Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: May 08, 2023 | 
| 中文
(L to R) Shamim Hanfi, Masood Ashar, Asghar Nadeem Syed and Sajjad Baqir Rizvi
If you think nothing compares to Saadat Hasan Manto's Ganjay Fairshtay (bald angels) and Loudspeaker, then you should check out Asghar Nadeem Syed's Phirta Hai Falak Barson (sky roam around for years). It's just as captivating as Manto's works, all these books can transport you back in time.
Veteran author and playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed successfully takes us back to a relatively peaceful era, where we see Multan, Lahore, Lucknow and even London from his perspective. You can feel the influence of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi, and Qudrat Ullah Shahab in his writings, which sometimes feel like an autobiography, sometimes a travelogue and most of the time a history book.
Asghar Nadeem Syed (third from right) with writers and poets in Delhi
Asghar Nadeem Syed has written over a dozen highly successful TV plays over the last few decades; Pyaas (thirst) (1989), Khwahish (wish or desire) (1991), Chand Girhan (Lunar Eclipse) (1992), Nijaat (release) (1993), Hawaein (airs) (1997), Ghulam Gardish (corridors) (1998) and Riyasat (state) (2005) to name a few. Through his dramas, he has managed to influence young minds with his ideas and by speaking the truth. A wizard with words, he came up with Phirta hai falak Barson, where one gets to read about his long association with legendary figures of the sub-continent. Stories about various intellectuals, political scenarios and the nostalgia attached make Phirta Hai Falak Barson as exciting as his TV dramas.
I became familiar with the book after finding some text that shed light on what caused actor Muhammad Ali's political views to undergo a transformation from being Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's supporter to Zia's aide. The book seemed to answer many of these questions.
He begins the book with a special tribute to Niaz Ahmed, the man who changed the way publishing houses treated writers. The respect Niaz Ahmed gave to literary icons became the primary reason why he was loved by all authors. The second sketch is of Gopichand Narang, the renowned scholar of Urdu from India, who died last year. Not many are aware that Narang was born in Balochistan, at the time when the British ruled the subcontinent. Known as the Renaissance Man of Urdu, he was the last person who kept Urdu language beyond the communal divide.
Asghar Nadeem Syed with Gopi Chand Narang, Ms. Narang and Jamiluddin Aali
In the next chapter, the writer describes his personal association with Kishwar Naheed and her late husband Yusuf Kamran. The life and works of Kishwar have been thoroughly discussed along with the efforts the veteran poet has taken for the welfare of her fraternity.
His introduction to other authors is insightful and he captures their idiocyncrasies with some empathy. He highlights the sense of humour of the romantic poet Ahmed Faraz, the childish behaviour of revolutionary poet Habib Jalib, the brashness of Muneer Niazi or the anger management issues of the novelist Abdullah Hussain. Asghar Nadeem Syed has anecdotes of all these intellectual luminaries, which endears them to the reader. He paints the personalities with a great deal of senstivity and understanding.
(L to R) Wazir Agha, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Asghar Nadeem Syed and Zahid Dar
If the writer A Hameed (creator of Ainak Wala Jinn {Jinn with eyeglasses} series) was known for praising nature in his writing, Zaheer Kashmiri was a colourful character, who resembled a circus master with his weird dressing sense, then Zahid Dar was the unsung hero of the literary gatherings that usually met at the Pak Tea House. One also gets to know writers Intizar Hussain and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi more closely, though entire chapters are not dedicated to them. However, literary heavyweights from India, Shamim Hanfi and Nayyar Masood get their due in the book.
The author has been open about many topics that others usually avoid. Be it a liaison with a television actress, or the moment he was mistaken for another fellow poet-turned-writer. The man behind dramas like Chand Girhan and Ghulam Gardish, also mentions his maiden venture in filmdom, by the name of Khwahish, which was not a popular at the box office.
Asghar Nadeem Syed with famous poet Gulzar
Being a witness to history, he has exposed the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq brilliantly, an era that brought whatever cultural progress the country was having to a grinding halt.
One cannot rate the chapters written on contemporary poets Ahmed Faraz, Habib Jalib and Munir Niazi, as the author did justice to these full-of-life friends of his. Faraz did not only have a sense of humour but was critical of the military rule of General Zia ul Haque, for which he was incarcerated and then went into self-imposed exile for six years. Munir Niazi was straightforward and blunt, while Jalib was restless, always complaining but remained a revolutionary all his life.
The reader also gets a chance to meet the family of the writer, who had to bear the loss of his first wife, as well as his younger brother. In between the chapters, the writer also introduces his younger self, when he was studying in Multan.
Asghar Nadeem Syed with famous actor Nadeem and Saleema Hashmi
The final chapter on writer/journalist Masood Ashar is emotive. Someone who had been around since Asghar Nadeem Syed could not speak as a toddler, Masood Ashar had an ever-lasting influence on the author. Masood Ashar was a mentor to the Asghar Nadeem Syed, and the last chapter brings to the fore the resilience shown by Mr. Ashar during the different Martial Law regimes.
The book also takes you to the Lahore of the yore, where the famous Pak Tea House was a favourite hangout for the literary greats. If you have been to Mall Road, Abbott Road and Mozang, the book is your shortest route to the Lahore you know. Even frequent trips to India failed to overcome the effect 'Lahore' had on Asghar Nadeem Syed.
Asghar Nadeem Syed has been part of our lives for over thirty years. Winning hearts with a Hum Aadmi Hain Zara Wakhray Type Ke (I am a different kind of a man) from Pyaas (thirst), he managed to create real-life characters like the corrupt moulvi-turned-politician in the drama serial Hawaaien (air), who uttered Khushbu Laga Ke (wearing scant) and Jahania Shah Naam Hai Mera (my name is Jahanian Shah) from Chand Girhan. Although he has stopped writing for television dramas, this book might not be his last one.
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