Light Within

For this he has explored annals of history, philosophies, biographies, autobiographies, and literature spread over centuries. He has mediated upon what he finds life building and has put them up in his eleventh book entitled Din Main Charagh for readers to benefit. His other published work includes three novels and seven short story books: Zakham Gawah Hain, Tu Aur Tu and Mein Aur Umrao Jan Ada (novels), Dharti Binam Akash, Tensikh-e-Insan, Qalam, Kursi Aur Wardi, U’s Adalat Men, Jism Ka Johar (short story books) and Reza Reza Keenat and Pal Pal (afsancha -- shortest story books).

The first thought that came into my mind after visiting Okara can be described by four words: milk, butter, mammals and farms. Peers also told me the same. Besides Harappan ruins, I did not know the area. But one thing I did know, though, was that I should be happy to say goodbye to the place. Two years later, I felt drawn to the area and its people and it was very hard for me to part. There is so much to be seen, so much to be done. Above all, it has spirited, sincere and full-of-love people living in Gogera, Dipalpur and Pakpattan historic trilogy. The distances in the hinterland are short but the landscape is so enormous that it had to be studied in parts like a large mural seen by a child.

Every body has a book in his mind, as they say. But, everybody trying to write one is a different thing, and self-publishing one is yet another. There are lots of considerations that induce people into writing about various things: people, events, ideas, issues, passions, observation, noble causes, problems and more. Some of these are pricked by their strong sense of right and wrong to raise their voice for or against a cause of their own or of their community's interest, while some others do it to cover up some disrepute and or misdemeanors. There are those who do it for amusement. And the ones for whom writing is a career. Of the many other classifications, there is a class of writers and it is a very well populated fraternity that takes its writings as a means to achieve an end. The end, of course, varies from person to person, but the mercenary passion with which the community members market (yes, market) themselves remains constant.

As a sub category of this specie there are among them the innocent writers who keep visiting publishing houses simply in a hope that some day someone will be convinced about the great idea presented by them and will be willing to invest on the publication of their work. The writer whom I am going to profile here is a commoner. That seems to be his first problem. When the first time he took the draft of his book to a well-reputed publishing house, the owner of a publishing house enlightened him to go do something else instead of writing. My writer friend was surprised with how the owner had given his opinion even without setting an eye on the draft of his life long labour of love.

Sheik Manzoor Ilahi writes: I was going to attend Commissioners’ Conference in Lahore when the Nawab of Bahawalpur sent for me and asked to convey to the Governor that the agricultural reforms should not be imposed upon Abbasi family in his life because he knows better how to look after the interests of his protegee  I got the chance to approach the Governor in a dinner hoisted by him at the end of the conference. Nawab of Kalabagh was sitting sandwiched between American Council General and the British Deputy High Commissioner when I overheard the Governor telling them, “I have told Mr. President so many times that no kind of democracy is feasible in this country.”

Ahan, so the Governor was opposed to the democracy which President Ayub Khan was about to give to the masses through 1962 constitution. When I gave him the message of the Nawab of Bahawalpur, the Governor spontaneously said, “Please tell Nawab Sahib to leave the issue alone. Children are never thankful what ever the parents do for them.” 

I was surprised.

Now one knows what destiny has in store for any one. Nature was speaking through the mouth of the Governor it seems (The Governor was murdered by his son.)

Mukhtar Masood, author of Awaz-e-Dost, Safar Naseeb, and Loh-e-Ayyam, writes that north western part of Persia was called Media and it comprised of small regions in 350 B.C. Keqabad was ruler in one of the constituencies. He was famous for his fairness so much so that people from other districts used to bring their feuds to him. He used to hear the cases and decide notwithstanding where the parties belonged.

With time justice seekers from other counties grew and it had to be announced that only those cases will be decided in which parties involved were from areas directly under his command. Masses were so fed up from their own rulers that they declared Keqabad as a king of entire Media.

If the rulers are incapable of delivering justice, populace can choose new. The countries where justice is not mated out, natives may merge it with another.

It takes a lot far a man to admit but over a period of 10 long years of our associations, Gulzar Baig has displayed a great courage in revealing the emotional trauma of his childhood, contempt and malice with which he had been treated and his undying obsessions.

“Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world," says Thomas Carlyle. Do adjustments (sometime)  scare you?

Readers here know that I am on eBooks as well. Today I have had the pleasure of sharing two eBooks with readers online. In the process I learned how to share pdf files using blogger blog upload the pdf file to blogspot. BTW, I use blogspot and I wish blogspot have the upload file function. That is a must now. Curiosity lead me and I could find a solution for my friends. There are two easy ways: 1) Use Google Group or 2) Upload to Ziddu.com.

Best is that you create a “Google Group” account – http://groups.google.com and find it is easy. Today I have uploaded two books here and here. Go explore them.

Even in its name, Abbottabad sheds any pretense of local origins: it bears the name of the town's founder, James Abbott, a British army officer who was assigned in 1849 the task of pacifying and governing the Hazare region of the Punjab province that had been annexed by the British Empire after the First Anglo-Sikh War. Abbotabad is today a medium-sized city of nearly one million people, but no urban enclave existed there at all until Abbott decided that it would be a strategic location for an administrative capital.