REVIEWS: The legend
Reviewed by M. Khalid Rahman
A renowned literateur, a noted scholar, a well-known educationist and a popular
political leader, Dr Shakeelur Rahman is all this and more. Widely acknowledged
as specialist in aesthetics in Urdu literature, he has more than a score of
books on Urdu literature to his credit. He has inspired many a book on himself
too and his work.
Dr Rahman feels that the art of a critic in Urdu still lacks the feel for aesthetics in a literary piece, which is usually judged on realistic rendition of a situation. He says that a short story is not appreciated for the reason that it has painted an experience in earnest reality, but because of the creative imaging that remains the hallmark of the writer.
Literary giants like Mir, Ghalib and Iqbal have remained the subject of erudite studies but their works have never been analyzed from an aesthetic point of view, laments Dr Rahman. He stresses that a piece of literature does not deal with the topics of natural sciences, and hence need not have the characteristics of a mathematical formula and be three-dimensional; but it deals with life and feelings. You need a different scale to quantify the amount of pathos than the units used to measure time, weight, distance or electrical charge. Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, the great writer that he is, has been able to render pathos an experience in aesthetics, Dr Rahman declares.
When a writer of Dr Rahman’s stature uses the English word ‘legend’ in Urdu, the discerning reader can understand that he is using that expression in a sense which has no equivalent in the Urdu language. He counts Premchand, Sa’adat Hasan Manto and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi as the most creative writers of Urdu short story. What sets Qasmi apart from the rest, he says, is the essence of humanity that permeates his stories, enriching them in matter and substance.
What sets Qasmi apart from the rest, he says, is the essence of humanity that
permeates his stories, enriching them in matter and substance
Qasmi renders pathos as an experience in aesthetics; and Dr Rahman feels that
this special quality is specific only to Qasmi. For this reason, he deserves
to be acknowledged as a ‘legend’, and a living legend at that, according to
Dr Shakeelur Rahman.
It is
rare to have an award instituted in the name of a literary celebrity in their
lifetime. Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi is one such personality. The first Ahmed Nadeem
Qasmi Award was given in December 2002 to Bano Qudsia for her book Kuchh aur
Nahin, and to Yasmin Hameed for her book Fana bhi ik sarab hay — both published
in 2001.
