KARACHI: Eminent journalist and writer Ghazi Salahuddin gave an online talk on Dozakhnama, an Urdu translation by Inaam Nadeem of Rabisankar Bal’s Bengali novel on Thursday in a Readers Club session.

Mr Salahuddin said the novel was first translated in English after which, a few months back, its Urdu version came out. It was five years back that distinguished writer Asif Farrukhi (who passed away on June 1) and he discovered the book. It surprised them because it was a startling thing to realise that in the story two iconic creative individuals — short story writer Saadat Hasan Manto and poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib — are conversing with each other from their graves. What further surprised them was the fact that it was the figment of imagination of a Bengali writer.

Expanding on that point first, he said familiarity with Urdu literature of writers writing in English or other languages is worth taking note of. Giving examples of the observation he mentioned novelist Vikram Seth who has, in English, translated in verse Ghalib’s letters. Then, Anita Desai in her books has lamented the fact that gradually but surely Urdu is fading out of India. Desai turned the issue into her subject in the novel In Custody. It’s about the last days of a famous Urdu poet. Some believe that it’s based on Ghalib (she herself has never revealed it). Later, a film was made based on the book starring Shashi Kapoor. When the movie was being worked on, the makers began to ponder as to which Urdu poet’s poetry could be used in it. Finally, they decided on Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poems.

Mr Salahuddin claimed he was most impressed by Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize-winning novel The White Tiger. It tells the tale of a driver’s son who makes it big in life through corruption. In the story the protagonist also chances upon books of Urdu poetry. Explaining poetry, the author writes it’s “a magic known only to wise men”. At one juncture, the character says, “Iqbal, that great poet was so right. The moment you recognise what is beautiful in this world, you stop being a slave.” He (Salahuddin) said he didn’t at first understand what verse of Iqbal the author was alluding to, so he called up a friend who knows Iqbal’s poetry well, who told him that the reference was to the line, “Ghulami kiya hai, zauq-i-husn-i-zebai se mehrumi.”

After this explanation, Mr Salahuddin returned to Dozakhnama, saying that in the book the Bengali writer (who was from Kolkata and died in 2017) by virtue of a fictitious world is spinning a yarn which contains some of the fundamental aspects of the subcontinent’s history. One needs to analyse Ghalib and Manto’s eras and their personalities to know that. The writer conjures a scene in which in Lucknow he chances upon a long lost novel written by Manto. The conversation that Manto and Ghalib strike up covers a wide array of topics. Ghalib is the chronicler of 1857 (mutiny) and Manto of 1947 (partition). Another common factor between the two is that Ghalib is arguably the greatest Urdu poet and Manto the greatest short story writer. The financially challenged lives that they led also have common elements.

The original version, Mr Salahuddin said, carries Urdu verses, and some of them were not correctly written. He discussed that with the late Farrukhi who then suggested that it should be translated into Urdu. At that stage, Mr Salahuddin fondly remembered the services Mr Farrukhi rendered to the world of literature as a writer and as the founder of literary festivals in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2020

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