A common misconception in Pakistan is that books do not sell here because people do not read. Publishers blame the internet, smartphones, and numerous TV channels for “dying reading habits”. Interestingly, none of the publishers complaining of slack sales and readers’ apathy have gone out of business. More and more new titles are published in Urdu every year and the year 2016 was no different. A large number of books by both old and new writers appeared. Another trend that has picked up in the last few years is reprinting of classics and old-time favourites. Publishing the collected works of popular Urdu poets and prose writers is a trend that got steam some three decades ago in Lahore and now every year we see bulky volumes of collected works being churned out.

Some of the old maestros, like Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib, sell like proverbial hot cakes. Every year different publishers print different editions of Iqbal’s poetry and they have to reprint them every few years. For instance, the National Book Foundation (NBF) has published several editions of Iqbal’s poetry — one is printed on art paper, dripping with colours and has almost sold out. Various low-priced editions of Iqbal’s poetry published by the NBF with large print orders simply flew off the shelves and now they are being reprinted (I was much amused to read the other day that Iqbal’s poetry was going out of fashion, good joke!). So books do sell in Pakistan, people do buy and read them. The recent Karachi International Book Fair is proof. So do not believe publishers, who published new titles during the year 2016 yet kept on whining as usual.

What follows is not at all a list of the best books of 2016; rather, it is an overview of what was published and read during the year and out of hundreds of new titles only a handful can be mentioned here.

There are some sceptics that believe that Urdu literature is dying, but the proliferation of new titles proves quite the contrary

Poetry: When Kishwar Naheed publishes a new collection of her poetry, it is news indeed. Abad Kharaba, a slim volume carrying the hallmark that Naheed is known for, was published by Sang-e-Meel and includes nazms [poems] and ghazals. Amjad Islam Amjad’s collected poetical works were published in two volumes, Hum Uss ke Hain is a collection of ghazals and Mere bhi Hain Kuchh Khwaab has poems. Naheed Qasmi collected her father Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi’s selected poems in Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi ki Muntakhab Nazmein. Arshad Mahmood Nashad published Kitab Nama, a masnavi appreciating books and expressing love for the written word. Tanzeem-ul-Firdous’s first collection of poetry, Manzar Badalna Chahiyye, was published, though she has been writing poetry for quite long. Selections from Urdu poetry published by Oxford University Press in 2016 included those of Shibli Nomani (compiled by Tanzeem-ul-Firdous), Asghar Gondvi (compiled by Abdul Aziz Sahir), Fani Badayuni (compiled by Ziaul Hasan), Munir Niazi (compiled by Fatema Hasan) and Ada Jafri (compiled by Fatema Hasan).

Fiction: Muhammad Ilyas’s Galiyon aur Bazaron Mein, a collection of short stories, has some very short stories. Though these stories satirise our social and political scene, many lack the subtlety found in Ilyas’s previous works. Najmul Hasan Rizvi ke Behtreen Afsane is a selection of short stories chosen by Ambreen Haseeb Ambar. Mubeen Mirza, critic, poet, and short story writer, published another collection of his short stories, titled Zameenein aur Zamaney. Ghulam Abbas’s novella Gondni wala Takiya was reprinted. Shahid Siddiqui’s novel Aadhe Adhoore Khwaab is another reprint that appeared in 2016. This shows that there is a market for good literary works and people do read. Saadat Hasan Manto’s works, titled Poora Manto, are being compiled and edited in 10 volumes by Shamsul Haq Usmani. The third volume was just published by OUP, as was a selection of Hasan Askari’s short stories, edited by Asif Farrukhi.

