Oral historian Sohail Hashmi into a new wave of dissent in Urdu poetry at a Delhi workshop earlier this month. ‘It’s asking important questions, raising serious issues.’
Heritage conservationist Sohail Hashmi reading out poems by contemporary Muslim writers at his Urdu poetry workshop earlier this month | Photo: Heena Fatima | ThePrint
New Delhi:
In a quiet corner of Delhi’s Neb Sarai, a small band of Urdu poetry lovers gathered for an evening of verse. But this time, it wasn’t love or heartbreak in the air—it was words of protest, identity, and defiance.
At his Urdu poetry workshop at the NIV Art Centre on a September Sunday, oral historian and heritage conservationist Sohail Hashmi skipped nostalgic classics by the likes of Rahat Indori, Parveen Shakir, and Munawwar Rana. Instead, he chose hard-hitting political poems by contemporary Muslim poets to demonstrate how modern Urdu poetry is changing.
“After the 1992 Babri Masjid incident, there was a major shift in Urdu poems. Urdu poets are now questioning the dominant narrative constructed in the society about minority communities,” Hashmi told ThePrint.
Seated on a plush blue chair placed on a Persian rug, Hashmi explained to the audience that Urdu nazms (poems) have become a space for protest. He said there are two broad streams of Urdu poetry.
The first category includes poetry with beautiful rhymes and words, making it easy for readers to remember. Its main themes revolve around love and the pain of separation.
The second category, which he called “poetry of thought”, tackles deeper, more serious issues.
“This poetry is asking important questions, raising serious issues,” Hashmi said. “And it’s the kind of poetry that the mainstream does not acknowledge.”
Throughout the workshop, Hashmi let the poetry speak for itself by reciting works from several contemporary poets, including Ibn-e-Insha, Gauhar Raza, Nomaan Shauque, and Ikram Khawar.
‘Blunt and merciless’
New Urdu poetry is more about thought than pure emotion. This poetry, said Hashmi, is both a political commentary and a snapshot of “new India” through Muslim eyes. And many poems address the “Muslim identity crisis”.
One such poem, by Ikram Khawar, is titled Haan Main Musalmaan Hoon (Yes, I am a Muslim). Hashmi picked up a volume from the table and read aloud:
Haan main musalmaan hoon
Nahi kahoonga main, jaise tum insaan ho
Bagair kisi sharm ya duhai ke,
Bagair kisi safai ke
Main khud ko dekhne se inkaar karta hoon, tumhari aankh se
(Yes, I am a Muslim
I won’t say, like you, that I am human
Without shame or plea,
Without any justification,
I refuse to see myself through your eyes).
After finishing the poem, Hashmi explained that it rejects the imposed, stereotypical image of Muslims and challenges the dominant narrative. The refusal to see oneself through the lens of others, he said, is an act of defiance.
One woman in the audience expressed concern: “That’s the protest in the poem, but this kind of poetry is being pushed out of the mainstream.”
Hashmi, however, countered that while this poetry may not be amplified in popular culture, it has become the dominant voice in contemporary Urdu literature.
“Genuine poetry rarely reaches mainstream platforms—it doesn’t appear on news or TV channels. Instead, it finds its place in literary magazines and circles, and thrives in poet gatherings,” he said.
He added that much of what gets wider exposure is often confined to superficial themes, while deeper, uncomfortable subjects in Urdu and Hindi are pushed into niches where they are appreciated only by a few.
Hashmi then recited Nomaan Shauque’s Lakshman Rekha, a poem that asserts free will in a time when even personal choices—like diet—are policed. It strikes a rebellious note:
Nahi, aap nahi samjha sakte mujhe jeene ka maqsad
Nahi bata sakte, kitni door tehelna
Kitni der kasrat karna zaroori hai, tandrust rehne ke liye
Khane ke liye, gosht munasib hai,
Ya saag, sabziyan
Rone ke liye munasib jagah, daftar hai ya bathroom,
Mujhe samjhana mushkil hai
(No, you cannot explain the purpose of my life to me.
You cannot tell me how far to wander
Or how long to exercise to stay healthy.
Whether meat is suitable for eating,
Or if vegetables are better.
Where it’s appropriate to cry, whether an office or a bathroom.
It’s difficult to explain these things to me).
Hashmi pointed out that poems on victimhood and oppression are becoming less common in Urdu. While these performed a cathartic role for those feeling helpless due to the “government’s marginalisation of minorities”, there’s a new trend now.
“Urdu poetry is moving away from generality toward specificity,” he said. “These questions (in poems) are very direct, addressing the issue bluntly and absolutely mercilessly.”
Shrinking spaces, empty chairs
The COVID-19 lockdown, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and the rise of religion-based politics have given poets new urgency. Across languages, from Urdu and Hindi to Oriya, poetry has become a space for asking hard questions, according to Hashmi.
Hashmi recited Darsgah (Academy), a poem by scientist Gauhar Raza, which addresses the 2020 attack on JNU students during the anti-CAA protests:
Darsgahon pe hamle naye to nahin
In kitabon pe hamle naye to nahin
In sawaalon pe hamle naye to nahin
In khayalon pe hamle naye to nahin
Gar, naya hai kahin kuch, to itna hi hai
tum mere des mein laut kar aaye ho
par hai surat wahi, aur seerat wahi
sari vehshat wahi, sari nafrat wahi
kis tarha chupaoge pehchan ko?
gerue rang mein chup nahi paoge
(Attacks on colleges are not new, Attacks on books are not new, Attacks on questions are not new, Attacks on ideas are not new. If something is new, it is only this:
You have returned to my country, But the appearance and character remain the same, The same savagery, the same hatred. How will you hide your identity? You cannot conceal it in the colour saffron).
Hashmi then criticised Hindi kavi sammelans (poetry conventions), for promoting misogyny. He said many of these events focus more on storytelling than actual poetry.
“They mock overweight, bald, and dark-skinned people. The audience claps along claps and enjoys it without questioning,” he said.
He also weighed in on the erosion of literary spaces— Hindi and Urdu poets are emerging and voicing dissent but they struggle to find a platform. Because many publishing houses are shutting down or playing it safe, and demand for books is low, many new writers have to pay to get their work published.
Ironically, Hashmi’s event had a low turnout, with only five attendees—something that surprised the organisers. Aruna Anand, co-founder of the NIV Art Centre, told ThePrint that their monthly art sessions are usually full, attributing the empty chairs to the wider crisis confronting the Urdu language.
But Hashmi was not overly perturbed. He argued that poetry that addresses deep social questions will ultimately prevail and even revive the language.
