An interesting window into lives of important people in Urdu literature

The book ‘Meray Mehrban Meray Charagar’ by Hasan Abbas Raza is an interesting window into the lives of those considered important in literature and other domains. He has been close to events and people who have made a significant and lasting impact on Urdu literature, our times and culture.

This dynamic memoir candidly chronicles Hasan Abbas Raza’s experience as a young writer and offers a moving rumination on his word-loving life. Perhaps some of the most intriguing pieces of this treasured work are his insights on renowned figures like Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Faraz, Parveen Shakir, Kishwar Naheed, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Gulzar, Amrita Pritam, Ahmad Daud and Noor Jahan.

As he shares stories of the people, places, ideals, and art to which he has remained indelibly committed, Hasan Abbas Raza brings into focus the large experiences and small moments that have shaped him as a writer, friend, and reliable colleague.

Blending literature and memoir, he describes his deepest commitments to writing, friends, books, thus creating a resonant portraits of the above-mentioned famous persons. Hasan Abbas Raza’s conviction pulls you through the book, as does the potency of his bond with these persons.

Meetings, reminiscences and conversations tell a story from someone’s life, but the best ones transcend personal experience to narrate something that not only entertains, but deeply resonates with readers. Amidst insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft, he was faced with the burden of portraying big names and largely succeeds.

The author’s tone is full of questions that reveal an original literary mind. His prose is underscored by raw emotion and keen observation, lending his work unsurpassed depth and vitality. His eloquent style illuminates every page of this excellent and remarkable work.

In this book, the author brings his characteristic wit and aerated prose to a series of nonfictional and fictional narratives about litterateurs, poets and artists. He deftly captures the rivalry, mutual respect, and intimacy that made up his relationship with academics of letters and the government of the day.

In these pages Hasan Abbas Raza brings us an insider’s tour of the people’s world. Attractively written, always revealing, these memoirs scrutinise the complex questions surrounding political life, offering up sometimes uncomfortable truths.

Last chapter is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times. Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hasan Abbas Raza’s book tells his dramatic journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humour, or joy.

It’s a delightful amalgamation of memoirs, frank and cool: partly compilation, partly critical study, partly autobiography. The author’s cultured approach to poetry is itself an inspirational stimulant.