There was a time when the Pakistan Television (PTV) never ignored any age group. There were drama serials for mature people, sitcoms for youngsters and cartoons for children. Those amongst us who have been lucky enough to spend their childhoods watching the Pakistan Television might still have those moments imprinted on their minds when before prime time, youngsters used to wait out of curiosity for Shashlik, Family Front and Half Set. Another sitcom happens to be Teen Bata Teen, starring the beautiful couple Ali Tahir and Wajeeha Tahir.
Those who have seen them on screen during their childhoods often come up with the question that why doesn’t the much endeared couple show up now? In this era where there exist a thousand channels and countless drama serials, what has stopped them from acting? What I believe is that the people – who are aware that dramatisation is a form of art and drama a form of literature – can never bear it becoming a business product of which different companies put forward different prices.
In order to properly understand what I mean, we need to look for the family history. When it comes to Urdu literature, how can we ignore the services of the great dramatist – Imtiaz Ali Taj – who with his unforgettable contributions made the genre of Urdu drama reach newer heights? How can we ever forget the legend of Anarkali – which ensued in a thousand adaptations – not only in Pakistan but across the border as well? Anarkali – a drama that has become famous to such an extent that it is now taught in the courses of schools and universities – was written by none other than the maternal grandfather of Ali Tahir.
The literary services of Imtiaz Ali Taj – however – are not confined to Anarkali only – but the humorous character of Chacha Chakan, which is known for bringing smiles on the faces of millions of people – also happens to be the brainchild of Imtiaz Ali Taj. At the same time – it cannot be claimed that Imtiaz Ali Taj was the only person who paid commendable services to Urdu Literature – but the woman with whom he spent his matrimonial life – Hijab Imtiaz Ali – is also known to be the Queen of Urdu Romanticism for her novels and stories based upon the themes of love such as Zaalim Mohabbat, Meri Natamaam Mohabbat and Sanobar Ke Saaye.
Hijab is also credited for translating Louisa May Alcott’s classical English novel – Little Women – into Urdu language by the name of Choti Beebian. The family history is incomplete without Imtiaz Ali Taj and Hijab Imtiaz Ali’s daughter, Yasmin Tahir and her husband, Naeem Tahir. The couple are amongst those people without whom the golden era of both the Pakistan Television and the Pakistan Radio is considered incomplete. Yasmin Tahir – who joined the Pakistan Radio in 1958 – served it for about 37 years, starting off with a show on western music. How she had been able to pay her services to Urdu language can be concluded from the fact that during those days, radio was considered an authority on the pronunciation of Urdu language and its purpose was to correct people’s pronunciation of their national language.
Yasmin’s husband – Naeem Tahir – is known for his acting skills in PTV classics, particularly those written by Ashfaq Ahmad. In the current era where most of the drama serials are confined to the topics of cousin marriages, extra marital affairs or other family politics – one must consider Naeem Tahir bold enough to come up with the mega drama serial – Samjhauta Express – which was not only written by him, but in which he also appeared as an actor. For many, the Pakistan Television went into decline towards the end of the 90’s, but the generation of Imtiaz Ali Taj never went for weak scripts, since their ancestors were drama trailblazers.
Ali Tahir’s beautiful drama serials like Pankh, Ghar and Ranjish can never be forgotten. His Teen Bata Teen is still highly popular with the youngsters. He also appeared in one of the episodes of the series – Dia – with Sawera Nadeem as his co actor. In one of the scenes, the actors are discussing classical English novels such as those of Ernest Hemingway and DH Lawrence, which depicts the writer’s command of not only the Urdu Language, but also shows the writer’s knowledge of English Literature. Though she is nowhere to be seen now, Wajeeha Tahir’s Pooray Chand Ki Raat, Pataal and Gharoor are still a treat to watch. Apart from these, she also starred in Do Chaar Baras Ki Baat Nahiwhich was penned down by Anwar Maqsood, who also happens to be the writer of the satirical classic, Aangan Terha.
To sum up things – we all are aware of the current condition of Pakistani drama serials – which are far from being seen as a genre of Urdu Literature – as well as of the Pakistan Radio – the purpose of which is not to inculcate something or to correct people’s pronunciation of Urdu language – but which happens to be a mixture of both Urdu and English language – with no perfect command over either of the languages. People write – not for the sake of literature, but for money – and have made Pakistani drama serials a product of business.
If a writer pens down a drama serial just for the sake of money, is forced to write on a specific topic or is inclined to submit the literary work within a given span of time, creativity dies and the writer is not able to put genuine emotions into his or her work. Surrounded by such circumstances, how can we expect those people to act who have grown up in a family that has given new turns to Urdu Literature, a family that has taught people Urdu itself – a family – the people of which have been veterans of the field of drama, and a family that has known that art is one’s emotions, which cannot be sold in lieu of a good amount of money?