I don’t know, don’t tell me, you don’t know. Nobody knows these things. But bringing all my senses close to the light of your skin, you disappear, you melI don’t know, don’t tell me, you don’t know. Nobody knows these things. But bringing all my senses close to the light of your skin, you disappear, you melt like the acid aroma of a fruit and the heat of a road, and the smell of corn being stripped, the honeysuckle of the pure afternoon, the names of the dusty earth, the infinite perfume of our country: magnolia and thicket, blood and flour, the gallop of horses, the village’s dusty moon, newborn bread: ah from your skin everything comes back to my mouth, comes back to my heart, comes back to my body, and with you I become again the earth that you are: you are deep spring in me: in you I know again how I am born.
"انسان کئیاں گھراں وچ وسدا اے۔ کوئی وی پورے دا پورا آپنے گھر نہیں وسدا۔ مانواں، دھیاں پتراں دے گھراں وچ، مرشد مریداں دے گھراں وچ تے پیار کرن والے آپنے"انسان کئیاں گھراں وچ وسدا اے۔ کوئی وی پورے دا پورا آپنے گھر نہیں وسدا۔ مانواں، دھیاں پتراں دے گھراں وچ، مرشد مریداں دے گھراں وچ تے پیار کرن والے آپنے پیاریاں دے گھراں وچ۔ اسیں سارے وکھو وکھ گھراں وچ آلیاں وچ دیویاں ہار پئے آں۔"
فرخندہ لودھی اکھدی اے "میں جیہناں کرداراں تے قلم چکیا اے اوہناں بارے لکھن لئی لفظ ادھار نہیں لینے پیندے." اے ای وجہ اے کہ اس دے کردار امر ہو گئے نیں۔ فرخندہ لودھی اکھدی اے "میں جیہناں کرداراں تے قلم چکیا اے اوہناں بارے لکھن لئی لفظ ادھار نہیں لینے پیندے." اے ای وجہ اے کہ اس دے کردار امر ہو گئے نیں۔ تسی اپنے آلے دوالے او کردار جیوندے جاگدے ویکھ سکھدے او۔ او کردار معاشرے دے اس طبقے دی عکاسی کردے نیں جہڑا سب تو ماڑا اے۔ ماں ہوے، پین ہوے، تی ہوے، ماسٹر یا نوکر ہوے۔ سب ظلم دی چکی وچ پیس رہے نیں۔ فرخندہ لودھی دا لہجہ(ساہیوال) ذرا میرے علاقے دے لہجے نالوں وکہرا اے ایس لئی میرے لئی اوکھا وی اے۔ پر مسئلے تے سارے پنجاب دے ایکو جئے نیں۔ جے تسی مڈل کلاس دے مسلیاں تے کجھ پڑھنا چاندے او تے اے کتاب تواڈے لئی اے۔...more
I fell in love with the poignant writing of Bhisham Sahni after reading his novel, Tamas(Darkness, Tareekiyan). That novel is based on the personal exI fell in love with the poignant writing of Bhisham Sahni after reading his novel, Tamas(Darkness, Tareekiyan). That novel is based on the personal experiences of Bhisham Sahni of the partition.
This collection of stories touched a chord with me because I could relate to many stories. I don't think the problems faced by middle class have changed even after all these decades. Our behaviours, our relationships, our aspirations and our deficiencies have remained the same all these years. That's why it looks like Bhisham Sahni is talking about the people of my family or any family from middle class.
Two stories Paali and Veero had as profound impact on me as his novel had. It was interesting to discover that Khamosh Pani, a 2003 Pakistani movie directed by Sabiha Kumar, is based on the story Veero from this collection. When I watched Khamosh Pani, I wanted to read the novel/story which was behind such a big movie, but I couldn't find any. Some weeks ago, I watched the movie on a friend's recommendation and was amazed that we are not aware of such a great movie by Pakistani cinema. Now, I'm really astonished that Bhisham Sahni's legendary story Paali is behind the movie. After all partition separated people from two counties, but literature and art (even/especially on partition) is there to connect us. The more I read on partition, the more I stop believing in borders.
