GUJRAT: Scholar and author Sheikh Abdul Rashid and Al-Mir Trust founder Arif Ali Mir were the guests of honour at a ceremony held on Friday to launch young writer Zain Saleem’s fifth book, Gujrat ke Darakhshan Sitaray: Hum Asr Ahl-i-Qalam ke Muhabbat Bharay Khakay (Shining Stars of Gujrat: Affectionate Sketches of Contemporary Writers).
The event, organised by Bazm-i-Shirani, the weekly literary gathering of the Shirani Markaz for Research and Publication, was held at the head office of the Jral Media Group, named after Abdul Ahad Jral. The ceremony also marked the author’s birthday and his recovery from illness. Writers, researchers, journalists and book lovers from Gujrat attended the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Abdul Rashid recalled the traditional tazkira, or biographical anthology, citing works such as Mir Taqi Mir’s Nikat-ush-Shu’ara and Muhammad Hussain Azad’s Aab-i-Hayat. He noted that commemorative publications were often produced after writers’ deaths, while living writers were rarely documented during their own lifetimes.
He said Zain Saleem had revived this forgotten tradition by writing about contemporary authors from Gujrat. Describing love as the book’s greatest strength, Mr Rashid said the finest justice one writer could do another was to recognise the light in their work rather than focus on their shortcomings.
He also said cities were built on memories rather than buildings, adding that a society that remembered its writers preserved its conscience.
Arif Ali Mir prayed for Zain Saleem’s good health and a long literary life. He said future generations documenting Gujrat’s literary history would consider such books an important primary source and praised the work of the Shirani Markaz.
The ceremony began with a recitation from the Holy Quran by Hafiz Qudratullah Mir, followed by prayers for the author’s recovery and a birthday cake-cutting ceremony.
The proceedings were conducted by Rai Fasihullah Jral, founder and chairman of the Shirani Markaz. He said that a writer who remembered the writers of his city was, in effect, preserving the city’s collective memory.
The book has been published by the Al-Mir Trust Library and Research Centre, Gujrat.
Educationist and short-story writer Bilal Hasan Jhakkar said writing a literary sketch was among the most delicate tests of a writer’s craft, as carelessness could turn praise into flattery and criticism into a taunt. He said Saleem had maintained a balance by using love as his guiding principle.
Linguist and translator Sikandar Riaz Chauhan praised the author’s sincerity and described the book as both necessary and timely. He said a city that failed to document its contemporary writers would eventually see them consigned to the register of the forgotten.
Journalist, editor and columnist Yawar Abbas also praised Saleem for choosing Gujrat’s own writers as the subject of his book. He observed that appreciation in the region often came only after a person’s death and said the publication represented a welcome effort to change that tradition.
Poet and fiction writer Ehsan Faisal Kunjahi, who has authored more than 25 books, presented a verse sehra to the author, receiving applause from the audience.
Zain Saleem, whose voice reportedly broke with emotion during his address, thanked the hosts, speakers and guests. Speaking about his literary journey, he said the prayers of his friends had given him strength in his battle with cancer and that reading and the ink of his pen had sustained him during his darkest days.
Among those attending were Rizwan ul Haq, Nadeem Ullah Mir, Shahid Gulzar, bureaucrat Wilayat Butt, Umar Rauf, journalist and columnist Razzaq Ahmad Ghaffari, Numan Ahmad, Shahjahan and Zakaullah from Jajwal.