Storytelling is, perhaps, one of the oldest pastimes. In prehistoric periods, too, scholars say, humankind used to tell stories, legends, myths, parables, allegories and fables.

A fable is a short tale which teaches a moral or sagacious lesson, usually with animals or inanimate things as characters. Most fables intend to educate the reader about some aspects of human nature, humankind’s weaknesses and the pitfalls of life. That is why fables are considered an effective way of imparting wisdom and preparing young minds to tackle the vicissitudes of life.

Aesop, the famous storyteller in ancient Greece whose existence is sometimes doubted, is known for his wise fables. He was a slave, we are told, and the tales attributed to him were written down after his death. Aesop’s tales are found in different languages. Some of his tales have a striking resemblance with the tales attributed to Hakeem Luqman, or Luqman the wise. He, too, it is said, was a slave. In Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu, there are a number of fables attributed to Luqman. Some scholars, such as Dr Muhammad Baqar, have opined that these two personalities were one and the same. But there is no convincing evidence that Aesop and Luqman are names of the same personality.

Dr Gian Chand Jain wrote that Aesop’s tales were originally created in Egypt and from there they travelled to Babylon and West Asia where they were known by Aesop’s name. After Aesop, some other collections of fables, too, became popular, for example, The sayings of the wise Ahikar (also spelt Ahiqar). Similarly, The sayings of Reynard the Fox, in a series of allegorical fables, were well-known works in Medieval Europe, especially in English, French, Dutch and German literatures. But some old Indian tales are believed to be much older. Hitopadesha and Panchatantra, for instance, are collections of ancient Sanskrit fables which were translated into Persian and Arabic and named Kalila-o-Dimna.

There are a number of modern classical works in Urdu which narrate wise fables, parables and allegories. Derived from some western and eastern sources, some of the collections of fables in Urdu are: Naqliyaat (in two volumes, 1802 and 1803), Naqliyaat-i-Luqmani (1803) and Akhlaq-e-Hindi (1803), all three penned by Mir Bahadur Ali Husaini (also spelt Hucaini by some western scholars); Gulshan-i-Hind (1803) by Basit Khan Basit; Haft Gulshan (1803) by Mazhar Ali Khan Vila; Khirad Afroz (1805) by Hafeezuddin Ahmed; Lataaif-i-Hindi (1810), by Lallu Lal Jee; and Bustan-i-Hikmat (1835) by Faqeer Muhammad Khan Goya.

One of the latter Urdu collections of fables is Jauhar-i-Akhlaq (1845) by James Francis, the British judicial services officer based in Kolkata. It is an Urdu translation of Aesop’s tales. Its edited version was published by Majlis-i-Taraqqi-i-Adab, Lahore, in 1963.

Another collection of Urdu fables that had become much popular in its own time is Muntakhab-ul-Hikayaat (1863) by Moulvi Nazir Ahmed Dehlvi (1830-1912). Written in Nazir Ahmed’s usual idiomatic style and with a flair for language, the collection has 77 fables, many of which are either translations from the English versions of Aesop’s tales or are adapted from them. According to Dr Iftikhar Ahmed Siddiqi, Nazir Ahmed has not only used Aesop’s tales but some other works too for the fables included in this book. One of the sources of Nazir Ahmed’s work is Mirat-un-Nisa, a collection of tales written by Moulvi Vazeer Ali in 1863-64, aimed at improving the social and educational environment of Muslim women. Other sources are Haft Gulshan, a Persian work by Nasir Ali Khan Wasti Bilgiraimi.

Muntakhab-ul-Hikayaat has been out of print for quite long. Now Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan has published its new edition. The OUP edition has been meticulously prepared and has difficult words and their meanings in footnotes, as does the original work. Since the work is intended for students as well, this glossary is quite helpful.

But these fables and parables are not dry, didactic stuff. Most of them are short, interesting and crisp tales. Some are quite funny, thus showing the wisdom of the original creators who were careful and wise enough to make the learning of wisdom fun. Published under OUP’s ‘Asasa Series’, the new edition of the book is an endeavour to lend a new lease of life to a delectable modern classical Urdu work.

drraufprekh@yahoo.com

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2016