Sepia Mutiny

There is one book that Aligarh-based artist Farhan Mujib cherishes the most. Teen Anari published by Maktaba Jamia,Jamia Universitys publishing division,in the 70s is the book where his Ismat Apa wrote naive episodes of three blundering kids on a summer vacation.

There is one book that Aligarh-based artist Farhan Mujib cherishes the most. Teen Anari published by Maktaba Jamia,Jamia Universitys publishing division,in the 70s is the book where his Ismat Apa wrote naive episodes of three blundering kids on a summer vacation. She used to visit Aligarh every year,where she had her own room and would do some writing, recalls Mujib,who is Urdu writer Ismat Chughtais nephew. Apa would often name her characters after real people,such as uncles,aunts,nephews and nieces, he says. On Saturday,at a two day festival titled Ismat and Manto: Life,Times and Legacy that opens at India Habitat Centre,Mujib will introduce the readers to the Ismat Apa he knew,who spent every winter at Aligarh,who was very different from the controversial writer of Lihaf as she is remembered today. He will speak about the author who was preoccupied with womens lives,middle class society and their concerns. The exhibition will also focus on the works and life of Saadat Hasan Manto,considered to be another eminent member of the Progressive Writers Movement in Urdu literature,whose works were anti-imperialistic and dealt with the cause of the proletariat.

Writer Namita Gokhale who has organised the festival,admits candidly that there is absolutely no good reason for doing it now. I had been hoping to do this for a long time. I found a lot of enthusiasm among people who came forward to help with the festival. It is also a good opportunity to introduce these writers to the current generation, said Gokhale.

Festival-goers will be treated to reminiscences by people who knew these Modernist and often,controversial writers closely. On the opening day there will be an appreciation of the two writers works by lyricist Gulzar,Dogri poet Padma Sachdev,also a long time friend of Chughtai,besides scholar Rakhshanda Jalil. Besides Manto and Chughtai,Jalil will also throw light on little-known Urdu poet Meera,who was non-political unlike the other two writers.

Day 2 will have a screening of a 27-minute documentary Ismat and Annie directed by Juhi Sinha. The film focuses on the lives of Chughtai and another Urdu writer Qurratulain Haider followed by an hour-long discussion titled Pom Pom Darling and Lady Chengis Khan. Javed Akhtar will speak on the famous literary feud between Chughtai and Haider. Chughtai,the unsparing critic,often referred to Haider as Pom Pom Darling and even wrote an acerbic piece about the characters that inhabited Haiders world. It is well-known that Chughtai called Haider Pom Pom Darling and the latter retaliated by calling her Lady Chengis Khan,but the feud was also fuelled by the media in those times, said Sinha.

Other events worth watching out for include Ghazala Amins soliloquy on the Lahore trial following the obscenity case against Manto and Chughtai.

Meanwhile,Alka Pande of the Visual Arts Gallery has mounted an exhibition on Manto and Chughtai. There are portraits done by two contemporary artists Rohit and Siddharth Sharma alongside photos of the Partition by American photographer Margaret Bourke-White. There are also art works by the Bombay Progressive artists like FN Souza,MF Hussain and Kishen Khanna.

(The festival will be held on August 27-28 at the India Habitat Centre,Lodhi Road. Contact 43663333)

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
delhi
talk

Sepia Mutiny

There is one book that Aligarh-based artist Farhan Mujib cherishes the most. Teen Anari published by Maktaba Jamia,Jamia Universitys publishing division,in the 70s is the book where his Ismat Apa wrote naive episodes of three blundering kids on a summer vacation.

There is one book that Aligarh-based artist Farhan Mujib cherishes the most. Teen Anari published by Maktaba Jamia,Jamia Universitys publishing division,in the 70s is the book where his Ismat Apa wrote naive episodes of three blundering kids on a summer vacation.