Jamal Abro (2nd May, 1924 – 30 June, 2004)
Hundred years ago on 2nd May, 1924/27 Ramazan, 1342, a child was born in the family of Allama Ali Khan Abro, a distinguished educationist and exegetist of Quran in the village of Sangi, Taluka Mehar, who is now renowned as Jamal Abro, an eminent Sindhi Short Story writer. He wrote only 16 short stories but became the torch bearer of Modern Sindhi Short story after partition. His story collection entitled Pishoo Pasha is always in demand, therefore, to date, its seven editions have been published. Besides, almost all of his short stories have been translated in Punjabi, Urdu, and English. Punjabi Translation was rendered by Mohsin Abbassi and was published by Pakistan Punjabi Board, Lahore in August, 1999, Urdu Translation was published in 2006 by the University of Karachi, and its English translation was entitled as Pirani and other stories was first published by Peacock Publishers, Karachi and then by Oxford University Press, Karachi in 2018. Some of his stories are also translated into German and other languages.
Though he developed his interest
in literature in the school days, but his first short story entitled Hoo hur
ho (He was Hur), was published in weekly magazine Toofan in
1949. Up until 1959, he wrote 13 stories, which were included his first and
only one anthology Pishoo Pasha, whose first edition appeared in the
same year. However, after the publication of that anthology, he could write only
four more short stories, the last one Maau ji Jholi, in 1987, about
ethnic riots that erupted in Karachi and Hyderabad and, this story, according to
Asif Farrukhi, “brings home the message, ‘it is wrong to kill a living
creature. Life is sacred’”.
Actually, he was afflicted with a
rare disease of his hands, so doctors had advised him not to write with his hand.
Despite that, he wrote the following five volumes of his autobiography cum memoirs, which were
published by New Fields Publications, Hyderabad.
1. Disee Doh Akhiyan seen (Saw the crime being committed) in February, 1998.
2. Thoohar Me Gharha Gul (Red Roses in Cactus) September, 1998.
3. Oonhi Galh Israr je (Deep talk of mystery) April, 1999
4. Eendo n he wanjaro (Sailor won’t come back) October, 2001
5. Mar pia Meehn Wasan (Let the rain fall) December, 2004.
Besides penning numerous essays, he has also taken in
hand following works, but could not complete them.
1. Dictionary of Arabic Quranic words, now exactly used in
Sindhi.
2. Translation of Mother by Maxim Gorky in Sindhi.
3. Timmon ja Karnama translation of
Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Badar Abro has compiled an
anthology entitled Aaouon ba Jaagi Pawandus (I May Get Awake, Life and Works of Jamal Abro), the most comprehensive book about his life and works. It contains all of his short stories,
his 10 essays, his 06 prefaces, his 10 interviews and 15 articles about him
read in a programme conducted in his honour, One monograph written by Idrees
Jatoi, the comprehensive critical study of life and works of Jamal Abro written
by Rauf Nizamani, 36 write-ups about him written by numerous writers and
scholars of Sindh and some letters by him.
How other writers and scholars assess his literary output
According to majestic Sindhi
writer and poet Shaikh Ayaz “I don’t know who made the distinction that poetry
dances while prose walks. While reading “Pirani”, I felt that even prose
can dance. In the beginning, Pirani enters with a musical note, and
little bells begin to tinkle in the air. Suddenly there is a piercing cry and
one can see the story dancing on red-hot coals … like Soviet Russian writer
Isaac Babel, who wrote only one book entitled Red Cavalary, and was got
killed by Stalin and became immortal, Jamal has got immorality in Sindhi
Literature.”
Gul Mohammad Umrani, who has
edited Jamal Abro’s anthology of Short stories translated in English entitled Pirani
and other stories, writes in his preface that “His short stories though
meticulously planned on miniature canvas artistically crafted like diamond,
ruby nuggets, have a unique brevity, which is the soul of his wit (in the words
of Polonius in Hamlet of Shakespeare). Such brevity excels the art of Henry
James, O. Henry, and great Maupassant, to recall just a few classical masters of
Western fiction … Jamal’s each and every word is cautiously weighed in the
sieve of deep introspective penetration, meandering through uncanny fathomable
subconscious mind and is then written on a piece of paper with a pen dipped in
the inkpot of eternal miseries of the masses of his wretched motherland. His
characters are the scum of the earth who are destined to endless despondency and
infernal torture.”
Distinguished writer and critic Asif
Farukhi is of the view that “Jamal Abro has written only a handful of stories
but he has exerted enormous influence on the modern Sindhi short story.”
In the words of famous journalist
Abbas Jalbani “Jamal Abro is among those rare authors, who, by writing a single
book, earned a high reputation envied by writers of dozens.”
