Book launch: Mansha Yaad remembered by friends, fans

The noted short-story writer’s only Urdu novel launched posthumously.


Our Correspondent October 10, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Few writers have captured the essence of Punjabi village life as realistically and masterfully as Mansha Yaad.

When Yaad, an award-winning short-story writer and playwright, passed away in October 2011, it seemed the vacuum created by his absence might never get filled. Now, with the posthumous publication of Yaad’s first and only Urdu novel, his friends and colleagues are confident that Yaad will always remain among them, watching over their creative pursuits and encouraging them as he had always done.

Writers and intellectuals from the twin cities paid rich tributes to the Pride of Performance winner writer and his works at a ceremony on Tuesday marking Yaad’s first death anniversary and the launch of his novel, “Raahein.” The ceremony was held at the National Language Authority auditorium.

Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik, who chaired the ceremony, said Yaad’s diction and his treatment of social issues makes his works relevant in today’s world.

“His social realism and simple style are things new writers can learn from,” Prof Malik told The Express Tribune after the ceremony. “We need his social perspective to understand our society and his style to make our writing accessible to all kinds of readers.”

Malik said Urdu writers focus on social issues such as intolerance and violence, but literature has been pushed to the background.

“Literature and creative writing need to be promoted,” he stressed, reminding the media of its responsibility in this regard.

Earlier, Hameed Shahid and Amjad Tufail reviewed Yaad’s novel.

Shahid said, “Yaad’s writing in Raahein is brutal and realistic. He has effortlessly translated the ethos of Punjabi culture into Urdu. Thanks to this novel, the Urdu language has become familiar with a new flavour of writing.”

Tufail said the majority of Urdu fiction is based in urban centres, but Yaad’s works present a comprehensive display of rural Punjabi life, which brings him on par with some of the best short story writers in Urdu. He said Yaad’s connectedness with his peers and readers was exemplary.

Yaad’s novel is an Urdu version of his famous Punjabi novel, “Taanwan Taanwan Taara.” It is not a literal translation though. In the writer’s note he had written for the novel before his death, Yaad stated, “This is not a translation, but a creative work in its own right.”

Before setting out to write the novel, Yaad had already adapted the Punjabi novel into an Urdu screenplay, which turned into a popular TV drama with the same title, “Raahein”.

He had completed the draft of the Urdu novel by June 2011.

Yaad is credited as the pioneer of the Islamabad chapter of Halqa Arbab-e Zauq -- a regular weekly meeting of writers and poets, which includes reading and critique sessions.

Malik said, “Yaad is singularly responsible for turning the barren federal capital into a culturally and academically healthy city.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

Ahmad Hammad | 11 years ago | Reply

Great to know that the novel has been published. He's a great writer. His services for the promotion of literature in the twin cities are iconic and shall be long-remembered. May his soul rest in peace.

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