Shagufta Gimmi Lodhi’s latest book Cancer te Ohdian Qismaan has been published by Fiction House. Surprised? Composing medical treatises has been part of Punjab’s literary culture. Such treatises weren’t uncommon till the 19th century. The texts were usually found in the form of poetry if one can call them so.

Khair Mannukh (Healthy Humans), for example, is one of the highly celebrated books on the subject of diseases and their treatment. It reads like good poetry. The title itself is poetic. And Punjabi writers can learn a thing or two about from the author how to use language for non-literary content with literary effect.

Shagufta Gimmi, the daughter of reputable Punjabi writer and broadcaster late Saleem Khan Gimmi, is an author, broadcaster, educationist and researcher. She is also involved in philanthropic work. She is a kind of rare human being who performs whatever she undertakes with skill and élan. Full of verve and vitality, she is capable of inspiring even the most dispirited. Her book is an ample evidence of her concern for fellow human beings and life.

Acknowledging that it’s not her original research, she points at the very outset: “I took the stuff from Canadian cancer website and, several other relevant websites and English language articles. The book is purely for public benefit and pro bono work”.

The book provides general information based on medical research for several types of cancer. Shagufta cautiously writes in the preface: “According to my knowledge this book is one of a kind in Shahmukhi script (Arabic based script used in the West Punjab) which provides basic information about nineteen types of cancer. Please remember this information is not substitute for medical advice.” It is meant for lay readers. The language used by her is not verbose and obscure. It’s rather simple. The smooth flow of the text makes it accessible thus making it very useful for the cancer patients and families and their attendants. The book has 29 chapters comprising 442 pages. It also contains illustrations, sketches and diagrams for demonstrative purposes. It is labour of love and shows author’s concern for suffering humans. Her obvious compassion is for common people who she wants to help by providing them with information in their own language. All libraries and every household must have this book so that equipped with medical information we are better able to the fight the cancer that is on the rise in the country. The deadly disease inflicts unbearable pain on the patients and its treatment involves a huge drain on financial resources. So wiser to emphasise the awareness.

Shagufta’s book also helps us enlighten on preventive medicine. A highly valuable addition to the small repertoire of medical literature we have in Punjabi.

Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950) is generally known by his pen name George Orwell. He was born in Bengal in India and educated in England. He served in imperial police in Burma (now Myanmar). He was English novelist, critic and essayist who deeply influenced social and political life with his novels. His two novels Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949) catapulted him to international stage. The themes he touched in these novels are as relevant today as they were in the 20th century; how state /regime seemingly constructed on grand ideas turns into a horror social machine. Javed Asif has translated his novel 1984 into Seraiki with the title Aunnvisau Chursi. The publisher is Fiction House, Lahore.

Javed Asif is a poet, novelist, teacher and translator who lives way out in the boondocks; a village in district Rajanpur. He has more than a dozen books to his credit. It’s no mean feat to remain intellectually alive in a rural area at the periphery surrounded by rigid traditions and vegetative social life. Perhaps that’s the reason that prompted Asif to render 1984 which is dystopian. He shows the unbearable reality of how utopia turns into chilling dystopia. The novel is a stark warning against totalitarianism and its tediously insidious working aimed at depriving individuals of their agency in the name of collective good.

Orwell’s concepts of Thought Police and Big Brother instantly became part of social and political life as these were rooted in the lived experiences of people all the world over regardless of form of regime they lived under. All regimes carry in-built authoritarian tendencies. It’s in the very nature of the state to assume more and more power by fair means or foul to control the people. Under totalitarianism/dictatorship it’s developed into fine art. People here are quite familiar with this kind of political and social phenomenon as they have been ruled for the last seven decades by dictators and demagogues who used the tool of religious ideals to create a semblance of legitimacy. Denial of freedom in the name of an ideal whatever it may be is in fact denial of human potential. Javed Asif’s translation is unencumbered and has a flow born of spontaneity of expression. His Seraiki obviously reflects the dialect spoken across the river Indus in the Punjab which is slightly different in sound and nuance from the language people use in the urban centres of Multan and Bahawalpur. But it’s natural. Javed Asif has done a commendable job of translating the novel which can now be enjoyed by those who aren’t familiar with English.

Pakheru is a monthly magazine for children brought out from Lahore. Its honorary editor is Ashraf Sohail and assistant editors are Sohail Qaiser Hashmi and Shahid Rao. The magazine has 11 stories, some articles and poems with illustration and sketches. Visuals help the children to understand the texts better. It’s highly laudable effort to teach children their mother language neglected by the state. The stuff included in the May issue is interesting in the sense that it can touch and move the imagination. And imagination is what inspires children. Any material that fails to do so is dead for them. We all need to support Pakheru. The least we can would be to subscribe to it. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2022

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