Tag Archives: Jeelani Bano

Blast from a pen’s past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

As Urdu Day approaches, Hyderabad-based author Jeelani Bano speaks about her bond with the language.

Jeelani Bano(Photo | R Satish Babu)

Jeelani Bano, 80, looks frail in her sea green sari with that mop of pepper-and-salt hair. Her demeanour is genteel, but only a talk about her stories on bonded labour, her aapa Ismat Chughtai and Progressive Writers’ Movement lights up her eyes. The decades pass on her soft wrinkled face as she turns pages of her autobiographical book Main Kaun Hoon and takes you back to an era gone by that’s still alive in her Banjara Hills house in Hyderabad, serenely tucked in another time-frame. 

As Urdu Day approaches on November 9, she speaks about her association with the language. Many of her stories appear to be of our time. Jagirdari may have gone but capitalistic clutches don’t let go of the bonded slavery. Her story Paththaron ki Barish is heart-wrenching. Bano, who has authored 22 books, says, “A lot of writers of our time revolted against this inhuman system. Something also sparked in me and I wrote such stories. But today also, the situation of daily labourers is the same.” 

Her book Aiwan-e-Ghazal, which tells the tales of feudal landlords in Hyderabad, has been translated into 14 languages. She then talks about her dear aapa—Ismat Chughtai—the firebrand writer. 

“She was also from Badayun in Hyderabad, where I was born. She was friends with my mother and supported me a lot in writing,” says the 2016 NTR National Literary Award winner showing the letters Chughtai sent to her. Ismat wrote to her, “After marriage, respect your writing as much as you would respect your husband and in-laws.” In ’70s, when Jeelani Bano and her husband Anwar Moazzam, poet and writer, went to Pakistan, famous poets and scholars came to meet them at the border. She shares, “Nobody wants to understand what people of both the nations want. Sarhadein dilon ko nahin baant saktin (Borders can’t divide hearts).” 

When once she went to the US, a scholar asked her, “You’re a Muslim woman. How did you get permission to write?” To this, she replied, “Nobody has stopped me from writing. Perhaps you haven’t been to India or else you wouldn’t have asked me this.” 

Renowned poets and scholars such as Shakeel Badayuni, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Jigar Muradabadi and Kaifi Azmi were hosted at her Mallepally home. But, she along with other children weren’t allowed to go to the baithaks. The young Bano would watch these poets, while playing in the courtyard. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Saima Afreen / November 05t, 2016

Mehak Hyderabadi’s stories spread the fragrance of Urdu in Telugu

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The former scribe’s recent Telugu translations include anthologies of Saadat Hasan Manto’s Urdu works

Padullaparthy Venkata Suryanarayana Murthy, known by his pseudonym Mehak Hyderabadi to readers, has been bridging the cultural gap through translations. The former senior journalist with 35 years of experience in Telugu print media has been enriching readers with the ease and simplicity of his translations of Urdu stories into Telugu.

In a span of six years (2016-2021), Mehak has brought out six books – translations of two volumes of Jeelani Bano’s Urdu stories (with Telugu titles Guppita Jaare Isuka, Antaa Nijame Chepta), and Jeelani Bano’s autobiography Main Kaun Hoon as Terichina Pustakam. 

What made Mehak’s journey as a translator gratifying yet sapping, both emotionally and mentally, were the two recent anthologies of celebrated Urdu writer-playwright Saadat Hasan Manto’s stories — Saadat Hasan Manto Kathalu (Volume 1, 27 stories) and Manto’s Classics, and Amrita Pritam’s much-acclaimed novel Pinjar’ into Telugu

The Telugu stories Toba Tek Singh (Toba Tek Singh), Teetwal kukka, (Teetwaal ka kutta), Challani Maansam (Thanda Gosht) and Sukhaantam (Anjaam Bakhair) from Manto’s second volume deal with the horrors of Partition. “It is hard not to be gripped by Manto’s narration of the dark times. People from this part of India (South) were not so impacted by Partition but the narrative leaves you distressed. One feels shattered and hopeless and I was no exception,” shares Mehak.

While there have been translations of Manto’s works into Telugu, they have been translated from English or Hindi. Mehak claims, “I am the first writer to translate Manto stories from Urdu, the language they were originally written in.”

