My maiden meeting with Munnu Bhai took place in 1996 when I had just started writing columns. After the publication of my third or fourth column, Munnu Bhai rang me up. He was stammering while speaking. As it was an unexpected telephone call, it made me breathless for a while. Munnu Bhai was paying me tribute for my columns from the core of his heart.
I expressed my desire to meet him. Munnu Bhai replied: “Do come. Do meet me.” The very next day, after taking leave, I reached Lahore and went to his house in Riwaz Gardens. It was summer. Wearing a sweatshirt, Munnu Bhai was sitting in the drawing room of his house. I sat by his side, my ankle almost touching his ankle.
Those were the days of political turmoil. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and President Farooq Leghari’s differences were at their peak. I enquired about the outcome of this tussle. Promptly, he replied: “BB’s rule would end and Nawaz Sharif would ascend to power.” It was an unexpected reply for me. I believed that the tussle would subside and the BB-led government would complete its term. Munnu Bhai’s sentence had bulldozed that belief.
During those days, I was more of a simpleton than I am at present. I entangled myself in arguments with Munnu Bhai. According to him, the tussle was not between BB and Farooq Leghari, but between two chieftains, who would not retreat from their positions, and BB would suffer as a result of their fight. I asked: How would Nawaz Sharif ascend to power? He smiled and said that Nawaz Sharif is the second thorn which is picked to remove the first one. After removing the first thorn, the second one is always thrown away. Nawaz Sharif is being used against BB and would be dumped after outliving his utility. With due deference, I kept differing with his opinion, but he kept ignoring it with a smile.
He gave me tips about writing techniques. He said, no writer could become a columnist unless he (or she) wrote for 20 years continuously. If you keep writing for 20 years without getting tired or bored, you would rise high. But, if you give up in between, then you would keep grumbling for the rest of your life. He said, good writing required much reading and roaming. As you keep roaming and reading, your writing becomes attractive for the readers.
Reading is like sugarcane. In order to obtain half a glass of its juice, we have to insert five-feet-long sugarcane shoots into the roller pin. He said: column writing is a full-time job, forget that while writing columns you can engage in any other work. It’s a romance-like passion, which does not let one to do any other work. I carefully listened to his advice, touched his ankle and left.
Within a few months, I was convinced about Munnu Bhai’s political foresight. Farooq Leghari had really dissolved BB’s government and put Asif Zardari in jail. In the elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif rose to power. I rang up Munnu Bhai, who kept smiling. After a few days, he came to Islamabad. I went to the hotel to meet him. I enquired: Will Nawaz Sharif complete his term of office? “Looks difficult,” he said with a smile. Nawaz Sharif is a feud-monger. He will not desist from this instinct and will be sacked. After that Munnu Bhai made a startling disclosure. He said: BB will become prime minister for a third time. This time, she will come to power to seek revenge, and the global powers would support her. I asked why. She is badly hurt and injured Bhuttos become dangerous. She will return to seek revenge from the army and this will not be good for the country. Munnu Bhai thought that BB would return after two or two-and-a-half years. His prediction proved wrong partially.
Mian Nawaz Sharif was shown the door, but General Musharraf did not hand over power to BB. She remained in exile. Munnu Bhai said that she would definitely return to complete her agenda. BB returned in 2007, but she was martyred. Munnu Bhai believed that the killers were aware of BB’s agenda. After BB, now Mian Nawaz Sharif will accomplish this task. His prediction proved to be wrong. In 2008, instead of Mian Nawaz Sharif, BB’s Pakistan People’s Party formed the government and it remained in power till the completion of its term.
Meanwhile, I kept reminding Munnu Bhai about his prediction. Every time, he said, Nawaz Sharif will come to power and complete BB’s agenda. In 2013, Mian Nawaz Sharif rose to power, and started entangling himself in feuds once again and was disqualified. I spoke to Munnu Bhai in August. He said that Mian Nawaz Sharif would gain power for the fourth time. The global powers would support him and he would accomplish what Bhutto and BB could not.
Over the last 21 years, I have met Munnu Bhai dozens of times. I found him to be an excellent person in all respects. Allah had gifted him political foresight, an intellectual’s wit, a poet’s eye, a writer’s power of observation, a mystic’s elegance besides a great sense of humour. He would utter a sharp eloquent sentence that you would enjoy over and over again later on. When someone enquired: Does your wife also call you Bhai? Rolling his eyes behind his spectacles, he replied: “She used to call initially, but now she also considers him to be a brother.”
