Shaukat Siddiqi

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Shaukat Siddiqi ( Siddiqui ), Urdu شوکت صدیقی, (born March 20, 1923 in Lucknow ; died December 18, 2006 in Karachi ) was a Pakistani writer.

life and work

Origin, education

Siddiqi was - like his Pakistani writer colleague and contemporary Saadat Hassan Manto - a journalist after studying political science (until 1944) and serving in the army.

Journalist and writer

After the chaotic division of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947, Siddiqi moved to Lahore in Pakistan in 1950 , where he struggled to make ends meet before settling in Karachi. His experiences with poverty, crime and powerlessness come from this time.

From 1952 journalistic employee of the Times , Pakistan Standard and Morning News in Karachi, he finally rose to editor of the daily newspapers Anjam and Musawaat and the weekly weekly Al-Fatah , before he retired from everyday journalism in 1984. As an active member of the Pakistan Writers' Guild and the Progressive Writers Association he accompanied the President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928–1979) on several trips abroad; It was also Bhutto who arranged the TV adaptation of his novel Khuda ki basti , because this was "exactly his message".

Short stories and novels

His knowledge of the poor people's quarters of Karachi and of a life of uncertainty was reflected in the numerous stories and novels that have appeared since the 1950s. The very first collection of short stories Tīsra Ādmī ("The Third Man", 1952) made him known in one fell swoop on the subcontinent. Other collections followed: Andhere Dur Andhere (1955), Raton Ka Shahar (1956), Keemyagar (1984) and Char Diwari (1990).

Khuda ki basti 1957

His most important work, however, is the novel Khuda Ki Basti (1957), which deals with the harrowing tale of suffering of a middle-class family who fled India in the course of the division of the subcontinent (1947); The novel is set in the Karachi of the early 1950s and depicts the unspeakable conditions and experiences of a family that is sinking from level to level, both meticulously and dispassionately. The title (actually "Settlement of God", in the English practice "God's own land") is an allusion to the newly founded Pakistan. The novel has been reprinted fifty times and has been translated into 26 languages. It became the basis of two Pakistani television series in 1969 and 1974, which broke all audience records and brought the author to a wide audience. The 1974 version was broadcast again in 1990. Two new settlement areas in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and Karachi ( Khuda ki basti ) were named after the successful novel .

Janglūs 1988

The second best-selling novel Janglūs (1988) - in German "Wilded" - describes as a three-volume, episodic story the breakout of two Sikhs from prison and their experiences on the run through rural Panjab. His topic is the deeply divided society of Pakistan, in which corruption, oppression and the uncomfortable combination of politics, bureaucracy and large estates make life unbearable for the little man. The novel was partially broadcast as a television series.

Chār Dīwāri 1990

Siddiqi's last great novel, Chār Dīwāri , describes in a fairy-tale form the development of a naive, young woman from Lucknow's upper class in the days of the Nawabs , who gradually emancipated herself from the traditional lifestyle behind the “four walls” (the title in German) develops into his own personality with a strong character.

Appreciation, style

Siddiqi is considered one of the most important contemporary Urdu writers. His language and style are considered clear, simple and entertaining. From his youth on, Siddiqi stood in the tradition of the popular dāstān stories of his hometown Lucknow (pers. داستان dâstân, "story, fairy tale, narrative"), which depict the fair fight of a protagonist against his adversary.

family

Siddiqi left behind his wife, two sons and three daughters when he died.

Quotes

  • “The struggle of the classes is the main theme in his work, followed by crime, corruption and the tragic fate of the oppressed masses. He is therefore also considered the Charles Dickens of Urdu literature "; Haroon Ashraf in The Nation

Works

  • Kaun si Ka - His first short story, in the weekly Khayyam , Lucknow
  • Tīsra Ādmī (1952) - collection of short stories
  • Andhere Dur Andhere (1955)
  • Raton Ka Shahar (1956)
  • Kamin Gah (1956)
  • Khuda Ki Basti (1957) - Roman, God's Own Land , in Engl. Translated by David J. Matthews (1991)
  • Kīmyagar (1984)
  • Janglūs (1988) - socially critical novel
  • Chār Dīwāri (1990) - "Four Walls", novel about the emancipation of a Muslim woman

Awards

  • Kamal-i-Fun , Literature Prize of the Pakistani Ministry of Education, 2003
  • Adamjī , Literature Prize, 1960

Remarks

  1. ^ The Nation
  2. ↑ Dawn of December 19, 2006, The Nation
  3. ^ The Nation
  4. ↑ UYF, The Nation
  5. ^ The Nation
  6. ^ Obituary in Dawn, December 19, 2006
  7. ^ The Nation
  8. ^ The Nation
  9. ^ The Nation
  10. ↑ Dawn
  11. ↑ https://nation.com.pk/29-Feb-2016/urdu-s-greatest-novels-from-khuda-ki-basti-to-chaar-deewari excerpt from The Nation of February 29, 2016
  12. ↑ Press release 2003

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Siddiqi, Shaukat
ALTERNATIVE NAMES شوکت صدیقی (Urdu)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pakistani writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Lucknow
DATE OF DEATH December 18, 2006
Place of death Karachi