Many of us can call to mind the confusion when we think of the debate on inshaiyya, which raged for quite some time in 1970s and 1980s. It even spilled over into 1990s.
In fact it had become quite chaotic in those days as two literary groups were fighting over what inshaiyya really was and who really pioneered the genre in Urdu. While an inshaiyya is simply an informal essay or a light essay — sometimes called personal essay, as well — some argued that it was a kind of a new genre pioneered by a specific writer of a specific literary circle, just to glorify a fellow writer (for certain reasons, of course).
As put by J.A. Cuddon in his ‘The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory’, an essay is a composition, usually in prose, which may be of only a few hundred words or of book length and which discusses, formally or informally, a topic or a variety of topics. An essay is said to be the most flexible and adaptable of all literary forms, adds Cuddon. Some critics, however, feel this definition is rather vague and can easily be applied to some other genres.
The flexibility or fluidity — or vagueness, if you would prefer the term — of the genre essay has been tested to its limits in Urdu and in addition to formal essays, a large number of informal essays have been written. Known as inshaiyya, this informal essay or light essay had been a front for battle of wits for decades.
An essay is called mazmoon in Urdu, which is an Arabic word. The Arabic root from which the word mazmoon has been derived means: to contain, comprise or include. In Urdu, mazmoon also means a subject, that is, a branch of knowledge or discipline. So the word mazmoon means a piece of writing that contains information or views on a particular issue or topic. It was French writer Montaigne who is credited with pioneering the genre.
Interestingly, the English language had borrowed the word ‘essay’ from French, which in turn had borrowed it from the Arabic word ‘sa’i’ or ‘as-sa’i’ (sometimes spelt essai), literally meaning ‘attempt’ or ‘try’, though some believe it was derived from a Latin root.
The word inshaiyya is derived from the Arabic word insha, which literally means writing, creation or composition. In Urdu, the word insha is used to denote ‘belles-lettres’ as well. Both inshaiyya and mazmoon are in fact essays. The only difference between a mazmoon and inshaiyya is that an essay or mazmoon is formal. It is more serious and has logical sequence like beginning, middle and a conclusion. Essay or mazmoon may give reasoning to support an argument. But since an inshaiyya is informal or light, sometimes also called personal essay, has no serious intent or a point to prove. It may not have any specific beginning or ending and can be written on any topic, no matter how unimportant or insignificant like a mosquito and its movement, without bothering oneself or the reader about the specific knowledge or any serious discussion. An inshaiyya or personal essay expresses one’s personal opinion about anything, mostly in a lighter vein. But humour is not necessarily an ingredient in inshaiyya, though informality is. This informality gives it a non-serious aura, which is mistaken for humour.
This issue of inshaiyya had caused quite a few skirmishes among critics. However, we can conclude that inshaiyya is a creative and subjective essay based on one’s own arguments and opinions while a mazmoon is an objective, academic and informative essay. Inshaiyya is not as weighty and serious-sounding as a mazmoon, though both are essays.
As for the history of Urdu inshaiyya, some critics say that the early light essays written by some humourists in the early 20th century — such as Sajjad Hyder Yildirim, Sajjad Ansari, Farhatullah Baig, Abdul Aziz Falak Paima, Mulla Rumoozi and Rasheed Ahmed Siddiqi — can be called inshaiyya, at least some of their writings conform to the standards set for inshaiyya, if not all of them.
On the other hand, some researchers, such as Javed Vashisht, an Indian scholar, claimed that even the earliest of Urdu prose samples had glimpses of inshaiyya, including some portions of ‘Sab Ras’, a daastaan, or tale, penned by Mulla Vajahi in 1635. A more balanced approach is taken by some critics who feel that some of the essays by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and his contemporaries could fall in the category of inshaiyya.
After the independence, inshaiyya took off and Naseer Agha’s inshaiyya named Bahar ki aik ahaam had appeared in April 1949 issue of Adabi Dunya, a literary journal published from Lahore. It had also carried an inshaiyya by Dawood Rahbar, titled Lamhe, in its May 1949 issue.
Some of the prominent Pakistani inshaiyya writers are: Dawood Rahbar, Vazeer Agha, Mumtaz Mufti, Amjad Hussain, Ghulam Jeelani Asghar, Mashkoor Hussain Yaad, Mushtaq Qamar, Arshad Meer, Jameel Aazar, Nazeer Siddiqi and some others.
Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2021
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