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By Sumera S. Naqvi,
Dawn Magazine, August 13, 2006
Citizen of the world
Way back in 1939, Patras
Bokhari wrote an article, Hindustani from Madras, in which he said that
in order to “extend the coverage of a language to the whole of India,
fastidious standards of purism and exclusiveness must receive minor
shocks.” By minor shocks, he wouldn’t have meant eventually wiping out
either language – Urdu or Hindi. Far from it, he meant peaceful
co-existence. Perhaps that is one of the many reasons that led him to
earn the title, and so aptly, the citizen of the world.
Further in the article, the Urdu humorist-cum-writer-cum-broadcaster-cum
educationist mentioned the books, Hindustani and Hindustani ki Pehli
Kitab, then published by the Madras government that “represent(ed) the
first concrete shape given to the dream of equipping 360 million people
with a common language.” He argued that people apply language according
to utility or usage and so a common language should serve that purpose.
“The need for a lingua franca is a spiritual one, and, but another
aspect of the new national consciousness. The difficulties and the
dangers of the task, however great and real they may be, are therefore
merely looked upon as a challenge to enterprise and enthusiasm.” I
wonder if Patras had lived into this age and written these lines with
the same degree of confidence.
I believe he would have. Though it is not required for a humourist to
also be an optimist, Patras wrote what he believed. Mein Aik Mian Hoon
to mention one, exudes tremendous hope (and humour) on the part of a
beleaguered husband hampered by a truculent wife, at all costs. It is
one of the most hilarious and vivid pieces in his book, Patras kay
Mazameen. Many know Pir Syed Ahmad Shah Bokhari, popularly known as
Patras, to be the accomplished Urdu humorist, but he was also a
broadcaster of his times and a leading educationist. He joined the All
India Radio in 1937 and became the controller general in the year 1940.
He became the principal of Government College, Lahore, also his own alma
mater, in 1947.
A valuable website developed by his grandson, Ayaz Bokhari, () is a
treasure trove of all the essays, writings, insights, biography etc.,
about Patras and written by him. It holds the following lines on its
home page that epitome Patras Bokhari so rightly: “Ahmed Bokhari carried
the dual heritage of eastern and western civilization. This gave him an
unusual width of approach to those problems of our time with which the
United Nations has to deal. He reflected in his personality the
possibility of a synthesis of great traditions on which it is the task
of our generation to build one world. He also knew in a deep personal
sense the difficulties and tensions which must accompany such a
process.” In today’s world of crisis and chaos, people like Patras
Bokhari emanate freshness and hope through their writings and views.
As researcher and critic, Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui puts it: “Patras
Bokhari was a modernist who not only defied tradition but also emerged
as a role model of the times he lived for others to follow.” Though the
Urdu writers in Lahore have been inclined on defying the classical
tradition, trying out new experiments in the language, critics claim
that Patras’ style remained quite exceptionally unique and
insurmountable. “This was quite a welcome aspect and writers of this
time produced unique literature and added tremendous value to Urdu
literature under the patronage of Patras Bokhari. It was people like him
who encouraged these writers,” he comments.
Another interesting website that carries a compilation by M. Nauman Khan
and Ghulam Mohiuddin, is , which sketchily delineates his achievements
and biography.
Born in Peshawar on October 1, 1898, Patras Bokhari received his early
education there and then went to Government College, Lahore in 1916
where he received his MA degree in English. He also went to the
Cambridge University to do his Tripos in English which he passed in
flying colours. The years he was principal were considered the golden
years for the college as Patras Bokhari transformed it completely, also
producing illustrious students like Noon Meem Rashid, Faiz Ahmed Faiz
etc. In 1951, he became Pakistan’s first representative and the first
Asian as well, “to be appointed deputy secretary-general of
communications at the United Nations. He died in 1958 in New York and
was buried there.
Though his book, Patras kay Mazameen has been a valuable contribution,
and perhaps the only book by him, accrediting him as a unique humour
writer, Patras Bokhari had churned out a trove of essays and writings on
various topics holding some very significant points of view. His
writings, spiced in humour, are also immersed in a liberal use of words
and metaphors from Hindi. For instance, his using the word ‘Ieeshwar’ in
the essay, “Saweray jo Kal Aankh meri khuli” so fluently speaks of his
conviction that they are just part of the same coin.
An interesting feature on the website on Patras Bokhari by Ayaz Bokhari
is the background to the pen name ‘Patras’. Bokhari took up the pen name
after his dear teacher, Mr Peter Watkins who used to call him ‘Pir’ and
pronounced it as “Pierre” in French which is akin to Peter. Bokhari had
a keen interest in Greek mythology which led him to take up ‘Patras’ as
his pen name as it is derived from Greek for Peter. It also drops a line
to educate the ignorant that Patras is not spelt or pronounced ‘Pitras’.
The website developed by Ayaz Bokhari is really a labour of love for his
dear grandfather. Though a plethora of websites scroll down the computer
screen on typing in the name Patras in the flick of the eye, developed
by fans and connoisseurs of Urdu literature, the aforementioned website
carries collector pieces on the writer which may not be easily
accessible anywhere else, because Ayaz Bokhari has the edge of being
part of the family tree. Nevertheless, the websites are a valuable
contribution to the computer savvy younger generation on the Net, and
also an inspiration for other progeny to follow suit. |