“The poetry of thought is the poetry that eventually survives,” he said.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> Features> Around Town / by Heena Fatima / September 28th, 2024
Have you walked through India’s first art district of Lodhi Colony in South Delhi where high walls along streets come across as vibrant art works? The man behind this and the street art movement of India Hanif Kureshi is no more; he passed away on Sunday at 41.
Hanif, an alumnus of the Baroda Art College died of cancer leaving behind a culture of vibrant public spaces and colourful neighbourhoods across India.
A wall in South Delhi’s Lodhi Road created by Kureshi
Kureshi’s quest for vibrant neighborhoods brought him to Lodhi Colony in Delhi in 2013, where the high walls and pedestrian-friendly lanes became a canvas for murals that quickly captured the community’s attention.
His death was announced on Instagram. The post read: “Hanif Kureshi, the man behind the Amazing street art you see across India has passed away…”
“Hanif Kureshi (@hanifkureshi) will forever be remembered as a visionary artist who transformed the urban landscape, one wall at a time.
After transitioning from advertising, Kureshi took the lead in shaping India’s modern street art movement and reviving the fading art of hand-painted typography.
An art work created by HanifHanif Kureshi in Chennai
Through St+art India (@startindia), Kureshi and his co-founders built a community of urban artists whose projects have revitalized cities across India, turning public spaces into cultural landmarks. From the vibrant Sassoon Docks in Mumbai and the iconic Lodhi Art District in Delhi to Kannagi Nagar in Chennai, the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, and international showcases like the London Design Biennale, Venice Biennale, and Centre Pompidou, Kureshi’s artistic imprint is unmistakable.
In light of his untimely passing, we reflect on the enduring legacy Kureshi leaves behind—on walls, in typographic art, and throughout neighborhoods and communities nationwide.”
Hanif Kureshi co-founded St+art India and started giving shape to his vision in 2013. When he started transforming public spaces into vibrant canvases, he could not have anticipated the profound impact it would have across the nation.
Asian Paints posted this image of Kureshi’s work on X:
@asianpaints / The MTNL building in Bandra has a shiny new coat of paint. Love the work by @StartMumbai / December 09, 2014 / 4.55 pm
This young visionary artist devoted his life to making art accessible to everyone. “Our aim is to make art more accessible. When you are working in an art gallery, your concerns are different, but this is art on the streets for everyone,” he said in an interview.
Kureshi was behind popularizing street art in India and setting up a model that has inspired countless artists.
According to Storyboard 18, art curator Rahul Bhattacharya, a close friend and former classmate at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, reflects on Kureshi’s unconventional approach: “He was constantly exploring new avenues.”
His journey began with an interest in sign-board painting and hand-lettering, leading him to seek out local sign painters and eventually digitzing their unique styles under the banner of HandpaintedType.
He launched St+art India as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating public art projects.
Kureshi’s first project was Lodhi Colony in Delhi where the high walls and pedestrian-friendly lanes became a canvas for murals that quickly captured the community’s attention.
Gupt Dwar by Kureshi’s NGO in Lodhi Colony
Gond artist Bhajju Shyam, who collaborated with Kureshi in Lodhi Colony, remembered him as modest and patient. “He was extremely sincere and listened to constructive feedback during our discussions,” Shyam noted, highlighting Kureshi’s collaborative spirit.
Kureshi’s St+art India has since organized numerous art festivals and painted murals across cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, inviting both local and international artists to contribute. Kureshi was actively involved in his project including the installation at the Sassoon Dock Art Project in Mumbai.
Kureshi’s influence extended beyond borders afters he showcased his work at prestigious venues including the London Design Biennale and the Venice Biennale-. His recent solo exhibition at Wildstyle Gallery in Sweden in June 2023 impacted the world of art globally.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home / posted by Aasha Khosa, ATV / September 26th, 2024
A group of nine Class 8 students took part in this tour under the guidance of their Hindi teacher, Shareef Ahmed.
Class 8 students of Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Mallapur, Thimmapur mandal, Karimnagar district, along with their Hindi teacher during an educational tour in New Delhi.(File Photo)
Karimnagar :
Students from the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Mallapur, Thimmapur mandal, recently embarked on an educational tour to New Delhi, where they had the opportunity to visit some of the nation’s most iconic historical and cultural landmarks.
A group of nine Class 8 students took part in this tour under the guidance of their Hindi teacher, Shareef Ahmed. The group explored sites such as the Red Fort, Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, India Gate, Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan and Akshardham temple.
Part of Hindi curriculum
Shareef told TNIE that this trip was part of an experiential learning initiative, directly tied to the Class 8 Hindi curriculum, which referenced many of the historical landmarks the students visited. “We aimed to bridge the gap between book learning and real-world experience. I explained each site, connecting the theoretical knowledge from the textbooks with practical insights,” he said.
The trip helped the students gain a deeper appreciation of India’s rich cultural heritage, the teacher said, adding that by walking through these historical monuments, they developed a personal connection with the history the students had studied in class.
The students expressed immense joy, particularly when witnessing structures like the Red Fort and Qutub Minar. Visits to spiritual places such as the Akshardham and Lotus temples added another dimension to their tour, they said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Naveen Kumar / October 06th, 2024
Abid, a painter, puts immense effort to help bring back stranded people to India, the act which brings cheers to the families. He has mastered the skill, how to deal with embassies, journalists, officials and celebs to raise each issue and bring back the lost person.
Syed Abid Hussain
Bhopal:
A man has been quietly helping Indian citizens caught in difficult circumstances in countries across the world for years.
Known for lending a helping hand to any family whose kin is trapped far away, he uses all his links and puts energy into the efforts to bring the person back home.
Syed Abid Hussain has mastered the skill to deal with the bureaucracy in different countries and with the use of social media, reunites such people with their families.
By profession, Abid is neither a bureaucrat nor a politician, who has contacts and departments to follow their instructions but he is just a painter and single man army.
And even not being associated with any government organisation, he has so far helped hundreds of people stuck in countries spread over the Middle East, West Asia, Europe and other parts of the world. Abid keeps getting calls and messages from families who have their kin caught in a country and even those whose whereabouts are not known.
The ‘Mesiah’ has developed a style of his own to resolve these cases. Whether it’s the case of a person who is untraceable or has been kept unlawfully by someone in a foreign land, Abid uses social media, particularly Twitter, to bring focus on the disappearance of the person or his plight. He tags officials of the particular country, their embassies and the Indian Embassy.
He also messages prominent personalities of the particular country, including peaceniks or activists, film actors, journalists and urges them to raise the issue. Subsequently, it comes in media in those countries, gets attention and opens the door to the person’s return.
During the Russia and Ukraine crisis, he helped dozens of youth to return with his efforts.
