The Annual of Urdu Studies (AUS), a literary journal published under the editorship of Professor Muhammad Umar Memon and enjoying the patronage of Wisconsin-Madison University’s department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, has been a great success. It may be seen as the sole spokesperson of Urdu literature in the Western literary world. It carries rich literary material with the stamp of the East offering to the West. As usual it has once again come out at the end of the year 2014. But this year it has brought sad news for its eager readers. The editorial begins with a not so happy announcement:

“Friends! We are sorry to announce that this is the last, and much-abbreviated, issue of the AUS under the present editors.” The reason being the same which has been the usual with literary journals: “the painful decision to part company with this worthy publication was necessitated almost entirely by the precarious situation of its finances.”

Whatever the reason, there is no doubt of the fact that this journal was seriously and sensibly engaged in projecting Urdu literature so as to be able to earn its due place in the literary polity of the international world. And so its closure should be deemed as a great setback to the endeavours of promoting Urdu on the international level. As has been pointed out in the editorial “this is the only English-language publication on or about Urdu humanities anywhere in the world.

“Since its move to Madison in 1993, the AUS has gradually built up a reputation as the leading journal in the field of Urdu studies. The diversity of scholars who have contributed to its pages from across the globe in itself attests to this.” Credit for that goes more particularly to Prof Umar Memon, who throughout these years remained occupied in building it up as a standard literary journal reflecting the richness of Urdu literature.

The present issue stands as evidence of this fact. Here he himself initiated a discussion about the problems which come in the way of translating from one language into another. Along with it are six pieces of selected writings of Manto translated by him. With this long experience of translating from Urdu into English and from English into Urdu he is in a position to talk confidently about the intricacies and complexities in the business of translation.

In fact, the editorship of the journal was a later development in Memon’s literary life. He was already engaged in this kind of activity. While associated with the Department of Languages and Cultures of South Asia at Wisconsin-Madison University he had also developed a deep interest in literature, more particularly in fiction. Soon he grew as a short story writer and has to his credit a collection of short stories in Urdu. While writing short stories in Urdu he also developed an interest in translating fiction from Urdu into English and from English into Urdu.

Gradually this activity led him to treat it as a mission — that Urdu’s short story writers should be introduced to the English readership in the West, and that these translations should pave the way for Urdu literature to earn a place in the international literary world.

Memon pursued this programme with the zeal of a missionary. With this aim in view he chose a number of short story writers, translated them into English and managed to get their translated works published in the West along with this critical studies of these works.

It was in 1990 that he became the editor of this journal. Its former editor C.M. Naim had decided to cease its publication after bringing out seven issues. It was then that he agreed to take this journal under his charge and started to publish it under the patronage of the aforementioned department of the university. Now he had an organ at his disposal, which helped him a lot in the pursuance of his aforementioned programme.

But now Professor Memon too felt compelled to cease its publication because of financial difficulties. However, he hopes that “an experienced and energetic academic at some other university might find the means to ensure its continuation just as we did here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”