Mansha Yad literary work appreciated
Z A Qureshi
Islamabad—Eminent short story writer Intizar Husain
has complimented Mansha Yad, another noted short story writer of our times for restoring the grace of Afsana (short story)
and its characteristic beauty which once used to be the hallmark of Urdu literature.
He was presiding over “An evening with Mansha Yad”
organized by Pakistan Academy of Letters Thursday. One could see writers and poets (not only from Islamabad and Pindi) but
also from Lahore and other parts of the country, who had come in great number to discuss Mansha’s stories and to express
their love and regard for him.
Iftikhar Arif, Aftab Iqbal Shamim, Khalida Husain, Kishwar
Nahid, Aga Nasir, Bashir Husain Nazim, Prof Fateh Mohammad Malik, Masood Mufti, Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi, Prof Jalil Aali, Dr Anwar
Nasim, poet Anwar Masood, Akhtar Usman, Prof Sajjad Sheikh, Hamid Shahid, Asghar Abid, Farheen Chaudhry, Khaliqur Rehman,
Abida Taqi, Neelofar Iqbal, Mir Tanha Yousfi, Malik Mehr Ali, Akhtar Sheikh, Anwar Saleem, Haleem Qureshi, Col Sharafat Ali,
Shamim Ikramul Haq, Anwar Zahidi, and Dr Inam-ul-Haq Javed are some of the stars of our literary horizon who the galaxy of
twin cities that came to acknowledge Mansha Yad’s commitment to short story and his long journey to winning literary
excellence.
Intizar Husain in his presidential address held that it
went to the sole credit of Mansha Yad that he stuck to his doctrine of story despite strong opposition from progressive and
abstractionist writers. “Story went missing somewhere in the overflow of symbols and images and Mansha Yad restored
its former grace.
Intizar Husain said Mansha Yad discusses in detail rural
landscape. His characters are so simple and down to earth humane that readers cannot help befriending them. However, he made
it clear that by eulogizing Mansha Yad’s stories he did not mean to criticise imagists or those who use symbols. Mansha
is sincere in his approach, said he and called him a very committed writer. It is not Mansha Yad the hasty but Mansha Yad
the slow but steady writer who has travelled a long way to become what he today is. It is perhaps due to this singular quality
of his writings that he is called to have glimpses of Parem Chand, said Intizar Husain.
Columnist Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi said Mansha Yad’s stories
have a great impact on readers and instead of wondering what the writer intends to tell him, the readers are left in a state
of trance after reading his stories. Images and symbols had done great injustice to story and readers read them with a felling
of weariness. But reading Mansha Yad is always a delightful feeling and the write takes his reader along and does not leave
him far behind. He quoted a number of short stories to bring home his viewpoint on the occasion.
Chairman Academy of Letters Iftikhar Arif said Mansha Yad
is a noted name of Urdu short story. He said, as his stories are Mansha Yad is a simple, straightforward person. There is
no labour one has to undergo in order to know what he intends to tell us.
Eminent poet Aftab Iqbal Shamim said Mansha Yad knows the
art of telling tale and his stories suggest that a common man has a receptive mind and responds to inequality, injustice and
class system in his own way. ManshaYad’s stories tell us purity of blood relations. He also unmasks hypocrisy of the
rulers. Shamim said that recurrent Martial Laws and exploitation of the underprivileged at the hands of the privileged classes
is Mansha Yad’s favourite theme. Hamid Shahid, Khaliqur Rehman and Anwar Masood also shared their views with the audience
on the occasion.