“I don’t have a strong financial background but I never take a penny for this work. It’s just for the sake of humanity and social work”, he says.
The number of people Abid helped bring back to the country is uncounted now. “I don’t do it for any number or statistics, I stopped counting, the figure is more than 500,” he says. “Whenever I get a call I start working on the mission. I feel that the victim’s family must not get depressed and lose hope”, he adds. One of the first cases that brought him nationwide attention was when he helped the family of a missing boy, Kailash Arjunwar.
“I found through a newspaper report about Kailash, who is from Madhya Pradesh that he had somehow overstayed on the other side of the border and was caught, and kept in jail. I began my efforts. After a long process, Kailash was rescued with the help of the foreign ministry. I constantly kept raising his issue until it got resolved”, he recalled.
Recently, Abid helped get 12 people from a country in West Asia to return to India. These people, Harendra Ram, hails from Siwan (Bihar), Jai Soorat (Ghazipur), Dharmendra Kumar (Deoria), Sheetal Singh (Kapurthala), Husan Lal (Jalandhar), Surendra Verma (Sant Kabir Nagar), Ved Prakash (Kushinagar), Hardas Prakash (Ghazipur) and Shiv Locahn of Mau along with others were reunited with their families.
From yet another country, he helped bring 48 persons back to India, in January. A painter by profession, he was born in Faizabad, UP.
Abid, 38, says that when he started helping people stuck in foreign lands, he came to know about a lot of factors, especially how some people who are less educated are fooled by their employers or agents who take them to those countries but they end up working as bonded labourers sometimes & are even not allowed to contact families.
When Abid comes to know about a family that has a person ‘lost’ in a country, he takes documents and contacts the government, foreign ministry, the particular country’s consulate and embassies in both countries. Mostly he manages to get them returned. Former Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj also used to know him for his efforts. Sandeep Kumar, who was helped rescued by Abid recalls, “Our company had promised a job in the construction sector. After paying money to the agent, we were cheated.” “Our families told Abid bhai, who started the campaign because we couldn’t do anything. He also ran a hashtag to save us and this led to action (return),” says Sandeep, who is thankful to the activist for his role.
In the case of Babar Ali, who was stuck in Mozambique, the family approached Abid. “Babar was promised a big salary but when he reached there, he was not paid and made to work 18 hrs daily apart from harassment and torture”, said his family members. “He made a video and managed to send it. Then Abid took up the case and the Embassy acted, bringing Babar back”, a family member mentioned.
Abid has been felicitated many times and got awards too for his work.
Abid has been affectionately called ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’ because of the movie and the similarity of his work with the Salman Khan starrer Bollywood flick.
source: http://www.enewsroom.in / eNews Room India / Home> Freshly Brewed> Madhya Pradesh / by Shams Ur Rehman Alavi / February 02nd, 2023
The cemetery and those who lie buried in the soil of time and fate are the witness to the the lost romance, their epitaphs bear a testimony to a history of prose and poetry.
The forgotten poet cemetery of Kashmir / Photo: Shakir Mir / Internet
خاک میں کیا صورتیں ہوں گی کہ پنہاں ہو گئیں
(In the soil- what faces must be hidden)
Beauty finds its way at odd places; away from the flamboyant commotion of Boulevard, far from the amorous colours of Zabarwan and distant from the prospects, perspectives and spectre of present. Beauty finds its way at odd places: along the sombre shores of the lifelessness, in the weed, litter and rubbish of a graveyard, the withered tombstones of a cemetery,
The Cemetery of the Poets
The cemetery and those who lie buried in the soil of time and fate are the witness to the the lost romance, their epitaphs bear a testimony to a history of prose and poetry.
Laala tooram, na humchoon ghuncha gulboo zadaem
Shaula jae bakhya bar chaak-e-gereban meezenam
(I am the Tulip of Sinai and not the bud borne of a rose
To my torn collar, I apply the needle of my fire to stitch it)
Cries out poet Mazhari, having penned down 6000 Persian verses throughout his travels from Iran, Khorasan, Hindustan to Kashmir, but now lost in graves and indifference of another necropolis, Malkhah.
Founded in year 1587 C.E during by the Mughal emperor Akbar, the cemetery of poets, also called Mazar-e-Shoara is situated along the banks of Dal Lake. The burial ground for the once eminent poets seems to have been selected carefully to give the dead souls a serene eternal sleep. The historical records show that there were five poets and men of letters buried in the cemetery, all of them the eminent avant grade of Iran, associated with the literary upper class of Mughal court. However, as of today only three of the tombstones can be located in the mazar, rest covered in debris of time and apathy.
There seems to be some confusion regarding the first grave in the cemetery, largely appearing due to the mistakes in copying the previous historical accounts. In this regard the first reference comes from the great historian and author, Mohammad Azam Dedmari in his Waqiat-e-Kashmir. Dedmari was a scholar, researcher, and also a poet of his time and was born during Aurangzeb’s era when Abu Nasr was performing the duties of sobedar (Governor) of Kashmir. Therefore, due to his temporal proximity to the rule of Akbar and his other meticulous documentations, his record can be taken as more authentic.
According to him the great Iranian savant and scholar of his time, Shah Fatehullah had come from Iran to Deccan. According to M. A Alvi and Abdur Rahman’s seminal work, “Fathullah Shirazi: The great Indian scientist of 16th century” and Mohammad Akmal Makhdum’s, “A Great Man: Shah Fateh Ullah Shirazi”, Fatehullah was brought up in Shiraz and learnt under great teachers like Kamal-ud-din Masood Sherwani and Khwajah Jamaluddin Mahmud, a disciple of the logician Jalal-al-din-Davani. Shirazi furthered his knowledge in medicine, mathematics, and science under the instruction of Mir Ghayasuddin Mansur. After completing his education, Shirazi embarked on a career in education in Shiraz. Among his notable students was Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, who served as the close confidant of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. In 1583, Shirazi received an invitation from Mughal Emperor Akbar and subsequently joined the imperial court in Agra.He soon earned the title of Amir and a rank (mansab) of 3000. Two years later, in 1584, Akbar appointed him as the Amin-ul-Mulk, also known as the Trustee of the State.Shirazi’s first task was to reexamine and rectify the Mughal Empire’s vast transaction records, which he accomplished with diligence and success. Along with his administrative work, Shirazi also undertook the task of regulating the intrinsic and bullion values of coins. He identified and corrected discrepancies in the currency, ensuring its reliability and trustworthiness. Shirazi’s skills and talents also earned him various honors and titles. In 1585 and 1587, the emperor selected him to lead diplomatic missions to the Deccan, where he was recognized for his efforts with the title of Azud-ud-Dawlah, or the Arm of the Emperor. He also received a horse, 5000 rupees, a robe of honor, and the office of the Chief Sadr of Hindustan.
