Media Watchdog
‘Faiz is a hat?’

‘Faiz is a hat?’

“Guys, today is the death anniversary of Faiz – are we covering it?” -- (Clueless) subeditor: “Isn’t Faiz...

Jahanzaib Haque November 20, 2012

For those who do not know (and that number is growing) November 20 is the death anniversary of one of Urdu’s great intellectuals and poets, Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Sadly, the man and his body of work have become increasingly irrelevant for many Pakistanis, including myself.

Conversation in the newsroom

Me (upon spotting the story on a local news site): “Guys, today is the death anniversary of Faiz – are we covering it?”

(Clueless) subeditor: “Isn’t Faiz a hat?”

Yes, Fez is a hat. And yes, Faiz has been reduced to token mentions in the print media or online (“Today is Faiz’ birth or death anniversary – please read this copy-paste history on him from Wikipedia”), even fewer mentions on TV, and the odd Facebook share with some out-of-context stand-alone prose, generally being used to further the agenda of the sharer.

This is truly a sad state of affairs, and what’s worse is that I am part of the problem.

I am completely ill-informed thanks to my education at Karachi Grammar School which never touched upon Faiz (though I assume he could/should be relevant to an O Level audience).

My ‘western style’ upbringing means no encounters with Faiz at home. Even though my mother is well-versed and well-read when it comes to Faiz and Urdu literature, she never bothered to share any of that with me, reasons unknown. We have volumes of Faiz, but they sit on dusty shelves doing nothing for no one. I once tried to find good, free translations online, but the search left me weary. I found more hats than prose.

At my university abroad, Faiz had no place. At my jobs at Geo, Dawn and now at Express, his relevance has been next to none, or muted (see above description of putting together news on Faiz’ anniversaries).

I have no idea where Faiz is, and neither do the people I live and hang out with. I know this is a monumental loss because people tell me it is, but when I ask them about Faiz, they tend to know more about the hat than the man and his work.

Unfortunately, this loss of Faiz is not just among the burger bachas I know - it extends from my uneducated driver all the way up to senior staff at news organisations.

The loss of Faiz is real, what it will mean for us...I really do not know.

Read more by Jahanzaib here or follow him on Twitter @jhaque_

COMMENTS (38)

Adeel | 11 years ago | Reply for those who are interested in reading the translated works of faiz, his works are translated in english by his son in Law shoaib hashmi. You can find it at ur nearest book store.

AJ | 11 years ago | Reply @Pessimist: There are lots of english translations of Faiz and transliterations for those who cant read the urdu script but understand urdu...all online. I think the author found it easier to complain then do actual research

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Pavan | 11 years ago | Reply @Nandita.: Kinda a wannabe. It has several meanings according to the context. Most of the times it means a either a pampered rich child or a rich brat showing off. In Gujarat we've a synonym for it called 'Color'

Ilham | 11 years ago | Reply My question for you Jahanzaib is; Now that you have a lil feedback to go by; Have you taken some time out to get to know Faiz Sb better? lol.

S.Muzzafar | 11 years ago | Reply Faiz was a humble person with an optimistic approach towards life. His love for humanity was free of the prejudice of race, color or nationality. Apart from being an innovative poet, he was the poet of beauty and love, and for him, there was no difference between the three; love, beauty, and revolution.

Manishj | 11 years ago | Reply And this is happening in Pakistan. Imagine what must be the state of affairs in India. Leave faiz, i tried looking for works of Sahir ludhianvi in a book store and all i got is his film songs as if he was only a full time lyricist.

Ali | 11 years ago | Reply it is not because of an apathy towards people who have raised their voices against the status quo, maybe, people want to escape reality.You can see that in all forms of arts.Even some people criticize media of being too negative and sensationalist.

jgjk | 11 years ago | Reply I went to The City School (well, 10 years ago). I believe they still have a Faiz poem "When you think of children laughing" on the back of all their copies (notebooks). It's in English at the back of all the English copies, and in Urdu at the back of the Urdu ones.

Ammar | 11 years ago | Reply Isn't that something that happens at Sindh Club too =P

Ghauri Sultan Suri | 11 years ago | Reply Thank you, Mary......You have summarized the whole situation very precisely.

