Bandhan (Dr Saba Khan)- Book Review by Shoby

Bandhan (Dr Saba Khan)-

Book Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Watch The Video Review at Below Mentioned Link at Official Youtube Channel of Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Official Shoby)

Watch The Video Review By Clicking This Link

Margaret Atwood said, "You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built in the human plan. We come with it.” We are living a life full of stories. I feel there are only two type of people in the world. First one, the rare category, the storytellers and the second one, the public, who are the story listeners. No matter what medium you use, if you are an artist, you are a storyteller for sure. As a matter of fact, one can never claim to be an artist, unless he has the tendency to tell stories through his respective art form.

Its always pleasing to see new writers coming up with their books. Thanks GOD, there are still few people, who dare to get their written stuff published for public in this world full of book drought environment. One name in this blessed list is our Social Media star writer Ms. Saba Khan. Saba has been sharing her write ups in both forms (poetry and prose) through social media and her write ups are getting quite a handsome volume of acceptance and fame in the public. Now she has come up with not a single but TWO books simultaneously. (Good Job done girl... Take a bow)...

Well, let me keep my comments aside for a limited time for her poetry book (Muhabbat Hai Saba Jaisi) and let us focus on her first ever prose collection the book tentatively titled as "Bandhan", a collection of 16 different micro fiction stories. The first thing that catches your attention in the book are those beautiful lines from veteran novelist Mr. Mahmood Zafar Iqbal Hashmi. You also get a surprise bonus when you get to read our dearest poetess Naheed Akhtar Baloch's preface.

Now lets dive deeper into the ocean of Bandhan. First thing first, Bandhan is a winner, in the sense that it clearly states the primary objective of the writer in a very simple manner. You dont need any Einstein's brain to grasp the proceedings. Looks like author was very much clear about the message she has to give to the audience, without being preachy. There is nothing right or wrong here, suggested by the author. She has just told you the real life fiction fabricated stories in simplest of words and left it to the reader to be a judge and decide which section of society has gone wrong and how.

All the characters in different stories are fortunately (or unfortunately) an integral part of our society, be it a child beggar or a woman suffering from domestic violence to a prostitute etc. Writer has depicted her characters in such a way that you feel sympathy for them. Although the overall feel of the book is gray and a bit sad but you are bound to admire the bravery of the writer. She has shown her wordy prowess to write some very difficult characters in a very sensitive attire. I loved the way, she demonstrated the character of Jaan e Ada. It reminded me of those classical courtesans like Umrao Jaan e Ada, Chandrmukhi and Sahib Jaan. See, how negligently writer has narrated the small sensitive moments of the story.

Coming towards the dialogue writing, I feel, Saba has the power to write in the same lingo in which her character is being portrayed. From the redefined and sophisticated courtesan to someone behind bars, from a happy go lucky chap (Shaheer) to the insane hurt violent woman, the writer has a complete recipe for every character. She is a poetess and she has told her quite randomly merely through the use of those beautiful defining poetic one-liners in various stories. To be honest, I love this one monologue to the core. To me, the whole book Bandhan is at one side and this one sentence has such a power to overshadow every other written thing in the book.

Main aik muddat se chain ki neend nahi soya Naina...

Kaisey so saktey they Ali... Jab meri ankh Neend ka Zaiyqa bhool chuki hai...

Another positive sign in the book is writer's ability to conclude the proceedings. She knows how to start and sum up the things. Reader is never allowed to get distracted or bored as the fictions are quickly moving towards their finishing lines. A strong sense of observation is depicted by the writer in almost all of the stories. She has written some beautiful scenes in the book, which states that she can write a screenplay for sure with a bit more effort.

Now let me focus on a few things that should be taken care by the writer in the future. The very first thing that I observed (and read sort of a bit confused) is that considering the abilities writer have, she has just touched the upper epidermis of our plagued society. As far as this prose is concerned, looks like she was short of subjects. Although she used different characters from multiple domains but you always feel like reading one same story with same sort of plot and same sort of endings. 

Another shortcoming that I feel is, writer's one sided exhibition. Only one complaint from the writer is written all over the book. She has shown the woman as an object of violence. The female characters in almost all the stories are helpless, abused, distressed and exploited. I am not arguing that she has shown a wrong image of society. Obviously our society is plagued, in fact has been rotten with this syndrome of male domination and women here are mostly suppressed. But I feel, women now are showing their power and brighter image. Being a writer, it is our responsibility to be a true interpreter of the society without being biased. Having said this, I believe, Bandhan was her first experience and this is just a beginning of a long going journey. She will surely explore new domains and more diverse topics in her upcoming projects.

Concluding my review on this note that writer has been successful in establishing her very own place in the literature field with just her first book. I am sure she will continue the efforts and will definitely come up with much more interesting concepts with more beautiful executions. Do purchase hte book, read it and give your honest opinion to the writer. It will work as an oxygen for her literary life.

