By Manzar Imam,
Noted Urdu critic and litterateur Mahmood Hashmi died in a city hospital in New Delhi recently. He was 70. He is survived by two wives, four sons and a daughter besides grandchildren. The septuagenarian poet Hashmi developed sudden epilepsy in April 2007 and was in intensive medication since then.
Born in Delhi on 29 November 1939, Hashmi received early education in Mumbai, passed High School examinations from Delhi’s Anglo-Arabic School and went to Punjab University for further studies.
In order to be self dependent Hashmi worked for Shama magazine and later became publicity officer of Hamdard. He then joined United States Information Service (USIS) and worked extensively on American literature and translated dozens of books. During this period he engaged himself with Urdu literature especially Urdu criticism and started writing criticism for monthly Asia (Karachi) and Tehreek (Delhi).
Mahmood Hashmi
In 1960 Hashmi went to Pakistan and stayed there for two years. During his stay in Pakistan his writings won him high accolades. In 1963 he came back to Delhi and resumed USIS once again.
Known for his scathing criticism, Hashmi spared no contemporary Urdu litterateur. He was very critical to shallow approach of Urdu teachers and professors for failing to come up with standard literary writings.
Hashmi’s wife Suraiya Hashmi is Director of External Services Division of All India Radio and Doordarshan. His son Suhail Hashmi is a media professional and his grandson Sufian Hashmi has worked for S1 and CNEB news channels and is now working on some documentary movie projects.
Hashmi’s elder son Rumi Hashmi says that though he had some great admirers, my father chose a profession which created many rivals for him. It’s unfortunate that none of us could carry his legacy. He lived by his own principles and he would never compromise on something below professional dignity. It’s only memories that we keep now, says the inconsolable son.
Mahmood Hashmi with Gen. Zia
The eminent Urdu litterateur was also deeply associated with journalism. He rendered outstanding services to Urdu during his tenure at the All India Radio. Famous Urdu critic Hasan Askari was among his close friends. Hashmi is among those pioneers of Urdu who laid the foundation of modern thought and was one of its experts.
One of his books “Anboh-e-Zawal Parastan” (The Crowd of Losers) was published in 2008. He was the brain behind successful literary journals like Shabkhoon, edited by Shamsur Rahman Farooqui, Saughat, edited by Mahmood Ayaz, Shaoor, edited by Balraj Manra, Istea, edited by Salahuddin Perwez and many others.
Prof. Shamsul Haq Usmani termed Hashmi’s death as a great loss of literary world. He was among those critics who provided thought to new generations through his writings. He was an epoch-making litterateur, Usmai added. He lived life on his own conditions.
Well-known Urdu critic Gopi Chand Narang said Hashmi was like a volcano in his youth. He was intelligent and friend-loving and soon after joining the Urdu service of AIR, he became one of its shining stars. He was associated with many journals and some of his write-ups became very popular. He was matchless in witticism that would surprise people. When modernism started to fall victim to fashion and hero worship, he was among the first who raised their voice against it, Narang said.
Vice chairman of National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), Chandrabhan Bhan Khyal held that Mahmood Hashmi had a distinct literary stand. With his demise I feel incomplete, said Prof. Shamim Hanafi. He was one of those literary figures of India who was equally admired in foreign academic circles.
He was a protagonist of modernity in literature. Hailing his contribution to modernism, Farhat Ehsas said, Hashmi held central position in modernism. Describing him as an unusual person, Dr Mohammad Aslam Perwez, editor of Urdu monthly Science, said Hashmi was a man of acute sense. He was not confined to any particular field but kept on embarking on new territories of literature. In view of his services to Urdu literature, Urdu Academy Delhi gave him an award in 1994.
(Delhi-based journalist Manzar Imam can be reached at [email protected] or +91-9810035066)
[Photo: www.connectinghistories.org.uk]