A great poet, he also made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy and logic, particularly in his work, Takmilah-i-Hashiyah. Additionally, he played a crucial role in compiling the Tarikh-i-Alfi, a thousand-year history of Islam, demonstrating his vast knowledge in the field of history.
Page of disasters, from Tarikh-i-Alf
One can try to estimate the scholarship of Shah Fatehullah by the brief introduction Abul Fazal (Grand Vizier of Emperor Akbar the Great) writes about him. Abul Fazal being a royal minister and himself a great scholar did not recognise anybody at par with his own scholarship, but about Shah Fatehullah he writes:
“if all the books of all the subjects and sciences and crafts are destroyed then Shah Fatehullah, with his scholarship and knowledge, and with his memory, will create a parallel new library of books.”
Emperor Akbar mourns his death in following words:
“Had he fallen in the hands of Franks and had they they demanded all my treasures for him, I would gladly have entered such profitable traffic and brought the jewel cheap”
Shirazi was a great inventor and is credited with numerous innovations like improved cannons and guns, wagon mllls, mirrors that would make far things appear closer, travelling baths etc.
Two references are made to the death of Shah Fatehullah by Kashmiri scholars, one by Dedmari who says that he developed Typhoid and self treated it by over-eating Harisa. Another reference is made by Hassan Kuehami in his Tareekh-e-Hassan in which he refers to him (probably mistakenly) as Shah Abu Fateh and cites tuberculosis as his cause of death. The mistake (viz a viz name) seems an error while copying from Waqiat-e-Kashmir, where a poet called Mir Abu Fateh is mentioned immediately after Fatehullah, whom Kuehami seems to have skipped and probably mixed with the former. The location of his burial is mentioned atop Takht-e-Sulaiman, in Mazar-e-Shoara.
M.A Alvi and Abdur Rahman refer to Abdul Qadir Badaoni’s, Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh, which narrates a story similar to that of Dedmari in which Fathullah Shirazi dies because of over-eating porridge made of meat while having an episode of febrile illness. But there is a very important historical fact that is referred to in this version. According to them Fathullah was buried on koh-e-sulaiman, in the monastery of Sayyid Ali Hamadani. However, today we do not know any such monastery that exists on koh-e-sulaiman (or takht-e–sulaiman). So could this be reference to the lost monastery of Sayyid Ali Hamadani’s student Mohammad Ismael Kubravi which is historically known to exist around the same place. It was a matter of reverence to teachers that the students would name their schools and shrines after them. The great scholars would be buried in graveyards adjacent to these monasteries. So, is the location of the Mazar-e-Shoara the place where the monastery of Mohammad Ismail Kubravi actually stood?
(The lost monastery has a history of its own, allegedly destroyed by Chak rulers, the location where it stood has been a centre of academic debate in archaeological and academic circles.)
Cemetery
Second grave in the cemetery is of Haji Jan Muhammad Qudsi Mashadi popularly called Qudsi Mashadi. He was a native of the Mashhad in Iran. He joined the court of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan where he rose to become Malik-al-Shura (poet laureate). It is said that Mughal empire had Qudsi weighed in gold, which was then presented to him as a reward for his poetic excellence. On the occasion of the installation of the famous Peacock Throne in 1635, for example, Qudsi composed a dedicatory chronogram that was cast in glazed tile and inserted inside the throne canopy. Qudsi wrote several topographical poems as well, the most famous of which is his description of the journey to Kashmir.
When his son Mohammed Baqir died in the prime of his youth in Mashhad, Qudsi was heartbroken and decided not to go back to his native land but remain in India. Later he settled permanently in Kashmir. His works includes the poetical composition Zafarnama-yi Shahjahani, devoted to the king’s conquests, containing some 7000 rhymed couplets, and covering the first fourteen years of Shah Jahan’s reign and is by far Qudsi’s longest work, though it remained incomplete at the time of his death it was later completed posthumously by Kalim Kashani; a mathnawi entitled Wasf-I Kashmir. The poet remains buried in the Mazar-e-Shoara.
The third poet lying at rest in the graveyard is Abu Talib Kaleem. A native of the Persian city of Hamadan when Abu Talib Kaleem heard about Qudsi’s reception at the court of Shah Jahan, he was perturbed and said, “The man who was to be held by neck, it is strange, was weighed in gold”. He travelled Deccan and other Indian cities and later became a courtier of the Emperor at Shahjehani Darbar. Kaleem soon attained fame as a poet. The great Urdu poets Sauda and Mir Taqi Mir have written Tazmeens (poems formed by inserting verses from another’s poem) of his ghazals. Kaleem was assigned the task of writing a history of the Mughals, Padshah Nama or Shahnama Shaham Chugtia, in poetic form and sent to Kashmir so that he could do his work undisturbed. Hw wrote qasidas and mathnawis about every important event of his time, be it the fight of young Aurangzeb with an infuriated elephant, the famine in Deccan or his visit to a paper mill in Kashmir. He also composed a poetic chronicle sahgihannama Like Qudsi, he was a great admirer and friend of Ghani Kashmiri who wrote an elegy on his death (in 1650 C.E) in which he also remembered Qudsi and Saleem as great and noble poets. In the elegy he compared his friend to Moses ‘Kalimullah”, the pen being his miraculous rod, and gives chronograph of his death in the line:
The Sinai of inner meaning became radiant by Kalim
The fourth poet, another native of Iran, Mohammed Quli Saleem went to India in the reign of Shah Jahan. He joined the court of the prime minister Nawab Islam Khan. He was a man of high poetic calibre and is famous for his works ‘mathnawi-qadha-wa-qadar’ and another mathnawi in praise of Kashmir. Saleem was accused by the Iranian poet Sa’ib of plagiarising his poetry. During his stay in Kashmir he fell ill and passed away to be buried in the cemetery of the poets.
The last poet buried in the graveyard is Tughra Mashadi. Nothing is known of Tughra’s childhood and youth, other than that he probably was born in Mashad. Tughra moved to Mughal India and the court of Jahangir towards the end of the latter’s reign. During the reign of Jahangir’s successor, Shah Jahan, Tughra joined the court of one of Shah Jahan’s sons, Murad Bakhsh, and accompanied him on the Mughal campaign in Balkh (1646). Although unsuccessful, this campaign is nonetheless commemorated by the poet as a victory in his panegyric to Murad Bakhsh, Mir’āt al-futūḥ (Mirror of victories), which appears near the end of the present collection. Tughra subsequently settled in Kashmir, where he lived in a shop at Rainawari on the banks of Nayidyar canal, where he died in solitude. Tughra composed verse in all the popular forms of Persian poetry, but he is most famous for his prose works known as risālahs (epistles) which include Risālah-ʼi Firdawsīya and Mir’āt al-futūḥ.
