Daily Times

My very dear friend Dr Anwar Nasim, a molecular biologist and geneticist who was President of Academy of Sciences in Islamabad invited me about two decades ago where I met Muhammad Mansha Yaad.

The common factor is that both Dr. Anwar Nasim and Mansha Yaad are writers and have received President of Pakistan’s civil awards; the latter received Pride of Performance in 2005. Dr. Anwar Nasim worked as Principal Scientist and Head, Molecular Genetics Group, Biology and Medical Research Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1993 where I met him for the first time. From 1994 to 1996 he was Executive Secretary in Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Islamabad. In August 1996 he was appointed as Adviser Science, COMSTECH, Islamabad.

My commonality with Mansha Yaad is that he was an engineer like me but his passion made him a creative writer. In his childhood his mother used to narrate him folklore of Punjab. Mansha Yaad was born on 5th of September 1937. The name of his village was Thattha Nishtran, near Farooqabad earlier known as Sachha Soda, somehow associated with Baba Nanak. He studied in village Gajyana Nau up to 5th grade. He went to Hafizabad for his matriculation examination and then moved to Rasul College for diploma in Engineering, which he got in 1955. Despite that he had become an engineer his interest was in literature, so he went for Urdu Fazil Examination in 1964. He continued his interest in Arts and gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965, Masters in Urdu in 1967 and then Master in Punjabi in 1972 from University of the Punjab.

Muhammad got married in Lahore in 1960 to his cousin. He has one daughter and three sons from this wedlock. He joined Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad as Sub-Engineer and then served as an Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer, Public Relations Officer & Chief Complaints Officer over time and retired as Deputy Director in 1997.

His first short story collection in Urdu had appeared in 1955 but my selection to write on him is because of his Punjabi novel ‘Taanwaan Tanwaan Taara’ both in Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi scripts. Having exposure both in rural and urban setups Mansha Yaad gave revelation to education, lawful aspects and culture in his novel ‘Raahain’ that was dramatized by Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) in 1999. It was perhaps one of the best adaptations of Punjabi novel ‘Taanwaan Taawaan Tara’ (hardly any star). Mansha Yaad is believed to have set the record straight in the latter part of his career that ‘Raahain’ was an independent project. This serial was directed by Tariq Jamil. Veteran actor Riaz Mahmud, film actor Habib, Masood Akhtar, Saleem Sheikh, Tauqeer Nasir, Ghayur Akhtar acted in this serial. The story was based partly in some village and partly in Lahore. The role of Feudal Lord, Chaudhry was played by Ghayur Akhtar (now late). In those days every play’s main character used to have a ‘takiya kalam’, a phrase repeated often by the character. In this case it was ‘Allah Khair Tei Bairey Paar’ by Chaudhry. Normally the tyranny of landlords are exposed in rural life but here the director Tariq Jamil created interest of the viewer by knitting tiny moments together by minor roles. It was perhaps actor Habib’s last appearance on television screen. Mansha Yaad received appreciation for converting his Punjabi novel into Urdu serial of television viewers.

Muhammad got married in Lahore in 1960 to his cousin. He has one daughter and three sons from this wedlock. He joined Capital Development Authority, Islamabad as Sub-Engineer and then served as an Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer, Public Relations Officer & Chief Complaints Officer over time and retired as Deputy Director in 1997

It is pertinent to quote some impressions of readers of Mansha’s Punjabi novel in order to evaluate the contents of Mansha Yaad’s novel. Hassan Ali rated it as an amazing experience. He said “One of the best novels I have ever read. Mansha Yaad is surely one of the top most writers, the best in fiction writing. The story depicts the true image of the emotions, cultures, status differences and struggle. Even for a single second you cannot get out of the trance of the words and the visualization which the author is sketching in your mind. The story revolves around the life of a person Khalid and his struggle for education, love and betterment of his people and society. He always sacrifices for the sake of people of his village, his friends and those even he doesn’t knows and how he faces threats and hurdles from the elites of the society. The culture of Punjab and the vocabulary is too rich. I will rate it as the top most novel in Punjabi fiction. A read that will always remain with me where ever I go and whatever I do”. On October 17, 2012, another fan Rai M. Azlan said ‘the rift between the ordinary and superior castes with the background of Punjab has been depicted very well. One has to read it (well if can read Punjabi) to see how much caste conscious we actually are”.