Bhisham Sahni is really an icon of Hindi literature and a must read for everyone....more
Nanak Singh was one of the prolific writers of Punjabi literature. He wrote nearly four dozen of books. Many of which have been translated into other Nanak Singh was one of the prolific writers of Punjabi literature. He wrote nearly four dozen of books. Many of which have been translated into other languages. Chitta Lahu (White Blood) was translated into Russian by Natasha Tolstoy, granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy. Natasha visited Amritsar to personally give Nanak Singh the first copy of translation. The watchmaker is a translation of Nanak Singh's classic Pavitra Paapi by Nanak Singh's grandson, Navdeep Suri. It's a story of Kedar who works for the redemption of a sin for which he finds himself guilty. During this process, he falls in love with a girl but doesn't get married due to his guilty conscience. The translation is brilliant but it feels something is missing from the translation which might be present in the original work to make it classic. I wish I could read Gurmukhi to get closer to this kind of books....more
Some months ago, I saw my ŷ friend's review of this book. His review and rating made me buy thiFiction, History and Politics of Climate Change
Some months ago, I saw my ŷ friend's review of this book. His review and rating made me buy this book. Meanwhile, I finished another book of Amitav Ghosh, The Shadow Lines. I became a fan of his prose after reading that novel. Same thing is true for this book.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first part through different stories, he tells the relationship between fiction and climate change, the development of realist novel and modernity, the journey of the subject matter of novel from collective to individual, uncanny nature of climate change, reintroduction of unpredictability in human life and other forms of writing that deal with climate change.
The most interesting thing to read was why there is deficiency of serious fiction on climate change and why novel is inherently incompatible to deal with this subject. Unlike epics, there is discontinuity of space and time in novel. The 'setting' of a novel is a self-contained ecosystem and it usually requires a 'period'. This self-containment of novel goes against the vastness of global warming. Global warming isn't limited to a single country. Nor can it be contained in some period of time.
The second part deals with the history of climate change. Apart from dealing with the shocking effects of climate change on Asia, he tells why Western concept of modernity is impracticable here. The early modern era nurtured multiple modernities in different parts of the world. The usage of natural gas in China about a thousand years ago, the inception of oil industry from Burma, the early coal industry in India, all of these things show Asia was modernizing in its own way. But the global south was not allowed to take its own course and colonialism hampered the progress in those areas. It was only after colonialism, in 1980s, industrialization took place in those areas but it also brought climate change along with it. It can be said colonialism delayed climate crisis, but it was the eventual outcome of that kind of modernization. This is why the question of climate justice is discussed in conferences on climate change.