Every grave in the cemetery has thousands tales to tell. Every epitaph bears signs of a glorious past. However, today the cemetery, just like our past, lies in shambles, withered and perishing.
References:
Waqiat-e Kashmir by Muhammad Azad Dedmari
Tareekh-e-Hassan by GH Khuehami
Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by AQ Badyuni
The Islamc literature of India by Annemarie Shimmel
Haji Jan Muhammad Qudsi by Prof. Zia-i-Ahmad
Fathullah Shirazi: A Sixteenth Century Indian Scientist by MA Alvi
A Great Man: Shah Fateh Ullah Shirazi by MA Makhdum
Encylcopedia Iranica
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> Culture & Society / by Khawar Khan / October 06th, 2024
Humayun World Heritage Site Museum in New Delhi opened for visitors on Tuesday
Latest addition to 16th-century tomb complex ‘brings alive 700 years of heritage’
Visitors look at artifacts at the Humayun World Heritage Site Museum — the newest addition in Humayun’s Tomb complex — in New Delhi on July 29, 2024. (AN Photo)
The second Mughal emperor Humayun was widely known as an avid reader fond of journeys, architecture, and storytelling. Almost half a millennium after his death, a new museum in the heart of New Delhi highlights his role in shaping India’s cultural heritage.
Opened for visitors on Tuesday, the Humayun World Heritage Site Museum is the newest addition in Humayun’s Tomb complex — a landmark 300-acre area in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin that features dozens of historical monuments and includes Sunder Nursery, a 16th-century heritage park.
The advent of the Mughal dynasty, which ruled the Indian subcontinent between the 16th and 19th centuries, marked the global revival of Islamic architecture, with works that until today are examples of the highest quality and refinement.
Originally from Central Asia, the Mughals carried cultural elements borrowed from Arabs, Persians and Ottomans. As they settled in India, they fused these with the various local styles found in their new domains.
Humayun was the son and successor of Babur, founder of the dynasty, and ruled the empire from 1530 to 1540 and again from 1555 until his death the following year.
The new museum, established by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, traces Humayun and his descendants’ lives, as well as the 700-year-old history of the whole Nizamuddin locality and its influence on Indian culture.
“There are hundreds of stories to be told, which the stones don’t speak,” Ratish Nanda, conservation architect and projects director at the AKTC, told Arab News. “The idea is to bring alive 700 years of heritage.”
The museum is located in Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the first of the grand mausoleums that became synonymous with Mughal architectural innovations and, three generations later, culminated in the construction of India’s most iconic monument, the Taj Mahal. About 7 million tourists from across India and abroad visit the complex every year.
“The idea is that people who now visit the World Heritage Site come with a deep understanding of the site,” Nanda said.
“We’ve been able to … combine architectural elements with incredible manuscripts, miniature paintings, calligraphy, textiles, coins, metalware, architectural elements — one is two one scale — with lots of films and digital technology, and models and so on.”
Spanning five galleries, the underground museum has over 500 artefacts sourced from the collections of the National Museum in New Delhi, ASI and AKTC.
“It captures the 700 years of history that is associated with the region of Nizamuddin and the World Heritage site of Humayun’s Tomb …This museum really captures the history,” said Ujwala Menon, AKTC conservation architect.
“The principal gallery talks about Humayun. There’s very little known about this emperor, and one of the things with this museum is to really address that … Then we have a second section of this gallery which talks about the personalities that are associated with Nizamuddin.”
Among the famed figures featured in the second gallery are Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro. Auliya was an 13th-century Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the Indian subcontinent. His shrine and tomb are located near Humayun’s complex.
Khusro was a 13th-century poet and scholar who remains an iconic figure in the culture of the subcontinent.
Both Auliya and Khusro lived during the period of the Delhi Sultanate, which Humayun’s father conquered, leading to its succession by the Mughal empire. The museum shows how the empire did not come to its bloom in a cultural vacuum, but drew from and incorporated the culture of its predecessors.
“There was this idea of pluralism that existed during the Mughal period,” Menon said. “And this (museum) really captures all of that.”
source: http://www.arabnews.com / Arab News / Home> World / by Sanjay Kumar / July 31st, 2024
A phrase in Kannada “murthi chikkadaru keerti doddadu” meaning icon looks short but performance is enormous, goes well with M. Sadulla, a great personality of Islamic literature in Kannada.
One of the pioneers of the popular Kannada weekly Sanmarga published from 1978, Sadulla was its manager and publisher till he breathed his last on 22nd August 2022.
Around 5 feet tall, M. Sadulla was born in 1945 in the Kandak area of coastal city Mangalore. He was the third son of Abdul Jabbar Ibrahim and Mariyamma. He lost his father at a young age.
He had his primary education at Badriya Educational Institution and matriculation from Rosario Educational Institution with distinction.
Sadulla began his professional career as an Accountant. He was a student of Moulana Syed Yusuf, the Imam of Kachi Masjid in Bundar area. Under his guidance, he learnt Quranic studies, Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic, and Urdu.
In Kandaka area, his father Abdul Jabbar was popularly known as Ijjabaka; he was a great admirer of Syed Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami. Ijjabaka was the first person to translate Fatiha, the first chapter of the Holy Quran from Urdu into Kannada. Sadulla resolved to follow in his father’s footsteps.
During that time, there was a noticeable lack of Islamic literature in Kannada. To fill this gap, Sadulla not only translated works from Urdu and Malayalam into simple Kannada but also contributed original articles. Unlike his peers, he did not take much interest in public debates or speeches. However, anyone met him personally was impressed with his simplicity, integrity and depth of knowledge in various fields.
He contributed significantly to the translation of the extensive Urdu commentary Tafhim-ul-Quran and Sahih Bukhari, and other hadith collections like Dari Deepa (Guiding Light). Two of his original works, Namaz Shafi’i Krama and Kannada Kaliyiri (Learn Kannada) are very popular and published multiple times. He translated around 30 works into Kannada. Dari Deepa, the hadith collection, has reached thousands of people, transforming many lives of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Sadulla was known for his simplicity, discipline, minimal talk, and high productivity, always wearing a gentle smile. His special qualities included excellent office management, patience, courage, generosity, and keeping calm even under pressure. He never let anything bother him and always remained content with what he had.
Despite being a profound scholar of the Quran and Hadith, he used to attend the Quran and Hadith classes of other scholars seriously, listening attentively.