Novel ‘Raahain’ was based on rural landscape with down to earth characters, an aspect that made the critic and writer Intizar Hussain comment that he found glimpses of Krishen Chander in Mansha Yaad.

Ayesha Tariq writes in Academia “Mansha Yaad started his career during an era that was a stir with controversies. The demand of intellectual judgment and the quest to find alternate techniques of writing were intense. The freedom of expression due to the military rule was severely curtailed. In literature, obscurity was becoming bolder than clarity could. Since uncertainty and weariness dominated, the era proved ripe and sufficient for a philosophical literary expression. Resultantly, symbolic modernism paved its way into our literary paradigm”. That was the dilemma faced by Mansha Yaad in 1970s and 1980s when he emerged as a writer but he successfully faced this challenge with use of symbolism and metaphors. Dr. Rasheed Amjad in his autobiography observes that both used to taunt each other on the styles of writing short stories. Mansha used to tell Rasheed that the story finishes but the metaphors are so strong that it leaves an ambiguity in the reader’s mind. Rsheed used to tell Mansha that he went in so much of detailing work that the story finishes. Both used to laugh at each other’s comments (Page 427).

Mansha Yaad believes in spelling out the blood relations in a precise manner. In the story ‘Deeda-e-Yaqoob’ (through the eyes of Yaqoob), the simile between the relation between father and son of today is quoted from the love between the father Hazrat Yaqoob Elleh Salaam with son Hazrat Yousuf Elleh Salaam. In the present day, the son leaves his parents at the time when he used to spend his nights with mobile, DVDs and movies. On return after many years he appreciates what his father used to teach him was right especially after seeing gloom in his father’s eyes. On the contrary, Hazrat Yaqub’s eyes used to glow when waiting for his son. Mansha therefore narrates his stories in a very simple and realistic manner. That is why the poet Aftab Iqbal Shamim stated that through his stories, a common man’s receptor conceived injustices and inequalities in its own way.

Initially, Muhammad Mansha’s interest was in saying poetry and he kept his ‘Takhalus’ (pseudonym) as ‘Yaad’, so this word was added in his name. Gradually his interest drifted toward fiction writing especially short story writing as he thought that one day he would return to saying poetry so he kept using his ‘Takhalus’ (pseudonym) as a part of his name even when he was a fiction writer.

He was so much in love with this domain of literature that after his retirement he kept the name of his house as ‘Afsana Manzil’ (story destination) in Islamabad. The other simile I can remember is Ashfaq Ahmad-Bano Qudsiya house as ‘Dastan Saraye’ (Story Inn) in Lahore.

Mansha shot into fame for his Urdu and Punjabi short stories writings. His first collection of short stories in Urdu, ‘Band Mutthi Mein Jugnoo’ was published in 1975 and the first collection of Punjabi stories in 1987. The names of his books are: “Band Muthi Main Jugnoo” (Glow-worms in a closed-fist), “Maas aur Mitti” “Khalaa Andar Khalaa” (Void within Void). “Waqt Samunder” “Wagda Panni (Punjabi – Shah Mukhi & Gur Mukhi)” “Darakhat Aadmi” “Door Ki Awaaz” “Tamaasha” “Kwawab Saraay” “Ik Kankar Thairey Paani Mein”. Mansha Yaad received the Waris Shah Award for his collection ‘Wagda Paani’ in 1987, and again in 1998 for his novel ‘Tawan Tawan Tara’, as well as the civil award ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’. During his creative career, he authored the Plays ‘Bandhan’ and ‘Junoon’.

In his writings he invariably depicted the love for his people and exhibited the pains of the masses. He was a broadminded person and experimented with the plots he knitted and the characters therein at the time when he wrote his stories. His characters ranged from poor brethren, poor labourers, cunning and conniving politicians and sensitive artists. He did not believe in dividing the people on the basis of their ideologies. He believed in the proverb ‘Live and let live’. Still he exposed the hypocrisy of the Rulers of his time, inequality and class system. He wrote in simple diction expecting his masses to receive his message and he succeeded in doing that.

