PESHAWAR: A new collection of poetical work by known Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak has been published.
The collection titled “Da Khushal Baba Kulliyat” (the collection of Khushal’s poetry) has been edited by known poet and scholar Prof Dr Yar Muhammad Maghmoom Khattak.
The poetry of the popular Pashto poet was first published from Peshawar in 1869 by the name of “Deewane-e-Khushal Khan Khattak”, edited by British orientalist Dr HW Belew, the then superintendent of Central Prison Peshawar.
It was republished in 1929 from Hoti area of Mardan district with the same title, edited by scholar Prof Abdul Majeed Afghani, a teacher of oriental languages at Edwardes College, Peshawar.
The poetry of Khushal was published for the third time from Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1938 with the title of “Da Khushal Khan Khattak Kulliyat” (collection of Khushal’s poetry), edited by Prof Abdul Hai Habibi.
His poetry for the fourth time was published from Peshawar in 1952, with editing by known researcher Dost Muhammad Khan Kamil and titled “Kulliyat-e-Khushal Khan Khattak”. It was republished in 1960 by the same name.
In 1967, the poetry was published with the name of “Armughan-e-Khushal” from Peshawar with the introduction by Mian Said Rasool Rasa. It was again published in 2001. This collection contains all the poetry books of Khushal Khattak. Another collection was published from Peshawar in 2005, edited by Abdul Qayyum Zahid Mashwani.
The present collection by Dr Maghmoom carries an intensive introduction, footnotes, explanation of difficult couplets and glossary of difficult words and terms.
Besides this work, Dr Maghmoom has several research-based books to his credit. The publication of this collection had been awaited since long because the formerly published editions are not available in the market.
The footnotes in the present work will help the readers understand the poetry of the great Pashto poet whose works are part of the textbooks of educational institutes.