Suljhey Huey Logon Ki Uljhi Hui Kahaniyan- Book Review by Shoby

Suljhey Huey Logon Ki Uljhi Hui Kahaniyan (Binte Syed)- Book Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi (Shoby)

Prolific American writer Ernest Hemingway said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Books are love and to me, reading & writing is a blessing in its own way. In this digital age of globalisation, we have lost a class of writers which ultimately resulted in the loss of charm of reading and not many of us dare to write complete books. I personally feel that writing a book is not an easy cup of tea, especially for the new entrants. There is a very little or practically no reception in terms of books sale and while writing a book, you are basically taking a risk, if you are not an established writer.

This is why, I always admire those who become a ray of hope by writing something and then take a challenge to convert their writings into books. In this book drought, here we have Ms. Bint e Syed, who has become a ray of hope for people like me. Hope of belief that some people still exist, who want to make a difference. Now let us explore her book and see, what she has in it for the reader.

SHLKUHK is an interesting title and it clearly indicates the overall theme of the book, which is further elaborated by the writer in her preface. She says, Yeh kahaniyan hain suljhey huey logon ki, jo ulajh gaey mubabbat ke bandham mein... This book is a collection of 14 short stories with diverse shades of our society.

According to English novelist/ philosopher Aldous Huxley “To write fiction, one needs a whole series of inspirations about people in an actual environment, and then a whole lot of work on the basis of those inspirations.” The same simple practice is followed by the writers and the result is this book in your hands. As a true artist, she seems to be inspired from the actual proceedings of our society and this is what her writing has taught me about her. 

The characters used in various stories belong to our very own society and we can easily relate or locate them within us. Although, it is a work of fiction but while reading the book, you never feel, if you reading some fictitious stuff. Reason being the use of real common language & dialect, which everybody can relate with. I feel, you must have met with some of these characters with different names, at different places in some part of your life in our very own living planet. 

We human beings are perhaps the most complex creation of ALLAH PAK, courtesy our complex nature. We are emotional and we have something that differentiates us from other creations, power to express our feelings through verbal & non-verbal communication tools. Language & words play an integral part in our life and we don't hesitate in giving us our opinion in various issues. This opinion can be in any form and at times, we really don't care, how the other one will feel or react to our thoughts.

Bint e Syed has highlighted the same phenomenon in her different stories and the best thing about her writing is, she never tried to be judgemental. rather, she left it all to her readers to decide whether the action of her protagonists were right or wrong. This is the best quality of a writer to write without being biased and let your readers decide the goodness or badness of an act.

One good thing about the writer is her simplicity in presentation. She never tried to exaggerate the things, which would have made the story look superficial. In fact, she kept the things plain enough to give her readers and opportunity to read, understand, monitor and decide. Her dialogues are plain and easy to understand, however, at times, they look like cliched. So I personally feel she should focus more on her dialogue structure building. At places I have found few grammatical & linguistic mistakes, which should be avoided in future to enhance the impact of writing.

I have a major complaint for new comers, they don't take the writing serious. It is quite evident from the fact that they simply ignore the very basics of writing. One should know the basics of the domain in which he or she is working. Poetry has its own sets of rules which I call the Science of Art of Poetry and similarly prose has also some set pattern to follow. If you don't follow the SOPs, you will not live for long in the field of literature. 

This is for everyone, who is in writing field, please focus on what you are writing. While writing a short story, fiction (afsana), novel or novelette, you should bifurcate the narrative part with the dialogues. Do not make a mess of it by joining everything at one place. This will do no good for you. As a matter of fact, it distracts, rather bores the reader. If you want your writings to look efficient & effective, clearly give spaces, use valid punctuation marks, where they are needed, classify between the narrative part with the dialogues. This is the way to make your read look clean and easy to understand.

As I always say and mention in my reviews, in order to write good, you have to read well and in order to write well, you must read the best. The more you will read, the better you can write. An artist especially a writer has to be a keen observer of society as well as an avid reader. This is the only way to think out of the box and to bring the uniqueness out of yourself. Unfortunately, new comers don't learn a lot from the experiences and they carry on committing the same mistakes. Either they try to reinvent the wheel or they are happy with what they are doing. I always focus on one thing, son't stop learning. 

If you ask me, which was my favourite story from this collection, I would probably unable to answer you with a single title. I guess, all of these stories have the same flavour, which primarily tells us about different shades of love , friendship, romance and other human relations. However, I feel, Zaat Ka Safar is indeed the best story of the book. It was authentic to the core and conveyed the message amazingly. Khudkushi was another daring attempt to showcase something new. 

Being monotonous with her subject picking, up to some extent made me bored at times, as considering her abilities, I was expecting her to discover some more unique genres. But as she is new in the field, I believe she will make the best use of her writing skills in future. I believe, she will definitely take her writing to the next level in her upcoming works. She will surely write unorthodox and will bravely explore the unexplored.

I would leave you guys with one request. When someone writes something, give him or her the due share of respect by providing your honest feedback.  In this case, I would urge you to purchase Binte Syed's book and do give your valuable (honest) feedback to her read her, so that she get some more motivation and works more hard in future.

