AS if publishers’ laments of dwindling book sales were not enough, a new trend in Pakistan’s publishing business has left many publishers scratching their heads: e-books. Some Pakistani entrepreneurs have not only started selling e-versions of books and magazines but some publishers are also planning to shift gradually away from print form to electronic form of books that can be read on computer or some other device, such as, cell phone or handheld computer commonly called tablet.
Though so far, in Pakistan, the electronic mode of publishing is very limited, online-only Urdu periodicals have been around for quite some time now. Reading Urdu books and magazines in PDF (portable document format), sent electronically, has been all the rage among the younger readers for years, albeit they are mostly unauthorised scanned copies, encroaching upon publishers’ legal rights.
Now there are numerous websites that allow a download of books in PDF, either free of cost or at nominal fee. And Urdu books are easily available on them. But decision by some publishers to sell their books in electronic versions only, instead of physical books, is quite unique in Pakistan’s perspective, though it is yet to be seen if it catches readers’ fancy or fizzles out.
Aside from e-books, another reason for lackluster sales of physical books is that they come with a hefty price tag. Exorbitant prices have rendered books out of reach of some well-to-do avid readers, too. But even in this lean time, Urdu literature is still alive and well … and kicking. Despite being expensive, books were seen selling like proverbial hot cakes during recently held Karachi International Book fair.
During the year 2024, quite a large number of new books and reprints, too, hit the book shops. Poetry, as usual, has been one of the most popular genres during the year. Some well-known as well as some not-so-well- known poets got their collections published.
Quatrain, or rubaa’i, is considered a difficult genre to master and not many poets compose quatrains these days. But Firasat Rizvi, a senior poet, has been writing quatrain and his new collection, titled Gul Mohr Ke Saae, is a unique one as it has quatrains composed in a technique called ghair manqoot, in which only those letters of Urdu script are used that have no dots. It is not only doubly hard but a hard act to follow. Some of other collections of poetry that appeared during 2024 include Dar-i-Khwaab (Ina’am Nadeem), Shafaq Abad (Akhter Usman), Jadoo Bhari Shaam (Naseem-i-Sahar), Buhat Se Kaam Karne Hain (Humaira Rehman) and Dunya Guzaar Di Gai (Rehana Roohi). Collected poetic works of some senior poets, such as, Ghulam Husain Sajid and Ina’amul Haq Javed also appeared.
Publication of well-known writers’ collected short stories endorses the view that short fiction sells well. Sang-i-Meel Publications brought out collected works by Mirza Hamid Baig and Ahmed Dawood. Aasim Butt’s new novel Paani Pe Likhi Kahani appeared.
As for research and criticism, many of the works published during 2024 were in fact theses submitted at the universities to earn an academic degree and some of them were reasonably good. Pakistan Academy of Letters published Bibi Ameena’s book on Yasmeen Hameed’s personality and art under its series Shakhsiyet-o-Fan. Younus Hasni compiled Akhter Sherani’s essays and Rang-i-Adab published it with the title Nasr-i-Akhter. Baqar Shams had written four books on Lucknow’s history, culture, literature and language. These were reprinted in two volumes by Jehlum’s Book Corner. Punjab University published a bulky tome Sitara-i-Subh, a collection of articles on Zafar Ali Khan, compiled by Zahid Muneer Aamir. A truly remarkable bibliography was compiled by Syed Azizur Rahman. It lists no less than 10,000 Urdu books written on Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
Memoirs and autobiographies too are very popular and the ones published during the year include reprint of Shorish Kashmiri’s Maut Se Vaapsi and Apne Navaah Mein, which is poet Qamar Raza Shehzad’s autobiography. Linguistic lapses have been discussed in a lighter vein in Ahmed Hatib Siddiqi’s Phoolon Ki Zabaan. Sindhi short stories were rendered into Urdu by Jahangir Abbasi and were published titled Muntakhab Jadeed Sindhi Afsane. Muhammad Ali Manzar compiled Dharti Raushan Hai, another collection of Urdu translations of Sindhi short stories.
Literary magazines are hardest hit by inflationary pressures and many have become tardy or have closed down for good. But quite a few are still fighting it out and some of them are: Qaumi Zabaan, Al-Hamra, Akhber-i-Urdu, Mukalma, Naat Rang and Makhzan. Quarterly Saheefa, Lahore, published a bulky special issue on renowned poet Iftikhar Arif. Adabiyaat, Tafheem and Al-Ayyaam published special issues on Palestine. On the other hand, substandard research papers have cast a cloud over Urdu’s research journals, though they are approved by the HEC.
During the year, a large number of Urdu books and magazines appeared, but it is simply not possible to name them all here.
Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2025
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.