One day, he said: “Only a rich people’s Pakistan had emerged in 1947. Only the feudals, traders and aristocrats had gained independence then. The Pakistan of the poor has not come into existence yet and they have not gained independence so far.” During Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s administration, at a function, in Lahore, the chief minister was the guest of honour. Munnu Bhai and I sat near the hotel’s swimming pool. I had a book in my hand. Munnu Bhai took that book from me and started glancing over its pages. Meanwhile, Pervaiz Elahi came, paused for a while and said: Uncle, you are reading even up to this day. Munnu Bhai looked towards Pervaiz Elahi and with a smile said: “Nephew, I could not become CM because of this bad habit.” Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi laughed, bowed and touched Munnu’s ankle.
When I joined daily Express, I requested him to join our team. With a smile, he replied: “When a man becomes incapable of changing his wife, he should not change his job.” He would often say: This country has stuck like the gears of an old car. Now, either the gear will break or the car.” He was every inch a democrat. He believed that the country would transform only through the power of the vote. Dictatorship would ruin the country. He would say: If we forgive all the sins of General Ziaul Haq, his one sin cannot be forgiven. He has ruined the country by mainstreaming the clerics. He was a fan of Bhutto. Ideologically, he was a liberal communist. He wanted justice and equality to prevail in the country. He departed from this world, with his wish unfulfilled – as justice and equality has yet to take root here.
Whether Munnu Bhai was a great journalist or writer, poet, intellectual or dramatist, it will remain open to debate. He was born with a pen like a philosopher’s stone. Any literary genre he touched, turned to gold. Over time, that gold was spun and Munnu Bhai did not remain Munnu Bhai, but was transformed into Urdu literature. Urdu literature and Urdu journalism may move forward, but the root-like Munnu Bhai will always be a part of it.
Munnu Bhai was a legend. He was associated with Sundas Foundation and remained attached with it till his death. The foundation arranges fresh blood for children suffering from Thalassemia. Munnu Bhai would donate his surplus income to the foundation. He would also collect donations for it. Last time, when I spoke to him, there was weakness in his voice. Repeatedly, he said: “Javed, look after my children when I pass away. Sundas Foundation should not close down. Whenever these people contact you, do not say no to them.” I promised to do so.
On January 10, 2018, Munnu Bhati departed from this world at the age of 84. For every departed soul, we apply the cliché: “the void they left can never be filled.” I want to write this about Munnu Bhai, but find it hard. Why? Because every void is ultimately filled, but a “gulf” always remains. With his departure, a “gulf” that has emerged in journalism can never be broached. This jungle will remain eternally melancholy.
This article is a translation by Alauddin Masood of Javed Chaudhry’s Urdu column “Gloom shall perpetually prevail over this jungle” that appeared in daily Express (January 23, 2018). Alauddin Masood is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad and can be reached at alauddinmasood@gmail.com
I expressed my desire to meet him. Munnu Bhai replied: “Do come. Do meet me.” The very next day, after taking leave, I reached Lahore and went to his house in Riwaz Gardens. It was summer. Wearing a sweatshirt, Munnu Bhai was sitting in the drawing room of his house. I sat by his side, my ankle almost touching his ankle.
Those were the days of political turmoil. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and President Farooq Leghari’s differences were at their peak. I enquired about the outcome of this tussle. Promptly, he replied: “BB’s rule would end and Nawaz Sharif would ascend to power.” It was an unexpected reply for me. I believed that the tussle would subside and the BB-led government would complete its term. Munnu Bhai’s sentence had bulldozed that belief.
During those days, I was more of a simpleton than I am at present. I entangled myself in arguments with Munnu Bhai. According to him, the tussle was not between BB and Farooq Leghari, but between two chieftains, who would not retreat from their positions, and BB would suffer as a result of their fight. I asked: How would Nawaz Sharif ascend to power? He smiled and said that Nawaz Sharif is the second thorn which is picked to remove the first one. After removing the first thorn, the second one is always thrown away. Nawaz Sharif is being used against BB and would be dumped after outliving his utility. With due deference, I kept differing with his opinion, but he kept ignoring it with a smile.
He gave me tips about writing techniques. He said, no writer could become a columnist unless he (or she) wrote for 20 years continuously. If you keep writing for 20 years without getting tired or bored, you would rise high. But, if you give up in between, then you would keep grumbling for the rest of your life. He said, good writing required much reading and roaming. As you keep roaming and reading, your writing becomes attractive for the readers.
Reading is like sugarcane. In order to obtain half a glass of its juice, we have to insert five-feet-long sugarcane shoots into the roller pin. He said: column writing is a full-time job, forget that while writing columns you can engage in any other work. It’s a romance-like passion, which does not let one to do any other work. I carefully listened to his advice, touched his ankle and left.
