Ab Main Wahan Nahi Rehta (Book Review): اب میں وہاں نہیں رہتا ؛تبصرہ ; Author: Deepak Budki; Reviewer:Quasim Rasa

Ab Main Wahan Nahi Rehta;Book Review

اب میں وہاں نہیں رہتا ؛تبصرہ 

 Author: Deepak Budki;Reviewer: Quasim Rasa

Afsanche Ka Mustaqbil; افسانچے کا مستقبل Urdu Article اردو مضمون

Afsanche Ka Mustaqbil;

 افسانچے کا مستقبل 

 Urdu Article اردو مضمون 

 

Omkar Koul as a Short Story Writer; (English)

Omkar Koul as a Short Story Writer:

(English)

Omkar Koul is a well-known linguist and a short story writer from  Kashmir valley who has more than fifty-two books to his credit        mostly related to comparative studies of Indian languages, their      teaching and their development. Kashmiri language and linguistics has been his special area of focus.                                                   

Koul inherited love of letters from his poet father, Prem Nath Koul 'Arpan' and was further influenced by village folk dance and drama such as 'bachcha nagma', 'banda pather', 'kanils' accompanying Muslim bridegrooms with 'dhols' and 'Surnais', besides regular 'bhajans', 'leelas' and 'artis' at home in Bogam, Kulgam. Some leelas (bhajans) were written by local artistes including his father which inspired him to try his own hand in this genre at a very early stage of his life. His maiden effort was found out by his father who, however, did not discourage him. He continued writing poetry, short stories and his diary from 1960 onwards during his college and university days but unfortunately these manuscripts got destroyed during his migration from the valley in 1990. After his MA (Hindi), he went to Delhi looking for a job in October 1963. It was during this period that his first short story 'Tuition' was published in a literary magazine in 1964. His pursuit of linguistics during his Ph.D. at Agra (1964-67), stay in the USA (1968-71), as also his preoccupation with his job as Principal, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Northern Regional Language Centre, Patiala (1971-87) did not allow him time enough to devote to creative writing because he remained engrossed in research work and critical studies. However, his stint as Professor and Head of the Languages Department at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, a picturesque and hilly place,(1987-94) and later as Deputy Director/Director at Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore from1994 up to his retirement in 2001, rekindled the fire of creative writing in him.

About his writing, he holds that it became necessary and compulsory due to the career chosen by him but he writes short stories for his own pleasure. He translated eleven Kashmiri stories into Hindi for a Kolkata organization for the first time which were published in a collection “Bharti Shresht Kahaniyan” and were later published in 1992 separately as “Kashmiri Kahaniyan”. His collection of 55 short stories in Hindi, 'Mulaqat', was published in 2001 for which he received an award from the Government of India in 2003 given to him by Hon'ble Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The book was later translated by Pyare 'Hatash' into Kashmiri in 2003 and Abdul Mughani into Urdu in 2006.

Looking at the length of the stories in 'Mulaqat'(The Meeting) and 'Aekhri Faesle'(The Final Decision), a collection of Kashmiri short stories, these can easily be categorized as short-short stories or mini stories, a genre of fiction that has received impetus of late, rather than as short stories. Notwithstanding, the writer claims in his preface to Mulaqat, “In my opinion, the story is neither short nor long. The story reveals itself in as many words as the subject matter permits. These stories have diversity as regards the subjects they deal with and the style they employ.” These stories mostly pertain to personal, social, and cultural subjects, romance, flirtations, inter- and intra-personal relations in families and society, issues of women and old age, poverty, nepotism, comparative cost of living in the US etc. While the system of education, methods of teaching, inter-relations of teachers and students and examination system dominate the subjects dealt in the stories, the most poignant stories told by Koul are that of migration of Kashmiri Pandits, a minuscule minority bestowed with intellectual prowess, as a result of militancy in their homeland, Kashmir. Some other stories like 'Ullu', 'Saanp', and 'Nazar' have both wit and subtle humor in them.

Some of the stories in 'Aekhri Faesle' that have impressed me most are as follows. In 'Nosh', the mother-in-law in a mindless narrative narrates the failure of the marriage of her son, an uneducated and unemployed man, who is forced to marry an unsuspecting girl, in order to make him realize his responsibility, but his continuous refusal to do any work, resorting to domestic violence and the consequent reaction of his wife makes things worse. The story unwittingly represents the fate of many a poor girl in the Indian subcontinent. The style of narrating the story through a continuous monologue of the mother-in-law (a stream of consciousness) is interesting. This style has also been adopted in 'Sule Tilwoen' who narrates the woes of his own miserable life. The exploitation of poor and illiterate has also been deftly portrayed in 'Roghe' where a village boy is deprived of a promised job for fear of not getting a replacement. In 'Ashram' aspersions are cast upon a kind and philanthropic lady who patronizes an unknown poor man so much so that she has to leave the Ashram and die. Chuni Lal, however, takes care of her till death and frowns at the people calling them the killers of Kaushaliya behn. In 'Aekhre Faesle', an ill-treated father and widower, throws out his children and resolves to live on his own. Other stories related to old age are 'Dadu', 'Panun Yezath',and 'Koethe'. In yet another touching story, 'Khata', a Muslim girl saves the life of her Hindu neighbors at the cost of her own life. Another story related to migration is 'Hisab'. In 'Panchath', a Muslim girl asserts her right to decide about her and her husband's future rather than succumbing to the diktats of Panchayat.

