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OPEN LETTER
A
graceful innings
KISHWAR NAHEED
| Looking
back on a more than four-decade-old friendship with
Ahmed Faraz, one of the best-known Urdu poets of Pakistan
and of the sub-continent, now battling for his life
in an American hospital. |
Photo:
S. Arneja
Ahmed
Faraz: Poet and a man of the world.
Dear
Faraz,
We
met back in 1964, in the Peshawar office of Yousuf Lodhi
(the great political cartoonist who died a few years ago).
That night we talked about politics, literature and made
small jokes about contemporary writers. That was the start
of our friendship. You and my husband Yousuf Kamran grew
closer. You were both too glamorous. I know the way girls
used to write letters to the two of you. The phone was not
common then. Yousuf was presenting PTV's popular programmes
such as "Sukhanwar" and "Dastan Go". You were being introduced
on TV as the Hero Poet. When a famous singer sang your ghazal
"Yeh Alam Shouq Ka Dekha na Jai', viewers still remember
you looking like a shy adolescent, the singer with her ring-studded
fingers, looking proud of her achievement. Yes, it was a
small spark, which was quickly put to ashes by her mother.
Faraz,
You
were my colleague at the National Centre (a State-run cultural
centre, now defunct). I was posted at Lahore and you at
Peshawar. You opted for a transfer to Islamabad in 1974.
Again, some love spark very intense, very absorbing. But
despite being a majnoon, you were conscious that a writer
has to be a person with status.
On
one side, your popularity was speeding up after Dard Ashob,
your second collection of poetry. On the other, you decided
to build your own house. You were fortunate that poetry
made you rich. As you often claimed, no other poet had been
as lucky. You received the highest royalty ever paid to
a poet for over 30 years. Your poems were bestsellers. You
have roamed the world reciting your poetry, letting people
from the crowd repeat lines. An old man enjoys your poetry
in the same way as a teenaged girl or boy.
Sense
of humour
Once,
on the occasion of International Women's Day, you and I
were chief guests. After me, when you started reciting your
poetry, the fiery Tahira Abdullah objected. We want poetry
on women, she said. Abruptly, Faraz, you said "all my poetry
is about women". Your sense of humour is so remarkable that
even eminent humorist Mushtaq Yousafi was impressed by your
repartee and wit.
I
can never forget 1977 for two reasons. One is the time you
recited "Peshawar Qatilo" (Professional Killers) at a function
at Islamabad. Around 2.00 a.m., men in white clothes [I
don't know why they always come in white clothes] entered
the house and threw you into an army jeep and drove off.
After a few days we consulted with Abid Hasan Minto, the
lawyer, and filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court, that
for the last 15 days Faraz is missing.
Justice
Zullah was in the chair; he ordered the army to produce
Faraz in two days and asked me and Saif sahib to bring all
the writers we could collect on that particular day. Nobody
will believe, Faraz. Right from Qasmi Sahib, every writer
of name was in the High Court that day. When I saw you,
I screamed; so thin had you gone, so spoiled your complexion.
You were brought in escorted by the army. The judge - judges
could then still speak like that - asked you "why were you
locked up, did you see some warrant?" When you said no,
the judge, in a very angry voice, announced that Faraz may
be freed immediately. The decision was presented before
Gen. Ziaul Haq, who was army chief of Pakistan. It was June
27, 1977.
The
General's words
You
remember, Faraz? The General spoke to you to convince you
about how important it was to support Bhutto sahib. Less
than two weeks later, the same General placed Pakistan under
martial law on July 5, 1977. That is, of course, the other
reason why 1977 is unforgettable.
Faraz,
you told us that during your stay in Attock Fort, you were
kept in a dark and dingy basement, where food was given
to you in a thali, by a hand whose face you could not see.
During
that crisis I talked to Begum Bhutto, as we came to know
that your arrest had the approval of Bhutto sahib. She promised
to talk to him. Next day when I again rang her, she too
was angry; she said Bhutto sahib had said all of us were
his supporters. So why had Faraz placed him in such a situation?
All of us were perplexed - how to make Bhutto sahib agree
to release you? With Masood Ashaar, I went to see Madame
Noor Jehan, as she was your admirer. Also we knew that she
was a close friend of the "Black Queen" (whose closeness
to Bhutto sahib was known to every one). After a lot of
discussion, Madame went to Karachi and persuaded Black Queen
to request Bhutto sahib to order your release.
Faraz,
In 1978, you were reciting your famous poem Muhasra at Karachi.
Right there, in the middle of the night, you were made to
get up and leave as you had been "exiled" from Karachi and
Sindh with immediate effect. You were so dejected that you
exiled yourself from the country, stayed with your brother
for six years in London. When you returned from England
and Fehmida Riaz came back from India, we celebrated with
a function at Lahore. Again we were together, but the distribution
of government jobs created a new horizon of relationships.
You were appointed Chairman, Academy of Letters and Fehmida
was made MD, National Book Foundation .
Remember
you were earlier made Chairman of the same academy by its
founder, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto? The urge for a job in the
government remained in you until Pervez Musharraf got angry
because you spoke against the Army and you and your luggage
from the residence were thrown out like that of any low
man. Despite protests by the press and writers, nothing
happened.
Remember
when we went together in the processions for restoration
of judges 2007-08. Many junior but non-committed writers,
following your instructions, joined the processions.
Faraz,
You have had a tendency to create controversies about either
yourself or about different issues. Remember you spoke against
marriage and said this is also a sort of prostitution through
a contract on paper. How many newspapers and fundamentalists
spoke against you? Another controversy you started was about
the Urdu language. You said Urdu is a dying language. The
entire Muttahida Qaumi Movement (a party that represents
Urdu speakers in Pakistan) and many writers got angry with
you. You also spoke against the army but then changed your
words saying "I am against the ruling junta, not against
a sipahi".
Internationally
popular
You
have been very popular internationally. You have hardly
ever refused an invitation for a mushaira from anywhere
in the world, but accept only on your own terms. You made
writers conscious of getting royalty from the publishers;
you made police crack down on illegal publishers. You made
writers realise their self-respect. No one can accuse you
of being a munafiq, a hypocrite. You have never been ashamed
of your romances, never presented any excuse of your evening
drink sessions.
Faraz,
You have been the darling of singers, so much so that ghazals
by others with the same name as you got popular. In all
colleges the girls who had never read poetry recited your
couplets. Each one of them, even in Hijab, wanted your autographs.
You, so conscious of your age, have never liked yourself
to be called "Uncle", especially by any women. You are Faraz
Sahib for every one. But you did not object when my sons
called you that. I, in turn, have been a darling aunty to
your three sons and I have not seen any son so much fond
of the father as your sons have been. But who is not fond
of you and who will not remember you every evening with
a glass in hand? Cheers my friend, your innings has never
been without grace and glamour, and you are still our darling.
Love
you, Kishwar.
Kishwar
Naheed is an eminent Pakistani author.
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