Tryst with Urdu

Mehak was transferred to Hyderabad in ’90 from Vijayawada. Hoping to get a State government job, he began learning Urdu from MA Malve, a retired DSP. He did not get the job but continued to learn for two years, cleared Urdu exams and translated Urdu articles from Siyasat and Munsif into Telugu. “Urdu is poetic and its expressions are unmatchable.”

Translations are a lot of labour, observes Mehak. “Being aware of the atma (soul) of the original writer, what he/she wants to convey, the language’s history and culture helps in the translation process. One has to be careful of the idiom and dialect used.” The key Mehak points out is not imitating the writer’s style while ensuring the gist does not get diluted.

Mehak rues the fading away of mushaira culture in Hyderabad as well as the fact that youngsters are not finding learning Urdu rewarding. “Urdu has many admirers but its position as medium of instruction in educational institutions is vulnerable. The link between Urdu learning and employment opportunities is fragile and many students with Urdu as mother tongue are not inclined to study in it.”

Trained under poet Rehman Jami, Mehak is also an Urdu shayar (poet)and has written ghazals on religious intolerance, the Telangana agitation and other contemporary topics. Currently he is translating Hyderabad-based popular Urdu fiction writer (late) professor Baig Ehsas’s anthology, Dakhma.

Revealing the story behind his takhallus (pseudonym), he says, “Mehak means fragrance and also touchstone to check the quality or genuineness of gold. Renowned Urdu scholar Muztaz Majaz who gave me the name felt it will be unique in the literary world.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Interview> Author / by Neeraja Murthy / January 27th, 2022

Bushra Alvi Razzack: (Not) lost in translation

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NEW DELHI :

Writer, translator and poet Bushra Alvi Razzack about her journey with words

At the book launch of Dilliwali, IIC

Meet Bushra Alvi Razzack – Founder of the poetry group, Delhi by Verse. She has compiled and edited Dilliwali: Celebrating the Woman of Delhi through Poetry (2018), an anthology by 94 poets. Her poems have featured in anthologies and online magazines, and her articles were published in Khaleej Times, Dawn, Rising Kashmir, among others. 

She just completed translating writer Manzoor Ahtesham’s Hindi novel, Basharat Manzil, into English, is translating Urdu writer Jeelani Bano’s short stories into English, and is working on her novel. Photography and old buildings are other fascinations.

our writing schedule?

I don’t follow a rigid schedule, but I plan to rectify that soon. A lot of ideas take root while commuting, and so I always keep a pencil and paper handy to jot down stray thoughts.

Does writing energise or exhaust you?

I would say both. It energises and is cathartic too. Creating something beautiful from a mere thought can be very satisfying. Translating is fun, but can drain you pretty soon. Sometimes, it’s really difficult trying to find the right word to convey in the target language. So, I leave that portion and come back to it later. It always works. I also switch between projects on whim. So, if a Eureka moment for the novel I am working on pops up during a dull phase in the translation, I jump and pursue it till i t ’s there in my headspace.

Writing advice for your younger self ?

If there’s a novel in your head, just write it quick because the idea won’t remain floating in your mind till you’re ready to tick off other ‘have-to-do-it-first’ things.

Your favourite books?

Top on the list is The Golden Treasury – poet Francis Turner Palgrave’s compilation of the best songs and lyrical poems, by the greats including William Shakespeare, John Milton, Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth and John Keats. This book was part of my school syllabus in Grade 8 and 9, and has been with me ever since. Then Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen… one of the most adored love stories that finds an echo in Indian families too. I have taught this book as part of my teaching assignments. Z` Then Delhi by Heart, where Raza Rumi offers unusual perspectives into the political and cultural capital of India.

Literary success vs number of copies sold?

Literary success is that praise and acknowledgement I receive from readers on how they loved my writing and how it has touched them deeply. However, receiving awards for my writing would be great, once I have a larger body of work.

Favourite spot/s in Delhi to write at?

I find my creative juices flowing when in the midst of nature. At home, my writing table is set near the window so that I can see the trees and hear birds sing. When deciding which direction my story should take, a stroll through the shaded environs of my neighbourhood or the park, gets me on track. But poetry tumbles out in my observation of people – be it at home, on the road, a crowded space, etc.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Books / by Bhumika Popli / Express News Service / March 08th, 2020