By Er.Shafi Ahmad
Kashmir lives in his La Shaoor. One of his characters prolongs her painful life as she wants to return and die in Kashmir. And he believes that situation has to change as everything returns to its originality. Structurally he is thin rather looks weak but gathers courage to take the Pasekh Dar(presumed ghost watcher of house) head on, even evaluates one’s own sins as Panen Panen Gunah, despite having written and performedcv so much he says Talash Rozi Jaeri , and then he is convinced Daie chuna Maran. Mushtaq Barq ,a well known writer, poet and translator judges him like, “He never loses temper even if someone provokes him rather he invites him to a discourse until he satisfies him. His wit and ingenuity can be found in his literary works when instead of verbal broadcast, he prefers razor edged wit.
He is a critic who knows the measures of writer and pounces on the writers in a discourse like a lion in lamb’s attire.”
Doing his Man Bawath(speaking his soul out) he says bluntly , “ Once we respected truth and it had the value. Common saying was truth triumphs .But over time truth lost its sheen when a false narrative was built up. This invaded the literature and literary traditions were trampled. This all took place under expediency and the critics were part of this plot . They locked the computer around 1990 presuming till that period whatever was written comes under the ambit of literature and beyond that………”
Face readers and experts on the subject of face shapes believe, “Square faces are defined by a wide hairline and a strong, angular jawline. The forehead, cheekbones, and jawline are about the same width for this face shape. This face shape is as long as it is wide. People with square faces are buzzing with energy and have really high stamina. Because of this, they love to take on big projects. They also have a strong wit and analytical mind. They are natural-born leaders who always remain calm and collected, even in high-stress environments.”
There can be not even an iota of difference of opinion when one discusses Dr. Sohan Lal Koul who possesses above explained qualities. Dr.Sohan Kaul is one of the most significant authors of Kashmiri language and literature. Essentially a novelist, a playwright, short story writer and a critic. He pursued literature through out his life and took Urdu language to support his literary pursuit to communicate the human response towards the absurd life .He did his PhD in Urdu and his topic for research was, ‘Social Satire in Urdu Prose’. He wrote his first novel in Urdu language titled, ”Aur Sapne Toot Gaye” in early seventies. Soon after this novel he realised that for communication of subtle human emotions the writer has to take the refuge of his mother tongue. The idiomatic expr0ession is possible in mother tongue only. He shifted to Kashmiri and began writing short stories and plays.
This multifaceted writer tried his masterly hands over various genres of literature and succeeded in every field. His famous plays include ,”Shakespeare”,”Cactus”,”Sarkar”,”Local Taxes Extra”,”Date of Expiry”,”Laash Ghar”. All his plays are filled with new content and style. These plays carry a new idiom and a fine creative approach towards describing the absurd nature of life. He made Kashmiri drama visible on national scene. After nineties there was a total shift in his writing and became more clear in his expression. The uncertainty of life, the changing socio-political milieu, human helplessness, disassociation and loneliness lead him to experiment with absolute realism. He treated this reality in quiet a different way, one can call it magical realism.
He has certain questions about Life and Death, about God and Suniverse but not like those of Nietzsche whose ‘God is dead’ Or Albert Camus in Plague. Here he sees God and experiences that everything happens with His decree, there Is no scope for human intelligence and intervention. Everything is destined. Life keeps on moving. He gave a philosophical chord to that reality which leads us to absurdity and nihilism.
Mushtaque B Barq talks about Sohan ,”Dr. Sohan Koul is a class writer who is well versed with Western literature but utilizes his experience for the promotion of Kashmiri language. His Kashmiri novels are subtle in texture and lures a reader to peep down the annals of history. His style is unique for the reason being original besides raising serious voices through his characters to address the masses.”
The overall personality of Dr.Koul does not allow him to stay idle as such he kept using his stamina to come out with newer and fresher writings be it any genre . He then periodically pounced on novel writing ,the genre which was very starving in Kashmiri language. He possibly published more number of novels than written by all authors combined together. In total his number touches a dozen which is a remarkable achievement. In 2014 Kashmir was hit by a devastating flood. This flood became a metaphor with Dr Kaul and emerged in a very credible allegorical novel,”Yotam Sarie Paeth Gow”.In this novel flood symbolises the unending misery and helplessness of Kashmiri people since the times of absolute monarchy of Maharajahs. The story is like a time machine gets started with the Begar(forced labour) of Maharaja’s time and reveals the sociocultural journey of Kashmir. An allegorical piece of literature and a credible addition to Kashmiri fiction.
Then came his Novella,”Abysmal”……..a small sugar coated capsule depicting the wrath of present times. It is mysterious novella in search of absolute delight.
