The Punjab like other regions of the subcontinent has a dynamic oral tradition spread over thousands of years. In old times storytelling was a valued profession because it not only generally preserved people’s life and history but also provided people with a lot of entertainment and fun who had ample time at their disposal. Since written word wasn’t as widespread as it is in the modern times, the spoken one held sway.
Ordinary mortals developed speaking skills which are unthinkable in our times simply because spoken word was all they had and thus it was a vital means of communication. In every village and town people enthralled their audiences with their conversations. Wise men and women were teachers as well as sharp social and cultural commentators.
Saleem Raza Thakur seems to be the reincarnation of such a person of yesteryears but with a difference: his strength appears in the form of written word. He is continuation of tradition of orality in a changed form: he composes his conversations. His book “Soch Nataray [Reflections]” published by Sanjh Publications, Lahore, is a testimony to his creatively thinking mind that finds expression in his prose blurring the boundaries that exist between spoken and written language. It looks easier than it actually is. To make writing look like nuanced conversation or to make conversation look like a composed literary piece is no mean feat.
Raja Nusrat Ali in his introduction rightly points to the former aspect in Thakur’s writing and Azhar Mahmood Chaudhry in his blurb to the latter. Thakur’s book comprises snippets that deal with so many aspects of life. He takes characters, situations, ideas or fallacies and recreates them in such a way that they expose what’s ugly and irrational hidden behind their façade. He has critical and insightful comments to make on the larger picture of our life. He touches politics, culture, social and religious practices and human relationship. Nothing escapes his gaze, it seems. But being intelligent and socially experienced, he is discreet with his comments which provoke you rather than offend. His is not acerbic style but he minces no words to scratch our veneer of rationality which begins to crack the moment he puts it under the microscope. His best quality as a writer is that he can be artfully artless and artlessly artful. His worldview is rational, humanist and forward-looking in a society that is defined by its irrationality, intolerance and regression to primitivism.
Saleem Raza Thakur paints a miniature picture of totality of current life with a view to elucidating and examining what is given which is obviously accepted in a dehumanised society but isn’t acceptable in a humanised and humane social structure. His is a serious but delightful book that engages you at intellectual, political, social and cultural levels and persuades you to confront myriad problems of contemporary life. And it does so with a soft touch and coolness. His prose seems effortless and has the smooth flow of a current that carries the reader along. Don’t miss out on what it offers as it’s precious in our intellectually starved world. It’s a must for all libraries, public and private.
Story like poetry is as old as language. Poetry with the passage of time, which implies changes in conditions of life, has lost its privileged position but storytelling/story writing has not. Rather it has gone a few notches up and thus has become the most popular literary genre across the world. Fiction sells more than any other literary product.
In the Punjab we have a long tradition of vibrant oral storytelling. Short story as composed text in Punjabi surfaced in the 20th century. We witness that after the Partition short story as a genre has emerged as a powerful literary expression in the East Punjab which explores social reality as well as reconstructs it at imaginative level.
In the West Punjab where alienated Punjabis disown their mother language popular literary practice has been composing poetry. But fortunately in recent decades we find more and more young authors turning to fiction especially short story writing. “Wawarolay [whirlwinds]” is Shazad Aslam’s first book of short stories in Punjabi published by Sanjh Publications, Lahore. The book contains 23 short stories, some of which are really short that in literary parlance are dubbed as mini short stories. His stories paint contemporary socio-cultural landscape from a humanist perspective. He takes the stuff from day to day life and builds his narrative in the descriptive manner. He has an eye for details which provides meat to his stories. Some of his stories are abstract and symbolic dealing with themes of social oppression, religious hypocrisy and cultural distortion. “Nimaaney [The lowly ones]” is an outstanding story in all its aspects. It starts with a table with two books left on it in a library built by the British colonialists. The books are “Untouchable” by Mulk Raj Anand and “The Blind Owl” by Sadiq Hidayat, an Iranian author who committed suicide. Both the authors were fiction writers. An untouchable boy and a blind owl are characters that begin interacting with each other and hinting at their tales of caste discrimination and political oppression. What unites them is their surreal experience of suffering caused by denial of human dignity and freedom of expression. The story develops in an incredibly credible manner leaving you stunned at the denouement.
Shahzad Aslam softly but wonderfully dissects two different cultures underpinned by a bond of shared human predicament. One of the great stories of recent times. Don’t miss it.
The much ignored subject of local history or people’s history has been on the back burner if not totally ignored for long. Scholars in recent decades have taken increased interest in exploring what is significant but is contemptuously relegated to the realm of fantasy by main stream historians who treat elites as history makers.
Punjabi Khoj Garh Lulyani [district Kasur] has published Dr. Muhammad Riaz Anjum‘s book “Burr e Sageer dian Tehreekan vich Kasur da Hissa [Kasur’s contribution in the movements of the subcontinent]”. The book is a kind compendium of political, religious and cultural movements that had the participation of certain segments of people of the area. The author’s view is orthodox and non-critical but the best thing about his narrative is that it has lot of data regarding organisations, political parties, religious groups and individuals that had been active in the different movements that swept across the subcontinent.
Dr. Riaz Anjum’s book will serve as database for further research and local history writing. Thus it may be rewarding for scholars and researchers to take a look at the facts and figures presented by him. — soofi01@hotmail.com
Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2021
