Impressive as it may sound, a man of many talents — Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan — politician, orator, poet, author and an ardent reader, needs no introduction. Having served thrice at the ministerial level, his image contradicts that of a common politician.
Ahsan reminiscences his childhood, cuddling in his father’s lap, who used to read to him, famous verses of Iqbal and works of other poets that included Ghalib, Mir, Firaq and Sauda. Probably this is why, by the time he was 15, he had a wealth of poetry preserved in his mind, something that stayed with him, even during his time in Cambridge.
It hardly leaves anything to say about his passion for reading. However, when queried about the genres that he finds enthralling enough to read, he replies that he usually likes to indulge himself in reading books on history, culture and contemporary politics. However, his professional career asks for reading books on law and famous cases and judgments and it consumes most of his time. Being an author himself one cannot help but amuse to think him not mentioning a word about his own book in which he painstakingly traces back the roots and rich culture of a modern day Pakistani, titled, The Indus Saga — and the Making of Pakistan. Ahsan admits that almost five out of ten books he buys are readable, while others are, debris.
As history is what he is inclined towards, therefore, one finds him full of praise for M.J. Akbar, particularly his work, Nehru — The Making of India, which Ahsan claims to be more capacious than Wolpert’s. The other book by M.J. Akbar, which the barrister is quite fond of, is The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. The book is an astute and absorbing analysis of Islam and the attitudes of Muslims towards the non-Muslims.
A book that he considers to be apt for the students of Mass Communication, political science and history is From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun. The fascinating aspect of the book is that it unveils the evolution and advancement in the fields of science, politics and various fields of arts in the last 500 years in the Western countries. “It opens up the mind of a person to the progress of the world,” says Aitzaz.
Though he hardly reads, some of the writers he remembers reading earlier in his life are Robert Love, Sidney Sheldon and Bob Woodward. In Urdu there is nothing as appealing to him as Aag ka Darya and Akhari Shab Ke Humsafar by Qurratulain Haider. While reading Aag Ka Darya, he recalls, “I could not keep the book down till I had finished it, even my sleep was affected.” However, to his utmost disappointment, Gardish-e-Range Chaman was what Ahsan found out to be quite disturbing indeed. “I could not read beyond 200 pages, it was strange,” he continues after a minute, “a writer whom you perceive to be of the level of Tolstoy and Hugo, how could she write in this manner?” Aitzaz Ahsan has a long list of favourite books. Still, when really pressed to name one, he comes up with The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India by Waldemar Hansen. Hansen portrays a detailed picture of the Mogul Empire and its famous rulers, the outbreak of civil war. It is a book he gives credence to be a guideline for those wishing to venture at writing a book.
Being a poet himself — a facet of his personality not many people know, Aitzaz is a great enthusiast of poetry. Dr Mohammed Iqbal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Faraz, Amjad Islam Amjad, Saleema Raja, Kishwar Naheed, Iftikhar Arif and Parveen Shakir, are the poets whose work he luxuriates in reading. Faraz’s Sher-e-Sukhan Arasta, a compilation of all his poems, is when the barrister is ready to read anytime. He describes it to be “an intense and wonderful craft”. He treasures Parveen’s poetical works inscribed by the poetess herself to Aitzaz Ahsan. He regrets the early death of a poetess whose journey had just begun in the world of poetry.
Unlike his ebullience for books, he seldom carves to watch a movie, unless if it has been recommended by a friend. One can justify his busy schedule to be one reason for it, the other being a rational remark that — “it makes the mind indolent”. He adds, with concern in his voice, “We cannot let our children to be swallowed by this pernicious medium of movies. When one reads a book, one utilises his mind to create the scenery of the situations described. On the contrary one gets everything ready made in a movie.”
He hasn’t seen a movie on the big screen, in Pakistan, in the last 30 years. He reasons the VCR or the CD player to be the sole cause of it. But, when abroad for some work, and if free in the evening, he does consent to utilize the spare time by going to the cinema. It was there that he viewed movies like the Monsoon Wedding, Titanic and Bride and Prejudice. He describes it to be really amusing experience.
However, if given a choice he would prefer movies of the classy actors, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Sabhia and Santosh Kumar, but it does not mean at all that he is unaware of the new crop of actors. In fact, he does like Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Aishwarya Rai. Among the movies that he chanced to watch recently are The Matrix, Veer Zaara and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum, and he enjoyed these movies. In the Hollywood flicks his favourite stands out to be Come September and The Battle of Algiers.
Ghazal is the genre of music he can lose himself to. He delights in ghazals sung by, Mehdi Hasan, Iqbal Bano, Akhtari Bai, Farida Khanum, Tina Sani and Ghulam Ali. And if not ghazals then he likes to listen to folk or sufi poetry. He names various folk poets whose verses mesmerize him when sung, such as works of Sultan Bahu, Waris Shah, Shah Hussain and Bulleh Shah. Of the singers of the new generation, Ahsan believes them to be sympathetic and indulging in social issues. Abrarul Haq has won his heart with his catchy tunes and crafty songs rooted deep in our culture. He also likes the works of Shehzad Roy, Ali Zafar and Vital Signs.
FAVOURITE BOOK: From Dawn to Decadence : 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun FAVOURITE MUSIC: Ghazals by Mehdi Hasan FAVOURITE MOVIE:Monsoon Wedding — Meera Jamal
Impressive as it may sound, a man of many talents — Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan — politician, orator, poet, author and an ardent reader, needs no introduction. Having served thrice at the ministerial level, his image contradicts that of a common politician.
