Ephemeral ideas | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

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Ephemeral ideas

Khalid Ahmed will be remembered for his expression that reflected his extreme proclivity to the classical strain in our poetry

By Sarwat Ali

Khalid Ahmed who died last week was a much better poet than he was ever given credit for. There was a certain maturity in his poetical expression that only reflected his extreme proclivity to the classical strain in our poetry. From a shriller tone in the beginning, it sobered down to equanimity of sorts at the end.

Though he also wrote prose, his real forte was poetry — where, from 1970s onwards, it was considered a significant presence. His poetical stature grew as he broadened his vision from that early idealistic firmness to include other aspects which eludes tangibility. Over the years, his awareness about the ephemeral nature of ideas and the ever-changing perspectives of evaluation made him more rounded and in synch with our classical tradition.

Born around the 1930s in Lucknow, he must have been a strapping youth when he landed on the soil of this ancient land with a new name. The first tests of his creative talent must have been conducted at home because his two sisters — Khadija Mastoor and Hajira Masroor — went on to become famous fiction writers and married eminent journalists Ahmed Ali Khan and Zaheer Babur.

In those early days, the family that had migrated was taken care of with great compassion by none other than Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi.

One wondered what prospects were inspirational sources for the poets or the writers who were coming into adolescence by the time Pakistan was created as an independent country. One was the tremendous fervour of the Progressive Writers’ Association that had swept everything that came its way. It was the second wave of this movement, the first being the 1930s, when it was conceived and then propagated.

Pakistan in a way was contrary to the dream of these writers and they were adjusting to the new reality of the partition of the Indian subcontinent on the basis of religion.

The second were those who did not see a direct link between politics and literature but saw it within the context of the growing tide of consciousness that also took into account the poetic and literary experimentations taking place in the light of the overriding theories of psychoanalysis that too had shaken the world.

And, the third was the growing voice of the need to have a prescriptive Pakistani literature that took into account the future cultural needs of the newly formed state. This was primarily an effort to wean away from the overarching reality of the syncretic culture, which constantly dipped into the vast pool of a shared heritage.

Khalid Ahmed was swayed by the more immediate and pressing slogans of the progressive writers — and it was not surprising, because the fiery and idealistic complexion of wanting to change society through the arts by spreading awareness is bait that every young soul would fall for.

As it was, two different approaches emerged from within the movement. There were more firebrands and militant poets who found the violence and energy in their verses that was needed for the revolutionary change in a stagnant or stagnating society, and there were those who were more low-keyed and very sensitive to the tenor of Urdu poetry. Their reverence for tradition was very apparent and wanted the change of sensibility to be expressed within the larger framework of a voice that was well wrought.

It appears that Khalid Ahmed was more taken in by the latter than the former, and was more receptive to the mellow voice of the Urdu poetic tradition.

It may be a bit surprising or paradoxical because when Khalid Ahmed hit the prophetic age of forty, the progressive forces in the country had again found that the ground was ready for the seed of their cause to be sown. The renewed vigour and need for change spilled over in an exuberant style. The late 1960s and then the early 1970s did see a resurgence of sorts and the drumbeat of awareness and change through literature and the arts was being heard again.

Many of the young poets again were swept in by the growing current and adopted the accent of rage and violence about that time. But not Khalid Ahmed. He was more sensitive to the power of change as well as the powerlessness of man to control the direction of that change. His sensibility was rooted in the entirety of human endeavour, couched in successes and failures, triumphs and disasters, a constant interplay of light and darkness. He probably went beyond those seeking solace in the self certainty of a point of view and constantly making an effort to keep his feet steady in this whirl of seismic activity.

He leaves behind a number of books of poetry like ‘Pehli Sada Parendey Ki’, ‘Daraaz Palkoan Ke Sae Sae’ and ‘Namgrifta’. Like most poets, he could not depend on poetry for a living, so he took up a job with a public sector corporation. Meanwhile, he kept the flame of his creativity alight by editing a literary journal ‘Biyaaz’ and kept its standard reasonably high.

In his later years, he also started to write columns for newspapers. Though he was always considered a good poet, the official recognition came a little late — in 2011, when he was awarded the President’s Medal for the Pride of Performance.

Jang


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