Poetry with purpose: Josh remembered for standing against oppression of all forms

Writers praise Josh for his skill and resistance; book records family and friends’ memories about poet.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistani society is in need of some compassion and a lot of courage. They might have to look no further for these two qualities than the works of a poet who championed them throughout his lifetime.

Eminent writers and poets suggested the ideals of revolutionary and humanist Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi need to be promoted to the younger generation to encourage empathy for fellow humans and resistance to an oppressive, militant mindset in society.

The writers had gathered on at an evening Saturday to mark the 32nd death anniversary of the illustrious Urdu poet and also to introduce a new book on the poet’s life.

The book titled “Josh Malihabadi: Malihabad se Islamabad tak Roodad-e Safar, Mulazmatein aur Qayyam-gahein” is written by Farrukh Jameel, who is Josh’s maternal grandson.

Josh is considered one of the greatest Urdu poets especially for his lyrical, rhyming poems and his principled resistance to forms of oppression including imperialism and dictatorships.

The new book provides valuable insight into the thinking and working mind of Josh, speakers said at the gathering, which was organised at the Rawalpindi Arts Council by the Josh Adabi Foundation with the arts council’s support.

They said it explains, perhaps for the first time, why the poet migrated to Pakistan from India in 1958.

“Through this book, we have found out that Josh had realized Urdu was being sidelined in India,” writer Dr Ravish Nadeem said. “It was his love for the language that brought him to Pakistan.”

Speakers praised Josh for using his poetry to stand up to the British imperialism prior to Partition and Pakistani dictators after Independence. They said people who labeled Josh anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam were completely in the wrong because Josh was a staunch Muslim and had even written poems in favour of the two-nation theory.

Participants said Josh has been wronged by the nation and his own family, who still posses his unpublished manuscripts but are not releasing those writings for the public.

They also mentioned his disciplinarian attributes, spontaneity, sense of humour and love for nature, peppering their speeches with recitation of Josh’s poetry.

The conversation quite often veered towards issues of militancy as speakers voiced concerns about the apparent existential threat it posed to arts, culture and aestheticism. Poet Mansoor Aqil said the real asset for a nation is not just its land but the people who adorn the land with their artistic and creative skills.

Jameel said he wrote the book because he believes the places where a great literary figure resides or travels through also become part of literary history.

Jameel’s book relies on his memories of his grandfather, Josh’s own writings and anecdotes from relatives and friends to reconstruct Josh’s journey through jobs and cities before he died in Islamabad in 1982 at the age of 88.

Representatives of the Josh Adabi Foundation floated some proposals to the government to pay homage to Josh. They suggested that a Josh chair should be established at a government university and a road in Islamabad should be named after the poet.

Parliamentary Secretary of the information ministry, Mohsin Ranjha, who attended the event on behalf of the information minister Pervez Rasheed, said he will bring the proposals to the minister’s attention.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2014.