By Jonaid Iqbal
ISLAMABAD: It is a good women for the capital’s cultural scene that one evening sees several literary events, each drawing sizable gathering. That sentiment surfaced at the launching ceremony of Masud Alam’s Urdu travelogue Chalo held under the Civic Café programme of the Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) on Tuesday evening.
Poet, writer and social activist Harris Khalique said on the occasion that Masud Alam, being proficient in English language, deserved special praise for writing in Urdu, knowing well that writing in English brings more recognition and money.
“The praiseworthy aspect is that he has written in his own language and in this way has lent a hand to the promotion of one’s ethos and culture.”
He stressed the need for writing prose in the national languages including Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, Seraiki, Hindku, besides Urdu, to reach out to the common people.
Mr Khalique said Masud Alam’s collection of travel stories is in the tradition of Ibne Insha, who wrote simple, witty and absorbing prose.
Earlier Zafar Zeeshan, head of programme, SPO, in his introductory remarks described Masud Alam as a unique writer, who has used his journalistic eye to come up with creative prose. He said that this combination is not very common.
Picking up the thread from this point scholar Ashfaq Salim Mirza also praised the writer, who is son of Air Commodore (retired) Mahmud Alam. Like his father, Masud too joined Pakistan Air Force but paid adieu to it and moved on to journalism and filmmaking.
Masud Alam, who is currently working with BBC, read a story of a travel in a fictitious airline where you get neither snacks nor newspapers free. He talked in his humorous way about small airlines that have taken over the crowding airlines.
Masud’s travelogue has also earned kudos from Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes.
The 294-page book has been published by Sanjh Publications, Lahore. It is also available at SPO’s Civic Café, the new venture of writers and thinkers.
HAVA: At another literary function, poetical collection of Saquiba Nur was launched. Speaking on the occasion Iftikhar Arif, Chairman, National Language Authority, described the poetical collection, “an outstanding lyrics written in poetical prose form.
Summing up the poetical collection Hava, launched at the Pakistan Academy of Letters’ auditorium on Tuesday under the auspices of literary organisation ‘Aina’, the NLA chief said, “Her prose verses had profound spiritual quality in which she makes conversation with God”. The Sufis adopted similar practice in approaching the Creator although they did not publish or express it keeping it to them.
She has also kept her reverence for the holy Prophet (PBUH), because, it was in his personal knowledge that she wrote all these poems during her pilgrimage to the holy places.
It is due to her upbringing in a distinguished family renowned for its inclination to Islamic learning, scholarship and after reading history and classics of literature in Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Urdu.
About prose form of poetry, he said that the genre has been accepted as genuine literary form ever since Rimbaud and other French poets started using it as tool for poetry; the same form was adapted in English poetry and has influenced Urdu poetry.In fact, Saquiba has raised the standing of verse prose higher with her treatment introducing delicate feelings and extending its range and possibility not acquired hitherto.
However, he did concede that a writer should be evaluated according to the measure, she had set for her creative literature, adding that Saquiba emerged first rate writer and poet on that scale
A number of speakers congratulated Saquiba for her entry into this genre of poetry after writing novels and children’s literature. They also praised her for her contribution to literary pursuits through literary organization ‘Qalam Qabila’ she had established in Balochistan.
Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Director-General of the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University said Saquiba had used her talent to promote finer values in literature.
Col Maqbool Hussain, Zahid Hussain Chughtai, Munawwar Hashmi, appreciated the name of the poetical collection, Hava. Her poetry has mystical qualities, they said.
Iqbal Yasir, Director General of Pakistan Academy of Letters, however questioned the credibility of prose poetry on the ground that it had neither rhythm nor meter.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/10/2010
