By Shafi Ahmad
He is proud of his down town roots and calls himself a Down Town boy . He is even prouder of Kashmir genesis and ,as such, is fond of writeups about his motherland Kashmir. He sums up the Kashmir rhizome in the following words, “ World may know us by the name of cloth Cashmere that we exported to the West in the 19th century. Or we may be known by our Pashmina Shawls that Napoleon’s wife Jasmine loved but there could be no greater recognition than by Lal Ded ‘ We have been there and will be there.” Himself, he is a preacher of peace ,as such, runs a website Peace watch Kashmir aimed at promoting peace in the sub continent. He is fond of story telling and remembers the good old days when story telling was a regular exercise particularly during winter nights. The professional story teller would render the poetic story of great Masnavi , the long poems. He yearns if the good old days are revived and the tradition recreated. Himself, he wears the powerful Nostalgia up his sleeve and has been recreating the past events like a craftsman. He is Z G Muhammad the well known columnist , author and famed Nostalgia creator.
After studying at Islamia School, he obtained a BSc and Master of Arts in English literature from Kashmir University, followed by a course in mass communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Currently, he is editor of Peace Watch Kashmir,[1] a journal dedicated to peace in South Asia, and a regular columnist .
The author has contributed articles on politics, literature, culture, and history in various newspapers like The Statesman, the Onlooker, Bombay, the Sunday Calcutta, The Free Press Journal, Kashmir Times, Journal of Peace Studies, New Delhi, The News, The Post, The Pakistan Observer, The Washington Post,[2] Tehran Times,[3] The Arab News,[4] and the Urdu Times.
During 1982– 1990 he wrote a weekly column for the Press Asia International New Delhi and reviewed books on Kashmir history, literature and politics. When he punched strongly with his words the lines got obliterated and so was born the permanent column Punchline on Politics, Culture and literature– ……. Wrote a permanent column, The Media-line on print and electronic. Then later resumed writing weekly political column Punchline and editorials for the papers. Z G Muhammad participated and chaired number of International Conferences in London, Washington and Montevideo.
As if his political commentaries were not enough, Muhammad tried his experienced hands and computer above his broad shoulders to churn out literature and art forms. He wrote number of short stories in Kashmiri and English. He also produced and wrote documentaries for Doordarshan Kashir. Prominent one’s were, New tracts(A 5 episode documentary on economic Treasures of Jammu and Kashmir),Unity is diversity(a ten episode documentary on different ethnic groups of J&K).Monument of Kashmir(a ten episode documentary on Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim Architecture of Kashmir.) Reshi Tradition of Kashmir(a six episode documentary on patron saint of Kashmir Sheikh Noor-u-Din Reshi tradition) Literary Legacy of Kashmir(A six episode documentary on literary history of Kashmir) Hamari Sufi Shair( our Sufi poets)( A Ten episode documentary on Sufi Poets of Kashmir) Boatman of Kashmir( two episode documentary on anthropological study of boatman of Kashmir for Doordarshan National network) Monuments of Kashmir (Documentary for National Network in English),Nagama-Firdous (a Musical Program. 2001 On POETS OF KASHMIR FROM MAHJOOR TO REHMAN RAHI),Qaiser Mirza – journalists with difference (Documentary). His Published political/literary contributions include: Can National Conference Survive? year 1978,The Cindering Chinars, a collection of English short stories, The Icons of Kashmir Identity Published By Gulshan Publishers 2007, Kashmir in War and Diplomacy Published by Gulshan Publishers 2007,Living Uncertainties : Kashmir, Problem and People ,Srinagar – My City My Dreamland , Kashmir Story -Hope & Despair, Kashmir; Changing Shades .
And Kashmir did not forget this talented and multifaceted contributor . He was awarded 29th Ahad Zargar Award for Contribution to Heritage Literature of Kashmir in 2012 and in 2008 Gulshan Publication Award.
Z G Muhammad is very enthusiastic about Kashmiri literature getting translated into rich languages like English. He always encourages such endeavours as he believes that Kashmir and its literature can reach far and wide through translations . And when a book translation was presented to him ,during his presence in a weekly meeting of Fiction Writers Guild, he did not waste time to acknowledge the gesture. He wrote in one of his blogs ,” It was gracious of Shafi Ahmad and Mushtaque B Burq to present me a copy of “Eternal Insight of Kashmir”, a collection of Short Stories translated into the English language. The collection contains thirty-six stories by old masters of storytelling like Akhtar Mohi-u-Din and Autar Krishen Rehabar. And by a host of new masters of the craft who had taken this genus of literature to new heights, Mohi-u-Din Reshi, Majroorh Rashid and Riyaz Tawhhidi.
The Guild deserves kudos for all it does to water the barren literary landscape of our land and get it back the greenery, grandeur, freshness and fragrance it had in the past. “
This acclaimed columnist has been a good short story writer penning in English, Urdu as well as Kashmiri. His anthology of English stories has been titled as Cindering Chinar . His Kashmiri story has been included in the Afsana number of Shiraza magazine published by J&K Cultural Academy. He had developed close rapport with film personalities and eminent writers and while in Bombay remained in proximity with them.
“ People like Ramanad Sagar , Kh.Ahmad Abbas and few more were my pals . Not only them but Ismat Chugtaie, Padma Sachdev , Z -Ansari and the members of Zakaria family were my intimate companions. I would record their interviews also ,” says Z G Muhammad recalling the days gone by. “In 1984 I organized Kashmir day in which around seven hundred people participated.” ZGM continued.
“When S M Abdullah was the chief minister his big photographs were on display at public places as well as government offices. One such photo hung on my office wall. One day Ali Sardar Jaffri came in and pointed to the stanzas(main Jahan tak tum ko bulata hoon aao) printed on the bottom and asked me if I knew who wrote it. Without wait he continued ‘to hell with ……….He does not give me the credit of my own poetry ‘.” ZGM describes the interesting episode.
Although Z G Muhammad writes mostly in English but his penchant for Urdu language can’t be ignored. His writeup in Kashmir Times dated 28-7-1997 is a direct question to Dr Karan singh and Balraj Puri asking ‘can Urdu go away from J&K?’. Another article titled ‘struggle for existence ‘ on 23-6-1988 bears testimony to the fact that ZGM rallies along Urdu.
Post Script : ZGM the man with nostalgia has many interesting stories to tell. One such story concerns Ismat Chugtaie ,“Politics did not interest me. But, at first sight, I fell in love with Kashmir- scenic beauty- pretty girls, pristine water, cold breeze, it was like drinking elixir”, was her instant reaction.
On my asking, what impressed her most in the Kashmir leader. The short story writer in her blossomed. Smilingly she said, “I was deeply impressed by his height and physique. He was truly a masculine beauty, taller than others, broad shoulders, massive hands, broad smiling face and eloquent. This is what a woman looks for in a man.”
The author can be reached at wanishafi999@gmail.com
