|
|
November 7, 2004
IN BRIEF
Rang-i-Shanasai
By Ahmad Zainuddin
Published by Zain Publications,
A-8 Nadeem Corner, Block N,
North Nazimabad, Karachi
Tel: 021-6679796 6645177
208pp. Rs225
Fairly well-known as a committed short story writer, Ahmad Zainuddin has ventured into a genre, which has now become very popular among the reading public of the subcontinent. Many literary pieces depicting various dimensions of the life of literary personalities have been written in Urdu. In fact, this style of writing is a hot favourite with discerning readers.
The book under review contains 21 essays or sketches about prominent writers and poets with whom Ahmad Zainuddin came in contact during his student days and in the course of his literary career. It was the intrinsic qualities of the writers and poets that guided him at every step.
Among those whom the writer has introduced through his sketches are Prof Hanif Fauq, Sahba Lakhnavi, Ghulam Mohammad, Nazeer Siddiqui, Akhtar Lakhnavi, Naeem Arvi, Ahmad Yusuf, Saba Ekram, Alqama Shibli, Mubarak Mungeri, A. Khayyam, Shaukat Abidi, Athar Nadir, Ramz Kasmari, Zafar Uganvi, Najmul Hasan Rizvi, Sarwar Alam Raaz, Shahid Kamrani, Ali Haidar Mullick, Shafiq Ahmad Shafiq and Ghulam-us-Saqlain.
Writing on the book Syed Mohammad Abul Khair Kashfi recognizes Ahmad Zainuddin’s grip on the art of presenting a graphic account of his subjects. He does it with great care and understanding. The most remarkable aspect of his writing is the inescapable element of sincerity with which he writes. He is guided not by a sense of detachment but involves himself completely with the person about whom he writes. There are numerous personal touches in these essays, which make them very lively and readable. — Akhtar Payami
Shamul Boq
Dr Allama Naseeruddin
Naseer Hunzai
Bureau of Translation and Compilation, University of Karachi
168pp. Rs120
Brushaski is one of the important languages of the Northern Areas. Alongwith Shina, this is still a living language when so many other dialects of the north are being marginalized. Brushaski is the original language of the area where Shina-speaking people entered the highly inaccessible valleys of Yasin, Hunza and Nagar in large numbers. .
Gilgiti is also a language mixed with Brushaski. Lorimer, the well-known orientalist, has listed a number of ways in which Brushaski and Nasirabadi Shina are similar in morphology. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest languages of the world spoken by some 200,000 people.
Dr Naseeruddin Naseer Hunzai is a well-known Ismaili scholar. He has several collections of Urdu poetry and Ismaili theology to his credit. He is rightly one of the front ranking scholars of Brushaski. Now a resident of Canada, he has a big following.
Brushaski, according to Dr Hunzai, could trace its beginning to a Hun (Mongol) tribe who inhabited the western side of the River Huang Hu. This tribe entered Europe in 372 BC and Hungary is the first European country the Hun people settled in. Hence the German and Ural-Altaic connections of some common words of Brushaski.
Allama Hunzai’s book Shimol Boq is the first book on the grammar and pronunciation of Brushaski in Urdu. The book succeeds in creating the reader’s interest in the Brushaski speaking people and the area they live in. It then provides step-by-step the skills to learn the rules of Brushaski grammar and pronunciation. I believe it is one of the most reader-friendly books to learn an ancient language.
Brushaski language is receiving substantial attention these days. The University of Texas and Kyoto University are interested in introducing the study of Brusharski. The Brushaski Research Academy has been playing an important role in popularizing this language.
It is about time to make efforts to save our languages that are in danger of becoming extinct. In Karachi, the Hamdard Institute of Education and Social Sciences has been taking up projects on the languages of the Northern Areas, Brushaski, Shina, Balti, Wakhi and Gilgiti being the main ones receiving due attention. Also in the field are the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and the Pakistan Study Centre, Karachi University.
Dr Hunzai has rendered valuable service to Urdu as well as Brushaski by writing this book. — Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui
|
|
|
