The man looked ordinary but what he achieved was absolutely extraordinary. Few among us have been fortunate enough to inherit what he did; the soul and sufferings of Harappa, incredible tales of the Ravi [the Sahiwal region is usually referred to as Ravi] and stunning legends of indomitable Raths [lords] of Bar who would not bat an eye to battle the whole world to save a friend in trouble when requested and would fight to their last breath to redeem their honour if challenged.

The soul of Harappa lay in its people’s wisdom not to build extravagant palaces to kings and costly temples to prelates in their meticulously planned urban centres. They were guided more by humane concern to separate the clean drinking water from the dishwater and construct underground sewers to live a hygienic life. Despite having an agrarian base they were unaffected by what Marx calls ‘rural idiocy’ and relished the wonders the trade with far-off lands such as Mesopotamia afforded them. They instead of making weapons of war made fine cutlery for their dining tables and delicate jewellry for their women.

Harappa found its voice once again in his son A.D. Aijaz. He while experiencing the miseries of contemporary Harappa had the serenity, calm and wisdom which the revealing signs of the past life in Harappa ruins point to. Born in 1936s he got his early education from the ancient town of Kamalia. He did his graduation from the Punjab University and later got master’s degrees in Urdu and Punjabi in early 1970s. He joined Punjab Education Department as a teacher. The decades of 1960s and 70s were the times of great political upheavals and social awakening which harboured the grand dreams of revolutionary transformation across the world. We too had our share of revolutionary dreams which on the one hand inspired the generation to discover its roots and get connected with the past overcoming the rupture caused by the colonial occupation, and on the other nudged it towards the socio-political action leading to a change that promised less extractive politico-economic order.

A.D. Aijaz realised early in his life that journalism and above all research based cultural praxis was his calling. The latter turned into a fervent desire to challenge the cultural and literary hegemony of colonial and post-colonial era in Punjab by discovering what was deliberately neglected as peripheral and marginal. What was treated as peripheral and marginal by the colonial masters was in fact people’s culture and history which reflected resistance and struggle as well as mass aesthetics.

Aijaz being an inheritor of great age old cultural traditions of the Bar and Ravi knew the lore and oral practices very intimately. He embarked on a new venture of discovering Punjab through what was uttered by bards, minstrels and poets. He was fascinated by a poetic genre called Dhola which has been and is still popular in all the Bars of Punjab. The structure of Dhola is highly intriguing as it’s very close to what we know in modern times as free verse, a European literary product that has changed the poetic conventions globally. Dhola can comprise any number of freely woven lines sounding like compact poetic prose which only rhyme at their endings. The structure instead of restricting the poet, as is the practice with the traditional genres, provides the practitioner an easy space to construct whatever he or she wants to. In our literary milieu it’s in fact a precursor of modern poetry. The recitation of Dhola has unmistakable signs of primordial sighs, cries and sobs. Its undulations evoke in the words of Rilke “audio-landscapes” of Kanati music with its vestiges of Dravidian culture. As for the contents, it can accommodate any kind of usual and unusual experience provided you know the craft and have the skill.

Religious experience, angst of love and actions of historical and quasi-historical personages are generally popular themes with the ‘Dholai’[balladeers].

Aijaz undertook field research and spent years in collecting oral history of the area and a large number of Dholas. His celebrated collection of Dholas titled “Kaal Bulaindi [The Goddess Kaal/Kaali speaks]” was published in 1983 by Pakistan Punjabi Adbi Board, Lahore, with a comprehensive introduction by the author which encompassed topography, geography, history, ethnic roots of local tribes and traditions of political resistance with special emphasis on the movement against British colonialism in the mid nineteenth century. The publication proved to be trail-blazer as it not only brought to the fore the details of struggle of defiant hero Ahmed Khan Kharal and his comrades who resisted and fought the colonial regime in the revolt of 1857 but also attracted academic focus on the less explored aspect of resistance in our political history. Huge credit goes to A.D. Aijaz for firmly re-establishing Ahmed Khan as one of the greatest freedom fighters of the modern Punjab. Remember, unlike standard historians, balladeers never consigned the people’s heroic struggle to oblivion. “Ahmed Khan, gatherings at the Ravi miss you/ Wish you could come once again and get the prisoners released”, says a line of a ballad.

Another popular book by Aijaz is ”Chaanjay Chhattay [Lovely Tresses]” where no holds barred poetic expression celebrates the love experience of men and women in the ancient settlement and black forests of the Bar. “Swaying bushes and reeds startle the Kohl eyed virgins during the day who in the night can tear men apart in their lust”, is how women are described.

A.D. Aijaz died last week in Harappa mourned and lamented by his students, disciples and admirers. One wonders can a man with so few books impact the cultural landscape the way he did? It’s not number but quality that eventually stands out in the matters of creative and cultural expressions.

Punjab, alienated and self-destructive, as a self-deprecating entity evolved during the colonial era has lost the art of honouring its sons and daughters. But rest in peace, dear A. D. Aijaz, assured, that those who understand the value of honour will continue to honour you as a son of the soil who brought honour to all of us. “The gatherings at the Ravi miss you”, is a farewell verse for you from the Dhola you introduced us to back in the day. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2019