Mr. Jamal has been writing Urdu poetry since 1987, many of his works were published in Urdu dailies and magazines like Saalar, Siyasat, Etemaad and Dabistan,
Poet and writer Syed Iftekhar Jamal of Kadapa, who has been named by the Urdu Academy for the ‘Yousuf Safi Lifetime Achievement Award’.
The Urdu Academy, Government of Andhra Pradesh, has named Syed Iftekhar Jamal of Kadapa district for the prestigious ‘Yousuf Safi Lifetime Achievement Award’ in recognition of his contribution as a prominent Urdu poet, writer, stage producer, director, actor, social and political activist.
Mr. Jamal has been writing Urdu poetry since 1987, many of his works were published in Urdu dailies and magazines like Saalar, Siyasat, Etemaad and Dabistan. He had conducted several ‘Mushairas’ (poets conclave), including the State-level ‘Riyasati Urdu Mushaira’, the first after bifurcation of the Andhra Pradesh.
He wrote his first drama in 1995, which was made into the first Urdu telefilm the very next year. Some of his notable works include ‘Mohabbat Aur Jung’ (1997), ‘Lagan’ (2002), ‘Koun Banega Ghar Jamaai’ (2003). Similarly, his directorial ventures include ‘Khwab Pather Mein’, which received acclaim in Hyderabad, Kurnool and Kadapa, besides ‘Padam Shiri’, ‘Dafeena’, ‘Dood-e-Chiraagh’ and so on.
Mr. Jamal is currently the State secretary of Minority Hakkula Parirakshana Samiti, Andhra Pradesh.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Andhra Pradesh / by The Hindu Bureau / November 10th, 2024
Thahaani Hashir released her 3rd book at the SIBF on Sunday afternoon. Kamal Kassim/Gulf today
Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) on Sunday was full of hustle and bustle. Lots of beautiful minds landed in Sharjah to regale audiences in the evening.
Celebrated Indian writer Chetan Bhagat inspired his fans, while Bollywood star Huma Qureshi mesmerised her audience. Malayalm actor, author and presenter Aswathy Sreekanth also arrived at the book fair on Sunday evening to talk about her latest book “Kaali.” She also enchanted her fans with her exciting talk.
On the other side, Writers Forum of the SIBF was swarming with school-going children in the afternoon. They were all chirping and giggling with excitement and joy. They were at the venue to cheer their young friend and classmate Thahaani Hashir. Thahaani’s journey to the world of writing is indeed incredible. Her brush with pen and paper started very early in life.
We expect a 16-year-old student to read books to develop his or her intellect, but Sharjah-based Indian student Thahaani Hashir was gracing the podium of SIBF with her third book of poetry, “Made For Love,” in the presence of a huge gathering, who were constantly clapping for this young girl. It was indeed a moment to behold.
Thahaani is an 11th grade student of Our Own English High School, Sharjah. Born and brought up in the UAE, she hails from Kollam, Kerala, India.
Thahaani made her debut at the age of 10 with her book “Through My Window Panes.” The book was released in 2018 and she became the youngest author at the SIBF. She received lots of praise for her debut book. Her second book of 30 poems “Flames That Never Died” came in 2021, while she was 13.
Talking to Gulf Today before the launch of her book, she said, “I always had the habit of writing. I must have been six years old when my class teacher noticed the talent in me. I would write short stories or something in song format. I did not know then how a poem looks like. But it was my class teacher Madhavi ma’am who saw this talent in me and she encouraged me to carry on and that’s how I got into writing.”
Thahaani’s ability to express her emotion with so much of maturity at this age is what makes her a shining star.
“Made For Love” is a compilation of 60 poems written by Thahaani Hashir and illustrated by Ashar Gandhi. Each of the 60 poems are depicted through one line illustration (entire illustration is drawn with a single continuous line, the pen is only lifted when completed). It is a rare occurrence to see all the poems in a book depicted through one line art.
Talking about her book she said, “Majority of my poetry is about love.” When asked how much time it took for her to complete her third book, she informed, “After my second book, I did not write for a good while for some reason. It could be writer’s block sort of thing. But in the last one year I could find my rhythm back and here I am with my new book.”
When asked to reveal her favourite author, she said, “Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish is my all-time favourite.”
