The last month left bereaved the literary and intellectual quarters of the city with the sad news about the sudden death of a great creative and scholarly icon Mr Mohammad Mahmud, the Chairman of South Asian Publications (SAP), Founder of the Star Awards Pakistan and the architect of the country’s first Tourism Calendar. So far the game of numbers is concerned, he was 85 with a healthy physique, whole-hearted spirit and a lively psyche. Although I am younger than his children, we had a very candid and caring friendship that has been a blessing for me in so many perspectives. He was a man of strong nerves, unshaking courage and great faith and successfully waded through the hot waters of hardships, misfortunes and sufferings.
During the last two years, we had telephonic conversations only due to Covid pandemic and the resultant procedures and lockdowns, and I found him depressed and desperate to go out with friends for enjoying a cup of coffee at a restaurant or coffee house. Finally, we had a tea-session at his house, located in Gulshan Iqbal, last month because the terror of Covid was apparently over.
“Muttahir Saheb, let us start our previous routine again from next week. It was really very frustrating to be a house-arrested person for two years. Thank God, it is over. As I am a chain smoker and enjoying my mid-80s, I had to take extra care. My son Dr Mamoor gives me instruction on daily basis and takes care of my routine and other daily affairs with profound devotion.” He said with a sigh of relief and lighting the third cigarette in a chain. But the fate had different plans and the brave person who survived the virus when it was at peak in the world, got entangled with it when it was going back. After two weeks of our last meeting, I received a call from his son who told me that Mr Mahmud was in ICU due to Covid; the next call, after 24 hours, conveyed the sad news of his demise.
I came closer to him 10 to 12 years ago when I penned down a critical review on his impressive and thought-provoking autobiography titled as ‘In the Departure Lounge’, published in 2011. He called the Chief Editor Daily News S M Fazal, asked for my contact number and subsequently, invited me to lunch at his office located in Phase 2 of DHA, Karachi. He appreciated my critical review on his book a lot saying, “during a long span of my life I have hardly come across such a book review that has been written after thorough study and the deep analysis of the concerning book”.
Since that moment, we enjoyed many coffee sessions, dinners and daytrips together and each of the sittings was soaked into scholarly and intellectual debates and intercourses. Although not directly relevant here, yet I would love to proudly mention that the same kind of situations happened at different times in my life and, consequently, blessed me with the friendship of legendary and seasoned icons like Mr Amjad Islam Amjad, Mr Ayub Khawer, Mr Zia Abbass, Allamma A S Muslim and others.
We often had Mr Hamid Saeed Rajput, former Director (News) Pakistan Television (PTV), with us during our sittings and both the veterans, Mr Mahmud and Mr Rajput used to talk about various phases and junctures of Pakistan in terms of sociopolitical, art, cultural and educational development, with deep insight. Mahmud often dived deep into the ocean of sweet and bitter memories of his life and related the circumstances how the life was going on around him and how he observed it through different angles during various stages of his academic, social and professional life. He was a greatly enamored with poetry and literature and, once, expressing his feelings and impressions about studying literature in the class of Professor J H Mitra, his favourite teacher at Central College Kolkata, his eyes welled with tears. Besides, the mentioning of the impact of Longfellow’s poem ‘Santa Philomena’ on his spirit as a young boy was really very stimulating.
In his above-cited book, Mr Mahmud skillfully portrayed different phases of national, social and political history and the associated reflections he perceived on the basis of his firsthand experiences of living in Kolkata, Dhaka and Karachi, during ups and downs of Pakistan. His life is really a motivational and reassuring story for the bipeds who never give up in their struggle and sail through the heavy odds of life and tempestuous waves of the time.
He was born in Kolkata, received his early education there, cherished an ocean of memories in his heart about his childhood and teenage period, and, then, with a heavy heart, was forced to migrate to Dhaka with his family due to post-partition socio-political upheavals. With the passage of time he, along with his family, learnt to emotionally and psychologically co-exist with the circumstances and, ultimately, get settled after achieving an executive post in WAPDA, under the central government of Pakistan. However, the series of pangs of bereavement and separation did not stop here and, with the rise of separatist movements and the subsequent sociopolitical chaos and anarchy in the then East Pakistan, the painful and horrible developments went on mounting and, ultimately, converged onto the creation of Bangladesh and the disintegration of Pakistan, in 1971. All that saga exercised a highly agonizing and grief-stricken impact on the blossoming spirit of a young Mahmud, who, being a non-Bengali citizen, had to migrate again with his family. This time, the destiny led them from Dhaka to Karachi.
He underwent bitter experiences during his initial span of time in the city of Quaid when he had to feed his family and there was nothing to do in a strangers’ city, but he made his way through all the odds and authored the story of the Ups and Downs with his own pen, leading to a successful ending. His initial failure in taking hold of any good or reasonable job, despite his bright past career and professional abilities and experience, proved to be a blessing in disguise for him and paved the way for his fame and glory as a publisher and a writer. He laid the foundation of the South Asian Publications (SAP) and made progress by leaps and bounds. The next steps were the formation of Star Awards Foundations and other associated steps to initiate awards and recognition services for the motivation of the students as well as professionals from different walks of life. He never knew he could be an influential publisher, author and social worker instead of a government officer. ‘The Tourists Guide Service limited’ (1973) and, later on, the launching of ‘Tourists Calendar Pakistan’ (1974) are two other major milestones in the professional voyage of Mr Mahmud. This field opened new vistas for him in the arena of educational, intellectual and the socio-political fields and earned him a position of better economic and professional prospects.
Next, he started working to elevate the socio-professional status of the women and to promote the Pakistani youth as the future of the society. Mr Mahmud’s achievements, in regard to the girl-child welfare campaign on both national and global levels, are a beacon light for others and will be remembered always. Various Presidents, Premiers and other towering dignitaries graced the annual awards ceremonies and other events, for years, held under his multi-dimensional organisation.
As he was aging and getting exhausted with the work, he was very much concerned about and passionate for the future of the SAP and; in 2013 and 2014, he advised me to take the responsibility for running the organisation, but, being associated with a defence organisation, I couldn’t honour his kind offer. Soon thereafter, with a heavy heart, Mr Mahmum would up the set up.
(The writer is an educationist, author and journalist, can be reached at muttahir_khan@hotmail.com)