Sadulla was very meticulous about the Quranic knowledge. Even when he was unwell, he would listen carefully as family members read it, correcting their mistakes if any. He couldn’t tolerate even minor mistakes in Quran recitation or references, and was keen on immediate corrections.
He was like a ready reckoner of the Quran. Anyone could call him to inquire about any issue related to the Quran, and he would promptly provide the answer, satisfactorily.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Features > Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / September 24th, 2024
The record for making the longest cotton banner on drug abuse was set by Muslim High School in association with JRC Coordinator Ramla Beebi (born on May 15, 1968) of Palakkad, Kerala.
A total number of 2000 people wrote messages on drug abuse on the banner (measuring 1220 m in length) on July 4, 2022 at 10:30 am, as confirmed on July 23, 2022.
source: http://www.indiabookofrecords.in / India Book of Records – IBR / Home> Culture & Creativity / by ibr editor / November 01st, 2022
Areeba Anwar, an undergraduate student of the Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), has won the prestigious Damodarashri National Award for Academic Excellence 2024.
Her essay on the topic “Victory Will Be of Human Spirit” emerged as the best among participants from across the country. The Prayagraj-based SS Khanna Girls Degree College, affiliated with Allahabad University, has been giving away this award for 15 years.
This year, more t2,000 participants submitted their essays in the competition, out of which only 10 essays were selected for the final round.
Areeba Anwar’s essay not only featured in the top 10, but was also declared the winner for the best undergraduate essay across the country.
The award comprises a cash prize of Rs 30,000, a memento, and books worth Rs 5,000.
The award is given every year in a function on October 2. Areeba Anwar represented the university in the competition organized under the aegis of Literature, Fine Arts, Quiz and Debate Club under the DSW (Dean Students Welfare) office of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Before leaving for Prayagraj for the final defense of the essay, she presented her essay and discussed her ideas with Dr. Rumi Naqvi, a member of the Sahitya Club. Dr. Naqvi gave her important suggestions to make the essay stronger.
This 5,000-word essay by Areeba Anwar underlined the resilience of the human spirit. She explained how this spirit is important not only for our survival but also for the development of the nation.
Her essay was adjudged the best among 2,003 essays received from central universities, making her eligible for this prestigious award. This achievement is a proud moment for both Ariba Anwar and Jamia Millia Islamia, a testimony to the academic quality of the institution and the creativity of the students.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by posted by Aasha Khosa, ATV / October 09th, 2024
The development of Urdu prose and journalism and the parallel agenda of social reform in 19th-century Hyderabad played a vital role in setting the ground for the emergence of the Progressive Writers’ Movement a few decades later. The aims and objectives of the Progressive Writers’ Movement (PWM), which began in the 1930s in North India, resonated with students, poets, writers and scholars in Hyderabad. The PWM urged writers and poets to organise and break away from the hackneyed tropes, themes and genres of classical, romantic poetry that had dominated the literary milieu of Hyderabad and were associated with great cultural capital. Instead, the PWM wanted to create a new, more meaningful aesthetic that would represent changing political and social conditions and confront the material realities and experiences of everyday life. Apart from class struggle and class injustice, which was a major concern for the PWM, progressive writers also stressed the need to fight for political freedoms, resist political repression, and forge grassroots connections with the people 1.
The Hyderabad chapter of the Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA) was established by Makhdoom Mohiuddin along with Akhtar Hussain Raipuri and Sibt-e-Hasan in 1936. Sarojini Naidu offered her home, The Golden Threshold, as a venue for PWA gatherings and, later, for meetings of the banned Communist Party of India (CPI) 2. Among the women writers, journalists, intellectuals and activists associated with the PWA in the 1940s and 1950s were Jahanbano Naqvi, Zeenath Sajida, Rafia Sultana, Azeezunnisa Habibi, Brij Rani, Jamalunnisa Baji, her sisters Razia Begum and Zakia Begum, and Najma Nikhat. Amena Tahseen emphasises that the period after 1936 was critical for the history of women’s writing in Hyderabad because although women had been publishing their work, forming associations, and leading and participating in social, educational and literary initiatives for decades before the formation of the PWA, these endeavours were limited largely to women’s gatherings alone 3. The PWA changed this forever, and women began to attend and participate in literary and intellectual gatherings which had previously been restricted to men only.
Sarojini Naidu’s first collection of poems, named The Golden Threshold was published in 1905. (Photo: Getty Images)
The most vivid example and description of this shift comes from Jamalunnisa Baji’s autobiography, Bikhri Yaadein (Scattered Memories; 2008), which not only documents and assesses the political and literary events that took place in Hyderabad over the span of almost a century, but also furnishes information and reflection on what these events meant to women like Baji. Pardah is an important preoccupation in this account. Baji had long considered it her bane but had been unable to give it up. She describes how her younger sisters—who had had more freedom than her, were better educated, and were allowed greater choice in choosing their partners—had discarded the pardah at a young age. Literary gatherings with the leading Progressive figures of the day began to take place in Baji’s house in the 1940s on her and her brother Akhtar’s initiative. She had always been interested in literature and politics and was supported by parents and siblings who had an apparently insatiable appetite for education and literature. This drew her all the more to discussions that were happening beyond the curtain that separated her from gatherings where her sisters and other women who did not observe pardah, listened and spoke 4. Such gatherings offered her the opportunity to gradually emerge out of pardah.
The Telangana people’s armed struggle. (Photo: People’s Democracy)
The Progressive writers and the Telangana People’s Struggle
Between 1946 and 1951, the rural districts of Telangana had risen against the feudal structure of the Hyderabad state and the oppression it had wreaked on peasants and agricultural labourers for generations. The struggle began organically, with a tenant cultivator named Chityala Ailamma refusing to hand over her harvest to the landlord’s men. Within a few months, however, the Communist Party entered the fray and began to operate under the aegis of the Andhra Mahasabha, which had been formed in 1930 to champion the cultural and social rights of Telugu-speaking people. At its height, the Telangana People’s Struggle involved three million people from 3,000 villages 5. The struggle also made its way to the cities, as factory workers and students protested and went on strike. Many Progressive writers also identified as communists and were active members of the CPI. As the people’s struggle intensified in Telangana, the CPI was banned in Hyderabad and many PWA members had to go underground. So,
PWA meetings began to take place at Baji’s house at night, which was less conspicuous than the Golden Threshold, Sarojini Naidu’s house, and offered better cover to the likes of Makhdoom, who was well-known and easily recognised.
