Literary pieces

Random thoughts
Recently I received many nice books in Urdu and am giving my personal views on four of them here. The first is by my old friend, Mr Jabbar Mirza (JM) ‘Pehel usne ki thi’ (She took the initiative). It has been beautifully published by Shaharyar Publications, Islamabad.
JM has described it as his autobiography and it is based on an emotional love affair of his young days. It is a manifestation of personal courage – even more so, the understanding shown by his wife. It is an interesting story with an unhappy ending. I am reproducing here the comments I made (with minor changes) which has been published on the back cover.
“I used to call JM ‘Sword Mirza’, not because of his big, impressive moustache, but for his very biting and incisive writing. He has not spared any rogue of our political system, but he never took the first shot. In this biography the first shot was taken by the lady whom he later loved wholeheartedly. Whenever referring to her, he has used very kind and sweet words. As a thorough gentleman, he has kept her identity, and that of her family, a secret, merely referring to her as ‘Chowdhrani’. It is commendable that the name of the lady JM wanted to marry more than three decades ago, has been kept in shrouds. JM is an excellent poet, writer, journalist, biographer, play write, editor, etc. He has authored several books.
“I have known JM for more than three decades. He never compromised on religion and national interests. He was a staunch supporter and defender of our nuclear programme. He stood by us when many opportunists walked away. His book is full of delicate sentiments. It is a tragic and sad story and reflects the irony of our old and orthodox customs where parents are averse to a love marriage of their children. It leads to many tragic consequences. I have met JM’s wife, Rani Sahiba. She is a fine lady and they have been married for almost three decades. I wonder what made that old love awaken in JM’s thoughts.
“The beautiful things JM mentions about Chowdhrani, reminds me of the story of Laila and Majnun. When asked by the king why he was mourning for Laila – a rather dark-skinned lady – he replied that the king should see her with his own eyes to understand his feelings.
It is a pity Jabbar Mirza gave up writing poetry – he is a very good poet.” Good luck for the future, my friend.
The second book, ‘Desbana Perdes’, is by a young, talented Pakistani from Karachi, Nasir Nakagawa (NN) and is published by Marva Books, Lahore. It contains a large number of fine photographs of Nasir with various dignitaries whom he has met over the years.
I met NN a few months ago while in Karachi. He is a refined, handsome, well-mannered young man, living in Japan since 1988 and married to a Japanese lady. He has adopted her family name and her nationality. He is the founder of the Urdu Network Japan and is promoting Urdu and projecting Pakistan’s good image. He also helps Pakistanis in immigration and litigation matters.
Nasir’s book is an encyclopaedia on Japan, especially for those who are in some way connected with that country. Any Pakistani planning to go to Japan, those already living there, those wanting to do business there and diplomats who have been posted there must read this invaluable book for guidance.
The book is a reflection of NN’s literary taste and his mastery over explaining problems and difficulties in a simple way. He has also described many of his trips to other countries and his meetings with dignitaries there.
He has identified the social and family problems Japanese women face by unwittingly marrying uneducated or religiously orthodox Pakistanis. Many families have broken up because of this and many more are still facing the trauma. My best wishes to Nasir Nakagawa for any future endeavours.
The third book, ‘Hum Kon hain’, is by my friend and noted journalist, writer, analyst and media baron, Ghulam Akbar. We have been friends for decades. Though I am a scientist, I am an ardent reader of Urdu literature, Islamic history, local and foreign policies, autobiographies and articles and columns by local and foreign journalists, analysts, etc.
I have been reading Akbar’s columns, both in English and in Urdu, for a long time and they are a treat to read. Once, during one of his visits, he mentioned that he had joined Imran Khan and I thought that the honeymoon would be short-lived. I told him I thought he was too outspoken and always called a spade a spade – a ‘bad’ habit our political pundits never liked.
The book is a collection of columns written by Akbar for the daily ‘Nawa-e-Waqt’ between 2010 and 2014. This interesting book was published by NHT Forum, Islamabad. Since his columns are often critical political analyses, they can be of great help to students and teachers of political science and international relations. Akbar has boldly presented his views and analyses on serious political issues and has never compromised on principles. He is a multi-faceted personality. My best wishes to Ghulam Akbar in his future endeavours.
Last but not least is a book of poetry, ‘Tum Yaad Aaey’ by my friend, a young journalist and upcoming poet from Karachi, Umair Ali Anjum. It has been published by Zubair Publications, Karachi. This is Umair’s second book. His first, ‘Hadisa Hone Ko He’ was very popular. His fluent poetry deals with politicians and our social problems. Sometimes he takes a jibe at politicians in a very subtle way. I wish him all the best for the future and agree with the advice given by my friend, Iftikhar Arif: “Be careful and wary of the cruel and corrupt media and don’t let yourself be bought by lucrative offers”.
Tailpiece: For a long time the nation was given a sweet pill (read: bitter pill) of 50,000MW of power for 500 years from the Thar Coal Project on which millions of rupees was spent on propaganda. Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman wrote in his column ‘The crime of energy’ (October 30) that Pakistan could produce 50,000MW of power through windmills. Why 50,000 and not 30,000 or 60,000MW?
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com