Nasir Ali Khan, born in 1922, graduated from Aligarh Muslim University in 1942, decided to stay in his home town Rampur after the partition. An ardent hockey player, Nasir Ali Khan, an octogenarian also a hunter has remained an avowed reader of books. He started writing for Tahzeeb, the literary organ of Aligarh Association, his memoirs as a Shikari 15 years back, now compiled in a book done with “love, care and in good taste” as said by Dr Farman Fatehpuri who chaired the proceedings. He found the book highly informative and a good literary piece, though different from mainstream literature.
Other speakers included Dr Manzoor Ahmad, Prof Saher Ansari, Dr Mumtaz Ahmad and Obaidullah Beg whose knowledge on the literature of Shikariat is remarkable. He spoke at length on this sport, about literature so far published in the sub-continent, about wild life and the behaviour of jungle animal in different situations. His references from Baber’s Tozak-i-Babri, Jahangir’s Tozak-i-Jahangiri and other books published in recent times enlivened the evening. Mr Beg and other speakers, particularly Rizwan Enayeti, gave brief accounts of the socio-cultural life in Rampur, of the people engaged in sports and healthy pursuits, brave and always ready to face dangerous adventures.
Dr Manzoor said, the book was educative, entertaining and highly readable. “It has revived in my memory the idioms and words since long forgotten.” Nasir Ali Khan, he said, is a man of culture and his conduct in life spoke well regarding his and family background and education.
A special quality of the book found by the speakers was its simple language and its author’s unassuming style who described events without exaggeration and self-praise. The book was termed a valuable addition to the genre of shikariat, published after many decades.
Zakir Ali Khan in his introductory remarks disclosed that the author Nasir Ali Khan, till a few days ago was not aware about the publication of the book which had been dispatched to him only recently.
Poet Rehman Khawer and some others paid their complements in their verses. Z. A. Nizami, the chairman Ali Garh Old Boys Association, thanked the guest and gave a brief account of his organization’s future ventures.—Hasan Abidi