DR Syed Abdullah (1906-1986), a renowned scholar of Urdu and Persian, writes in his book 'Farsi zaban-o-adab': “I am biased in favour of Persian literature's subcontinental school. Biased in the sense that I do not think Iranians have any exclusive rights over Persian literature. Persian literature benefited greatly from subcontinental and Turkish writers and poets of Persian.”

Then he laments that the contribution to Persian literature made by the subcontinent's poets and writers is not acknowledged the way it should be. In an article in the book he mentions a term 'sabuk-i-Hindi', used contemptuously to refer to the poetry composed in the subcontinent. 'Khayal afrini' or 'mazmoon afrini' — a term used, sometimes disapprovingly, to mention unrealistic hyperbole — is one of the 'sins' that the subcontinental Persian poets are accused of committing, though similar features are found in the works of some great native Iranian poets, too.

Another bone of contention is the local coinages — idioms of Urdu or other local languages and dialects being translated literally into Persian and used in literature created in the subcontinent. But Dr Syed Abdullah has it right when he says that the local influence that the Persian language imbibed in the subcontinent was quite natural as every language, when spoken in a different environment, develops its regional varieties and this 'indigenisation' is not considered erroneous or substandard. And the interesting fact he then mentions is that many well-known Persian poets of Iran have used Urdu words, such as 'pani' (water) and 'rajputaan' (the Persianised plural form of Rajput).

The subcontinent has produced some really great Persian poets, lexicographers and research scholars. Some of the Persian dictionaries compiled in the subcontinent were among the firsts and served as prototypes for Iranian lexicographers for centuries to come. A number of voluminous critical and research works have been compiled in order that the contributions of the subcontinent's Persian writers are acknowledged. Aside from such research works carried out in the recent past, many tazkiras, too, were compiled. A tazkira, a genre of Urdu and Persian literature, is a kind of anthology that traditionally records brief life sketches and samples of works of poets.

Many such tazkiras are well-known but several of them could not get published despite being much important. One such tazkira is 'Mahak-i-Khusravi'. Compiled by Mirza Khusrau Baig Gurji (1790-1860) in the Persian language, it remained unpublished and its manuscript was preserved in the Talpur family's famous personal collection in Hyderabad. The word 'Gurji', or Georgian, tells that Mirza Khusrau Baig Gurji was one of the members of the royal Bagratid family of Georgia that migrated to Sindh. Dr Faizeh Zahra Mirza, a direct descendant of Mirza Khusrau Baig Gurji, has now edited and annotated the book. Just published by Meeras-i-Maktoob Publishers, Tehran, 'Mahak-i-Khusravi' is yet another testimony to the fact that Persian was once the literary and cultural language of the subcontinent.

Dr Faizeh Mirza teaches Persian at the University of Karachi. Her meticulous editing and annotation speaks volumes about her acumen as a research scholar. In her introduction to the work, she writes that Mirza Khusrau Baig collected 1,589 ghazals of 52 contemporary Persian poets of Iran and the subcontinent. Compiled on the request of Mir Karam Ali Khan, the then ruler of Sindh, and his brother Mir Murad Ali Khan, in 1817, the anthology was committed to calligraphy in nastaleeq in 1824. The publication of 'Mahak-i-Khusravi' lends further credence to the common belief that Persian has been the literary language of Sindh and Sindh has indeed produced some very fine and renowned Persian poets.

Another book that brings back to life the works of a subcontinental Persian poet is 'Gauhar-i-Yakta'.The book introduces the life and works of Ahmed Yaar Khan Yakta Khushabi (died 1734). But what prompted the writing of this book is the interesting misunderstanding that led some scholars last year to get published the divan of some other poet also named Ahmed Yaar title Divan-i-Yakta, believing that it was the same Ahmed Yaar. Dr Arif Naushahi, a renowned scholar of Persian, realised the confusion and wrote three detailed research papers proving that the divan published belonged to a poet named Ahmed Yaar but his pen-name was not Yakta and he probably belonged to Uch in Punjab.

The evidence brought to light by Dr Naushahi amply prove that Ahmed Yaar Khan Yakta belonged to the Birlas clan and his ancestors, having migrated from Turkistan during the early Mughal era, had settled in Khushab, Punjab.

Published recently by Rawalpindi's Al-Fath Publications, 'Gauhar-i-Yakta' not only gives details of the life of Yakta, but also provides a selection of his Persian poetry and prose. Dr Mazhar Mahmood Sherani, a scholar of Persian, has penned the introduction to the book and has rightly termed the research work “a great literary feat”. He draws a parallel between this incorrect attribution of a work to a wrong person and similar incidents in our literature, citing the examples of books incorrectly attributed to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Amir Khusrau, Fareeduddin Attar and Firdausi.

These works make one think that how much we are missing out by not following the tradition of learning the Persian language and enjoying Persian literature.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com