In Conversation With Zain Shakeel (The Poet)... Interview by Shoby

In Conversation With Zain Shakeel (The Poet)... Interview by Shoby

What an incredible age is this, where we are living. I mean if you have an internet connection, know a bit more of some nice Urdu phrases and have a gentle know-how of few software applications like Inpage and Photoshop... Congrats, you are a poet, ready to launch yourself in this almost limitless universe of social media. And I term these kind of poets "Facebookish Poets", who literally have no idea about what actually they are doing in the name of poetry. 

Last year, while roaming around here & there on Facebook in search of some nice good poetry, I came across this couplet:

Kabhi aa ker inhain shafaaf ker de

Tere waadon pe matti jamm chuki hai

And I got freeze... Tere waadon pe matti jamm chuki hai, I mean wholesomeness of this unique idea compelled me to read this real poet some more and I hit the "Like" button on his official page and then I was almost in a state of pleasure quoted shock. I dont want to be looked as ugly & proud but I really believe that today's world is seriously facing a drought in terms of good Urdu poets but this one person has seriously modified my thoughts. Genuinity, uniqueness & delicacy of his thoughts & concepts amalgamated with unbelievably beautiful execution by him has no doubt made myself his fan. He is the author of an excellent book Chalo Udaasi ke Paar Jaey and many other great poetic pieces. He is none other than the favourite of many of us... The one and only Zain Shakeel.

Needless to say that Zain enjoys an excellent repute not only among the critics but in general public as well and he has a handsome number of of fans all around. This phenomenon is pretty much obvious from the number of fan made & operated poetry pages that he has on Facebook. I believe a world of is waiting to know what he actually thinks of about his own personality & his art (i.e. poetry). 

I genuinely felt that almost all the fans of Zain wanted an insight about who the real Zain is and they really need a high dose of Zain's interesting chit-chat. So here I am bringing to you an exclusive interview of this one of the best poets of Pakistan. Enjoy the read and don't forget to comment in the below box:

Shobywood: Salam Zain... Please tell us something about yourself...

Zain: (A typical Zain-ish kind of reply)

"Main Wich Kon Qataar..."

Means myself Zain Shakeel... I belong to the village Jalal Pur Jattan which is situated in Gujrat. I was born & brought up there and also got the initial education from the same place. From Matriculation onward, I further studied in Lahore and by profession I am a Software Engineer.

Shobywoood: How did you started poetry?

Zain: Accidentally (Smiles)... It is said that poets cannot be made, they are poets by birth (by-default) and this reality is revealed at a particular time span of one's life and it may be a product of any reason. In my case, I remember, I found Mr. Farhat Abbas Shah's poetry book "Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri" in my relative's library. I started reading it and went on to read it quite easily. To be honest, I couldn't understand it much but ALHAMDO LILLAH, being a good student, my memory & recalling skills were good enough so that is why I used to read it in the same rhyming scheme and as I said earlier, poetry is embedded within oneself by birth, it just needs a particular time to be triggered. Same happened in my case. I started feeling that rhythm and I easily memorised the book and from then onward, sort of a liking for poetry started and it grew just like an tumour.

I continued reading Mr. Farhat Abbas Shah more & more and till I reached my Matriculation, I was almost done with classical poets like Ghalib sb,  Meer sb, Momin sb , Dagh, Atish, Zoaq, Bahadur Shah Zafar and many others. I read some modern poets as well and wrote an almost devastated sort of Ghazal in the 8th standard, however I seriously threw away the idea of writing after that. I never thought of doing poetry on serious terms at that time. However I started writing regularly in my university.

Shobywood: What is poetry for you???

Zain: Sometimes I feel, if I was not doing poetry, my existence would have been non existed. I mean, you may consider a stone in place of Zain Shakeel if you minus poetry from me.

Shobywood: Which poet inspired you???

Zain: My teacher respected Sir Farhat Abbas Shah sb & Mohsin Naqvi Shaheed. In classical poets, one & only Ghalib sb and in modern era, Shahbaz Ali Naqvi.

(PS: Readers, I was just bowled over when he uttered my name in the list of his favourite poets... Cant thank him enough) :-) 

Shobywood: Zain, I have read much of your poetry. I feel, you have that incredible capability to depict innocent & sensitive emotions in an extremely delightful & unorthodox manner. What actually inspired or insists you to write with such delicacy? 

Zain: Sadness... Sweet sadness of love, Inner sadness, External sadness, Sadness of being sad, in short it is just one damn emotion that compels me to write and this is sheer sadness. Every human being has to go through some happy & sad phases in life. However some people are more pro-sensitive on even minute of the things and it is an out of the world phenomenon if you are a poet. Nevertheless, there are carious colours of poetry but to me, sadness is the real happiness. And this very sadness urges me to write I don't know how many things and then it hand me over the sadness in the form of these literary words.

Shobywood: It is said that love is a mandatory phenomenon for poetry. What do you feel in this regard?

Zain: I believe, poetry belongs to love. I have not found even a single poet from the clan of those who have hate within themselves, those who are tyrants or heartless. Take this, sometimes a reader who is not a poet himself recites a poetry, he has some real emotions or feelings running somewhere parallel in the background. Some where his heart really melts. He must have been observing a sensitivity, a delicacy and above all, the love. Considering this, I believe if poetry is without love, it is a pseudo poetry, just the amalgamation of words & phrases. I don't consider it a poetry to arrange phrases & sentences by learning Ilm e Urooz. It is just like putting bricks on each other.

