Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: March 01, 2023 | 
| 中文
Anwar and Imrana Maqsood
Anything concerning renowned playwright and satirist Anwar Maqsood is bound to be hilarious, be it a written piece or stories concerning him. ‘Doosri Mulaqat’ is a mixture of both. The first 74 pages of the book are memories by Imrana Maqsood, written in the form of stories. The last 140-odd pages of the book consist of Anwar Maqsood’s writings. Imrana had earlier introduced the reader to Anwar Maqsood through her previous book, Uljay Suljhay Anwar, published in 2016.
Uljhay Suljhay Anwar by Imrana Maqsood
Imrana Maqsood, Presidential Award-winning writer, has been married to the famous painter-turned-television personality for over 50 years. Referred to as ‘Immu’ by her loved ones, she has written over a dozen books, which vary from literature for children, stories and cookbooks.
Imrana and Anwar Maqsood's marriage picture
If Uljhay suljhay Anwar lets the reader get insights of the life of Anwar Maqsood through Imrana’s eyes, the second book traces the origin of both Anwar and Imrana’s family background. The very first chapter of the book explains how the family of Qamar Maqsood Hameedi (father of Anwar Maqsood) managed to come to Karachi from Hyderabad Deccan in the late ‘1940s. The family came over with huge cases of books and dowry for their daughters, but somehow the dowry case got misplaced after reaching the destination. Fatima Suraiya Bajia, the eldest sibling, held the family together after their father’s sudden and early death at the age of 42.
Fatima Suraiya Bajia
The second chapter is about Imrana and her family. She writes about her siblings and the care-free days of her life. Her father happened to be the brother of Qamar Maqsood, which makes her the first cousin of Anwar Maqsood. She also narrates how her family, well settled in India, eventually decided to move to Pakistan. The decision to move to Pakistan was motivated by the pull of the family that had moved to the newly created country. She describes her well-knitted family brilliantly, and the reader gets familiar with all the characters by the thirtieth page of the book. Mostly written during the days of Covid-19, she shares her experiences in life in the later chapters. The most horrific being the encounter with orthopedics who made a packet without curing her ‘fracture’. It later turned out to be a pinched nerve that was being treated as a broken bone.
Imrana Maqsood
She also sheds light on the corruption in our society. When she took her daughter to obtain a driving license, she was shocked to see a female police official, with a copy of the Holy Book in her hand, demanding a bribe, while a male official wanted an extra photograph of an attractive female coming for a driving test. Real life stories are also penned down where people used Anwar Maqsood’s name for all the wrong reasons. The most infamous one was the demand for complementary pizzas by pretending to be the writer. The branch manager, who happened to be Anwar's relative, had the caller traced. Shamelessly, the family simply failed to show any signs of regret.
One of the chapters is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Edhi, the renowned philanthropist couple from Pakistan, and their efforts to bring happiness to childless families. There is also mention of the loved ones that the Maqsood family lost during the Covid days.
Anwar and Imrana Maqsood with their kids
The last two chapters of Imrana’s portion, reflect on the rise and decline of the national language. With the penultimate chapter describing how Urdu came into being, while in the final chapter, Imrana Maqsood asks the readers as to why have we stopped talking in Urdu? Why do we feel ashamed when conversing in Urdu while many developed nations never use English? There is no reason why pet dogs are named in English, do they understand the language more than Urdu? The most hilarious part occurred when the entire family had to name a dog and came up with the name of a mixed breed, ‘Al-Kuttoo’.
After 96 pages, the reader is introduced to some texts written by Anwar Maqsood. They are not written specifically for the book, but are a collection of the work done by the man who has been spreading laughter for nearly half-a-century. A masterpiece concerning legendary poet Jaun Elia is also included in the book, but the most interesting read is Anwar Maqsood’s hilarious take on Covid. Written when the big man himself was afflicted by the pandemic and was confined to his room, it is a funny amalgamation of his Urdu poems and prose.
Young Anwar and Imrana Maqsood
The book, like the previous one, makes the reader familiar with the household of Anwar Maqsood. The story-telling by Imrana Maqsood is captivating and takes one back in time. A proud addition into modern Urdu literature, this book highlights the relationship of a husband and wife, in a writing style that has been influenced by that of her husband.
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