“Mashahiri Adab Se Mukalama” by Dr Gh Nabi Kumar
By Rayees Ahmad Kumar
Dr Gh Nabi Kumar is among the few young Urdu scholars who has proved his mettle in literary circles in and outside Jammu Kashmir and India. This young guy in his thirties has achieved what could have been difficult for a septuagenarian in a brief period. Among the Urdu literary circles of the country, Dr Kumar is referred to as an ambassador of Urdu because the services of Dr Gh Nabi for the promotion and development of the Urdu language and literature are not only exemplary but are widely acclaimed and appreciated by one and all irrespective of the cadre and the branch of literature they are in expertise. He has a considerable following in the whole of India and the subcontinent. Dr Gh Nabi Kumar has done his masters in Urdu through Kashmir University. After that, he pursued both M.Phill and P.hD through Delhi university and qualified for NET and JRF exams besides the state-level SLET exam. He has many publications to his credit. Qadeem and Jadeed Adbiyaat is his distinguished and popular work widely appreciated by literary circles.
His new piece under my review is “Mashahiri Adab Se Mukalama.” It is published by GNK Publications Kashmir and is spread over 320 pages. Its cover page is eye-catching with a decent quality of paper inside. It is based on the literary interviews of nineteen legendary literary figures of the valley, India, and the subcontinent. In its foreword, the author writes that it is of prime importance to interview or talk to the person you intend to know his life history and achievements in life. Especially when we try to learn about the contribution and works of literary figures, it becomes necessary to talk with them or interview them.
Prof Manazir Ashiq Harganvi stands at serial number one among the nineteen literary personalities in the book. For the last seven decades, Manazir Ashiq’s literary contribution has been widely applauded by readers and those having a literal taste. Prof Harganvi has tried his pen in every aspect of literature, be it poetry, prose, fiction, or travelogue. He has written more than 250 books on different aspects and themes. Born in Jharkhand in July 1948, Prof Harganvi has done masters in both Urdu and Persian from Patna university. Initially, he worked in a Radio station, but later on, he changed his mind to teach in a higher educational institute. Manazir Ashiq, during COVID times, has compiled three books that speak about his zeal for literature.
Manazir Ashiq’s interview is followed by the literary discussion of Dr Sadat Syed. Born in 1950 at Saidi Park Lahore, Dr Sadat’s ancestors belonged to the Pathan tribe of Afghanistan, and their genealogy meets with the Pathan tribe of Yousuf Zai. During the 17th century Muslim India, they settled in Hoshyarpore city of India. Pakistan’s research scholars consider him a versatile personality for his tremendous contribution to Urdu literature. Dr Sadat has authored more than thirty books on varied themes.
Margoob Asar Fatimi, originally a police cop recruited as a police officer of Bihar cadre in 1974 and superannuated in 2011 as senior Dy SP, was born in 1951 in the Aurangabad district of Bihar. Though a cop, he possesses excellent literary taste. After retiring from the active services, he has associated himself with writing creative poetry, prose, Ghazal, Nazam, Rubayi etc.
Raja Yousuf was born on August 28th, 1960, in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, his actual name is Mohd Yousuf Bhat, but after acting in many dramas of theatre, he came to be known as Raja Yousuf. Later he felt no need to change it, and this name published all his writings. His first short story was published in Ayeena in 1983. He has been writing Urdu literature for the last three decades.
Dr Haneef Tarin is a well-known medical practitioner born in October 1951 at Sarai Tareen UP. He has done his schooling in Aligarh and later pursued MBBS from Govt GMC Srinagar. He married a Kashmiri girl and has two sons and a daughter. Despite being a student of science and medicine, he was closely attached to literary movements. He was a great poet, and in his last two years of life, he dedicated himself to writing articles only. He died in December 2020 due to life-consuming cancer disease.
Zulfikar Ahsan is one of the legendary writers of the subcontinent. Born in Sarghoda, Pakistan, in 1971, his literary creations are published continuously in India, Pakistan, and other south Asian countries. His areas of interest are research, criticism, poetry, and journalism. Through his creative writings, he has been actively serving Urdu literature for the last five decades.
Some other literary figures whose interviews are part of this book are Ahmad Rashid Alig, Saifi Sironji, Dr Prem Romani, Dr Azizulla Shirani, Dr Sadiqa Nawab, Prof Irtiza Karim, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, Dr Pervez Shaharyar, Dr Hafiz Karnataki, Najma Mansoor, Haqaniul Qasmi, Dr Afaq Alam, Dr Salik Jameel Brar.
If I try to write about the life and achievements of each of them and what I have learned from the book, It will turn into another book of sweet taste though very lengthy. So I have restricted myself to providing brief information about only a few legendary literary figures in this review. It is of utmost importance to know about the life and works of great contributors to literature because it is due to their hard work, sincere efforts, and promising endeavours that language and literature stand the test of time. Literary figures of each era have their value and stature. They are not like ordinary persons, but through their literary creations, we come across their life and achievements and the difficulties they face in giving rise to their creative works. Many aspects of these figures remain untouched and hidden from the readership because they hardly mention them in their works. So when efforts are made to take the interviews with these people, almost every aspect of their life get vivid.
The efforts of Dr Gh Nabi Kumar can be highly appreciated and applauded by literature lovers for making a sea of information about the legendary literary figure of the subcontinent available to them in the form of the hard copy of this book. The language used in compiling the book is most comprehensive and compels a reader to continue reading till its end. I found this piece most interesting and extra informative. The author has taken utmost care and put more effort into compiling this precious gift for literature lovers. Even non-Urdu-knowing readers can find it tasty because apart from their literary works, we know about their life and experience by reading this marvelous piece. I hope among the literary circles and literature readers, this book will be well taken and praised for its comprehensive style and the valuable information it contains about these legendary literary figures.
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