The father of romanticism in Pashto poetry
Written by Sher Alam Shinwari
Tuesday, 30 May 2006
Mohammed Ashraf Maftoon, the rebel poet, died in March 2004. I remember walking up to his residence on the airport road in Peshawar Cantonment when I found the poet in a vivacious mood. "It is by a stroke of good luck that today I feel so fresh and spirited that I am ready to answer your volley of questions," he remarked welcoming me.
Clean-shaven and well dressed, Ashraf Maftoon would most of the time remain at home and preferred not to attend any literary function or participate in any other literary activity for which he generally had a very good reason. He was one of those prolific university scholars who had brought about revolutionary changes in the form, diction, style and substance of Pushto literature. The other scholars with a similar role were Qalandar Moomand, Fazal Haq Shida, Ghani Khan, Samandar Khan Samandar, Syed Rasool Rasa, and Major Yunas Khalil. All were greatly influenced by western literature and philosophy. That was why they revolted against the traditional style of poetry in Pushto.
"I started composing poetry when I was admitted to the Islamia Collegiate School. In 1945, when I switched over to Islamia College, Peshawar, I had a collection of poetry prepared. The manuscript I handed over for publication to one of my friends. But he proved to be careless and lost it. In those days, I used to get my poems and write-ups published in Khyber, the literary magazine of the college. Sometimes I would recite my poetry to Syed Rasool Rasa, Samandar Khan and Yunas Khalil who very much appreciated it which was very encouraging for me."
Ashraf Maftoon's first poetry collection Da Shair Duniya was published in 1947. Due to its unconventional style, it created quite a stir among the budding Pakhtoon poets. Syed Rasool Rasa in his preface to Ashraf Maftoon's second poetry collection Da Zsuand Sandara (The Song of Life) wrote, "There is no doubt that Ashraf Maftoon is the father of romanticism in contemporary Pushto poetry. He has an indigenous way of thinking, a unique style of expression and never relies on borrowed ideas. He has blended his sublime imagination with his deep philosophic thoughts."
Ashraf Maftoon was born in 1922 in Rajjar Charsadda. He passed his matriculation from the Islamia Collegiate School and graduated from the Islamia College, Peshawar. He took admission in the University of Peshawar for a master's in philosophy but then left it half way due to some domestic problems.
"I served in Radio Pakistan Peshawar for 22 years but I resigned from there because of its slavish environment. For me it was a place where I could not revere my own national heroes in a befitting manner. I want freedom not only for the Pakhtoons but also for the Punjabis, Sindhis and Balochis.
"It is only poetry that consoles my restless soul and that is why I have secluded myself and taken refuge in perfect solitude," he said. The suicide of his only son Zarak in 1991 further made him live an isolated life. Maftoon criticized Iqbal and Faiz for using their poetic talent for the propagation of their own thoughts.
"It is not necessary for great poetry that it should take up only contemporary moral or social issues and should essentially follow the prevailing literary standards because great poetry stands the test of time and space. It transcends the geographical, racial and linguistic boundaries," Maftoon added. He preferred prose for teaching philosophy in fiction, which was a new technique he adopted in the twilight years of his life.
He published a collection of six radio dramas titled Haider in his lifetime. Being a humanist he believed strongly in human dignity and freedom of expression. He was a rebel to the core. Hedonism is a predominant factor in his poems. 'Zohra' is his ideal beloved who recurrently appears in his poetry. His love for wine and women, though, does not occupy the central place in his poetry. But he endows both of them with decency and decorum. His ghazals generally follow the traditional style in Pushto but his poems are distinct and unique in form and diction.
This makes Ashraf Maftoon distinct from his contemporaries. "The merit of poetic art is that it arouses the emotion of love, sharpens one's aesthetic sense, enriches one's ideal world, enlightens his thinking faculty through the power of reason," said Ashraf.
He wished somebody would translate into Pushto "The trial and death of Socrates". He drew great inspiration from Buddha and Abdul Ghafar (Bacha) Khan due to their humanistic feelings. His poetry collections Sreekey, Kawaakey, Lukharrey, Wagmey and Skundaarey have been well received by readers and critics of Pushto. The vacuum in Pushto literature created by Maftoon's death cannot be easily filled.
