Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer although his achievements as a journalist and translator cannot be ignored either. He refuses to determine his status among the modern Urdu short story writers, but says candidly “I think I write very well.”
Born in Rampur (Uttar Pardesh), 62 years old Masood Ashar migrated to Pakistan in 1952. By the time he came to Lahore, where his elder brothers resided, he had done his Graduation. He had started taking fancy to literature since his childhood because of the literary environment available to him.
“I developed interest in literature because of great Urdu poet Shad Arifi who was a friend of my paternal uncle, Rasheed Ahmad Khan,” tells Masood Ashar. “Shad Arifi was a progressive poet and used to receive a lot of books and literary magazines which he kept in our home. During my holidays, I read some of them and this is how I had my first encounter with literature. Literary sittings held at our home also helped me in developing a taste for literature.”
Hence, foundation of his association with literature was laid much before coming to Lahore. In fact, his early short stories were published in leading Urdu literary magazines like Adb-i-Lateef and Adbi Duniya, an achievement not less than remarkable for a novice. He also wrote some poetry during this period.
After coming to Lahore he decided to adopt journalism as a profession. After having a brief stint in one or two minor newspapers he joined Imroz, the leading Urdu daily of those days. Starting as a sub-editor, he became the editor of Imroz (Multan) in 1959. Why did he decide to become a journalist? “When I entered journalism,” he explains, “unlike now a days it was considered to be a mission. Only people having a literary background used to come in this field. I was interested in the journalism because at that time it was the only forum through which one could express himself.”
He had an eventful career in journalism. As he was the editor of a newspaper supposed to toe government’s line, he faced many difficulties especially after the imposition of Martial Law in 1977. “I was transferred to Lahore in 1978 as General Zia wasn’t happy with me. In 1984, I was dismissed because I was among those who signed a resolution demanding restoration of the democracy. I remained unemployed for about four years before being reinstated by the PPP government in 1988. After spending almost four decades in the profession I finally said farewell to it after Imroz was closed down in 1990, but I don’t regret the decision as literature had always been my first preference,” he tells.
Masood Ashar always remained associated with literature in one way or other. As a journalist, he covered literary functions, wrote book reviews and a regular literary column Yeh Lahore hai. Meanwhile, he also remained in touch with the contemporary fiction written all over the world. He made a comeback as short story writer after almost a decade in 1964. When asked why he took so long, he replied: “I never had much time to write because of the nature of my job.”
Interestingly enough Masood Ashar has not written a novel as yet but he has a genuine excuse for this: “Short story is the medium through which I feel I can express myself in a better way. It was also the most popular genre of literature when I started writing. Other than this, novel demands hard work and a lot of time. I started writing a novel many times but couldn’t complete it because of time constraints. The general impression one gets after reading Urdu novels is that they are written in a hurry and that is why they fail to compete with the novels written in other languages.”
Although Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer, he is certainly better known as a translator. Not only has he translated some very good literature himself but has arranged publication of some excellent books through Mashal, an NGO where he is presently employed in the capacity of editor.
“Mashal prepares various programmes and gets them financed. Its basic aim is to create awareness among the masses. So far, it has published some 40 books on human rights, social sciences, women rights, philosophy, educational philosophy, health, environment and literature. All of them have been translations but we plan to publish original books also. We also plan to set up a mobile library in the near future,” he informs.
When asked whether he is satisfied with the standard of translations in Urdu, his immediate reply was: “Not at all. Our professional translators leave things which they don’t understand. I would call it literary dishonesty. Similarly, publishers also don’t care about the standard of translation. They should have there own editors like in other countries for re-checking of manuscripts. Our translators don’t work hard also because they are under-paid. Mashal has enriched the language by publishing good and precise translations of foreign literature.”
“But it doesn’t mean that there is a dearth of good translators in Urdu. To name a few are Sheikh Salahuddin, Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman, Intizar Hussain, Asif Farrukhi, Ikramullah and Ajmal Kamal. I would specially like to mention quarterly Aaj in this regard which has published some very good translations of Persian, Arabic and Latin American fiction,” he adds.
He agrees that a good English-Urdu dictionary is yet to be compiled: “The dictionary published by Maqtadra is very comprehensive but has a lot of mistakes. Then, it is devoid of a pronunciation key which is very necessary. I feel that there should also be a good Thesaurus in Urdu as writers often use wrong words in order to avoid repetition. A good Urdu-English dictionary is also very much needed. As such projects couldn’t be carried single-handedly, Maqtadra should take the responsibility and form a board comprising capable persons. The board should also regularly update these dictionaries as new words of other languages are making way in Urdu.”
Comparing Pakistani literature with that of other languages, he comments “situation of literature in Pakistan is not as deplorable as it seems. Keeping in view the taboos and restrictions in our society creating even this literature is an achievement. While writing one is afraid not to infuriate the government, clergy or even his family. Our author faces a lot of limitations. This is also a major reason why not many good novels are written in Urdu.”
He blames our educational system for the decreasing interest in literature. “Earlier, our educational system created an understanding of literature among the students. People used to discuss literature, a practice now confined to Tea House only. It is because of our educational debacle that Urdu hasn’t produced a genuine literati for at least last 20 years.”
