JOHN Donne has put it aptly in his poem

‘No man is an island’:

“ ... any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”

During the year 2020, bells tolled for many scholars, writers and poets, but — and I say this with a heavy heart — some passed away quietly: their death received little or no attention in mainstream media. Veterans such as Masood Mufti and Mazhar Mahmood Sherani are among the intellectuals who passed away during the last few months or so. Though social media had reported the sad news of some writers’ deaths, TV channels largely ignored it and hardly any obituaries appeared in print media.

Masood Mufti passed away on Nov 10 in Islamabad. He was a short story writer, novelist, dramatist, columnist and civil servant. His name often reverberates in mind when someone mentions East Pakistan as Masood Mufti wrote several books on the 1971 tragedy. His many short stories, a couple of reportages and diary are centred round Pakistan and the former East Pakistan. Pakistan’s history and its state of affairs is what Mufti thought of and wrote about most. His last work Do Meenaar (2020, Oxford), a reportage too, reflects his deep concerns about Pakistan and his disappointment at what we have done to the land he loved so deeply.

Born Mufti Masood-ur-Rahman on June 10, 1934, in Gujrat, Punjab, Masood Mufti did his MA in English from Government College, Lahore, in 1956. Earlier he had obtained diplomas in public administration and journalism. Masood Mufti had joined civil service of Pakistan and was posted at Dhaka when the city fell to the Indian forces and Mukti Bahini. He, with other West Pakistani officers, was kept at a Dhaka hotel, facing imminent death. Later on, his witness to this national tragedy became the topic of several of his books, including Lamhe (1978), which is his diary forcefully recording the perilous moments.

His reportage Chehre (1974) describes the last days of former East Pakistan and it won Adamjee Literary Award. His other reportage on the fall of Dhaka titled Ham Nafas also won an award. Raize (1975) is a collection of his short stories written against the same backdrop.

His first collection of short stories was Muhaddab Sheesha (1964). Rag-i-Sang (1969) was a collection of short stories and its milieu is 1965 Indo-Pak war. Some of his other books include: Sar-i-Raahe (1964, humour) Khilone (a novella on which TV serial Junoon was based), Tikon (plays), Saalgirah (1996, short stories) and Tauba (2006, short stories). Some of his books remain unpublished including collections of columns written in Urdu and English and published in local newspapers.

Prof Dr Mazhar Mahmood Sherani died on June 12 in Sheikhupura, Punjab. Son of well-known Urdu poet Akhter Sherani and grandson of renowned scholar Hafiz Mahmood Sherani, Dr Mazhar Sherani was a research scholar, pen-sketch writer, poet and lexicographer. Born on October 9, 1935, in Sheraniabad, Jodhpur State, Rajputana, Mazhar Sherani migrated to Pakistan in 1948 along with his family members and settled in Sheikhupura. He did his MA in history in 1958 from Government College, Lahore, and MA in Persian form Punjab University Oriental College, Lahore, in 1960. He did his PhD in Urdu in 1987 from Punjab University Oriental College under the supervision of Prof Dr Waheed Qureshi. His grandfather’s scholarly and literary contribution was the topic of his research. The dissertation was published in two volumes.

Dr Mazhar Sherani had been teaching at Government College Sheikhupura and Government College University (GCU), Lahore. He had also been associated as research supervisor and editor of a four-volume Persian-Urdu dictionary compiled and published under the aegis of GCU, Lahore. Among his 50 books, more known are the 10 volumes of Maqalaat-i-Hafiz Mahmood Sherani, the collected research works by his grandfather, which he compiled and annotated with scholarly introductions. Known as a witty person, Dr Mazhar Sherani wrote some hilarious pen sketches that were published in four volumes. These are titled: Be Nishanon Ka Nishan, Kahan Se Laaoon Unhen, Kahan Gae Vo Log and Jaane Kahan Bikher Gae.

Dr Sherani was also known for his Qita-i-Tareekhi, or the chronogram, that records the events composed in poetical. A collection of his Urdu and Persian chronograms was also published. He was the recipient of the 22nd Qatar Aalami Farogh-i-Urdu Award for 2018. Prof Dr Mazhar Mahmood Sherani was often referred to as the true successor to his eminent grandfather’s scholarly heritage.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2020