Daily Times

Neelma Nahid Durrani is known as a police officer and a popular poet. She has 16 books on poetry, short stories and travelogues to her credit. The titles of her books are ‘Jab Neher Kinare Shaam Dhali’ (sunset near a canal), ‘Jab Tak Ankhain Zinda Hain’ (till eyes are alive), ‘Tumhara Sheher Kaisa Hei’ (how is your city?), ‘Wapsi Ka Safar’ (the return journey), Qatra Qatra Ishq’ (drop by drop love), ‘Thandi Aurat’ (cold woman) – short stories, Neelma Ki Ghazlain’, and ‘Udas Logon Sei Pyar Karna’ (loving sad people). The title of the last book mentioned here has been taken from the first line of one of Neelma’s popular ghazals. It has been crooned by Hamid Ali Khan. Incidentally I was present at the time of its audio recordings at EMI Studios, Lahore.

I was hoping that the book ‘Taiz Hawa Ka Sheher’ was another poetic journey of Neelma but it turned out to be a potpourri of a travelogue, essays and short stories. Rightly or wrongly Neelma has dedicated this book to all the people who have been housebound in 2020 because of Covid 19 pandemic. She has also dedicated her book to Shahzoda Shahriyarovna from Tashkent, Uzbekistan and to Sofia Tabassum, her friend from class six till today. Salma Awan, a traveller and travelogue writer has written an essay in the beginning of the book. She says that Neelma is a combination of both fine qualities of a sensitive heart as well a strong administrator. She has these qualities because of her being a poet cum writer and a Police Officer simultaneously. Professor Dr. Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt observes on the flap of the book that Neelma talks of the people, places and dwellings in which he has also spent his life. Nasir Khan Durrani, Inspector General of Police (Retired) feels that her professional obligations fine-tuned her literary endeavours.

I shall first take up her short stories section which starts with her couplet, ‘Zindagi Mujh Ko Nai Phir Ik Kahani Chahiye/Kuch Dar-o-Diwaar Par Aur Kuch Zabani Chahiye.’ Her story ‘Naye Kirayedaar’ is based on new dwellers in the street where the protagonist lived in Ichra, Lahore with her grandfather Agha G

I shall first take up her short stories section which starts with her couplet ‘Zindagi Mujh Ko Nai Phir Ik Kahani Chahiye/Kutch Dar-o-Diwaar Par Aur Kutch Zabani Chahiye’. Her story ‘Naye Kirayedaar’ is based on new dwellers in the street where the protagonist lived in Ichra, Lahore with her grandfather Agha G. She used to enjoy smelling flowers in her small garden and looking at the passersbys. One fine day new tenants entered a nearby house; a lady and her daughter. Then neighbours started noticing a suited-booted man dropping the young girl every evening. A concerned group of neighbours came to Agha G that these tenants should be expelled as they did not seem to be of good character. Agha G pacified the group and called the mother and daughter to his house. Both the women were crying and the elder one explained that her daughter was an upcoming film actress and her producer used to drop her because she (mother) was not keeping good heath to do this duty for her daughter. When the mother-daughter left, the daughter red lines in her eyes pierced through the protagonist’s heart. From then onwards, she started fearing her own house and the flowers did not smell the same way as before. Neelma’s stories are not lengthy and convey her message explicitly.

Neelma’s story ‘Nebraska Ka Dean Harris’ (Nebraska’s Dean Harris) is an interesting story where Neelma came across a group of Americans in Punjab University’s bus on a study tour. She noticed a young man who seemed a little aloof from his companions. After the group had seen the museum and handicrafts shop at Davis Road, the young man introduced him as Dean Harris. He had blue eyes and desired to see historical places and requested Neelma to be his guide the following day. She agreed in the spirit of hospitality. Neelma took Dean to visit Lahore Fort, Iqbal’s Mausoleum and Shahi Mosque. He kept on taking photographs. When they visited Sikh’s museum and saw paintings of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Shahzada Jawan Bukht, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, Sher Singh and Maharaja Dilip Singh, he asked what attracted her most in the last painting and what was so special in the painting. Neelma responded that if there is any prince of her dreams that would be like him. When the group left the next day, his goodbye message was that Neelma shall definitely come across the prince of her dreams. In this short story Neelma has knitted her love for writing a travelogue with her fiction writing.

Neelma has written essays of diverse nature; on Maulana Agha Naimat Ullah Khan Durrani, poet Muhsin Naqvi, poet Musheer Kazmi, Aaqaai Sadiq Gunji, Imran Khan, Fazal Mahmud, Tariq Aziz, poet Siddiqa Begum, actress Sabiha Khanum and comedian Amanullah. She has added a story of a travel, four days in Manchester, UK and remembering an evening full of fragrance in Birmingham, UK.

The article on Imran Khan (presently our Prime Minister) is remembered as Greek God or Fairy Faced (Pari Paiker) by Neelma when he was international cricketer. Neelma’s duty used to be in the VIP lounge in the stadium during cricket matches in Lahore. Many girls used to request Neelma to take them near the VIP cricketers so that they could have a glimpse of Imran Khan and other famous cricketers such as Sunil Gwaskar, Kapil Dev, Kirmani, and Bishen Singh Bedi during Indian Cricket Team tour. Neelma was handicapped as SSP Saadat Ullah Khan had told the lady police officers not to converse with the cricketers. Finally, she managed to see Imran Khan and Majid Khan in Muhammad Idrees’s programme Studio-One at PTV where she used to be the announcer. She remembered Idrees’s introduction that Kerry Packer had taken away our Pari Paikars but they were present in his programme.

The foremost part of the book under review is a travelogue of Baku, Azerbaijan. Neelma has seen Baku as a writer, not as a visitor. The main thing she has observed is the love of people for their poets and writers. The names of the underpasses, roads and cities are taken from their names. Quite a few of these writers rose to the position of heads of State. For instance, Shah Ismail Khatai laid the foundation of Safawi government. Neelma was keen to meet Fazooli (unnecessary). Muhmmad Bin Suleman kept Fazooli as his surname knowing that it shall not be stolen from him because of its meanings. He spent most of his time on the grave of Hazrat Ali in Najaf. His poetry reflected the Sufi angle of Wehdat ul Wajood (Allah is present in everything – Unity of Being) and his famous book is ‘Dastan-e-Laila Majnu’ (story of Laila Majnu). On Fazooli Railway Station, the paintings of Fazooli received her. In the middle of a square, Fazooli sat on a chair. Neelma sat near his feet and asked him as to why he chose to write the story of Laila Majnu. Neelma next query was as to why the stories of love are immortal like Nizami Ganjawi’s Khusro-Shirin, Warris Shah’s Heer Ranjha, Mian Muhammad Bukhsh’s Saif ul Mulook and alike. Fazooli with a smile on his face replies ‘Ishq Haq Hei Haq Ishq Hei’ (passion/love is droit and droit is passion). The day Neelma understood this concept; Neelma’s poetry shall also become long lasting. Neelma was fond of conversing with statues. She used to say hallo on daily basis to the statue of Voltaire in Punjab University, Lahore when she was student there.

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