January 4, 2004

ONE more literary award has been instituted in Pakistan. A generous soul from Qatar, Abdul Hameedul Miftah, arrived last week in Lahore and arranged a function where Munir Niazi was decorated with an award called the Al-Miftah Award.

This award was in fact inaugurated last year in Karachi where Anwar Shaoor was decorated. The award is reserved for poets alone. In such times as ours, when every department of life lacks genuineness, a new award stands badly in need of credibility. It can only be achieved by conferment strictly on the basis of merit. Munir Niazi’s decoration has imparted credibility to the Al-Miftah Award.

Munir Niazi’s decoration coincided with the release of his new collection of poetry. With his newly-published book, he seemed to say that he was not among those writer, who, while receiving an award, gave the impression of being merely a relic of their creative past. The collection was a reminder that Munir, with nearly 50 years of verse writing, was still creatively alive.

The collection has been published under the titled Aik Musalsal by Multi Media Affairs, Lahore. The verses included in this volume may well be read in continuation of what he has been writing in the past. And yet, we may discern here a different note. Munir has consistently been seen in search of a paradise lost. In his research, he almost recreates a state of life brimming with love, beauty and innocence. It appears to be a poetically imagined state of life. Here, he seems not in search of a paradise. He has now discovered paradise in what is commonplace and ordinary.

In some of his poems, he is seen depicting life as lived on an everyday level, with small details seemingly insignificant. These details speak of the peace pervading that way of life. That was the kind of life we had in days gone by in our towns, in our streets and mohallas. Now, we are living in disturbed times. When seen from our present position, the vanished state of life appears, as depicted in the poems, paradise to us. Munir’s portrayals evoke nostalgic feelings in us.

But Munir is never elaborate in his description. He hates to be verbose. He is most economical in the use of words. His sense of wonder, which is an integral part of his creative experience, does not allow him to speak much. But the few words he speaks are packed with meanings deeper and wider than what we find in poets, who love to talk at length.

But I was talking about the award-giving ceremony. Glowing tributes were paid to the poet. And Munir Niazi is perhaps the only poet in our time who has chosen to live solely as a poet. He is devoted to poetry alone. He writes poetry and lives poetry. His personality appears to be an extension of his poetry. And that, along with his verse, has played a big role in winning admirers and devotees for him.

Now, let me talk a little about another award-giving ceremony. Within a week, we had the luxury of two such ceremonies one after the other. The other was the Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi Award ceremony. This award owes its existence to a lady’s devotion to Qasmi Sahib.

The days are gone when writers in Pakistan pinned their hopes for awards and prizes solely on the government and government-aided bodies. Luckily, they have in recent years found some new patrons. Abdul Hameed had come here from Qatar for this purpose, while Farhat Parveen arrived here for the same purpose from the US.

Farhat Parveen is a short story writer with two collections of to her credit. Qasmi’s journal, Funoon, can well take the credit of introducing her as a short story writer. In her devotion to Qasmi Sahib, she thought of instituting an award in his name. She had come here with her husband, Naeem Khan, who has a big business in the US. In the memory of his father, the late Faiz Mohammad, he had established a trust which is now known as the Faiz Mohammad Trust. It is actively engaged in philanthropic work. The Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi Award has also been instituted by this trust.

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi is now in his 87th year and he has about 66 years of active literary life to his credit. His long life, along with his consistency in his literary preoccupation, qualifies him to be acknowledged as the grand old man of Urdu literature. During his long literary career, he has won innumerable admirers. One female admirer has surpassed all others in instituting an award in his name during his lifetime.

The Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi Award was instituted in 2000. Last year, its recipients were Bano Qudsiya and Yameen Hameed. The fortunate ones who won this year’s award are Saeed Sheikh, Ahsan Akbar and Naheed Qasmi.

Qasmi Sahib himself presided over the ceremony and honoured the deserving writers with the award.

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