Shobywood: I have observed, one term "Sandal" is used may be hundreds of times in your couplets and poems. Please tell us the reason behind it.

Zain: (Smiling) Very interesting question. someone gifted me a pencil in my childhood which was made up of Sandalwood and it had an excellent aroma. I must say that I was in awe of that fragrance, in fact, I am still in love with that fragrance. Unfortunately I lost that pencil somewhere. I tried to track it down but couldn't find it again. 

I couldn't found the pencil, however the fragrance stood within me and it still remain here. Fact is, I still use the perfume which has the fragrance of Sandal. The interesting part is, the fragrance which I developed the liking stays with me like a feeling. This is why I used the is word much often in my poetry.

Just to set the records, straight, let me clarify that whenever I use the word Sandal, I do not refer to a person. To me, it demonstrates the same feeling which I always tried to find and I found it even if it remained present somewhere near me or may be within myself.

Shobywood: In this age of mushroom growing social media, what is your stance about the "Facebookish" poets?

Zain: Honestly speaking, almost everyone is a poet, a presenter, a self proclaimed star here at Facebook. Times are changed now. No one bars you from doing anything. So everyone is doing whatever he or she wants to do and same is the case with the poets. Everyone is writing and sharing whatever he wants to, no matter how meaning less it is. I am not saying that everyone is bad here. In fact some of these new writers are fabulous, however their charm gets lost somewhere in this crowd.

Looks like everyone is running in a race and no one promotes any good stuff from others. I am sorry but I feel, hypocrisy & envy was always there but I believe, it is at its all times high in our age.

Shobywood: (Just taking liberty from what he said recently, we asked him). So Zain, do you think good writers are available now a days? If yes, why don't they come in front much often?

Zain: As, I have just said it, people want & strive to come forward but dilemma is they tend to bar the progress of next ones. It is absolutely fine, if someone wants to progress in a certain field and he should not be barred from doing so. But people do stop others. This is why, good writers are declining.

Shobywood: General public has almost stopped reading poetry. Is it because of the scarcity of good poets or due to the lacking of good audience?

Zain: No, I don't think so. People do read poetry in this age as well and perhaps they are now in pretty good numbers. However, the major problem is that there is a plethora of poets in this field today. You may find hundreds of poets within a small society. So where should a good reader go.

In this crowd, there are many good writers who fade away in the course of time. This age is full of cleverness and in this era, those simple poets who don't want any celebrity status are doing their own job while being in a veil and their simplicity sometimes becomes a pertinent reason of their disappearance. This is what I feel regarding today's world of poetry.

Shobywood: Masha ALLAH, you are quite famous among the general public and you enjoy a handsome volume of fan following as well. But you don't appear in Mushairas too often. why is it so?

Zain: I have attended a couple of programs but I observed there is much grouping & lobbying even in a single program. Every particular group is just appreciating the poets belonging to their particular group only and leg pulls the other group members.

The thing you may visit anywhere, no more are the days where we used to have house full public presence in the programs and people used to listen to their favourite poets with zeal & excitement. Now, you will see 20 persons attending the program and most of them are poets themselves. General public has lost hte interest. These poets reads their own poetry in front of other poets and even in this declining phase, the atmosphere is full of hypocrisy, grouping & lobbying.

I would love to attend a Mushaiara where number of general public would be higher than he poets.

Shobywood: Please tell us something about your published books?

Zain: I have published only one poetry book titled as "Chalo Udaasi Ke Paar Jaey" in the year 2015 and after that I could not get ample time to publish the other stuff.

Alhamdo LILLAH, I have almost 20 books already drafted which comprises of Nazm, Ghazals, Taweel Nazm, Azad Ghazal, Nasri Nazm and Seh'Misri Nazm.

Shobywood: Your poetry has the feel of that classic poetry amalgamated with a touch of sufism. What do you say?

Zain: Poetry of a person depicts, whatever he feel internally & spiritually. I have a special liking for the saints since my childhood and above all, I have the highest level of love, respect & regard for Prophet MOHAMMAD (saww) and HIS AAL e PAK (asws) PANJTAN PAK (asws). And this is their blessings that a colour of Sufism reflects through through my poetry.

Shobywood: Your Facebook Live show enjoys an immense liking. Do you have any plan to do radio FM programs or if there any invitation from a channel? W=If yes, what sort of program you will like to do?

Zain: I have my interest in literature only . I don't have any interest in fun & entertainment or politics. I have already received an offer from Lahore Chamber of Commerce Fm 98.6 for the program of Ghazal Time but I am unable to conduct it due to my domestic issues and continuous unavailability in Lahore. As soon as I shift to Lahore, I shall commence the program for sure. That's why I regularly do my own show on Facebook to keep in touch with my listeners.

Shoywood: You have also tried in a relatively different genre of poetry i.e. Azad Ghazal. How you see this genre?