The third part deals with the politics of climate change. There is denialism of climate change in Anglosphere, as those countries are getting most benefits from the policies which are accelerating climate crisis. Climate change can only be tackled by moving from individual to collective approach. But there are reservations that climate change politics can be used for imperial designs, as it can provide a pretext to interfere in the matters of other counties and the maintenance of status quo is always a priority of the imperial world....more
"میں رخصت ہونے والی سواریوں سے ڈر جاتا ہوں۔ بچپن سے اب تک جتنی سواریاں رخصت ہوئیں، پھر واپس نہیں آئیں۔ کیا یہ سواریاں بھی لوٹ کر واپس نہیں آئیں گی؟"
یہ"میں رخصت ہونے والی سواریوں سے ڈر جاتا ہوں۔ بچپن سے اب تک جتنی سواریاں رخصت ہوئیں، پھر واپس نہیں آئیں۔ کیا یہ سواریاں بھی لوٹ کر واپس نہیں آئیں گی؟"
یہ کتاب میرے دل کے بہت قریب رہے گی۔ کئی جگہ اپنا عکس دیکھا، اس لیئے کئی جگہ رکنا پڑا۔ بہت ہی کم ایسے واقعات ہوتے ہیں جو ہماری زندگی کو ہمیشہ کے لیئے بدل کر رکھ دیتے ہیں۔ ایک دس سال کے بچے کی زندگی میں بھی کچھ ایسا ہی واقعہ رونما ہوا، جسے وہ کبھی بھلا نہ سکا۔ لیکن جس طرح اس واقعے کو بنیاد بنا کر کئی کہانیاں بنی گئی، اس میں سید محمد اشرف کا ہی کمال ہے۔ کمال کتاب ہے۔ سب کو ضرور پڑھنی چاہیے۔...more
عصمت چغتائی، منٹو اور نیر مسعود کے بعد راجندر سنگھ بیدی کے افسانے پڑھے، چاروں سے متاثر ہوئے بنا نہ رہ سکتا۔ ادیب، قاری اور نقاد ادب کو اپنے اپنے زاوئیعصمت چغتائی، منٹو اور نیر مسعود کے بعد راجندر سنگھ بیدی کے افسانے پڑھے، چاروں سے متاثر ہوئے بنا نہ رہ سکتا۔ ادیب، قاری اور نقاد ادب کو اپنے اپنے زاوئیے سے دیکھتے ہیں۔ میں نہیں جانتا کہ ادب میں ان افسانہ نگاروں کا کیا مقام ہے، ان کے کون سے افسانے کمزور ادب تصور کیئے جاتے ہیں، ایک قاری ہونے کی حیثیت سے بس اتنا کہ سکتا ہوں کہ ان کو پڑھ کے اپنا پن محسوس ہوتا ہے، شاید یہ میرا زبان سے لگاؤ ہے یا پھر وہ اس معاشرے کے بارے میں لکھ رہے ہیں جس میں میں رہتا ہوں یا پھر دونوں باتیں ہیں۔ آپ کا جس بھی شعبہ ہائے زندگی سے تعلق ہے، ان لوگوں کو پڑھے بنا آپ زندگی کا صحیح معنوں میں لطف نہیں اٹھا سکتے ہیں۔...more
While reading this short novel I was thinking about a big novel, Ghulam Bagh by Mirza Athar Baig. I read Ghulam Bagh last year but it's not possible fWhile reading this short novel I was thinking about a big novel, Ghulam Bagh by Mirza Athar Baig. I read Ghulam Bagh last year but it's not possible for me to leave the story behind. The character of Kabir stays with me or maybe haunts me. Now, while reading Too Loud a Solitude, I was relating our protagonist, Hanta with Kabir. I could see many similarities. Both of both were living at a place surrounded by books. Both of them got those books while sorting old books. The bosses of both of them were bossy. Also their bosses made them leave their work. There was a girl in the life of Hanta, similarly Zahra was there for Kabir. Both of them had a wish in their life related to their work, Hanta wanted to have a press where he could compact wastepaper, and Kabir wanted to write a Novel which would make him eternal. And at the end, unnatural death was the fate of both of them. Just like Ghulam Baag, I don't think this novel would leave me. Until now, it is the fourth novel which gave me this kind of feelings. The other three are Ghulam Baag, Animal Farm and My Name is Red. This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in literature!...more
