A Dragonfly in the Sun

Transcription

1 A Dragonfly in the Sun An Anthology of Pakistani Writing in English Selected & Edited by Muneeza Shamsie Karachi Oxford University Press Oxford New York Delhi 1997

2 DEDICATION V A DRAGONFLY IN THE SUN vii THANKS ix CONTENTS xi INTRODUCTION xxi SHAHID SUHRAWARDY 1 Narcisse: Mallarmeen 2 Letter from O'Ni To E.T. at the Shiffolds a Fu 2 To My Dog 4 From An Old Man's Songs II 6 IV 6 VII 7 AHMED ALI 8 Extracts from Twilight in Delhi From Part I: Chapter 3 10 From Part II: Chapter 8 15 From Part III: Chapter 4 20 Poems from The Purple Gold Mountain Having become a high official I was sent to preach the Doctrine of No-Famine 24 I was put into prison for speaking the truth and there wrote this poem on the advent of spring 25 The Wheel of Age comes full circle at last 25

3 MUMTAZ SHAHNAWAZ 27 Extracts from The Heart Divided From Chapter 3 29 From Chapter 8 30 From Chapter From Chapter ZAIB-UN-NISSA HAMIDULLAH 41 The Bull and the She Devil 42 TAUFIQ RAFAT 53 Poems from The Arrival of the Monsoon Circumcision 54 The Kingfisher 55 Return to Rajagriha 56 Arrival of the Monsoon 57 Wedding in the Flood 58 Poems from Half Moon To See Fruit Ripen 60 Poems for a Younger Brother II Flight to London 61 V Long-distance Call 62 VI Cancer 62 X Indestructible 63 XII Shirt 63 Lights 64 MAKI KUREISHI 65 Day 66 Christmas Letter to my Sister 67 Kittens 69 Curfew Summer 70 Laburnum Tree 70 Oyster Rocks 71 For my Grandson 72 Snipers in Karachi 73 Letter from Chao-Chun 74 Xll

4 SHAHID HOSAIN 76 A Speculation 77 Regarding the Appearance of Sir Laurence Olivier as Richard III in a Lahore Cinema 78 M.K. HAMEED Gold Spot Glow DAUD KAMAL Poems from Before The Carnations Wither Prayer Beads An Ancient Indian Coin An Ode to Death A Street Revisited The Blue Wind The Hunt The Leap The Gift Voyage to the Enchanted Island Turquoise ZULFIKAR GHOSE 90 Extracts from The Triple Mirror of The Self From Voyager and Pilgrim Chapter 8: In the Desert 92 Chapter 10: You 95 From The Origins of the Self Chapter 2: On Forbidden Territory 101 Chapter 12: Incident on From Selected Poems The Loss of India The Alien The Water Carrier On Owning Property in the USA Chapter 16: the Grand Trunk Road But You Xlll

5 From Lady Macbeth's Farewell to Scotland I The Shadow Woman 120 IV Exotic Nights 121 VII Among Perfumed Landscapes 122 KALEEM OMAR 123 Trout 124 Photograph 125 The Hunters in the Snow 126 Himalayan Brown 127 Winter Term 128 The Fifteenth Century 129 A Troubadour's Life 130 Night Music 132 JOCELYN ORTT SAEED 136 Poems from Burning Bush Where No Road Goes 137 For Alys Faiz 138 BAPSI SIDHWA Extracts from Ice-Candy-Man From Chapter 1 From Chapter 11 From Chapter 16 From Chapter 25 NADIR HUSSEIN A Wedding G.F. RIAZ Poem from Shade in Passing In Search of Truth at the Geological Museum Poems from Escaping Twenty Shadows The Silence Alexander Comes of Age XIV