Zain: To me, Azad Ghazal is simply an ongoing condition a frame of mind actually. To be honest, a large number of poets dont endorse this genre as far as creativity content is concerned. They say, we don't have any Qafiya or Radeef, you just keep on writing whatever floats in your mind by just keeping the Behar intact. However, I feel every single couplet of an Azad Ghazal is a revelation and it is very much pure & original. You don't need any Qafiya here. And the best part is you don't even have to think it before writing. I have observed that the pure thinking comes out quite categorically transparent in this genre of poetry.

Let me quote a simple example to give my point of view a more clarity. If we scold a child for doing something, either he will rebel & become worse or he will produce sort of a a fright within himself and it will ultimately impacts him in a bad manner. On the other hand, it we treat him with some good behaviour & independence, it will surely produce better results. Same is the case with Azad Ghazal. If you make the Ghazal free of the limitations of Qafiya & Radeef, it emerges out shining with diverse colour & ambience. It should not include any filler couplet.

Shobywood: Its not easy to pen a long poem (Taweel Nazm). You have written epics like "Maaham". What do you say about it?

Zain: I think, poem writing is more difficult than writing Ghazal. Poems are far more tricky in their nature. To me, there is no formula for writing a poem. Some one asked me, Sir, how to write a beautiful poem? I replied, by just indulging into it... By just disappearing & drowning in the phenomenon. 

You write a poem when you are captured in a phenomenon, a specific condition of sorts and when it is impossible to return from the phase. Any kind of feeling like Pain, Sadness, Love, Anticipation may become  the basis of it. In these scenarios, the words you create emerge to be known as a poem. When the feel is unanimous, the symphony & continuity of the poem remains uniform. This is the identity of a pure, true poem. 

Especially you talked about poem "Maham", I feel, that particular condition was so long lasting that I created the poem mere by indulging deep into it and as a result, Maham the poem came in to being.

Shobywood: You have written in Punjabi as well as in Urdu. In which language you like & prefer to do poetry?

Zain: I love both of the languages. Punjabi has its own charm and so does Urdu. Apart from this, I try to read Persian as well. I wish to write in Persian & Siraiki.

Shobywood: Do you like or have any plan to write lyrics for Dramas or Movies songs?

Zain: Yes, I have already penned lyrics of some of the songs. My songs "Main Piyar" sung by Sam Salamat Ali Khan is already released and many more are just about to be launched.

Shobywood: What are your future plans in the field of poetry?

Zain: I am working on poems. Insha ALLAH, I shall present new things in very different styles. The same will surely reach to you. Please keep on praying for me.

Shobywood: Which helpful tips you may provide for the upcoming poets?

Zain: I feel reading is much more important than learning the know how of Behr and Auzaan. You cannot write anything new unless you are well aware of your own cultural heritage. Rules & regulations of poetry comes far ahead, first of all it is mandatory to read the best of literature.

Shobywood: Any message you want to deliver for your fans?

Zain: Always remember me in your prayers. Just pray that I continues writing all through the whole journey of my life. And I really pray right from the bottom of my heart for all my fans.

Shobywood: Anything you want to say about my blog Shobywood, considering it the only blog in Pakistan which caters Hollywood, Bollywood, Lollywood along with the literature as well.

Zain: Shobywood is an excellent source of information. I have observed it the only one blog where you always try to do innovative stuff. Many people operate blogs but 90% of these blogs are mere copy paste material and you will find nothing new in these blogs, whereas the biggest plus of Shobywood is whatever topic or article you choose & write, it is always fresh, news & unique and this one thing makes the blog prominent. I always pray for your success and I wish more & more people get benefit from your blog :-)

On this note, we Thanked Zain Shakeel for giving his very crucial moments of his busy schedule. We wish him a great shining luck for all of his future endeavours.

Phir Tanha (Asim Tanha)- Poetry Book Review by Shoby

Phir Tanha (Asim Tanha)- Poetry Book Review by Shoby

Douglas Coupland said, The time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Perhaps this is why this young artist has found his true self and has exhibited all of his own through his poetry. While reading Asim Tanha's preface which he has written for his debut poetry book "Phir Tanha", one thing was striking my mind times & again. He has very innocently & intelligently revealed his true identity with this introduction and believe it or not, the biggest challange for someone in life is to reveal his true identity in front of this filthy, brutal & barbaric world.

He hails from the deserted land of Thal (Punjab) and it is obvious from his preface that his motherland has never been so kind to knowledge dissemination leave the art & literature things but one thing that has literally compelled him to write was his sheer imagination and thirst of discovering & sharing his own self.

