Muhammad Mujahid Syed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — "Urdu language is in a state of decline in Pakistan. The printed and electronic media seem to be the sworn enemy of Urdu language there. Urdu orthography is dented by them. Not only the effect and influence of other languages has ruined the beauty of the Urdu dialect and conversation but also the written language has been marred by it. In our literature Hindi had penetrated. This decline and fall of our beautiful language has some reasons. The big among them is lust for popularity. In our country even the ignorant people have become popular due to their PR (public relations) skills. It's not in Pakistan or India but in America, England, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Dubai Urdu language is flourishing,” said Naseer Turabi in an interview with Saudi Gazette. Turabi was born in 1945 in Hyderabad, India. After the partition of the Indian Subcontinent, Turabi's parents migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Turabi is the son of famous scholar Rasheed Turabi. Turabi took a masters degree in mass communication and retired as director of public relations. He started composing poetry and writing parodies as a teenager. His teachers convinced him to compose serious poetry. To one's surprise, till yet, to his credit he has, only one collection of Ghazals. For its reason, he said: “I am selective. Now a days the poets get popularity through singers. People have lost interest in reading books." "In 'Humsafar' drama serial, one of my Ghazals (which was about the fall of Dhaka, and was much appreciated by famous poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz) was a hit. It was then that people started recognizing me," he said. Turabi was in the Kingdom to participate in the All Pakistan Mushairah organized by the Consulate General Pakistan, Jeddah on March 6 at Pakistan International School - English Section (PISJ-ES), as part of the Pakistan Day celebrations. "In Urdu language, poets Arzoo Lakhnawi and Fani Badayuni are my favorite. In Persian poetry I love Hafiz and Rumi. Hafiz poetry is famous for ecstasy and astonishing beauty which cannot be explained in words. Rumi is revered for his totality. He has his own cosmos. I began composing poetry in the heyday of Faiz, Nasir Kazimi and Mustafa Zaidi. We, the young poets, were encouraged and promoted by these literary giants,"Turabi said. He added: "I am not interested in literary movements. In fact I think of them as political stunts. In modern Urdu literature, if someone asks about my favorite book, I would like to mention Mukhtar Masood's “Awaz-e-Dost” and my favorite writer in humor and satire is Mushtaq Yusufi. But I am very sorry to say that Yusufi has filled his latest book with trash," he said. Turabi seemed pessimistic for the future of Urdu poetry when he said: “Faraz has once said that young boys and girls are using SMS for the purpose of poetry. Probably we are seeing the finish of Urdu poetry." He added: "If the language does not stop, the culture will go on. Pakistani society has accepted the influence of Indian TV and has been glamorized by the Indian films."