محمد حسن عسکری اس کتاب کے بارے میں لکھتے ہیں، "یہاں انسان کو ظالم اور مظلوم کی حیثیت سے پیش کیا گیا ہے اور فسادات کو مخصوص حالات میں۔ سماجی مقصد کا تومحمد حسن عسکری اس کتاب کے بارے میں لکھتے ہیں، "یہاں انسان کو ظالم اور مظلوم کی حیثیت سے پیش کیا گیا ہے اور فسادات کو مخصوص حالات میں۔ سماجی مقصد کا تو منٹو نے جھگڑا ہیں نہیں پالا۔۔۔انہوں نے یہ فیصلہ تک نہ کیا کہ ظالم لوگ برے ہیں یا مظلوم اچھے ہیں۔۔۔۔ایک معقول ادیب کو یہ زیب نہیں دیتا کہ ایسے ہوش اڑا دینے والے واقعات کے متعلق سیاسی لوگوں کی سطح پر اتر کے فیصلہ کرنے لگے۔ منٹو نے اپنے افسانوں میں وہی کیا ہے جو ایک ایماندار (سیاسی معنوں میں ایماندار نہیں بلکہ ادیب کی حیثیت سے ایماندار) اور حقیقی ادیب کو ان حالات میں۔۔۔کرنا چاہئے تھا۔ انہوں نے نیک و بد کے سوال ہی کو خارج از بحث قرار دیا ہے۔ ان کا نقطہ نظر نہ سیاسی ہے نہ عمرانی، نہ اخلاقی بلکہ ادبی اور تحقیقی۔ منٹو نے تو صرف یہ دیکھنے کی کوشش کی ہے کہ ظالم یا مظلوم کی شخصیت کے مختلف تقاضوں سے ظالمانہ فعل کا کیا تعلق ہے۔ ظلم کرنے کی خواہش کے علاوہ ظالم کے اندر کون کون سے میلانات کار فرما ہیں، انسانی دماغ میں ظلم کتنی جگہ گھیرتا ہے، زندگی کی دوسری دلچسپیاں باقی رہتی ہیں یا نہیں۔ منٹو نے نہ تو رحم کے جذبات بھڑکائے ہیں، نہ غصے کے، نہ نفرت کے۔ وہ تو آپ کو صرف انسانی دماغ، انسانی کردار اور شخصیت پر ادبی اور تحقیقی انداز سے غور کرنے کی دعوت دیتے ہیں۔ اگر وہ کوئی جذبہ پیدا کرنے کی فکر میں ہیں، تو صرف وہی جذبہ جو ایک فنکار کو جائز طور پر پیدا کرنا چاہئے۔۔۔۔یعنی زندگی کے متعلق بے پایاں تحیر اور استعجاب۔۔۔۔ قاتلوں کا قتل کئے چلے جانا دہشت انگیز چیز نہیں ہے، دہشت تو اس خیال سے ہوتی ہے کہ جن لوگوں میں صفائی اور گندگی کی تمیز باقی ہے، وہ بھی قتل کر سکتے ہیں۔ آخر معنویت تو تقابل اور تضاد ہی سے پیدا ہوتی ہے۔ غیر معمولی حالات میں غیر معمولی حرکتیں ہمیں انسان کے متعلق زیادہ سے زیادہ یہ بتا سکتی ہیں کہ حالات انسان کو حیوان کی سطح پر لے آتے ہیں، لیکن غیر معمولی کرتے ہوئے معمولی باتوں کی توجہ ہمیں انسان کے متعلق ایک زیادہ گہری اور زیادہ بنیادی بات بتاتی ہے۔۔۔۔ وہ یہ کہ انسان ہر وقت اور بیک وقت انسان بھی ہوتا ہے اور حیوان بھی۔۔۔۔ اگر انسان صرف ایک طرح کا صرف نیک یا صرف بد ہوتا تو بڑی خطر ناک چیز ہوتا۔ انسان کی طرف سے اگر کچھ امید بندھتی ہے تو صرف اس وجہ سے کہ انسان کا کچھ ٹھیک نہیں۔ اچھا بھی ہو سکتا ہے اور برا بھی ہو سکتا ہے۔۔۔۔ وہ تو بڑی طنزیہ مسکراہٹ کے ساتھ انسانوں سے یہ کہتا ہے کہ تم اگر چاہو بھی تو بھٹک کے زیادہ دور نہیں جاسکتے۔ اس اعتبار سے منٹو کو انسانی فطرت پر کہیں زیادہ بھروسہ نظر آتا ہے۔۔۔منٹو کو انسان اپنی اصل شکل ہی میں قبول ہے، خواہ وہ کیسی بھی ہو۔ وہ دیکھ چکا ہے کہ انسان کی انسانیت ایسی سخت جان ہے کہ اس کی بربریت بھی اس انسانیت کو ختم نہیں کر سکتی۔ منٹو کو اسی انسانیت پر اعتماد ہے۔"...more