When asked about what he considers to be the achievement of his life, he came up with the expected answer: “I have given some very good short stories to Urdu literature and that is why I want to be identified as a short story writer rather than a translator or a journalist. But my obsession to write a novel remains.”
by: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad
Born in Rampur (Uttar Pardesh), 62 years old Masood Ashar migrated to Pakistan in 1952. By the time he came to Lahore, where his elder brothers resided, he had done his Graduation. He had started taking fancy to literature since his childhood because of the literary environment available to him.
“I developed interest in literature because of great Urdu poet Shad Arifi who was a friend of my paternal uncle, Rasheed Ahmad Khan,” tells Masood Ashar. “Shad Arifi was a progressive poet and used to receive a lot of books and literary magazines which he kept in our home. During my holidays, I read some of them and this is how I had my first encounter with literature. Literary sittings held at our home also helped me in developing a taste for literature.”
Hence, foundation of his association with literature was laid much before coming to Lahore. In fact, his early short stories were published in leading Urdu literary magazines like Adb-i-Lateef and Adbi Duniya, an achievement not less than remarkable for a novice. He also wrote some poetry during this period.
After coming to Lahore he decided to adopt journalism as a profession. After having a brief stint in one or two minor newspapers he joined Imroz, the leading Urdu daily of those days. Starting as a sub-editor, he became the editor of Imroz (Multan) in 1959. Why did he decide to become a journalist? “When I entered journalism,” he explains, “unlike now a days it was considered to be a mission. Only people having a literary background used to come in this field. I was interested in the journalism because at that time it was the only forum through which one could express himself.”
He had an eventful career in journalism. As he was the editor of a newspaper supposed to toe government’s line, he faced many difficulties especially after the imposition of Martial Law in 1977. “I was transferred to Lahore in 1978 as General Zia wasn’t happy with me. In 1984, I was dismissed because I was among those who signed a resolution demanding restoration of the democracy. I remained unemployed for about four years before being reinstated by the PPP government in 1988. After spending almost four decades in the profession I finally said farewell to it after Imroz was closed down in 1990, but I don’t regret the decision as literature had always been my first preference,” he tells.
Masood Ashar always remained associated with literature in one way or other. As a journalist, he covered literary functions, wrote book reviews and a regular literary column Yeh Lahore hai. Meanwhile, he also remained in touch with the contemporary fiction written all over the world. He made a comeback as short story writer after almost a decade in 1964. When asked why he took so long, he replied: “I never had much time to write because of the nature of my job.”
Interestingly enough Masood Ashar has not written a novel as yet but he has a genuine excuse for this: “Short story is the medium through which I feel I can express myself in a better way. It was also the most popular genre of literature when I started writing. Other than this, novel demands hard work and a lot of time. I started writing a novel many times but couldn’t complete it because of time constraints. The general impression one gets after reading Urdu novels is that they are written in a hurry and that is why they fail to compete with the novels written in other languages.”
Although Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer, he is certainly better known as a translator. Not only has he translated some very good literature himself but has arranged publication of some excellent books through Mashal, an NGO where he is presently employed in the capacity of editor.
“Mashal prepares various programmes and gets them financed. Its basic aim is to create awareness among the masses. So far, it has published some 40 books on human rights, social sciences, women rights, philosophy, educational philosophy, health, environment and literature. All of them have been translations but we plan to publish original books also. We also plan to set up a mobile library in the near future,” he informs.
When asked whether he is satisfied with the standard of translations in Urdu, his immediate reply was: “Not at all. Our professional translators leave things which they don’t understand. I would call it literary dishonesty. Similarly, publishers also don’t care about the standard of translation. They should have there own editors like in other countries for re-checking of manuscripts. Our translators don’t work hard also because they are under-paid. Mashal has enriched the language by publishing good and precise translations of foreign literature.”
“But it doesn’t mean that there is a dearth of good translators in Urdu. To name a few are Sheikh Salahuddin, Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman, Intizar Hussain, Asif Farrukhi, Ikramullah and Ajmal Kamal. I would specially like to mention quarterly Aaj in this regard which has published some very good translations of Persian, Arabic and Latin American fiction,” he adds.
He agrees that a good English-Urdu dictionary is yet to be compiled: “The dictionary published by Maqtadra is very comprehensive but has a lot of mistakes. Then, it is devoid of a pronunciation key which is very necessary. I feel that there should also be a good Thesaurus in Urdu as writers often use wrong words in order to avoid repetition. A good Urdu-English dictionary is also very much needed. As such projects couldn’t be carried single-handedly, Maqtadra should take the responsibility and form a board comprising capable persons. The board should also regularly update these dictionaries as new words of other languages are making way in Urdu.”
Comparing Pakistani literature with that of other languages, he comments “situation of literature in Pakistan is not as deplorable as it seems. Keeping in view the taboos and restrictions in our society creating even this literature is an achievement. While writing one is afraid not to infuriate the government, clergy or even his family. Our author faces a lot of limitations. This is also a major reason why not many good novels are written in Urdu.”
He blames our educational system for the decreasing interest in literature. “Earlier, our educational system created an understanding of literature among the students. People used to discuss literature, a practice now confined to Tea House only. It is because of our educational debacle that Urdu hasn’t produced a genuine literati for at least last 20 years.”
When asked about what he considers to be the achievement of his life, he came up with the expected answer: “I have given some very good short stories to Urdu literature and that is why I want to be identified as a short story writer rather than a translator or a journalist. But my obsession to write a novel remains.”
by: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad
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