Their language of love: Bapsi Sidhwa’s short story collection launched
Ceremony starts with a 30 minute delay as roads leading to the venue were blocked by protesters.
Javid Iqbal, Bano Qudsia, Bapsi Sidhwa, Intezar Hussain and Mustansar Hussain Tarrar at the launch of Sidhwa’s book. PHOTO: SHAFIQ MALIK /EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Speeches at the launch of Bapsi Sidhwa’s latest book, Their Language of Love, and the Urdu translation of her novel The Crow Eaters, Junglewallah Sahab, ranged from insights on literature and language to politics and social unrest.
The launch at the Avari hotel on Sunday was delayed by 30-minutes as roads leading to the venue had been blocked by police due to protest demonstrations over Saturday’s incidents in Badami Bagh.
The attendance was low. Nadia Jamil read excerpts from Sidhwa’s recent collection of short stories, Their Language of Love. The 20-minute recital left the audience mesmerised. The stories described the emotional agony of Partition and its consequences for people, especially women.
This was followed by two readings from the Junglewallah Sahab translated by Dr Muhammad Umar Memon, Professor Emeritus of Urdu Literature and Arabic Studies at the University of Wisconsin.
Jamil asked the panelists if they believed silencing of minority voices would continue in Pakistan.
Journalist Khaled Ahmed said while it was impossible to predict the future, there was a growing aggression in the society. “There is a strange views deep-rooted in the Muslim mentality that the stricter a religion the better it is,” he said. “Historically, Muslims have always produced great scholars when oppressed, a trait which they abandoned once they came into power. And when they [Muslims] move towards democracy, they become aggressive,” he said.
Justice (retd) Javid Iqbal suggested that the religious intolerance could be countered only by a deeper knowledge of various religions. He said that with commonalities amongst religions often sidelined, people were ignorant when it came to understanding different religions and their values. “Minorities today are intentionally made to feel insecure and abandoned,” he said.
He noted that religious practices needed to be understood to move the society towards a harmonious state. Ironically, he said, when Sidhwa’s book The Crow Eaters came out, there was a growing resentment from within her own community the Parsis which was annoyed at her for writing a satirical account of their lives.
Expressing his disappointment at not being invited to the Lahore Literary Festival, writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar regretted that the organisers had failed to invite authors of the “cursed and despised” Urdu language. Tarar read a small English essay on Sidhwa in which he admitted that one of the greatest blunders in his writing career was not agreeing to translate The Crow Eaters. “Had I translated it, I would have been part of the international glory,” he said. Calling Sidhwa a “daughter of the city [Lahore]”, Tarar said she would forever live in the hearts of people on account of her work.
Writer Intezar Hussain said that with the translation, Junglewallah Sahab, the Parsi traditions which Sidhwa had narrated in The Crow Eaters would be available in Urdu. He said Urdu literature had accounts of different religious traditions and values, through fiction and otherwise. He said there was a great need to continue the practice.
Walking down the memory lane, writer Bano Qudsia narrated her first meeting with Sidhwa in the 1980s when publishers were hesitant to publish The Crow Eaters. The first account of Qudsia’s meeting with Sidhwa left the hall echoing with laughter but Sidhwa in tears. “Bapsi’s writings are rich with the beauty and fragrance of all that is Pakistan,” Qudsia said.
The evening ended with Sidhwa briefly commenting on the recent events in Lahore. “There is reason for not smiling today…what has happened in Badami Bagh. If there is anything that can stop me smiling, it is such unfortunate events,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2013.
Speeches at the launch of Bapsi Sidhwa’s latest book, Their Language of Love, and the Urdu translation of her novel The Crow Eaters, Junglewallah Sahab, ranged from insights on literature and language to politics and social unrest.
The launch at the Avari hotel on Sunday was delayed by 30-minutes as roads leading to the venue had been blocked by police due to protest demonstrations over Saturday’s incidents in Badami Bagh.
The attendance was low. Nadia Jamil read excerpts from Sidhwa’s recent collection of short stories, Their Language of Love. The 20-minute recital left the audience mesmerised. The stories described the emotional agony of Partition and its consequences for people, especially women.
This was followed by two readings from the Junglewallah Sahab translated by Dr Muhammad Umar Memon, Professor Emeritus of Urdu Literature and Arabic Studies at the University of Wisconsin.
Jamil asked the panelists if they believed silencing of minority voices would continue in Pakistan.
Journalist Khaled Ahmed said while it was impossible to predict the future, there was a growing aggression in the society. “There is a strange views deep-rooted in the Muslim mentality that the stricter a religion the better it is,” he said. “Historically, Muslims have always produced great scholars when oppressed, a trait which they abandoned once they came into power. And when they [Muslims] move towards democracy, they become aggressive,” he said.
Justice (retd) Javid Iqbal suggested that the religious intolerance could be countered only by a deeper knowledge of various religions. He said that with commonalities amongst religions often sidelined, people were ignorant when it came to understanding different religions and their values. “Minorities today are intentionally made to feel insecure and abandoned,” he said.
He noted that religious practices needed to be understood to move the society towards a harmonious state. Ironically, he said, when Sidhwa’s book The Crow Eaters came out, there was a growing resentment from within her own community the Parsis which was annoyed at her for writing a satirical account of their lives.
Expressing his disappointment at not being invited to the Lahore Literary Festival, writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar regretted that the organisers had failed to invite authors of the “cursed and despised” Urdu language. Tarar read a small English essay on Sidhwa in which he admitted that one of the greatest blunders in his writing career was not agreeing to translate The Crow Eaters. “Had I translated it, I would have been part of the international glory,” he said. Calling Sidhwa a “daughter of the city [Lahore]”, Tarar said she would forever live in the hearts of people on account of her work.
Writer Intezar Hussain said that with the translation, Junglewallah Sahab, the Parsi traditions which Sidhwa had narrated in The Crow Eaters would be available in Urdu. He said Urdu literature had accounts of different religious traditions and values, through fiction and otherwise. He said there was a great need to continue the practice.
Walking down the memory lane, writer Bano Qudsia narrated her first meeting with Sidhwa in the 1980s when publishers were hesitant to publish The Crow Eaters. The first account of Qudsia’s meeting with Sidhwa left the hall echoing with laughter but Sidhwa in tears. “Bapsi’s writings are rich with the beauty and fragrance of all that is Pakistan,” Qudsia said.
The evening ended with Sidhwa briefly commenting on the recent events in Lahore. “There is reason for not smiling today…what has happened in Badami Bagh. If there is anything that can stop me smiling, it is such unfortunate events,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2013.