Within a few months, I was convinced about Munnu Bhai’s political foresight. Farooq Leghari had really dissolved BB’s government and put Asif Zardari in jail. In the elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif rose to power. I rang up Munnu Bhai, who kept smiling. After a few days, he came to Islamabad. I went to the hotel to meet him. I enquired: Will Nawaz Sharif complete his term of office? “Looks difficult,” he said with a smile. Nawaz Sharif is a feud-monger. He will not desist from this instinct and will be sacked. After that Munnu Bhai made a startling disclosure. He said: BB will become prime minister for a third time. This time, she will come to power to seek revenge, and the global powers would support her. I asked why. She is badly hurt and injured Bhuttos become dangerous. She will return to seek revenge from the army and this will not be good for the country. Munnu Bhai thought that BB would return after two or two-and-a-half years. His prediction proved wrong partially.
Mian Nawaz Sharif was shown the door, but General Musharraf did not hand over power to BB. She remained in exile. Munnu Bhai said that she would definitely return to complete her agenda. BB returned in 2007, but she was martyred. Munnu Bhai believed that the killers were aware of BB’s agenda. After BB, now Mian Nawaz Sharif will accomplish this task. His prediction proved to be wrong. In 2008, instead of Mian Nawaz Sharif, BB’s Pakistan People’s Party formed the government and it remained in power till the completion of its term.
Meanwhile, I kept reminding Munnu Bhai about his prediction. Every time, he said, Nawaz Sharif will come to power and complete BB’s agenda. In 2013, Mian Nawaz Sharif rose to power, and started entangling himself in feuds once again and was disqualified. I spoke to Munnu Bhai in August. He said that Mian Nawaz Sharif would gain power for the fourth time. The global powers would support him and he would accomplish what Bhutto and BB could not.
Over the last 21 years, I have met Munnu Bhai dozens of times. I found him to be an excellent person in all respects. Allah had gifted him political foresight, an intellectual’s wit, a poet’s eye, a writer’s power of observation, a mystic’s elegance besides a great sense of humour. He would utter a sharp eloquent sentence that you would enjoy over and over again later on. When someone enquired: Does your wife also call you Bhai? Rolling his eyes behind his spectacles, he replied: “She used to call initially, but now she also considers him to be a brother.”
One day, he said: “Only a rich people’s Pakistan had emerged in 1947. Only the feudals, traders and aristocrats had gained independence then. The Pakistan of the poor has not come into existence yet and they have not gained independence so far.” During Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s administration, at a function, in Lahore, the chief minister was the guest of honour. Munnu Bhai and I sat near the hotel’s swimming pool. I had a book in my hand. Munnu Bhai took that book from me and started glancing over its pages. Meanwhile, Pervaiz Elahi came, paused for a while and said: Uncle, you are reading even up to this day. Munnu Bhai looked towards Pervaiz Elahi and with a smile said: “Nephew, I could not become CM because of this bad habit.” Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi laughed, bowed and touched Munnu’s ankle.
When I joined daily Express, I requested him to join our team. With a smile, he replied: “When a man becomes incapable of changing his wife, he should not change his job.” He would often say: This country has stuck like the gears of an old car. Now, either the gear will break or the car.” He was every inch a democrat. He believed that the country would transform only through the power of the vote. Dictatorship would ruin the country. He would say: If we forgive all the sins of General Ziaul Haq, his one sin cannot be forgiven. He has ruined the country by mainstreaming the clerics. He was a fan of Bhutto. Ideologically, he was a liberal communist. He wanted justice and equality to prevail in the country. He departed from this world, with his wish unfulfilled – as justice and equality has yet to take root here.
Whether Munnu Bhai was a great journalist or writer, poet, intellectual or dramatist, it will remain open to debate. He was born with a pen like a philosopher’s stone. Any literary genre he touched, turned to gold. Over time, that gold was spun and Munnu Bhai did not remain Munnu Bhai, but was transformed into Urdu literature. Urdu literature and Urdu journalism may move forward, but the root-like Munnu Bhai will always be a part of it.
Munnu Bhai was a legend. He was associated with Sundas Foundation and remained attached with it till his death. The foundation arranges fresh blood for children suffering from Thalassemia. Munnu Bhai would donate his surplus income to the foundation. He would also collect donations for it. Last time, when I spoke to him, there was weakness in his voice. Repeatedly, he said: “Javed, look after my children when I pass away. Sundas Foundation should not close down. Whenever these people contact you, do not say no to them.” I promised to do so.
On January 10, 2018, Munnu Bhati departed from this world at the age of 84. For every departed soul, we apply the cliché: “the void they left can never be filled.” I want to write this about Munnu Bhai, but find it hard. Why? Because every void is ultimately filled, but a “gulf” always remains. With his departure, a “gulf” that has emerged in journalism can never be broached. This jungle will remain eternally melancholy.
This article is a translation by Alauddin Masood of Javed Chaudhry’s Urdu column “Gloom shall perpetually prevail over this jungle” that appeared in daily Express (January 23, 2018). Alauddin Masood is a freelance columnist based in Islamabad and can be reached at alauddinmasood@gmail.com