KARACHI, Jan 16: Responding to the accolades showered on him by speakers at a function held in his honour at the Arts Council on Friday, noted writer Intizar Husain said he was overwhelmed by the respect and affection shown for him.

He added light-heartedly that the liberal “use of superlatives” on a guest or the subject of a writing was a good tradition of the East and that he disagreed with the late fiction writer Queratulain on that score.

He also said that he was neither a sufi nor a philosopher. “I’m only a man of fiction and have nothing to do with sufism,” he said, adding: “If somebody has discovered philosophy in my writings, I’m not to blame for it.” He said what critics saw as sufism was the reflection of folk stories in his writings. And since he had discussed Hindu mythology in some of his writings, readers called it Vedic philosophy.

Intizar sahib also said he praised writers such as Kafka who refused to write anything but fiction. “But we do not have that kind of self-control and often stray into other fields,” he said while explaining how he came to write some plays for television and radio. “I support stage drama as it has a long tradition down from Greek writers. Writing plays for TV and radio is a pure commercial activity, which I do not enjoy. But I wrote plays on the insistence of some friends in PTV.”

He answered criticism against his works by some writers in a light-hearted manner and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Dr Aslam Farrukhi, a great admirer of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and scholar of mysticism, alluding to his self-negation, said: “After hearing you, I feel certain that you are a certified sufi.”

Speaking after Intizar sahib, Dr Farrukhi said: “My acquaintance with Intizar sahib is spread over 61 years. I first came to know him through his writings on language as I was a student of linguistics . But later he drifted to writing fiction and excelled in it. He is a very courteous, hospitable, polite, well-mannered and amiable person.”

He also narrated some anecdotes about Intizar sahib much to the amusement of the audience.

Speaking earlier, Dr Pirzada Qasim, poet and vice-chancellor of Karachi University, said Intizar Husain was among the few Pakistani writers who have received international acclaim.

Speaking on Intizar Husain’s fiction, he said he was attracted to Intizar sahib’s stories at an early age. He said the stories had such power that they changed the reader from within. He said it was the love and respect of the distinguished writer that had attracted so many lovers of literature to the venue to pay their respect to him.

Prof Sahar Ansari said Intizar Husain had a distinct style both in fiction and non-fiction. He said Mr Husain commented between the lines on prevailing political situations and several of his stories were a testimony to his nuanced style. He explained that Intizar’s story Aagay samandar hai was related to the Muslims’ triumphant entry into Spain and had nothing to do with the derogatory remarks Ayub Khan had uttered.

Prof Ansari said Intizar Husain had no parallel in fiction writing and “Intizar’s answer is Intizar himself”.

He said Intizar Husain was never flustered by detractors’ nitpicking, which was mostly unjustified.

The function was also attended by Jamiluddin Aali. Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi preferred to sit among the audience.

When Intizar Husain took over the mic, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

Fatima Hasan was the moderator of the programme. The other speakers included writer Mubeen Mirza and broadcaster Bakhtiar Ahmad.