This book contains Syed Jaffar Ahmed's articles which he had written for journals and newspapers, mostly for dawn in the last two decades. I am quite This book contains Syed Jaffar Ahmed's articles which he had written for journals and newspapers, mostly for dawn in the last two decades. I am quite impressed by his approach and ideas. He has dealt with complex issues which are still bothering the smooth progress of Pakistan. Some articles which were written more than a decade ago, but it seems they were written yesterday, because we couldn't resolve those issues even after decades. I especially enjoyed the portion where has written on the history of British India. It was refreshing to read short accounts of Hasrat Mohani, Fazalul Haq, Shurawardy, Nizamuddin, Dorab Patel and Dr Feroz Ahmad. As these articles were written over a period of time, the repetition of ideas was unavoidable at some parts. It could bore you, otherwise it's not possible to disagree with the balanced and rational approach of him....more
اسد محمد خان کی سب کہانیاں مزے کی ہیں، لیکن دو کہانیاں جو سب سے زیادہ مزے کی لگیں وہ 'غصے کی نئی فصل' اور 'طوفان کے مرکز میں' ہیں۔ 'غصے کی نئی فصل' میاسد محمد خان کی سب کہانیاں مزے کی ہیں، لیکن دو کہانیاں جو سب سے زیادہ مزے کی لگیں وہ 'غصے کی نئی فصل' اور 'طوفان کے مرکز میں' ہیں۔ 'غصے کی نئی فصل' میں اپنے کئی دوستوں کو سنا چکا ہوں اور سناتا رہوں گا۔ اس سے اتنی جلدی اپنا پیچھا نہیں چھڑایا جا سکتا یہ کہانی یہں بتاتی ہے کہ جذبات، جن میں غصہ بھی شامل ہے، کا اظہار نہ کیا جائے تو وہ انسان کے اندر ہی موجود رہتے ہیں اور کسی نہ کسی شکل میں ظاہر ہوتے رہتے ہیں۔ 'طوفان کے مرکز میں' اس کہانی میں اور بہت سی چیزوں کے ساتھ کتابی دنیا کے بھی مختلف پہلوؤں کو بیان کریا گیا ہے، اور شاید اسد محمد خان اپنے ہی طالب علمی کے زمانے کی بھی بات کرتے ہیں، کتابوں سے محبت کرنے والا ہر شخص اپنے آپ کو اس کہانی میں کہیں نا کہیں دیکھ سکتا ہے۔...more
This book contains articles by some brilliant Pakistani scholars and journalists on the contemporary issues of Pakistan covering identity, developmentThis book contains articles by some brilliant Pakistani scholars and journalists on the contemporary issues of Pakistan covering identity, development, basic rights, gender and foreign policy. They have not only identified the root causes of those issues, also give workable solutions for those problems. The topics that are dealt with in this book are too complicated to be covered in 10 pages, so a lot is left unsaid, but the aim of this book seems to give precise introduction to those issues which are important to get resolved, if progress is to be made....more
Yashpal’s Magnum Opus is called ‘War and Peace of Hindi Literature'. Originally written in Hindi, it was published in two parts, in 1958 and 1960. In Yashpal’s Magnum Opus is called ‘War and Peace of Hindi Literature'. Originally written in Hindi, it was published in two parts, in 1958 and 1960. In 2010, its English translation was done by Yashpal’s son, Anand and Penguin India published it. In 2011, Javed Boota did its Punjabi translation and Suchet Kitab Ghar, Lahore published it. In 2017, with the help of Munira Soorti, its ‘urdu translation� appeared in the special edition of Aaj, Karachi. This ‘Urdu translation� isn’t actual translation from Hindi, but just a change of script, from Devanagri script to Turko-arabic script. I tried reading 'urdu version' first, but couldn't continue due to frequent use of Hindi expressions. So, had to read 1119 pages long English version.
