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April 27, 2008
AUTHOR: “PROF INAYAT ALI KHAN”: An exceptional poet
While there are some seeds sown so deep beneath the soil that they cannot burgeon, there are those that emerge as true beacons of light, standing tall amidst the bellowing winds, awakening others through their thoughts, ideas, prose and poetry. Professor Inayat Ali Khan is one such name. Born in 1935 into a literary family, and that is where his major inspiration comes from. His father Hidayat Ali Khan Nazar Tonky was also a poet in his time. The knowledge and sense of poetry, and rhythmic flow has been passed on as a wealthy trait in the Ali Khan family for generations. From his very initial days in school, he composed ghazals — a difficult genre of Urdu poetry — and that too at a tender age.
He was first recognised as a poet when he attended his first mushaira at City College, Hyderabad in 1957. The very first doggerel of his very first ghazal depicted his sensitive nature: the eye that could see the faults in our education system. From then onwards, his thoughts matured and his wit gained weight with the appropriate sharpness required to create a stir in the minds of people. His compilations of poetry are divided into three books that were published as Azrah-i-Inayat, Inayaat and Inayatain Kya Kya, along with two
books for children. All these books comprise his poetic works, mainly ghazals and nazms.
His ghazals have a message laden with seriousness that could make the reader leave their reclining chair and venture on a journey to the poet’s insightful world. On the one hand his light-hearted verses express a convoluted humour which leaves the reader feeling joyful for hours. While on the other, his thought-provoking ghazals give one the inspiration to move forth in search for peace.
His is constructive poetry — poetry for a cause; creating waves, making an impact and imprinting a worthwhile message on young impressionable minds, as well as on those who read for pleasure. An artist’s victory is when his work is understood by the masses; when it has a certain appeal and charm that could attract anyone. Inayat Sahib’s verse binds the readers, bewitching them with its perceptiveness.
His personality emits the same aura when one meets him. Mostly clad in white shalwar qameez, his distinct Jinnah cap rests easily on his head. During an extremely serious and intense conversation about the prevailing educational system in the country, he surprises one with an unexpected recitation of one of his humorous verses. One cannot help but be amused by his sharp wit and presence of mind. The rare amalgam of gravity and humour makes Inayat Sahib’s poetry unique and distinctive.
The love for education is embedded in his soul. Teaching and guiding students has been his profession for over 40 years (1956-1996) and according to him, it has been the most enjoyable experience of his life. ‘A teacher is not a postman who delivers knowledge from one place to the other, but a teacher is one who gives a thought, a fikr-i-khayal, to his disciple. He is like a sunflower from which one can extract fragrance and colour and the right direction needed in life,’ he exclaims. According to him teachers of today are mostly teaching for the sake of making money, thus failing to responsibly mould and shape the minds of the younger generation. As a result of this our youth is wavered and misguided.
One cannot help but be amused by his sharp wit and presence of mind. This rare amalgam of gravity and humour makes Inayat Sahib’s poetry unique and distinctive.
His services for the younger generation are varied. He has also worked in the making of syllabus of the Sindh Textbook Board and some of his prose is also included in the syllabus. In this way, Inayat Sahib has been
closely associated with the youth of the country and the current system of education. He is an authority as far as knowing the faults and weaknesses of the system is concerned, and he has also come up with suggestions to overcome them. He says, ‘Though we have gained independence politically, intellectually our minds and thoughts are chained due to the educational system that we have adopted from the West.’ He also talks vehemently of the freedom of mind, thought and soul because according to him, ‘When imagination is taken away, creation cannot take place.’ He says that the invasion of western philosophy of life, its culture and thoughts have imprisoned us.The book entitled Inayat Ali Khan: Shakhsiat aur funn has complimentary notes and chapters of different famous writers, poets and humorists on the works of Inayat Sahib. This recently published work has been compiled by M. Afzal Azeem and Abdul Latif Ansari. The humorous poet Syed Zamir Jafri writes this about him: ‘Prof Khan’s sarcasm is sweet and bitter, where he is playing the role of a surgeon and also of a butcher. Sometimes the butcher overpowers the surgeon because he wishes to remain a poet, but simultaneously struggles to remain a person who speaks naked truth. In my opinion this is his exceptionality and also his drawback.’
Inayat Sahib has participated in various local, national, and international mushairas which have also been telecasted on television. When asked why there are hardly any literary gatherings nowadays, he says, ‘The need to fulfil your soul’s desires is now no more. Our only concern lies with bodily pleasures and money, that’s all. Aesthetics have lost their value.’
The future of humorous poetry in Pakistan is, in his opinion, not bleak. With a mischievous grin and a tinge of sarcasm he adds, ‘Humorous poetry reaches further because it does not require high-sounding Urdu words and is thus easy to understand.’ Commenting on language he says, ‘A language is a powerful tool of expression. Urdu is our identity and our heritage. We need to make it strong. No nation can progress without the progress of its language. Every language has its distinct style. You cannot find the same meaning, context, style of one word in another language. For example, there is a huge difference between God and Allah. Their characteristics
are different and so they are not synonymous.’Inayat Sahib’s personality is endlessly versatile. Poetry, teaching, writing and social commentary are all different shades of his persona. With innumerable published columns and articles in various Urdu newspapers, his prose and poetry — both serious and humorous — have the power to make one think and understand life better. He is a man with a vision, a purpose and that purposefulness is eminent in his work.
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