Post by Sukhanwar on Aug 6, 2008 23:23:36 GMT 5
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Schezee Zaidi
Islamabad
An intellectual, journalist, poet and above all a freedom fighter, Muhammad Ajmal Khan Khattak, has been conferred �Kamal-e-Funn Award 2007� for his lifelong literary services, while ten books, including Feryal Gauhar�s �No Space for Further Burials,� were adjudged as �Best Books of the Year.�
The Pakistan Academy of Letters announced this on Tuesday after a panel of judges, comprising Mazhar-ul-Haq Siddiqui, Shahzad Ahmad, Zaitoon Bano, Muhammad Mansha Yad, Professor Dr. Peerzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Professor Alamgir Hashmi, Hafeez Khan, Professor Wahid Bux Buzdar and Dr. Salma Shaheen, adjudged the works under the National Literary Awards. �Kamal-e-Funn Award� is the highest literary award in the field of literature for recognition of lifetime achievement in creative and research work. The amount of this award is Rs500,000.
Being a Pakhtoon nationalist leader, Ajmal Khattak, is a towering progressive poet, writer, critic, playwright, intellectual and researcher. He was born at Akora Khattak in District Nowshera on September 15, 1926.
Ajmal Khattak has a very active and versatile literary career. He has been editor-in-chief of a number of outstanding newspapers. He also worked as a scriptwriter for the Radio Pakistan, Peshawar. He is an author of more than a dozen books in Pushto, Urdu and English on prose, poetry, history, criticism and political philosophy.
To revive the spirit of the Pakhtoonkhwa with his poetry, �Da Ghairat Chegha� (The Cry of Honour), Ajmal Khattak created fear in the minds of the ruling juntas in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1958. His verses were banned in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and became the cause of his imprisonment.
In the category of National Literary Award for the year 2007, ten books were selected as the best literary works written during the year in Pakistani languages � Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, Seraiki, Brahvi and best translation work in English language.
Speaking to the media about literary awards, PAL Chairman Iftikhar Arif said that two new categories are included this year, one is for translation and the other is for Hindko language.
�Dust of the Road� by Amina Azfar was given �Muhammad Hassan Askari Award for Best Translation Work.� Books in this category were judged by Mushir Anwar, Yasmeen Hameed, Professor Jaffar Ahmad. He said that no Hindko book was published this year that could be selected for the award. He said that the books were selected out of 4,000 books collected for scrutiny by judges. The selection starts in the month of January every year so that the National Literary Awards could be announced before the announcement of national awards by the government on Independence Day.
Amina Azfar�s �Dust of the Road� is the translated version of the original work �Gard-e-Rah� by Raipuri. The original Urdu memoir was first published as a serialised autobiography in the Urdu journal �Afkar�. The work was interrupted when Raipuri lost his eyesight. However, he completed the book in its present form by dictating the rest of the material.
The entire text of the book is imbued with the spirit of the man � brave, ambitious and appreciating and enjoying the best things of life. In her translated version, Amina Azfar has done an exceptional job by maintaining the truly fascinating spirit and essence of the book as a unique work of literature.
In English, �Pitras Bukhari Award� this year went to Feryal Ali Gauhar on her book �No Space for Further Burials� (judges: Ghazi Salahuddin, Professor Khwaja Masud, Professor Shaista Siraj-ud-Din).
The book inverts the oft-hackneyed themes of displacement, war, America and the suffering Afghans. The personal stories together provide a reflection of the collective complicity so often present in the perpetuation of violence. The inmates� tales of displacement mirror the dislocation of oppressed and war-stricken people in Afghanistan and, indeed, throughout history.
In other Pakistani language categories, Urdu poetry �Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal Award� was given to Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi on his book �Arz-o-Sama� (judges: Kishwar Naheed, Shahzad Ahmad, Asad Muhammad Khan). In Urdu prose �Baba-i-Urdu Molvi Abdul Haq Award� was given to Hasan Manzar on his book �Khak Ka Rutba� (judges: Dr. Jameel Jalbi, Aslam Siraj-ud-Din, Zahida Hena). In Punjabi �Syed Waris Shah Award� was given to Siddique Taseer on his book �Rubaiyat-e-Taseer� (judges: Dr. Riaz Majee, Farkhanda Lodhi, Dr. Shahbaz Malik). In Sindhi �Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Award� was given to Altaf Shaikh on his book �New Hala Khan New York� (judges: Dr. Nawaz Ali Shauq, Dr. Saher Imdad, Dr. Adal Soomro). In Pashtu �Khushal Khan Khattak Award� was given to Darwesh Durrani on his book �Pashto Arooz� (judges: Hashim Babar, Professor Dawar Khan Daud, Abid Shah Abid). In Balochi �Mast Tawakli Award� was given to Mir Muhammad Hussain Anqa Baloch on his book �Rokeen Pul� (judges: Aziz Muhammad Bugtti, Dr Naimat-ul-lah Gichki, Muhammad Baig Begal). In Seraiki �Khwaja Ghulam Farid Award� was given to Saleem Shahzad on his book �Pairen Turda Shaher� (judges: Shaukat Mughal, Professor Rifat Abbass, Musarat Kalanchvi). In Brahvi �Taj Muhammad Tajal Award� was given to Arif Zia on his book �Brahui Jadeed Nazm� (judges: Ghous Bux Sabir, Abdul Qayoom Bedar, Jauhar Brahui).
An amount of Rs100,000 will be given to each of the award winner.