Coming towards his poetry, let me tell you one thing, you can witness the very real Asim Tanha in each & every poetic piece he has written. To start of, he has given a mandatory homage & tribute to the personalities for whom this whole Universe was created Prophet MOHAMMAD (saww) o AAL e MOHAMMAD (saww):

Meri pehchaan bhi hain AAL e RASOOL (saww)

Mere her sher ka hawala bhi

NABI (saww) ki AAL (asws) pe jo Karbala mein guzra hai

Zamee'n pe is se bara saniha nahi hona

It is quite obvious from the very first glimpse of his writing that all the pain, agony, helplessness, rage, love, and above all the strongest feeling of being alone that he has went through in the span of his life has become an essential component of not only his personality but also his poetry. I feel, this is one thing that you actually will feel in his poetry. He was alone but his lonliness has never tenpered with the artist developing inside him. In fact, he has pictured his loneliness in an extremely engaging manner through his words:

Saath mat chor meri tanhai

Mujh ko rehna yahan hai phir tanha

Kiya hua dost chor den tanha,

In ke hotey bhi hum akeley hain

Hai assaasa hayat ka meri

Ishq soghaat or tanhai

Ik tamasha meri tanha ka

Dekhiye shehr baam per nikla

On one note, if Asim Tanha has written some beautiful Ghazals, he has also penned some extremely innocent full of gloom Nazm (poems). I just loved his way of expression in the poem "Zero". Just like his couplets & Ghazals, his poems are also full of feelings. Feelings that have been originated as a byproduct of being alone.

Somewhere in his poetry & prose (in preface) I have observed the social phenomenon which he has been going through all of his life. In totality, his every poetic piece be it a Nazm, Ghazal or a couplet, he has told a comprehensive story which will surely leave a strong impact on the readers when they will get to read the book.

I would like to congratulate Asim on his debut poetry book and wish him best of luck for the super success of his poetry. I believe the journey he has started is sort of no-ending trail and he will certainly leran mroe with hte passage of time and his learnt lessons will surely be exhibited in his future poetry. 

At the end, I would like to share some of his very beautiful couplets with you... Enjoy reading...

Chaand ki chhhilmano mein doob gai

Woh jo chehra shanaas thi meri

Dua mein manga tha tum ko, miley bhi, kho bhi gaey

Tumharey baad kisey ab dua ki khuahish hai

Mere sir per bhi aa ke beth huma

Or mujhey jhat se badshah ker de

Teri yaadon se lipat ker rona

Mashghala shaam ka yehi to hai

Sooraj Ke Paar (Aymal Raza)- Introduction by Shoby

Sooraj Ke Paar (Aymal Raza)- Introduction by Shoby

Famous Scottish fiction writer Iain M. Banks said, “The trouble with writing fiction is that it has to make sense, whereas real life doesn't.” I believe this really sums up all. To say, writing fiction is difficult is a very mediocre term. To encompass what is really going on in the living society and writing it in an absolute make-believe manner is something marvellous and demands to be cherished.

Today, we have a handsome number of writers who are doing their best in their respective capacities and Aymal Raza is undoubtedly one of those who has invariably come up with diverse, sensitive & intriguing writing pieces in the recent times. After writing, magnificent novels Taveez e Hubb and Piyal Saaz, she has just launched her latest collection of short stories titled as Sooraj Ke Paar.

I believe, Aymal needs no introduction and so does her stories. She is one of those writer who does not want to reinvent the wheel times and again. She has always come up with assorted & novel ideas and has successfully executed them in a meaningful distinguished way. She really knows the secret recipe of writing a good fiction.

The book Sooraj Ke Paar consists of seventeen short stories that looks like a galaxy of their own ingrained beautifully. Every story is a separate universe with characters speaking their heart out of what they are going through. 

This feature is just a a teaser of what we have in the store for us in this collection. You will surely get to read my reviews on each of these stories very soon at my blog. Meanwhile, I suggest you not to wait and get your own copy of the book to have the real taste of this nice productive read.

Khayal Yaar Book (Sumaira Hameed)- Introduction by Shoby

Khayal Yaar- A Book by Sumaira Hameed- (Introduction by Shoby)

Those who have read my reviews on stories Khayal Yaar and Main Bint e Jameela... know how beautiful these two stories were written by Sumaira Hameed. Those who have read the stories themselves are going bowled over by the writing prowess of the author. But what about those who have not yet read any of the stories from this excellent book.

Let me tell you guys that the Book (Khayal Yaar) is a collection of six magnificent stories from the critically acclaimed author of Yaaram, Borshay, Wali, RAB ul Bashar and recently launched Ishq, Amad o Mann. These six stories show us many different personality traits and behaviours of we the human beings. They tell us, how the society moulds us and how we react to the situations. These stories are not preachy, rather they are written to awake our consciousness. And the best thing is, these stories are not alien to us. They are extracted from our very own living society. They have got strong lessons for us. Lesson that must be learnt by us to make our lives better. 

Out of these six, two stories have already been reviewed by me and the reviews are available at the blog Shobywood. Reviews on other stories are coming soon at the blog but I know there is one thing we all hate... and that is waiting....

So I highly recommend, do not waste your time in waiting and visit Sumaira Hameed's official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sumaira.hameed.author/ to get the book delivered right at your doorstep. 

Art like this demands from us to be celebrated and therefore I highly recommend my readers to get their own copy of Khayal Yaar, right away... This story collection is a must have in your library... Stay blessed everyone...

Nemrah Ahmed's Namal Only At Zanjabeel...

Nemrah Ahmed's Namal Only At Zanjabeel...