Written by Sher Alam Shinwari
Tuesday, 30 May 2006
Mohammed Ashraf Maftoon, the rebel poet, died in March 2004. I remember walking up to his residence on the airport road in Peshawar Cantonment when I found the poet in a vivacious mood. "It is by a stroke of good luck that today I feel so fresh and spirited that I am ready to answer your volley of questions," he remarked welcoming me.
Clean-shaven and well dressed, Ashraf Maftoon would most of the time remain at home and preferred not to attend any literary function or participate in any other literary activity for which he generally had a very good reason. He was one of those prolific university scholars who had brought about revolutionary changes in the form, diction, style and substance of Pushto literature. The other scholars with a similar role were Qalandar Moomand, Fazal Haq Shida, Ghani Khan, Samandar Khan Samandar, Syed Rasool Rasa, and Major Yunas Khalil. All were greatly influenced by western literature and philosophy. That was why they revolted against the traditional style of poetry in Pushto.
"I started composing poetry when I was admitted to the Islamia Collegiate School. In 1945, when I switched over to Islamia College, Peshawar, I had a collection of poetry prepared. The manuscript I handed over for publication to one of my friends. But he proved to be careless and lost it. In those days, I used to get my poems and write-ups published in Khyber, the literary magazine of the college. Sometimes I would recite my poetry to Syed Rasool Rasa, Samandar Khan and Yunas Khalil who very much appreciated it which was very encouraging for me."
Ashraf Maftoon's first poetry collection Da Shair Duniya was published in 1947. Due to its unconventional style, it created quite a stir among the budding Pakhtoon poets. Syed Rasool Rasa in his preface to Ashraf Maftoon's second poetry collection Da Zsuand Sandara (The Song of Life) wrote, "There is no doubt that Ashraf Maftoon is the father of romanticism in contemporary Pushto poetry. He has an indigenous way of thinking, a unique style of expression and never relies on borrowed ideas. He has blended his sublime imagination with his deep philosophic thoughts."
Ashraf Maftoon was born in 1922 in Rajjar Charsadda. He passed his matriculation from the Islamia Collegiate School and graduated from the Islamia College, Peshawar. He took admission in the University of Peshawar for a master's in philosophy but then left it half way due to some domestic problems.
"I served in Radio Pakistan Peshawar for 22 years but I resigned from there because of its slavish environment. For me it was a place where I could not revere my own national heroes in a befitting manner. I want freedom not only for the Pakhtoons but also for the Punjabis, Sindhis and Balochis.
"It is only poetry that consoles my restless soul and that is why I have secluded myself and taken refuge in perfect solitude," he said. The suicide of his only son Zarak in 1991 further made him live an isolated life. Maftoon criticized Iqbal and Faiz for using their poetic talent for the propagation of their own thoughts.
"It is not necessary for great poetry that it should take up only contemporary moral or social issues and should essentially follow the prevailing literary standards because great poetry stands the test of time and space. It transcends the geographical, racial and linguistic boundaries," Maftoon added. He preferred prose for teaching philosophy in fiction, which was a new technique he adopted in the twilight years of his life.
He published a collection of six radio dramas titled Haider in his lifetime. Being a humanist he believed strongly in human dignity and freedom of expression. He was a rebel to the core. Hedonism is a predominant factor in his poems. 'Zohra' is his ideal beloved who recurrently appears in his poetry. His love for wine and women, though, does not occupy the central place in his poetry. But he endows both of them with decency and decorum. His ghazals generally follow the traditional style in Pushto but his poems are distinct and unique in form and diction.
This makes Ashraf Maftoon distinct from his contemporaries. "The merit of poetic art is that it arouses the emotion of love, sharpens one's aesthetic sense, enriches one's ideal world, enlightens his thinking faculty through the power of reason," said Ashraf.
He wished somebody would translate into Pushto "The trial and death of Socrates". He drew great inspiration from Buddha and Abdul Ghafar (Bacha) Khan due to their humanistic feelings. His poetry collections Sreekey, Kawaakey, Lukharrey, Wagmey and Skundaarey have been well received by readers and critics of Pushto. The vacuum in Pushto literature created by Maftoon's death cannot be easily filled.
