AMU remembers Rahi Masoom Raza, releases Hindi translation of his thesis

From the majestic dialogues of the blockbuster TV series, Mahabharat to the novels written in blistering honesty; literati, intellectuals and people of letters discussed many prominent works of author, play writer, novelist and former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) faculty member, Dr Rahi Masoom Raza and released the copy of his dissertation, ‘Bharteeyata ki Pehchaan Dastan-e-Tilism Hoshruba’ translated in Hindi by Late Prof Seema Sagheer in the unique event, ‘Yaad-e-Rahi Masoom Raza’ of the Faculty of Arts.

Speaking on the diversity, oddity and peculiarities of Dr Rahi’s writings, renowned Hindi writer, Dr Namita Singh remarked: “Dr Rahi’s writings mirror the environment he lived in. His novels show the happenings of the pre-Independence and post-Independence era and his sharp and penetrating vision does not miss the political events and the landmark sociopolitical developments of his times”.

“The relevance of Dr Rahi’s writings and works keeps increasing with time and his thesis should be read by all scholars and students to develop a perspective on the heterogeneous mixture of multiple cultures, meeting and co-existence in the Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb”, she said.

Prof M Shafey Kidwai ( Department of Mass Communication) stressed: “Dr Rahi understood the milieu he wrote about. His study of Dastan literature in the Indian context is important and presents the essence of the old literary-verbal traditions”.

“Late Prof Seema Sagheer has managed to retain the flavour of the original text in her translation of Dr Rahi’s thesis. She must be complimented for taking Dr Raza’s work to a wider audience”, he added.

Prof Neeraj Kumar (Department of Hindi, Jamia Millia Islamia) pointed out: “The elegance in Dr Rahi’s writings and his emphasis on smooth diction brought the Urdu language to a wider public. His works are informed by great sensitivity and fine insight, and they portray the reality of society and uphold humanism”.

Speaking on Prof Seema Sagheer’s efforts in translating Dr Rahi’s thesis; Prof Sagheer Afrahim recalled that Prof Seema’s eyesight became weak while reading printed copies with corrections by Dr Rahi and that she also read the ten thousand page ‘Dastan-e-Tilism Hoshruba’ to translate the dissertation.

“Dr Rahi showed how Indian characters can be used in the peculiar art form of Dastangoi. His thesis describes how Dastangoi began absorbing Indian culture and tradition, and how artists began using Urdu in their performances”, said Prof Asim Siddiqui (Department of English).

Mr Ajay Bisaria (Department of Hindi) said, “Dr Rahi was an unsparing critic of fundamentalists and hypocrites of every hue and his work is engrossing and insightful. His writing also has a strong dose of biting humour that makes you laugh out loud and wince at once”.

He added: “Dr Rahi took forward the tradition of Hindi writers such as Bhagwatsharan Upadhyay, Vasudevsharan Agrawal and Hazariprasad Dwivedi among others to show that human civilization developed through cultural exchanges and that culture is not immiscible”.

Prof Imtiaz Hasnain (Dean, Faculty of Arts) delivered the welcome address and recalled Prof Seema Sagheer’s hard work for translating Dr Rahi’s thesis.

Dr Shahbaz Ali Khan conducted the program.