KHURJA, a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was known for its achar shaljam (turnip pickle), Tabrezi (a kind of sweetmeat) and pottery, wrote Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi in his autobiography.

It is said that some soldiers of Amir Timur’s army settled in Khurja. These Muslim soldiers, united by descent of Kheshgi, Kakar, Khalil, Tarin and Mohmand clans, were originally Pasktun. Some of them knew the art of pottery making and hence unknowingly founded here an industry that was to make Khurja famous for its pottery centuries later.

But many Pakistani readers of Urdu literature, such as this writer, know Khurja because of some literary figures. For instance, Abdullah Khan Kheshgi known for his Farhang-i-A’amra was from Khurja and the unforgettable Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi, remind us of Khurja. Of Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi’s all books, his autobiography is the most absorbing read. Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi, editor of Saqi, a popular literary magazine, had asked Khurjavi to pen his life and he, beginning to write straight away, handed over the manuscript to Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi a few months later. Titled Umr-e-Rafta, it first appeared in Saqi’s annual issue, published in April 1958. By that time, Khurjavi had turned 78. A few years later, it was published from Karachi in book form and was reprinted in 2003.

Umr-e-Rafta, or, literally, a life passed by, is a book peppered with some very gripping incidents, some of which may sound even unbelievable but are true. One such incidence, for instance, is seeing one’s own physical body through one’s astral body as an out-of-body experiment involving making soul travel out of body, an activity during which the author almost died. But the events that seem to have jeopardised the author’s life are many and are narrated in the book. The reason being that Khurjavi Sahib was not only a police officer entrusted by his superiors with dangerous tasks that could have ended tragically — such as arresting fraudsters, robbers and murderers — but he himself was quite daring and adventurous by nature and enjoyed activities like hunting and arresting rogues. On some occasions, some criminals even tried to get him killed, but he somehow managed to survive.

Other strange, hard-to-believe events include observing some 20 airborne torches circulating mysteriously. The flames were visible but no person holding them was seen. As flames crossed a canal with no bridge and gradually disappeared, a local, quite unfazed, informed that it was called shahaaba, the spirits of shuhada (martyrs) and locals were used to see them often on Thursday nights. Quite an unexplained phenomenon!

First few pages of the book tell some historical and social background and what the life was like in Khurja in the late 1880s. This may sound a bit bland but the readers looking for spellbinding incidents would not be disappointed as the book grips the reader just a few pages later when the author decides to describe a few interesting events that took place in those days, albeit these too shed some light on the way people thought and felt back then. The writing style is plain but idiomatic and adorned with some beautiful Urdu and Persian couplets. Another aspect is it might attract those interested in some rare vocabulary. Though Khurja is situated near Delhi, about 52 miles, as the author tells us, and Khurja’s language may be considered standard because of Delhi’s vicinity, the version of Urdu spoken in Khurja was considered a bit rustic, with its own vocabulary and expressions.

Born in Khurja on May 17, 1880, Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi was educated at a ‘maktab’, or a traditional school, where Arabic and Persian were taught, before he was admitted to Khurja’s Victoria Jubilee School. In 1898, he joined police department as head constable. Khurjavi was transferred to Allahabad a few years later and had a chance to meet Akber Allahabadi. Soon the two became so close that Aker offered him to stay with him at Ishrat Manzil, Akber’s residence, which he gladly accepted and lived there for about five years.

Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi rose to higher posts, served in several princely states and faced many life-threatening situations. His services and bravery were acknowledged and government invested him with the title Khan Bahadur.

He had begun writing quite early and his versatility is evident from his 17 books that have a strange variety of topics, such as, housekeeping, mysticism, music, poetry, history, jokes, proverbs, food therapy, and life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, family history, historical research and humour. Some of his other books are: Hayat-e-Ameer Khusrau, Tareekh-e-Khandan-e-Khalil, Tilism-e-Hasti, Shaitaan Ki Khala, Ilaaj Bilghiza, and Sarmad Shaheed.

Naqi Muhammad Khan migrated to Pakistan in 1952. One feels that he lived a remarkable life and his matter-of-fact style has made his autobiography a memorable one. Khan Bahadur Naqi Muhammad Khan Khurjavi died in Karachi on November 23, 1969.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024