An example can be quoted as that of his story ‘Raaste Band Hain’ (the routes are closed) in which a young one is chaperoned by an adult to go and see a fair. Both do not have a penny in their pockets. On the first day among the noises of the swings, hawkers and people he gets attracted to a cold drink shop. With great difficulty the elder one takes his attention away from this natural desire. The days of the fair pass with many people known to the youngster in the fair. On the final day, the elder guy thinks of an idea to distract the younger one’s desire for eating or buying toys. He says that he should feel the taste of eatable if he looks at somebody else doing that. Then at the climax of the story he watches a truck trampling a guy and feeling the same he falls cold on the floor. With this story Mansha Yaad not only exposes the divide between the rich and the poor but also exposes the unfulfilled desires of the poor to enjoy the basic pleasures of life.

Muhammad Mansha Yaad is lucky that a book on his life and works was published by Pakistan Academy of Letters titled ‘Shakhsiat Aur Fun’ by Aslam Sirajuddin. The book review in local English daily observes on September 30, 2010 “In the book, the most comprehensive article has been contributed by short-story writer Aslam Sirajuddin from Mansha’s neighbouring district Gujranwala. Mansha was born in Sheikhupura, once part of Gujranwala district. Aslam has used this geographical link and before writing his article he visited the places where Mansha was born and educated and met his family”. Many other prominent writers, critics and contemporary fiction writers have evaluated his creative writings in top Urdu magazines of the subcontinent and the extracts of those articles have been included in the book (this section is spread over 70 pages).

In the early sixties, Islamabad was a desolate place but when its rehabilitation started, Mansha tried to establish a literary society there. He was a regular visitor to Halqa-i-Arbab-Zauq’s weekly meetings in Rawalpindi. Before the creation of Halqa Mansha was an enthusiastic participant of ‘Likhne Waalon Ki Anjuman’. He created this society in Islamabad followed by Halqa in Islamabad. He raised it, making it a throbbing circle with the cooperation of writers like Mumtaz Mufti etc. Mansha also made a society namely ‘Bazm-e-Kitaab’. The best tribute to Mansha was paid by the late Amrita Preetam who not only included his stories in her prestigious magazine Naagmani but also translated and transcribed in Gurmukhi script. Her comments have also been included in a section in this book.

Lifelong associations earned Mansha Yaad some good friends like Dr, Rasheed Amjad, writer, critic and an intellectual of integrity. It was a long association between the two but Mansha’s style was his own. He was not influenced by any one among his contemporaries. Dr. Rasheed Amjad admits in his autobiography ‘Ashqi Sabr Talab’ that Mansha was a profound story teller. Their friendship spread over 55 years. He started writing in 1955. In those days a hundred rupee prize used to be given to the winner of a short story in the magazine ‘Shama’. His happiness left no bound whenever he bagged this award. His characters were his own on which he would develop his stories. He was a mixture of rural background and experiences of urban life that made his stories innovative (Page 326). Mansha’s stories aimed at the contrast/clash between the rural and urban lives (though the difference seems to have shrunk today) and modernistic approach took birth as a consequence. On the contrary Dr. Rasheed Amjad who had become a short story writer in the absence of Mansha Yaad who was posted in Murree for three years concentrated more on the attitudes towards life of the both set-ups; rural verses urban. Mansha was clever enough to judge the people he came across but was of forgiving nature, a characteristic learnt from the sessions of Halqa Arbab-e-Zauq.

Mansha was very fond of listening to music, especially Lata Mangeshkar songs. He was fond of watching movies, especially the new English language releases. The get-togethers at his house in Aapbpara or G 7 were full of friends and even of tours outside Pindi-Islamabad like in Quetta were full of discussions on poetry, fiction, music and homeopathy, the latter passion was with him for few years,

Mansha Yaad translated the following books:

Children and Gunpowder

The Eyes of Jacob

The Noose

Replica

He died of a heart attack on 15 October 2011 in Islamabad. On return from one of the Halqa sessions he felt unwell. His son Kashi took him to the adjoining Capital Hospital who did not do ECG knowing that he had heart and sugar history and instead gave him indigestion pill. In the morning he had heart attack again and he did not survive.

The writer is the recipient of the prestigious Pride of Performance award. He can be reached at doc_amjad@hotmail.com