THE chapter of short stores in Urdu literature is almost seventy years old. And according to some critics, in the years since 1935, very little has changed. If for a brief moment those stories which have been categorized as modern or post modern are ignored, then a bold critic might claim that the vast majority are repetition of style. And indeed this was said so in a literary meeting, in England, some time back. The critic mentioned no names and quoted no short stories to substantiate his opinion. This was in stark contrast to Virginia Woolf’s views, who had severely criticized the works of Arnold Bennett and John Galsworthy before the advent of modernism in English fiction.
Modernism in Urdu literature has not only been explained in various journals, but also been debated favourably in numerous seminars. Fortunately modernism had supporters in some of the big names of Urdu literature like Wazir Agha, Shamsurahman Farouqi and Gopi Chand Narang. It would in fact not be wrong to guess that they were behind the modernist movement. Probably they were influenced by James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Kafka, and so felt the necessity for change in Urdu literature.
The authors mentioned above were not writing in an intellectual vacuum. In the twentieth century, Marxism, Existentialism, Psychoanalysis and Surrealism were popular philosophies. Bergson was highly influential and had attracted writers of many disciplines. Writers of European literature were no exception. Literary movements, such as Stream of Consciousness and Internal Monologue, appeared with vigorous force. What were their peculiarities and how they reflected in literature, need another sitting for explanation. To expect from the writers of Urdu fiction to be familiar with these philosophies was wrong and would be in the future.
In 1935, and even today, majority of the Urdu writers belonged to middle or lower middle class. In the past when movements of freedom and division of India galvanized the society, numerous writers welcomed the progressive movement and made it a potent voice in their writings. This literary movement too had many learned writers in its circle. Unfortunately the movement was marred by a limited concept of literature. It condemned modernism of Joyce, Woolf and Kafka. This proved disastrous for the Progressive Movement, and what ever was left became victim to Partition and religious extremism.
Those writers who had not belonged to the Progressive Movement, and there were plenty of them, did not embrace the philosophies mentioned above. Their reasons for not doing so can only be guessed. Possibly the relation of modern philosophy to literature was not taught in the Urdu courses run by the universities (today that picture can be different). Or literary journals were hesitant to encourage, discourse marginalized ideas. Two examples would suffice to explain the view point.
Sometime back a short story based on magical realism was sent to the editors of a literary journal. Two of the editors of the journal had first class degrees in Urdu literature. They, replied that there was nothing new in the story, as like its kind, stories can be read in various, digests.
Recently, in a prestigious Urdu journal, an article on Intizar Hussain was published. The author had a PhD on his subject. While explaining a stream of consciousness, he hardly mentioned William James or Henri Bergson. Salim Agha had highlighted existentialism and surrealism in two of his articles on Urdu short story writers. One can attribute it to his generosity.
Recently a book, Jadeed Afsana - chard sooratien has been published. Though the author is constrained by his bias, it is well written and is interesting reading. On page thirty-seven, he claims Existentialism to be the beginning of modern literature. He has given the reference of Dr Lutfurahman to support his view, and has also written few lines from the article in his book, Jadeediat ki Jamaliat. Quoting the first line, it says: Jadeediat ka sange buniad falsafai wajoodiat hai. This sentence translates into “The founding stone of Modernism is philosophy of Existentialism”. This is a gross error. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were influenced through the psychologist and philosopher William James (brother of Henry James) by Bergson, who had written extensively about the stream of consciousness. Commentators on Proust, another founding father of Modernism, have clearly written that his majestic work, In Search of Lost Time, was influenced by Bergson. One can read the diaries and letters of Kafka and you will not find him claiming anywhere that he was influenced by Existentialism.
After writing all this, one may pause to wonder if there are authors who have ignored the literary trends and have become great writers of short stories? The answer is in the affirmative. Besides the Irish and American masters, British authors such as Katherine Mansfield, Coppard and Prichett, though dead, are still unparalleled in their art. Writers of Urdu short stories, whose writings do not fit in the frame of Modernism and Post-Modernism, are confident. They know what they have written is vibrant and touch the sensibilities of their sensitive readers.