Criticism and research: Looking back at what was published in Urdu in 2016, one realises that non-fiction, especially literary criticism and literary research, was all the rage. Although the general perception is that with the increase in the number of critical and research works the standard has suffered from a tangible lapse, these were not all necessarily substandard works. Here we can mention only a few notable works. Nasir Abbas Nayyar is one of the critics respected for their profound knowledge and command on matters related to structuralism, postmodernism, and post-colonialism. His new book, Urdu Adab ki Tashkeel-i-Jadeed, has strengthened his status as a critic and researcher. Muhammad Hamza Farooqi’s Mehr-i-Darakhshan is a meticulous research work on Ghulam Rasool Mehr. Muhammad Hameed Shahid is a fiction writer with a keen eye for the epistemological issues related to fiction. His book Fiction: Nae Mabahis discusses fiction from some different angles. Urdu Naat ki Sheri Rivayet, edited by Sabeeh Rehmani, is a collection of research and critical articles on the history and criticism of the Urdu naat. Zeenat Afshan’s PhD dissertation Urdu Fiction par Suqoot-i-Dhaka ke Asraat is a well-documented work.

It is nice to see some important critical writings, which could not see the light of the day, now being collected and published; for instance, Muzaffar Ali Syed’s works. He was a critic, poet, columnist, and translator whose critical writings inspired many writers and kicked up many debates, but a large number of his critical essays could not be published in book form. Intizar Husain collected them under the title Sukhan aur Ahl-i-Sukhan. Sibte Hasan was a well-known Progressive writer and intellectual and Syed Jafer Ahmed has edited and published Hasan’s critical essays titled Adeeb aur Samaji Amal. Similarly, reprints and second editions of some critical works provide the reassurance that literature is still relevant in Pakistani society. Wazir Agha’s book Maani aur Tanazur was reprinted, and the second and revised edition of Atash Durrani’s book Lisani-o-Adabi Tehqeeq-o-Tadveen ke Usool is certainly helpful for those intending to do some literary editing or research work. Sabeeh Rehmani’s compilation Ghalib aur Sana-i-Khwaja, too, ran into a second edition.

Drama: As drama has not been a very popular genre in Urdu, it was nice to see some being published by two bigwigs. Intizar Husain’s play Khwaabon ke Musafir, written about half a century ago and highlighting issues related to migration, was published. Khurram Suhail edited Khamoshi ka Shor, a collection of plays that Fatima Surayya Bajia adapted from Japanese stories.

Pen-sketches: Tahir Masood’s second collection of pen-sketches, Auraaq-i-Nakhwanda offers candid glimpses of some well-known figures. Rashid Ashraf has done a monumental work that collects Urdu’s rare pen-sketches in two volumes. The work, titled Urdu ke Nadir aur Kumyaab Khake offers a bonus: a bibliography of 600 books and dissertations on Urdu pen-sketches, and interviews — a virtual treasure trove for anyone carrying out research on the topic. Chiragh Roshan Hain is a collection of pen-sketches by Ismat Chughtai. Edited by Aqeel Abbas Jafri, the book has some delectable sketches. Dr Muhammad Muhsin has been writing humour for quite a while now, and his collected humorous works Mazameen-i-Muhsin include essays and pen-sketches.

Miscellany: In addition to new editions of Iqbal’s Urdu and Persian poetry, about 10 new books on Iqbal appeared in 2016, confirming that Iqbal’s poetry is still loved. I do not understand how one can say that Iqbal has fallen out of favour and “is going out of fashion”. This, perhaps, is wishful thinking, but not any research-based proposition. Qasim Yaqoob published Urdu Slang Lughat, a dictionary of Urdu slang words. Muhammad Islam Nishtar’s book Seerat-i-Rasool-i-Arabi aur Riyasat-i-Madina mein Qaumi Zaban ka Maqaam stresses the importance of the national language and its status. Muhammad Hamza Farooqi’s memoirs Jamia-i-Karachi se Jamia-i-London describe the students, teachers, and atmosphere at universities of Karachi and London where the writer had been studying.

There are some other works on letters, memoirs, biographies, and criticism which simply cannot be mentioned here for want of space, but one can rest assured that neither Urdu literature, nor Iqbal, are going out of fashion any time soon.

The writer is a former chief editor of the Urdu Dictionary Board and now teaches Urdu at the University of Karachi.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, January 8th, 2017