KARACHI: Among the many reasons why I decided to translate the memoirs of Ismat Chughtai was to dispel this incorrect perception that she had become a Hindu and hence her wish to be cremated when she passed away. She often stayed with us and later when I came to Mumbai for work I stayed with her for a short while. And I thought this was the best way to remember her. This was Noor Zaheer speaking at her book launch Kaghazi Hai Pairahan (The Paper Attire) on the final day of the 7th Karachi Literature Festival.

“This ‘Lady Changez Khan of afsana’, as Quratulain Hyder called her, wrote about women and why shouldn’t she have written about them as she felt their pain acutely and was able to pen them down compassionately,” said Arfa Zehra earlier, who was moderating the book launch cum panel discussion.

Commenting on the translated memoirs, Delhi-based lawyer and Urdu aficionado Saif Mehmood said it is not the story of an individual but the narrative of a society. Reading an excerpt: “I am a Muslim … the mythology is a heritage of my country … If I play Holi … will my faith be threatened,” further substantiating Ms Zaheer’s argument.

Also present in the panel was Khawar Mumtaz, granddaughter of Azeem Baig Chughtai and Ismat’s brother. Ms Zehra asked her to share her memories about Lady Changez Khan. “The maternal side of my family did in fact think they were descendants of Changez Khan. When I would introduce her as my nana’s sister she would say I am your nani. I once asked her why she named me Khawar and she replied ‘because I liked the meaning of the word’.”

However, Ms Mumtaz pointed out that Ismat had a huge impact particularly on the women of their family. “They acquired college education and teacher training by following in her footsteps.”

But there was a feminine side to her. “As Manto mentions in his sketch about Ismat that she would sew frocks for her daughter with great finesse.” Another anecdote that Ms Mumtaz recalled was when she stayed with her nano Ismat for 10 days in Lucknow during the shooting of the film Junoon. “She maintained her distance and did not intermingle with everyone, although she encouraged me to explore around and meet others. When we returned to Bombay from the shoot she cooked koftas.”

The panellists also brought forth the influence of communist ideology and Russian literature on her short stories, differences between Manto and her, the impact of belonging to a large household and the pride she took in her lineage.

Urdu in India

The panel discussion titled ‘Idhar Urdu Udhar Urdu’ (the state of Urdu in India and Pakistan), featuring Bari Mian, Arfa Zehra and Saif Mehmood, was high on Urdu couplets, verbosity and bashing of leaders for their attitude towards Urdu. This was certainly a crowd-pleaser, gauging from the applause whenever one of the panellists would recite a verse, but it lacked an in-depth discussion on the current state of Urdu in both the countries and methods in keeping the language alive in the subcontinent.

Bari Mian who was moderating the session set the tone of the discussion when he said Urdu became identified with Muslims because of the Muslim League and Congress. For Ms Zehra, Urdu became identified as ‘the language of djinns’. Elaborating on this point she gave an example of a swelling in the body and its equivalent term in Urdu which was something incomprehensible. In other words, such terminologies can only be understood by beings from other worlds.

She pointed out another dilemma about Urdu. It has not been accepted by the locals of the country. “Nawab Akbar Bugti would say I have been a Baloch for 7,000 years and a Muslim for 1,500 years.” She opined local languages were primary vehicles of Sufism and religion unlike Urdu.

“In north and central India, the man on the street speaks Urdu yet we insist on calling it Hindi,” said Mr Mehmood. Talking about his efforts in popularising Urdu he said he had once gone to give a workshop about the power of Hindustani poetry in one of the top schools of Delhi. It had become such a hit that the school is now offering Urdu as an optional subject. “They also offer German and Japanese languages but Urdu is most popular and all students studying it are non-Muslims.”

The discussants also debated the merits and demerits of changing the Urdu script to Devanagiri, Gen Zia’s treatment of Urdu and religion, Arabaisation of the language and the Sanskritisation of Hindustani.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2016