Baji formally discarded the pardah during the All-India Progressive Writers’ Conference in 1945, which was held in Hyderabad. She, her sisters, and one other woman were the only women to sit in the open with the men 6. What enabled the participation of a large number of Hyderabadis, especially women, in the Progressive movement was the PWA’s approach right from the start to not limit their membership to committed socialists 7. To be sure, there was always a core group of socialist writers at its centre, but the only expectation from all member writers—irrespective of ideological persuasions—consisted of them sharing the basic agenda of the manifesto, i.e. to build a sturdy organisation of writers who opposed reactionary social tendencies and stood for a literature rooted in reality. Indeed, so successful was this broadly defined manifesto that there were many writers who would not fall easily into this category if it had been ideologically restricted, but who nonetheless identified as Progressive and were closely connected with the PWM.
Dr. Zeenath Sajida on the cover of Poonam, Urdu monthly magazine in Hyderabad. (Photo: archive.org)
Zeenath Sajida (1924-2009) and a thriving culture of women writers
Zeenath Sajida was one such figure who dominated the literary and cultural circles of Hyderabad. She is a good example of a Progressive writer who not only wrote works criticising social injustices and exposing the hollowness of middle-class values, but also those that were less political and consisted of humorous essays as well as classic, romantic short stories. Sajida was most prolific in the decades spanning the 1940s to the 1960s, publishing an anthology of short stories in 1947 and several academic manuscripts on literatures of the Deccan. But the most fascinating literary writings she produced consisted of her essays in the genres of tanz-o-mizah (humour and satire) and khaake (pen-portraits), which were published in different newspapers and literary magazines and compiled only after her death in 2009. They cover subjects as varied as the gendered perspectives and lived experiences of women from different walks of life, critiques of social manners and everyday human folly, and nuanced documentation of the history and heritage of her beloved Hyderabad.
In the most political and radical of these texts, Sajida artfully and rigorously debates provocative social questions and taboos while disguising them in the genre of inshaiye or light sketches.
In these, she shows herself to be far ahead of her time, writing about things that we know today as gender fluidity, gender privilege, the mental load of women in relation to household management, the invisibility of domestic labour, and the unfair and unrealistic demands made of middle-class women professionals.
These essays also reveal the narrator’s most disarmingly vulnerable thoughts, feelings, and frailties; in the process, Sajida emerges as a writer who knows how to use emotion to extract both empathy as well as laughs from her readers.
There was a thriving culture of women writers of humour, satire and pen-portraits in Hyderabad right from the 1940s, which both received individual and institutional support from male writers and scholars and was also subjected to ridicule by them 8. Sajida’s work marks the best of this tradition of women’s non-fiction and is important to read and know also because non-fiction is generally neglected in favour of fiction and poetry, which have greater cultural capital; have come to form well-defined and durable stereotypes of Urdu literature; and, thus, capture the attention of translators, scholars and publishers alike.
Among Sajida’s younger contemporaries were Jeelani Bano (b. 1936), Najma Nikhat (1936–1997), and Wajida Tabassum (1935–2011). Nikhat was a writer of short stories whose loyalty and commitment to the PWM exceeded the heyday of this organisation. Like Sajida, although Nikhat produced a relatively modest number of short stories, her oeuvre demonstrates skill and is important for its sustained engagement with her lifelong preoccupations and concerns. Her stories about life in the feudal deodis of Hyderabad are insightful and instructive in establishing how women of both working as well as upper classes lived and negotiated feudal patriarchy and the conservative social world of princely Hyderabad. She also wrote hopeful stories about the revolution and depicted the lives of the poor in the rural districts of Telangana and Andhra, where she lived for many years.
A rare picture of R-L Qurratulain Hyder, Ismat Chughtai and Wajida Tabassum – known names in Urdu Literature. Twitter- FaseehBariKhan
Wajida Tabassum is understood today to be more of a feminist than an avowed Progressive. This is because she writes defiantly and unselfconsciously about female sexuality, caste patriarchy and sexual violence against women in feudal homes.
Although her many novels and short stories were successful and popular and the latter, in particular, are enjoying a resurgence of interest among youth after the Me Too movement, many Hyderabadis, including scholars, look down on her work as “obscene” and “unjust” towards the feudal aristocracy 9.
The “shock value” of Tabassum’s approach often belies her profound and nuanced understanding of the precise workings of culture and society towards concentrating and maintaining power in a few hands. Until recently, only a couple of Tabassum’s stories were available in English translation.
Other continuities
Over time, the PWM—its ideology and aesthetic—acquired a hegemony that ensured the marginalisation of writers who did not consider themselves Progressives. This became a big problem when in the tension between the “creative section” and the “political section” of the PWA (Progressive Writers’ Association), the latter prevailed, and this often resulted in didactic writing dominated by socialist themes and motivations 10. The ambivalence and even disenchantment of writers in other places towards the PWA, which increasingly adopted a rigid, even conservative stance towards the choice and treatment of themes employed by its members, is well known 11. But given that it had such a compelling social message, an influential platform, and an overarching visibility and influence, it is understandable that many women writers would continue to operate under the aegis of the PWA and utilise its many resources.
Other writers who did not subscribe to Progressive writing often represented literary and cultural continuities that were desirable and significant in other ways. After 1948, Urdu had been relegated to a secondary place in Hyderabad, and its resources and institutions were severely undermined by the minoritisation imposed by the new regime. Despite this, nuha, marsiya, azadari and salaam, traditional poetic genres that belong to the Shia practice of Muharram, continued to be regularly published in magazines and newspapers and also performed in ashurkhanas. Other religious or mystical genres, such as hamd and naat, and ghazals, nazms, and qasidas that did not represent Progressive thought or aesthetics persisted too. Many women poets wrote and published in these genres. Additionally, nazms for children were very popular in Hyderabad, and women were enthusiastic proponents of this genre as well 12. Often, these engagements revealed completely different ways of engaging with social and political discourses from Progressive writing, as can be seen in the way the poet Syeda Bano “Hijab”/Hijab Bilgrami juxtaposed the battle of Karbala with the struggle for freedom from colonial rule 13.
New woman, new writing
The next major shift in Urdu literature came with jadeediyat or modernism in the 1960s, which turned the subject of literature inwards and focused on the psyche of the individual, allowing for much experimentation in genre, mode and language. Some of the short stories and novels of Jeelani Bano and Rafia Manzoor ul-Ameen are good examples of jadeediyat from Hyderabad. Both wrote short stories and novels about contemporary protagonists struggling with the human condition as well as a variety of issues associated with the modern state and society. They also produced scripts and screenplays for successful TV serials, documentaries and films.