Daughter of a civil engineer father and journalist mother, Thahaani has received several accolades.
Praising Thahaani, one of her teachers, who was present at the event said, “While she was in Grade 1, she was brilliant in all the subjects. She would always come to meet me with different ideas. Everyday she would write and show to me. I really have no words to express her talent and I am extremely happy to have been her teacher.”
The 12-day cultural extravaganza, organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, is themed “It Starts with a Book,” and has in store 1,357 activities for children and adults alike. It will come to a close on November 17 after playing host to 2,520 publishers from 112 countries.
source: http://www.gulffoday.ae / Gulf Today / Home> Culture / by Raghib Hassan, Staff Reporter / November 14th, 2024
In your final rest
on a rope-cot,
were you still dreaming
of a piece of bread?
Beloved one,
we the people
of this country,
of that country,
can make anything
but a piece of bread
for you.
--Evening with a Sufi: Selected Poemsby Afsar Mohammad, translated from the Telugu by Afsar Mohammad & Shamala Gallagher, Red River Books, 2022.
These lines send shivers down the spine and recreate an empathetic longing for immigrant souls in search of succour. They also swiftly draw an image laced with poignancy — a loss, a regret, the economics that deny innovative young men their keep and force immigration in search of sustenance. Would the poet have been one of them?
Travelling from a small village in the South Indian state of Telangana, Afsar Mohammad has journeyed across continents and now teaches South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Known as a trendsetting poet and literary critic for post-1980s Telugu literature, Afsar has brought out five volumes of poetry, one collection of short stories and two volumes of literary theory essays. He is also a distinguished scholar of Indian studies and has published extensively with various international presses, including Oxford and Cambridge. He is currently working on a translation of Sufi poetry from Telugu to English. In this interview, we trace his growth as a writer and editor of the webzine, Saranga, which now seems to be transcending linguistic barriers to give voice to multiple cultures…
Tell us about your journey as a writer. When and how did it start?
It’s a long story, but to cut it short — the beginnings were somewhat puzzling… Inspired by Shakespearean sonnets, I first wrote some sonnets in English, and then switched to free verse. Since most of my friends in my high school started pushing me to write something in Telugu, I had to migrate to Telugu. Quite surprisingly, I was first published in English, and then it took me a while to get something published in Telugu. I had hard time getting published in Telugu due to its newness in expressions and most editors felt that there was nothing “Telugu” in that kind of writing. So, my early writings quite naturally found their home in some English journals!
Your poetry rings with the pain of distance, the pain and struggle from others’ suffering transcending your own self. What is the source of your inspiration — is it your past or your present?What affects you more — your being an immigrant or a Sufi?
We’re distanced by many things — not just physically! We live in many shattered and scattered worlds, and sometimes we fail to reflect on those worlds. I feel like I’m a constant immigrant — despite my formal citizenship and legal boundaries. Sufism is merely a segment of this expansive realm. Both past and present define our destiny, right?! Of course, I try to live in the present rather than in the past, but never deny the baggage of the past.
Why do you subscribe to the Sufi school of poetry? What is Sufism all about?
I come from an extremely local rural setting where such Sufi mystical practices openly defined my everyday life. It’s not about the technicalities and theories or institutionalised Sufi schools of their philosophies, this is more about what I learned from my childhood, and its physical surroundings dotted by several hybrid shrines. I’ve described this cultural setting in my 2013 Oxford University Press publication, The Festival of Pirs: Popular Islam and Shared Devotion in South India. This version of Sufism has more to do with everyday life rather than a spiritual domain.
You have lived away from your country for long, and yet the past seems to still haunt you. What is the identity you seek as a poet? Is it necessary to have a unique identity or can one be like a drop that flows and moulds as per the needs of the vessel?
In a way — physically– I’m away from my birth place, but in many ways, I’m also closer to my homeland than in my past. When I moved away from the actual picture, I see many dimensions from a new lens. Each dimension contributed to my rethinking and reconsidering the idea of India. As I wander around and meet totally different places and people, I learn more about my birthplace and moved a little closer to it. I totally understand this as a process to reconcile with the past and connect it to a new present intensified by many factors, not just personal. We’re living in a virtual world, which also looks like “real” in its sounds, colours and words. Every moment it makes me realise that I’m actually not that far. On the other hand, I also see the people in my homeland who are far more removed by their immediate reality and everyday experiences. We need to read this conditionality more in terms of perspective rather than physical distance.