According to Sindhi writer and
educationist Idrees Jatoi, who wrote about him a Monograph for his MA Sindhi,
“… Jamal Abro is the first story writer, who artistically used social realism
in his stories, no doubt, he was influenced by Gorki, Tolstoy, Premchand,
Tagore and Dostoevsky, but his style is his own, which is imbued with artistic
narration of problems of his land and society in beautiful language …. According
to one fellow writer, every Sindhi poet is influenced by Shaikh Ayaz and every short
story writer by Jamal Abro. What I mean to say is that Jamal Abro is the name
of big revolution in Sindhi Short Story that occurred in the second half of 20th
century.”
Notable writer and critic Rauf
Nizamani opines that “Jamal Abro is a prominent name of Sindhi literature. He could
be counted among those writers, whose writings and personality helps us to
comprehend those changes occurred in Sindh during the fifty years.”
In the thorough study of five
volumes of autobiography cum memoirs of Jamal Abro, Rauf Nizamani has drawn a
few conclusions, which would be worthwhile to share here, though briefly:
“For understanding the
ideological change that occurred in Shaikh Ayaz, it is essential to comprehend Jamal
Abro … Combined study of both of these gigantic names of Sindhi poetry and short
story, would help us to grasp the changes occurred in Sindhi literature and
society.
“Though Jamal Abro deems himself
as Sufi and holds a definite view of religion, but his views about diverse
matters are very liberal, which seem positive and strange because there is a common perception that the religion is very self-imposing and restrictive. The reason for this treatment might be due to Sufi traditions of Sindh. Still, a major role in his
approach is played by his past upbringing, including his closeness with his
father Ali Khan Abro, and attachments with the Communist Party, Hari Committee and the Progressive literary movement. This is the reason that despite some writers
opposing him ideologically, they don’t disown him.
“His approach towards youth
generally and young writers particularly, is negative and hateful. He thinks
that except Noorul Huda Shah and one or two other writers, new writers have not
produced any worthwhile creations. Reasons for this attitude might be his seclusion
and not coming into contact with the writings of new writers. Or might be due to the
generation gap, which develops a superiority complex in each generation, and each
one strives to prove itself as a superior generation. One reason might be the harsh
criticism of him and Ayaz being made by young writers and readers, as is
reflected on different places in his autobiography. “
Criticism
The main theme of the criticism of
his opponents and young writers is the religiosity of Jamal Abro and Shaikh Ayaz. Sindhi
Progressives, especially younger ones, deem becoming their religious as betrayal
on their part. No doubt both became religious but not the bigots, as the
majority of religious persons routinely become here in our area. Badar Abro, a distinguished researcher and author and elder son of Jamal Abro, has very interesting point
of view. He writes about him that “2nd May, 1924 coincided with 27th
Ramazan and on that day a Sindhi writer was born, who not only believes in the
importance of Labour Day, but also the excellence of 27 Ramazan. When he was young,
his association with Hari movement was disliked by Molvi sahibs, and now when he
is septuagenarian, then, youngsters are astonished that why he has become
religious?
“He was also religious at that
time and now he is still friend of workers, but what can be done with the
thinking that everyone wants him to be agreed with them in every respect wholly
solely. Why should he do that? It is another thing that he has drank in one cup
both the religious tenets and dialectical materialism, and perhaps it the
reason that he has become Sufi in an idiomatic sense.”
Family and career
Jamal Abro was son of renowned
educationist and exegetisit Allama Ali Khan Abro and also he is father of a
distinguished scholar of Sindh, who is known as Badar Abro. His other sons and
daughters are well educated and prominent professionals and beaurucrats. He
after graduating in Law, started his law practice. But after a few years, he was
selected as Judge. Before he retired from service in 1988, he worked as Registrar, of Sindh High Court, Secretary Sindh Assembly, Member Federal Services Tribunal, and Chairman, of Anticorruption. He was also a member of Syndicate of Sindh University and Sindhi
Adabi Board.
In his student days, he worked in
Khaksaar movement. During the famine of Bengal (1943-44) he worked there as a Volunteer. He is among the founding members of the Sindhi literary organization Sindhi
Adabi Sangat, which has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of Sindhi
literature and language.
Awards
He was awarded Pride of
Performance in 1994 and in 1998 he received Shah Abdul Latif National Literary
Award from the Academy of Letters for his first volume of autobiography cum memoirs Disee
Doh akhiyan seen.
He breathed his last on 30th
June, 2004 in Karachi and was laid to rest in the graveyard of Gizri Defence,
Karachi.
Bibliography
Abro, Jamal. n.d. Pirani and
other Sorties. Karachi: Peacock Printers and Publishers with collaboration
of Jamal Abro Academy.
Abro, Badar, ed. 2009.
AAOUN BA JAAGI PAW ANDUS (Sindhi: Life and Work of Jamal Abro). Karachi:
Sindhica Academy.
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