R Kumari: A slice of Josh Malihabadi's life

Re: # 1

Thank you so much Nadia.

I`ll be visiting Pakistan soon and will pick up a few Urdu books of short stories. Any recommendations?

Re: # 3

Thanks Nadia.

In my last trip to Pakistan, I picked up several of the books you mention, including the entire short-story work of Manto & Ismat Chughtai (I don`t want to keep translating only one or two authors, though.) I`m looking for short stories to translate for Chowk. Novels are too long to translate; even the long short stories are too long. I don`t think most of the Chowkies can stomach more than 8-10 pages of translated work.

I`ve been out of touch with Urdu literature for the longest time and no one in my family in Pakistan has a clue about Urdu literature (if it weren`t for Chowk, I would`ve never picked up Urdu.) Also, what you mention are from the past. Has anything new come out in Urdu literature? How about Altaf Fatima? Has she written any short stories? Any short stories you`d like at read at Chowk, from past or present?

Re: # 4
Godot, Allow me to suggest Naiyer Masud, the kafka of Lucknow. At least one of his books is available in translation, Essence of Camphor. There would be other untranslated works too, though I am not sure if you will be able to get it in Pakistan.

Re: # 6
Nadia, there is an interesting bit of trivia that I want to share.Altaf Fatima and Naiyer Masud, whom I mention in #4, used to live next to each other in Lucknow and they still exchange letters. Altafs sister Nishat Fatima also was a writer and their uncle Syed Rafiq Hussein was a famous writer of his time.

very curious! what was the purpose of taking Josh into a temple? Ishq to hotel meN laRaaya ja sakta tha?

Kalihawa:

You bring up an excellent point: “what was the purpose of taking Josh into a temple?”

My interpretation: Psychologically, R Kumari could not bring herself to accept having an affair with a Muslim. Although she loved Josh, she wanted to see him as a Hindu to satisfy her attachment to her religion. And Josh? Well, he didn’t care. He just loved her.


Rahul:

Hey, thanks for info on Naiyer Masud. I didn’t know anything about him. I’ll look for his stories while in Pakistan, and hopefully will translate one for Chowk.


Nadia:

Thanks again, Nadia. I haven’t read Altaf Fatima yet, but I understand she is a superb writer. Thanks for the list. I’m hoping to translate her next

Re: # 9

I don`t buy it. I think Josh made up part of the story.

Re: # 10

I don`t doubt the story`s authenticity...Josh was known for his romances and he is very candid in his memoir (he also admitted to be a bi and recounts his affair with a boy in the same memoir.) This book created quite a lot of sensation when it first appeared in the late 60s/early 70s in Pakistan.

Re: # 11

Actually, I am a fan of Josh Malihabadi. If you say, then you must be right, but there is fundamental error in narrative Perhaps he suppressed some info.

having read Josh elsewhere nothing in this account can be taken at face value. Some people would call what Josh did lying others exaggeration for the pupose of entertainment and selling his writing, probably there was an element of both. but one thing is sure, if u read him u would always get entertained.

Cool stuff Godot! Enjoyed this read - you introduce yet another gem to me with this translation! Cheers!

Good narrative, reminded me of my train romances during my travels to Karachi when I was a student. Once I did take a train to Sukkur from Rohri instead of going straight to Karachi, and ended up in Shikarpur. With enough practice I could also manage to stagger without the aid of Whiskey or a joint. Those were the days... the days of thunder

Kalihawa & Hindvi:

I admit I`m not very familiar with Josh or his poetry. You guys probably know a lot more about him, or his flair to tell stories, than I do. Without indulging into any details, I merely picked ``R Kumari`` from his biography and translated it for Chowk. Josh probably did exaggerate in telling this story (he was a poet, after all!)...and what got exaggerated and how much, I couldn`t tell.


Rozaiba & Urstruly:

Thanks guys. Rozaiba, I`ll be visiting Pakistan in near future and hopefully will pick up a few more gems for future translations.

Re: # 17

Thanks, Nadia, for introducing yet another writer. I`ll look for Ghulam Abbas` writings in Pakistan.

Nadia and Godot, Just FYI , there is a brilliant shyam benegal movie based on Anandi called Mandi. Also, there is an english translation of Anandi online, have read it once.

Nadia,I can mention a lot of Hindi and Urdu writers that I have had the chance to read (though not academically) and have liked. As far as Urdu is concerned, I think we both know the masters. In Hindi, I once compiled a list of modern prose writers.I will see if I can find it and hopefully we will keep talking about this topic. There is one name that I would strongly recommend -Rahi Masoom Raza. All his novels (Adha Gaon, Sean 75,Katra Bi Aarzoo ) are wonderful, but my favorite is Topi Shukla .
By the way, do you guys get transliterated versions of Hindi writing in Pakistan?