New Delhi: The true greatness of a (literary) man lies in his endeavours to bring to light the services of the marginalized because we get the real sunshine not from distant and alien skies but from our own sky. These views were expressed by renowned litterateur Haqqani Al-Qasmi. He was speaking at a condolence meeting organized by Seemanchal Media Manch on Sunday 19 November, 2017 to pay tribute to Advocate Mohammad Shamsuzzaman, more famously known with his pen name Shams Jalili.
There is a need to identify the real heroes of Seemanchal and introduce them to the outside world, said Haqqani adding that there was no dearth of talent in Seemanchal. All they need is to “get out of their inferiority complex”.
Shams Jalili, who died on Tuesday 14 November, 2017 at his residence in Purnea, was a lawyer by profession but took keen interest in Urdu literature and, produced some excellent literary works. He was a poet, prose writer, editor, biographer and historian. His interview-based biography of one of Bihar’s finest physicians Dr Faizur Rahman (January 1942-August 2014) titled “Dr Faizur Rahman: Purnea Comissionary Ki Ek Tarikhsaaz Shakhsiyat” (2005, printed by Spiritual Publications, New Delhi and published by Dr Hamida Rahman Memorial Medical Centre (Trust), Kishanganj) received critical appreciation. There were demands to publish it in English, Bengali and other languages. His collection of poetry “Makaan Se La-Makaan Tak” won him huge accolades.
One of the remarkable works of Jalili is the book “Aaina-e-Shishabari wa Atraf” in which he wrote stories of success of people living in villages whose life and work, despite being incredible, remained shrouded in dark. His other works include Qissa-e-Hayat-o-Kainat: Az Adam Ta Ein Dam, Safina-e-Ghazal-o-Nazm (poetries), Mahw-e-Hairat Hun Ke Duniya Kya Se Kya Ho Jayegi (prose) and a history of Purnea in poetry.
Journalist Noman Qaisar said that Shams Jalili was a person full of life. He spoke truth even though it hurt some people sometimes. He not only wrote great poetry, he would also encourage, appreciate and guide new writers. We need to bring out his unpublished works, which would be one way of paying him tribute, he said.
Dr Khalid Mubashshir, Assistant Professor, Department of Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia called literature food for soul stating that poetry and literature enhanced and strengthened our thinking and imagination. “Denying the sentiments of a poet amounts to denying one’s own existence”, he said. He suggested to organize some academic seminars to highlight the works and contributions of prominent figures of Seemanchal like Akmal Yazdani (July 1929-July 2015), Shams Jalili, Mohammad Taslimuddin.
President of Human Chain, Engineer Mohammad Aslam Alig said that education was the only solution to any problem. “Education alone will help us get rid of many social ills”, he said. He stressed the need for unity and collaboration between different organizations working in, or for the development of Seemanchal and said that the Seemanchal area had great potential in its current generation to produce people like Shams Jalili, Akmal Yazdani and Taslimuddin (d. 17 Sept. 2017).
Senior journalist and President of Seemanchal Media Manch, Abid Anwar drew the participants’ attention to the changing volatile political situations of the region stating that there were elements trying to vitiate the peaceful environment there.
In his presidential address Razi Ahmad Tanha, editor of Abjad (a quarterly journal published from Araria) said the real tribute to Shams Jalili would be only if we followed what we said. There should be no limits to thinking and it should be universal, he concluded.
The programme was conducted by Manzar Imam, joint secretary, Seemanchal Media Manch. At the outset, Imam presented a biographical sketch of Shams Jalili. Md Afsar Alam (Zee Media), Absar Ahmad Siddiqui (Taasir, Urdu daily), Minhaj Qasmi (Hamara Samaj), Mahboob Elahi (DD News), Anwar Ul Haque (Rashtriya Sahara), Nasir Parwaiz, Ishtiyaque Azher (Siemens), Abdul Qaiyoom (Farrukhabad), Shafique Alam (UNI), Mohammad Abdullah (Bihar Sharif) and others were present. Some of them also spoke on this occasion.
(Author is a Ph.D. scholar at the Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia and can be reached at manzarimam@rediffmail.com)
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