We have with us two books; the one of literary criticism and the other of short stories. ‘Saraiki Tanqeed te Ma’baadnau Aabadiati Nazria [Saraiki Criticism and Post-Colonial Theory] is Aslam Rasoolpuri’s latest book published by Seraiki Publications Rasulpur. Aslam Rasoolpuri is a senior Seraiki writer, intellectual and critic who has more than a dozen of books on diverse subjects to his credit. He is a lawyer by profession but writing is where his heart is. Tradition of literary criticism in Pakistani languages is not an organic phenomenon. It rests on what it borrows from the West and interestingly intends to critique what it borrows. This is an outcome of a historical situation where tradition rules over questioning and conformity has precedence over spirit of inquiry. However those who dare to add to a scant repertoire of critical writings deserve our accolades. Creative expression is no doubt of fundamental importance but critiquing it no less important if we desire to discern its context and undercurrents that makes it relevant.

Rasoolpuri’s book can be divided into two parts; introduction of certain aspects of post-colonial theory and use of its analytical tools to highlight the responses to post-colonial situation expressed in some of the recent creative Seraiki writings. He first introduces the well-known poem of Rudyard Kipling ‘The White Man’s Burden’ which in his view provides the basic framework of colonial discourse. He rightly rubbishes the civilising mission of the white man through his critique but he forgets to mention the role of Arabs in the African slave trade which supplied the cannon fodder for strengthening the colonial enterprise and eventually ended in a process that enslaved Arabs like Africans. Likewise the Irish slave trade is not mentioned. Then he brings in the summary of Joseph Conrad’s novel ‘Heart of Darkness’ and how its discovery of the East is biased, one-sided and racist.The painful phenomenon of colonisation of Africa is described by the author in some details quoting prominent critics, fiction writers and thinkers such as Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Edward Said, Franz Fanon, Chenua Achebe and Eime Cesaire. The author for reasons best known to him misses out on the long drawn process of colonisation of the subcontinent. His insistence on emphasising a total disconnect between what he calls Seraiki society and Punjabi society is purely politically motivated. It’s is factually contestable and historically untenable.The last chapter of the book takes up some of the contemporary poets and writers, and looks at them through the lens of what he perceives to be a post-colonial construct. The choice of material except that of the Novel ‘Ghaan’ by Saleem Shazad is not impressive. The poetry he describes and analyses is of mediocre quality as it typically suffers from over-used rhetoric and shrill political sloganeering. The novel however is a good case study of post-colonial socio-political structure and people’s response who groan under its weight. Its analysis done by the author is incisive and insightful. The language used in the book shows signs of what is shared by almost all Pakistani languages; lack of indigenous literary parlance. The book is loaded with phrases and words borrowed from Arabic and Persian via Urdu. However, Aslam Rasoolpuri’s book, inspired by ideas gleaned from myriad academic sources, is a very valuable addition to the small existing body of analytical and critical writings.

‘Kaan Waghay Border [The crow at the Wagha Border] is Mudassar Bashir’s latest book of short stories published by Sanjh Publications, Lahore. Mudassar Bashir is a fiction writer, poet and literary editor who has already brought out more than eight books. The author’s stories to all intents and purposes fall in the tradition of realism that holds sway in a society which is largely illiterate. An illiterate society as is well-known generally thrives on orality. Orality has an in-built tendency to facilitate the expression what is dominantly simple and concrete which in no way necessarily implies the complete absence of abstraction and complex thought. This book contains twelve short stories some of which edge towards photographic realism. They are readable and interesting but end up being prosaic. But what distinguishes the writer from the run-of-the-mill types is his keen observation, penchant for details and above all his intellectual and emotional orientation which connects him with people in their joys and sufferings. He is at his best when he explores human society and its interaction or lack of it with nature and animal kingdom. Two outstanding stories in the collection ‘Kaan Wagay Border’ and ‘Langra Samaaj’ provide ample proof of such as an assertion if needed at all. The former is a kind of parable with a seasoned crow and its family as protagonists. What goes on at the borders of two hostile countries, Pakistan and India, is seen through the birds’ eye which they find intriguingly incomprehensible. They throw up a series of questions to which they have no easy answers. Why human beings can’t move across the border as they do is one of the enigmas the birds try to decode. The sub text obviously is nationalism and what ensues from it in the contemporary world. The birds imply freedom and the borders mean restrictions not only on movement but also on emotions and empathetic ability of human beings.

‘Langra Samaj’ is a highly moving story which revolves around a petite shopkeeper and a horse. The horse, a beauty, as white as snow, reared with loving care for racing tracks and then discarded, is bought by a working class man for transporting rebar from factories to constructions sites. The shopkeeper, a great animal lover, falls in love with the beast at first sight. But he is horrified to see the cart is so over-loaded that while trying to pull it, the horse trips and comes down crashing to the ground breaking one of its legs. How the shopkeeper mounts his epic struggle to save the animal, battered by extreme cold with one of its legs broken, shows unusual scene which is indescribably heart-wrenching exposing the state and society. It points to what bonds us humans with animal kingdom; the compassion. The book is a rewarding read for those who are interested in the little known extra-ordinary secrets of ordinary life. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2018

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