You are fluent in Telugu, Urdu and English. You started writing in English and then moved to Telugu. And all your poetry collections have been in Telugu. Why? Would the outreach of English not have been wider? What made you pick Telugu over English?
Great question! My literary graph is neither linear nor simplistic. When I look back and reflect on it, it’s a quite messy roadmap — actually, there’s nothing like a map to get its contours. Yes, I started writing in English and then suddenly stopped sending out the poems to magazines. In fact, I write more in my personal journals rather than in print journals. Theoretically, I saw poetry as a personal diary for my experiences for many years. Due to financial concerns within my family, I had to start working very early on and left most of my journals at home. Then, my friends found them by chance and put them together that became my first collection of poems in Telugu. The collection was an instant success for its innovative style and then that opened up my career in Telugu rather than English which was my first language of literary expression.
You are now bringing out a bi-lingual online magazine, Saranga? What made you think of a magazine in two languages?
Before entering into teaching career, I worked as an editor of the literary supplement and Sunday magazine for a largest circulated Telugu newspaper. When we moved to the USA, I thought it would be better to have some outlet to engage with my home language and literature. In the early phase, Saranga was primarily a Telugu webmagazine. When I started teaching South Asian literature, then I realised the importance of making Indian literary texts available to contemporary generation in the USA. That was just one reason, but there’re were many factors as our team saw a rise in the Indian diaspora writings in the new millennium. Luckily, we got wonderful support from writers and poets in various Indian languages. The humble beginnings have actually ended up as a rewarding experience.
What is it you look for in contributors from two languages? Is it the same guidelines or different?
We’re still learning how this works! As it appears now, these two sections require two different approaches and guidelines. Since the English section has been now attracting writers from various languages, it’s moving more towards a multi-lingual base. We’re trying to accommodate more translations into English from different Indian languages. We still need to do lots of work there.
Is the journal only aimed at South Asian diaspora or would you be extending your services to all cultures and all geographies?
Saranga, as we see it right now, is more about South Asia and its diaspora. As you know, we need more such spaces for South Asia and its diaspora. Not sure about its future directions at this point, however, if the situation demands, we will extend its services further.
You have number of essays and academic books in English. But all your creative writing is in Telugu. Why? Would you be thinking of writing in English too because proficiency in the language is obviously not an issue?
Most of my academic writing came out of my teaching experience. As I started teaching new courses, I then realised that we need more material from South Asia. I started focusing on producing such materials primarily for my courses and then gradually, they became useful for many academicians elsewhere too. I still believe creating writing as a more personal space — that enables me to articulate more about myself. However, the publication of Evening with a Sufi, brought a new change — as I’ve been getting more requests for more writing in English for the last two years. As you know pretty well, I’m an extremely slow writer.
How do you perceive language as a tool for a poet?
I see language working many ways since I dwell in multiple languages. I started my elementary education in Urdu, and my middle school was in Telugu, and the subsequent studies were in English. Through the last day of her life, my mother was extremely particular about me learning Arabic and Farsi. So, I believe that helped me so much to understand how language works in a poem. When I published my first poem in Telugu, the immediate critique was it was a not a “Telugu” poem. Telugu literary critics labelled me as a poet who thinks either in Urdu or English, then writes in Telugu. Of course, most of them were also fascinated by the new syntax of my Telugu poems and the new images and metaphors—that totally deviate from a normative or mainstream Telugu poem of those days. The uses of language in a poem varies for each poet. If you’re reading, writing and thinking in just “one” language, that might be a safe condition. A contemporary or modern poet, however, belongs to many languages and cultures. We also migrate from one language to another in our everyday life.
Do borders of nationalism, mother tongue and geographies divide or connect in your opinion? Do these impact your writing?
The response to this question might be an extension to the above conditionality of a person. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of those ideas of nationalism, mother tongue and singular geographies. They don’t exist in my world. Most of my writings both creative and academic contest such boundaries and borders. To describe this in a single term- borderless. In fact, I believe we’re all borderless, but unfortunately, many boundaries and borders are now being imposed on our personalities.
(The online interview has been conducted by emails by Mitali Chakravarty)