Omkar Koul draws characters from his surroundings and often paints the scenario in a touching manner as in 'Khata' and 'Roghe'. The social relevance of his stories need not be overemphasized. Though many of his stories have been written about Kashmir, yet his wide travels and experiences have enriched his stories and found him new and varied subjects. I would, however, want him to dissect his characters patiently like a surgeon and not rush through the story since the subjects of some of his stories demand a lengthier treatment. I wish and hope he enriches the Kashmiri language with many more stories in days to come.

                                                   *****

Afsanon Ka Badshah-Deepak Budki, افسانوں کا بادشاہ -دیپک بدکی : (Urdu/Article, مضمون ); Writer: Dr M A Haque

 Afsanon Ka Badshah-Deepak Budki

افسانوں کا بادشاہ -دیپک بدکی  

     Urdu Article، مضمون 

 Writer: Dr M A Haque

Has Anna Hazare Lost the Battle?: (English); Anna's Fight Against Corruption;

Has Anna Hazare Lost The Battle?: (English)

Anna's Fight Against Corruption

I was in anguish when I saw the face of Anna Hazare on TV during his fast in Mumbai. He was adamant to carry out his fast despite running high temperature and he tried his best to keep his promise to the nation.. This frail old man of 74 has personally nothing to gain out of this struggle but wants to see Rama Rajya established in Bharat. I have purposely used the words 'Rama Rajya' and 'Bharat' because they are drawn from our ancient culture and not imported. However, let me make it clear that I have not been advised by any party or social group to use these words. Nor has Anna Hazare been advised by any party or social group to undertake a crusade against corruption. Had it been so, the Shiv Sena supremo would not have expressed his dislike for him.
Mumbaiites failed this selfless soul for reasons best known to them. Reasons can be many. One, Mumbai people are time conscious and do not have time to spend for political rallies since time has a cost for them and they attend the rallies of Politicians only because they are paid for the same. Two, proper logistics was not planned by IAC to ensure proper attendance coupled with State Government sabotaging it by creating transportation hurdles. Three, people found no reason why Anna should undertake fast when the bill was being tabled in the Lok Sabha. Whatever reason may have weighed heavily on the minds of the people, fact remains we failed this sincere crusader against corruption. I refrain to call Anna a Mahatma or a Second Gandhi because such tags raise the expectations of the people from the mortal human beings.
During the past several months the Government used many a method to bring down the image of Anna and his team. Initially they questioned their integrity and their past record. I do not know how much truth is there in such allegations but question arises as to why did the Government not take action against them at proper time and preferred to undertake a smear campaign now. Fortunately,this adverse publicity did not find favour with the public. I would like to add here that no body in this world is perfect and there is a possibility of some mistake having been committed by any one of them. What has to be seen is whether the act committed was with an intention to amass wealth and become rich or was it a mere act of oversight? I would advise all the members of IAC to declare their assets and let any one conduct scrutiny as they please.
When the Government failed to smear the good name of  IAC activists, it resorted to communalising the whole issue through their hounds who day in and day out publicized that the movement had the backing of RSS. For the sake of discussion, let us presume that the movement has a backing of RSS, what then? Is fighting against corruption an anti-Muslim act or anti-Christian act? Does rooting out corruption adversely affect the rights of Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and Other backward Classes? Muslims are known to have least representation in Government jobs. Would anti-corruption measures not reduce nepotism, communalism and money power in recruitment and ensure that all deserving Muslims get their due? Would machinations of high-caste babus not be exposed if Lokpal bill was in place? Would we not get a society which believed in equality of opportunity? If RSS backs a movement which benefits all the citizens of the country should we oppose it just because a Hindu body supports it. I feel we should welcome any step taken by anybody if it is for the welfare of the entire society and not for a few. In fact it is today I wish that Muslims and Dalits had sincere and selfless leaders like Maulana Abulkalam Azad and Baba Saheb Ambedkar who would have shown them the right path.
An objection was raised whether a nominated body could take to task the Prime Minister or the elected representatives of the people who indulge in corruption? The answer is make the Lokpal also an elected body. Let the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elect the members of Lokpal. Even by selecting the members of Lokpal through PM, Vice President, Speaker,Chief Justce and an eminent Jurist , he becomes indirectly elected as majority of the selectors are elected representatives of the people. The only thing an independent Lokpal ensures is that it will focus on eradicating corruption from the country and would expedite such cases.
And then the big questions that Prime Minister will be belittled if he comes under the purview of Lokpal. May I ask a counter question as to why should a Prime Minister do an act which calls attention of a Lokpal?  If he is upright , every citizen of India including the Lokpal will bow before him and he will write his name in golden letters in the history of India.
Last but not the least , I feel that there is still time for the Parliamentarians to rise above party politics and petty personal gains and give to the people of India a Lokpal which is truly an independent body so that the generations to come will remember them the way they remember B R Ambedkar and the constitution makers.

                                             *********