The spirit of learning
Reviewed by Asif Farrukhi
From Oxford and Cambridge in the West to the American University at Cairo that is closer to home, there are a number of universities which are no less renowned for their independent presses than for being great centres of learning. The publication of scholarly and reputable works is often thought to be an extension of institutes of higher learning. On the other hand, universities in our country generally have nothing worthwhile to contribute.
Universities across the country have declined in rendering their main function, that is, teaching and preparing students for practical life. They have been doing such a shoddy job of it over the years that it makes little sense to ask of how they are carrying out publication programmes.
A university’s publication programme should reflect the spirit of learning and scholarship by publishing and promoting quality research work. Such books normally fail to attract mainstream publishers. They nevertheless deserve publication as they make significant contributions to their field of study. An exception to this general and dismal picture of decline seems to be the Bahauddin Zakaria University in Multan, where the Urdu department is moving ahead with a series of publications worthy of the learned traditions of a university and adding new titles to an already impressive list, including scholarly works on themes of general literary interest and particularly the life and works of writers from the region. The new books published by the university not only deserve the attention of readers but are setting a tradition worth emulation by other learned bodies in the country.
Azad’s Aab-i-Hayat is more of a classic on its own rather than an account of the classical poets in Urdu. It sets out to describe the various stages in the growth and development of Urdu language and poetry and describes the major poets in some detail. In taking up this Herculean task, it brings these poets to life as figures of human interest and part of a rich cultural milieu. Ever a popular classic since its first publication in 1880, the book has determined what later generations thought of many poets, making reputations in some cases and almost killing others. Today we may not agree with some of its judgments, but it remains a window to the past. Aab-i-Hayat’s importance is such that the entire book has been translated into English by Professor Frances Pritchett, the renowned scholar. This critical edition methodically considers this book as text, highlighting the additions and corrections Azad made in various editions of the book, and explores and compares the sources Azad consulted, adding what research has to say about these matters. The editor has compared Azad’s anecdotes with accounts in other tazkiras, and has textually examined the numerous verses Azad has quoted. What makes this task a challenging and difficult one, is the fact that to examine any aspect of Aab-i-Hayat, textual or critical, is to really examine the whole of classical Urdu poetry. In this volume, the 363 pages of the main book are supplemented by voluminous notes which include textual variations, notes and annotations and this is the real value of this edition. It is rare to see such level of detail and attention given to our classics, and this edition will add to our information when reading this classic.
Such books normally fail to attract mainstream publishers. They nevertheless deserve publication as they make significant contributions to their field of study
Dr Shagufta Hussain’s previous publications include an interesting collection of translations from different sources, including the Nobel Prize speech by J.M. Coetzee. Her new book focuses on one particular literary magazine, the Adab-i-Latif. However, she has chosen her subject well. In tracing the rise and fall of one magazine, the changes in its editors and editorial policy, and the details of its contents, she has chronicled changes in literary attitudes and tastes over the years.
Adab-i-Latif started its publication in March 1935 and is well suited to a detailed analysis of this sort. It started its life in the heyday of Urdu literary periodicals and was served by a number of distinguished writers who worked as editors. This array of writers-editors include Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Mirza Adeeb, Intizar Husain, Masood Ashar, Syed Qasim Mehmood and Nasir Zaidi among others. Dr Hussain has analysed each editorial period and conducted personal interviews with most of the editors so that she is able to draw on first-hand information. However, she is neither overawed by the subject nor intimidated by the people she interviewed. She analyses the changing pattern of the magazine and goes to the heart of the matter in presenting the kind of problems the magazine is facing today, in spite of its distinguished track record. Her assessment of the magazine’s present situation is, in fact, particularly interesting as it sheds light upon the current imbroglio being faced by literary magazines in Pakistan.
While the analytical parts of the book are particularly good, the author has prepared a category-wise index of the stories, poems, plays, essays and translations published in the magazine over the years. This section will be invaluable to researchers but is not likely to interest general readers. As an ordinary reader, I kept on wishing that somehow I could look up old files of the magazine and read some of the contents. Now that the author of this book has summarised and categorised the contents of the magazine’s archives, she should consider making a selection from the magazine over the years and reprint some of the material which may not be easily available. A generous selection from the magazine’s pages may make a worthwhile companion to her research work.
Mahnama “Adab-e-Latif” Ki Adabi Khidmaat
By Dr Shagufta Hussain
447pp. Rs350
ISBN 969-9001-01-1
Aab-i-Hayat
By Mohammed Hussain Azad
with annotations and textual notes by Abrar Abdus Salam
ISBN 969-9001-00-3
626pp. Rs650
Department of Urdu,
Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/books/books12.htm
