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August 22, 2003
Aziz Kay ‘Sifarati Maarkay’
And
Mujtaba Kay ‘Safarnamay’
Given above are the titles of two good books in Urdu that I read recently.
The first named title is by Pakistan’s veteran journalist and diplomat, Mr.Qutubuddin Aziz. It is an account of the challenges faced by him during the more than seven years, 1978-86, that he served as Minister, next to Ambassador, at our embassy in London.
A debater, public speaker, radio and TV commentator, Mr. Aziz had already made his mark as a convincing communicator in an earlier diplomatic assignment at our embassy in Washington. In 1971. the then President, Yahya Khan, posted him to Washington to convey to the US authorities, members of congress and media-man, Pakistan’s viewpoint on the Dacca episode and the prisoners of war. His books “Mission to Washington” and “Blood and Tears” relate to that assignment.
The 232-page book under review, on his assignment to London, is his first work in Urdu. It reflects his superb command on that language. As for his knowledge of English and professional competence, suffice it to mention that the Christian Science Monitor, Boston, retained him as the paper’s correspondent for over twelve years and that too several years back when he was still a green journalist.
London has always been a difficult post for our diplomats, particularly those dealing with the media and the problems of the Pakistani community. Having myself served for years at the External Publicity Wing of the Government, I have had the advantage of watching closely the performance officers manning our outposts. Some of our officers could not measure up expectations and had to be recalled. One gentleman holding the assignment in London succumbed to the pressure and died of a heart attack. Another officer sent much after Mr. Aziz was recalled and suffered the same ailment soon after.
Mr. Aziz, on the other hand, returned to Pakistan, of his own accord, with a string of attainments under his belt. The book gives an account of these. It was his remarkable success in London that made Gen. Zia select him as the Chairman of National Press Trust. This semi-government set-up had at that time nine dailies, five weeklies and one monthly under its ownership and management. I had just then retired from service and readily accepted his offer to join him as Manager. That gave me the opportunity to see him work at close quarters. I was much impressed by his incisive intellect, his focus and fast pace of work, his integrity and, above all, his exceptional nobility.
The book is spread over sixteen chapters -each relating to a different challenge and how its response was articulated. Some incidents hold tremendous human interest for Pakistanis at home and abroad. Some of these are: i) surreptitious entry at night of a crazy Pakistani into the bed-room of the British queen and how she handled him, ii) charge of shop-lifting against Begum Nasim Wali Khan by a famous department store of London, iii) case against Shahnawaz Bhutto for making an anonymous telephone call about the presence of a bomb at the Prime Minister’s residence. iv) Ex-President Yahya Khan’s disclosures in London regarding Pakistan’s role in U.S-China contacts.
Having read thoroughly Mr. Aziz’s book, and having had the advantage of working with him closely at the National Press Trust, and having served myself for some seventeen years in different foreign posts, it was but natural for me to wonder about those features of his modus operandi which made him such a success in such a difficult post. He has himself given an indication of that while talking about his fruitful relations with the BBC -a tough organization for any government functionary. (Tone Blair’s administration is having a taste of it now on his questionable statements regarding the potential terrorist threat from Iraq.)
Mr. Aziz writes: “Propaganda is a kind of psychological warfare. Timely action plays a crucial role in it. If an adverse report appears in the print or electronic media, it has to be contradicted or explained logically within two to three hours.
Mr. Aziz had installed in his office telex machine of Reuter’s agency and Internet connections with the BBC, CNN etc. He had made arrangements with the authorities of BBC that if they received any anti-Pakistan dispatch, they should get his comments too to make the story complete. As soon as he received a call from the BBC, he would open his own recording machine and ask them to record his comments which they could then broadcast along with the original story. This worked most of the time. Speed is often as much the essence of news as is novelty. Students of mass media would be well-advised to go through this book of Mr. Aziz.
The book carries a low price and can be ordered from: Islamic Media Corp, Rafiq Centre, Abdullah Haroon Rd., Karachi- 74400, Pakistan.
MUJTABA HUSSAIN KAY SAFARNAMAY
Mujtaba Hussain, being an eminent wit and humorist of Urdu literature, needs no introduction. He is one of the Twin Towers of Urdu wit, humor and satire: Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi is the other. The names of these two giants are well-known even among those having but a fringe interest in Urdu literature whether in the subcontinent or in foreign lands such as the UK, the USA, Canada and the littoral states of the Persian Gulf that have substantial concentrations of Urdu speaking communities.
An anthology of Mujtaba’s writings was brought out last year, in two volumes, by the well-known literary and social figure of Chicago, Mr. Hasan Chishti. He has now published the third volume that carries the accounts of Mujtaba’s travels abroad. This 363-page book carries witty observations of the writer during his travels of Japan, Gulf States, Europe, America and Central Asia. It took me four days to go through this racy book. The time was well spent, as there was not a single dull moment. Some times I could not help laughing out loud.
A prolific writer, Mujtaba appears to be edging ahead of that master of wit, Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi.
The simplicity of his language, the absence of repetition or over-lapping of themes, the racy style and smooth flow of his pen, arrest the attention of the reader. A consistent quality that I noticed in his writings is his anecdotal style. Every piece he has written reads like a short story with the added allure of wit and humor. No wonder, I found myself absorbed in his narration often forgetting the time -past 2.00 am.
Having finished reading this magnetic book, the first thought that occurred to me was that the twenty dollars that I had paid for it was as an excellent investment. For, it has paid me back many times more in intellectual delight and will continue to do so every time I would take it down from the shelf to read it again by way of a diversion from some troubling thought. We should be thankful to Hasan Chishti for making this volume as well as the earlier two volumes available to us.
The Urdu Academy of New Delhi has recently confirmed on him a well-deserved award for his services to Urdu language. To me he strikes as a monument to nobility. He may be reached at: (773)673-3090 or by e-mail at: Hasan10@AOL.com
Arifhussaini@hotmail.com
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