Ahsan Mansoor | 11 years ago | Reply Surprisingly i dint know that Fez is a HAT ! So stop bringing out assumptions. People are as much ignorant about Fez as much they are about Faiz. It all comes down to one thing: We don't read ! and yes the so called ameer k bachas find it insulting that they understand Urdu Shairi !

mary | 11 years ago | Reply now lets not get ourselves be carried away by our rose tinted nostalgic view of the "good old times" when everyone quoted Faiz at the drop of a hat, payed pilgrimage to his residence or owned him as the proud face of our country. The truth is that before his death in 1984 Faiz was a persona non grata at an official level because of his opposition to the tyrannical governments of the day and even for the masses because of his communist (and hence la-deen) leanings. His birthday was never celebrated even in his lifetime nor were any of his other notable achivements. Publications such as the odious Nawai Waqt group never go of any chance to ridicule his leftist beliefs and made special mention of him as a convicted felon in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. The Lenin Peace Prize awarded to him which was the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize for the communists could be termed as the zenith of any poet's career. On the contrary the right wing media termed it as proof of him being a soviet agent/spy etc etc. It brings tears to my eyes everytime I see the footage of a beaming Faiz receiving his Lenin prize. Little did he know how his acceptance of the honour would haunt him for the rest of his life. I've read quite a bit on Faiz sb's personal life and the kind of ridicule he had to suffer at the hands of his compatriots, the numerous exiles, the jail term, the demonization is heartbreaking and yet he bore it all with the serenity of a mystic. I am sorry but if the youth of Pakistan seems clueless to the message of Faiz that is because there's a long history of apathy towards anyone who chose to raise their voice against the status quo and take the road less taken. Faiz Sb was no different.

Pakistani | 11 years ago | Reply @Pessimist: Read him, know him, love him if you want.. Why add it to syllabus? now this is sad..

Ghauri Sultan Suri | 11 years ago | Reply Please, please, do not read FEZ instead of FAIZ. The Bombay Police may arrest you for hurting the feelings of all Urdu Lovers !

Nasim Mengal | 11 years ago | Reply Faiz life and poetry is all about struggle and humanity. He was humble to earth. His poetry gives courage and hope.

Erum | 11 years ago | Reply What I believe is that we have lost our reading habits; be it english literature or urdu; be it poetry or prose... and this is a general issue rather than the specific one mentioned in the blog.

Another North Indian | 11 years ago | Reply So here is the irony. We are arguing on your boards and editorials celebrating Thakre's death although, most likely, I know more about Faiz and care for what he symbolized than do many Pakistanis. Why is Iqbal translated and celebrated so much more than Faiz? Iqbal wrote beautiful poetry, but he is a hero primarily because Iqbal built up the myth and the chimera of a supremacist Islamic identity - separate, dominant,, self-righteous. Faiiz was a Muslim as well. Yet he focused on his humanity. So although his fans abound, he was submerged in the Iqbal-crated coreligionist exclusivist myth that was greater than any myth regionalists and communalists can create. That which infects the mind at a deeper level has longer-lasting more pervasive effects. nandita, malik is right. Pakistanis use the word purely as a put-down.

Questioner | 11 years ago | Reply @Khurram: there is difference between Burger Bacha and Westernized Person, I think we generally associate it with too much protected child that has been raised to be member of western society while living in the Pakistan. Whereas dare devil Westernized Pakistani might not be called Burger Bacha.

Questioner | 11 years ago | Reply @Jahanzaib disagree that he is lost or people have forgotten him. Actually he is in fashion just like when suddenly Nusrat was in fashion. Musharaf's departure put him and Habib Jalib back on our mental map. Most people might not know his biography or life changing events, but they know his verses. Take him and Faraz out, some verses of Parveen Shakir and you will find out we, as people of Pakistan, don't know many of the recent time poets. We have lost lot of other authors and poets. Then we have lost reading habits anyway so what can we say.

