Nazir Jahangir
Critiquing a literary work is a craft. This demands high degree of proficiency. What we see here in Kashmir that anyone who picks up a pen, plays on keyboard, holds an Android thinks not being a great writer only but a thinker as well. I have seen that when a person fails on writing level and feels he or she could not make a space in literary circle, he or she resorts to literary criticism. That is why literary criticism has turned to nonsensical assessments now than being a reasonable evaluation. One needs to know it has rules like any other craft.
Criticism should be constructive even if sounds acerbic. A critic should employ a gowth mindset to evaluate a work and is free from prejudices. Articulateness, skill, insight are important elements needed in a critic. He should not be biased and not bearing any malice. The main objective of a critic should be to provide a feedback to the writer and having good intentions to help the writer improving in those areas where a writer lacks the knack. He should not feel uncomfortable describing the good points also which he observes about the writer whose work he analyzes and evaluates. Just highlighting flaws of the writer manifests the decayed mindset of a critic.
Flowery and arid prose is not deemed appreciable and not admired. Using flowery and bombastic style in an attempt to impress the reader is seen as a drawback of a writer not any quality or charisma.
The best work is where a writer offers wings to the reader and lets him to soar in the heights of imagination. Writing be it poetic or prosaic should be mesmerizing.
Every writer has a hankering for giving its best to the reader. Then it is critic who shows him or her a mirror how his her literary work is seen. Literary criticism is not just a review of a creative work but an analysis and an interpretation as to how it does reflect. Critic determines the merit, weight of literary work and standing of writer.
A writer is a sensitive soul. Even a prick shakes his or soul while to others elephantine incidents not matter. A writer is never a “care-free” person because he doesn’t “sideline” his intellect. He who does it can be anything but not a genius. A writer is a man of different stuff who like the legendary lover “Farhad” attempts to carve stairs out of the cliff rocks for his “Shereen”.
Critique not only evaluates reasonably a creative literary work but increases understanding of reader and unveils the thought of writer in an interesting way.
Critique doesn’t mean to open the flood gates and nagging or nitpicking over the negligible elements but a reasonable evaluation. Critique means evaluation, assessment and appraisal which include criticism and appreciation as well.
Culture too has a role in words. We see things from very different perspectives, and can never fully understand some things from the other’s point of view, because our own is so different. We may both read the same text and each interpret it in completely opposite ways because we read it with different eyes and minds. Pain has a universal idiom but when a Kashmiri put it in “Tatur, Pohun te Dag”, then these words suggest a feeling which is in addition to the literal meaning of English pain. Same way is “Gobor:…. This word inherits a lot of love with it which connotes different than what ‘Boy’ or ‘Beta’ carries; a feeling in addition to the literal meaning of Boy and Beta. So is with the connotation of “private parts”. They are a social construct. Many tribal communities don’t consider breasts or butts private. Many other communities consider a woman’s hair or ankles private parts. Symbols too differ in meaning from culture to culture. Take an example of owl. Owl is described foolish in this subcontinent, while in America and Europe owl is considered intelligent.
Nazir Jahangir is a noted journalist