I was (personally) missing this month's review of Nemrah Ahmed's Namal and I am pretty much sure that my regular readers must have been missing the same too. Namal's fever is not over yet. In fact, its something like what they say, abhi to party shuru hui hai... :-)

With the conclusion of Namal, everyone around has been waiting anxiously for the hard-copy form of this epic. I believe, even in this tech-savvy age, a good reader is one who enjoys reading from the book with a mug of coffee in hands in these chilling evenings of winters. Worry not guys and fasten your seat belts as Namal book is going to be launched very very soon...

As the Namal book is arriving soon, I have observed many online book stores offering their own promotional offers and its pretty encouraging for readers to have all sort of variety but wait don't you want to have the book from the author's own signature place. If you think Namal is just a book, I disagree totally,. To me, its a brand and I strongly believe it should have been purchased from the author's official online social media pages.

Currently we have two primary places where we can get latest, updated & most authentic information about Nemrah's write-ups and Facebook addresses of both these pages are mentioned below:

Zanjabeel - A Bookstore by Nemrah Ahmed https://www.facebook.com/Zanjabeelbookstore/

Nemrah Ahmed: Official https://www.facebook.com/nemrah.ahmed.official/

I just want to share my thoughts that instead of just roaming around here & there and getting less charming offers, I feel we all should access the author's original online places to get the best from the best. And as they have quoted in their official page, they are going the reveal the souvenir very soon, which would be presented along with the Namal book. Who knows, what they have in their kitties for us.But one thing is for sure, it would not be an ordinary thing and it would surely be something to cherish. So a free advise is here... Be original and Get original. :-)

A very good luck for the launch of book to Nemrah Ahmed and the publishers and Happy Waiting for all the fans who have lived these 30 months of their lives in the wonderland of Namal.

Khayal Yaar- (Story1 Review by Shoby)

Khayal Yaar- (Story 1 Review by Shoby)

First of all, let me clarify, I do not intend to reproduce the story of Khayal Yaar here. Rather I am focusing only on what the first story in this Sumaira Hameed's collectoin was all about.

Buddha said, "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become, what we think. When the mind is pure joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. She was (presumed to be) sleeping just like what John Green talks about, "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once..." Her sleep was disjointed by none other than her very own self (her consciousness, her thoughts) and her consciousness woke her up right on the time, barring her to take the wrong move, when she was just about to decide the most invalid.

Sadham was going through an intense inner battle... A battle that can only be won by killing your own materialistic desires. Her consciousness was trying to make her aware of what she was going to do. She was all set to commit the most hideous crime for which ALLAH PAK says in QURAN PAK:

On account of this. We wrote for the children of Israel that whosoever killed a soul not to retaliate for a soul,nor for creating disorder in the land, then it is as if he had killed all mankinds. And whoso gave life to one soul,then it is as if he had given life to all mankinds. And undoubtedly, Our Messengers came to them with clearproofs then undoubtedly, many of them after that commit excess in the land. (Surah Al-Maidah Ayat 32).

They say, history repeats itself. I just want to add one more thing here. History does repeat itself but it always repeats to give you yet another chance to re-do. It put you yet again in almost the same sort of scenario which has already tested either you or someone like you, before but it depends upon you how to grab the advantage of that one specially bestowed opportunity.

Khayal Yaar is the story of Karma. It is a story of repentance which guide you to such circumstances that can either lead to self destruction or soothes you with an annunciation of a re-birth of your own self.

Sadham loved Haadi and she loved him the way R. M. Drake told, "if I lived a million lives, I would've felt a million feelings, and I still would've fallen a million times for you...: She loved him and loved him to such an extent that he became a like a pseudo-God for her and this was her fatal fault.

Aik Teri Chahat hai... Aik MERI Chahat hai. You may agree with me or not but nothing is a bigger truth than the phenomenon that whatever ALLAH likes and decides for us is the best, however at times we are unaware of the facts that are attached to what HE has decided. No doubt, HE is Al-Hakeem (The Wise).

It is said that every story has an end but in life, every end has a new beginning and Sadham began from where Zoya discontinued. Sadham was going to murder someone and she was so satisfied as according to her there was only one remedy of the plague of her life and that is to kill that one particular person, the presence of whom has shattered her completely. (I highly recommend you to read the story from the book to know, what happens then on wards...)

I am a big fan of the narrative of Ms. Sumaira Hameed. She narrates the tale in such an exceptional technique that you cant help yourself but falling for the words. Not only she played with the minimal of the characters here but also used them where they were required to look most appropriate.

Khayal Yaar runs the story parallel with the dialogue of someone with the own self. It is immensely beautiful to see how smoothly the story goes along with one backdrop self-conversation. To me, the best part of the whole conversation was when the consciousness let the person see how ugly it has turned out to be courtesy the deeds of that very person.

Full marks to Sumaira on beautiful one-liners which has certainly enhanced the overall grandeur of the story. Believe me, many of the dialogues literally made me say the Mighty word ALLAHO AKBAR many of the times and it is really impossible for me right now to choose which one was the best dialogue of the lot.

