Unsung Pakistani poet honoured with a statue in India

Baba Najmi on being acknowledged by literary community across the border

LAHORE:

It is true that a number of Pakistani artists have acquired global recognition facilitated by the government as well as the media. Yet there are some that never brought into the limelight and Baba Najmi is one such name. The unsung literary icon has five compilations of Pujabi poetry under his belt, namely Sochan Wich Jahaan, Mara Naam Insan, Aakhran Wich Samunder, Sarka Rama and Sanjay Punjab da Lok Gawi. He also presented his poetry to Abida Parveen who sang his poem Chlaan Pankhi Tay Chali Thandi Hawa. The Pakistani government may have neglected Najmi’s work, but recently a literary society in India erected his statue at the Mahadaish Bhagat Singh Park, in Moga in December last year. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Najmi shares how he was acknowledged by the literary circle across the border and not in his own country.

“I am extremely thankful to the people in India. I don’t know these people but they say that simply reading my poetry led them to build my statue.  I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this,” Najmi told The Express Tribune.

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Apart from spending time with the stalwarts of Punjabi lyric writing, Ahmad Rahi and Hazeen Qadri, Najmi also worked as a manager at Regal Cinema. And along his journey through the film industry a sense of constant motivation from his peers and seniors kept him on his toes.

“I have learnt from my seniors that great writers do not care about their health or wealth; they remain committed to their craft and their country, irrespective of their situation,” said Najmi. Despite that, Najmi does express his disappointment at the lack of government support for him and his fellow artists. “It’s about time that our government and culture department specifically, start working for the welfare of Pakistani literary figures.”

Just like the recognition from India proved to be a milestone in Najmi’s otherwise downhill journey, he hopes that something miraculous comes to the rescue of Punjabi films as well.



“Poor quality of poetry and script writing are the basic reasons behind the crisis that Punjabi film industry is suffering from,” Najmi asserted. “We fail to put into words the actual tragedies and issues of our rural life, the real Punjab.”



Najmi pointed out how Kalashnikovs replacing Gandasas has not only dented the sanctity of Punjabi culture, but also promoted extremism. “Only a top-quality film like Maula Jutt can save the fate of our film industry. I wish to play my part and have been searching for quality work, but the fact of the matter is that no one seems to be interested anymore.”

According to Najmi, the Indian industry is doing an impeccable job with promoting their culture, language, traditions and moral values. “We mostly focus on showing bloodshed, violence and stories of enmity. Beside this, vulgarity has become a common element of Punjabi songs and dialogues and they have greatly disappointed our audience. We allowed illiterate writers and directors destroy our wonderful traditions.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2016.

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