An enthralling autobiography and some nostalgic memoirs
- ‘Barsabeel-e-Tazkira’ by Tauqir Ahmad Faiq
- ‘YadoN ki Aaghosh” by Zubair Nabi Advocate
‘Barsabeel-e-Tazkira’
Tauqir Ahmad Faiq has an illustrious academic, literary, and professional background. He studied Economics at University of Dhaka, prior to the tragic secession of the then ‘East Pakistan’. He composed a novel in his student days titled ‘SangeenoN kay saa’ey may’ in the backdrop of the political turmoil in that ‘province’.
Simultaneously he evinced keen interest in Urdu poetry also and authored a good number of nazm and ghazal by the time he reached the high school level of studies. Professioally, Tauqir Ahmed Faiq adopted the civil service of Pakistan as his career where he rose to the position of a federal secretary before his superannuation.
Faiq’s autobiography is a multi-layered publication. It is not merely a life account of its author but something more than that. It is like a tabular almanac, as it were, of news, a review of the national and international scenario on economics, politics, and sociology, a veritable travelogue of many a country visited by the writer, and last but not the least, a version of life as envisioned by the narrator. His style, episodic in character, amply reflects the aura of his personality, knowledge, wisdom, experience and felicitous expression.
By writing this book, the author has joined the eminent club of some leading autobiographers from bureaucracy, judiciary, soldiery, literature, and politics like Hasrat Mohani (Qaid-e-Farang), Mumtaz Mufti (Alakh Nagri), Meerza Adeeb (Mitti Ka Diya), Col. Muhammad Khan (Bajang Aamad), Altaf Gohar (Gohar Guzasht), Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi (Zar Guzasht), Brig. Siddique Salik (Hama YaraN Dozakh), Justice Khwaja Muhammad Ahmad Samdani (Ja’iza), Qudratullah Shahab (Shahab Nama), Josh Maleehabadi (YadoN Ki Baraat), Qur’atul Ain Haider (Kar-e-JahaN Daraz Hai), Justice Javed Iqbal (Apna GareebaN Chaak), Tariq Mahmud (Daam-e-Khayal), and Syed Shaukat Ali Shah (Shah Dastan, being published serially).
The book carries introductory flaps by famed writers and intellectuals Tariq Mahmud and Muhammad Izhar-ul-Haq, and forewords by this scribe and noted poet and column writer, Iqtidar Javed (who also happens to be the author’s talented younger brother). It contains some 37 chapters besides an epilogue.
The narrative is based on the graphic memory of the writer which encapsulates minute description of men and matters. He recounts his experiences as a student and later as a civil servant in an engaging manner. His recapitulation/delineation of the events leading to the Fall of Dhaka and subsequently of the camp life in India as a POW is vivid, instructive, and eye-opening, and his analytical study of the political paradigm in Pakistan is nothing short of a marvel.
Yaadon Ki Aaghosh
Zubair Nabi Advocate is a man of two cities, Faisalabd in Pakistan and Calgary in Canada. His versatility lies in his diverse occupations viz. law, politics, social work, journalism, column writing, and business. The book in view is a collection of memoirs of around sixty-four men and women, including his dear and near ones. They belong to different walks of life connected to both commonalty and preeminence. The portraiture is graphic and conclusive with a touch of personal intimacy that makes the sketches life-like, and vibrant too.
The illustrious list includes Hazrat Sufi Barkat Ali Ludihianvi, Maulana Taj Mahmood, Maulana Abdur Rahim Ashraf, Mufti Zainul Abedin, worthy parents of the memorialist, Justice Ch. Muhammad Arif, Ch. Sardar Ali Yaqub Advocate, Ch. Sher Ali, Kh. Iqbal Feroze, Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan, Muhammad Zaheer Qureshi, Abdur Rashid Ghazi, Bishop John Joseph, Dr. Riaz Majeed, Prof. Ghulam Rasul Tanvir, Ch. Rifat Sarosh Faisal, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mian Bashir Ahmad Ejaz, Zaheer Salimi, Hameed Shakir, Dr. Shabbir Ahmad Qadri, Rifat Iqbal (of Punjab Colleges), Zafar Doger, Dr. Muhammad Jalal Arif, Mian Nasim Sadiq, Dr. Muhamad Saulat Nawaz, Rana Shukrullah Khan and Muhammad Akram Khan of Katchery Bazaar.
Shakil Ahmad Khan, Tanvir-ur- Rahman Randhawa, Changez Ahmad Khan Kakar, Hasan Akhtar Juiya Advocate, Nayyar Sultana Rana Advocate, Prof. Shahzadi Bilal, Rana Shams Sharif, Muhammad Qasim Siddiqui, Homeo Dr. Qayyum Tahir Ch. Muhammad Rashid of Calgary, Hakim Thakur Muhammad Dilber Khan, Dr. Ghulam Muhammad of Lathianwala et al. Before concluding the book he has added two more chapters to it: one, dealing with some of his old buddies, and two, recounting the story of his personal law chamber bearing No.111 located in the compound of Faisalabad district courts.
Litterateurs of the calibre and rank of Dr. Riaz Majed, Prof. Ghulam Rasul Tanvir, Dr. Shabbir Ahmad Qadri, Hameed Shakir, Shakil Jazib, Prof. Nasir Bashir, and Dr. Qamar Bukhari have contributed introductory forewords to the book besides a couple of eulogistic flaps by Khalid Sharif and Dr. Sughra Sadaf.
The consensus of their opinions converges on the appreciation of Zubair Nabi’s writing skills, his grasp of the human psyche and an inborn temperamental magnanimity adorning the pen portraits. All said, the book is readable as well as engaging for its rich stylistics and variegated contexts.
