Daily Times

Paasani Angaren Pahar is a book in Balochi language written by Sadiq Murad, a prominent Baloch writer and a former teacher in Tump, Balochistan. The book is an article-based collection on various society-and-literature-related topics. It was published by Balochi Academy Quetta at the end of 2019.

The phrase “Paasani angaren pahar,” in simple words, reflects to the moments in Baloch history which were awful and caused losses to the Baloch society. They include the loss of Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi, the sudden death of Murad Sahir, the accidental death of master Gul Mohammad Wafa, the saddening conditions of the recent Makran as compare to past etc. Besides this, the book also includes some non-fictional short stories of the writer that relates to the Balochi literature in one or the other way.

The book begins with Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi who was a language researcher, poet, writer and vested all his life for the development of Balochi language and literature. He advised the Baloch nation through his poetries which are not less than a school of proper guidance. He was, albeit, at the verge of sickness, but travelled to collect data of Balochi language in various parts of Balochistan. And lastly died due to the sickness, but he is always immortal in the pages of Baloch history for the works he has done.

More importantly, Baloch society can never forget the services of Dr. Naguman Baloch who, despite being in abroad, has been contributing his precious write-ups to enriching Balochi language with all the valuable assets. Be it the short stories or essays, Dr. Naguman has always been at his best in conveying his thoughts accordingly. His short story collection “Daar e asp” is one of the most famous Balochi short story books of the literature. He writes very short but to the point of the title which describes his grip over the topic.

Further, the writer, Sadiq Murad, credits his school teacher Iqbal Raz the person who became the reason of his presence in the world of Balochi literature. He was the first to have told him and his class fellows, in class seven, to start writing in Balochi. Despite he had a different subject to teach in the school, he was always there standing by them to support them to write and read Balochi. However, Iqbal Raz is one of the gloomy stars when it comes to prosing poetries. His collections are never undergone when we start highlighting the crux of Balochi literature.

Thoughtfully, one of the best parts of the book, to me in person, was the story of Zahid Pudha who was a drug addict. He was indeed a robber who used to steal others’ materials and sold them to earn some money for his drugs. The writer described his character in a way that attracted me to a great extent. He was, howbeit, famous for his robbery, yet the people of the society loved him a lot due to his funny description: he described the things in a way that would even make a laughter out of a funeral. One more thing about him was, he always told the reality in front, be it the other drug addicts or anyone else. He never told lie and always stood with reality. Indeed, the writer grieved in heart if he could find all the people of the society same as a drug addict; reality based.

Moreover, Sadiq Murad also mentioned the woes of footballers in Balochistan. He brought upfront the worries of street footballers in Lyari, who performed well and got third in the Street Child Football World Cup in Brazil. Although they lightened the name of Pakistan globally, they got nothing of promotion thereafter. The writer further categorized them in the list of drug addicts, foreign servants or gangsters. Only if they were promoted in sports and education, their fate would have been lot more different.

Factually, this book of Sadiq Murad is a true blessing for the Baloch society. It discusses the Baloch society and literature along with most of the issues with which the province is suffering from. He also guides the young and new writers not to give up working for their mother language and taking it to the highest forum of prosperity. In spite of being dependent on wheelchair due to an accident long ago, Sadiq Murad has never given up his struggles to spreading awareness and advice to the nation of unity, faith, struggle and brotherhood. By reading this book of him, one will come to know of the nature of Baloch people and the existence of Balochi language by now instead of confronting deadly challenges. I personally recommend this book of Sadiq Murad to all the Balochi readers. It is definitely going to broaden your mindsets and also helps in looking at the world from a disparate but helpful, compassionate and friendly perspective.

The writer is a former teacher based in Turbat and a student at University Law College, Quetta. He can be reached at alijanmaqsood17@gmail.com and Tweets at @Alijanmaqsood12