Jeelani Bano
Rafia Manzoor ul-Ameen
Rafia Manzoor ul-Ameen is best known today for her novels, especially Alam Panaah (Refuge of the World; 1983) and Yeh Raaste (These Paths; 1995), and the immensely popular TV series that was based on the former text and whose screenplay she wrote too. Both novels fall in the genre of romantic fiction and testify to her craft with language, narration, plot, and pace. The most attractive feature of this writer’s work is her psychologically and emotionally complex heroines, who represent a new world after the transfer of power in Hyderabad, in which young women were stepping out of the ostensible “protection” of the zenana, seeking education, professional employment and financial independence, and negotiating a society that did not appear to be prepared for their entry and often openly expressed its disapproval. These novels also offer multifaceted commentary on the social culture and ethnography of groups associated with Hyderabad and the Nilgiris respectively.
The significance of Jeelani Bano’s modernist writing can be appreciated from PWA co-founder Sajjad Zaheer’s comment in a letter to Sulaiman Areeb, editor of Saba (Hyderabad), that as long as Jeelani Bano is in Hyderabad, they need not worry about the Naya Afsana (New Short Story), a genre that had picked up pace in Urdu-Hindi literature in the 1950s and focused more on the inner state of the individual subject than on the external world or its ideological preoccupations 14. Over more than 50 years of writing, Bano’s nationally and internationally acclaimed short stories span three identifiable schools of Urdu literature: taraqqi-pasand adab (Progressive writing), jadeediyat (modernism), and tajreediyat (abstractism), although she has consistently refused to declare her affiliation or identification with any of these schools, explaining that there are many influences in her work and that she seeks only to represent the world around her and does not adhere to any particular ideological position.
Although some of Bano’s work has been admirably translated into English by Zakia Mashhadi, her two novels have not been given their due by English-language readers and scholars. Aiwan-e-Ghazal and Baarish-e-Sang represent the most serious and rigorous engagement with the history of princely and post-princely Hyderabad in creative writing. While the former narrates the lives of four generations of an aristocratic family against the backdrop of transformative change during and after the transfer of power, the latter represents the lives of landless tillers and labourers tottering under the weight of crushing debts in the rural districts of Telangana. Both texts offer rich and sombre insight into urgent questions of class and gender and offer a remarkable degree of depth where class, in particular, is concerned.
Radio continued to be an important medium for women’s voices in Hyderabad after the transfer of power, and the work of most Progressive writers in Hyderabad (and elsewhere) as well as those who did not subscribe to this category remained in demand. Among the many women who wrote for All India Radio (AIR) and read out their stories and essays were Zeenath Sajida, Najma Nikhat, Fatima Alam Ali and Badrunnisa Begum. Another vital development for women’s literary culture was the establishment of the Mehfil-e-Khawateen (Women’s Gathering) in 1971 at Urdu Hall (f. 1955), which became a flourishing platform for Hyderabadi women writers. Women poets of Progressive and other persuasions, such as Azmat Abdul Qayyum, Azizunnisa Saba, Ashraf Rafi and Muzaffarunnisa Naz, were instrumental in founding and running the Mehfil over the years. Monthly meetings and annual events are conducted and are well attended. The association also publishes an annual magazine.
Life-writing and auto/biography
Another important feature of Hyderabadi women’s writing in Urdu is an enduring affinity for different forms of life-writing. While Jamalunnisa Baji’s autobiography is the richest example, meaningful deployments of auto/biography emerge also in other genres that demonstrate a strong element of self-construction and self-performance, usually through first-person narration. The travelogues of Sughra Humayun Mirza and the humorous essays and pen-portraits of Fatima Alam Ali (1923-2020) are a good example of this trend. Fatima Begum grew up in an environment suffused with literary, political and intellectual discussions in the 1930s and 1940s, for her father was Qazi Abdul Ghaffar (1889-1956), the immensely popular and admired Progressive editor of Payaam. Her humorous essays were published in Siasat from the 1960s to the 2000s and also read on AIR. Some of them were compiled into a book called Yaadash Bakhaer (May God Preserve Them; 1989), which also furnishes a selection of her pen-portraits of the poets and scholars she knew. These portraits animate in words the rich and potent milieu of the mid-20th century and vividly perform and re-create the development of Fatima Begum’s own subjectivity.
Fatima Alam Ali (Photo: Scroll.in)
Finally, scholar and translator Oudesh Rani Bawa (b. 1941) writes a weekly column, titled Mujhe Yaad Hai Sab Zara Zara Sa (My Blurred Memories of Yesteryear), in the Urdu daily Munsif, where she engages with popular and historiographical narratives of the past, filtered usually through her memories and research on the material and linguistic heritage of Hyderabad. She also uses this column as a platform for her political and social critique, and has, most recently, begun to actively criticise local and national events, with respect to government policies, heritage and development, and growing right-wing intolerance and violence.
Hyderabad continues to have a thriving culture of humorous writing among women in both prose and poetry, besides other modes of writing, such as the short story, novel, novelette, plays and ghazals.
Stree Shakti Sanghatana, We Were Making History: Life Stories of Women in the Telangana People’s Struggle, New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1989, 3.
Jamalunnisa 2008: 103. Op. cit.
Ordinary Hyderabadis were suspicious of communists because they were all thought to be atheists. Ibid. 121).
Habeeb Ziya, who is a humourist herself and has compiled and edited a collection of Hyderabadi women’s humorous writings, reveals that Mujtaba Hussain, the most prominent and celebrated humourist from Hyderabad, had criticised her article on Hyderabadi women’s humour in the Siasat newspaper. He had wondered if men are supposed to sweep and mop, while women write humour in large numbers. Ziya Hyderabad ki Tanz-o-Mizah Nigar Khawateen. Hyderabad: Shagoofa Publications, 2005, 7.
See e.g. Ashraf Rafi, “Hyderabad ki Afsana-Nigar Khawateen,” in Tahseen 2017: 173.
Mir and Mir 2006: 28. Op. cit.
See Ayesha Jalal, The Pity of Partition: Manto’s Life, Times and Work across the India-Pakistan Divide, Noida: Harper Collins, 2013, 162–72; Jalil 2014: chapter 7; Mir and Mir 2006: 33.
Tahseen 2017: 136. Op. cit.
Riyaz Fatima Tashhir, “Hyderabad mein Khawateen ki Rasaai Shayari,” in Tahseen 2017: 219.
Mosharraf Ali, Jeelani Bano ki Novel Nigari ka Tanqeedi Mutala, Delhi: Educational Publishing House, 2003, 21.
Nazia Akhtar is an Assistant Professor (Human Sciences Research Group) at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad (India). In 2017, she was awarded a New India Foundation fellowship to write a book on Urdu prose by Hyderabadi women. Bibi’s Room: Hyderabadi Women and Twentieth-Century Urdu Prose went into print in July 2022.
source: http://www.thethirdeyeportal.in / The Third Eye / Home> Praxis / by Nazia Akhtar / January 19th, 2023
