Zubair Ahmad

Punjabi short story writer and poet Zubair Ahmad belongs to the generation of the Lahorites who have a deep-rooted affiliation and an emotional bond with the city which means a world to them.

Zubair has two poetry collections and as many short story books to his credit, all written in his mother tongue, Punjabi. His first book Dam Yad Nah Keeta (poems) was published in 1996, followed by Meenh Boohay Tey Barian (short stories) in 2001, Sadd (poems) in 2012 and Kabootar Banairay Tey Gallian (short stories) in 2013.

Born in 1958 in the family of a government officer, Zubair was raised in a small house in Krishan Nagar where his parents got settled after migrating from Batala, Gurdaspur, after the Partition.

He had a rich childhood, full of activities like flying kites, playing hockey and other street sports with his age fellows. “In that era, people were like a closely-knit community,” he recalls.

“In 1970, Krishan Nagar was a stronghold of the PPP. People didn’t sleep the whole night when election results were announced. In morning, they would come out to celebrate,” he says.

Zubair developed a passion for reading at a very tender age.

“I was inspired by one of my uncles with progressive thoughts and read a lot of Urdu books, leased from ‘Aana libraries’ which were common in the streets of Lahore,” he relates.

He got close to National Students Federation during the college days. Friendship with Punjabi poet Irfan Malik took him to the leftist literary circles.

In 1975, he along with his likeminded people, including Irfan Malik, Khalid Ahmed, Shahid Jamal, Siraj Muneer Junior, Muttaqi Ayyaz, established a literary organisation ‘Nae Uffaq’. This bunch of young comrades were mentored by Iqbal Bali and Lakht Pasha.

“Lakht Pasha, convener of the organisation, was not clear about the language issues at that time. He decided to have alternate sessions in Urdu and Punjabi,” Zubair adds.

The colour of the city changed in 1977 when Gen Zia imposed the martial law. Zubair was disappointed and left the country after being harassed and attacked by a military-backed student organisation at the Punjab University.

“In Italy, I spent time as a wanderer and lived with hippies for a year. I realised that it is tough for me to cope with materialistic capitalist western culture and Lahore is the best place to live a happy life,” he says.

He came back and did Master’s in English literature before joining the education department as a lecturer where he is working for the last 27 years.

“In teaching, my inspiration was my teachers, Anwar Adeeb and Minhajuddin, both very well-read leftists.

“It’s not very paying profession but harmonises with my creative ventures and gives me ample time to read and write,” Zubair explains.

Initially, he would compose poetry and write short stories in Urdu and Punjabi. However, convinced by Lakht Pasha in 1980, he decided to write only in his mother tongue and formed the Punjabi Parchar Committee

An interaction with Najm Hosain Syed while volunteering for ‘Sajjan’ – a Punjabi daily, was a watershed in his life.

After ‘Sajjan’ was closed in 1990, he, along with other likeminded people from the Mazdoor Kisan Party, revived weekly Punjabi reading and discussion sessions in ‘Sangat’ at Najm’s house.

“I was pushed to write in Punjabi by Lakht Pasha but this ‘one-room university’ at Najm’s house helped me a great deal to understand the socio-political aspects of the Punjabi language and literature.

“Sangat groomed me as a researcher and serious writer,” he acknowledges.

Zubair established a Punjabi publication house and bookshop ‘Kitab Trinjan’ in 1997 and ran it for more than a decade.

The literary works of Garcia, Chekhov, Kalvant Singh Virk and Anwar Ali have always been his inspiration.

With two books of poetry and two collections of short stories to his credit, he is currently compiling a book of his articles being published on www.wichaar.com since 2006.

The collections of short stories were widely appreciated and acknowledged with Pakistani and international awards.

Zubair considers story as a history of time and studies the changing in the landscape of the city without being nostalgic about it. His short stories carry the ambiance and character of the streets of Lahore where he lived his childhood and youth. He describes the street scenes and the city’s social fabric with intricate details. The intimacy with his characters gives an autobiographical touch to them.

Gifted with a good command on diction and language rather than emphasising the craft of knitting the story, he treats them in a simple, romantic and poetic way.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2015

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