Yashpal spent his youth in Lahore. A revolutionary who was a comrade in arms with Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekar Azad. He used all of those experiences to tell the story to two Hindu families from Lahore, the members of which got settled in Delhi and Indian Punjab after the catastrophic events of 1947.
The novel doesn't cover the political aspect of partition only, but also the social life before and after the partition. He skillfully depicted how that social life was disrupted and got transformed. The society which was open and inclusive before the partition became close and exclusive. Different communities which were living side by side for hundreds of years suddenly became enemy and started attacking one another. Just like Manto's stories, this novel deals which the psychological aspects of human life which were behind all those upheavals. One religion or one class or one group of people wasn't behind all those crimes. It was a 'collective madness'. Yes, you can say it was the politics based on the religious lines which orchestrated those riots but politicians alone cannot be blamed, these were the common people who carried out those attacks and these were the masses who became the victims. There was just change of rulers after the "independence" or "revolution". In fact, those rulers could easily exploit with more impunity in the name of independence and the same capitalist exploitative system kept on working under the rule of local leaders.
One of the fascinating aspects of this novel is that it highlights the systematic exploitation of women. The partition served to bring it into the spotlight. Women were tortured, raped and killed just like the property of other community and their only crime was that they were in relation with the male members of the other community. Even during the ordinary times, they were the victims of the regressive, decadent norms of our society. Sheelo loved her cousin but couldn't collect the courage to openly declare her love because she thought it is her religious duty to keep serving her husband. Tara expressed her love but was forced even by his "educated" brother to marry a rogue. Kanak had to face resistance because her lover belonged to the different class, and even when she wanted to rescind her marriage, these class conscious people opposed her. Kanta knew that sometimes she had to do things opposite to her wishes, but she kept on budging because she wanted her marriage to continue. Sita and her partners did things just for fun, but at the end it was only she who had to face the music. Similarly, Mrs Agarwal belonged to the elite and "educated" class but she also had an abusive relationship. The most heart wrecking story was of Banti. She did everything to get back to her family but when she went to see them, even her husband did not accept her because she became impure after getting raped.
At the beginning of the novel, the reader is sympathetic with both Tara and Puri but at the end it is Tara who turns out the real hero. Her love was opposed by her family including her 'progressive' brother, got married against her will, got raped by a Muslim scoundrel at the first night of her marriage when she was running away her abusive husband, harassed by people who apparently came to her help, even when she became the civil servant by dint of hard work people were calling her names became she wanted to remain an independent woman. The worst part was that she couldn't talk about her rape and had to torment all the pain alone. Her rape had a long lasting impression on her and she became afraid of all of those who showed her affection. Regardless of all these sufferings, she kept on struggling and helping all the destitute around her.
Kanak is another brave lady who showed one should revoke one’s marriage if that marriage loses its meaning, even if one had to fight the whole world to get into that marriage.
Pandit Gidhrilal also played an exceptional role of an ideal father. He showed what it is truly meant to stand with one's daughters during good and bad times. He taught them principles; to stand on your own feet and to take the decisions of your lives your own.
Puri is another character which showed how some educated and progressive looking man can be chauvinistic when he actually takes the reigns. He kept on having feelings for two ladies who loved him and he wanted to be with both of them but ended up with neither of them. Before coming to power, he was having all those socialist ideas, but when he had the power to implement those ideals, he became the part of same exploitative system.
Yashpal ended the novel on a positive note that the real change could only be brought by people, not by some politician or some political party. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to name it one of the finest works ever produced in the South Asian literature and one of the best works on the Indian partition.
It's a collection of essays and short stories. The title can tell us what kind of those essays and stories are. My most favourite essay is محبوس عورتیIt's a collection of essays and short stories. The title can tell us what kind of those essays and stories are. My most favourite essay is محبوس عورتیں which tells us about the condition of women right after the partition of India. سوال پیدا ہوتا ہے and کارل مارکس are also exceptionally great....more
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