Musharraf Ali Farooqi and the Urdu Project have revived a tradition that was fading in the age of instant communication, sms lingo and a dying reading culture. 
When I started reading the book, I could not help remember the day when my Uncle, Zaheer Ahmad Bhutta, a man of letters and book-lover handed over a set of Tilism-e-Hoshruba to me in my early childhood.
I distinctly remember the summer when I devoured all the abridged versions, feeling thirsty for more. So I read them again. As a young man I dared to read the originals and could not help being pleased with myself. Tilism and its magical kingdom remains a part of me, and of many others of my generation who grew up on its diet of bravery, magic, lust and a peculiar aesthetic.
Tilism is a wonderful product of our composite Indo-Muslim culture that took centuries to evolve. This is why it defies the clergy’s diktat and religious bigotry, and its characters are a mix of all that the Indian context offered to outsiders such as Arabs and Central Asians. It is a larger than life metaphor for our past that has been lost now. Perhaps forever.
Hoshruba, Book One: The Land and the Tilism begins by telling us how Amir Hamza and his armies have chased the giant Laqa to the dominions of King Suleiman Amber-Hair on Mount Agate. While out hunting nearby, Hamza’s son, Prince Badiuz Zaman, follows a unique fawn and enters the land of Hoshruba. Farooqi’s translation is excellent, and at times becomes the creative act of transcreation where the wonders and nuances of a magical world are transmitted in evocative yet simple language. Amir Hamza is a brave character, but the delightful and engaging icon remains the trickster Amar Ayyar. The latter chases Prince Badiuz Zaman within the Tilism. Zaman falls in love with Princess Tasveer, Hamza’s grandson Prince Asad, set to conquer the Tilism, falls in love with Princess Mahjabeen. The journeys through the Tilism are laced with battles with powerful sorcerers and sorceresses sent by the elusive Emperor Afrasiyab, whose wife Empress Heyrat is another enchanting character. Heyrat’s sister Princess Bahar, during the course of the narrative joins Asad’s camp. We then learn more about the trickster girls, who are led by Sarsar Sword-Fighter, and who enter the fray. This volume ends when Amar is captured by his enemies, and readers crave to learn more.
The landscape of Hoshruba is exciting. Its locations have exotic names such as: the Desert of Being, the Dome of Light, and the River of Flowing Blood, and so on. The Tilism is also a well-defined polity with information systems, laws, rules and order.
It is the magicians who are the hallmark of this world, as they can hurl magic coconuts, and cause oblivion in their opponents. Alongside there is also a battle of human intelligence, tactics and knowledge, all within the context of a natural setting.
The battles among and between tricksters are absorbing. These mavericks change forms and shapes, and possess special powers that titillate our subconscious urges to defy the laws of nature and overcome human limitations. It is therefore easy to understand why the story-tellers had such a grip on the imagination of their audiences.
Hoshruba’s complex and multi-layered plot, often free of linear progression, is one aspect of the tale. The language of the tale is in effect the biggest asset of this epic. The text can arouse emotions, and at the same time transport the reader into a universe where each smell, taste, touch and sound becomes a lived experience. This is why the original, due to its power of expression and its experiential strength, stays with the generations who have read these tales.
Before reading the book, I wondered how Farooqi would achieve the daunting task of creating a parallel narrative. But it is clear as one flows with the text, that Farooqi’s language is not only powerful but also retains the nuances that were present in the Urdu versions. There is irony, humour and subtlety, all painstakingly crafted into the expression. It is clear that this task has been finalized with great passion and devotion by the translator. Otherwise, this feat would not have been possible.
Most importantly, I am excited that my children will not miss out on this essential experience. The magic will continue to be woven in the twenty first century. It is no exaggeration to say that this heralds a cultural renaissance.
Raza Rumi is a development professional and a writer based in Lahore. He blogs at www.razarumi.com and edits Pak Tea House and Lahorenama e-zines
today i found a website of a spiritual healer, he provides protection from black magic.
Seen the reviews about him also, he is a very expensive too.
Kamran Khan Store.
Among many things he also offers miracle water.
I’m Sadia From Lahore. I use to work for the Daily News for few years back. I have been researching Black Magic for few years now and meet hundreds of hundreds of people. People have no idea what really black magic is and what are it’s effects. People who pretend to say they know black magic or they do black magic is a total lie. Only 27% of people in the whole world know how to do a really black magic and rest of them are just faking it. We muslim have a very low faith in Allah or you can say no faith at all, believe in black magic in seconds. After a few years of good study and research I also found that, there is a person called ” The Guru ” lives somewhere in Pakistan who teaches Spiritual Healing, Power Of Chi and Mind Power to 80% of the peer saab in Pakistan. For the last 3 years I been try to track this person and was getting no where. 3 months ago I received a phone call from a person stating that he wanted to see me regarding the information about ” The Guru “. So I called my friends and told them about the call and wanted them come with because i didn’t wanted to go alone. So finally we got there as we were advised. First didn’t wanted to believe him because for the last few years i been searching for this guy and all of sudden now he is willing to give the information about him for free ?. Came to find out that he use to work for some famous peer saab just out side from lahore. That Guru use to visit that peer saab on a monthly bases, this guy use to be the peer saab assistance and one day he decided to leave peer saab and start his own business. He contact ” The Guru ” and got refused because ” The Guru ” said that he cannot provide services because his Peer Saab is his clients. The information that he provided us, we verified it and here it is:
” The Guru ” real name is Kamran Khan. Worked with many famous names including Criss Angel & David Blane in magic for over 15 years now. Recently we also discovered that he has a website with name of ” Kamran Khan Store “, from where he deals with clients. He travels in most of the asia. You have seen the magic show on Star One, Those are also his clients including that Franz Guy. If you see this guy he is only 35 Years old and people of his double age sits below him because He is there teacher. There is not a single Peer Saab specially in Lahore who are not his students. He only stay in Pakistan for 15 days and then he travels again.
After discovering all this I was shocked to see the result, there are hundreds and thousands of people go these Peer Saab every day and spend thousands and thousands of Rupees. All that money is really going to the ” The Guru ” Kamran Khan. The more these Peer Saab makes the more he makes money.
I echo Shabbir Kazmi’s post. In fact I read it during my summer vacations in Lahore and I think the year was 1964. I could not put the heavy book down! yes, it had a painting on the front hardcover which was predominantly red in color and ~1200 pages. Was it published by Naqoosh? or FerozSons? I am not sure. I have searching for it for years now but have not found the original print version. If any one is aware of it, I would appreciate the info.
Great reading!
Javed (aeronaut_1@hotmail.com)
My God, the book is so costly, Rs 1600 plus.
Can this be a little less expensive. If this comes down to Rs 500, I ‘ll buy three to give two copies to my friends as a Gift.
Let’s wait for Paperback edition.
@Nihari ….the real one
Touche!
Yes, all of those magazines and stories have rolled into one memory block.
But I think each of these magazine had enough things going through them to send me into shakes. I took me a long time to get rid of my nightmares. Self therapy I must say.
For the longest, I had a hard time walking in the dark and “telling myself” to not to look back. I do not know if the adult writers understand these things. A child’s mind is sensitive, open to imagination and lacks the necessary details to work around the illustrations.
Perhaps I got hold of these before I really should have. I had the advantage or disadvantage of being the youngest.
I must confess, Amir Hamza series (and I really read the first 4, though flipped though the others while standing in the shops) really help me break the fear. Umaroo was so clever and funny that he broke the mold of fear. Suddenly, the imaginative and the avatar (the new cool thing) became humor and strategy.
Perhaps, I grew too.
Still growing!