6 S. AFZAL HAIDER 177 From Brooklyn to Karachi via Amsterdam 178 TALAT ABBASI 191 Simple Questions 192 ADRIAN A. HUSAIN 203 Poems from Desert Album Crocodiles 204 Margalla 204 Shrine 206 Landscape by Leila Shahzada 207 The Music Leaves Antony 208 For Srebrenica's Dead 209 Calvary Misunderstood 210 Out Patient I Truant Visitor 210 II TeteaTete 211 SALMAN TARIK KURESHI 213 Poems from Landscapes of the Mind Winter Sunset 214 The C Minor Prelude and Fugue being Played 215 A Better Man Than I: (Six Poems for Kipling) 217 As if these Clouds 220 TARIQ ALI 221 Extract from Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree 223 MUNEEZA SHAMSIE 242 Shahrazad's Golden Leopard 243 JAVAID QAZI 260 The Laid-OffMan 261 xv

7 RUKHSANA AHMAD 275 Confessions and Lullabies 276 Extract from Song for a Sanctuary 292 SHUJA NAWAZ 304 Poems from Journeys Searching 305 The Sarangi Player 306 Raja Bazaar 307 The Initiation 308 Ozymandias II 309 TARIQ RAHMAN 310 Bingo 311 TAHIRA NAQVI 325 Love in an Election Year 326 ADAM ZAMEENZAD 347 Extracts from Cyrus, Cyrus Zoetrope: Reflections and Memories: From Part I: The Fulcrum and the Hub One Birth 349 From Part II: Along the Radius and over the Spokes: First Love - Consummation Continuum 353 From Part IV: Upon the Wheel Cyrus Cyrus 363 ALAMGIR HASHMI 366 From The Poems of Alamgir Hashmi Encounter with the Sirens 368 Eid 369 Snow 370 Kashmir Poems from Sun and Moon Pakistan Movement 372 Sun and Moon 374 XVI

8 WAQAS AHMAD KHWAJA 378 Poem from Six Geese From a Tomb at Medum 379 April '77 Poems from Miriam's Lament and Other Poems The Legend of Roda and Jallali Among Burning Nettles 381 The Tribal Shadow 382 The Legend of Roda and Jalalli 384 M. ATHAR TAHIR 388 Trolley Man 389 Poems from Just Beyond the Physical Border Line 396 Carpet-weaver 396 This Sun is my Sun 397 Circles 398 Elegy 399 Brass Objects 400 Eid ' MONIZA ALVI 402 Poems from The Country at my Shoulder I Would Like to be a Dot in a Painting by Miro 403 Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan 404 Poems from A Bowl of Warm Air The Double City 406 The Wedding 407 The Colours of the World 409 A Bowl of Warm Air 410 HANIF KUREISHI 412 Extracts from My Beautiful Laundrette 414 SARA SULERI 433 Extract from Meatless Days 434 xvii

9 AAMER HUSSEIN 453 The Lost Cantos of the Silken Tiger 454 HINA FAISAL IMAM 477 Poems from Midnight Dialogue Motherhood and Frustration 478 The Road 479 Solitude 481 Childhood Musician 481 MANSOOR Y. SHEIKH 484 Shalimar 485 Poem 485 For Lowell 486 QAISRA SHAHRAZ AHMAD 487 The Visiting Grandmother 488 MOEEN FARUQI 498 Partition 499 The Crows 500 Letter from Home 501 The Return 501 PERVEEN PASHA 503 Poems from Shades of Silence A Tribute to Mandela 504 Beyond the Veil 505 MOAZZAM SHEIKH 506 Rains of the Monsoon 507 SORAYYA Y. KHAN 519 Extract from In the Shadows of the Margalla Hills 520 xvm

10 TARIQ LATIF 540 Poems from Skimming the Soul Masunda Water Snakes Poems from The Minister's Garden From Symbols to Components The Chucky HARRIS KHALIQUE Poems from If Wishes Were Horses The Retired Old Bureaucrat, Next Door In London NADEEM ASLAM Extracts from Season of the Rainbirds GLOSSARY SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX XIX