Daily Times

Tasteer, the regularly published literary journal attracts me due to its style being followed by most of the subsequent literary journals. It attracts me for the variety of literary topics covered extensively. Each issue far exceeds 500 pages. It is not an easy task to collect, compile, edit and present the contributions of seniors and juniors, fault-free in language and text. In my reviews of Tasteer’s previous issues, I concentrated more on the short stories and criticism. This time emphasis shall also be made in Nasari Nazms, a forte of its editor Naseer Ahmad Nasir and Tasteer.

Going backwards, Naseer Ahmad Nasir’s appraisal of Mustansar Hussain Tarrer as a night person and an old lady of orbit in his article titled Mustansar – Ghazal-e-Shab Aur Madaar Ki Burhiya’ is referred to. He has observed that when a human being’s loneliness of beginning and end goes out of his hands, prose poetry is born (Page 541). The same is the case with Mustansar that when his story seems broken somewhere, he has the tenacity to use some poem to unite the broken pieces of his story at a grander level.

Poems by Dushneet Kumar of Bajnur, India, have been covered by Farhan Hanif Warsi. Poems in Hindi have slightly been modified into Urdu. The first poem titled ‘Dharam’ (religion) is brief and has beautiful meaning

Children’s literature is covered by Gulzar’s two poems, the first one is a beautiful poem titled ‘Barish, Barish, Barish Ho Gi’ (Rain, rain, rain shall fall) the last para being ‘Pairon Ko Nokeli Boondain Chubti Hain Kaya? /Taiz Hawa Sei Un Ki Tehenian Dukhti Hain Kaya? /Pairon Ko Bhi Tau Chatri Ki Khwahish Ho Gi/ Barish…’ (Do the trees feel the pinch of droplets/do the branches feel pain caused by gusty winds/trees then must be wanting an umbrella/ Rain, rain, rain shall fall). The second poem titled ‘Aik Main Do’ (Two in one) basically tests the mathematical prowess of children.

Poems by Dushneet Kumar of Bajnur, Uttar Pardesh, India have been covered by Farhan Hanif Warsi (Page 532). Poems in Hindi have slightly been modified into Urdu. The first poem titled ‘Dharam’ (religion) is brief and has beautiful meanings. It says that a small happiness when made big makes one feel that making anything trivial feel as immense is religion.

Translations form a separate section in Tasteer. Nasar Malik’s translation of Burmese Theen P. Ment is regarding sensibilities of an old professor. An old professor preferring to walk to his University comes across a beautiful, sturdy girl walking at a distance ahead of him. His desire to see her gait, feel her body transpires an extra energy in him and he walks with a straight back at a faster pace towards her. This spell is broken when she waves at a young man to get into his arms; a student perhaps. Professor’s psyche takes a reverse gear and his back gets its curve back and joints’ pains return. It is a rare phenomenon to see Sindhi literature translated into Urdu language. Tasteer does it in the form of a separate corner from pages 493 to 512 comprising Hari Kant’s short story titled ‘Aur Batti Bujh Gai’ translated by Jahangir Abbasi. Also included are Urdu translations of poems by Paras Hameed, Mushtaq Gabol, Ali Izhar, Habdar Solangi and Dargahi Gabol. Created and translated by Mushtaq Gabol, two short poems titled Uljhan (paradox) 1 and 2 are very interesting using modern day metaphors. The second poem says ‘Bazaar Main/Tumhari Ankhon Nei/Meri Ankhain Easy Load Kar Leen/Tumhare Saath Hote Hue Bhi/Is Khaud Main Mubtala Hun/Keh Kahin/Meri Ankhain Bhi/Kharch Na Ho Jaaein’ (On the road, your eyes downloaded my eyes as ‘easy load’ and I was apprehensive all the time that I may not spend them fast).

Ghazals by various contributors like Shamim Hanfi, Khalid Iqbal Yasir, Farhat Ehsas, Hameeda Shaheen, Nasira Zuberi, Tanveer Qazi, Neena Adil, Saalim Saleem, Shumama Ufaq, Qindeel Badar, Bilqees Khan, Bilal Aswad, Tamseel Hafsa, Azwar Shirazi, Amar Mehki, Muhammad Akram Jazib, Naeem Raza Bhatti, Nilofer Afzal, Usama Ameer, Sania Sheikh and Nazia Ghaus form an important chapter in Tasteer.

Nazm (Urdu) is a major part of the Urdu poetry, which is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose style poems. Nazm is a significant genre of Urdu poetry; the other one is known as Ghazal. The modern prose style of Nazm is forte of the editor. A large section from Pages 397 to 452 comprises contributions of dozens of contributors. Nasari Nazm of course has a separate corner from Page 397 to Page 452. Naseer Ahmad Nasir presents some poems from his own diary (Pages 277 to Page 280). Ghazal with Qafia Radeef ‘Khaali Kar’ is great. Its Matla’a is ‘Maal Utha Aur Dukaan Khaali Kar/Yei Zaman-e-Makan Khaali Kar’ (Pack your luggage and vacate the house. Vacate this era and house that houses it). Another couplet desires to open talk on future. It says ‘Aane Waale Dinon Ka Qissa Likh/Sun Chuki Dastaan Khaali Kar’ (Write something on the coming days as we have heard enough of your past stories).

Title: Tasteer – August 2017
Editor: Naseer Ahmad Nasir
Publishers: Book Corner, Jhelum, Pakistan
Price: Rs. 700/- Pages: 543

Writing and defining a poem is a delicate task. Tabasum Kaashmiri does it in his poem ‘Likhna Aik Nazm Ka’ (writing a poem) on page 200. His poem was decorated with purple arches below which a song lived and above it a bird sleeps in his nest.  The poem continues with its beauty. The story ‘Dil, Rooh, Aur Main’ (Page 169) is an impressionistic short story by Farhat Zafar. It starts with a person playing with his loneliness. Rasheed Amjad summarizes salient points in the modern short story writing on his submission on page 23 as he feels that criticism on short stories is considerably less as compared to poetry. Probably the maximum critical appraisal was done by Progressive Writers Movement and that too diminished with time after 1960s. People did not have time to read books especially novels and short stories. Critics read a couple of stories of a writer and augmented their impressions that was misleading.

Tasteer’s standard can be termed as outstanding because of variety of topics it covers in its each journal. Credit goes to the editor Naseer Ahmad Nasir and his assistants Gagan Shahid and Amar Shahid.

Published in Daily Times, August 19^th 2018.