RAB | 11 years ago | Reply Im sorry but i think it's quite arrogant of you to assume that since you and the people you hang out with haven't had the opportunity to explore the genius that is faiz, it means he has become irrelevant. There's more to Pakistan then the burger bachas you mention. There's a widespread interest in Urdu literature and Urdu poetry extending beyond the big cities where English literature is not as popular as Urdu is, be it the classics or popular/trashy fiction. I'd strongly recommend you to add Nuskha haye wafa to your reading list. You won't be disappointed.

Ali | 11 years ago | Reply I think there was a comparatively progressive political culture in the seventies and Faiz became a hero for the 70's generation.The 80's Pakistan under Gen Zia was an era of intellectual bankruptcy and disillusionment.This can be seen in our political culture of today. Those who resisted stopped resisting and others are living in complete disillusion or are morally bankrupt. Faiz wrote what he saw in the eyes of ordinary people of those days.A believe in the dream of economic emancipation and respectable life for everyone.Now we don't have that dream anymore.

Malik | 11 years ago | Reply @Nandita It means nothing, like the majority of urdu and english words in Pakistan. Anyone can use any word against everyone who according to them fit in the proper meaning of the word,and vice versa.

Saz | 11 years ago | Reply Thanks for sharing your ignorance with us. Get a life or at least make an effort to read up and understand why Faiz stands out among some very good Urdu poets, don't just fill the pages to meet dead lines.

Noumaan Yaqoob | 11 years ago | Reply Millions of people in Pakistan have listened to "Fur Elise" without knowing who wrote this brilliant musical piece used in countless TV dramas, movies, even as a reverse gear music in cars. Great works of art and literature do not die away just because people have forgotten them. They leave a deep impact on the conscience of the people. I believe that even if people do not recognize Faiz as they should, his works inspired the nation in every walk of life. In literature he inspired Faraz, Habib Jalib, Perveen Shakir. His poetry was motivated and inspired the activists and workers of Pakistan People Party to resist and survive Zia's regime. His poetry inspired Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (according to her own words and she often quotes Faiz and Jalib's poetry, if she can familiarize herself with their works, so could you.I don't think there could be anyone more burger than Pinky). Faiz inspired singers like Iqbal Bano, Tina Sani, Madam Noorjahan. Their songs carrying the words of faiz reached to the furthest corners of the nation and inspired even the illiterate people. No, Faiz is not lost to the Nation.

Farooq Jillani | 11 years ago | Reply Well that is truly pathetic. Irony is not just that we have erased from our occupied memory the anniversary date of faiz, besides, it is next to impossible to find even small percentage of people, particularly youth, who live by his message, his ideals and his notions........!! He is a masterpiece, indeed. And it would be more of our own misfortune if we just let faiz go unattended...! In tribute to him, I recall his verse where he says, Na Tan Main Khoon Faraham, Na Ashk Aankhon main.... Namaz e Shouq To Wajib hai, Bay-wuzoo hee sahee........ These magical lines talk volumes about the intensity, we must posses, to pursue our meaning in life......!!!

HasBeen | 11 years ago | Reply I think there is general apathy towards Urdu language/literature which transcends economic and social classes as noted by jahanzeb. Saying 'I or my son/daughter nearly flunked Urdu' is almost considered a merit, you wont hear such a frank admission of inability for English. Faiz was a genuis and no matter how cynical we can get or put a garb of 'moving with times' on it, the fact that a large majority of youngsters do not know/have read Faiz is a loss indeed. On a slightly brighter note for the middle class/burger bachas thanks to platforms like Coke Studio (Rabba Sachiya/Dasht-a-Tenhai) and bands like Laal (the original line up, not the joker who is currently torturing everyone with his aweful vocals) Faiz has somewhat recieved some attention in popular media. Musafir-e-rah-e-sehra-e-zulmat-e-shab se Ab iltafat-e-nigar-e-sahar ki baat suno Umeed-a-Sahar Ki Baat Suno

HA | 11 years ago | Reply I wonder if Mujahid had her Eastern Music Society around during your time? Everyone in it was up to their ears in Faiz, and everyone was in it, because they all wanted gowns. Since it was Mujhi's pet society, we used to have these concerts in the auditorium and the rest of the school was forced to listen too.