I believe the tales are always the same. What makes them interesting to read is the treatment and Sumaira Hameed stands tall as a winner in the first story of Khayal Yaar because she has told this love-hate-self realisation saga in a magical way. To me, the richness of Khayal Yaar is hiding in the sentence:

Tumhari talab ajeeb ter, tumhari chahat jawab talab...

(Don't forget to comment in the below box).

Chalo Udaasi Ke Paar Jaey (Zain Shakeel)- Book Review by Shoby

Chalo Udaasi Ke Paar Jaey (Zain Shakeel)- Book Review by Shoby

Honestly speaking I dont read so-called poets of today's era. Most of them have no sense of rhyming schemes and they literally dont know the factual utilization of words with their most appropriate & understandable meanings. They even dont have any idea of where the behar of the poetic piece is going. Neither do they have any novel idea to express and nor they have beautiful treatment of words. Nevertheless I term them #Facebook or #SocialMedia Good for nothing poets.

And just by chance while browsing #Facebook I fortunately found a page named Zain Shakeel and I just had a glance on the same. Guess what, the below mentioned couplet emerged in front of my eyes:

Kabhi Aa Ker Inhain Shafaaf Ker dey...

Tere waadon pe matti jam gai hai...

Dont you feel Goose Bumps I bet you had. I am so sure about it because I felt the same. The depth of the couplet, the concept, the beautiful & simple words used to present the idea was so unorthodox that it tempted me to read more of the poet and after going through some more of his couplets, I instantly perceived that hey be aware! this magician named as Zain Shakeel has all the characteristics to spell cast you by his words.

So after few weeks, being a true admirer of honest & true artists, I contacted Zain Shakeel to praise his writing skills & there we started having a nice friendship bond. Just a few days back, my friend Zain sent me his debut poetry book titled as Chalo Udaasi Ke Paar Jaey and although I dont consider myself worthy enough to say even a single word for this gem of an artist, I am still writing a humble review on his book just to pay him the due regard.

So what is this #CUKPJ all about. I may sum up the whole story by uttering mere one word Emotions... I have talked to Zain a few times and through our conversations, I observed one thing about Zain. He is a very sincere & honest person and same is depicted by his words. His poetry is nothing except sheer presentation of very honest feeling & emotions.

Zain starts of the book with a tribute to the ASHRAF ul MAKHLOOQAAT, PAGHAMBAR e AKRAM MOHAMMAD MUSTAFA (saww) in the form of a Naat e RASOOL e MAQBOOL (saww). See how beautifully he is expressing the very righteous views:

Ik nazar e karam ho to kahin daad bhi paon

Kehna ke yeh bebas ki hai rudaad NABI Jee...

No doubt, we are nothing and the only ray of hope for all of us is the Shifa'at of our dearest PROPHET MOHAMMAD (saww).

As I stated earlier, Zain's poetry is all about emotions and the best aspect about his poetry is that he does not remain static in only a few of them. Although as the title suggests, the overall feel of the book is warm, sad & grieved, he still managed well to deal with many other emotions of human life as well.

If he depicts sheer sadness in his poem Chalo Udaasi Ke Paar Jaey, U will surely find a very loving & caring person in his poetry. Check one of his Punjabi couplet:

Us diyan akhiyan wasdiyan her dum...

Tu jis jis da peer wey ishqa...

Zain is blessed with the treasure of expressing diverse thoughts in very unorthodox manner. The below mentioned couplet tells us the same:

Rsta kaisey milta mere khawabon ko...

Main neendon se shart lagaey betha hoon...

He stunned me with his undermentioned couplet. Beautiful indeed

Aisey naazil hua khayal ter...

Jaisey koi azaab utra hai...

Somewhere in his poetry, you may feel a sort of complaint. This complaint is basically his agony that tempts him to write this way:

Zain, her baar main hi yaad aon...

Woh kabhi khud bhi mujhey yaad karey...

Aaj shayad teri suni jaey...

Aaj tu mehw e iltija hona...

Dekhiye, hath mein ehsaas mera mat lijiye...

Aap thak jaey ge tukrey mere chuntey chuntey...

Zain hoon, yaad kijiye mujh ko...

Aap ne naam to suna ho ga...

Zain's poems flow like a stream... Silent, if we look from far away but full of strength if we monitor them closely. I personally liked his poems Bol Piya, Mere Sarey Mausam Ho, Udaasi, Piyar Karo Na and a beautiful short poem with no title presented below:

Koi to hai na

Ke jis ki khatir

Udaas rehney 

ka shoq sa hai!

I personally dont like the genre of Azad Ghazal but Zain's poetry compelled me to read more of it and eventually I started liking the concept. It is pertinent to mention here that writing an Azad Ghazal is not an easy task altogether.

One of his couplets from Azad ghazal that has become my most favorite is:

Mujhey bikhrey bikhrey se baal yun bhi pasand hain...

Mujhey maatmi se libaas mein na mila karo...

Overall, this poem is a beautiful blend of sincere & honest emotions depicted in true & loud words. I would like to congratulate Zain Shakeel on this exceptional attempt on writing this very nice poetry book and I wish he writes more & more of this... Good Luck & Stay Blessed Zain...