His sunset years hadn’t, thus, rendered him listless and stale. His enthusiasm, gusto, comprehension, capacity, forbearance and presence of mind, undeniably, were so untarnished as to win him kudos and approbation from all and sundry; friends and foes. He was as alive to the realities of life as he was in his youth,. And he continued disbelieving in myths and beliefs that are out rightly rejected by reason and science. Debunking these fiercely was his life’s mission, confessed he proudly. For him the theory of scientific evolution of mankind was gospel truth and to popularize it ardently his responsibility which he was fulfilling assiduously through his writings available in three languages.
English, Urdu and Kashmiri. He was passionately aspiring for a complete societal transformation that sees the end of the dynastic raj and ushers in a new era of social justice, economic prosperity and political stability.
A well known Kashmiri of vigorous sorts had not abandoned what had earned him fame, respect and credibility: the practice of quick thinking, writing and reading which he continued regularly and was in no mood to give up for a while, till he was alive – even at the age 96 plus.
Having heard about this grand old man long back, when I was too young to fathom the nuances of Kashmir affairs, I longed to see him but couldn’t have a chance to interrelate with him tin stepped in my twenties; the occasion I met him for the first time through another stalwart and his one time colleague. But I couldn’t grasp his ideas as he used Marxian terminology and complex. Urdu phrases to make me understand his point of view. He was, however, too cordial to respond to my queries with humor, satire and wit. Though the meet was brief he left an indelible impression on my mind and described me as “Kalhna Sant”and “ aatish ka parkala in the end. With what intention and in which sense (negative or positive) he used the epithet and the idiom I don’t knows.
However, I had a remarkable and unforgettable encounter with this legendary politician, writer and poet very recently after a gap of about forty years and had a detailed discussion on various issues concerning our society and culture.
Majestically seated on a huge couch the doyen of progressive politics greeted me with considerable warmth and affection. He made me comfortable in his sitting room stuffed with rare old photographs, paintings and books and not unlike a tiny museum with pictures, in black & white, of great luminaries like Karl Marx, Engels, Newton and many other leading lights of the past, fixed on its walls in such an artistic way that for a moment it looked as if the Almighty had brought them back to life to listen to him with rapt attention and immense patience. He too seemed like chatting to them and enjoying their company with great pride and pleasure. His attire plus his physical features with distinctly undamaged long silver white curly hair made him look like Marx and Engels with the only difference that of beard which he hadn’t grown till then.
The overall ambience of the room was perfectly comparable to a study centre of yore where the imaginative people would commonly meet to deliberate and draw the outline of the new world they desired to live in. The impression I gathered on the first sight is that he hadn’t called it a day. Not in the least. His sturdy refusal to take himself as an exhausted force kept him extraordinarily agile and away from ageing. He was unfalteringly straddling the dominions of prose and poetry. He was truly as good and solid as gold despite being ninety plus. At this advanced age he was so energetic, meticulous, immaculate and quick-witted that the people half his age must have been gazing at him with envy and admiration.
His sunset years hadn’t, thus, rendered him listless and stale. His enthusiasm, gusto, comprehension, capacity, forbearance and presence of mind, undeniably, were so untarnished as to win him kudos and approbation from all and sundry; friends and foes. He was as alive to the realities of life as he was in his youth. And he continued disbelieving in myths and beliefs that are out rightly rejected by reason and science. Debunking these fiercely was his life’s mission, confessed he proudly. For him the theory of scientific evolution of mankind was gospel truth and to popularize it ardently his responsibility which he was fulfilling assiduously through his writings available in three languages:
English, Urdu and Kashmiri.
Dr. Abdul Ahad is a well-known historian of Kashmir. He presents a perspective on the Kashmir issue and talks about Kashmir’s history and individuality and personality.