“Ded” is considered a great novel of Kashmiri literature. It depicts human relationship, the tolerance and brotherhood. Sarla gets married to a Kashmiri Pandit, a well off family but this relationship doesn’t last too long as her husband dies because of brain tumour. After his death Sarla gives birth to a son and her in-laws get happy over the heir apparent, they take the boy and abandon their daughter in-law as the civil society of Kashmiri pandit community was like that. In heart of hearts they freed her from every bondage to start a new life.It seemed impossible, no one came forward to hold a widow’s hand. She feels humiliated day after day. Meanwhile the whole family is hit by a dreaded disease typhus. They are quarantined, the house gets fumigated and Sarla loses her mother because of this. Relatives and neighbours abandon them and in these tough times a local Muslim leader Razzak takes them to his house telling God will be merciful. A relationship develops between the two and Sarla, as a rebel to her society, takes him as her husband. This inter religious marriage sends shock waves to the whole community. Sarla gets shattered but her husband stands with her and keeps a will for his sons to be opened only after the death of their mother that She should be cremated not buried and her ashes should be Immersed in the waters of Vitasta for her salvation. A novel on sacrifice, a novel guilt and a novel on hollow principles of society. Some more novels are,”Wahshi Kath”,a metaphysical search for absolute truth,”Panien Panien Gunah”,a novel on human values and dignity, where a brother takes a crime to his shoulders to protect his brother as he does not want that his public Image should get tarnished. He is a preacher but he Is a human being.
“Talash Roze Jari” is a novel on human quest about God and His creation. In this novel the protagonist is of this idea that God is perhaps like a computer fed with every command and programme and now the software of the same has got outdated and thus he wants to change the God with new software and new commands, which may be easier to follow. ”Wunal” Is another fascinating novel In which the fog is lifted as a metaphor of catastrophe. ”Psychiatric Ward” Is yet another novel describing the total socio-political condition of Kashmir.It is saga of miseries and helplessness. Everyone looks a psychic patient, etherised and kept on a bed. This novel has been translated in to English. One of the great critics of Kashmiri literature Bashar Bashir has called it a classic and maintaining his conviction he said It surpasses the literary idiom of Manto. An analytical piece about it published in the daily Excelsior reads , “Contemporary fiction or realistic fiction creates imaginary characters and situations that depict our world and society. It focuses on themes of growing up and confronting personal and social problems. The Psychiatric Ward, a novel by Dr. Sohan Kaul, fits into this genre and serves as a wake-up call to those who are sensitive to the necessity of satire in literature. It is a never-ending saga of an unwell society wherein a common narrative is bedridden. The style that has been adopted from exposition to the conclusion is dissimilar to conventional formats for the reason that the third-person narration is in the past tense, which not only restricts unnecessary and hyperbolic descriptions, which was a mode of heightening satire in the past, but also obliges concentration that, in reciprocity, adds severity to the scene and setting.”
“Daie Chunne Maran” Is yet another novel pertaining to some basic questions regarding being and nothingness. The questions remain unanswered and the absurdity of life comes to forefront. The protagonist goes under a huge trail for those sins which are not committed. He pays a huge price for that. A great philosophical novel.
“Loud Speaker” is an agony of a person who Is tried by a court for thirty long years and after going through the whole trauma he is told that he is not guilty and Is set free with a question that from whom he will get the thirty years of life as these have changed everything.
“Pasiek Dar” is a novel of magical realism. It depicts the present day crisis of human existence although the central characters are two young boys sent to another planet by a magician using the time machine. ”Shah Paez” is a novel about a young militant caught in crossfire travels to a far off jungle where he is told that they have been waiting for him as he is the saviour. He has to fight evil lord Jalodhbha who was not killed by Rishi Kashyap In that Yuga. Now he has become enormous and has mastered all the Shakti to rule and to be called God. This Is novel about tyranny and faith.
To a question why he wanted to retire in Kashmir he says , “Kashmir rests in my La Shaoor.” He is all praise for the dedication and obedience exhibited by artists in the past. “We were shooting for the serial ‘Emandaar’ when one day Dal lake had frozen under minus 14 C. Bashir Dada the actor though reported but would not come out. I was asked to enquire the matter and found Bashir had forgotten the muffler, a prop of continuity and felt embarrassed. Such dedication is hardly seen nowadays.”
Post Script: ‘Bus Akh Tamah ‘ is recently written drama in which the first protagonist has the final wish of returning to her homeland and die there and the second protagonist takes the bigots and the prejudiced view activists like ‘Kashmir Files ‘ makers head on. Their mission of hate is defeated when phone call from Kashmir informs that we have made arrangements to transport the dead body to Kashmir where from she will fly to Swarg.
Er.Shafi Wani can be reached at wanishafi999@gmail.com)