Sara | 11 years ago | Reply @zeenia, not everyone doing their O/A-Levels has studied about Faiz, so how about you also not assume that everyone shares your experiences? Those who did their O-Levels more than 10-15 years ago went through an Urdu syllabus that was divided up into two separate parts, literature (which they called "Urdu Syllabus A") and Urdu grammar ("Syllabus B") and only one was compulsory. We naturally opted for the much easier Syllabus B, where all we learnt to do was attempt one comprehension, one composition, a couple translation passages, some waahid-jama, muzakkar-muannas, and make sentences out of some random words and mohawaras. In A-Levels, Urdu was an optional subject so hardly a handful bothered to take it up. I heard that the Urdu exam went through an overhaul a few years ago and several changes have been introduced.

nasir | 11 years ago | Reply agree with khurram's description of a burger bacha; i think it's more accurate than the one given by pessimist

shahpar | 11 years ago | Reply You dont know about Faiz doesnt mean he is lost. You probably would also have no clue who Shams Tabreez or Hafiz Shirazi were,but that doesnt mean they are also lost. There are increasing number of people singing him, listening to his poems sung by Tina Sani, Iqbal Bano etc and lastly faiz is eternal like Iqbal. If you have heard that he is a great poet, then start reading him, start understanidng him.

Pessimist | 11 years ago | Reply I would disagree with you, Khurram. This isn't about Urdu vs English. Jehenzeb even mentions in his blog that he tried to find translated works. We don't need to completely switch to Urdu to understand Faiz. The work of Allama Iqbal is translated into English, why can't the same be done for Faiz Ahmad Faiz? I'm sure there are plenty of people who would read his translated works.

Khurram | 11 years ago | Reply @Nandita.: it means a kid who is westernized in appearance and manner, and doesn't know anything about local customs.

Khurram | 11 years ago | Reply I know it's a sad thing we don't know about our literary geats. But there is no point in selecting Faiz to moan our loss. The hallamrk of the real greats is that you don't need to remind people about them, and there are a lot of people, both old and young, who are in touch with Urdu literature, and know not only aobut Faiz but about a lot of other such names. I think we shouldn't sit there and moan such 'losses' because time changes and many things change with time. At a time when English is they key to get into highest ranked universities and land in top jobs, Urdu langluage in general and literature in particular will suffer. But we should not stick dogmatically to Urdu just for the fear of losing Faizes. Once the most brilliant students in England were taught greek and latin, and only dumb ones were taught English, but eventually they realized that the rise and fall of languages is a natural process. All we can do is to live by the living languages of te time. I can assure you there will always be enough people knowing about Faiz, but we don't have eonugh people knowing about human rights, evolutionary biology, quantum physics, anthropology, sociology etc. I think it's time to move forward.

Omer | 11 years ago | Reply @Nandita.: Yes, Burger bacha is the one who says "yaar ye loogs open air dhabboun main kaisayyy khana kha laitay hain ...uff disgusting...meri mama kehti hain khanay kay khareeb b chali jaye na makhi tou dont eat it ...oi"

Gilani | 11 years ago | Reply Why don't you leave then? Who is stopping you?

Zeenia | 11 years ago | Reply Ok I dont know what kind of burger bacha u are, I studied Faiz in school, both O and A levels. If you and people surrounding you are so aloof, don't assume everyone else is.

Pessimist | 11 years ago | Reply It's sad that the works of poets like Faiz Ahmad Faiz are not taught in our school syllabus. Apart from the odd mention here or there, I do not recall reading about him. If anyone has managed to find a website with his translated works, can they please share the link? Although it's not relating directly to the topic at hand, I do find it absurd that Allama Iqbal's poems are 'taught' at the primary level. I recall rote learning (rata) his poems and their subsequent meanings. The poetry of Iqbal is too complex to understand at a young age. I don't know if this is accurate, but I believe there are some Universities where the poetry and works of Dr Iqbal are taught at Phd level. Would you believe it? Miss Nandita: A wannabe would be an accurate description of burger bacha. These are the 'cool' people roaming around with their fake english accents and what not :)

Nandita. | 11 years ago | Reply Ok I've heard this word far too often to not know what it means. What in the world does ' burger bacha' mean ? - A wannabe ?

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ

‘Faiz is a hat?’

FOLLOW US