the source of our calcium.
So, be sensible and follow your doctor’s advice as far as matters of the heart go. — Zahida Murtaza
Prize Breeds of Pakistan
Edited by M. Athar Tahir
Livestock & Dairy Development Department, Government of the Punjab, Lahore
130pp. Price not listed
THIS bilingual list of prize breeds of horses, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels and poultry has been published for the first time in Pakistan. It carries pictures of the winners in the 2004 National Horse and Cattle Show with 96 photographs in colour. It gives a brief history of this festive annual event witnessed by local and foreign dignitaries. They are treated to a feast of enchanting sights — trainers training the camels and horses to dance to the beats of the drums. There is also a pageantry of tentpegging and other fanfares to make it a regal event.
The event is rooted in the colonial age and many foreign dignitaries have been invited as special guests. The members of the British royalty like Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh have also been invited to the show. Other guests have been Jacqueline Kennedy, the Shah of Iran, Empress Farah Deeba, the President of Turkey, King Hussein and Crown Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan, King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Obviously, no stone is left unturned to make the occasion memorable and dignified.
The book gives a list of different milk-yielding breeds of buffaloes (14), cows (12), sheep for wool and meat (12), goats (9), seven breeds of poultry — all hybrids from foreign blood except the Aseel famous for its skills in cockfighting. The hybrids are for meat and eggs.
Only one breed of camel known for its sustained trot in the sandy desert, that also dances like the horses, is described, leaving away the muscular, heavy breed of camels used extensively as beasts of burden for the simple reason that they were not exhibited.
In the case of horses too only the thoroughbred developed from Arab, French and Turkish blood with English mares have been listed. Ponies and mules have been left out; when the horses pulling tongas have been included, the ponies and mules could have been included too, just as other animals of mixed blood and foreign hybrids are listed.
The text is error-free. At the end is a bibliography. There are 289 entries of the prize winners of 2004.
The editing is confusing; prize winning horses, cows, buffaloes, goats and poultry are on the same page. They should have been divided into readable, clear-cut categories, breed-wise. Thus the cows should have been further divided into milk yielding and for meat; or sheep into wool-producing, for meat and so on with other classes.
The book lacks a professional touch; it is more of an inventory but since it has been produced for breeders, as the note on the title page indicates, it will serve as a useful guide for them to achieve the guidelines set for different animals in the show.
The book is a must for every domestic animal breeding farm and private breeder. — Dr A.A. Quraishy
|
|
|
|
