The Hindu : New Delhi News : Saraswati Samman presented

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Saraswati Samman presented

Staff Reporter

Urdu has survived the ordeal: Vice-President

- Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Moment of pride: Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari presenting the 17th Saraswati Samman 2007 to Naiyer Masud (centre) at a ceremony organised by the K.K. Birla Foundation in New Delhi. Mr K.K. Birla is at right.

NEW DELHI: Stating that Urdu has survived the ordeal to contribute to the socio-political life of the country, Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari has said the great merit of a democracy is correcting its past mistakes.

Speaking after presenting the K. K. Birla Foundation’s “Saraswati Samman” to two distinguished men of letters at a special ceremony here, Mr. Ansari said: “Earlier the Urdu language was described as a foreign language and it was vilified and marginalised. Its spirit was labelled as alien. Thankfully, the language has survived the ordeal.”

The Vice-President conferred the 16th Saraswati Samman-2006 on Jagannath Prasad Das for his Oriya poem collection “Parikrama” and the 17th Saraswati Samman-2007 on Naiyer Masud for his Urdu short-story collection “Taoos Chaman Ki Myna”.

Daunting task

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Das, who was in the Indian Administrative Service before opting for voluntary retirement to devote himself to literature, said: “The daunting task of writing may be the reason why I have not been able to write more than what I have done. I have reassured myself that I have at least tried to live a full life outside my writing. If only I had an inkling that it would be a loss to literature if I did not write then I would have tried to write more at the cost of my other lives.”

Dr. Masud said: “At the moment, many of my friends who are no more are coming alive in mind.

They must have been happier than me on this occasion. Among them are my friend Shahenshah Mirza (Editor, Banjara) who departed young, Mahmud Ayaz (Editor, Samghat, Bangalore). Among elders, eminent Pakistani writer Mohammed Khalid Akhtar is visiting my memory.”

Stating that he speaks his mind through his stories and does not feel like explaining them verbally, Dr. Masud said: “My life, imagination and neighbourhood have been peopled by women doing embroidery, alters, housemaids, masons, potters shaping delicate earthen toys and buffoons caricaturing people in weekly markets. They are reflected in my stories.”

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