'Writing has no gender'

By Zaman Khan

The Sunday News February 24, 2008

Nasreen Anjum Bhatti is amongst those few women poets and writers who inspired political activism in the dark era of General Zia. Her book of poetry, titled 'Neel Karain Neelkaan-Deeyaan Di War', created a stir when published around the time when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged.
A staunch advocate of 'maan boli' (mother tongue), Nasreen is a multi-lingual because she was born in Quetta, Balochistan, and raised in Sindh. She writes famously in English, Urdu and Punjabi. She is also well versed in Chinese and Russian literature.
She was a regular at the popular study circles of leftists, back in the sixties. She always spoke and wrote of class struggle, freedom of thought and humanity. In '79, when the police came to know that she was publishing a book on Bhutto, they started chasing her, with the result that no publisher was willing to print her.
Nasreen has also worked as a broadcaster in Radio Pakistan, Lahore, and patronised talent. After her retirement, she became attached with a literary organisation where she is currently conducting research.
Following are the excerpts from an exclusive interview with her:

The News on Sunday: Tell us something about your background?

Nasreen Anjum Bhatti: I am a Balochi by birth, Sindhi by domicile and Punjabi by marriage. I belong to the whole Pakistan. I spent my childhood in Quetta and got early education in a school where the Hazara girls would speak Persian. I played marble and all those games that are normally associated with boys. My family would get a lot of complaints about my fights with boys. Then we migrated to Jacobabad, Sindh, because my grand parents could not bear the bitter cold of Quetta. Later, I joined Lahore College as the Bachelor of Fine Arts student. This provided me with an opportunity to let free my adventurous spirit and study further. I did MA in Urdu from Oriental College. I spent two years in NCA, too, but did not get diploma. I also took part in the anti-Ayub movement.

TNS: What are your inspirations as a writer?

NAB: I am inspired by sufis like Madho Lal Hussain. I have also always got inspired by the various national liberation movements. I look up to people like Ho Chi Min, Che Guevara, Laila Khalid, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. Apart from that, I read Chinese and Russian literature a lot. I would attend study circles of which Sarmad Sehbai, Fahim Jozi, Shahid Mehmood Nadeem and Kanwal Mushtaq were also a part. Then, Najm Hosain Syed was my ideal. I still attend weekly meetings at his place.

TNS: When did you start writing?

NAB: I wrote my first poems at the age of nine and it was printed in 'Taleem-o-Tarbiat'. It was a great occasion for me and I showed it to all my friends. Later, I became the editor of my college magazine and contributed poems in Urdu and English. I also wrote in Sindhi and Punjabi. Presently, I write in Urdu and Punjabi. I started journalism while writing in the daily Imroze and Pakistan Times when I was a student. I wrote on literature, student politics and issues related to the girl child. Haroon Saad, the then editor of Pakistan Times asked me to contribute a regular column as a student.

TNS: When and how did you join Radio Pakistan?

NAB: I joined Radio Pakistan in 1971 through a talent-hunt programme. I would look after student activities and read poems and articles in literary programmes. I was a regular in radio when I was in university, so it wasn't something new for me. The board which interviewed me was headed by Tabbassum and the other members were Roomani, Shakoor Bedal and Ashfaq Ahmed Khan. Mufiz-ur-Rehman from East Pakistan was the chairman.

TNS: What is the role of the writer, specially a woman writer, in today's society?

NAB: Writing has no gender. In the subcontinent's literary history, we have had women like Ismat Chughtai, Qurratulain Hyder and Amrita Pritam. In Pakistan alone, we start with Fatima Jinnah who wrote about her brother; it's a small booklet of history.
I must also make a mention of Bapsi Sidhwa, Khadija Gohar, Altaf Fatima, Fatima Surayya Bajia, Farkhanda Lodhi, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, Kishwar Naheed, Fahmida Riaz, Azra Waqar, Abida Waqar and Fauzia Rafique, and finally Benazir Bhutto.

TNS: Does the current political scenario, in any way, hamper your creative freedom as a poet?

NAB: I feel I am free to think and write on the landscapes of my mind and hand over my dreams to future generations.

TNS: Would you like to comment on the cultural milieu of Pakistan?

NAB: We're talking about a country where the camels and horses can dance but human beings cannot. Singing is also not on.

TNS: How do you see the situation of women in Pakistan?

NAB: A woman gives birth to another human being but she is not allowed to breath freely by herself. All she asks for is a blue sky over her head and a small piece of land under feet.

TNS: Now that you are retired how do you spend your time?

NAB: Retirement is also a kind of a job. I have not accepted retirement just to remain idle. This is just another phase of my creativity and allows for time to do research work on the psychology of women.