‘People-to-people contact pivotal to sub-continent, prevent any impediments to this’

By Vishnu Makhijani

New Delhi, March 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) If Germans and Israelis could shed the "heinous" baggage of the past, so can Indians and Pakistanis as "people-to-people" contact is vital for the sub-continent and no impediments should be allowed to come in the way, says Karachi-based Reema Abbasi, who describes herself as a journalist, idealist, wannabe yogi and reined in wanderer and whose English translation of path-breaking short stories by Urdu writer Wajida Tabassum, set in the Hyderabad Deccan of the 1950s, has just been published.

Abbasi, whose previous two books - on temples in Pakistan and on the Ajmer Sharif shrine - have been on promoting sub-continental oneness, also hopes that the results of the 2022 Assembly elections in India "will strengthen our ties because they underline the fact that our people have the same needs and problems".

"People-to-people contact is pivotal to our bloc. Our countries share heritage, culture, language, literature, struggles and socio-economic predicaments. Our people take to the streets for each other's pain, for example when Nirbhaya shook India, Pakistanis poured out into the streets with candles and when Pakistan lost a generation in the APS blast in Peshawar, Indians held their breath in sympathy and prayer," Abbasi told IANS in an interview.

"More recently, we experienced deep pain as excruciating Covid footage flashed on our screens. Most hearts and places of worship held on to hope and prayers.

"We cannot allow any impediment to cast a dark shadow over collective empathy and attachment. It springs from our shared roots. Sadly, the exchange has come to a halt in recent times. Important steps such as profiling of people must be conducted to open our borders again," she added.

"Partition ripped through families. Generations stand divided by borders. If Germany and Israel can overcome heinous baggage, we are better than that," Abbasi asserted.

"Almost all my family lives in UP. I have known India since the age of two. We spent either summer or winter holidays there. Therefore, one is beyond familiar with its beauty and diversity. Anyone I met or made friends with in India always had a clear, realistic idea of Pakistan - a place firmly rooted in this region," Abbasi said, lamenting "a perceptible shift" in the age-old idea of the neighbourhood.

"A certain section of the electronic media can be held responsible for the damage as it forces people to see Pakistan as another Afghanistan or Saudi - a police state populated with burkhas and beards. Ironically, this disturbing distortion seems to flourish in the digital era (at a) time when every second Indian watches Coke Studio, Pakistani television serials, documentaries, men and women's cricket matches etc.

"Also, there has been ample traffic between both countries for innumerable fora such as conferences, seminars, literary and performing arts festivals," she maintained, expressing optimism about the outcome of the recent Assembly elections.

"The 2022 polls were most interesting. I personally find tremendous vibrancy in Indian politics, especially in the emergence of strong regional political parties. The hope is that the results will strengthen our ties because they underline the fact that our people have the same needs and problems. Therefore, the need of the hour is to join hands against poverty and inflation. If this happens, the power of this region will be matchless," Abbasi elaborated.

Abbasi's translation, 'Sin: Stories by Wajida Tabassum' (Hachette) is set in Hyderabad's old-world aristocratic society of the 1950s. It's a stellar collection of intrepid and path-breaking tales from a forgotten jewel of Urdu literature, an iconoclast and nonconformist, and also known as the "female Manto", whose stories faced public protests in her lifetime.

'Sin' showcases Tabassum's boldest short stories, alongside the story of her own life, translated for the first time into English, in which she captures, in riveting prose, the spectrum of depravity among Hyderabad's elite, middle-class compulsions in the mid-twentieth century, and blurred lines of decency and decorum.

The stories are in four sections - Lust, Pride, Greed and Envy. They're strong, boldly feminist, sometimes unnerving and often scandalous, given that they feature lascivious nawabs, lustful begums, cunning servants, unfulfilled marriages marked by peculiar rituals and customs, the awakening of a servant-child's passion and a divorce fuelled by envy, illicit love and suppression.

How did the translation come about? What were Abbasi's thoughts as she worked on it and how did it impact her as a literary person?

"After two non-fiction books, I was looking for an untouched Urdu voice to translate. A year-long quest gave me a voice as stunningly refreshing, bold to the point of shocking, feminist and courageous as Wajida Tabassum. My thoughts throughout this process were guided by her life story; each short story made me realise the extent to which a young girl (Wajida) was scathed by circumstances. Despite insurmountable challenges, she clung to the ambition of forging an identity and carving out a new life," Abbasi said.

"Her work amplified empathy in me. I identify with her as a woman and am attached to Wajida for her spirit -- a lesson I will cherish."

Could a book like this have been written in Pakistan and if so, what would have been the reception?

"Wajida wrote when Pakistan was a newborn. Had she written in Pakistan, her obstacles and the backlash/reaction from family as well as society would be identical (as in India). She would certainly be published here and still is. I found her Urdu stories in Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, in 2017," Abbasi said.

Speaking about her previous books, she said the first, 'Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience', was 'an endeavour to stir a discourse on diversity and to dispel the supremacy of a singular faith (sweeping Pakistan) in the interest of humanity. It was a journey of almost three-and-a-half years across Pakistan to chronicle some of the oldest places in the region as well as in the world such as Hinglaj (in Balochistan) and Kataas Raj (in Punjab).

"The idea came from my socio-political reportage and columns at a tumultuous time in Pakistan. Extremist organisations were rampant in the Northern Areas (now known as Gilgit-Baltistan), there was a deluge of internally displaced people, bloodbath and misery. The late Madiha Aijaz, who was the photographer, and I hoped the book would serve as a reminder of a glorious, inclusive past and rekindle history and memory negative forces sought to erase," Abbasi added.

The second book, 'Ajmer Sharif: Awakening of Sufism in South Asia', she said, "was an extension of the same narrative. It showcased the seats of the Chishti Sufis in India and Pakistan as safety valves of society. Easily the most lyrical and all embracing of Sufi orders, these mazars have a distinct culture of langars (soup kitchens), rituals, music and festivals. Every visitor is above the notions of religion, caste and colour. In their environs, no one plays God."

What next? What's her next book/project going to be on?

"I am searching for an area or subject to work on, which is as compelling, new and appealing as Wajida Tabassum's short stories. Perhaps a biography. The quest is on," Abbasi concluded.

(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)

Source: IANS