KARACHI: An autobiography titled Jasmine and Journeys by Najma Shamsi was launched at the Arts Council on Monday evening.

Shedding light on the salient features of the book Prof Rafiuddin said it was based on events, characters and life experiences related to the author. It also mentioned her community elders (Punjabi Saudagran-i-Delhi). Reading it would make people nostalgic because it carried things related to our past, such as Mubarak Manzil, Delhi College and Binaca Geet Mala.

Talking about the aspect of journeys in the book, Prof Rafi said it [journey] was a dynamic thing. Migration [with special reference to the author who has lived in places like East Pakistan, Islamabad and Karachi and now lives in Canada] kept us moving. Land came first and people later, so land could belong to anyone. It was in this context that the migration of Punjabis on the invitation of Emperor Shah Jahan to Delhi should be seen. “The book is a tale of multiple journeys.”

Former chairperson of HRCP Zohra Yusuf said fragrance of jasmine accompanied the author in all her journeys. As the book progressed, a kind of feminism that had remained dormant in her life surfaced. The book was rare because very few women in our country got down to writing their autobiographies. All [women] had stories to tell, though our compulsions might be different.

Ms Yusuf said Ms Shamsi had a clean and honest style of writing. She didn’t believe in self-projection and had written the book in a low-key manner. Her compulsions could be personal but it’s a story of a metamorphosis of an old culture into a new one. The way she described her family’s journey covering several generations was very inspiring because her grandparents were involved in the freedom movement, and though the author was settled in Canada, her roots belonged to Pakistan. The most gripping chapter [for Ms Yusuf] in the book was in which she described her experience of living in East Pakistan and then leaving the country just before it became Bangladesh. Her account had an empathy and understanding for the cause of Bengalis, she said.

Former senator Javed Jabbar said he and his wife had known the author for the last four decades and also had a strong friendship with her late husband Khalique. “I deeply miss him,” he said and acknowledged Mr Khalique’s acceptance of Ms Shamsi’s individuality. He told the audience, which had turned up in a big number, that he first met Ms Shamsi when she lived in East Pakistan and he was looking for models for a TV commercial.             

Mr Jabbar appreciated the author’s tenacity and sensibility. Her service to education in Pakistan culminated in Canada with the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for her service to humanity. “She is a symbol of change,” he remarked. He liked the subtitle of the book The Life Quest of a South Asian Woman because South Asia had eight countries, each having its distinct identity. He said the book deserved to be read and wouldn’t like to call it an autobiography because it was ‘part’ of an autobiography. He advised her to “look at writing fiction”.

Najma Shamsi thanked the organisers for arranging the event and called it a unique opportunity to meet friends she was seeing after decades. She said the idea of writing the book struck her when her grandchild was born in the US. She asked herself, “Who is this child going to be? His roots are in another soil, will he ever know that?” In 2014 she started working on it as a small project. But in 2015 Javed Jabbar and his wife visited her [in Toronto]. They told her that though it was her story, it could be the story of many migrants, which was where the idea started getting bigger. And Mr Jabbar dedicated time to edit the book, she added.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2018